Sanctuary

Chapter 5: Loss

 It's as if everything was moving in slow motion. The silence in the air was deafening. The only thing ringing in Laxus' ears was the sound of metal piercing flesh. He would never forget it. His entire world was crumbling down. He watched helplessly as the blade was ripped out of Freed's chest. A sharp pain hit his heart as Freed's body fell to the ground.

"FREED!!" Laxus screamed as he was running to him, fighting back the physical pain he was feeling from his injuries. Before he could step any closer, he was being thrown across the church and sent crashing into an abandoned shrine.

"Did you forget about our mission, Isaiah?" Laxus heard a voice coming from Freed's direction.

"Of course not! I just thought we had time for some extra fun while we're at it," the man Laxus had been fighting responded back with a laugh. "You just had to come and ruin it all didn't you, Marissa?"

The voice made its way towards the man, now with a name. "I'm tired of waiting for you to be done with your antics. Lets get what we came for and get out of here." The woman making her way to Isaiah had long sky blue hair that was slicked up into a ponytail. Her armor was similar to Isaiahs with some minor differences in badges. She was tall and had an eyepatch over her right eye. She took out a piece of cloth and wiped Freed's blood from her blade.

Laxus was losing all hope. He was giving up on the fight when he heard it. A weak cough coming from Freed's direction.

The two soldiers turned their heads over to where Freed lay. As Marissa was about to walk toward him, Laxus leapt to his feet. He slammed his hands together, causing a combination of thunder and lightning to hit Marissa and Isaiah. The two of them were sent flying in the opposite direction, while Laxus rushed to Freed's body.

"Freed!" Laxus was gasping out, holding back sobs between breaths. His knees crashed down onto the floor next to Freed's body. His clothes now inches away from the pool of blood forming around it. Laxus grabbed the back of Freed's head, lifting it up to make eye contact with him.

Freed's face was pale. The blood around his mouth started to darken. His eyes were fighting to stay open. Tears were rolling out of the sides of them.

"No. No Freed, please! Please talk to me!" Laxus cried out, as he cradled Freed's head.

Freed's chest started moving upward and suddenly he was coughing out blood. "Laxus.." he choked out. "Laxus, I.. I can't... breathe."

"I know. I know Freed, just hang in there alright? We're gonna get you back to the guild and-"

Before he could finish he heard rustling behind him. Seems as though Isaiah and Marissa were recovering from the blow.

"There's no time Laxus. You have to..."

"No!" Laxus yelled, "I'm not leaving you!"

Freed could hear the footsteps quickly approaching them. With his own blood, he used his thumb and index finger to write some type of scripture onto Laxus' forehead.

"Freed," Laxus said with trembling lips, "what're you doing?"

"Laxus, it's okay." Freed cupped the side of Laxus' face, "you're always saving me. Now it's my turn." Fresh tears were trailing down his face. He paused, struggling with every breath he said, "Before I die Laxus, I need to tell you something."

"Stop it Freed. You're not dying here." Laxus looked behind him, mostly to avoid eye contact with Freed. He didn't want to see Freed like this. He didn't want to come to terms with what was happening.