BLINDED WITH REGRET

(HEAVY VIOLENCE IN THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THIS SKIP THIS CHAPTER AND I'LL GIVE YOU A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THE A/N AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER.)

Curio regretted every decision he made in his life. He hated how he succumbed to Stephen's kindness, letting him pull out of hell into another world just as torturous. Only this time he could put a face to the monster. 

He hated how much his limbs shook every time fired a shot, the rifle quaking in his hands as if in protest to the violence. All he could smell was gunpowder and blood, the very scent burning his nostrils. 

Curio tried to tune out out the piercing screams, the clashes of swords, the thud of another body hitting the floor. He just fought. He fired shot after shot, his heart jumping out of his chest as the chamber emptied. He wasn't sure he had experienced anxiety like it when he had to swap the magazine. Yet as more bodies fell around him, more seemed to appear. 

Octavian huffed, his body heaving up and down with the sheer force of his breaths. His knuckles were so bloody Curio couldn't tell where the skin started and blood began, and he wasn't sure if it belonged to their enemies or belonged inside of Octavian. His signature brass knuckles were camoflagued in his hand, the blood masking it. 

"There's so many of them," Octavian gasped, slamming his fist into another creature flying at them. Curio pretended he couldn't hear the crack of his bones on impact. 

Curio shrugged, the corners of his mouth twisting into a crooked smile. "We can handle it, or we can die trying." 

Octavian sniggered breathlessly, his entire body following through his next hit. The creature collapsed into the heap on the floor, twitching incessantly. Without much thought, Curio loaded his entire clip into the creature, watching as it's body shook with the onslaught. 

Octavian stayed silent, only interrupting to slip a gun out of Curio's waistband and turn the safety off. "Bit over kill, don't you think?" 

"It's dead." Curio didn't bother saying anything else, moving out of the small area they'd cleared further into the clearing. Everywhere he looked there were creatures throwing themselves at his friends, at his heroes, at the people he swore to protect. His eyes zipped across the battlefield, struggling to choose where to wear himself out. 

A high pitched shriek halted his choice. It was nearby. 

Spinning on his heel, Curio rushed after the noise, his legs carrying him as fast as they could, propelling him closer to his goal. He awkwardly stumbled through the wildlife, staggering over fallen trees and tripping over bodies - human and alien alike - his heart thudding in his chest. Curio tried to keep the tears at bay, praying to whatever entity existed that she would be okay, that she wasn't dead.

Octavian was following closely behind, expertly dodging the obstacles with a god like grace. Curio didn't waste energy tricking himself to believe that he could be like that, throwing all of his energy into propelling himself forward to her. 

All the smiles they shared. All the pains they spoke of in the darkest times of night. All the tears they shared as they talked about how they wanted it to stop. All the laughs and eye rolls they shared over Octavian's and Messalina's antics. All of that would become a memory if he didn't run faster. 

Curio grunted, pumping his arms faster and pushing his legs more. The wind whipped at his skin, burning him; nothing was compared to the anguish he felt at the thought of losing her. 

"Locusta!" Curio bellowed, seeing her figure slumped beneath a creature. Her entire body was squirming, the creature's mouth getting closer to her neck. She was pushing back it's body with her hands, a gun helplessly clenched in her hand. 

Bang!

The creature fell on top of Locusta. Curio cried out, the tension leaving his shoulders. He rushed towards her, frantically pushing the creature off of her. Octavian was by his side immediately, and with both of their strength combined they managed to push the corpse off of her. 

Octavian smiled down at the red faced girl. "Thought we'd lost you there for a minute." 

The fear instantly melted off of her face, a fire burning behind her eyes. "Pfft," she scoffed. "I just can't believe you think so little of me." 

Curio's facial expression mirrored Octavian's. "That's on us, sorry." 

Octavian quickly spun around, firing a few shots, then returned his focus back onto Locusta.

Locusta shrugged her shoulders, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. She went to sit up, pausing, then collapsed back to the ground. "Can I sit here for a minute?" 

The pair nodded, turning their backs to her. Their guns were held high, fingers bouncing on the trigger constantly. They fell into a rhythm - when one of them had to swap their magazine, the other would provide cover fire. They were working in perfect synchrony, them slaughtering dozens of the beasts. 

But it all went to shit. 

It was a click he had heard so many times in the battle. The anxiety was lessening each time he heard it; this time, he started hyperventilating. 

They had no more ammunition. 

"Fuck," Curio swore colourfully. He blindly swatted in the direction of Locusta, gesturing for her to stand up. "Get up Sleeping Beauty, can't let you miss out on all of the fun." 

