The Eyes of Fate (Currently in Rewrite)

Prologue

It was raining. Not a torrential downpour like was common in this part of the world, but a nice, steady rain. It was because of the rain that only four of the six people in the rain were standing. The fifth was laying on the muddy ground, and the sixth was on his knees in front of him. 

A fraction of a second. That's how much quicker Argus noticed the sniper than the rest of the team. A sniper that had somehow missed the word that all of the people inside the compound he was supposed to be guarding, including the ones signing his paychecks, were all dead. The entire team had good instincts, but none of them were even close to what Argus could do. His sensory skills and his reaction time were almost unmatched. Noticing things was his job after all, as the team's observer. In that fraction of a second, Argus noticed the where the sniper was aiming. He knew he couldn't have shot at the sniper himself even if he had still had ammo. So, he did the only thing he could think of.

He dove right where the sniper was aiming, right as the trigger was pulled.

Argus hadn't even hit the ground before the enemy sniper was dead by his team's own sharpshooter. He knew as soon as the bullet hit him that he didn't have much time, and the rest of the team figured it out fast once they saw him. The bullet had entered the center of his chest and fragmented when it hit his sternum, just like it was designed to do. There were a few holes in his back where it had exited, but most of the pieces were still inside him. As soon as two of his teammates, the ones he affectionately called his "older brothers" saw him, one had hit his knees. The other had made his face a mask, still scanning the surrounding area for any more enemies that may have been attracted by the sounds of gunfire.

"Argus, why?" was all his teammate could ask. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks, not that he had even noticed. He knew that Argus had just taken a bullet for him.

"Couldn't do anything else." Argus said, his two main eyes locked onto his brothers tearful and glowing ones. He tried to chuckle and wound of coughing instead, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. "I didn't see him fast enough to warn you, so I did the only thing I could. I'm the observer, so I'm supposed to be watching out for all of you. If I'd seen him and just let him fire, I wouldn't be very good at my job."

The others all managed to chuckle a little at the inside joke, and Argus looked around at them. The girls, like his blood brother, were crying openly, their hands covering their mouths to hold back any sobs since they were still on mission. The captain looked angry, but even he was crying, which Argus had never actually seen him do before. His other brother was still scanning the trees, his scope to his eye like he was trying to hide the tears running down his cheeks.

Argus coughed, and when he pulled his hand away he could see that it was covered in red. The captain knelt down and scooped him up like he weighed nothing, and took off walking without a word.

"I'm glad I at least managed to make myself useful at the end." Argus was starting to feel sleepy, finding it harder to keep his eyes open.

"You've always been useful, Argus," The captain spoke softly as he walked towards the clearing where their ride out was supposed to be waiting. "From the moment we brought you onboard, you've been irreplaceable. So I'm going to get you to the plane, and then we're going to get you patched up."

"Don't lie to me, Captain." Argus' voice was a whisper. "Not now."

"Fine." That one word was flat, completely devoid of any emotion. The voice of somebody that had done this too many times before. "Do you have any last requests?"

"Tell the others I love them." The captain stopped walking, instead looking down at him, and Argus realized that he wasn't actually speaking. His mouth was moving, but actually making the noises felt like too much effort. "I love all of you, so much."

"We love you too, Argus." The captain's voice was far away, like he down a tunnel, and Argus couldn't see him anymore. He felt light, like he'd fly away if the captain stopped holding him.

"Thank you, for loving me."

The captain saw the light die in Argus' eyes, all of them. He felt his youngest teammate go limp, how his body suddenly felt wrong. He bit back a sob, instead staying silent as he began walking again. There would be time for noise, for venting all of his emotions as loudly as he wanted, later. For now, he needed to stay strong, for his team. They would need him.

The others caught up to him just as he reached the plane, and he heard at least one of them sob as they saw Argus and realized he was gone. They slowly loaded up, supporting each other all the way to their seats. The captain laid Argus down in a body bag prepared for just such an occasion and put him on the end opposite the rest of them.

The pilot started up the plane, and the captain felt them rising as the cargo bay was filled with the sounds of grief. Through it all, the captain stayed strong and silent, letting his teammates, his family, use him as support. He was a rock in their storm, exactly what they needed.

It was a long trip home.