Running down the stairs, I was tripping over my own heels. I stumbled down the stairs with the syringe in my hand. I saw black smoke brewing in the entire room. I couldn't breathe in anything. I had to withdraw slightly to place my collar over my mouth. I coughed as I advanced through the entire explosive scenery.
I looked around to see nothing but the orange circle of flames. The heat drew sweat and oxygen from my body. I wiped my eyes as they burned. I didn't see Nyght, but I almost felt as if I could sense him in the room.
I ran tough the room. As I neared the more dangerous destruction, I heard a crack above me. I kept running and put my hands over my head as a beam fell. Dodging it, I came to what used to be the receptionist desk. I saw a horror right next to it.
I saw Reyes burnt body. My heart was racing as I made my way over to him. He was mostly doused, but he was pure black and melting before my very eyes. His beard was burnt away. His body was covered in craters the size of plums as his skin was rotting away.
I looked at the syringe. It couldn't hurt to give him half of the medicine. No more though. Nyght needed it most if he was hurt. I squatted next to him and took his arm. I pressed the plunger lightly and let only half of the liquids fill his veins. Reyes still didn't move, but I saw he was breathing. I needed to find Nyght, but I couldn't just leave Reyes for dead. Nit after everything he's done for us.
With the raging fire shorting my time, I needed to get Reyes to safety, quickly. I picked him up and struggled to carry his giant body. I had to take slow steps as I made my way to the stairs. My arms were aching as I lugged his heavy weight down the stairs. My neck was stretching as I was practically power lifting him to keep in my arms.
As smoke flew up the stairs, I went down. Creeping around the corner, I saw there was the safe room. It was unlocked and open for use. The lock was green. I opened the door and laid Reyes down. I looked around and saw there was an emergency sheet and I put it down before rolling Reyes's decomposing body on it. I turned on my heel and sprinted up the stairwell. I nearly fell flat on my face as I dashed into the inferno. I saw the flames were like solid walls now and I threw myself through them as I made my way over to the plane.
The aircraft was nearly unrecognizable, but with the wing still erected upwards, I managed to find my way into the clearing. The heat was insurmountable, but my desperation outweighed everything. I looked around and couldn't find Nyght. I slid to a stop as the wing began to topple. I focused on a point at the exploded metals and took off with my wings. I zoomed under the falling wing and came to a stop. If I hadn't left my staff upstairs, I would've used it to push some of the wreckage around safely. Without any tools, I began to dig around the wreckage. I set the syringe down as I pressed through the heavy metals.
I cut myself on the glass, but I hardly noticed the sting as I screamed in frustration. I threw a sheet of metal out-of-the-way. I was seeing red as I punched another piece of metal when I had no avail in recovering confirmation on my lover's survival. I used my foot to push the plane windshield out-of-the-way.
Soon, after the dangerous work that hurt my hands, I stopped and nearly doomed my mission as a lost cause. I tearfully looked around and saw the crumpled bodies of Overwatch employees. I wanted to keep looking for Nyght, but I had to save as many as possible. I glanced back at the wreckage and imagined I was leaving Nyght trapped under the rubble. I shot a look back at the men and then made up my mind. With my instinct telling me to check on them, I grabbed the syringe and ran over to one and saw that the young private was definitely dead. His head was gory as if someone had push him into a wood chipper.
I looked up and before I could run to the next body, I saw Nyght on his back slouched over a pile of smashed tile and graphite. He looked like he was only a destroyed throne of rubble. I rushed over to him with my voice full of relief. I was about to slam the needle into his thigh when his hand suddenly shot out and grasped my wrist. My trice strained as I tried to force my arm down in motion, but Nyght's grip was too strong.
"Nyght!" I yelled. "Let me inject you!"
"Give me the needle," he spoke with such softness that I almost missed what he said. Slowly, I relented, stopped resisting against the iron grip, and he released me. He took the needle from me with shaky fingers and eyed me suspiciously. He grabbed my neck and hugged me close to him. I was smothered against his warm body. He kissed my neck and whispered in my ear.
"I love you so much and I want you to hold me as I die."
"What?" I withdrew. "No! I'm going to save you!"
"With what?" He smiled. I looked down and saw the needle was pressed into my arm and the plunger had been pressed. I looked back up at him horrified. I pulled the needle out and saw there was nothing left to be injected into him. I looked back down at him. He was still holding his lovable grin.
"Why?" I asked in disbelief at first. "Why? Why? Why! Why!" I was beating with my fists against his chest in frustration. "Why are you being so selfish?" I screamed.
"I'm not," he smiled brightly. "I'm being heroic."
"Why?" I asked broken. My voice was failing me.
"Because you have to survive beyond all of us. This medicine changes everyone. It's just a more advanced copy of the serum thrown on me."
"But you said-"
"I lied," he whispered. "There was never a medicine Reyes got. The fluids thrown on me were just changing my body to be sharper, more superhuman. With this, there is no recipe that you'll decode in short time. It's what I told you it was. With this, you'll live longer. You'll be able to outlive every enemy and when the time is right, you'll be able to live free."
