A shot was fired. Then another.

A figure quickly fired back at the shots, trying to keep themselves hidden.

“Damn.” they cursed, reaching for another round of ammo. “How much longer are you going to take?!”

Courtney dove behind a large boulder for cover as she began reloading her gun. She hit her shoulder quite harshly, but the adrenaline running through her veins was blocking any and all pain. Within seconds, her best friend, Amber, showed by her side.

“Courtney, you’re hurt!” she said with a worried voice.

The black-haired girl looked over the top of the rock and took two or three shots, taking some of the enemy’s army down.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed!” Courtney replied in a sarcastic voice, rolling her eyes as she sank back down behind the rock.

“You’ve got anymore bullets?” Amber asked, brushing a lock of golden orange hair out of her face.

Courtney dug into her pocket and fished out another round for her friend to use.

“You’re already out?” she asked. “I told you—”

“I don’t need a lecture from you right now. I had no other option when those guys were shooting at me from over there.” Amber snapped, reloading her gun quickly.

Courtney rolled her eyes as she redid her ponytail for the umpteenth time that day. She didn’t need to see her reflection to know that her black hair was tangled and matted with blood and dirt from earlier fights.

“How’s Zander? Was he able to get to the weapons facility?” Courtney asked.

Amber held her shotgun out from behind the rock and fired a few consecutive shots before returning to cover. 

“They’ve got us pinned. I’ll draw their fire while you run to- “

“Amber.” Courtney cut her best friend off. “Where is Zander?”

The girl hid behind her messy hair, looking at the ground as she replied.

“Zander…” she spoke. “He’s dead.”

Courtney’s eyes widened. She could feel her heart beating out of her chest more than it already was.

“H-How…?”

“He thought he could make it to the shed and hide there until the enemy withdrew from the area, but they had already rigged it.” Amber explained. “With the shed being so old, it was up in flames within seconds. I couldn’t do anything but watch.”

Courtney remembered seeing a lot of smoke in the area, and she internally kicked herself for splitting up with the group. Maybe she could’ve done something for Zander.

“What about Jason? You two were together when you separated, right?” Amber questioned.

Courtney gave her best friend a look before pointing to her hair.

“Whose blood do you think this is?” she asked. “He got shot, and I wasn’t able to save him. I tried to drag his body back here, but I wouldn’t have made it back alive.”

The shots grew harsher and louder within the coming seconds, meaning that the enemy was getting closer to the two.

Courtney and Amber looked at each other and knew what was going to happen. Given their intelligence in battle tactics, they could’ve easily thought of a way to escape and hide somewhere, but they knew it was no use.

“Everyone else is gone.” Courtney spoke.

“Yeah.” Amber replied. “It’s such a shame I never met your parents.”

Courtney chuckled as she pulled her hair out of the ponytail. “It’s certainly been a crazy six years. Who knows? We might even be reborn as sisters.”

This made Amber snort. “Sisters? I would torture the heck out of you, at all times of the day.”

Courtney smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”

The two sat in silence for a few seconds.

“Do you think Jason and Zander are happy up there?” Amber asked, looking at the sky, painted with smoke and ash from the battle.

“Those two are probably cuddling each other as we speak.” Courtney replied. “Those idiots are snuggling each others’ faces off while we’re sitting here, waiting for our unenviable death.”

“It’s only fair.” Amber said. “We did force them to come with each of us.”

“Yeah, because if Jason had seen Zander die, he’d probably go on some kind of rampage, or he’d jump into the fire as well.” Courtney spoke, thinking of her friend’s curly brown hair and gentle green eyes. It brought tears to her eyes.

Amber placed her gun beside her and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh.

“It was for the best.” she said. “And we knew this was a possibility.”

Courtney set her gun down and took off her black gloves. “How long has it been? A few months?” she asked.

Amber laughed. “I wish. It’s been a year exactly today.”

Courtney brushed her hand against her face, attempting to get some of the dirt off. “Has it really been that long? Jeez, time passes by way too fast.”

“Especially when you’re fighting for your life.” Amber reminded her friend.

Courtney chuckled. “Just think, we never celebrated Christmas or birthdays in all that time.” 

In that moment, the gunfire stopped. Both girls gave each other a confused look before slowly grabbing their guns on instinct. The two knew they were going to die, but they were going to go down fighting at least.

Courtney looked out from behind the rock, cursing once she saw the enemy was hiding in the smoke.

However, when an object was thrown into the air and landed over by the girls, it definitely caught their attention.

“Grenade.” They both said.

Without a second thought, the two stood up and ran as fast as they could, spotting a cliff just up ahead. They gave each other a looked before returning their gaze to the deadly drop ahead.

In that moment, the two held no fear in their being. They knew from the very beginning that it would have come to something like this. From the very moment the enemy set foot on the sacred land of their country, they knew.

Courtney and Amber halted at the edge of the cliff, giving each other one last glance before they gripped hands and jumped.

Memories flashed before their eyes, mostly of when the two had first met, or when they were hanging out and laughing. There was not one moment where either girl saw their parents or siblings, only each other. Approaching the ground quickly, the two each realized something that was too late to say.

“I love you.”