1 × Unearth × Avengers

23 × Codes

Third Person POV

Blood was the first indication before the sound of the gunshot resonated throughout the forest. Daya was splattered with it. The man was shot clean through his chest. And there was no coming back from it.

It all seemed to be in slow motion. His descend down to the forest floor looked like it was in a millisecond time frame. His back made impact first with the ground, then his head followed in sync. His eyes were glued to Daya's as he realized the inevitability. She didn't know what to do, what to say. What do you say to one in their final moments?

"I-I-I..." She floundered for words as the man gagged on his own blood. "I- I'm so sorry." The words fell out.

The man coughed and gave a small nod. One last breath hitched with a gag rising in his chest. Then he was gone.

Daya was frozen. She looked at him in disbelief. She was too distracted to even think about her own safety. As if it were a cruel joke, or a sickening game, she then tried one last time to wake him up. One last touch to prove her mind wrong. And that he was no longer living.

Her eyes swelled with tears at the cruel reality. She wept as the others called out in the distance for her. They didn't have a clue as to what she was crying about through the comm, but they only imagined it as a worst case scenario and raced to find her.

While Daya was slowly recovering from her shock ridden state and tears, she couldn't have possibly seen the shooter hiding in the treetops 200 yards away.

"Target in sight. Permission to take sedative shot?" The man requested over his comm while loading up the new and special ammo.

"No. We did not account for the Avengers to get involved. Pull back, and stay hidden. This mission is not canceled. It is just delayed." Another man ordered back.

"Understood." The shooter said before taking his line of sight off Daya.

He proceeded to disassemble the weapon and store it carefully in a protective case. When he was finished, he saddled up and threw it over his shoulder with strategic ease.

Down below however, Daya was found by the others. Since Clint was already near her, he got to her first, and then the others followed suit. The scene of it was... unsettling.

Clint bent down on one knee as he cautiously approached her from behind.

"Are you alright?" He asked while he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She didn't quite respond to him, besides making a small nod and sniffle. Clint waved over the others and Jake rushed out between them to get to her. Clint then moved out of Jake's way and backed up a bit.

"Daya?" Jake breathed.

She suddenly jumped at the sound of his calm voice as if it were a whisper from a ghost. She quickly wiped her bloody hands on her shirt and jeans to clean some of the substance off her skin, then tried to do the same with the damp tears streaking her face.

"Uh huh..." She replied in a brittle voice as she continued to sniffle and hide her emotions by wiping away more tears.

Jake sighed at the sight of her like this. He already knows that she does not "like" when people see her sad or crying. It makes her feel weak.

"Let's get out of here." He said as he got up and expected her to do the same.

She gave another small nod and one last wipe to her sniffling nose, then turned around to face the others. They looked shocked. The awkward type of shock.