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His words hit me like a punch to the gut, a cruel reminder of the future being ripped away. The life that was just within our grasp is now slipping away like sand through our fingers.
I hold onto his hand tightly, panic rising as I watch him grow weaker by the second. Deep down, I know that time is running out. More gunshots ring out but I can’t do anything but focus on Axel. He’s dying.
“Odi—”
“Shh, save your energy,” I beg him.
“Keep fighting. Promise.”
I shake my head, tears falling so fast down my cheeks now that I can barely see.
“You must. Remember the plan.”
I choke on a sob, my heart breaking at his words. The plan. How could he bring up the plan at a time like this?
“I can’t?—”
But then I realise, he’s right. It’s the only way we can hope to be together again. My mind races, trying to piece together the fragments of this nightmare and find a sliver of hope.
“I’ll see you…again…when it’s time…I’ll meet you…graveyard.”
Biting my trembling lip, I nod tearfully at Axel, promising him with my eyes that I will do whatever it takes to ensure our reunion in the graveyard.
I lean in closer, my lips brushing against his ear as I whisper, “I love you, Axel. And I swear, I will make it to that graveyard. We will be together again.”
His grip on my hand weakens, but his eyes search mine with unwavering trust.
“Peony…I’m sorry.” A faint smile tugs at the corner of his lips before his body goes limp in my arms.
The chaos around us continues to rage, oblivious to the shattering of my world.
“Odi!” Lou yells, racing over to me and grabbing my hand in hers. “We’ve got to go.”
“I can’t. I have to find Zie and Kaiden,” I shout back over the chaos. I need to get to Kaiden and Zie. I need to tell them what’s happened.
She shakes her head. “They said to get you out.”
“I’m not leaving without them, Lou,” I insist. “Axel—” I choke on my words. I can’t say it. Saying it out loud will make it real. I can’t.
Lou’s eyes well up with tears, mirroring my own. She knows the pain that burns within me, the ache of losing someone. But she also understands the urgency of our situation, the need to escape this treacherous place before it devours us all.
“I know, Odi,” she says, her voice trembling with raw emotion. “But the guys wouldn’t want us to risk our lives for them. They would want us to survive, to keep fighting.”
Her words hit me like a gust of wind, knocking some sense back into me. Axel’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain; it was an act of love and selflessness to protect the ones he cared about most. I can’t let his death be in vain either.
Wiping away my tears, I take a deep breath and steel myself for what lies ahead. “Okay,” I say, my voice firm despite the quiver within me. “Let’s find Zie and Kaiden, and then we’ll get out of here together.”
Lou’s eyes widen and then her tears spill over. “I’m sorry Odi,” she says, sounding like her heart is breaking. “They didn’t make it. I watched them get shot. They’re both gone.”
I freeze, the world around me crumbling like ashes. Zie and Kaiden, gone? My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach, and awail of anguish escapes my lips, echoing through the chaos. It feels as though everything I have ever loved has been ripped away from me in an instant.
“We need to keep moving,” she urges, her voice shaky but resolute.
I stumble, my knees buckling beneath me. The ground rushes up to meet me, and I crumple into a heap of grief and despair. The bullets and screams around me fade into nothingness, consumed by the darkness that threatens to engulf me.
A shadow falls over me, and I look up to see Lou’s face, streaked with tears.
“Louise!” A desperate voice calls out before a second shadow looms over me. “Get out of here!”
