Without a Whisper //Danger Days//

25. He Won't Be Living

Arriving back in the lobby, I quickly realized that my departure wasn't the best idea.

"Run outside, and find somewhere safe. I'll come get you when we finish this." Val told Maya, crouching to her level amidst the was surrounding him. Maya nodded firmly, clenching her tiny fists before bolting around the hundreds of legs towering above her.

"Even though Ms. Management is dead, this isn't over yet." Korse told us, aiming his gun at a Drac.

"What do we have to do?" Val asked through gritted teeth.

Korse simply gave him a look, and I understood that even he didn't know how to end Better Living. Missile had pounced back into the middle of the battle, keeping close to Mad Gear. The two wouldn't nearly be this powerful if they didn't have each other. I looked around for Party, but amongst the crowd of rebels, he blended in easily. His staple red hair was gone, making him fade into the crowd. I found myself zoning out trying to find him.

"Atomic!" Val shoved me to the ground, pushing me out of the way of a bullet.

"Get it together!" He scolded. I rolled onto my back, and couldn't help but smile.

"Whoops." I smirked as I began to pull myself to my feet. Val rolled his eyes, putting his hands on his hips.

"Honestly, what would you be doing without..."

He never did get to finish his sentence.

A bright red beam shot through his chest, causing his face to go white.

"Val!" I scrambled to my feet, instantly panicked. The person who had shot him was nowhere in sight. I rushed towards him, kneeling over his still body.

"Val, for fucks sake, get up!" I put my hand on his chest, trying to cover the bullet wound. Blood has begun to seep in between my fingers.  Val's piercing blue eyes remained open, and his lips parted ever so slightly, letting out a few shallow breaths.

"Val, don't do this to me. We need to get you out of here." My voice dropped far below the volume of the crowd around us, who had yet to notice the white haired man on the ground.

"Stop calling me that." He croaked, staring up at me. His eyes glinted with humour, but seemed to be fading away. I tilted my head in confusion, my cheeks growing warm. I didn't want to cry, but I knew it was coming.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my throat becoming hoarse. He let out the tiniest laugh, his lips curling into a smile.

"Val. That's not my name."

I narrowed my eyes. I never actually knew what his real name was. Mind you, I hardly knew anyone's name. I didn't know why that this, of all times, would be his chance to tell me about any part of his personal life, and I didn't want him to. I wanted him to get out alive. 

"My name is Matthew." He told me simply. I felt my hand leave his chest, not quite sure of how to react.

"Matthew," I echoed, still trying to hold back tears. Once again, he gave me the tiniest grin. No gunfire had come my way, and the chaos around me had gone quiet in my ears. All I could focus on was him. I trailed my fingers against his cheeks, forgetting the streak of red they left behind.

"You're fine. I can fix this, but you have to get up." I pleaded. He shook his head before speaking again.

"I never got to tell you that I loved you." 

I froze.

"Don't fucking do this. We're leaving."

Again, he shook his head.

"You can do this on your own. I trust you."

And that was it. That was everything he said to me. The smile fell from his face, and his pupils went dull.

"No!" I screamed, grabbing him by his shoulders.

"Please get up!" I begged, my eyes welling up.

"Atomic! You need to get back over here!"

Party was running towards me, bringing me back into the scene of battle. I was still in shock, and my body went into full auto pilot. With a loud cry of anger and sorrow, I began shooting at everything around me. Any Drac that got close to the lifeless man on the floor was killed. Party was close by, careful to keep his distance.

Val was dead. It didn't take me long to come to terms with that. He was the person I was closest to in my entire life out here. He was the only thing I had to hold on to when everything was spiralling out of control, and now he was gone, nothing but another body on the white floor. His hair was stained with his own blood as he faced the ceiling. He certainly didn't look like he was asleep.

Despite of my frantic shooting, Vaya still managed to find the courage to tap me on the shoulder.

"I know how to end this." They told me as they looked down at Val, then glanced back to me. I froze, brining my gun to my side.

"What?" I responded, my voice still shaking. The pink haired Killjoy reached into their back pocket, pulling out a white control with a small red button on it.

"There's a bomb inside this building. This entire place is the source for all of BLI's power. If you blow it up, it dies, and the city is free."

"A bomb?" I examined the control. Vaya nodded.

"A lot of people think it's just a myth, but it's been sitting there for years. Now it's ready to detonate."

'Destroya...'

"The only problem is," they continued, "it has to be done from inside  be building. The controller won't work if it's outside."

I looked back at my friends, who were all still fighting. I wanted them to make it until tomorrow.

"Get everybody out of the building. Call a retreat." I ordered, composing myself. Vaya nodded, but before grabbing her twin and beginning the evacuation, they told me one last thing.

"I'm sorry for everything we did. You were a great leader."

I bowed my head in thanks, watching as the rebel ran back into the crowd.

"Everybody out! Get out now!"

The Killjoys were confused, but they obeyed regardless. Mad Gear and Missile looked back at me, and I motioned for them to follow the crowd. Before they could protest, they were pushed away by the stream of people. Jet, Ghoul, Kobra and Party were the next to notice that I was the only one staying behind.

"Freia? What are you doing?" Party began to walk towards me, but was stopped by Vamos.

"You need to get out." They informed the raven haired man.

"What-no. What about Atomic?" He furrowed his brow.

"I'm coming!" I called out, "I just need to do one thing!"

A few Dracs and Scarecrows remained, so nobody wanted to stick around long. Party nodded, putting his faith in me as the four men left the building. Vamos and Vaya were the only two left. They each gave me a one fingered salute before joining their friends. The Scarecrows who remained had begun to advance on me. From the huge glass window, I saw Party staring at me, waiting for me to do something. I saw him yell something, but I couldn't hear him. I looked down at Val's body, and then back at my friends outside.

"This is what I've always had to do." I spoke to myself, a tear falling down my cheek. I shut my eyes tightly, feeling the controller in the palm of my hands. I took a deep breath.

I pressed the button.