Whumptober+ Short Stories - Volume 2

Prompt 5 & 6 - Gunpoint/Dragged Away

"Step away from him." Came the harsh command. Blade was about to respond, but stopped when his friend laid a hand on his arm. "Do what he says." Jax said quietly, looking him in the eye. Behind him, Blade heard the sound of heavy footsteps, and a second later was yanked to his feet. He would have struggled, would have fought back, except for the sudden appearance of the gun in the hand of the enemy commander. Schelld gestured with his empty hand to the soldier holding Blade's arm. "Secure him."

Obediently (and none too gently), the soldier complied. Blade kept his eyes locked with his friend's as the cuffs were fastened around his wrists; he knew he was beaten. It wasn't like he could resist, since the gun was now directed at Jax and not him. Still, though.

"What are you going to do with us?" He demanded in a low voice, looking up at the commander. Schelld saw the look in his eye and snorted contemptuously. "Funny you should ask." He replied. "You're going to be taken back to camp. What happens after that is neither my decision nor my concern." Pausing for a moment, he nodded in Jax's direction. "As for him..." He chuckled. "He's of no use injured. We'll just execute him here."

Blade's head snapped up at this statement, and he glared at Schelld. "Don't you dare." He growled warningly. "You leave him alone!"

"Why?" The commanding soldier asked coolly. "As I said, he's useless now." To emphasize his statement, he gave Jax a kick. His boot caught the other man in the side, and Jax let out a weak cry of pain. Schelld raised an eyebrow. "He's going to die anyway. Might as well be at the hands of his betters."

"Betters!?" Blade exclaimed angrily. "You sick... he doesn't have to die!" Though still bound, he attempted to lash out at the commander with both fists, resentment taking the place of logic as he did so. Schelld looked at him patronizingly for a brief moment, then shook his head and pulled the trigger.

The gun went off with a loud crack, accented by the sound of Blade's enraged yell and a sharp cry from Jax as the bullet went right through him. Schelld put the gun back in his belt casually, then gestured to one of his followers. "Bring him. We're done."

As the soldier restraining him began to drag him away, Blade continued to struggle, fighting to stay by his friend's side. Jax had stopped breathing at this point; the image of his motionless form lying in the blood-soaked grass was the last Blade ever saw of his friend.