Banshee

16.Dreamstate Armageddon

It is an indescribable feeling, to have a woman lay up against you. Having your arms wrapped around her as she holds you close for warmth. But it is a feeling that I am all too familiar with... One that would never feel the same way again. Standing by their grave, I missed it more than ever...

I smiled faintly as I thought of the day that I had first met her in person. Not the kind of story I would have told anyone about...

Unless you take out the awkward beginning...

But in hindsight, I wouldn't have changed one bit about it...

When Jean became pregnant with Lucy, we got married within two weeks of finding out. It was rushed, I'll admit, but we both agreed that it was the best thing we could've done at that point...

I looked down at their grave again... She sat on the cross that I had put over the small mound...

No...

Jean stood up, looking as real and alive as she had once been. A mild flash of pain went through my chest as I stared at her.

"What's wrong, Danny?" she asked. "Aren't you happy to see me?"
I touched her hand and found a grip... pulling her closer I wrapped my arms around her
"I am always happy to see you..." I replied. "But I saw you die... how is this possible...?"
"Within you, I can never die... your heart still belongs to me." she smiled gently.

Looking at the grave again, I saw Lucy standing there now, looking at us with curious eyes... Letting go of Jean I picked up Lucy and hugged her...

"Are you going to stay with us, daddy?" she asked, looking down at the grave for a second.
"I... I can't..." I said. "Not yet... there is something I have to do first, to make sure that we can be together in peace..."

Lucy pouted at me in an exaggerated way that only toddlers know how to pull off... "But soon...?"

"Soon, princess..."

The world changed... Jean and Lucy drifted away like a vapor with me powerless to reach them. The grave, the green hills, the house... all were twisted into a blackened hellscape. Jagged rocks rose from the ground, I could feel the heat of a fire behind me.

Turning around, I saw the Banshee, crashed into the landscape, its form broken and burning from several cracks in the hull. All around the ship lay the crew... their shapes mangled beyond recognition save for a few. Ian laid among the rest of his squad, his body brutally severed at the abdomen. Valetta sat in a kneeling position, her body still smoking from dozens of impacts from alien energy rounds. Her squad was strewn around her in an equally shot through state... Dr. Milka's body appeared pristine, but upon closer inspection, I saw that his entire body was discolored, his own toxins having been forced upon him. Kayden laid crushed beneath a piece of an engine, leaving only the top half of her body visible to me. A rivulet of blood ran from the corner of her mouth

What is this...? What happened here?

I heard something drop near where the bridge had been. Lana crawled into view, her face contorted in pain and grief. She dragged herself forward by her arms, a gaping wound on her lower back told me that her legs would never work again... I tried to walk up to her but my legs felt as if they had turned to lead. She saw me and faintly smiled for a split second. We crawled over towards one another and grabbed each other's hands when the distance had been closed.

"Danny..." she started before a groan of pain left her lips...

"Sshh..." I said. "Try not to talk, I'll get you out of here..."

"No..." Lana countered. "It's over... I'm too far gone already..."

"It can't be over... we can still get out of here, I'll take care of you..."