Spoiler! :
Alex:
The Germans were advancing and our troops were extremely outnumbered. All I could think about was my little brother. The stupid kid signed up the same time I did. No matter how much I had tried to convince him not to, he wouldn't budge on the subject. If it's so dangerous, why did you sign up, he'd say every single time. It's not like I had a sane reason for it. I wasn't about to tell him that I liked seeing things blow up. Of course, back before we were shipped out I wasn't expecting to have human flesh sent flying through the air above my head as I dodged bullets. I didn't know what I was getting into.
Our commander ordered the retreat and I pulled him up, covering him as he ran. My heart pounded in my ears and head as I frighteningly imagined a bullet slugging through his shirt and into his skin. I blinked a few times and pushed the thought away, focusing on what was in front of us and what was behind. A grenade was thrown towards us and I swore, pushing him forward. I set myself over him and weathered the explosion. My arms accidentally had knocked his helmet off and revealed the dark brown hair I begged him to get cut. Why was he always so concerned with his looks?
“You know I can take care of myself, right?” Jason said, wanting me to get off him.
“You’re my little brother, Jay- I can’t just not protect you.” I responded.
I moved off him and pulled him up again. We ran for cover when the gunfire became heavier. I twisted around to make sure the Germans knew that we weren’t going down that easy and swore, seeing the machine gun. Time slowed and I saw the individual bullets headed towards us. The golden shells swiveled in the air as the sun glinted in its dreary reflection. I threw myself in front of my brother and time resumed. My eyes followed them as they focused in on my body. We both stopped and I braced for impact.
Jason wrapped his arms around my stomach and something clicked inside me. We will not go down like this. An inferno formed around us as I closed my eyes. Heat blistered my skin and made a winter day in Europe a summer day at the equator. Every chill in my bones simmered into nothing, melting and falling like sweat to the ground. With every moment inside I felt like I was being drained of everything within me. A worse fire hit my side and it stopped. I fell to my knees, taking Jason with.
“Holy…” I heard him trail off. “A-Alex?”
I was leaned against him, feeling like I’d run ten miles. How much time had passed?
“Wake up.”
I weakly opened my eyes and he moved to lie me on my back. His green eyes glowed with worry and set upon my side- the side on fire. He ripped my uniform jacket off and then my shirt with scarlet fingers.
“W-what happened?” I asked.
“Look around.” He flashed a smile. “One moment, I thought we were dead for sure and then this enormous fire came from nowhere, surrounding us. It melted a few of the bullets but you still caught one.”
I swallowed, going pale. The fire... I weakly moved my hand to my side and a charred hand met blood. He touched my wound with the shirt and gasped, a surge passing through me to him. The flame in my side died and I saw his face grow pale, his eyes torn. My eyes darted around, my gun out and ready, but couldn't see anything further than the four feet of ash around us. They set back on my brother as he stared blankly at the hand in front of him as the blood dripped from his fingers to the ground.
“W-what’s wrong?” I asked, trying to sit up.
I looked down at my side and found that I was fine except for bloodstained skin- no scar, no nothing. Hadn't I been the one who'd gotten shot? I looked back at him and shook my head, swearing. I hurried to throw my jacket back on before unbuttoning his.
“I-I don’t know what happened.” He said dryly, in shock. "I-I just wanted to help you and it-"
"Shh, just stay still. We'll worry about what miracle you performed later."
I unbuttoned his shirt and pressed mine against the wound that he’d accidentally taken for me, his blood discoloring the old tan cloth.
"Christ, couldn't you have listened to me?" I asked. "Why'd you have to come the hell with me, huh?"
I set a hand on the side of his neck and looked around, not giving him a chance to answer. What happened? If it was a bomb, we would be dead, right?Everything was charred and smoking, ash raining like snow. Something deep inside told me that I’d caused it all. Is that possible? Is it possible for me to have caused such a thing? If it was, couldn't I have protected my platoon?
“A-Alex, shouldn’t we get out of here?” Jason shivered, snatching me from my unanswerable thoughts.
I ripped the sleeve off my shirt and used it to tie the rest of it against his wound. He winced, drawing his lips back in a grimace, and I tightened his coat around his body, buttoning it for him. I buttoned mine and stood, adrenaline from the need to get him help overtaking my fatigue.
“W-where are we anyway?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied, keeping him close.
I had him lean against me as we walked, him slowly losing strength. It took us thirty minutes to get here; it should take us thirty more to get back. All I have to do is count steps.
“T-the camp w-wasn’t f-far, right?” He asked.
“No it wasn't.” I replied.
We stopped and I took out my compass. I set us in the right direction and started counting steps like I thought to. One, two, three, four... The sun was nowhere to be found, black clouds covering the sky. We better get back quick. Who knows how long he'll last in a blizzard.
He leaned deeper into me once we hit halfway and I started to worry. Snow had started to flurry and he was shivering more violently than he should have been.
“How you doing?” I asked.
“It’s cold.” He replied.
The ashes turned to a snow storm and the ground below us was no longer burnt. There was rustling in the brush around us and I made sure my gun was at hand, wondering how in the world I could protect him like this. How will I see the enemy?
“Your side, how’s it feeling?” I asked, glancing at him.
He was paler and his lips were blood red, his eyes hallowing in with bags around the rims.
“I-It hurts.” He said, looking at me.
“You’re gonna be okay,” I told him. “We’re almost there.”
He swallowed and looked down. Fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine... His legs went weak and I had us stop again. His eyes were drooping and his skin was a transparent white.
“I’ll carry you, alright?” I strapped my gun over my shoulder and scooped him up.
“Alex, it’s cold.” He said again.
“I know, just hang on.” I said. “It’s a little bit further.”
I was getting weaker and weaker too. I kept wondering what the hell had happened to us and how we were able to do everything we did. I must have done it. I mean, what I felt afterwards... It had to have been me.
We approached the camp as the snow began to blind me and soldiers swept us away. The medics took Jason and looked me over real quick. I dipped my hands in some of the lukewarm water they had in their tent and brought it up to revive feeling in my face. Flashing a smile, I turned to the exit, using a thin cloth to wipe the moisture away. I slipped a new shirt on and sat down, running a hand through my damp blonde hair. If it wasn't me, it was God. I remembered the snapping I'd felt in my stomach when the fire first started and my fingers tingled. Looking down at them, I caught sight of a man in a suit with slicked back hair waltzing his way towards me.
“The name’s Callaway,” He showed me a weird badge. “I’d like to speak with you about what happened earlier.”
What's a government agent doing here? How does he know about the...incident?
“I'd rather not talk about it." I said.
He studied me, his auburn eyes being those of someone who knew too much. A fire had started in his pupil and I made out the two figures in the middle as my brother and I. Draining of color, I watched as I stood in a crucifix position with Jason bewildered behind me.
“You and your brother will need to come with me,” He sighed. “You two are going to be a part of an extraordinary organization. Your skills will finally be recognized.”
I just stared at him as he walked away to go talk with my staff sergeant, astounded by what I'd seen by peeking into those looking glasses of his while his words began to process.
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