[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246624086/0/0]Table of Contents[/url] [i]“GWEN!” “MOM!” Hayden and Alexei dropped to their knees, practically throwing themselves over Gwen. Gwen lay flat on her back in the snow, letting out horrible choking gasps. Alexei’s hands fumbled at his wife’s coat, breaking off a button as he desperately tore it open. Blood flowed from the wound in Gwen’s chest, staining her shirt red. “Gwen!” Alexei wailed, his hands passing over her bleeding chest then up to her face as her name spilled out from his lips over and over, “Gwengwengwengwen…” Gwen’s eyes stared, unblinking as she looked to her husband. Her body shook, racked with violent coughs, but she slowly lifted her hand to rest on Alexei’s. Hayden could only watch, feeling completely and utterly useless. “Light, Godrik,” Laurence muttered, seeming almost completely indifferent as he observed the scene. “What?” Godrik defended, putting up his hands, “She came at me.” Hayden wanted to kill the monsters standing behind him. He wanted them all to die, every person like them. But there was nothing he could do. He took his mother’s free hand, holding it in his. Tears welled up in his eyes, his quiet sobs drowned out by Alexei’s weeping. “Look at this mess,” Laurence continued, lowering his voice. “What?” Godrik retorted, “This is good. Sends a message to the people. Let’s ‘em know they can’t cross us.” “Yeah?” Laurence hissed, “Makes the others too scared. But them? They’re the family! Ever heard o’ revenge? They’ve got a reason to really hate us now. So…” Hayden heard shifting sounds, like one of them was waving their arms, but still didn’t look. His eyes were fixed on Alexei, who had his face over Gwen’s. She had already stopped breathing. Alexei pressed his lips against hers, his tears falling onto her cheeks. Hayden doubled over, holding Gwen’s limp hand to his chest and shutting his eyes, feeling his own hot tears roll down his cheeks. “Oh- why me?” Godrik asked. At this point, Hayden didn’t know what they were talking about. He wasn’t listening. He didn’t care, he just wanted to hold his mother. “‘Cause this is your mess, ya idiot!” Laurence snapped, “You already killed one, an’ I ain’t wastin’ my bullets on ‘em. Clean up.” “Bulle-“ Alexei echoed in a startled whisper, and Hayden opened his eyes to look at his father. Alexei had lifted his head to look at the gunmen, his overflowing eyes open wide. He whipped around to face Hayden, and Hayden saw the horror on his face as he shouted, “HAYDEN!” The sharp retort of Godrik’s revolver firing hit Hayden’s ears a second time. Alexei’s lifeless body fell over the corpse of his wife, a bleeding hole in the side of his head. At first Hayden was too shocked to react. He sat and stared at his dead parents, into his father’s hollow eyes. Then his raw emotions swelled up and burst out of him in a horrible, anguished scream. Hayden twisted to face the murderers, filled with rage and gritting his teeth as he pushed himself up to stand, but a heavy boot connected with his head. He was kicked straight down into the snow, clutching at the splitting pain in his skull. The world spun and blurred, becoming unfocused. “Stay down, kid,” Laurence rumbled, almost sounding sorry. Hayden doubted the man felt any remorse. He couldn’t see Godrik, but he knew that the gunman was preparing to finish the job. Hayden closed his eyes, letting out a terrified sob as he awaited his death. “Hold on,” Godrik pondered, “Now I’m wastin’ bullets. I’m jus’ gonna knife the kid.” There was a muffled thump, probably Laurence swinging his arm to hit Godrik’s chest, “Hold on, idiot…boy, make any move an’ I shoot ya, got it? You can take this time to make peace or pray to the Traveler or whatever the hell you want.” Hayden didn’t move, not even to open his eyes. That seemed to satisfy Laurence, who addressed Godrik again, “What’re you thinkin’? You try gettin’ close with a knife, you give him a chance. Just shoot ‘im.” Godrik sighed heavily, “Fine.” Hayden listened to the shuffling as Godrik pulled out his revolver again and pulled back the hammer with a soft click, “Sorry ‘bout your mama an’ otets. You’re ‘bout to join ‘em, though.” “Traveler, Godrik,” Laurence moaned, “Quit with the one-liners, aim an’-“ The explosive sound of a gun firing cut him off and Godrik screamed. Hayden’s eyelids snapped open in time to see Laurence hurrying to raise his rifle as he swore, “LIGHT ABO-“ A second gunshot silenced Laurence, and he fell to the ground beside Godrik. Both were still. Hayden let out a shaky breath, trying to calm his trembling body. Relief washed over him. He had been saved. He rolled over to see who had rescued him, and stared in shock. Natalia stood a few meters away, holding the Yegorov’s pistol out in front of her. Her entire body seemed to be shaking. They were both still for a moment, just looking at each other, then Natalia dropped the weapon and rushed to Hayden. She dropped to her knees and crashed into him, wrapping him in a viscous embrace. “Hayden!” She bawled, squeezing him tight, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t know what to do and they-they-“ She buried her face in his shoulder, crying like a baby, and he did the same. His tear ducts opened up like floodgates, and his pained sobs were muffled by Natalia’s shoulder as he clutched at the back of her shirt. “Your parents-“ Natalia hiccuped, raising her head and starting to lift herself to move forward, “Are they-“ “They’re dead!” Hayden gasped between sobs, pulling Natalia’s head back down so she wouldn’t look at the corpses behind him, “They’re dead, Nat! They’re dead!” They hugged each other even harder, as if they would lose each other too if they couldn’t hold on tightly enough. They stayed like that, locked together on their knees, until the sound of crunching snow announced the arrival of another person. “You…” a man whispered hesitantly, “You should go.” Hayden and Natalia looked up to see who had spoken. Hayden vaguely recognized him as their neighbor, but didn’t know his name. He hardly knew anyone in Flats anymore. “People’ll ‘ave heard the gunshots,” the man muttered, keeping his distance and avoiding eye contact, “The others’ll be comin’ soon. Best go find an empty house to hide in for awhile.” Hayden nodded. The man was right. The other gunmen would come looking for them. They’d have to leave their home and move into one of the many houses that had been abandoned over the years. Either that or run out of town, but chances of survival would be slim in the wilderness. Sniffing against his tears and running nose, Hayden slowly stood and pulled Natalia up with him. “I’ll tell ‘em you made a run for the woods,” the neighbor said, backing away towards his house. “Thank you,” Hayden replied, tugging on Natalia’s arm, “C’mon, Nat. Let’s grab what we can and-“ “Wait,” Natalia grabbed Hayden’s wrist. He looked up into her eyes, and was taken aback when he saw the haunted look on her face. She released him and stepped back to the bodies lying in the snow. Not knowing what to do, Hayden just stood and watched as Natalia picked up the weapons that had belonged to the now-dead gunmen. She rose and turned back to him, offering the revolver with one hand. Hayden stared down at it, the weapon that had just been used to murder his parents. Then he looked up to Natalia’s face one more time. Tears still flowed freely down her cheeks and her lips quivered unchecked. “We can-“ her voice shook almost as much as her trembling hand, “We can kill the rest.”[/i]