Static* on hold

You left me behind

Gunfire sounded, Karlee grasped onto Johns' hand unconsciously and was surprised when he squeezed back."Get down! "a man shouted," They found us!" John yanked Karlee's arm causing her to stumble down and drop to her knees into the mud.While the same man that had called out came skidding through the hole in the fence, from the glimmer of moonlight she realized it was Marcos behind him was sage, Karlee smiled with relief upon seeing her friends had survived. "Randalls dead" he paused "Elsa to" Karlee never knew Randall that well other than brief good mornings they had never actually spoken.But Elsa had been the one to offer up her room to Karlee and share with Sonya, she had been the one to lend Karlee her clothes when she turned up with nothing but this spiked boots.Elsa had been someone incredibly kind and Karlee was said she was gone, she could only imagine the burn the other four felt right now.

"What happened?" John shouted, his attention directed on Marcos as a bullet shot through the fence, this was not the smooth plan they had hoped for.They have a whole system of automated trackers with that kind of hardware there's no way- " Marcos took another breath before continuing but there was no point they all knew " there's no way we're making it out of here".Karlee shifted uncomfortably next to John, he still had hold of her hand and only squeezed tighter when he noticed her discomfort, it was no use the dis-ease only grew.She really needed to start trusting her gut she thought.

"Look, if I can get closer, I can shut it down their system and the automated weapons," Karlee looked at pulse she couldn't believe what just left his mouth."I can buy you some time."

"Yeah, and what about you" he voice was as sharp as razor blades, she couldn't understand how stupid her friend was being."I'll be fine" he said and she knew those words were meant to comfort her but nothing would ease the feeling in her stomach she knew something wasn't right."I'll help you, I can fight them off." He shrugged off her offer, with an iron stare she had never seen "look K I'll be right behind you just go"John dragged her up before she could argue.

she didn't want to leave him behind throughout the night she had this sick feeling she put it down on nerves but now she wasn't so sure. She and John stood back a bit, once they had made it a safe-ish distance that Pulse could still catch them up and wait to make sure things were alright.When she saw the tower light turn off she looked up at the sky and took a breath of relief. Still looking up she noticed the constellations scattered across the sky they were beautiful and sparkling like icy grills. Then she heard a shot, her stomach doubled over when she noticed the body lying in the dirt.Pulse laid there with blood seeping through the chest pocket of his checkered shirt and she cursed herself for not fighting harder to stay.In the distant background she could hear hounds barking, alarms shouting and John screaming out Augusts's name she hadn't noticed that she was screaming out Gus too.Then John stopped but Karlee was still screaming as he dragged her away, she thought against Johns grasp but Thunderbirds arm was an iron bar that wouldn't melt in the furnace.In the van ride home, she still whispered his name, and still when they got to the door. when they got inside, everyone moved to the living gathering everyone together but Karlee wandered off upstairs to the shower.The water was scalding hot but nothing could hurt as much as tonight, at the boarding house she had saved her best friend life and tonight she had let her other one die. She stared down at her feet and saw the water pooled around them were slowly turning brown, the remnants of the dye shedding off.

when she stepped out of the shower and gazed into the mirror she saw the same girl that had left the boarding school, broken and bruised with the same blonde curls except longer and stained slightly.This is a new chapter she thought I'm not going to be that girl.

It all felt surreal, the stars, his smile as he joked about bug spray then him lying completely still on the ground like a dream gone bad. She noticed now with stars so bright and shiny there must have been magpies in the lurk the night to dark to pick them out, it must have been more than three because pulse wouldn't get a funeral the thought made her want to vomit she could feel bile in her throat as she sobbed.Call him by his name she thought as she penned a letter to Gus one he would never read.By the time she was finished, her letter was soaked in tears and she came to the conclusion those were the last she'd cry, she had to be there for John after all he had loved Pulse longer than she had.