Chapter Sixteen

Wraith ran, every nerve and every cell in her body burning with pain. She ran, and she ran, the white-orange heat of the ring warping around her as she dug her fingertips deep into the seams of the Void, holding fast to the weight of her squadmate.

She ran past the point of discomfort. She ran headlong into the heat-flash. And then she ran beyond it. She didn't dare unclench her teeth, for fear the pain would break the sea-wall where it was temporarily being held at bay. The pressure built continuously.

She ran through the water, passing the buildings as she raced for the incline past the Pit. The air began growing thick, but she couldn't stop. She still had so far to run, chasing the edge, cursing the angle as she pushed herself harder. It felt like the race would never end.

Everything grew brighter, and brighter, the pain steadily growing, searing into her skull in white-hot lances. A pained sound clawed its way from her throat, scathing her lungs as it escaped. Her every muscle grew heavier, and Mirage heavier still, as breathing became hard, exhausting, like breathing in cement and having to force it from her body again. Every instinct screamed for her to let go, warning her that she was doing damage to herself, but she wasn't in the safety of the inner ring.

Lightning crackled down her spine, popping in the very marrow of her bones, and breaking her hold on her voice. She bit down what she could of the yell, but it was there, pained and pitiful, like a demon burning.

In their sights!

Not now, not now, not here, not when she had-

Wraith's vision exploded in a kaleidoscope of colours as every section of her brain lit with sheer, soul-deep agony. Not yet. She had- She had to keep going. Not now, Not now!

Not again.
Not again.

Time and distance warped, losing all reality as she forced herself to continue, the rhythm of her feet the only grip she still had on herself, the other hers whispering louder than they should, growing from their pale selves, becoming tangible.

One cried out mightier than the others, quenching them all in a single piercing cry, a sniper crack against her eardrum.

Now!

She tumbled from the Void, inches from the inner ring, and with the last of her waning strength she threw him, as they passed through the grace between worlds.

As she fell from her feet the ring seared her skin, but it was nothing. Wraith collided with the ground, landing weak on her knees as she gritted her teeth together against the rising taste of vomit on her tongue. Relief left her weak, her limbs trembling as she fought to stay upright.

Not here. Not in the Arena. Not where they can see.

She curled aching fingers into the soil and dragged herself forward, collapsing only when she was free of the ring, her lungs gasping so hard for air that she spasmed, coiling in on herself to stop herself from flailing. She focused hard on remaining very still. They didn't need this knowledge, and they didn't need her as a target. Not where it was so open, when she had to get them into the passes in the ridge. Her shields wouldn't take it.

The wasp's nest in her skull was enraged, drowning every sound as a thousand yellow-jackets assaulted the walls of her brain. She bit down hard on her tongue as she waited it out. Her comms crackled like fire in her ears.

"Wraith! You are in need of healing, your markers are blinking. Wraith?"

The edges of the air were blackened, as if they too had been singed by the pain that was still coursing through her entire system. The ground swam before her eyes, and she could hear everything and nothing, as she forced herself to breathe, blinking hard, eventually grinding her elbows into the ground through sheer force of will.

The air felt light and fluffy, cool against her skin as she pushed and pulled each calming breath, the drumming of her heart cutting into her chest as she willed it to slow. She wiped the sweat beading on her brow and pushed herself to her knees, then her feet, woozy with the weakness as she stumbled toward her downed teammate.

Taking hold of his shoulders without pause, she heaved him up past the nearest boulder, and dragged him several feet further up the incline, towards the peak of the ridge, choosing the closest place of relative safety and releasing him. Her muscles loosened gratefully.

No time to take a break, though, and she started dragging a first aid from her pack. Mirage was groaning weakly, blood trickling from one corner of his mouth as he turned his head, and his breaths were thin and raspy as though his lungs were full of water.

Wraith held his head up as she slid the first needle under his skin, propping him best she could with one arm and the boulder. His movements were sluggish, and when she tried to sit him further upright he choked out a mouthful or so of blood. This was not good at all. She was interfering in the dangerous window before death. The cold dread from the building returned in full force, kneading Wraith's vital organs like a cat.

He's past down.

Not again.

Respawning would be better.

"Stay with me here. Fuck! Mirage? Mirage!"

Let him die.
Bring him back after.

His head lolled back against the rock and he drew in a weak kind of choked breath. His eyelids rose slowly, and his whiskey eyes were fuzzed and vague. Wraith dug her fingers into his shoulder harder than was necessary and shook him roughly.

"Wake up, idiot. Don't you fucking dare die on me right now."

You're in the open.
Let him die.
The others will come.

