Perfect Sacrifice

by Parker, Jack

  "Ray," began Leon again as he tightened his hold on her. "I…this may seem a bit selfish…but I don't want you to leave the base." She wanted to tell him that she didn't want to either, but once Ramirez was really gone, there'd be no reason for her to stay. She would no longer be bound by her promise to Dr. Solaris. Leon would no longer need protection.

  "Leon, I…" she began, unsure as to how to continue that. "I don't…I don't know what I'll do."

  "Well," said Leon, a small smile spreading across his face. "How about you stay with us? Not as the ace knight but as a registered pilot for our team? What do you say?"

  "Leon…" she said sadly, but he only held her tightly against him, resting his head atop hers.

  "Please Ray?" he asked, wanting her to at least consider his offer. "You're the only girl I've been around since my mom died. You're the only person other than my family that knows me so well. At least consider it."

  Ray closed her eyes and sighed mentally. She would definitely consider it, but she knew he wanted an answer now. He wanted to hear that she'd be there no matter what. He needed her there, and she could say the same about him. He was the only person who knew her so well, and he was the first boy to ever kiss her. She would definitely consider his offer.

  "I can't promise you that I won't go back to headquarters," she began softly, and she felt him flinch as she said this. "But I can promise you…that I'll never leave you. You have my word. I promise." And a promise is a promise.

  * * * *

  The next thing Ray felt was white hot pain shoot through her abdomen. She was quickly thrown back, and thanks to her skates, she ended up slamming into the far wall. She slid down to the floor, her face twisted in pain, but she quickly got back to her feet, all the while covering the bullet hole in her stomach.

  "Ray!" Leon called in concern as he pushed himself into a half sitting half lying position.

  Ramirez smirked widely, not seeming phased at all by the interruption that Ray had caused. In fact, this worked to his favor. He would kill her before she had the chance to draw out her gun. Then he'd deal with Leon. He was going to thoroughly enjoy himself. His finger tightened on the trigger again, and before Ray could even react, he pulled it.

  Ray bit her lip to keep from screaming as another bullet hit her, this time passing through her left shoulder. She began to reach for her father's handgun, the one she had finally found bullets for. However, before she could get it, Ramirez shot her again in her left arm. Three more bullets soon came at her. Two hit her legs, and another hit her other shoulder. However, she fought back the pain and grabbed the handle of her gun. She raised it quickly, and just as Ramirez let off another shot, Ray fired off her own.

  The two bullets raced through the air. Ray was hit first, the bullet penetrating deep into her upper body. The pain was just too great, and she couldn't stay standing anymore. She began to fall, going down in a bloody heap of torn clothing and bullet holes. However, she was able to watch as her bullet hit its mark…right between Ramirez's cold blue eyes. He had been killed instantly, his gun falling from his hand as he hit his desk and slid to the floor. It was then that Ray felt her shoulder come in contact with the cold metal, and it hurt beyond words.

  "Ray!" called Leon as he ran to her. His heart was pounding in his ears, and the sight he found before him didn't quell it. If anything, his fear heightened. Ray was a bloody mess, full of bullet holes. Every limb had at least one, and her left arm and her chest had two. Neither had been very close to the heart, but that didn't matter. These wounds could easily claim her life, even if there was sacrum in her veins. There was just so much blood.

  Ray slowly rolled herself over onto her back, but she cringed as her wounds were stretched. It was starting to get hard to keep her eyes open. However, she could just make out the sight of Leon, his face full of concern. He was worried about her, and it's not like she could blame him. She had just been shot seven times. That was definitely a record for her. If she lived through this, she'd have quite a legend behind her.

  "Ray, hang on," said Leon as he gently slid his arms under her, holding her limp body in his arms. "You have to hold on. We're going to head back to Torran, alright? Your Geno can get us there."

  "I'm sorry…" she managed to rasp out as she forced a smile for him. "I guess…I should have been a bit more careful." She coughed a few times, her body trembling in Leon's arms.

