James Wirth Block:2-2

Dom's Last Moments

I got in the truck. I knew that this was how it would end. I couldn't believe the situation that I was in. Time seemed to stand still as I realized that this was the last few minutes of my life. I looked behind me to see Marcus, staring at me as if I was a mad man. It was almost as if I could see the tears in his eyes. A man like him, hard as nails, crying; I couldn't believe it. I slammed on the gas, hitting multiple locusts and lambent.

Entering the tunnel, my vision turned dark, just like my thoughts. Everything Marcus and I had been through. Back in elementary school, protecting me. E-Day when the small time of peace we had was broken like a rock through a window; Swift, forcefully and unexpectedly. When the locusts emerged it was like nothing we had ever seen before. They were, and are, disgusting. They looked like animals but strategized like humans. Minds of genius', faces of beasts.

What about the time when I saw my first berserker; as tall as a truck, probably as heavy as a car. The simple sight of a berserker sent fear through just about everybody. Turned even the loudest, such as Cole Train, into deathly silent.

The Kryll, something that you would think that could be only out of a nightmare. A beast that only comes out at night. Thanks to the lightmass bomb however, we had dealt with that problem, along with General Ramm. General Ramm however dealt with Ming, a previous leader of Delta Squad.

Then the lambent came; terrifying creatures even compared to the locusts. Creatures that exploded when killed.

While I continued to think about all of this, I continued to pass death and destruction. I saw families and car crashes. I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Then what about Jacinto? Our own last haven that we sunk ourselves? Killing that disgusting abomination of a Brumak that we hijacked and turned lambent. I couldn't believe the day that we blew it up.

How scorching the entire planet changed everything. Turning a beautiful place into a scorched ash rock.

I reached the light, pulled the E-Brake and turned the tanker around. I entered the black tunnel again. My thoughts turned only dark as I began to think about the ones closest to me that I've lost. Carlos, my older brother, murdered. I couldn't believe the words when I heard them.

My children, the ones I should have protected no matter what and I couldn't even do that.

And then came Maria; My beautiful wife. Killed by my own hands. It was the only option I had, she was going to die regardless and she was only living in pain. That's what I kept telling myself. Truth is it was all my fault and I couldn't live with it anymore, I should have protected her better. I had been fighting this depression and thoughts of suicide ever since I had taken her life myself. Now it was all going to end.

I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I saw the silhouette of the gas station in front of the sun. I could hear Marcus' screaming coming through the speakers and just ignored it. I had to do this for him. My last brother. I had to do this for myself, so that I could finally see my family once again.

I saw the gunfire from Delta Squad. As I approached the gas station, I saw the two girls leap off the building I saw Marcus still just standing there in awe.

Unimaginable pain began to form. This was it, literally the last ten seconds of my life. I was within a click of the gas station and travelling faster than a reaver. Time felt like it was going so slow, every second felt like an hour. I floored the gas, cause I knew that Marcus could survive without me, as much as he wouldn't like to believe it, this was the only way out.

Marcus, although he wouldn't admit it, was in love with Anya, I could see it; Anya was in love with him to, yet neither would admit it or do anything about it. I hit locust as I approached the gas station. I saw Marcus leap off the building.

I smiled, because all the pain was about to end. All the pain of my friends and family dying. All the pain of taking my own wife's life. All the pain in general, everybody's pain, whether it be friends, family or squad mates lost. Everyone's lost somebody. I was about to get all that back.

I saw the tanker bumper begin to crash while I smashed the gas station when all of a sudden the explosion happened. It was so bright. This was the light that you see before you die. Mine more intense than most, but that was my life.