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Ethiopia
Present Day

 

“I’m on my last mag!”

Archaeology Professor James Acton nodded, picking a target and squeezing the trigger, one of the many rushing their position grabbing for his stomach before crumbling to the ground. He glanced over his shoulder at his wife, Professor Laura Palmer. “Me too! Make them count!”

“There are too many of them! They’re not giving me any time to line up a shot!”

Acton fired another precious bullet, eliminating another of their too close enemy before ducking, a hail of gunfire nearly finding its mark. “Let them get closer!”

“Closer? Are you barmy?”

“Obviously, I married you!”

Laura laughed then popped up, taking a single shot before dropping back down. He heard the grunt of someone rushing their position and rose, firing and catching the man in the shoulder, but not before someone returned the favor. He cried out and collapsed, grabbing at his shoulder, the pain quickly subsiding.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a graze. Left shoulder. I’ll live.”

“Too bad. It would have meant I could use that bullet you were saving for yourself.”

He laughed, amazed at how calm she was knowing what was about to happen. “God, I love you so much!”

Their enemy seemed to sense they had won, and sustained gunfire rained on their position, tearing apart the ground above them as they huddled in the stairs carved into the ancient stone.

“I think this is it,” he said, taking Laura by the shoulders. “I love you!”

“I love you too!”

“See you on the other side?”

She nodded, tears in her eyes, his own burning. He grabbed her, hugging her hard for the last time, then jumped up, firing what remained of his bullets on full auto, and cursing the day he had ever met the Keeper of the Ark.