Veronica Stone

Pt. 20

"De two ah wunna is sain else"

She sat grinning with pride in front of the two of them. Of course they were the only ones like this. It was hard to see with her smudgy vision but she could make out layers and layers of tentacles stacked from their feet and going up, abruptly stopping halfway up their torsos with only three or four making it to their chests and face. Strewn all around them were writhing segments of the dismembered tendrils. Veronica felt for a pulse as best she could with her own numbed fingers, they were at least breathing for sure, but unconscious. She marveled at the two of them, each still gripping their knives as if they were ready to fight at any moment.

Boy, I sure know how to pick em... She smiled to herself before drawing her own knife.

Veronica was careful not to cut too deep, just enough to draw blood. She felt the hand twitch and then squeeze her own in a desperate bloody grip.

"Ronnie?", a weak voice croaked.

Madness!

Veronica couldn't make out features, but she stroked her friend's face lovingly. Her numb fingers could somehow feel the warmth emanating from the girl's cheeks.

"Tear-head girl!", she chuckled, before crawling over to Trevor.

Before he even awoke fully, Veronica found his lips and kissed him like he would disappear at any moment.

"Wah?"

"Babe, I so sorry...I-"

"Awwwww-" Madness teasingly interjected before bursting into a coughing fit.

"Alright doan talk, I getting wunna out from here."

She began cutting the tentacles free from their feet as quickly as she could. That little bit of energy she'd been holding onto was barely enough to swim a short distance by herself let alone carry these two with her. Still she had to try, these were people she loved, she was certain of that now, and they'd love her no matter what she did, no matter how big of a failure or disappointment she was. She had to try her best.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUU-", Veronica cried, dragging the two bodies under each arm. They'd passed out again, but she doubted they'd have the energy to stand even if they were awake. At this point she couldn't see much past her feet, but if she kept in one direction, she'd bump into the deck's railing. That was her reasoning.

Minutes later, a hard metal rod smacked her in the chest. She smiled, she was right. Then she looked over her shoulder, she could barely see the deck but she knew. All the others were still there.

Fu$%.

A painful wave washed over her. She was really going to leave her team behind. They'd spent so much time together, she'd known nearly everything about their lives. Whose nephew had won a prize at summer camp for sprinting, who had a secret crush on who, who refused to eat breakfast on mission days because they had a weak stomach to the sight of people's heads blown open. And as much as she would hate to admit it back then, they were practically family. That was her family.

My family...

Just as she found them, she'd lose them.

The tears flowed uninterrupted.

But amidst the pain there was that warmth. The warmth of their smiles in the morning. They really loved her. It was a bit too late but she knew it now. They'd seen all of her mistakes and failures, and they'd stuck with her through it all. Veronica swallowed hard, her lip quivering.

"I love you guys...I...fu*$...I FU&*$#@ LOVE WUNNA!!!", she hollered. She'd never said that before, it wasn't professional she used to think. Now she just hoped they'd at least hear it in their subconscious at least before they were gone forever.

She couldn't take the sound of her blubbering any longer and tightly clutched the only two she could save before tumbling over the ship's railing.

BLOOSH!

It took her a little while to find up, but soon she was treading at the surface with all her might, holding the two bodies so their heads were above water. Her muscles cried harder than she was. They'd pushed and pushed and pushed, this was the end of her pill reserves.

I tried, I really did. She smiled. Never before had she ever imagined smiling in such a hopeless situation as this. She squeezed Madness and Trevor's body tighter to her own, as if giving them one last hug. That's when she felt it pressing into her chest.

"Madness you!", She laughed.

This is Madness afterall. She mocked herself.

Veronica fiddled with her jacket until she got hold of it. Her legs were treading slowly now, they were gradually sinking.

"I know you wuh be mad if I din at least give it a shot.", she chuckled to her unresponsive friend before blowing hard into the whistle.

It felt as if that were her last breath.

And before the darkness finally swallowed her she thought her last thought.

I wish I'd been better to you...

Everything was white. A voice hummed. Somehow she had an understanding none of this was real, and yet she chose to listen, to soak in as much as she could. It was soothing like a lullaby, the words gently kissed like healing water.

"-and I did NEVER regret you.", her mother finished.

She was too shaken up to reply, if she even could. Real or not she needed that. Her mother simply held her close and stroked her head. It was warm.

HAK! HAK! HAK!

"LAWWD...BAI!"

She felt the hand still stroking her head, the sound of coughing forced Veronica to open her eyes. In front of her was Trevor, laid out across this thick shiny grey column like a rug on a stone to dry. She was confused at first, then it clicked. Veronica grinned and chuckled a bit. The warm hand continued to caress her head tenderly, she didn't need to look behind to know it was Madness, she just smiled and snuggled her head deeper into her friend's lap before passing on the gesture to the dolphin's side.

EEE! EEE! EEE! EEE!

Veronica closed her eyes with a warm smirk.

Good job Daba.