She was less gentle than she could have been as she re-dressed his leg, irritated by the way the bandages had shifted, by the way the blood was still seeping from him steadily. Her head was throbbing brightly. All she wanted was a minute, just some time, just some quiet! She dug through her pack for another syringe, growling under her breath.

"Idiot. Fucking idiot."

"Friends? Incoming, on your position!"

Shit. Shit, shit, shit!

Mirage was groaning, breathing in bloody, choked breaths.

"Can you cover?" she hissed back, lifting her head to survey what she could see of the area below them, wishing she'd been able to drag him further from the buildings, wishing he had the energy to climb the ledges in the rock above them, wishing the Ring had chosen a slightly different angle for its path, wishing they hadn't nearly lost a gunfight so fucking early, "Mirage is down."

"On my way!"

Wraith tried to ignore the concern in his robotic tone, for the clamouring in her head was quite enough for now, without dealing with that.

You should have gotten out earlier.

And left him to bleed out?

Collecting a Banner would have been easier.

That would have meant doing without, or having to risk a Respawn point.

You've done it a hundred times.

It was too far to go back.

Not on your own, with the help of the Void.

Well. Shut up. She'd done it now, no changing that. She pushed aside the Voices and the other, quiet whisperings from other times, and turned her focus back on her squadmate.

"Mirage, we have to move. They're coming."

He drew another watery breath, this one more sure than the others. Finally a sign the meds were doing their job.

"Sshhould've... leftme."

She growled at the absent slur in his voice, and shook him again. This time he winced, cringing away from her.

"Oww!"

"We gotta move." she snapped in response to his whine, and slid her rifle from her shoulder to chamber a round, using the scope to sweep the valley to the left.

She was relieved, regardless, to hear the strength returning to his voice. She'd just have to hope she'd done enough, this time.

Gunfire started up, close.

"They are headed to your position." came the instant notification, and Wraith elbowed Mirage to speed him up.

There was no time for compassion, for her to indulge his wound-licking. He had to get his shit together, and fast.

You're exposed.

"Get down." she instructed, pushing Mirage toward the rock face, keeping a low crouch as she backed up with him.

No sooner had she done so, but the air above their heads crackled with the buzz of a Triple Take.

"Jeez. Your shields, Wraith."

His words took her by surprise, not only for the clarity that seemed to have magically appeared, and she realised she hadn't attended to them in her rush to get him out.

"Right. Giving my shields a recharge." she alerted Pathfinder, dragging the little canister from her pack and yanking the lever.

Beside her, Mirage dragged out one of his own. When hers popped, Wraith swept the valley again, spying the team their robotic ally was talking about. He'd engaged them, picking off one with his LongBow, but the sniper who'd almost gotten Wraith was most likely with a different squad.

She relayed that to Pathfinder, and he concurred. She steadied her elbow awkwardly against the curve of the rock, trying to get an angle while keeping her cover.

She was grateful now, for the less than ideal 6x scope she'd reluctantly pocketed, and she tracked her crosshairs along the distant buildings, searching. The whole way along, and back again, sure they'd still be there, sure that-

A minute glint.

She held her breath, finger feather-light as it began to squeeze. With the single shot, her PDA buzzed before she'd even followed through the movement of the recoil, and her kill-count climbed another.

Octane had been surprisingly still against the peak of that rooftop, only the lens of his scope giving him away. She was faintly impressed. But still victorious, a clean headshot. Last of his squad, too, by the ping of the counter.

"Good shot, Wraith!" Pathfinder called excitedly.

Wraith slid back behind the rock to reload, realising she'd neglected to before. She was sure she had, and the realisation was a sharp discomfort.

"Another team is coming up from the Wetlands!"

Wraith cursed, and readied her rifle, already knowing she wouldn't have a good visual from her position. She cast her gaze down where Octane had been camped, and hoped the buildings were empty.

"The building." she said, gesturing with her elbow though only Mirage could see, "The one between us and the pass to Bridges."

"Affirmative." responded Pathfinder, "Retreating now."

Wraith cast a glance to the squadmate at her side, noticing the pallor on his face, but the strength in his eyes.

"We're gonna be exposed," he said, as though he felt her gaze, staring down the open ground below, "it'll be tight if we make it."

Wraith wasn't sure where his cocky attitude had gone, but she was less pleased than she thought she'd be to see it had been put aside for now.

"We'll make it." she said, shouldering the sniper, "I hope you're ready to run."

Mirage gave a weak, barking laugh, and pushed to his feet, relying heavily on the rock face for support.

"You and me both, sister."