Decipher | Watty's 2017

LXVIII. Eucatastrophe

Eucatastrophe

/ˌyo͞okəˈtastrəfē/

noun

sudden and favorable resolution of events

Luke's POV

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Sometimes things would end well in our lives, but sometimes they would end in destruction and leave us questioning why we thought we could survive this cruel world. Examples of these destructive moments could be seen in various instances of our lives as we endured too much heartbreak for any one person. When these times came, the boys and I had a word or two designated for it: shitty endings.

As we walked down the empty streets of the modern world, my eyes flit between checking for enemies and watching Calum taking wary steps as he struggles to recover from his girlfriend's freak incident. Why he had chosen to come on the raid was against my logic; however, I was never one to argue with any of the boys due to our close knit dynamic.

My eyes gazed at our surroundings, holding my standard issued weapon in front of my body as I listened to my heart's steady beat, my body too used to being in combat to even react anymore. Nothing seemed to be out of place against the skyscrapers littering the city besides our bodies as we continued to stealthy navigate our way through the city. Red bricks made up most of the apartment buildings along the path as occasional shops stuck out with their lighter stylings. Our first priority was the medication and food as we stopped at the nearest store, splitting up to find the necessities as quickly as possible.

Ashton was with Calum in the medication aisle while Michael was busy looking for the food within the bread and meat aisles. Meanwhile, I was surveying the perimeter of the store, on constant guard for the troops likely to be coming our way.

Despite my previous success with raids, I was nervous. Sweat was leaking from my hands as they gripped my artillery strongly in front of myself. When I had been in a covert operation before, I had been sure that I was able to die on the foreign land, welcoming it even; however, with Melissa waiting for me back at the colony, her body probably still huddling close to the covers for warmth, I knew that I had to make it back.

My eyes continued to observe the perimeter, checking in the distance as well to be sure we wouldn't be ambushed, nothing happened though. Sensors in my mind that I had become accustomed to due to the dangerous nature of my job went off as no hostiles could be seen in the area surrounding our store, leading my mind to wander aimlessly as to where they could be.

"How are we doing in there?" I asked into my earpiece, letting go of the microphone button as soon as the words passed my lips, waiting for an answer. After a few moments, crackling could be heard on the receiver, indicating that one of the boys was answering my question.

"Calum and I are good and headed back to the van to get everything loaded," Ashton's enthusiastic voice spoke before it was followed by Michael's.

"I have everything loaded so you can come on back Luke," he explained before cutting his line. Looking around one last time, my eyes caught sight of one lone person wandering the street, looking confused and dazed.

Hesitantly, I pulled my gun up, looking through the scope for a better view. My eyes widened as I saw Michael's figure within the lens, confusing myself further as I saw his hair color was not the same blonde it was only a day before. I racked my mind for options as I stood frozen for a few moments, knowing that if I pulled the trigger it would give away we knew who he was and our location. Not to mention, even if I did hit him, it would only ricochet off of him, not killing or injuring him in the slightest.