- Ethan Egan -
My wounded leg finally buckled beneath me, whole entire aching body collapsing to the ground.
Shotgun still in hand, I began to drag myself along the dead grass, teeth grit and eyes stinging with resilient tears.
What mess have I gotten myself into?
How did I end up in such a place, why?
Because I thought I was doing the right thing.
I only ever wanted to do the right thing.
Only halfway across the field, my grunts grew quiet as I slowed to a stop, body refusing to move on.
Mason had been turned. Ruined, tainted by Jäger and his people.
And it was my fault.
If I had never sent out that alert, if I had never tried to dig deeper into a world I didn't understand...
If I had never met Alma in the hospital that night.
Simply visiting an injured co-worker, several bones broken from something we then couldn't identify.
I wished I had never invited her to my car. I wished that I had never been captured by Jäger, his wife and his child. I wish that I had never tried to tell anyone what I saw, that I'd never dragged Dainan into this mess unwillingly.
I wish I had never met Mason.
And Alvy...
Everything that had happened was my fault...
I just wanted them gone, all of them. These Soulless beasts that killed men, women and children without hesitation.
I just wanted to keep everyone safe.
I knew it wouldn't be easy, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into.
But I became so distracted, so focused on just getting rid of them that everything else faded away in my mind.
Losing my job took away a huge part of me. I had dedicated my entire life to becoming a police officer. As a young boy, I dreamed of saving lives, being respected.
The day I was given my badge was the greatest day of my life.
God, where did everything go wrong...
Maybe it was all my fault.
I wanted something so badly that I stopped at nothing when trying to get it.
I let Mason get turned, abandoned Alvy and lost my best friend.
Now what do I have?
Nothing.
There's no way I can get rid of them alone, I don't think there ever really was a chance.
I forced myself up onto my elbows, gripping the shotgun tighter.
The world would be far better off with me gone.
Everything would have been fine if I had never been born.
I made this mess, I deserved to pay for it.
Pressing the barrel against my chin, my hand hovered over the trigger.
I took a shaky breath, prepared for it to be my last.
And then...
"What're you doing down there, officer?"
I scoffed.
"You can't even leave me alone to off myself? You sure are needy."
Jäger crouched down before me, that taunting smirk plastered across his smug face.
"Listen, my friend, I don't think that's a very good idea."
He pulled the gun from my grip, throwing it way out of reach.
