Final Days (MCSM Fanfiction)

Chapter 22 - Grief

14:10 – Day 2

Petra wasn't sure for how long she and Olivia were sitting there in the snow, wrapped in each other's arms. Olivia was heartbroken, sobbing into Petra's jacket until her voice began to crack and give way. Petra was silent the entire time, tears leaking out from underneath her closed eyelids as she held Olivia tightly.

It was so hard to take in. Petra desperately wanted to believe that it was a dream, that she'd wake up again and everything would be fine.

But there was no avoiding the cold, hard reality. They had just lost a friend.

"Olivia." Petra said softly after a while, as the engineer's desperate sobs began to fade. "The time is ticking... we need to start thinking about heading back."

Another whimper left Olivia's mouth as she lifted her head weakly. She looked up at Petra, her gaze heartbroken.

"I know it's hard." Petra responded, gulping to stabilize the quivering of her own voice. She reached up, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "But we're not safe out here. And Jesse and Lukas..."

"What are we going to tell them?" Olivia whispered, wrapping her arms around herself and looking down.

"There's nothing else we can tell them, other than the truth." Petra responded, placing a hand on Olivia's shoulder. "As hard and as devastating as it will be, we don't have a choice."

Olivia gave a small nod in response, not looking up again. Her brown eyes were shining with tears.

"Come on." Petra said gently, taking Olivia's arm. "Let's go."

Olivia sat rooted to the spot for a few more seconds, before she reluctantly gave in and got to her feet. She began turning her head in the direction of Axel again, only for Petra to gently guide her gaze away from the awful sight.

Wrapping an arm around the engineer, Petra slowly began to walk away. Olivia leaned her head over against Petra, a tear drop rolling onto the redhead's jacket.

Despite how desperately Petra wanted to break back down into her own heap of misery, she held herself together for Olivia's sake. Ignoring the heavy beating of her heart, the distant throb inside her head.

It was going to be a long walk back to the cabin, one Petra didn't feel ready for. How were they going to break the news to Jesse and Lukas? More importantly, how would they take it?

Especially Jesse... She already had to deal with the pain of loosing Radar, would she be able to cope with losing one of her oldest friends?

Petra blinked away the burning sensation she felt in her eyes. Even if they made it through the whole thing... Nothing would ever be the same again. Not with one less member on their team. The five of them, now reduced to four.

Petra stumbled slightly, the thought alone making her feel unsteady on her feet.

"Petra?" Olivia stopped, looking over at her. "Are you okay?"

"About as okay as you are." Petra responded grimly.

Olivia blinked a few times, wiping the tears from her eyes. Using the opportunity to focus on Petra to help pull her mind away from Axel.

"But is anything else wrong?" She asked softly.

Petra shrugged as they began to walk again. Olivia raised her eyebrows slightly. Not a yes or a no was usually a sign that Petra was hiding something.

"You know you don't have to hide everything."

Petra sighed at Olivia's words, pulling a hand through her hair. "Liv, stop overreacting. I just kinda tripped over my own feet, you don't have to go all mother-hen on me."