Things went from bad to worse when it started raining.

If religion was right then clearly God hated me or had a terrible sense of setting placement. Alone, in the woods without a soul around. This place was strange in that my normal senses were completely useless. On top of that my mind was starting to drift in and out. It wasn't a complete pass out. I had managed to get sleep at home so part of me was rested.

Everything hurt but functioned. The fact that my damage was minuscule was amazing. Those bullets should have left missing chunks not grazes. Somehow the shield and sword were tougher than expected. My leg ached a little, but it took the pressure without issue. The wounds on my arms and legs had stopped bleeding fairly quick. Rain helped wash away the rest. The pants were black and purple so bloodstains wouldn't be immediately obvious.

We found some shelter under one of the trees. It didn't stop all the water but blocked a good portion. I cradled Kahina in the sleeping bag and was thankful it was at least semi-resistant on the outside. Not by design, just by luck of fabric. Her body felt like clay.

The knife had made it with me. A fresh cut was all it took for some crimson liquid to trickle out of my palm. I dripped the inkling of blood into her mouth and prayed. Hell. Hopefully, it helped.

My head hung over hers and I held her close to my chest. For that brief moment, it was the two of us again. This woman I admitted to loving, finally, out loud with a witness.

Years ago I asked Daniel what he thought love was. The Agent said it was a lot of things but mostly being willing to sacrifice anything for another person. I had just started dating Kahina at the time and didn't pay it much attention.

Now, though, now I understood. Anything meant exactly that. Life, limb, property, or destroying a relationship. I was losing her. Dead or alive we would never be together. Candy's deal had seen to that. I agreed in order to keep her alive, by sacrificing our future together to allow her eternity.

It felt like the greatest ‘fuck you’ in the world when a bright sun rose in the morning. The type of hazy sun that doesn't care in the slightest how shitty things were going. Proof that life would keep on going no matter what happened.

I held her and cemented her face to memory.