ARIS

The Light

I gasped as I was pulled from the floor and roughly set back on my feet. Well...foot. Shooting pains from the prosthetic shot up my leg, and spread through my stomach. I cried out as I tried to take the pressure off the leg, and on to my good one, but was I was forced to start moving. I winced every time I let that foot touch the ground. My vision grew dark around the edges and a cold clammy sweat broke out on my already cold skin. The pain from my broken lip radiated through my entire body, vibrating almost as I walked.

"Please, it hurts!" I gasped out, pleading with the guard next to me.

His eyes flashed with sympathy before they clouded over again, "Shut up." His voice was weaker than the others. I could sense his empathy. I stared into his eyes for a moment, before he frowned and looked away.

One of the guards behind me pushed me roughly, but the kind guard next to me grabbed my arm before I could fall again. I shot him a thankful stare, and he looked away again releasing my arm with a haste I had not seen before.

We were entering the main pentagon, the lounge pod, training room, the mess hall, kitchens, and infirmary were all slowly coming into view. I shut my eyes, picturing the unrest that would follow me as I walked through the busiest hub on the entire station. I could already hear the buzz of voices, the insect-like chatter that used to bring me joy sent chills through my body.

I slowed my pace, not wanting to cross the threshold into the pentagon. My breathing slowed, and my throat started to get thick. I tried to force air into my lungs but they seemed to be closing too. I grabbed my chest, pain exploding across my skull, and penetrating my retinas. I choked out as I tried again to breathe. I felt tears prick my aching eyes. I wanted to beg to go back, to find another way. But, there was no other way.

"Holy feth prisoner!" One of the guards said as I stopped, again.

I dug my heel into the ground and clenched my fist, I just needed a second to catch my breath, and breathe. I opened my mouth to explain but I was grabbed around the top of each arm by the guards flanking my sides, and the all but lifted me from the ground and began walking again. They half pulled half dragged me across the threshold of the pentagon.

"Please!" I whimpered, my lip trembling.

They said nothing.

The voices around erupted as I was brought into view. I squeezed my eyes closed for a second, not ready to look. But, when I opened them I noticed the voices were growing quieter. Men and women everywhere stared, some with daggers coming from their eyes, and some fists raised in respect with true emotion on their brilliant blue faces. My heart skipped a beat as I was dragged through, one woman, in particular, catching my eye.

She wore a black armband over top of her blue work jumpsuit, her blonde hair dull and her eyes dead. She held a feeble arm over her head, pride oozing from her stance. Her lips quivered, but her brow did not falter. She did not move a muscle, she did not break eye contact. She was all I needed to stand a little taller. She was all I needed to know that I was not alone. I nodded at her, trying to tell her everything I was feeling in the few seconds we held eye contact. I tried to look at her for a few more seconds over my shoulder after I had passed but she was lost in the crowd.

"Down with the council!" A man yelled from behind me, and my heart soared.

Two of my guards retreated back to find the source of the cheer, and I smiled. It was working, it was truly working.

I glanced left and then right, "Down with the council!" My voice carried over the insects as they buzzed back and forth.

A chorus of people cheering erupted, many people shouting with me, many against but I didn't care. It was working. A smile had etched itself onto my face. I felt unstoppable. Everything all seemed worth it.

The hallway just past the pentagon was cold and dim. But, in my new elation, I did not care. Minutes ago that would have broken my already crushed spirit, but now it was just a side effect of the council's disease. I stared out the porthole windows, trying to catch glimpses of the stars around us. Their brilliant hues of red, white and blue yelling at me to not be afraid. It was Aris out there, I could hear his voice.

"You got this boss, I'll be seeing you soon!" He was saying to me. His voice was so close, so real.

"I'm coming," I replied back to him, knowing the time was soon.

Minutes later we approached the airlock, the space around the station shining through the glass doors. I could see the Milky Way in the near distance, and I knew the war was ending soon. It was only a matter of time. The closer we got, the clearer things became. Nysa stood at the doors with a few soldiers from my platoon. Those who survived at least. They all looked sombre, their eyes cast to the ground. All of them, but Nysa. He stood, shoulders strong, chin high. I smiled, not knowing of anything else to do in that moment.

When we reached them the guards let me go, my feet both back on the ground at last. I felt some weight leave my shoulders, and I knew it was alright. Nysa stepped forward, his warm hands pulling me closer to him. He leaned down, the beads that decorated his hair and beard clacking together musically. He looked at me deeply, I could see all the words he wanted to say but couldn't. He nodded at me and pulled me into a hug. I let myself enjoy the hug, breathing in deeply, letting myself embrace his warmth. It was the last warmth I would ever feel. I wanted to say so much in return but knew I couldn't. When we finally broke apart I looked at my soldiers...my soldiers.

"You came."

"We'd never miss it, boss," Saros said, her voice kind and loving.

"Never." Nash placed a firm hand on my shoulder, his heavy-browed eyes reassuring me.

"We stand with you, always," Alya said and hugged me quickly, his small arms wrapped themselves around my middle for a split second before I was cold again.

The guards informed us that it was time, and I suddenly felt so cold. Not on the outside, my skin was not cold. My soul was leaving my body, leaving me feeling empty and broken. The slow suction sounds of the opening of the inner airlock doors were a sound I had never thought I would hear in my life, but here I was, about to walk through those doors...and I was never walking back out.

I walked through, my limbs heavy, my heart heavier. They closed with a finality I had never felt in my life. There had never been anything as permanent as this. I felt bile rise in my throat as I turned to face those people back in the hallway, on the other side of this glass.

I couldn't breathe again, my own lungs betraying me in my final moments. My heart raced, it felt like it was about to erupt out of my chest. I banged on that glass with every ounce of strength I had left in my body.

"I'm not ready! I don't want to go!" I was crying. I had never cried like this before.

Nysa and the others placed a hand on the glass, their hands enveloping mine for the last time.

"Please," I sobbed. "I'm not ready."

I pounded on the glass again, and I heard them. The doors. Metal on metal, and then—