Chapter Three
Poe drops the lightsaber and collapses next to Finn, pressing on the gaping wound, looking for others.
"Finn?" he says, and then again. "Come on, buddy, can you hear me? Give me a sign here." Finn is limp, his pulse weak; Poe's hands are already sticky with blood.
"Shit." He fumbles with his comms. Fails, and tries again, getting nothing but static. He shouts into the void anyway. "Rey! Rey, we need help…dammit…" He tries to pick up Finn, stumbles with the weight, slips in the blood. It is everywhere, he can taste it in the air. He pulls Finn close.
"Come on, Finn. We gotta get out, but you have to wake up, help me a little." Poe stands again, wraps Finn's arm around his neck, supporting the other man under his shoulder. He staggers toward the door, Finn's feet dragging on the ground. Reaching out, he pulls on the door, but it doesn't move.
It's locked. Or cursed.
He tries again. Kicks it as hard as he can without dropping Finn. Carefully aiming his blaster, he shoots the lock, but nothing happens; the blast disappears as if he never fired at all. Finn opens his eyes, gasps in pain, then passes out completely, pulling them both to the ground.
"No, no, no," Poe shouts. "Don't do this to me! Finn! Wake up, we have to get out of here and I think you're the only one who can do that right now. Finn!"
Finn is still, his chest barely moving.
Poe is certain his own heart is about to stop, to break in two as Finn dies in his arms.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. They haven't had enough time, there's still so much for them to see and do. So much for Poe to say.
"Finn," he starts, pulling the other man into his lap and cradling his shoulders. He leans over Finn's face, pale and bloodied in the dim glow of the Poe's light. Presses a kiss to his forehead. "You know I love you, right? You can't leave now, I need to say it properly." He glances around, laughs bitterly at the scene. "This is not how it's supposed to go, you know. I was waiting for the right time, for you to maybe feel the same. I don't know if you do, but Finn…I've been in love with you for so long. Please don't leave me now." He touches his forehead to Finn's, tears falling to the other man's face.
He looks around for the lightsaber he found in the basement, but there is a sound behind them, someone coming down the stairs. Poe grabs his blaster, turns and raises it to eye level.
Points it at Finn.
Finn, who is struggling down the stairs, supporting a man. A man who looks just like Poe, head lolling as blood drips from a brutal blaster burn covering most of his chest, abdomen, and arm. Finn raises his own weapon, eyes wild with the same panic Poe feels deep in his gut.
He looks at the man in his arms, life bleeding out into the floorboards. He looks at the man standing before him, pointing a blaster at his head.
And he has no idea what's going on anymore.
"Poe!" Finn falls to the pilot's side, hand reaching frantically toward the horrific blaster wound. It's bad, really bad. He needs a medpac, and Rey, and he needs them fast or Poe's not going to make it. "Poe, can you hear me?"
He thinks he hears a quiet moan, exhaled on a shallow breath.
"Poe, I've got to get you downstairs," Finn tells him. He doesn't know if Poe can hear him, but he keeps talking. "It's going to hurt, but we've got to get out of here, get you help." He crouches, wrapping his arm around Poe and helping him stand. He moves toward the staircase, but as he steps down, he finds himself right back where he started, at the top of the staircase. He tries again, and the same thing happens. The house is pushing against him.
"Stop it!" he shouts to the rafters. "Get out of my head and let us go!" A cold breeze blows between them; Poe shudders and goes limp. Finn stumbles, barely manages to stay upright. Determined to get them out, he steps forward again, and once more finds himself stuck on the top step. Poe's legs go out completely, and they crumple to the floor in a painful heap.
Poe groans, and Finn pulls him up against his chest. Wishes more than anything he had Rey's ability to heal. Poe is shivering, and Finn can feel his pain. It brings tears to his eyes, and he leans closer, his throat tight.
"Poe, I need you to stay strong," Finn says. "Because this is not over. And I'm not talking about this damn house, I'm talking about us. I do not want to wake up alone tomorrow, Poe. We're in this together, remember?" There is no response. Finn bites back a sob. "Poe, I care about you. You know that, right? I want to say it, but I didn't think I could say it yet. So don't leave me, because I want to say it."
Silence.
"I have to say it," Finn whispers. "You are why I am who I am. I think I've loved you since the moment I saw you climb out of your ship on D'qar. And you are too good of a pilot, a leader, a man, to die on us, Poe. We still need you. I need you." He drops his head, presses a kiss to Poe's forehead. Despair almost overwhelms him. Taking a deep breath, he pushes it away, determined to get them out. To save them both.
"I am done with this," he says. "You are not dying on me today. We're getting out of here."
He pulls Poe up again, stands at the edge of the staircase. Raising his hand, Finn gathers whatever power he can sense around him, and pushes out with it, down the stairs into the darkness. He staggers back as whatever barrier was holding them back breaks before him, like glass shattering silently into a million pieces.
There is a sound below them, like something hitting the floor. Then shouting, and the same feeling of despair Finn just set aside. He starts down the stairs, hugging Poe to him tightly, blaster ready in his other hand.
