"This is it, inst it?" I asked the woman across from me. Sargent Avery's green eyes bored into mine, a soft smile drifting onto her face making the bags under her eyes appear smaller. Her tall frame swayed slightly as their ride bounced down the road.
"I think so. Are you scared?" Avery asked. I wanted to shake my head no. I wasn't scared that I would face the bitter end with my gun melting in my hands as I laid waste to the Faro Plague. But I was afraid my trembling hands and the queasy feeling of my guy were all the confirmation I needed.
I nodded yes just as the APC we were in lurched, sending the few of us that were left flying, my harness digging into my shoulders. It likely wouldn't even have time to bruise before the end. Small wonders.
Avery released her straps, sliding next to me. Throwing an arm around me, she pulled me into her soft side. Across the APC, I could see Chelsea's head rolling. Blood was no longer dripping from her missing left arm. She must have passed on while I was asleep.
"I'm sorry," she whispered into my head. "I tried to protect you all, but everyone always dies."
"I'm still here," I said with a soft smile. The arm around me tightened as if it alone could keep the robots away from me.
"Yeah, I did manage to get you out. Say, isn't today your birthday?" Avert asked.
"Yeah, seventeen, not that anyone has had time to celebrate one in a while," I grumbled. When the draft age moved down to sixteen, nobody celebrated getting older. Everyone knew what would happen when you got sent to the front. You never came back.
"You must have been the last branch of draftees. Before you, my youngest was eighteen when he joined. It makes me feel old," she somehow managed to grin down at him.
"You can't be a day over thirty-five," the arm around twisted as she slammed his head into her shoulder.
"Twenty-eight, you shit," she growled at him. The lavender smell of her hair filled my nose as I lay there—one of her hands reaching up to scratch my head.
"Any birthday wishes?" she asked.
"Not dying?" I whispered back.
"Sorry, Taylor, I don't think that's in the cards," she whispered back. We sat in silence as the APC hurried down the road to nowhere. There were no defensive lines left. Humanity was gone. It was a question of what happened first the air filters failed, or a swarm got us.
Avery pulled a bottle out of her pocket. "They gave these to us.. when we knew the fortress was going to fall. You take one it's like going to sleep." she gently pulled out two pills, pushing one into my hand.
"Can we wait just a little longer?" I whispered.
"Yeah, I can do that," she kept running her hand through my hair, the gentle scratching of her nails the most relaxing feeling I had felt since before we all knew what was coming.
"I'm really glad I met you," I said.
"Glad I met you too, although I have to say the number of times I caught you staring at my ass in the beginning, I wanted to beat you black and blue," she said with a gentle laugh. I could feel my cheeks reddening, trying to pull my head off her shoulder. She tightened her grip instead keeping me there.
"Sorry," I mumbled. My face felt like it was on fire.
"You know what, I think I have the perfect birthday gift for you," the arm around the back of my head shifted, pulling my chin up. The taste of strawberries greeted me as her lips crashed into mine. Her probing tongue pushed through my lips. I hardly felt the pill get pushed into my mouth. She waited until she felt my swallow before her tongue pulled back.
She pulled back, smiling down at me, popping another pill into her mouth.
"Yeah, that was a great gift," I smiled up at her resting my head back on her shoulder. Wrapping my arms around her, I felt her head fall against mine. My eyes closed the last thoughts on my mind of lavender and strawberries.
AN: I hope you all enjoyed this! I love constructive criticism and reviews!
Side Note: I love the old-world story potential of this series. But they all must end in tragedy, and I don't like killing my characters.
