Hero // Klance

Ch. 11 - The Storm

The forest was shaking. Lance gripped the barrel of the full blown machine gun Chip had given him- the need for subtlety was gone. This was a war.

Tree trunks had been dragged across the field as cover, and Coalition members crouched behind them, weapons cocked and loaded.

For some reason, all Lance could think of was the essay he never wrote, for a college application he never submitted. That felt like years ago. It couldn't have just been days.

Lance caught his first glimpse of the soldiers through the trees. They were still several hundred yards away, the forest just sucked.

They were clad in black and purple, with masks covering their faces. Absolute unison created a stark contrast between them and the Coalition members, a ragtag volunteer army in civilian clothing.

The first gunshots were fired in time with Lance's quickening heartbeat. Then, the other side began firing back, and it sounded like the world's loudest and most deadly bubble wrap party.

It's started.

It wasn't like action movies. Nothing was slow or dramatic. Everyone was moving fast and out of sync, shoot, reload, shoot, reload, duck and cover, stumble and you're dead. The barrage had slowed down the soldiers, but they were still gaining ground, slowly but surely, over the bodies of their fallen team.

Suddenly something soared overhead and there was a crash, boom and a fiery light behind Lance. It was so different and new that he barely realized it was bad. In a flood of information he realized that the wall they had been arranged in front of had been turned to rubble, a new shape was emerging from the trees and it was responsible for that fact.

"Fall back!" Shiro's voice. He obeyed, somehow ending up behind a tree with Keith. That meant something. Guilt, anger, something else- the emotions all came back with harsh reality.

"I'm sorry for earlier," he told him between shots, popping back up to take a shot.

"All in the past," Keith replied. He'd tied the top of his hair back to keep it out of his eyes.

Why did he notice that?

Another explosion shook the foundation, and suddenly Shiro was with them.

"Someone needs to take out that tank."

"I can get back there but I don't have any explosives," Lance responded quickly. It was true- he didn't even notice that he had noticed a path behind enemy lines. Shiro followed his line of sight and nodded, handing him a few small charges.

"Make them count."

Lance nodded.

"Wait-" Keith said before he could leave, and pressed his face to Lance's. The kiss was passionate and powerful, with a touch of fear.

When they pulled apart, Keith's eyes were the same.

"In case I don't get the chance again."

Lance gathered his thoughts- no time to lose himself now. He allowed himself a soft smile before sprinting to the nearest covered spot.

Shiro had underestimated Lance before. That kid was really something. Apparently Keith saw that better than he did. He smirked as the newest member made his way bravely closer, hoping he wasn't overestimating him now.

He squeezed Keith's arm affectionately before retaking his position alongside Adam and another longtime Coalition member, Curtis.

They went through the motions. Absentmindedly, Shiro wondered why the hell he still did this.

Then there was another bomb soaring through the sky- right in his direction.

"Move!" He shouted, but they were too slow. He felt the heat and his Fiancé's full weight hitting him head on. The explosion knocked them both down, but Adam's body was too limp, there was too much blood. There's no way that this was happening. It couldn't. He should get up.

But what for? He could just lay here until the darkness overtook him and everyone would think he died in the explosion.

No more nightmares and no more stress. No more staring and no more damn metal arm.

"Commander!" Curtis was shaking him.

"Commander, please get up. We need you." The shaking stopped, but he could still feel him there.

Damn it all. Curtis was right. He couldn't abandon everything now.

He opened his eyes groggily.

"Thank God you're alright." His smile affected his whole face, squinching his eyes and puffing up his cheeks.

Shiro offered a small, tired grin in return.

"Do I look like the kind of guy who dies?"

Keith's anxiety peaked when the tank exploded. The Coalition members cheered, but he just gripped his gun tighter.

It was a small victory. The enemy lines were still inching closer with every passing moment, and the Coalition would never be able to keep this up.

There was something else making its way through the trees now, and it looked like it belonged in a sick parade. The float-like thing was bordered with snipers and bodyguards, with two figures on top shouting orders. They must have been in charge, but there was no way to reach them from here.

The Coalition needed something big, and they needed it now.

Lance waited in the safer part of the woods, firing at soldiers who still thought they were safe. It didn't look good from there, either. There were too many of them.

He should let Keith and Shiro know that he was okay. As he made his way back, he heard voices in the woods.

Crap. Civilians. Change of plans- they couldn't get caught up in this. He followed the sound of the chatter, but stopped short when he saw the source.

It was a crowd of people who were definitely not civilians. They carried weapons and wore camouflage and protective gear. And they were being led by a familiar face, one Lance hadn't seen in a long time, one that looked just as slightest surprised to see him as he was to see her.

"Veronica?!"

971 words. (The chapters are getting shorter bc I'm bad at writing fighty stuff)