Prompt: Bold, choose it or lose it, and family. A human-caused disaster (in this case war and death)
Pairings: Platonic!Dorlene,
Warnings: Mentions of abuse/torture, character death general hearbreaking sadness
Note: My scenario is a human caused disaster, and you can't really argue that concentration camps aren't one...anyway this takes place in a Nazi Germany concentration camp during World War 2, where the Death Eaters are nazi soldiers and the Order are the allies.
I won't run, I won't fly
I will never make it by
Without you, without you
I can't rest, I can't fight
All I need is you and I,
Without you, without you
I won't soar, I won't climb
If you're not here, I'm paralyzed
Without you, without you
I can't look, I'm so blind
I lost my heart, I lost my mind
Without you, without you
Without You - Glee Version
Blood was everywhere; it splattered the alabaster walls red, and forever stained the ice cold floors with a dull burgundy. The temperature in the concrete cell was so cold, and the tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Outside, a storm raged on, thunder booming. The wind whistled eerily through the slightly ajar window, darkening the already tense atmosphere and heightening the fear of the two girls in the back corner of the room.
Both girls were huddled against the wall, both were drenched in their own sweat and blood with tears streaming down their ashen faces. Hours upon hours of torture they had endured in this devastatingly cruel camp because they were Allied soldiers, fighting against fascism. The war seemed to be never ending. Soldiers vanished daily, their mutilated bodies turning up in obscure places if they ever turned up at all. Families were torn apart, the death toll was was almost unbelievably high and countries had turned into war torn disasters. All caused by the clash of ideologies, and man's own arrogance.
Despite the torture, the two girls hadn't said a word. The only sounds their captors had managed to elicit from them were screams, bold smart alec retorts and the occasional plea for mercy. Neither of the girls would ever betray their country or their cause by revealing Allied secrets. Neither would ever give up without a fight.
Taking several deep breaths, Marlene slumped against the wall as the curse on her finally ended. The sound of screams echoed in her ears, playing on repeat like a broken record. She couldn't tell whose they even were anymore. Hers? Doe's? Some other pitiful soul who had been captured along with them? Marlene didn't know, and if she was being honest she didn't care anymore. Her usually strong body felt fragile, and so wracked with pain and exhaustion that she didn't even know how she'd managed to survive this long. A familiar pair of furiously stormy brown eyes met hers, and Marlene managed a weak smirk. She was a fighter, that smirk said. She was Marlene Bloody McKinnon and it took a whole lot more than a couple of bastards without mercy to beat her. Dorcas managed a weak grin at Marlene's smirk, although there was traces of sadness in it. There was only a spark of Marlene's trademark spirit left in her normally bright eyes. As much as Dorcas knew by Marlene's smirk, she would never admit that her strength was fading, but she could see that it was and it frightened her. She hated seeing Marlene look so weak and fragile, although she knew she herself didn't look much better. Marlene's strength was what had always drawn Doe to her, like a moth to a flame.
Suddenly the screaming started again, but this time it wasn't Marlene, and it wasn't as a result of the Cruciatus. The Nazi soldiers who called themselves Death Eaters had gotten bored of watching them squirm and shattered the dim light that was right above Doe, causing her to be showered in glass. Blood flowed like a river from the dark haired girl, encasing her in a pool of deep red liquid. If it were at all possible, Marlene paled even more. Doe wasn't at her full strength after enduring so many hours of torture, Marlene didn't know how much more she would be able to take after losing so much blood. Using what little strength she had, Marlene crawled over to Doe and pulled the girls head into her lap, ignoring the laughs and jeers of the death eaters. It was bad. A large shard of glass had lodged itself in Dorcas's abdomen, and Marlene knew that unless she got help and soon it would be over. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Marlene tried not to think about how difficult it would be to stay strong without her best friend by her side.
"How bad is it?" Doe mumbled weakly, a mixture of pain and exhaustion making her voice thick and raspy. Marlene forced a weak smile, stroking her friends hair and trying not to let her worry show on her face.
"You're gonna be fine," she whispered hoarsely with a shaking voice that even she found hard to believe. The blood was oozing through Doe's already ripped and blood stained shirt and onto Marlene.
"Then why does it hurt so much, Marls?" Doe asked, her voice just as shaky as Marlene's. Pain was not unfamiliar to her by now, not after all she had just endured, but this pain felt different. It was much harder to block it out when you could see and feel dozens of shards of glass lodged in various places of your body. The pain was searing white hot, burning through her like a flame. Her body was so weak with exhaustion, she just wanted it all to end. She knew she could either die a slow and painful death from her abdomen wound because there was no way she would get treatment in time, or she could get Marlene to pull the shard out now and her death would be much faster. "Please," she pleaded, looking down at the shard. She just needed the pain to stop. "Marls…take it out. Please."
Choking down a sob, Marlene shook her head. Her heart was breaking with every word that Dorcas said. She could see that her friend was in immense pain, and at her request Marlene's floodgates finally broke. Salty tears streamed down her ghostly pale face as she tried to comprehend exactly what he friend asked of her. Pulling out the shard meant that Dorcas would die. It meant Marlene would've killed her. Killed her own best friend, her family. For to Marlene, Doe was so much more than just a friend. She was Marlene's sister in every way but blood; her platonic soulmate. Marlene knew it would be a mercy killing, otherwise Doe would be forced to suffer possibly hours more torture at the hands of the merciless bastards, but still the decision was hard to make. Marlene could choose Doe's life, or she could lose it. The choice was in her hands.
