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Think of it as fate.
Two people of complete opposites, destined to meet under harsh circumstances.
The doctor always said that fate was a misconception, believed by humans who claimed they have met God.
Lera cried out in anguish, clenching her teeth around the glove in her mouth as the scalpel dug deep into her skin. One of the missions during the outbreak went wrong, and now Dr. Melnikova was being held down on a table, the side of her torso bruised an ugly purple and black as blood poured out onto the mat below her. One of the Rooters had trapped her in a corner, allowing a Breacher to combust next to her. There was a tool box below the Breacher, and when it exploded, the tools went flying, causing a small crowbar to lodge itself deep into her side, almost piercing right past her ribcage. The sound that left her was foreign to her ears and the other people in the area. When Doc had taken care of the Rooter, he ran over to Lera and gasped when he noticed that only a little bit of the crowbar stuck out.
“Бог чертовски чертовски (God fucking dammit)! Son of a-augh! Fuck me!”
To say that the pain was excruciating, was an understatement.
She didn’t know how long she would be able to take such pain, but all she knew was that she had to live to go back home.
Her home.
- The Week Before -
“Good morning, Dr. Melnikova.”
“Good morning, Miss Weiss. What brings you into my lab today?”
The German woman set down a bowl of potatoes before the Russian woman and sat on the doctor’s desk. She had her own bowl, but she had put mayonnaise on hers. Lera always made a face of disgust when she saw Monika eat the dish, but to each their own.
“How are you doing?”
The question didn’t come daily. The blonde wasn’t asking how Lera was doing, she was asking her if she was having any troubles in regards to her health. Monika was one of the only people who knew of the younger woman’s condition, and Lera decided to keep it that way for awhile.
“I am still here, aren’t I? Eating potatoes with the most beautiful woman on the earth.” Lera closed her eyes as she ate her bowl of food with a smirk. She didn’t have to look at the older woman to know that she was blushing.
“Lera…”
“I am fine,” the Russian responded, her accent slipping just enough to make Monika smile. She always thought it was cool how the brunette could shed her accent with no trouble at all.
“I know, but I actually came by to ask you something. I overheard Dr. Kateb speaking with Eliza about another wave of the outbreak hitting New Mexico. Is this true?”
Lera looked away from Monika when the blonde crossed her arms. She set her bowl down and and rolled her chair over just enough to pull the taller woman into her lap.
“My love, I was going to tell you-”
“When? When you get...when you become one of those...those things ?”
“Oh, see now you’re being unfair. You don’t get to pull the health card on me. Gustave cleared me for the mission, so I will take it. Besides, I am the reason we all came home that day.” She nuzzled her face in the other’s neck, mumbling a few words of affection in Russian. The action made Monika sigh softly and relax a little. “I know, I know. I just...I can't lose you,” she confessed quietly between them.
“I know, my angel. I will be okay with Cohen and Gustave by my side.”
- Present -
Lera couldn't take the pain, but she couldn't pull away as she was being held down by Eliza. The red haired operator sat herself above Lera, her knees pressing the smaller woman's shoulders against the table. The Russian's voice was sealed off with a glove being stuffed in her mouth to stop her agonizing screams from traveling throughout the building.
“Come on, Doc! If you take any longer, she'll bleed out,” Ash yelled at the French man beside her. Blood pooled heavily beneath them as Doc began to remove the crowbar slowly, his scalpel tearing through skin and tissue to make way. The latex gloves he wore were drenched in crimson.
“You think I'm not going my fastest?! Shut up and keep her calm! Her heart rate is too high!” Gustave spoke through gritted teeth, face taking on a horrified look when more blood spilled out. She was hemorrhaging...which meant the crow bar wasn't going to be pulled out any more than it was.
Eliza softly shushed her partner and stroked her hair. The position would've make her blush if they had been in any other situation. “Lera, listen...you need to try and stay as still as possible. I know this is going to hurt, babygirl, but you will get through this...I know you will.” The redhead held her friend’s face in her hands and made sure their eyes were locked before she nodded to Doc.
