Fade Away
She floated somewhere in between consciousness and unconsciousness, but the one thing that she was sure of was that she was actually floating, how and why she didn't know, but it was cold. Not really bitter cold, just comfortable cold if that made any sense.
Her body felt weighed down, her right leg felt increasingly heavier than her left, and her chest and back was heavier yet. Why? She didn't know.
But the one thing that she was now certain of, after looking around at her surroundings, or lack there of, that she was in the middle of the ocean. The last thing she remembered at the moment as her eyes closed was the look on Mike's face after begging her not to go on the boarding.
Flashback
"And what if something happens to you?" Mike sighed, dejectedly, casting his eyes downwards.
"Sir, as commanding officer-" Kate started, her voice rising before Mike cut her off.
"Kate-" Mike said, his eyes, glistened with tears.
"No, no, don't do this!" Kate said, her voice raising with emotion. "It was your choice, your choice to keep this professional, this can't get personal between us now." Kate looked at Mike, tears glistening in her eyes, her voice breaking with emotion.
"I can't just block out how I feel about you," Mike said, with a slight shake of his head and slight anger in his voice, a lone tear threatening to fall down his cheek.
Kate looked back at Mike's face, directly into his eyes before casting her gaze downwards, her voice betraying her as she said "I am," she took a shuddering breath in "the only logical choice for this operation," she looked back up into his eyes, here voice almost non-existent as she half whispered "and you know that."
"Alright," Mike said dejectedly, his head bobbing up and down on its own accord as he lowered his gaze away from her face before she walked out of his cabin.
End Flashback
Looking around again, she noticed that the water around her was red and she felt a dull throbbing in her stomach. Looking down, she saw the hole in her life jacket and in her Kevlar vest.
Her mind ran a million miles an hour piecing together the fragments of what she started to remember from the boarding.
Standing, with one booted foot, on the side of the RHIB as they made their way towards the FFV, the wind blowing over her uniform and the sun on her face.
Men with guns.
The sound of bullets as they ricocheted off the metal of the RHIB.
Bullets whizzing by her head.
The impact of the bullet hitting her.
The RHIB turning sharply away from the FFV.
The bullet penetrating the Kevlar of her vest and throwing her overboard.
Pain.
Water.
Blood.
Then nothing.
Hearing the sound of a motor, and someone, correction, Mike calling her name giving her a tiny sliver of hope before her eyes slipped closed, all the fight drawn from her.
"KKAATTEE!" Mike yelled again, hanging onto the side of the RHIB, searching for Kate.
"SIR! Over there!" Someone yelled, pointing over to where Kate was half floating in the bloody water around her.
Before they were close to her, Mike jumped from the RHIB, swimming as fast as he could to Kate's side.
"Kate? Kate? Can you hear me?" Mike said looking at the gray pallor of her completion as he swam for dear life back to the waiting RHIB, an unconscious Kate in his arms, looking out in front of him, he saw the sickly trail of blood that was in their wake and he wondered, how could such a small body produce this much blood?
They hauled Kate's body back up and into the RHIB followed closely by Mike.
"Kate, Katie, please." He begged brokenly as Swain searched for a pulse.
"Sir," Swain began, laying a hand on Mike's shoulder, hanging his head. "She's gone."
Gathering her body up and into his lap, one of her hands sliding from her lap falling limply to the floor of the RHIB with a sickening thud beside his boot, determined to ignore the implication of Swain's words.
Swain pressed the button to talk into the radio to contact the Hammersley.
"Pappa 8-2, this is Serra 8-2,"
"Go a head Serra 8-2,"
"We have found X-Ray 8-2, I repeat, we have found X-Ray 8-2." Swain said.
"Copy that Serra 8-2, what's X-Ray 8-2's condition, over."
"X-Ray 8-2 is-" he could barley get out the next words. "Dead. I repeat, X-Ray 8-2 is dead."
"Copy that Serra 8-2, will inform NAVCOM about X-Ray 8-2, A body bag will be on deck on your arrival."
"Copy that Pappa 8-2, Serra 8-2 out."
Mike barley registered arriving back at the Hammersley.
Up on deck was the crew, they all stood, saluting their fallen Executive Officer as Mike lifted her in his arms and down onto the deck to a body bag.
Sitting down beside her body, Mike's shoulders shook as he sobbed. Swain went over and said something, laying a hand on his shoulder as they zipped up the body bag and took her downstairs.