She couldn't kill her own best friend. Marlene was selfish, and she didn't know how much longer she would be able to survive the torture if she didn't have Doe. Even if she did somehow make it out of this both sane and alive, Marlene didn't know if she would be able to keep living without Doe.
"No," she sobbed, shaking her head fiercely. Her voice broke with every word that she managed to say. "We're gonna get out of here and we're gonna get you help. I'm not going to let you die."
A cruel, ice cold laugh reverberated throughout the room, clearly mocking Marlene for saying that they would be okay. "Oh," Bellatrix purred, pointing her wand at Dorcas again. "But I'm not done playing with you yet. Would you really spoil my fun by trying to escape?"
"Don't fucking touch her," Marlene snarled, cradling Dorcas closer. Adrenaline was starting to kick in again, she barely cared about herself anymore she was too focused on protecting Doe to care about the pain of her own injuries.
Bellatrix merely laughed, the sound making Marlene's anger burn like red hot coals. "Crucio." Dorcas screamed and thrashed in Marlene's arms, pleading for all the pain to stop. The thrashing was making her wounds from the glass open and tear into her soft skin even more. Marlene's heart broke and shattered even more than it already was. She didn't want to kill Doe, but if she didn't she would be subjecting her to more and more pain. Marlene couldn't do that to her.
"Kill her."
Marlene looked up as she heard the raspy voice , the tears falling thick and fast down her down. It was another soldier, Remus Lupin, who'd be captured with them. His brown eyes met hers, and there was no conflict there. They were clear and solid, but full of sadness. Marlene knew he had soon worse horrors than this in his many years of being a soldier, but that didn't make this any easier to watch. Dorcas had meant something important to both of them, and to give her up was agonising.
To Marlene, Dorcas was her best friend, the one person she could rely on to always stand by her side. The one Marlene knew she could trust with anything and everything. She was Marlene's rock, the one who called her out on her bullshit and stopped her going over the edge. Without Dorcas, Marlene would be lost. Losing Doe was like losing a part of herself, but if it meant she could finally be at peace Marlene would do it. To Remus, Dorcas had been a friend simply there at a time of need for him, and he owed her so much gratitude for that. Neither of them wanted to live without Doe, but both would sacrifice everything they had to keep her safe.
Trembling, Marlene nodded once, having confirmation from Remus strengthened her decision. She was ignoring Bellatrix's demands to not touch the shard in Dorcas's stomach, Marlene could 't care less about what she did to her as long as she could finally stop Doe's pain.
Once Doe stopped trembling, the effects of the curse finally stopping, Marlene leaned down to rest her forehead on her friends head, her body shaking with sobs. She didn't want to cry. She was a McKinnon, and McKinnon's cry, but Marlene couldn't stop. Doe wasn't going to die anytime soon unless Marlene took the shard of glass out of her abdomen, but she was still too weak to properly speak. "Love you, Marls," she managed to croak out, her face was dry because she had no tears left to cry. She had seen Marlene's nod and she wasn't scared of the darkness that awaited her. The pain was finally going to end.
Inhaling sharply, before Bellatrix realised what she was doing, Marlene yanked the shard out of Dorcas's stomach. "I'm so sorry," Doe breathed, and her voice was so quiet that Marlene could barely hear her. Marlene stroked her friends hair, already feeling her pulse fading. It still hadn't quite sunk in what she'd just done, that in probably a few mere minutes she would lose her best friend, her saviour, her rock, forever.
"I love you too," Marlene whispered, trying not to let her voice break but failing as she kissed her friends forehead gently. "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. None of this is your fault."
What little strength Doe had left was fading fast now that Marlene had pulled the glass out. Despite Marlene's assurances, Doe couldn't help the guilt she felt because she was going to escaper her living hell, while leaving Marlene to face her demons alone. She was leaving Marlene to be her own anchor, because she would no longer have Doe as her guiding light. Merlin only knew how Marlene would survive, but she had to trust that she would be okay. Almost as if Marlene could read her thoughts, she managed a soft smile for her fading friend.
"I'll be okay," she promised, knowing her words were complete bullshit, but she would say anything to put Dorcas's mind at rest. "I won't lose it, I swear."
Dorcas wasn't an idiot, she knew her best friend well enough to know that the chances of her going off the rails were far too high for Dorcas's liking. Still, she appreciated the promise, as empty as it likely was. Maybe whenever Marlene would be about to do something stupid, she would remember it and stop herself. It was an idealistic hope, but it was a comforting one.
"Stay strong," she managed to say, her voice breaking on every word and shaking slightly.
"I promise," Marlene swore, desperately trying to restrain the sobs that threatened to wrack her fragile body as Doe's pulse got weaker and weaker, until it was no longer there at all.
"Goodbye, Marls."
Her final words haunted Marlene more than Bellatrix's cruel taunts did, and finally Marlene gave in and just properly let the tears shake her entire body. Marlene had just killed, albeit indirectly, her best friend. It was a mercy killing, she knew, but that didn't take away the pain of losing her. It didn't take away the pain of knowing she would never hear Doe laugh again; never would they get drunk and snog or dance on tables. Never would they be the same carefree girls that met in their first year and had been best friends ever since. So desperately did Marlene want to quit, to give in and admit defeat. Staying strong seemed so much harder when you were alone. Marlene couldn't let Doe's death be in vain. It would be hard, but she was Marlene Bloody McKinnon, and she was a fighter. Doe didn't die so that Marlene could quit. Doe wasn't the first casualty of this war, and she wasn't going to be the last but Marlene bloody McKinnon would be damned if she was the next. She was going to make it out of this alive if it was the last thing she bloody well did, and she was going to survive because that's what Marlene McKinnon did best.