Watching my people get slaughtered, I shake my head, further doubting the possibility that we could ever be free. All we want is equal treatment and equal rights. The government has been oppressing us since it became corrupted and stole too much power.

I always encouraged the people to be peaceful about it, but… was I wrong?

To fight fire with fire is rhetorical. Redundant. Nothing is ever accomplished through a means of violence. Sure, we could gain what we want, but at what cost? Thousands of deaths? Casualties? And then what? We’d be ridiculed for such behavior. It would only create fear against us, but it never would allow us to live peacefully.

Turning my head with a grimace, I sigh, opening my eyes to stare blankly at the bloodied ground beneath me.

So many people. So many sacrifices, and for what? To get nowhere? All we’re doing is dying out.

I look up to see Verity running towards me, a worried look gracing her features. I stand straight, glancing around to make sure we were still unnoticed. As I notice a soldier approaching, whom had not yet noticed us, my eyes widen and I yank Verity down the moment she reaches me. We duck behind a destroyed remnant of a building, holding our breath until the soldier passed. The moment he did, I look to her, searching her eyes for any good news. “…We lost that side, didn’t we?” I sigh, dropping my head dejectedly.

My quarry is met with silence, answering the question clearly. I set my jaw, looking over the destroyed part of a wall to see what fighting was going on ahead. I looked to the ground in front of me, before grabbing the gun I had at my side and standing to my feet. The moment I turn, Verity grabs my wrist, forcing me to stop.

“Where are you going? We’re losing. We can’t-“ She swallowed, forcing herself to stay calm. “We can’t lose you too.”

I stare at her for a moment, before gazing off to the fighting. “…Yeah. We are losing. But I won’t abandon them when we need each other most.”

“But what for? You’ll just get yourself killed! Then what?”

A tense silence once again falls over us, and I pull my wrist free from her grip with a remorseful expression. “…If we give up now, nothing will change. It’d only get worse. But if we continue fighting, we’ll all die.” I shake my head, sending her one last sorrowful look. “I guess it was all in vain.”