Mine | Erik Killmonger

5

The van backs into the alley, and the doors soon open as the team grabs their gear.

" Stay in the van," Erik orders over his shoulder, " It'll only take a few minutes."

But instead of spitting some lowly insult, Zhara remains silent. She doesn't feel the need to argue, nor create any unwanted tension. She knows that it will not be worth it, especially right now.

As Erik shuts the doors to the back of the van, she notices a black metal ring hanging from his gold chain necklace, but it's so short-lived, she can't see it for what it truly is.

Moments later, an explosion shakes the van she's sat in and makes her heart nearly leap out of her chest, and even more so once she hears gunfire and cries of pure fear. The doors to the van swing open, and Klaue is carried in, still strapped to the wooden chair he was placed in by the CIA. Erik covers his team until they make it to the van, and even uses a rocket launcher against thee Black Panther as he comes to attack them.

And at that moment, Zhara's practically bulge out of her head as Erik shuts the door and the van makes a sharp turn.

" You assaulted the King of Wakanda," She whispers, then leaps forward to tear off Erik's mask, " You assaulted the King of Wakanda."

" He was comin' after me. He could've hurt you," He simply shrugs.

" He is a King!" Zhara repeats with more urgency in her words, " He is the King of our homeland... he is--"

" I know what he is!" Erik exclaims, " But it don't matter."

Zhara sits back against the metal wall of the van as Erik uses a knife to set Klaue free from the chair, who just sits back and laughs as he eyes the woman. She ignores his nauseating gaze the entire ride to the abandoned airfield far far away from Busan. They all pile out of the van once it comes to a close, and Erik purposely keeps Zhara right behind him, even making the effort to walk faster than her to ensure it.

" You always sell to the CIA?" He questions while holding two large duffel bags in his hands.

" I sell to the highest bidder," Klaue responds, then gets back to his phone, " But don't you worry. When I get back to Joburg and I lay low for a bit. I'll make sure both you guys get paid."

" Oh, I ain't worried about the money, bro," Erik responds as they approach one of the planes in the field, " I know you good for it. On our way back, just drop us off in Wakanda."

" You don't wanna go there, boy," Klaue brushes off as they begin to load up the plane.

" Yeah... I do."

Within a mere second, Erik pulls out his pistol and fires two rounds into Linbani's chest, then turns to the right and fires two into Linda's.

Both Klaue and Zhara panic at the sound of gunfire, but Klaue just happens to act a lot faster. He rips Zhara away from Erik and locks his arm under hers in order to point a gun at her head.

" Drop it! Or your little love life ends today!" Klaue orders as he presses the barrel into her temple.

And yet Zhara barely seems phased, while Erik is fuming at the sight of his girl in danger. This time, Zhara acts faster by kicking her heel into Klaue's shin and shoving her elbow back into his chest, then as he loosens his grip and gasps, she turns around and Spartan kicks him back to the ground.

But as Klaue gets back onto his feet, Erik fires a bullet into his chest and only then does Zhara gasp. Her eyes follow the man as he scrambles and runs away, and she jumps as Erik fires another bullet.

It's far from over. As Klaue runs away, Erik stalks him, exactly like a predator would stalk his prey. Calculated and deadly, but also with an unfair advantage. And while Klaue may not be a good man, not by any means, she can't just stand here and allow Erik to kill him, but she also knows that given the chance, Klaue would absolutely kill her.

Is it worth it? To protect someone who wouldn't do the same for you? To protect someone who would kill you without hesitation?

In the time it takes Zhara to decide, the final round is fired, and the next time she sees Erik, he's dragging the newly dead body back to her.

" Get in the plane," He orders as he places the body in the tarp.

But Zhara doesn't budge.

" Get in the plane," Erik repeats in the same monotonous tone as he shoves the body in the back.

But Zhara still doesn't budge.

" I said," He starts as he closes the plane door and walks over to her, " Get in the plane."

No words leave her mouth. She gives Erik one final look, before tearing her eyes away from his and climbing into the plane where she sits snugly by the window.

Soon enough, Erik takes the tiny little put-put plane off the ground and into the air, flying out of South Korea and straight to the continent of Africa. In order to prevent herself from gagging due to the rotting corpse not four feet from her body, she opts to close her eyes and focus on mindful breathing, and with each breath she finds herself being transported to an entirely different plane of consciousness. The sky she sees is a mixture of deep purple and blue. The stars twinkle all around, and each breath she takes feels like pure oxygen. Each breath brings her a sense of peace she's only known inside her mind. And whether it be due to the corpse or other forces entirely, her stomach does backflips during the plane ride, making it increasingly difficult for her to focus and stay within the plane of existence.

But as Zhara feels the warmth of sunlight on her heavenly dark skin, the purple and blue skies fade away as she opens her eyes. She's greeted with the stunning African sun and skyline with the hills and planes below marking their success as they get lower and lower to the ground, and it all becomes very real once the doors open and Zhara's feet finally hit the ground.

They're home... they've made it.

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[ killmonger gives me chills in the sense that he both scares me and turns me on ]