What Could Have Been
With her final breath, she died in his arms. He felt as helpless as a lost child in a crowd. Fear overcame him. "It…it wasn't her time…" The Marine held her lifeless body as tight as he could. The reality was too hard to face, he wasn't strong enough to accept it.
"Jesse…JESSE NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! WAKE UP!" Tears poured down his eyes as they fell on her face.
A violent explosion shook the ground as rubble fell from the rooftop. Wraith rounds vaporized the building's wall into broken shrapnel. Though surrounded by the enemy, he had never felt more alone in his life. Her once green eyes had lost all their color and her skin went pale. "Jesse, I never wanted this. I never wanted this for us!" The soldier's words were drowned out by the sound of Covenant artillery. Another explosion shook the ground as the support beam of the building began to collapse.
The lone soldier brushed back the girl's hair as he cradled her back and forth. "If I would have known this would happen…that they would find us…oh God…I should have stayed with you…I should have listened!"
A plasma shot rang over his head followed by five more. A squad of Grunts being led by a Sangheili had spotted the soldier. He couldn't move. He was petrified from fear and it wasn't because of his nearing doom.
"I am not strong enough Jesse. My life was shattered when Harvest fell. With my family gone, I thought I was alone until I met you. You had shown me that I did have somebody left. Somebody to hold…to love…to grow old with."
A sharp pain went through the soldier's lower side. He had been pierced by a Needler round and blood began to leak from his body. Even after she had died, the Marine used his own body to shield his fallen love. Another Needler round struck the soldier in the back as it penetrated through his rib cage. Blood splattered onto the face of Jesse. He lifted his hand to wipe away his own blood from her silent lips.
The soldier then reached into his pocket and held a small pouch in his hand. The commanding Sangheili ordered a ceasefire from his squad and began to walk slowly up to the soldier. An energy sword materialized from the Elite's palm. The soldier took Jesse's hand and brought it towards him as he reached into the pouch.
"If I knew this would have happened I would have had the courage to…" the energy sword was driven right into the back of the soldier. The pouch fell to the ground along with the soldier's body as Jesse's hand fell beside her. On her finger was a simple ring. Both bodies remained silent next to each other.
The Elite ordered the Grunts to move out of the house. Kneeling down, the Sangheili stared at the lifeless humans. Both of their bodies remained motionless as the sound of the Wraiths began to fade away.
Standing up, the Elite reached into its armor as it pulled out a crude hologram of his mate and newborn son. He spoke a few words to himself, hid the image in his armor, and slowly began to walk back to his squad. The Covenant had won the day.