When Blood Meets Silver

Chapter 39

Hyunjin's body turned to stone, her mind blanking from any possible good outcomes. Was that knife even silver? Was Youngjae bluffing, playing with their emotions to get what he wanted from them?

A girl with shoulder length hair and deep blue eyes threw herself at Youngjae from behind with a loud, enraged grunt, but Youngjae didn't even flinch. A couple other vampires got a hold on her, pinning her to the ground with a painful thud.

"Don't you dare touch him!" she shrieked, thrashing around.

"Ryujin, don't do anything stupid!" Yeonjun cried.

"Listen to your brother, Ryujin." Youngjae smiled, so sick and twisted, as always.

"Do as he said," Hyunjin mumbled, raising her arms above her head. "We're gonna drop our weapons, and you won't hurt him."

"Hurry up, then!" Youngjae spat. "All of you, weapons on the floor, now!"

Slowly, Hyunjin lowered her arms, not taking her eyes off of him.

"I always hated rats." Youngjae scrunched his nose, staring at Jungeun and Jiwoo. "But I never imagined you two would be such a hassle."

They didn't answer, and instead, did as Hyunjin said, taking their knuckles off their hands and lowering them to the floor, just like Heejin dropped her blades.

Hyunjin's gun touched the floor, and as she rose from the ground, as careful and discrete as she could, she reached for the cuff of her jacket, her trembling hand looking for the small dot hidden inside. Finding it, she pressed as hard as she could, to make sure she sent the signal.

Please, please, please, hurry up!

Hyunjin prayed to her Goddess in her mind, feeling her whole body tense. What was happening? How could they have been detected so fast?

Youngjae's evil smile grew wider in his lips. "How I wish I could kill you all, but unfortunately, I have orders to leave you to-" A soft click, an invisible bullet straight at his head, and Youngjae's body fell to his side, vanishing from existence, all of him turning into ash right before everyone's eyes.

She had made the shot. Of course. Why did Hyunjin ever need to be nervous? She almost sighed in relief, but reminded herself this moment was too precious to waste. They had to take advantage of their confusion immediately.

"Now!" Hyunjin grabbed her gun from the ground and pointed at the stunned, now confused horde of vampires in front of them.

Shooting twice, she took two down. The others reached forward, Jungeun pulling the still catatonic Yeonjun at her back and punching the vampire who lunged at him. Jiwoo reached for Ryujin, helping her up from the floor, while Heejin dashed so fast and swiftly Hyunjin had trouble following the movements of her blades, slashing through the vampires without mercy.

A multitude of quick steps came into Hyunjin's earshot.

"The signal worked, they're coming!" Hyunjin said, shooting down the last vampire who tried to run for the door.

"Are you okay?" Jungeun asked Yeonjun.

"Y-Yes. I-I'm sorry, they found me out, they knew you were coming! I couldn't warn you, they kept us in here, I'm sorry, I..." He burst out in loud cries, hiding his face in his hands.

"No time for this! We need your help, where's Jinyoung and Jaebum?"

"Probably hiding somewhere," Ryujin said, way more collected than his brother, but she still stood by his side, trying to comfort him, rubbing his back. "Or joining the fight, I don't know."

"Jinyoung didn't show any fear when he fought at the Silver Blades, I'm sure he'll be somewhere downstairs," Hyunjin said. "Let's go!"

She rushed to the door, but Jungeun sprinted faster. "I'll lead the way, follow me."