pixel_princess: "We're here. What's your status?"

kittyboy: "Just in time. We barricaded ourselves in the server room but won't hold out much longer."

pixel_princess: "Understood. We can see the gate. Back away and then get ready to run for it."

I've been around long enough not to question orders. Sometimes I flat out disobey them, but that's different. I didn't know or really care what @pixel_princess had in mind. I grabbed @auroraloon by the hand, and we abandoned our more and more fruitless endeavor of pushing bodies together.

@astrowave came barreling down the hallway like a torpedo shot from an angry hippopotamus. Or more like an angry hippopotamus shot from a warship full of mice. Either way you look at it, he was impressive. He used his arms to batter away zombie after zombie, barely losing momentum, a tank rolling over everything in his path. I had never really seen Thunder Ops at work. So, this was it. A display of physical brutality and punishing strength, with zombies flying left and right, a barrage of blows clearing the way.

He screamed the entire time. Then he exploded.

@auroraloon and I were sprayed with blood and body parts, and the blast sent us falling backwards to the ground.

pixel_princess: "Hurry! Now!"

We rushed back to our feet as quickly as we could, surveying empty pathway before us that @astrowave's explosion had caused. Time was on our side now, but we needed to move fast before the overtaken could reassemble.

I looked at @auroraloon, staring until I drew the full attention of her violet eyes. Time seemed to stop.

"You first," I said with strength and confidence. "You're going to make it."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I have my moments.

She was injured. I'm not a hero. I've said that before, and I really mean it. I'm not. But I know what the right thing to do is. No one has to tell me what's good and what's evil. I'm my own moral authority. This wasn't about heroism. This was about being good to another person who deserved someone good.

"Together," she responded, and took my hand, squeezing firmly.

And so we ran like fucking chickens with a pack of coyotes after us. @pixel_princess was atop the stairs, foot tapping, eager to head back down to the escape panel.

"@pixel, this is @auroraloon," I said, making introductions as we tripped and troped our way to the stairs and started our way down. "@auroraloon, this is @pixel_princess, the leader of our #firesquad. You're both badasses. I'm sure you'll get along."

They just nodded at each other, like that was obvious, and it was dumb of me to point it out. It was a weird, sisterly, kind of moment between them, that gave me deja vu feelings inside. Maybe they were both witches.

When we reached the panel, I was both relieved and frustrated again.

"I don't know how we're going to open this," I said, shaking my head.

"I do," replied @pixel_princess.

She reached up and pulled a memoryshard out. I suspected what she meant to do. She handed me her memoryshard, and for the first time, we shared a serious look, a somber moment. I've died for commanding officers plenty of times, but never like this. I wanted to hug @pixel_princess and say thank you.

"It has to be you," she said earnestly, flexing the fingers of her hands. "You're the pilot. This is what I do. This is what I'm good at." She grabbed my shoulder. "You have to get these memories out of here."

I nodded. "Aye, commander. May you remember."

May you remember. Something we mean when we say it. It is our perpetual hope, through death and reanimation, through hundreds or thousands of years, that we can remain who we are while we continue to grow and evolve. It's our plea that no matter how much time passes, we can remember our lives.

It is the memories that make us who we are.

"May you remember," I repeated. Satisfied, @pixel_princess released me.

I could hear echoing thumps above us. The overtaken had reached the stairs.

"Stand away from the hatch," @pixel_princess instructed, motioning us back.

@auroraloon and I moved away, around the corner and down a few stairs. This put us farthest from the overtaken and a safe distance from the hatch. We hugged the wall around the corner for protection.

@pixel_princess's explosion was less impressive than @astrowave's. There were no flying bodies, just the crack and boom of metal being ripped apart and a splattering of her blood. But, like @astrowave's, her sacrifice was real.