Ambush.
It happened in a blink. We were clearing a building when the RPG hit. The world exploded. Dust. Fire. Pain. Screams.
I was thrown across the floor. Ears ringing. Blood dripping from my forehead.
I crawled.
"Rae!"
No answer.
I found her pinned under a collapsed beam. Eyes barely open. Breathing shallow.
"Stay with me," I whispered, gripping her hand.
Darius radioed for evac. Marlon laid cover fire. My world shrank to the space between her breath and mine.
"You made me feel human again," I said. "Don't you dare leave."
She smiled. Weak. Beautiful.
Then her fingers loosened.
Evac came too late.
I watched the helicopter rise, her body inside.
In my hand was her last letter. It read:
"You saved me too."
I read it again and again, even when the ink blurred with my tears.
And I knew… I'd never be the same.