~In the Arms of an Angel~
I stand in a field of pure, white nothingness. It seems to go on forever, no limit in sight. My skin, adorned with loose white clothing, is the only contrast to the harsh light.
Suddenly, a soft aroma of rosemary and mint seeps into my senses. It is… a familiar smell… a smell that takes me back to peaceful and calm times.
It reminds me… of her…
Slowly, a field of rolling wheat fades into view out of the sea of white nothingness. A light blue sky towers above me. I don't even notice the oddness of all of this. No… I am too enthralled by that towering blue sky.
It is a sweet sight; a sight that has been kept from my eyes for far too long. It is… so beautiful.
A cool breeze cascades across the plain, making the field of wheat dance along to its rhythmic current. It envelopes me within its kind touch and intensifies the scent of rosemary.
A memory suddenly pushes its way to the forefront of my thoughts, and, I… I see… a face… yes; it is her face.
I close my eyes, forgetting the beautiful blue sky, and trade it for a much more captivating sight. She is smiling, and her eyes are looking deeply into my own.
Her long, black hair flows as does the field of wheat. She tilts her head to the side and giggles. The welcome sound of her laughter and happiness echoes faintly through my ears, lingering there awhile longer.
Her eyes… they are so kind and gentle; they appear to have a smile all of their own.
As I gaze upon this apparition, my ears detect something from a distance. It is a soft sound… seeming to call for me. I open my eyes as the wind flutters my shirt about my skin. I scan the horizon and perceive a figure standing underneath a massive oak tree.
Are… are my eyes deceiving me? No… it is her… it must be.
She waves as the wind dances around her, making her black hair and red dress cascade along with its rhythm. I hear the faint sound once again carried to me by the wind. "Shepard!" It is such a sweet and soothing sound.
I desire with all my heart to go to her; the rolling plain of wheat is all that separates us.
My bare foot makes a step forward through the thick wheat, but a cold shiver runs the length of my spine as it makes contact with the ground. An unusual feeling creeps its way to the back of my mind; something's… off.
Yet, the sight of her in the distance shatters the warning, and I find my other foot taking a step forward.
My hands caress the tops of the wheat stalks as I walk through the field. A warm and soothing feeling envelopes my entire body, and happiness stretches itself across my face. I am smiling; something I genuinely haven't done in quite some time. My eyes threaten to overflow at the joy of seeing her.
Although barely audible, I hear her laugh and call my name again. I wave back to her, making her smile bloom brighter. She giggles and looks down to the ground almost shyly. Her hands clasp together, and her shoulders unconsciously sway back and forth among the soft shade of the oak tree.
I am close enough to see the features upon her face… she is so beautiful.
But suddenly, the starkly cold sensation fills me once again. Willing them to stop, my feet pause in their steps. Something is not right… I… I shouldn't be here.
She slowly looks up at me, as if sensing it as well; the happiness is completely gone from her features. She seems concerned and… so sad. I look at her more closely, studying her.
It seems as if a soft white glow is slowly appearing around her, making her all the more beautiful.
Grey clouds roll over the towering blue sky. They obscure the warm radiance of the sun, and replace it with a grim and mournful light. Thunder sounds in the distance as I look to the horizon. I can see where it is beginning to rain further out, the dark streaks of blue cascading to the ground.
My eyes wander back to her underneath the oak tree. I stare at her with questions, tears filling my eyes once again; yet, not for the same reason as before. I feel suddenly… empty.
Her bottom lip quivers with emotion, and her eyes send a message of sorrow.
Thunder hollers loudly above me as shock and reflection encompasses me.
I'm sorry… I had to make a choice…
I understand…
I'm coming back for you.
We both know that's not going to happen…
I carry Kaidan to the Normandy as the group of Salarian commandoes follows. I leave Dr. Chakwas to take care of him, and I rush for the stairs leading up to the bridge. I desperately hope it's not too late, but part of me knows that it is.
My feet carry me toward the cockpit nonetheless, and everyone, startled at my rush, moves out of my way. I can faintly hear footsteps following me up the ramp; there's one person on the ship who knows what I am doing.
"Joker, get us to the bomb site now!"
"Belay that order!" I sharply turn and see the remorseful but commanding eyes of Navigator Pressly, my executive officer. He knows that I am acting out of grief and emotions rather than the tact and intuition required of a commander.
