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The field looked like it had held a massacre, and it had. There had been a victory, but it didn’t feel like one when one saw the carnage caused by yet another battle. They had just scraped a win by the skin of their teeth, but at what cost? How many lives had been lost in this battle? In this war?
It seemed like the war had been going on forever, and there were no signs of it stopping now. Catra had been born into the war - it was all she had ever known, and now she was 22 and fighting in it. No one could even remember what had triggered the war - those who had been around when it started were long gone by now, but the new generations had yet to end the fighting.
Catra sighed, wiping off droplets of blood that had been about to drip into her eye from a cut on her brow. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and would like nothing more than to just crawl into the nearest comfortable spot and sleep, but she had work to do. Very few soldiers were still alive, and most of those who had managed to survive were gravely injured.
She looked around, knowing there were people around her who needed medical attention but searching for someone in particular, her first priority no matter the situation. Her search became more frantic when she couldn’t see the familiar head of blonde hair anywhere close. Catra feared the worst - that she had been taken hostage by the few enemy soldiers that had escaped, that she had been blown up by a land mine and was disfigured beyond recognition.
Of course, there was always the possibility that she had deserted, that she had escaped the battle and left, but Catra didn’t want to entertain that thought. If Adora had done that, she would likely never see her again, as she’d be in hiding from the army officials who would be out for her head, and if Catra did get to see her again, it would be while she was in front of a firing squad.
It was when she was about to give up her search, give up hope of ever finding her, that she finally caught a glimpse of her. Adora was on the ground, surrounded by a puddle (that was closer to a small pond) of blood as well as numerous dead bodies, the identities of whom Catra didn’t know.
She ran to Adora’s side, hoping and praying that she was alright, that she wasn’t dead, but when she reached her, she saw how bad the situation was. Adora’s side had been torn open, blood spewing out and her insides mangled. The girl was unconscious, but woke up when Catra lightly shook her head. She wasn’t dead yet, but it looked like she would be soon.
Catra was choked up, a gasp coming up her throat but getting caught there as she stared down at her girlfriend’s butchered body. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, suddenly frantic again, and she screamed across the bloodied field for a medic. She screamed until her voice was hoarse, her hand on Adora’s neck reassuring her that the blonde was still alive. Her pulse was weakening though, and it was becoming glaringly obvious that there were no medics available, and that she didn’t have long left.
Adora whimpered quietly when Catra shifted her body so that her face was less squished against the ground from where she had fallen onto her front. Catra knew that she must’ve been in incredible pain, and she wished that she could do something about it, but all she could do was grip her hand and whisper reassurances that everything was going to be okay, even though both of them knew that that was a lie.
She didn’t know what to do - her girlfriend lay here in front of her, bleeding out, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. They had both known this was a possibility when they had been drafted four years ago, but neither of them had wanted to acknowledge it. They had been by each other's side for as long as either of them could remember, having grown up together and been in the same class throughout their education and then being drafted in the same squadron.
For their entire lives, they had had no one but each other, Catra having run away from home and Adora being an orphan, unaware of her parentage. They had been placed in all the same foster homes - they were a package deal; where one went, the other went. That had been true their whole lives, and they were closer than anyone else they knew. They had finally gotten together six years ago, after years of pining after one another.
Catra had tears running down her face, clearing paths in the grime that coated her cheeks. It was unbearable, watching her Adora in such pain, knowing that this would be the first time she went somewhere Catra couldn’t follow. The thought broke her heart, and knowing that in only a few short minutes they would be torn apart permanently was enough for her body to begin shaking, heart-wrenching sobs clawing their way up her throat as she knelt over Adora’s still body.
Her sobs only subsided when she felt a weak tug on the sleeve of her shirt, and she glanced down to see Adora’s eyes open, her hand gripping Catra’s sleeve with all of her strength. Adora opened her mouth as if to speak, but all that came out was a series of coughs that sent blood flying out of her mouth onto the already blood-soaked ground. When her coughing fit was over and she was left shivering, she tried again, quiet words falling from her lips.
“Catra?” The girl in question hummed in answer, whispering that ‘yes, it’s me, Adora’. “I need you to-” a cough that shook her whole body interrupted her, but she kept going, “I need you to promise me something. Promise me, that you’ll take care of yourself without me. Promise me that you’ll keep going,” this seemed to be all she could say, as her voice trailed away. Her pulse was slowing now, her heart giving up on her.
“I- I promise, ‘Dora, I promise. Please, don’t go, don’t leave me, I can’t do this without you, please…” she cut herself off when she felt Adora’s heart beat one last time under her fingertips, the last of her life slipping away. She felt herself become overwhelmed with tears once more as she sat on the unforgiving ground next to the corpse of her now-dead lover, her heart left broken now that the one person who had held it together was gone.
She was dimly aware of the others still on the battlefield, the corpses lying still and the survivors being treated for their injuries and being escorted to their camp nearby, but she felt numb, her entire world laying in front of her, her still-warm hand held tightly in Catra’s grasp as the brunette fell to pieces. She screamed, trying to find an outlet for the grief and pain coursing through her veins, but it wouldn’t fix anything. No one could fix it now. She was left alone in this cruel world, left to fight in a war she didn’t start, left to face life on her own.
“I’m sorry, Adora, but I don't think I can do this. Not without you.”