Beware of the Shadow - König x Fem Reader

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Image credit @not_carri

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An ear-piercing ruckus of gunfire erupted outside, mingling with the yelling and shuffles of feet coming from all directions at the same time.

"Karl, let's go!" Shadow ordered as he immediately went to the opposite side of the room.

"Don't you forget something?! They saw you!" Karl retorted as he reached for his gun and aimed it at my head, my stomach plummeting in my guts as I saw all my life going through my mind in less than a second: the childhood dramas, the disappointments of life, the strokes of luck—only core memories to lament my imminent end.

"Not her, she might be useful later," Shadow ordered while rummaging through the large storage case he just opened.

"But—" Karl attempted to argue, "No buts!" Shadow barked back as he dashed towards the rear exit with multiple duffle bags in hands.

Though Karl shot me a venomous glare when his attention got back on me, he still resigned and redirected his gun towards the Marines behind me.

"No!" I screamed desperately, but four gunshots still reverberated through the whole warehouse, drowning out the chaos outside as if lightning bolts had landed right inside the room.

The air was heavy with the acrid scent of gunpowder and the grim essence of death. My head mechanically turned as far as it would go to look over my shoulder, horror sealing itself onto my features and choking me breathless as the image of the deceased men on the floor etched on my retina while blood was pooling under their bodies.

My eyes burned, threatening tears that refused to come, leaving only a suffocating sense of despair in their wake.

"They're all... They're all..." I struggled to utter, my breaths coming in ragged gasps as I was still unable to fully draw air into my lungs.

In one second and they're... Gone!

A guttural scream of agony tore from my throat as I strained against my bindings, but the ropes held fast, refusing to yield to my desperate struggles. Panic coursed through me like a wildfire, consuming any rational thought—so much that I didn't notice how the cacophony outside had inexplicably quieted before the door crashed open once more, slamming against the wall with a force that made me jump in my seat.

My gaze snapped to the figures stepping through the entrance, avoiding the corpse strewn in their path as if it wasn't something worthy of any relevance. The silence was only broken by the labored breaths of two imposing, heavy armed men still wielding their guns close to them as they progressed towards my position. Every instinct urged me to flee, but I remained stuck, like a powerless puppet in the hands of this new threat—especially since one of them donned a sinister full skull mask, its empty eye sockets aggravating to the nightmarish tableau.

"Steamin' Jesus..." the other who sported a fierce mohawk cursed, capturing my attention for a flicker of a second.

"Laswell, we got eyes on the captives," the masked figure reported briskly, his voice resonating with a deep British accent as he proceeded to conduct a quick round to ensure the area was secure.

"4 KIA, all Marines. The only one left is a woman," Mohawk added, his words landing like heavy blows.

I bowed my head as a grimace contorted my face, unable to accept the casualties my companions had now become. A high-pitch curse mixed with a hiccup escaped my lips as the reality of their death painfully squeezed my heart dry.