Blessings of Anathema

Chapter LXVII: Ken XIII

My lightning reached out of my hands like a net being casted, knocking everything out of our way as me and Marz charged into the facility. The employees screamed and others rushed towards us.
"Who the hell are you!?" I heard a voice tell. I turned and saw someone swinging their hand at me. I caught his hand and looked at him. "Go to hell!" He yelled. That's when I noticed he had a gun in the hand I'm holding. He squeezed the trigger and fired it, I moved my head just in time. I then yanked up on his arm and snapped it at the elbow.
"You shouldn't have done that." I said before sending streams of electricity through his body. I set a pathway for each stream to exit at specific areas.... vital areas. He soon stopped moving so I dropped his body. "Let's keep pushing, there's no telling where exactly they have the kids hidden at." I said.
We began pushing and a loud alarm begin screaming throughout the walls. It's time for Ray and Odessa to make their move.
We reached a door I grabbed it to swing it open but it wouldn't budge. I immediately held out my hand and blasted it open. There was a long beep followed by an explosion... with Marz screams faintly hidden within. I braced myself for impact as the flames engulfed my surroundings. The pain... it never came.
I opened my eyes to Marz standing over me. He turned his backside into metal to shield us. I gritted my teeth. "What the hell are you doing!?" I said. "Protecting you." He replied. "I don't need your protecting. I'm the meat shield, I'm the sac-" I got cut off by the loud impact at Marz back side. He's being shot.
I thrusted my hands on the ground and released a wave of lightning through it. The bullets stopped. Marz moves and ducked away from the door. I peaked out of it and into the room. It's a very large room. Probably the main room where the front desk is. There's two floors. This might take longer than expected.
My body was suddenly jerked to the side. My right shoulder had a sleeve of pain roll up. I gripped it and ducked away. I looked at my shoulder and blood was seeping through my fingers. "There's snipers." I said to Marz. "So what do we do?" He asked. "The hell do you mean?" I said.
I jumped back around the door and pointed my finger. I began firing pellets of lighting. "We kill them all." I said. Another shot rang out and barely missed me. Followed by another. 3... there's 3 snipers. I lifted my other hand. "I better be fast about this." I said.
"Let me help you." Marz said, standing up. "No!" I yelled back. "I won't let you go to waste. I will handle this." I finish with, firing pellets in multiple directions. Another bullet shot through my right side, exiting through the right side of my back.
I coughed out blood and jumped back behind the door. Damn, damn, damn... not yet, not yet.... I have to make sure he lives. I can't... not yet.
"KEN! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE, LET ME HELP YOU!" Marz yelled. "SHUT UP!" I yelled back. I came back out the door and began firing again. "What does it matter? That's all I'm here for. I'm here to die for another. That's the deepest part of my shallow life. I don't have anything to offer... anything to gain.... I don't have anything... everything has already been taken from me. It's my turn. ITS MY TURN!" I screamed.
More bottom doors opened and guards flooded the room. One guy aimed a long weapon at me with a spear on it. I froze. It's too late to move. The spear was fired and it was coming right for me. I felt my body jerk back and hit the ground heavy. Gun fire followed.
"Looks like I was just a little late." I heard Marz say. I looked up and saw him standing in the doorway, his back opened into one big shield. Blood was dripping from his mouth.... and his... ribs, where the spear pierced through.
"Marz..." I said. "You're an idiot, you know that?" Marz said. "I don't care how much you've had taken from you. I don't. Because at the end of the day, you can't say everything was taken from you. Because I'm still here. The whole group is here for you. No matter how lonely or sad you are.... you can never say... YOU HAD TO FACE IT ALONE!" He screamed as bullets hit into his backside.
I looked down. Is.... is this it? Is my friends my reason to live? Have I missed my purpose this entire time? No... no it's only recently been my purpose. It's simple, really....
When your life falls apart, your only option is to live for others.
"Marz." I said standing up. "Would you assist me in this battle? I could use your strength." I said. "Sorry, can't do." He said. Huh?? I looked at him in confusion. He chuckled. "The bottom line is, the longer we're here, the most dangerous it becomes..." he said, his arms slowly turning into rectangular individual pieces of metal shards. "Ray will be here soon. He will back me up. I'll distract them while you make it across the room. Find the kids. Let them have a reason to live." He said.
I stared at him in shock before nodding my head. He smiled. "Good luck." He said before swinging his body around, slinging shards in all directions. I sprinted across the room as fast as I can. Blood and the sparks of bullets clouded my vision. Thank you, Marz. When we get out of here.... living for others.... will it only be me? I wonder...
Is that all we've ever been doing?