"I'm sorry."
Marcus doesn't answer at first, cocking his gun towards the forest. The groans and screams of the Biters grow closer, and I tighten the grip on my shotgun, fear tugging at my stomach.
"Don't worry, Mari," he says finally, gaze still trained on the woods. "We'll make it through this." I wince at how empty his words are. Blinking back tears, I avert my eyes to the ground.
"T-that's not what I mean," I mutter. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Marcus stiffen. A few seconds pass and he doesn't say anything. "I'm...sorry for everything I did. It was wrong."
"Mari-"
"No!" I burst out, startling both him and myself. The biters are close now, I can hear them thundering through the foliage. "I just...I..." Struggling to find the right words, I lower my shotgun. "What I did was horrible, and I hurt you-"
"They're coming!" Naylor shouts from somewhere else in the field. "Get ready!"
"-And that was never what I wanted!" The tears are flowing freely now, mixing with the dried blood on my nose. Marcus lowers his gun too, and looks at me- really looks at me, for the first time in ages, and I choke back a sob. "If we don't make it out of this, if this is really the end..." A Biter's screech sounds off about eight feet away from us. "Then I want you to know that you're the greatest friend I've ever had, and that I'm sorry." Marcus smiles, his brown eyes soft.
"Thank you."
The Biters break through the forest, grotesque faces twisted in agony. Shots ring out. I raise my gun and fire.
The battle begins.
YOU ARE READING
Stars \\ Book One
Action"i'm just tired." i mutter, eyes trained on the window. "what're you tired of?" asks marcus, cleaning the blood off of his pocket knife. i shrug. "everything, i guess." // based off @spacedylan's "strangers" marcus belongs to @uradorabowl (on tumblr)
