All of You

Over

Chris and I went back up to the submarine tunnels. Suddenly, the place trembled and jets of waters started flooding the tunnels. The BOW was lurking outside, waiting for us. It smashed into the glass, its hand reaching in and almost grabbed Chris. Chris did a quick shot, allowing us to crouch below and run ahead. The BOW tried multiple times to catch us before we reached a chamber. The doors closed down on the BOW as it let out a deafening scream. The BOW lost its lower half of the body. Then, it hardened into a cocoon. Chris and I hurried to the panels. Chris punched in a few buttons, enabling the air to depressurise for the walkway to the escape pods. The systems blared that it would take at least 5 minutes. Just then, the cocoon began to crumble down.

"Shit!" I cursed, immediately backing away from it.

"Piers, I need you to take cover. I'm going to kill this thing once and for all."

"But Captain-"

"I've got grenade rounds. Now go!" Chris shouted, aiming his grenade launcher at the BOW.

I ran back behind one of the huge crates and hid. I could hear Chris fighting against the BOW, and I knew I had to help him. I took a look at Amara and her peaceful face. She told me to keep fighting and that's exactly what I would do. I spotted a ladder at the corner of the chamber and rushed up. I laid Amara down before taking a look below. The entire chamber was filled with water up to knee level. I noticed a few exposed cables at the other end of the chamber. That gave me an idea to kill the BOW. I rejoined Chris back on the floor with my sniper rifle.

"What are you doing here?"

"Helping you. I know how to kill this thing!"

The BOW attacked us both, but we jumped to the side. I relayed my plan to Chris while we ran away from it. Chris nodded, and both of us went our separate ways. We needed to corner the BOW near the exposed cables, so Chris led it there. It took a while for the BOW to follow Chris, but once it reached right where we wanted it, I yelled at Chris to get out of the water. Chris quickly shot a grenade round at it before turning back and climbing up the ladder. I aimed my sniper rifle at the cables, but before I could take the shot, I felt my leg being wrapped then pulled harshly.

"Piers! No!"

The BOW had me upside down as it let out another shriek. I tried to struggle against its grasp, but I couldn't get out of it. Chris shot at its face, but it still hadn't let go of me. Instead, it flung me to the opposite end and I crashed into one of the crates. I spat out blood, and my vision was blurry. Just then, I saw something else being hurled at me. I rolled to the side just in time before it could hit me. One second late and my right arm could have been taken off. Chris immediately distracted the BOW so that I could get away from it. The BOW ignored Chris and continued attacking me. I dodged all of its attacks, but just barely. My luck was running out soon, and we needed to end it before the airlock opens. We couldn't let it see the light of the day.

1 minute remaining.

Shit, we were running out of time. I could see Chris on top of one of the crates, his sight locked on the BOW. I ran as quickly as I could to escape from the BOW and led it to the exposed cables. The BOW was extremely fast, and it grabbed me again. I shot at the BOW but realised I was already out of bullets. There was no time left. I yelled at Chris to take the shot.

"Are you crazy?! You'll die too!"

"Just do it, Captain!"

"No!" Chris exclaimed hesitantly, but his focus had shifted to the exposed cables. He knew he had to do it.

"I'm doing this for the BSAA! For the world... for Amara!"

Chris still hadn't taken the shot. The BOW held me high up in the air, ready to snap me into half. I heard the sound of Chris' grenade launcher and the cables fell into the water, electrocuting the BOW. I was lucky to fall out of its grasp before the electric currents reached me. I was even luckier to fall on top one of the crates and not into the water. The BOW shrieked a deafening cry before collapsing in the electrified water.

"Piers! Piers!" Chris yelled worriedly.

I groggily got up and gave Chris a thumbs-up. I coughed out more blood.

"Oh God, Piers. Are you okay?"

"I've been better," I muttered, wiping the blood away. The alarms blared and the airlock opened. "I'm going to get Amara and then we'll leave," I said, now facing Chris. "We can use the debris as platforms to get out of here."

"Okay, be careful."

I hopped to the crate where Amara was. I picked her up carefully, but I couldn't stop my tears from falling. Every time I looked at her, I couldn't help but feel guilty. I cradled her closer to me as I carefully stepped down the ladder and made my way across the debris. Chris was already at the door. He went out first and cleared the path to the escape pods. Chris pressed the button to one of the escape pods and ushered me in. I placed her down inside just as Chris entered. Before the escape pods could close, the whole facility shook vigorously, and the BOW was crawling towards us. I looked at Chris, but he shook his head sadly, showing his empty magazine. It was going to kill us and the whole world, and there was nothing we could do about it.

"Get down!"

A grenade was hurled at the BOW. The force was so strong that once our pod door closed, our pod was shot right out. The facility exploded, crumbling into the depths below. Chris and I exchanged looks before turning around.

"Surprise, boys. I'm back from the dead," Amara panted, leaning against the pod wall.

I immediately hugged her tight, and she did the same. She tapped me on the back and I let go of her. She was weak so I still held her to keep her steady. There were so many things I needed to ask her, but nothing came to my mind. Instead, I pressed my lips onto hers. We only parted when I heard Chris clear his throat.

"H-how?" I finally asked.

"That syringe Ada had with her contained Jake's blood in the C-Virus. That killed the A-Virus in me. The rest... Let's just leave it at that for now," she spoke, leaning into me. I sat her down as she still held onto my arms.

The pod finally reached the surface and the door opened. The warm sunlight entered our pod. Chris stepped near the door, looking out into the calm sea. Amara had leaned her head into my chest as she stared up at me.

"Piers... I need..."

"Amara? What is it?" I asked, starting to panic.

"A good ol' juicy rib-eye steak."

I stared at her in shock as she gave me a lopsided grin. Chris had turned around and laughed.

"I don't know about you, Captain, but that steak Piers had at the bar looked pretty damn good," she continued, laughing along with Chris.

"...I agree," Chris replied sheepishly, a wide smile on his face.

"Jesus," I finally said, chuckling. "Alright, I'll treat you to steak once you're all good."

"Me and Cap?"

Chris shook his head. "No, it's alright. You two go right ahead," he said, turning towards me with the same big grin.

"Like a date?" Amara asked, and I looked away from both of them.

My cheeks felt hot, and I was damn sure it was obvious. I mumbled, "You should be resting."

She laughed again, nuzzling closer to me. We then heard helicopter rotors right above us. We were finally going home.