"But it doesn't resurrect people?"
He shook his head. "It's just for the sick. Imagine that. A world were everyone live to the fullest without the fear of dying and when the time is right, they'll let themselves go easily. Without any wars. Without any fighting."
"We could've been together forever."
"Angela," he reached out shakily. He cupped my cheek. "I love you so much. But you're the only one I trust to love the world. We've put down Ana and Morrison. Overwatch is no more. When the time is right, you and Reyes, if you saved him, will rebuild it. To put together what is broken."
"But-"
"Shhhhh," he leaned up and coughed up blood. "I don't want you to complain. I want your love. Angela, the world is going to throw so much as you. So much. But you, you can overcome it. Let me rest knowing you love me and I love you. Angela, I will be reunited with all those I love in Heaven and not as spouse, but as a loving brother. Please, take care of Sombra. Please, hold me. I'm fading away now. I feel so light as if I'm just… drifting away. Oh, Angela, I love you…" Nyght's voice began to fade off and be incomprehensible.
Tears streamed out of my eyes as I saw him blink with pure pink eyes. He did not sob, nor cry, nor let out a single tear. He was a dragon resting. An old dog sleeping peacefully. The sound of raindrops hitting the roof slates at night in a beautiful symphony. An elderly man accepting death, yet, sleeping in his rocking chair as if he was in no hurry to get to his last appointment.
I leaned forward and kissed his bloody lips. Sucking in his bodily fluids and just holding on to him for dear life so I could feel his heat as long as possible. Then, after a long minute of kissing, I noticed his hand was slackened. His lips were limp and unresponsive. His eyes were closed. My tears dripped on his face as his blood dribbled down my chin and dripped on his heart. I felt my chest tighten as my breathing sporadically cut on and off.
My shoulders were shaking. I felt nothing but coldness as I faced the sky and screamed at it. I couldn't breathe as my sudden rush of noise was cut off and just left me with my mouth full, but producing nothing. I felt the hot tears run down my eyes and come to my chin. Unable to think a single thought my grief, I tried to stop breathing. Perhaps I could be Juliet and would join him in Death. But alas, I couldn't bring myself to asphyxiation. Thus, I held his head straight to mine and held him.
Holding him close, I heard a shift of movement behind me. I drew the blaster from my hip and aimed. I saw Morrison standing up holding his stomach in. I held it shakily and he looked at me with nothing but pity in his eyes. He was a monster acting like a human. I couldn't stand the look of him. I looked down at Nyght's dead body and sobbed. I looked up at Morrison who was holding a hand up for mercy.
This was my commander. He could have family. He could be just trying to keep something together despite the amount of holes in his organization he had. A soldier trying to do his duty.
This was my family killer. He took my family. He was just trying to keep me down and apart from what I loved most despite what I had planned for Nyght and I. A killer bathing in his pleasure.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the trigger.
When I noticed the fires were no more, I walked off upstairs where there was no one. They must've sealed off the area and decided to wait until later to inspect damage. I walked up the bleak steps full of nothing but coldness and black ash. Walking with purpose and a forced smile on my face as little flames appeared around me. I went to my old medical room and grabbed my staff and bag of supplies. The air was icy and the floor was even colder.
I went back downstairs and started to begin surgery into Reyes' body. Removing his muscle tissue and designing nanonic structures to keep him in a constant cycle. I commenced my work quickly and kept a continuous pace to rebuild what was destroyed in my desire.
When I was finished, I began to build my own lenses. They would dissolve in my eyes, but they were necessary for my quest. I placed the lenses in my eye before they became fluid like a tear and I blinked it away. I looked around and saw Reyes was still alive, but he had been dead, I would've seen his soul.
A few hours later, he awoke.
"Angela?" He rubbed his head. "What-"
He was cut off by my blaster pressed to his temple. He was silent as my blaster went further into his flesh as it decomposed and let me push deeper into him. His mouth was constantly morphing as his jaw fell to the ground and turned to black smoke on impact only for his jaw to reform in its proper place to restart the cycle. Now, take that and that was his entire body.
He was a haunting figure hulking in his form. He seemed to seep nothing but black smoke from his empty, regenerating shell of a man. He was no longer Reyes, but someone else.
"What happened to you?" I said afraid, but fully aware of what I had done and made. I had made the Grim Reaper. The pawn to my board as I knew what my endgame was. He was going to be my slave as I hide my true psychopathy. He was going to help me do what Nyght told me to forget. I was on a mission to stop death entirely and Reyes was only a first hand experiment. Maybe, just maybe, if I tried hard enough, I could reverse it to get back Claire, my parents, and Nyght.
With Reyes, Amélie, and Sombra, I knew I had allies this time. Allies that would totally support me. Allies that wouod be undyingly loyal to me. Starting with Reyes. With this plan in mind, I knew I had to commence my planning quickly as Reyes answered in a cold voice.
"You tell me, Doc."
Ghost of the Phantom
I thank you all for the ride and will see this series expand sometime in 2018 on March 18th.
Until next time...
~The Wolf of the North