  "Look, don't say that," he demanded, his voice almost starting to crack as a few tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "You can't give up yet. You have to make it. You promised me, remember?" Ray's eyes widened just a little as she stared at him, his image starting to blur before her. She was starting to lose control on her sight.

  "I promised?" she questioned weakly.

  "On the cliff during the sunset," he reminded her. "You promised you'd always be there. You gave me your word. A promise is a promise, Ray."

  "A promise…is a promise," she repeated with a small trace of her smile still left. It was then that her whole world went black, and she could have sworn she heard Leon call out to her, but his voice quickly faded. Only one thing seemed to echo in the darkness. I never break a promise. I won't die, Leon. Not yet. I promise…

  * * * *

  Torran hospital was starting to become like a second home to the Solaris family, but in no way was that a good thing. Only hours ago had Leon returned, piloting Ray's battered Geno. It was an honest to God miracle that the thing still worked after the damage it had sustained. However, the miracle had been short lived. Leon and Ray had indeed returned, and although Leon had made it out okay, Ray indeed hadn't. The second they had arrived at the hospital, the doctors had taken her. They were currently trying to save her life, which seemed like a losing battle. She had lost so much blood.

  Leon was a little surprised to see General Gordan and the knights there. He, along with his father, brother, and Andy, had learned about the battle that had taken place. Apparently they were there for Jace and Aaron. Jace had suffered only from a shoulder injury, but Aaron had been shot four times. That was only three less than Ray, and one of his had been nothing more than a graze to his side. He would live, according to the doctors.

  Currently the Solaris family, along with Gordan, Andy, Abby, and Brian, were waiting for any news concerning Ray. They wouldn't leave until they knew what was going to happen. They had to know if she'd live through this. After all, the sacrum in her blood was both a blessing and a curse. It had saved her life so many times before, but now wouldn't be one of those times. She had lost way too much blood. There was nothing that could be done for her. She was completely on her own.

  The second the nurse approached them, they all snapped their heads up. She looked a little nervous as a doctor by the name of Grey walked up behind her, a solemn expression on his face. It seemed that this would take both of them to explain.

  "We have the report," began the nurse sadly, "but I'm afraid it's not good."

  "Just tell us," said Gordan, trying to keep his voice soft. He didn't want to make the nurse any more nervous than she already was.

  "She was shot…seven times," she began, going over what they already knew from Leon's report. "We managed to remove all of the bullets, but…the holes are all very deep. All we could do was patch them up and try to stop the bleeding."

  "To be honest," began Dr. Grey as he crossed his arms. "I'm surprised she even made it this far. Two of those bullets were in her chest, but luckily they both missed her vital organs. Whoever was shooting at her had obviously planned to get in a few more shots. Alone, not a single one would be life threatening for her, but because there are so many…" He lowered his head, continuing in a very soft tone. "Usually in cases like these, we'd do a blood transfusion. However, you all know that's impossible."

  "Are you saying there's nothing that can be done?" asked Brian, seeming both a little angry and concerned.

  "I'm afraid so," Dr. Grey told them.

  "So…is she going to die?" asked Chris, his sof
t eyes filling up with tears as he asked the one question on all of their minds.

  "At this point, we can't tell," he said, glancing towards the room Ray was in, which happened to be right next to the waiting area. "She's on her own. It all depends on how strong she is. If she survives, it'll be nothing short of a miracle."

  None of them said anything as they all turned to their thoughts for comfort. Not a single one of them was ready to lose the bubbly ace knight. They'd miss her confidence, her carefree smile. They'd even miss her arrogance and somewhat conceited attitude. She just couldn't die. Even if it was just for the sake of Leon's mental stability, she couldn't leave them.

  Leon lowered his head, staring at the tiled floor. Oh how he hated this hospital, how he hated what was happening. However, something inside of him wouldn't let this rest. He knew that Ray would do her absolute best to pull through. She had once told him that she would never break a promise, and so far she hadn't. Would she finally break one, the one promise that meant more to him than anything? Would she survive this, even just to keep her promise to him? You can make it Ray. You have to. You promised. You gave me your word. Ray…you promised.

