31 Day Writing Challenge: Day 27 - 'Battle'

He would never forget that smell. It would be etched in his nightmares until his dying day. The stomach-churning concoction of burning flesh and spilled blood. It wasn't supposed to end like this. They weren't supposed to die. It wasn't their battle.

He would never forgive himself for allowing them to sacrifice themselves for him. The guilt, shame and crippling feeling of inadequacy would haunt him for the rest of his life. But for now, it was breaking him. None of them had survived, not one, yet here he was, standing amongst their  bodies, breathing, living. Why was he the one to survive? The one among them who least deserved it. It was his battle, his fault they had went up against Staker. 

In the pursuit of avenging those who were dead, he had lost the living.