"𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭." | Ships Oneshot Book

his last words

Tord lay in a hospital bed, bleeding out from the fatal wounds of his last war. Everyone had spoken to him except Neros, his oldest child and only son. NIKS came out of the room, sadness sprawled on her face. She turned to her son, who was taller than her. "He'd like to speak with you."

Neros took a deep breath before pushing the door open, and entering the room. He looked down at his father, who lay before him on a hospital bed, and hooked up to several machines. Neros' expression filled with concern as he sat by Tord's side. Tord slowly opened his eyes, looking at the male sitting before him.

"Hey kiddo. Why so down?" He wore a smile, but it was enveloped in pain. 

"Dad... Why'd this happen to you?"

"I had to. The soldier I saved was important, and if we lost him, our positioning would have been thrown off, and-"

"I don't want to hear about that! Why'd you have to sacrifice yourself like that? For all we know, that soldier could've been replaced, but not you! We need you, Dad!"

Tord sighed and put his hand on Neros', pity coating his features. "I don't know why I did it, if I'm being honest. For a second, just a second I thought, 'This man's life is more important than my own.'"

Neros didn't feel any better. Silence took over, the only sounds a slight whirring from the machinery and the beeping of Tord's heart monitor. 

"Look, I know that life is going to be hard. It's never easy, and sometimes you might feel like you're stuck in a rut you're never going to get out of. Because of this, I might never be able to lead again. This injury is too serious to ignore, and I won't be able to be Red Leader anymore. That's why, my son, I'm giving this position to you."

"What? Dad, I can't! I can't take your place! What if I don't-"

"Hey, don't say you can't. Imagine how I felt when I first became Red Leader. I had no idea what I was doing. There was no one to teach me, no one to guide me, and all of my soldiers relied on me to make all of the decisions. That's why I had to learn. I took my time, and eventually, I realized how great of a leader I was. There's going to be ups and downs, and sometimes sideways, but you'll always find a way to get your feet back on the ground."

The heart monitors' beeps started to separate slowly by the millisecond.

"It takes time to learn how to be a leader, and believe me, I learned a lot out of it. Alright, I don't want to stress you out anymore with this, so I'll change the subject."

"But, who's going to guide me?"

"Did you forget about your mother? She's Red Queen, for Pete's sake, she led alongside me! I'm sure she'll be plenty helpful to you."

"Right, haha. I've got Mom, and Tahlia. They're all here to help me."

"Neros, now I want you to listen. I know it might not look like it, but I am very proud of you. You're my only son, and ever since you came into my life, you've brought me nothing but happiness. I know you'll make a great leader, and my only regret is not being there to see it. Just remember that I'm always by your side, no matter what. As your father, I take no shame in saying that I really do love you."

Neros felt tears prick the corners of his eyes as his lips started to tremble, his hand shaking under Tord's. The beeps grew even slower, now at a noticeable pace. Neros shook his head lightly. "No... Dad please, don't leave!"

"We all gotta go someday, and it's my turn. Just know that I meant every word I said to you, and that I'm truly proud of who you've become."

"Dad..!"

"Take care of your mother for me, will you?"

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Neros' eyes widened as Tord closed his eyes, and his chest stopped moving. He cried as his body went limp.

"No no, no no no, no no..! Dad! Dad, answer me, please! DAD!"

The opened and a nurse stepped inside. Neros' attention went to them, tears coating his cheeks.

"I'm sorry sir, but visiting hours are over. Please leave the room, we have to make the room available for other patients."

"No, I-I won't! I don't wanna leave-!"

"Sir, please, you need to leave."

"No! I can't leave him behind! I can't..." Neros finally broke down into sobs as his attempts failed, hanging his head and letting his bangs cover his face. The nurse grabbed his hand and removed Tord's from it, placing his cold hand on his chest. The nurse then escorted Neros out of the room, where NIKS rushed to his side as he cried, enveloping him in a hug. Neros cried into her shoulder, hugging back tightly.

"Don't worry, baby. It's going to be fine. Everything's going to be fine..." NIKS tried to reassure him as her voice became shaky, her vision blurring. Tahlia joined the hug, embracing her brother from the other side. Tom and Lindzay, who were sitting next to each other, held hands and exchanged sad looks. They all soon walked out of the hospital, going back home to prepare for Tord's funeral.

There was no zombie apocalypse to bring him back this time.

05/11/2031