Locusta clambered to her feet, grumbling as she pulled her own gun out. Curio's eyes darted to her hip - she only had enough ammo for herself. He gulped harshly. He knew this was going to happen - he knew he was going to die because of this god damn organisation. Because the ill prepared fuckers didn't do their job properly and sent them to this reality too soon, they were all going to die. And Curio would be the first to fall. 

He took a deep breath, pushing Locusta back. "We're retreating. Now." 

Octavian didn't stop firing, his movements a blur as he twisted in all directions to fire. Yet Curio saw the way his mouth dropped at the command, and the raise of his brows. "We can't abandon them." 

"Abandon them? Oct, they've been fucked for a long time, and I'm not letting them drag us down with them!" Curio cried over the gunfire, watching as a corpse fell mere metres from his feet. "Let's go back to Shuri's lab. It's safer than here." 

"I'm not going anywhere." Octavian stood in the same place, his jaw tightening. 

"Are you fucking serious?" Curio laughed. "We have no ammo, Octavian! It's suicide if we stay here!" 

Octavian's gun clicked. Octavian's face dropped slightly; in a flash, his face went taut and jutting his chin, he tossed his gun carelessly to the side. He adjusted his brass knuckles, his entire body twisting as he landed a jaw breaking punch on a creature. 

"What the fuck are you doing?" Curio screamed, taking a step towards Octavian. He shrunk back as gunshots deafened his ears, and a body fell to his feet on his left. Locusta nodded to him, her gun smoking and finger twitching on the trigger. 

"I'm not leaving until I see Thanos." He cut himself off, slamming his fist into the creature again. It was twitching, shuddering under Octavian's force and still tried stumbling to its feet. 

"Are you insa-" Curio's words got lost in his throat. His body was thrown to the floor, his entire being shrieking in agony. His head knocked harshly against the dirt, his ears ringing. The weight resting on him quickly scurried off, the cocking of the gun striking his ear drums harshly. He winced. 

"Octavian!" 

The familiar shriek of agony quickly followed.

Suddenly, Curio didn't care about the pain he was in. 

He stumbled to his feet, the world tilting on it's axis. His dizziness didn't hold him back, him staggering on the spot to stay upright. His eyesight was blurry - something he considered a blessing. Hearing it was enough for him. 

Another scream ripped out of Octavian, the beast resting on his chest. It's claws ripped at his skin, lashing angrily. Even through his distorted vision, he could see the blood rising to the surface, instantly dampening his clothes. 

More anguish. Each pained sound Octavian made broke his heart more, and he couldn't bear to watch. In a daze, he fumbled with the ammunition on Locusta's hip, stealing a clip before loading his gun. He didn't care at the time if it made Locusta vulnerable later - he just wanted the noise to stop. By any means necessary. 

"Help me!" Octavian begged, his voice so ragged and raw. Curio could hear his agony in the tone of his voice, and it struck him even harder. Raising the gun, he aimed. 

"Stop!" Locusta jumped in front of him, blocking his aim. Curio's vision got blurrier. "You could kill him!" 

"And let him live with the pain we live with? I can't do that to him, I... I can't." Curio sobbed, the weapon shaking clumsily in his hand. Locusta's eyes turned sympathetic, her face turning soft. 

"You can't decide that." 

Before he could comprehend what was happening, Locusta darted towards Octavian, wrenching the gloves off of her hands. Curio felt everything inside his body wither at the sight, knowing what was about to take place. Locusta's wretched cries joined Octavian's, her bare hands releasing poison into the creatures body. 

As soon as it started, it had stopped. 

The creature crumbled under Locusta's grip, her swaying slightly. It fell off of Octavian's body, displaying all of the damage it had caused. 

Curio sucked in a breath. 

There wasn't a patch of skin on his torso that had been unscathed. It travelled all the way up his neck - thankfully, the wounds were slightly less deep there - and twirled across his face. 

Right across his eyes. 

"Guys?" A meek voice that Curio was convinced didn't belong to Octavian squeaked out. Locusta rushed to his side, kneeling before him with a solemn smile on her face. "Guys? Where are you?" 

His heart dropped. 

Octavian couldn't see. 

-

hey guys. this was actually one of my favourite chapters to write, but i hated my poor boi getting hurt so bad. i'm a bad mother

so the offer to ask questions is still up, don't be afraid to ask! even if its something about me, my future books, this book and its characters, anything! 

also if any of yall can make covers/know someone who does, could you help a girl out?? i hate my covers and want them to look a bit more fancy, and no matter how much i try to do it they just end up looking like shite. thank you guys! 

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WHO SKIPPED - they run out of ammo and curio wants to retreat, octavian is a stubborn fucker and wants to stay. he gets attacked and then blinded.

love you guys, hope you all had a good week! see ya soon, 

-thirdwheelchurchill