My Love, My Bonded

Chapter Twenty Four

Rey's heart was beating fast as she landed Poe's stolen Resistance ship back to their base. Her interaction with Kylo was pleasant, having ended with him affirming his affection for her. The pink dusted on her cheeks intensified every time their hug came to mind, although that was practically all she could think of. She tried to wipe her goofy grin off her face as the ship landed sharply against the ground.

She turned around to see Poe's unconscious body still strapped to a chair, the blood on his head crusting over. She grabbed a towel from the seat beside her as she dapped at the blood. It washed off gently but she didn't bother to wake him up. Frankly, Rey didn't care. Her eyes darted outside the window and opened her mouth in shock. She popped off her helmet and practically ran off the ship.

Debris littered the ground as the most of their ships and supplies had been bombed. The only light was the tiny fires that dotted the surface. In the corner of her eye, she could see one of their ships still lit aflame while soldiers tried to dim it. Blood was smeared on the ground and the few people she did see were covered in soot and destruction. She saw no dead bodies but severed limbs did scatter the floor, causing her to turn away in equal horror and disgust.

Rey's feet didn't work fast enough as she ran to the door, yanking it open to reveal the bustling creatures on the inside. Dirt and blood covered the walls and ground, the beautiful vines that once hung were now tainted with broken promises and shattered lives. Cries of despair and loss was all she could hear and she turned to see a man lying on the floor. His arm was no where to be found and blood pumped from the wound like a river. An elderly woman wept over him as he whispered something in her ear, her cries growing. His chest froze and his eyes and mouth stayed open as his final breath left his body.

"No, my son!" The woman roared through sobs. A medical droid came to assess him and she draped her body over him, her shirt soaking in his still fresh blood. "Don't hurt him! He's my only child!"

The droid looked down at the exchange and analyzed the body. "My body scan reports that he is no longer alive. Would you like me to attempt revival?"

The woman wept as she buried her face in her son's now cold shoulder. "No, no. I can feel it. He's left us for good. My poor boy."

She rose and laid a hand on his face as his body disappeared on the floor, his clothes sinking down. Rey watched as his spirit joined the Force, feeling it pulsing stronger with life but filled with the same sadness of his newly broken mother.

Her own eyes filled with tears as she watched the exchange. Death was never something she would become accustomed to and her heart tore for that elderly woman who lost her only child. Rey weaved her way through the people as she began to cry. She heard a few people calling her name but none of them matched the person she was looking for.

Her anger was brewing and stirring and she felt the familiar hatred she used to hold so strongly against the First Order rise to power again. Their devilish need for control and the cat and mouse game they played with the Resistance was tiring at best. Both parties were drained but she was just getting started.

Her mind wandered to Kylo Ren and it felt as if her care for him vanished entirely. Rey was furious with him and thought of their last encounter. It must have been a way to distract her so they could cause fatal damage to the organization they hated so much. There was no other reason for him to be so kind to her and keep her around for what felt like hours.

Stars, she was angry. She knew he was intelligent and manipulative but always thought of herself as one of the few people where his little tricks didn't work. She had been sorely mistaken and in the end, had hurt her entire friends in the process. In her mind, she didn't even deserve the title of being their friend after this.