Into the Green Silence (Patreon)

Viera stepped lightly through the dense forest, her breath steady, her eyes sharp. She had survived worse. She always did. But this time, the quiet felt different. Heavy. Watching.

A single crack shattered the stillness. Her body jolted. Pain bloomed instantly in her chest. Her eyes dropped to the small, dark hole above her heart. Blood pushed through slowly, soaking the black fabric. Her lips parted, but no words came. Only a shocked gasp.

She stumbled back, pressing herself against a tree for support. Her fingers trembled as they touched the wound. Her gun stayed clenched in her hand, but her grip was weakening. She tried to lift it, to aim, but her arm shook.

Another shot. This one deeper. Her head snapped back. A strangled sound escaped her throat. Her knees gave in. She collapsed, one hand clutched to her chest, the other still holding the pistol uselessly.

On the ground now, the forest spinning above her, Viera's breath came in short, uneven bursts. Blood trickled down her ribs, warm and slow. Her mouth hung open, eyes wide in disbelief. She reached toward nothing, her hand falling gently to the grass.

She lay still for a moment, then her body arched slightly, muscles tensing. A final gasp broke from her lips. Her chest shuddered once. Then again. Then stopped.

Her eyes remained open, staring past the leaves. Her lips still parted, frozen mid-breath. The forest around her was quiet again, as if it had never seen her.

Agent Viera, fierce and relentless, had fallen. Her story ending not in fire, but in silence and breathless stillness beneath the green canopy.