Flame, The Emblems Series (Book One)

Chapter Seven

Flashback

I looked at Zack as he stood facing the horizon, the outside of the base as he stood on the rooftop. This is the only way we could see it, at night, the time when everyone else is asleep. "Are you okay?" I asked him causing him to turn around and look at me. In the dim light I saw a tear roll down his cheek. He reached out to me and I moved quickly slipping into his open arms and placing my head against his chest listening, just listening. His heart beat a steady beat.

One beat.

Two beat.

Three beat.

I closed my eyes as I listened to the steady pace of the beats. "Is this what we are?" he asked me softly, I knew better than to answer. No. Don't answer. "Is this what we will do for the rest of our lives? Can't we be something better, be someone else, I want to give you the world..."

"You are my world," I said softly as I looked up at him seeing the shock registering in his eyes as he looked at me. I wanted him to know. Yes. I knew that I could never live without him, he is my everything, every heartbeat belongs to him and him alone, He's all I will ever want. "You have given the world, you've given me you."

His hands moved up to my cheeks with his thumbs gently stroking my cheek bones before he leaned forward and kissed me gently.

Present

Zack Johnson

She's dead.

She's been dead for ten minutes now.

Ten long minutes.

I sat in the hospital chair, watching, just watching as the monitor was removed from her body as they tried and failed miserably to recover her as the flat line tone was sounded. The sound still remains in my mind along with the pain in my chest, it hurts more than being shot. I sat watching as they covered her body with a white sheet slowly, too slowly.

How can she leave me alone? How can she leave me to lead the team alone? Where do I start? She knew everything. She always had a plan. Always. No matter what, she always had a plan. I was supposed to start a life with her, she was supposed to be here, she was supposed to hear the words, 'Baby, we're safe.' She was the one I wanted to say that to, to her, no one else. To her. Just to her.

I just stared, stared at her body on the bed as the nurses moved out of the room. I told the rest of the team they weren't allowed to see her, reason being, I don't trust them anymore. I don't trust any of them, not after what Avery did, not after they tried to make me leave her behind, she's all I want, she's all I need. 

I stood up and moved to her body, pulling down the sheet away from her face. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I glared at her pale face. It's been two weeks, two weeks since the mission. Two weeks since I fucking lost her. 

A knock on the door made me look away from her covering back her face and quickly drying my face before Bella stuck her head into the room, her eyes moved from me to the bed where Flame laid, where my Flame laid head. "Zack," tears came to her eyes as she moved quickly to me wrapping her arms around me.

I just stood there, not holding her as she cried into my chest. I wanted her to let me go. We may have the same blood flowing through our veins, but like the others she was nothing to me. I pushed her away as the others started filing into the room.

"Get out," I said as I kept me eyes on Flame. 

"Zack she's..." Avery started but stopped when I turned to look at him.

"She loved you like a brother," I stated, "That's the only reason you're still alive for now and if she survived, I would've never allowed you to be around her again."

"He made a mistake Zack!" Jake yelled at me.

"LOOK AT HER!" I yelled pointing at her lifeless body, "THIS IS THE RESULT OF HIS MISTAKE! SHE'S DEAD! SHE'S FUCKING DEAD!"

"Zack..." Every moved towards me.

"No," I shook my head, "If he'd just listen to her then she'd be alive." I felt the pain of losing her more now. If he didn't make the mistake then maybe I wouldn't have to bury my best friend, my love. I wouldn't have to bury her. I looked towards Avery feeling all the emotions building up, how could he do this to her? I felt the anger building up with every passing second of silence. I wanted to kill him.

I moved quickly punching him causing him to fly through the walls of the building and out to the car park. "Zack!" Bella screamed as she tried to pull me back from hurting him. I pushed her back and caused her to collide with the wall behind me. I'll kill him. He hurt her.

I pushed the others out of my way as I advanced. I wanted to kill him. He's the reason for her being dead. He took my heart away from me. He took everything from me. I could hear the shouting of nurses as I jumped down from the second story of the hospital into the parking lot in the crevice Avery's body left.

"This solves nothing Mills," Avery said as he dislodged himself from the vehicle and stood to face me. His cuts were healing fast, faster than Flame's were allowed to before he battered her. The flashback of her body standing as the sound of bullets riddling her body was all I could remember and it was all because of him. It was all because of him.

"This..." I snarled as I moved towards him ignoring the screams of Every, "Is because of you!" I yelled feeling the anger surge throughout my body as I advanced towards Avery before someone stopped in front of me facing Avery, causing me to stop in my path and stare in shock unsure of how to feel.

"Nyx?" I felt all the air rush out of my lungs as I dropped to my knees. Her long beautiful hair swayed slowly as she turned around to face Avery as she stood in a protective stance, a stance I came to know during our training sessions. I could see her hands clenched tightly as her words became one with the silence as I felt my heart beginning to beat again as she slowly turned to face me allowing one of her rare smiles to appear on her face, I couldn't stand it as she moved towards me, her feet soundless on the paved road.

I kept my eyes on her as she reached towards me and gently touched my cheek, it didn't even matter that her hands were rough against my skin, all that mattered was that she was here, she was here with me. She held my head and dropped to her knees, her thumbs stroking my cheekbone as she looked up at me. I didn't even try to stop the tears which were flowing down my cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" her beautiful voice said as her eyes roamed over my face.

Instead of answering, I just grabbed her and held her for minutes which seemed too short. I wanted it to last forever but she gently pulled away and instead of getting up she crushed her lips to mine kissing me roughly as if she lost me, when in fact I was the one who lost her.

Her hands moved through my hair pulling roughly as her lips matched. I gently pulled away biting down on her bottom lip as I did so before pressing my forehead against hers gently resting my had on her cheek. "We're safe baby," I whispered as I listened to the sigh of relief escaping from her lips, "We're safe."