Oorah - Salim x M!Reader [House of Ashes]

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Shit..." Jason mumbles, realizing Salim wasn't with the group. Jason looks across the platforms trying to see him. He can see a shit ton of beasts flying about, some dying, some more angry than ever. Jason spots him. "That's Salim! He's still alive!" Jason points.

(Y/N) looks to where Jason pointed. He can see Salim hiding from the beasts. But he knows Salim can't hide forever. "Salim..." (Y/N) whispers, scared.

Jason grabs his radio. "Salim, come in, man. Are you there?"

"I'm surrounded," Salim responds. (Y/N) walks closer to Jason, trying to hear Salim. "I am in real trouble here. Vampires... So many vampires..."

"We have to help him," (Y/N) says. He feels like shit, but he's willing to go save Salim.

"We go back down there, we die with him," Nick argued, shaking his head. 

"He's a dead man. We need to go," Eric said, starting to walk away. When he noticed no one was following, he stopped, confused. He walked back up to the group. "That man is not one of us!"

"Bullshit!" (Y/N) yelled at Eric. Jason clicked his radio, allowing Salim to hear the conversation. "Salim has put his neck on the line for us! He's been willing to bleed for us. Without him, we wouldn't have triggered the parasite in Rachel. She's alive because of him." (Y/N) paused for a second. "I'm alive because of him." (Y/N) got up close to Eric, challenging him. "So don't you fucking dare call him an enemy."

Eric scrunched up his nose, trying to think of something to say. But he couldn't think of anything. He knew (Y/N) well enough now to know (Y/N) wouldn't listen. They were both stubborn.

"Salim's one of us now," Jason spoke up. (Y/N) looked at him, surprised. "Marines don't leave their own behind. You hearing me, Salim?"

(Y/N) waited anxiously for Salim to respond, worried he was dead already. But Salim spoke again. "If I don't make it out, tell my son I did everything I could."

"Tell him yourself," Jason responded, determination in his eyes. "We're coming to get you."

"We?" (Y/N) questioned. He was willing to go by himself if no one else would. Hell, he figured no one else would.

"I ain't leaving you by yourself. We'll save Salim," Jason responded, punching (Y/N) softly on the shoulder.

(Y/N) smiles. "Thank you, Jason," He says sincerely.

"Thank me after we save him," Jason smiles, nodding. He understood what Salim meant to (Y/N). He didn't want to take that away. "Let's move."

The two quickly traveled towards Salim. Salim saw the pair and tried to run up to them, but a creature jumped in his way, blocking him. Jason and (Y/N) began to shoot at it, catching its attention. This allowed Salim to stab the creature right through the heart, killing it.

Salim looked over at (Y/N), a smile on his face. "You've come to join the fun?" Salim laughed. He felt happiness bubble in his stomach. But also fear. (Y/N) was putting his life on the line again.

(Y/N) and Jason would have replied, but there were quite a few of the creatures beginning to swoop down. The two shot at the beasts as they flew down. This seemed to deter the majority of them. They would try and swoop down but the bullets caused them to turn back around.

There was a loud rumbling. The floor shook, causing the creatures to fly around in a frenzied mess. (Y/N) could see the platforms starting to crumble. He knew they had to hurry and get out of this place, otherwise they would die.

Salim was free to run back towards the others. He started to run, but his eyes caught something. A creature landed right behind (Y/N) and Jason. "Watch out!" He called out to them. Salim saw the creature stand tall, ready to swing. He had to do something quick. Salim stopped, raising his stake. He threw it as hard as he could, praying he wouldn't miss.

(Y/N) and Jason jumped out of the way. (Y/N) was confused, wondering why Salim just threw that thing at him. But once he heard the screech of a beast, he understood. (Y/N) and Jason watched as Salim ran towards it, grabbing his stake and stabbing it until it was dead.

"Did you seriously just throw that thing at us?" Jason questioned in disbelief. He barely dodged it! What if Salim had hit him? It was a nice throw, though.

"I did," Salim smiled, unable to stop the laughs that escaped him.

(Y/N) looked around, realizing there were no beasts in that area. (Y/N) walked up to Salim, concern all over his face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they-"

"(Y/N)," Salim interrupted, wrapping the other man in a hug. (Y/N) was taken aback, but it only took him a moment to hug Salim back. "I'm fine. I'm okay." (Y/N) had never been one for physical contact. But every time Salim held him, it felt comforting. It felt good. "I heard you defend me in front of your team."

"Of course I did," (Y/N) replied, holding Salim tighter. (Y/N) had expected himself to die earlier. But Salim saved his life. He owed everything to Salim.

"Uh... I hate to interrupt this little moment," Jason spoke up. (Y/N) and Salim let go of each other, realizing Jason was still right there. "But we need to haul ass or we're dead." He liked seeing (Y/N) happy. Jason had been with (Y/N) on countless missions. It was about time (Y/N) found some bit of happiness. Though, he wasn't exactly thrilled about being a third wheel.

"Right," (Y/N) replied. The group began to run back to the elevator. It wasn't as far as (Y/N) had remembered. Probably because he was running. But some creatures were right behind them, rushing after them.

(Y/N) could see it. He could also see the rest of his squad standing there with their guns drawn. As soon as they saw the creatures behind the three men, they began to open fire. (Y/N), Salim, and Jason rushed onto the elevator. The rest of the squad was right behind them. Nick and (Y/N) closed the doors while Jason used the lever, starting the elevator. 

It was a few seconds before anyone spoke. Everyone was catching their breath, glad to have made it back in one piece. Nick smiled, seeing as his friends were alright. "Takes more than a few bats to kill the two of you," Nick said, giving both (Y/N) and Jason a fist bump.

A smile spread over Jason's face. "Oh man, that was un-fucking-believable!" He chuckled. "Those things were all over us, but we busted through them like it was the last down of the goddamn Super Bowl!" Jason's laugh was contagious. Salim and (Y/N) couldn't help but smile, laughing at Jason's enthusiasm.

 (Y/N) was still upset that no one else was willing to help him, but he understood. Rachel, Nick, and Eric hadn't gotten to know Salim at all. They didn't understand him. Hell, Jason didn't really know Salim either. But Jason trusted (Y/N), and that was good enough for him.

"Listen up," Jason said after a moment, his expression turning serious. The other's faced him, listening closely. When Jason had something to say, you better damn well listen. (Y/N) learned that the hard way. "We're not out of the woods yet. But what I see in front of me, you're the best. Fuck that, the best of the best. And we will get home." Jason sounded so confident. But Jason had always been good with speeches. 

Jason raised his fist in the air, prompting Nick, (Y/N), and Eric to do the same. "Oorah!" The group said in unison.

(Y/N) and Jason looked over at Salim, giving him the go ahead. Salim hesitated before speaking. "Oorah?" He said, as more of a question. (Y/N) smiled at him and Jason nodded, encouraging him. Salim smiled, laughing. "Oorah,"  He said again with much more enthusiasm, laughs escaping him. "Oorah!"