The cazadore turned around to face his attacker, and Vincent could only disregard his own safety and attack it again the way he had attacked the first one. This time, however, he wasn’t as lucky, he felt a searing pain in his left thigh, but with the force of will, the self-destructive fighting style of his Legion training and his fear for Tara’s life he threw himself bodily upon the creature, and even as he felt the stinger pierce the flesh of his leg another time, he managed to behead it.

Breathing heavily and with his left leg already becoming numb, he dropped his weapon and, tearing off his helmet, sprinted to Tara’s side. She was moaning and trying to get onto her feet, but Vincent wasted no more time. He removed her helmet as well so she could breathe somewhat easier, and hoisted her up onto his arms.

Hobbling and stumbling he ran for the city walls as fast as he could, but just as he could see the gates he heard a gunshot crack through the air. The bullet whistled past him, but he couldn’t allow himself to stop. He kept running, even if his numb leg slowed him more and more down, and could finally make out two men crouching atop the walls. One of them aimed at them again and when the shot fell, Vincent couldn’t even make out a ricochet anymore.

With his legs slowly beginning to give up under him he stumbled forward a few steps more and then, with all the strength he had left, yelled at the top of his voice.
“Hold your fire! In the name of the Courier, cease fire! I am Vincent, I bring the Courier back!”

The rifleman aimed again, and at that moment Vincent’s legs gave out under him. He fell to his knees, painfully hitting the rough, gravelly sand, but no other shot fell. When he lifted his head, breathing heavily and already feeling faint due to the cazadore poison, he could see that both men were gone. Then the gate opened. He had no way of knowing that one of the riflemen had looked through his scope and recognised him, so he waited for the death blow and just hoped that they wouldn’t kill Tara at once, too, and that she would have a chance at survival.

“All gods and spirits!”, he heard one of the men yell. “That is the god-damned bodyguard of hers!”
“By all that is holy”, the other said as they had reached them. “What happened?”
“Cazadores”, was all that Vincent was able to say.
“Run, you idiot! Get the Followers!”, the first one, the older one, now snapped at his companion. “RUN!”
Then he took Tara out of Vincent’s unresisting arms and carried her towards the gate in a hurried stride.

Vincent heaved himself up onto his feet, feeling the numbness spread into his whole left side. He hobbled a few steps, stumbled again, but within a few laborious steps more he was finally through the gate and looking at the Fort. The gates stood open, he could see Arcade and some other doctors run towards them, and then his legs gave way again. His vision slowly swam out of focus, and a strange, heavy coldness began to spread in his body. The ground was almost warm against his cheek.

“Help!”
Dimly he could hear the female voice, it wasn’t Tara, but someone kneeled down beside him and slowly turned him onto his back. He felt his head being lifted, and when he opened his eyes again, trying to focus on the face above him, he realised he was lying with his head in her lap. For a moment he managed to focus on her face, and recognised her. Then his eyes fluttered shut again, he had no means to keep them open. And with a sudden clarity in his mind as the pains vanished into a blessed, soft numbness, he knew he was about to die.
Pictures flashed past before his inner eye, and she, the woman holding his head, was one of them.
“Dina”, he rasped tonelessly, and could hear her gasp. “Forgive me... if you can.”
He could hear her voice again like from a great distance before darkness claimed him.
“Help! HELP! He’s bleeding to death! HELP!!”

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