From Dusk to Dust (Destiny Fan Fiction)

14-Mistakes were Made

An acolyte came up behind Alaura and went in for a close ranged kill. Kai dashed to cover her and kicked the Hive creature away, but the blaster still fired. The three icy blue bolts clawed its way into Kai's stomach. Kai let out an ear-piercing scream as he fell to the ground. He accidentally knocked Alaura off balance in the process and she cried out as she fell in surprise.

Malachi and Tanis killed the remaining Hive and took a second to breathe. The two men set their guns to their sides and swayed back and forth, unsteady on their tired feet. Tanis felt tired, but he didn't feel like he wanted to sleep. That's where Malachi differed. All he wanted to do was sleep. He couldn't stand battles this long. Back alley fighting was never this long.

Alaura scrambled on her knees to Kai and set her gun down beside her. Her lungs wouldn't let her take in too much air and she felt like she was choking. Her runner's high faded and was now replaced with urgency and fear. He saved me. Alaura carefully Kai's helmet off and held him up. Her voice wavered for a second, "You haven't given up on me for all these years. Don't give up now." Alaura took off her helmet so he could see her face. At this point, tears trailed down her cheeks, and she tried to wipe them away quickly.

Kai's expression lit up as much as it could at the sight of her. It was as if he couldn't feel the excruciating pain coming from his abdomen. Blood stained his armor and stuck to Alaura's white armored hands as she grazed the wound in an attempt to cover it. Kai chuckled lightly, but he choked on a gasp before recalling words he had said to her long ago, "It was an order."

"I've let you down again..." her heart cracked at the thought of it. The memory of Kai getting hit with a rocket on that hilltop flashed through her mind. The fear, the anger, the flash of pain at the thought of losing him, she remembered all of it. Now, here she was in a similar situation. She ran over to protect him, not get him killed. A flood of emotions came over her, and the death of her original teammates finally hit her. Their screams. Their pain. What they thought of her all these years. They thought she abandoned them for a better team. God, no....They were family. She could never leave them on purpose.

"You didn't..." He set his hand on her cheek and smirked his signature smirk where he lifted one side of his lips. Some of his yellowing teeth showed, but all Alaura could picture was when he looked like when he was younger. The way he would smile and it would just melt her heart. The way he would gaze at her, so lovingly and full of happiness. His dark, fading eyes locked onto her blue ones. "I've always loved you, Alaura. I'm so sorry. I wish I could've said it to you a million times over."

"Don't be sorry. Don't." Alaura cracked a small smile through the pain. She didn't want her pain to be the last thing that Kai saw. "We couldn't..." she paused and decided not to continue on with that sentence. It only brought up the horrible fact that they lost all that time together. There was nothing they could do to get it back. She sniffled and her smile wavered. "That doesn't matter now. What matters is that I love you, Kai." Alaura ran a hand down his scruffy face and kept smiling, even though tears poured out of her eyes like a river. She blinked a few times and caught the last remaining light in his eyes before he passed away.

Not a lot of people truly know how difficult it was for Alaura and Kai. Small flirting led to a fling, which in turn led to one of the best weeks of their lives... Only to find out that they were assigned to the same team. Over the years, their attraction grew stronger with every moment they shared. Love bloomed. She loved him and he loved her just as much, if not more.

Alaura set Kai down on the sand gently. She shakily grabbed his dog tags and clutched them in her hand. Her heart shattered and her sobs grew louder with each short breath. Her lungs couldn't take in more air; for a second, she truly felt like she was drowning in her sorrows.