Fic: If We Go Back to Stars
Title: If We Go Back to Stars
Rating: PG
A/N: Written for the
sherlock_flashfic challenge: The Case of the Underground.
Summary: He’s not sure which is worse.
•
He’s not sure which is worse. Having nightmares about getting shot, or dreaming of his friend dying and he couldn’t save him.
Every night the searing pain circulates through his body over and over again. Reliving the sound of the bullet spiralling through the air, the cracking of bone as it travelled through his shoulder, his thoughts and sudden realisation that he doesn’t want to die. Please God, let me live. Waking up with tears and snot running down his face, right hand protectively clasping his left shoulder, pain still burning under his fingers. He sobs quietly and patiently waits until his tears run dry or he gets tired again.
Then there are dreams of his friend.
Alex loved stargazing on clear nights. He was interested in astronomy, having read it at university prior to joining up. John had found him sitting on a rock one evening after dinner, and asked the young solider what he was doing. He and Alex talked about planets and galaxies and discussed ancient theories. It became one of the things he looked forward to on various nights, simply relaxing and staring at stars.
“You know, John,” Alex said to him one night. “Some of the stars we see are actually from dead stars known as supernovas. They’re still shining, even after death, brighter than an entire galaxy for weeks, months on end. I wouldn’t mind dying like that.”
Two months later John found him buried under sand and dirt with his arms and legs missing. Alex was silent as John dug him out. He was still breathing, so John automatically tightened the gauze around Alex’s limbs, temporarily stopping his bleeding. He was about to call out for a stretcher when he heard his name.
“Remember when I said that I wouldn’t mind dying like a supernova?”
“I need to get you back to the tent.” John turned around and got the attention of his colleagues.
“John,” Alex’s voice was suddenly louder than the bullets around them. “I think I did it.”
The last thing John saw was Alex smiling, tears streaming down his face as he closed his eyes.
Later in the day, John was told that Alex had spotted a bomb, and swiftly shoved the rest of them out of the way, taking most of the blast. The night Alex died, all the stars came out to accompany him, and John named the brightest one he could find after his friend.
John wakes up from this dream, heart aching and hands shaking. He lies awake and wonders what it’s like to be a supernova, to shine so brightly and die with such radiance.
When John got shot, all he could feel was fear, fear that he would die, and goddamn it he didn’t want to die. John couldn’t save Alex, the boy who had eyes full of stars, a boy who had more to live for than he.
So he wishes he knew what it’s like to be underground.
Rating: PG
A/N: Written for the
sherlock_flashfic challenge: The Case of the Underground.
Summary: He’s not sure which is worse.
•
He’s not sure which is worse. Having nightmares about getting shot, or dreaming of his friend dying and he couldn’t save him.
Every night the searing pain circulates through his body over and over again. Reliving the sound of the bullet spiralling through the air, the cracking of bone as it travelled through his shoulder, his thoughts and sudden realisation that he doesn’t want to die. Please God, let me live. Waking up with tears and snot running down his face, right hand protectively clasping his left shoulder, pain still burning under his fingers. He sobs quietly and patiently waits until his tears run dry or he gets tired again.
Then there are dreams of his friend.
Alex loved stargazing on clear nights. He was interested in astronomy, having read it at university prior to joining up. John had found him sitting on a rock one evening after dinner, and asked the young solider what he was doing. He and Alex talked about planets and galaxies and discussed ancient theories. It became one of the things he looked forward to on various nights, simply relaxing and staring at stars.
“You know, John,” Alex said to him one night. “Some of the stars we see are actually from dead stars known as supernovas. They’re still shining, even after death, brighter than an entire galaxy for weeks, months on end. I wouldn’t mind dying like that.”
Two months later John found him buried under sand and dirt with his arms and legs missing. Alex was silent as John dug him out. He was still breathing, so John automatically tightened the gauze around Alex’s limbs, temporarily stopping his bleeding. He was about to call out for a stretcher when he heard his name.
“Remember when I said that I wouldn’t mind dying like a supernova?”
“I need to get you back to the tent.” John turned around and got the attention of his colleagues.
“John,” Alex’s voice was suddenly louder than the bullets around them. “I think I did it.”
The last thing John saw was Alex smiling, tears streaming down his face as he closed his eyes.
Later in the day, John was told that Alex had spotted a bomb, and swiftly shoved the rest of them out of the way, taking most of the blast. The night Alex died, all the stars came out to accompany him, and John named the brightest one he could find after his friend.
John wakes up from this dream, heart aching and hands shaking. He lies awake and wonders what it’s like to be a supernova, to shine so brightly and die with such radiance.
When John got shot, all he could feel was fear, fear that he would die, and goddamn it he didn’t want to die. John couldn’t save Alex, the boy who had eyes full of stars, a boy who had more to live for than he.
So he wishes he knew what it’s like to be underground.