I step toward him, challenging him, filled partly with anger, but mostly with grief.
"We can't leave her!"
Startled by the scene, Joker just sits there staring at the two of us. Pressly knows that if Joker follows my order that everyone on the ship will be lost. "Commander, I can't allow Joker to follow that order. The timer on the bomb won't allow us enough time; we'll all be destroyed."
My order puts the whole crew in jeopardy. My eyebrows furrow in anguish, and I look down. The anger is gone, and grief is all that is left…
Pressly places a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry Shepard." My eyes, moist, look up to his, which no longer look to me as a fellow officer but as a friend. Understanding passes between us, and I give him a small nod. Nodding back, his hand then falls from my shoulder and points to Joker. "Get us out of here Joker."
"Aye aye, sir." The Normandy speeds away from the planet's atmosphere, hoping to escape the nuclear blast.
I walk over to a small viewport beside the cockpit, feeling remorse as the planet gets smaller and smaller. Then… I see it.
The fiery explosion upon the surface… followed by a white glow.
I… remember. The same anguish from that day consumes me once more as I stand in this field of wheat. She looks straight into my eyes now.
Tears begin to stream down the curves of her cheeks, the glow still shining around her. She is… dead. But… that means…
A harsh streak of lightning races across the grey sky above, followed instantly by a booming clap of thunder.
I let out a shout of agony as unimaginable pain erupts across my chest. I clutch at it with a hand and fall hard to my knees. I gasp for breath as I support myself with my other hand.
The wheat swirls around me along with the now stronger current of wind. I feel a soggy, wet substance on my hand… I look down, lifting it a bit from my chest. Blood… It's crimson invades the white fibres of my shirt.
I feel… so cold.
Something soft graces itself upon my cheek. It is her… she has come to me, away from the shelter of the oak tree, kneeling with me.
She tilts my head up and looks straight into my eyes, while pushing my hand back to my chest. The glow of white light still around her reveals the stains of tears upon her face.
I let my own tears freely flow, and I reach up and cup her long hair behind her ear. "Ash, I.."
"Shhhh…" Her voice remains but a whisper, soft and soothing, "It will be alright." She grabs my hand with her own and holds it against her cheek. She slowly closes and reopens her eyes, another tear escaping. "You can't give up."
My eyes and eyebrows express sorrow. I long so much to be finally reunited with her.
As if reading my expression, she gives my hand a small squeeze. "Fight it. We'll be together again… but not now." She hisses and holds in a sob. "Not yet."
She looks up to the sky, and small patches of sunlight begin to break through the thick layer of clouds. Small rays of sunshine dot the field. One lands upon us. The ray begins to envelope my vision, making it hard to focus on her.
The light slowly blends with her face, taking her away from me in her radience.
Don't go...
She looks back into my eyes, "You still have a lot to do, Skipper."
White.
~Fin~
Note: As I was writing this, I listened to "Labor of Love" by Michael Giacchino. You can find it easily on YouTube if you wish to listen to it while reading.
This is a slight rewrite of my previous "In the Arms of an Angel" story. After going through some screenwriting classes, I felt I needed to change some things to make it more "imaginable" and readable. The original can be found on my profile, and you'll see what I mean lol.
The first time I played ME3 and got to the first dream sequence, my jaw dropped... It was so cool seeing that in the game. This sequence I wrote in 2009 has a different tone but the imagery that I saw as I was writing this was really similar once the clouds roll in here.
I just wanted to provide a bit of a summary of this story as well. I wanted to do this at the end because I wanted you, the reader, to make your interpretation before giving my own at the beginning.
I saw this dream as something Shepard sees when he has been gravely wounded.
He's on the brink of death but Ashley comes to him and encourages him to fight.
Shepard, on death's door, doesn't realize what is happening at first. He is peaceful though, and is enjoying every second of it. On the Normandy so much, he doesn't get to see the blue sky of earth often. Ashley is so happy to see him, thinking they will finally be reunited after death. But she eventually realizes it's not his time...
The Virmire part is what I envision in my head as actually happening during ME1. Pressly had to counter Shepard for the good of the crew, as any good XO should. Shepard couldn't see past his love for Ashley in that moment. Kinda adds tension and drama that I wish was in the actual game at that point.
Hope you enjoyed! Comments and critiques are always appreciated and taken to heart! :-)