The French man stood his ground and waited a moment before he changed the angle and began removing the object once more. He felt the woman’s body tremble beneath his hands, and he felt horrible; he felt vile causing a good friend such pain. He glanced down and watched her fists clench until her hands turned white; tiny lines of blood ran down her knuckles with how hard she was clenching them.
“Eli...za...take...fuck. Take care...of Moni...tell her...tell her I love her. Be there...ugh...for her. Make her...happy, please…”
Before Gustave could finish removing the last few inches, Eliza started shaking her head frantically, leaning down until she was inches from Lera’s face. She pressed her ear to the girl’s lips, listening for any signs of breathing from the Russian woman.
None…
She quickly moved down Lera's body to sit on her stomach before she checked her pulse. When she didn't get anything, she started performing CPR.
Doc paused completely, staying as still as a statute, to give Eliza enough time to try and bring her back. He watched the redhead climb off of Lera to better position herself to start compressions.
“Fuck! Come on, Melnikova...You can’t leave us just yet...” Ash’s voice took on a panicked tone as she continued the compressions. Doc looked around for his bag and spotted it near the wall opposite of them. He quickly instructed Eliza to grab it, for there was an AED in along with different surgical supplies. She followed looked over the instructions and set up the machine before she ripped open Lera’s jacket and pulled up the t-shirt she had underneath. She quickly put the pads on her chest.
Eliza followed the on-screen instructions and audio prompts and realized that they’d need to deliver a shock to her heart. “Clear,” she yelled before pressing the button.
They watched Lera’s body flop lifelessly back onto the table and tried two more times. Each attempt was unsuccessful, and Doc eventually had to tell Eliza to stop. Tears rolled down her face as she stared at her best friend’s form. A soul once full of life was now parted from the physical world, and there was nothing anyone could do about it…
“You can’t just leave me like this…”
Six had to be informed before anyone else, and the news was hard to believe, even for the director herself. To lose one of her smartest operators to such a degree was devastating.
But Six wasn’t the person they were scared to tell. No, she was nowhere near close. The one person they didn’t want to approach was Monika “IQ” Weiss…
Eliza knew she’d have to face the German sooner or later, if not, Monika would definitely find out that Lera would be far worse than just...MIA...She would have to find out that the love of her life was gone. Gustave nominated Ash to do it because of her history with Monika. She would know how to deal with a hysterical blonde more than the French man would.
The moment they returned from the mission, Eliza sought out her ex-girlfriend to bare the news. She found Monika outside of the main building, running laps on the track. The older woman just finished a mile when she noticed Eliza off to the side; she jogged over to her. The shorter girl couldn’t help but glance over Monika’s sweaty form, taking in her curves and muscles.
“Hello, Cohen. You guys are back early. Where is Lera?” The smile on her face made Ash feel even more guilty for the words that were about to come forth. Her silence seemed to give IQ an idea of where her lover was. “Please tell me she isn't critically injured...Eliza?”
The red haired operator pressed her lips into a tight line and held the back of her hand to her mouth. “Uh...there was an incident and Lera got impaled. Kateb and I did everything we could, but she...she...uh...she didn't make it. I think she knew...that she wasn’t going to make it. She told me to tell you that loves you.”
Monika felt her heart sink at the news. The one woman she truly fell in love with, besides Eliza, was bound to never return to her side. The upcoming week was supposed to be their one year anniversary, but now it was going to be a reminder of one of her greatest losses. She quickly put her hoodie on and gathered her items before rushing past the other girl. Eliza tried to stop her, but she realized that Monika would probably need time to herself.
Maybe they all needed time to themselves.
“You just had to go and leave, huh? We’re gonna miss you, girly. Rest in peace up there, Lera.” Ash looked up at the evening sky and let out a shaky breath. For now, they’d have to try and carry on...for Lera’s sake.