Interwoven ✔️

56~ Partner

[Jiyeon's POV]
"Jiyeon duck!"

At Taehyung's roar I instinctively dropped to the ground, just as the wall right where my head had been exploded, riddled with bullets.

The Reformist launched himself over the table at me, rifle raised high in his hand. My body jerked into action. I was still on the ground. Down low. Perfect. I swung my legs out just as he took one step too close to me. He went down.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Suho fighting back three Reformists at once, a long blade in his hand. I didn't know when he lost the gun. Nevertheless he was a whirling, deadly tornado that sliced anyone who got too close.

Taehyung was taking down one adversary after another, alternating between morphing. I never realized that black could ever glow. I always thought it was the darkest of nights where no light could reach. Yet there was Tae, his Marks blazing like night fire.

I scrambled to my feet when the door to the council room slammed open— only to freeze in horror as a fresh new wave of white-clad Purists flooded through.

Where was the back up? Did they fail?

I snatched the abandoned rifle that had skittered from my last opponent's hands and ducked behind one of the large tables as several Purists opened fire at me.

Adrenaline burned through me as splinters flew all around me from the bullets ricocheting off the furnishing I was sheltering behind. I felt several splinter slice my skin but I felt no pain. Pain had long since disappeared as I fought for my life. Fought for everyone's lives that were trapped in this base.

Taehyung, Suho, and I were supposed to strike right in the heart of where the Council members were being held hostage. Krystal and the other trainees were assigned the duty to escape the room and free as many Outworlder hostages as possible before coming to find us.

But it had felt forever since the trio of us had been fighting against the Reformists in this room.

General Konu had been freed by Taehyung almost the moment we'd gotten here; but the Council member had been too beaten to do anything but slump to the ground, coughing weakly. The few other members— I counted four— were cowardly hiding behind other pieces of furniture, not even daring to try and help us.

The sight made me so angry that it had redoubled the energy in me to take down the Purists. But now even that energy was depleting.

I refused to acknowledge that our plan might've failed. So many things could've gone wrong. Yet hope— hope that we could still yet make it out clung to me.

The bullets finally stopped. My blood roared in my ears as a strange silence fell over the room. Where was Taehyung? Where was Suho?

I heard the soft footstep right before a large white-uniformed man loomed up at my side and grabbed me.

The rifle was wrenched from my hands and then I was pinned to the table.

"You could've gotten out of here alive," the Purist snarled in my face. "But you chose to fight with the aliens."

I wriggled weakly under his grasp. My limbs felt leaden and I couldn't get enough oxygen in my lungs. How had things come to this? How had things gone to hell within months? And furthermore, how had I gone from living comfortably in a Sharehouse to being slammed onto a table covered in blood within those few months?

"This is your last chance." His grip on me tightened. "You don't even have to become a Reformist. Just give it up. Give up fighting us and let us do what is right."

"You think..." My voice came out raw and ragged. "You think what you're doing is right?"

The door opened for a second time and out of the corner of my eyes more Reformists were marching in. It was over. The plan had failed.