  * * * *

  "Newsflash," he read aloud from the paper he held in his hand. He had to keep a firm grip on it as the strong desert winds threatened to rip the parchment from his grasp. There was a smile on his soft face as his dark eyes read over the paper. Just yesterday, ace knight Rayla Cayden mysteriously disappeared from her hospital room. The doctors and nurses are baffled at her disappearance and are unable to explain it. No one knows exactly where she is right now, but according to the medical reports, her injuries are still new, resulting from a battle four days ago. If anyone knows where she has disappeared to, please contact the hospital immediately.

  A small laugh escaped his throat as he read over the article again, a picture provided at the bottom. Ray's hospital room looked almost completely normal. It was almost as if she had never been in there, minus the sheets being strewn across the floor. There obviously hadn't been any kind of struggle since she had probably escaped at night.

  "Why am I not surprised?" he asked the article as the wind suddenly tore the paper from his hands. He just shoved them in his pockets and watched as the newspaper danced in the wind.

  He stood there for awhile, watching as the wind carried the paper out of his view. There was still a smirk plastered on his face as he stood there, as if he was waiting for something. He could hear someone approaching from behind, their feet shuffling through the desert sands. His smile only widened.

  "You know," he began. "You never cease to amaze me." He turned around, his dark lavender eyes meeting a lone cherry one belonging to none other than the missing ace knight.

  "Well Leon, if you're bored with me already, I can always go back," she responded with a playful smirk on her face. He just laughed a little and walked over to her. She was dressed in her normal attire, her white shirt, jean jacket and shorts combo. The clothing did a good job of hiding all of her bandages, minus the still visible ones on her upper legs. Leon was a little surprised to see that she had come out on her skates. Skating through the sand wasn't exactly easy. Then again, this was Ray. After all she had been through, he was sure there wasn't anything she couldn't do.

  "Let's head back, alright?" he said as he walked up next to her. She turned around and began to glide after him as he headed towards their base in the distance. Their base. That had a nice ring to it. "Have you told Gordan yet?" he asked her.

  "About what?" she asked. He already knew she was missing from the hospital thanks to the reporters. "About my decision?"

  "Yeah," said Leon. Ray just shrugged, signifying that she hadn't.

  "He doesn't need to know right now," she said with a smile. "I'll tell him later." Ray was a little surprised when Leon suddenly put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him. She didn't fight him though. How could she? First off, she didn't really have the required strength. Second, she didn't want to. She couldn't. After all, she had promised to stay with him, no matter what. She would stay by his side for as long as he wanted, for as long as he'd allow her. She couldn't help but hope that her time with him would never run out. Unfortunately everything good would eventually have to come to an end. However, none of that mattered. Until her promise was fulfilled, she was bound by it, even if a few sacrifices had to be made along the way. After all, a promise is a promise. And I always keep my promises.

  * * * *

  Well, considering the fact that this is the last chapter, I thought I'd write an author's note. First off, I thank everyone who has been reading this, and since this is the last chapter, I'd very much appreciate your reviews. But basically, I'd like to say that I hope you enjoyed the story.

  What will I do now? Well, was anyone reading this who was reading Legend? Cause I'm really sorry about where I left it. I'm actually thinking of going back and rewriting some of it…okay, a lot of it. So please just wait another month or so, and then there will be new chapters, I promise.

  Well…I'm also gonna start another story pretty soon, by request of a friend of mine. And one more thing. I have a little side story to My Sacrifice written out, but I don't plan on posting it. If you wanna read it, you'll have to email me and I'll send it to you. It's not too big. It's about Ray and Leon's wedding^.^ In case you're interested. It was a story for a friend of mine^.^

  Well, at the closing to this story, I say farewell. Until we meet again!

  See you later!

  * * * *

  THE END