Coming Back Down

The Last War

  The explosions from the grenades sent a pulse through the air as guards flew. Stealth was no longer an option anyway, so I simply fired the stolen guns to take out the survivors of the blasts. I took point, leading the way through the falling bodies as Octavia and Levitt followed.

  I was beyond pissed, beyond the explosive rage. I was so angry I was calm. Steady and with a purpose, I was channeling it all into one objective.

  Stopping Bill.

  Entering the stone room, I saw that it was too late and the code had been entered. Seeing Bill wasn't there meant he was already on the other side.

  "We're too late." Levitt said as I popped the magazine out of the gun that hadn't run out of ammo. Seeing how many bullets were left, I clicked the magazine back into place.

  "We're still here, we still have time."

  "What are you planning on doing?" Octavia looked at me, and my blank expression gave nothing away.

  "I'm going to put the Shepherd down." My voice was cold as I walked forward. I blinked, and the bright room was gone, leaving me on a boardwalk surrounded by what looked like space and stars. I would have liked to take in the beauty of the galaxies, but I saw Bill a few yards ahead.

  In front of him was Calliope, but it couldn't really her be since she was dead. I didn't think much about it before raising my gun to fire, shooting Bill right in the head. The rage funneled outward, making me empty the magazine into the already dead man.

  His body turned to dust shortly after, and when I looked up, Calliope was gone. But I was still here.

  Plopping down on a wooden bench, I dropped the gun. I then rested my elbows on my knees as my head hung from my shoulders. I was tired. So, so tired.

  I may excel at killing, but I was so tired of it all. The fighting, the struggling, the barely surviving. I wished Roan hadn't distracted me to the point of getting an actual good night's rest because without the lack of sleep frying my brain, I was realizing just how exhausted I was.

  "Why am I still here?" I muttered while looking at the wood beneath my feet.

  "You know why." A low voice echoed before solidifying. Raising my head, I saw Roan standing there with his hands behind his back.

  "....I didn't stop it in time, did I?" My tone was still calm.

  "No. I'm sorry. We can't stop what's been set in motion. Your species must now be judged through you."

  "I'm the worst person for this."

  "Are you, Dia?" Roan slightly tilted his head. "You've seen the many facets of humanity, have you not?" He then strolled over to where Bill's body had been, and I didn't say a word. "This man was unarmed, no threat to you, yet you killed him." Roan looked at the hole in the boardwalk left from when Bill vanished. "Why?"

  "Because if he failed....humanity dies."

  "And if he passed, your race would have transcended." Roan looked over his shoulder at me.

  "He wouldn't have passed."

  "What makes you so sure?"

  "He denied what makes us human. The fact that he pissed me off was just an additional offense." I paused while looking at the perfect copy of Roan. Everything was the same right down to how he styled his hair. "How do you even know my name? Or what I've seen?"

  "During the test, I sense every part of you. I feel the pain you're in right now." Roan turned to me and slowly walked closer.

  "Last I checked, I wasn't wounded."