He reaches the first floor only to find a man who looks like Poe sitting on the ground, blaster pointing right at Finn. There is a man with him, bleeding onto the floor from a horrific chest injury. A man who looks like Finn.
Another trick.
Finn raises his blaster. "Drop it," he snarls.
"You first," Poe snaps back. "I don't know who or what you are, but this is over. Let us out. Now."
"I don't know who you are," Finn retorts. "You're not Poe, you're some sort of imposter—"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Poe stands, blaster still pointing at Finn as his other hand waves about in agitation. "You're the imposter! The real Finn is bleeding out, now open the damn door!"
Finn raises his weapon higher. "Not a chance. Move out of the way. We're getting out of here before Poe dies."
"That's not me," Poe tells him. "And you're not Finn."
"Of course I am, because that's not me lying there on the floor," Finn snaps, shaking his blaster at them both. "You're pulling some kind of trick, making me see things."
Poe swears under his breath. "So we each think we're real, but we can't all be who we say we are."
"I know I'm real," Finn snaps. His hands are shaking again. "Now get out of my way or I'll prove it."
"Open the door first so we can leave. I need to save him!"
"And I need to save him!" Finn shouts. Around him, the cottage vibrates with anticipation and gleeful malice. Something tickles at the back of Finn's mind, like a warning, but he doesn't understand.
All he knows is that he has to save Poe.
All Poe knows is that he has to save Finn.
Finn, who is dying on the ground before him. Finn, who he loves but hasn't told. Not the man standing before him, hands shaking as he points his blaster at Poe's chest.
"Last chance," Poe says, voice low in warning. He has an idea. "Let us out or I will end this myself."
The other man's eyes flicker with doubt. Poe changes his plan, adjusts his aim. Because he knows two things: he must save Finn, and he is the real Poe Dameron. Not the injured man lying at Finn's feet.
He aims at the floor. He fires.
"No!" Finn jumps in front of the shot, lightning fast reflexes propelling him forward. The bolt hits him in the thigh and he falls hard to the floor.
Before he can react, Poe feels a sharp pain in his shoulder as Finn shoots him. Not the man he just shot…but the man beside him, the man he thought he was trying to save. Poe falls to his knees in pain and confusion.
"Finn?" he gasps as his Finn stands, blood still dripping from the wound in his chest. The other Poe stands as well, joining the Finn at the base of the stairs. Both men are mortally injured, yet they turn and smile, eyes empty and dead. Features blur as they morph into one, a dark shadow reaching to the ceiling as it looms over the entryway. Poe can feel the mocking hatred: this then, is the real enemy. The fallen Jedi who destroyed the village that took in the woman he once loved.
Poe reaches for his blaster. It is easily knocked away. Invisible hands yank him upright, press into his bloody shoulder, then squeeze his throat. He claws at it, unable to breath. Finn—the real Finn, the one Poe fucking shot—stands slowly and raises his right hand.
"Leave him alone," Finn snarls. The shadow laughs. Finn brings his other arm up, his leg shaking as he tries to stay upright.
"I said, leave him alone." Finn steps forward, pushing out with both hands, with the Force. The shadow resists, squeezes harder. Poe sees spots and gasps for breath.
Finn shouts again, muscles straining as he pushes harder, trying to break the shadow's hold. Once again, Poe is struck by the realization that he still hasn't told Finn, the real Finn, how he feels. "Finn," he gasps. "I—" He coughs, choking on his own spittle. "Saber," he finishes.
"What?" Finn looks at him and Poe flicks his eyes toward the lightsaber he dropped. Finn calls it to his hand, ignites it.
Finn shouts in defiance once more, stepping forward and into the shadow. He brings the lightsaber up, slashing into the darkness over and over, until he flings his arms out with a savage yell and falls to his knees. The shadow explodes into shards of darkness, sinking to the ground like ash and disappearing. Poe drops hard to the floor.
"Poe!" Finn crawls over to him as Poe struggles to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. He wants to speak, to say something, everything, but he can't make his voice work. He nods his head to tell Finn he is all right. Motions toward the door with his hand.
"Right," Finn says. "Let's get the hell out of here. We should…" He trails off, gazing at the stairs with a frown.
The lightsaber. Finn grabs it as Poe stands, then helps Finn up as well. He takes Finn's hand, and Finn holds him tight, as reluctant to let go as Poe is. They face the door.
"Force," Poe croaks, jerking his head toward the door. Finn nods, raises his hand. The door bursts open, shattering into pieces, and they hurry out into the forest clearing. Holding hands as they leave the past behind.
Author's Note:
This story was greatly influenced by an episode of one of my favorite tv shows. It was one of the Christmas episodes, and a classic. I'd love to know if you recognize my inspiration! Thank you for reading, I hope that was appropriately scary! Please do let a writer know what you think. Shouting into the void is harder than it seems. Comments warm our hearts and keep our imaginations writing. Thank you again – final chapter by Thursday!