Lost Friend

Everything was chaos. There was shouting and screaming everywhere, and amidst all that was Jordan, who had her pistols drawn as she fired repeatedly, the enemies around her dropping like flies. Through the haze of the smoke, she could tell that her friends were fighting, killing off as many people as they could, whether it be with sword, knives, or metal stars. It didn’t take long for everything to settle down, all targets obliterated, leaving only Jordan and her friends standing.
“This was even better than I expected,” Kyle said as he began retrieving his metal stars from the corpses.
“Nothing beats the thrill of fighting actual people,” June replied, sheathing her sword and making a show of cleaning her dusty clothes, even though it was clear they weren’t getting cleaner anytime soon.
“Stop acting like children and get ready to leave. We don’t exactly have the luxury of sitting around; reinforcements maybe arriving soon, and we don’t want to be around when that happens,” Jordan reprimanded.
“As you wish boss,” Kyle answered sarcastically before returning his weapons to their proper holsters.
If they hadn’t been busy, they would have noticed the subtle motion behind Jordan. If she hadn’t been too preoccupied with monitoring their progress and cleaning her own revolvers, Jordan would have heard the faint click of a gun cocking. But she didn’t, and that was something that ate her up everyday since. She didn’t, but someone else did.
Leo was already done placing his knives around his waist and was getting ready to declare himself ready when he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun barrel being loaded; it was faint and almost silent, but he heard it nonetheless. He looked around, trying to find where it was coming from before it was too late. Jordan. She had her back to a man, who despite being beaten and bloody, was aiming at her heart with a shooter.
“JORDAN WATCH OUT,” he yelled as he started running towards her, crossing the distance between them as fast as he could.
That’s when the shot rang out.
Kyle reacted immediately, throwing the star in his hand at the man, who was holding the smoking gun in his hand, killing him instantly. He watched as Jordan turned around, watched as her eyes widened in surprise and then closed in surrender; there was no way she was going to dodge that bullet in time. He was ready to run to her side, comforting her as she lay dying, and no matter how messed up this thought seemed, it was all his shocked brain could come up with. His vision, albeit dark and ominous, was actually as close to foresight as one could get. However, it was slightly off; Jordan wasn’t the one they’d be mourning today.
June watched in horror as Leo raced toward Jordan, trying to save her from her imminent doom. He wasn’t going to make in time. He wasn’t going to make it in time and she would be left, grieving the loss of her best friend. She was ready to accept the fact; she’d known that there was always a high possibility that one of them could die any minute. She had known that their work was dangerous, and she also knew that everyone else had acknowledged this fact when they decided to join. She was ready for it to be Jordan because she’d always known deep down that Jordan would rather die than let any harm come to them. She wasn’t ready for someone else to go first, however senseless and selfish this may seem. June watched as Leo suddenly arrived at Jordan’s side, aided by a burst of speed that was undoubtedly the result of adrenaline flooding his veins. He pushed her out of the way, collapsing on top of her as they both hit the ground.
Jordan opened her eyes, letting out a gasp as she discovered that she was still alive. She also became aware of the crushing weight on top of her and the fact that she lying on the ground.
“Get of me, Leo,” she muttered, trying to sound annoyed despite her heart being full of gratitude at the rescue. No matter how tough she seemed, she was still afraid of dying. She didn’t think anyone, no matter how courageous, could make peace with the idea of parting away from their loved ones forever, and despite there being no such people in her life, Jordan was not a fan of dying at the age of seventeen; she wanted to live her life to the fullest, to take revenge on all the people who wronged her, and to show them that they
were foolish to underestimate her. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized that Leo had yet to respond to her command; he was still lying on top of her, muscles relaxed in an unnerving way. That’s when she noticed something warm was seeping into her clothes. She was wide awake now; she quickly flipped Leo over and stared in horror as red bloomed across his chest.
“Leo?! Can you hear me?! Wake up you bastard,” she was trying to keep her voice level, but it had already gone an octave or two high in worry, “Don’t you dare die on me. I’ll never forgive you if you get yourself killed over something as dumb as this.”
Leo was barely aware of what was going around him, but he could make the sound of Jordan shouting something at him, and he willed his muddled mind to comprehend the words. She was saying something about how she’d make him pay if he died on her. How she was never going to talk to him again if he passed away.
“You never were one to show concern, were you, Jordan?” he muttered, getting the words out between rapid breaths.
“Keep talking, you idiot. We are going to get you to a doctor soon,” she encouraged, and he could feel hands grabbing him as he was lifted off the ground.
“I don’t think…I can hold on…much longer,” he said as he let out a cough that rattled his chest and felt some warm liquid dribble down his chin. He was dying. There was no he was going to make it; they weren’t going to reach a doctor in time.
He knew this, and he wanted the others to know it too, “It was a pleasure working with you guys. I wish it’d been longer, but I guess…not all wishes come true. I am sorry.”
Kyle watched Jordan’s composure shatter as Leo drew his last breath. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do at moments like this; he couldn’t even think straight. Leo was his closest friend; he was the one who’s welcomed him when he’d first arrived. He’d made him feel accepted for the first time. And now he was gone. There wasn’t going to be anymore late night jokes. They weren’t going to hang out at the arcade after finishing their latest job. He wasn’t even aware that he was crying, not until June put a hand on his shoulder and dragged him back to reality. He whipped them away and sat next to Jordan, watching as she kept pounding on Leo’s chest, begging him to wake up. He knew it was useless, he knew that he wasn’t coming back, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her to stop.
June could only watch as her teammates broke down, and she wanted to comfort them, but that didn’t seem like the right thing to do. She hadn’t had a chance to actually get to know Leo, he was a closed person by nature, and he only seemed to open up around Kyle and Jordan. June had meet them five months ago, and in all that time, Leo had only talked to her about missions. When she’d asked Jordan, she’d told her that a lot had happened to him in the past, and that he would tell her when he felt like it. That moment would never come. She’d never get a chance to know him better, despite how much she’d looked up to the opportunity. June hadn’t known him that well, but she knew him enough that losing him still hurt. Tears made their way down her cheeks as she mourned the loss of the boy who could’ve been a close friend. The boy who’d given up his life to save another’s.