Disrumpam

Snap

(Part 1)

People's lives are intertwined like threads. And sometimes the thread saps, leaving behind a hole we'll try to hide beneath a patch.

There are times we don't realize the new thread is too thin to tie it properly with ours, and still, we make bonds without figuring they're not strong and won't hold for long. So, when it finally gives and the fabric falls apart between unbelieving fingers, the blame will be wrongly put, for we never realized where the problem lay in the first place.

Alex loved him. She loved him deeply, passionately, consumingly, and never realized her love was wrong. She never realized she was possessive, she never realized she was jealous, she never realized she was harsh, she never realized she was hurtful; because, for her, she did it all out of love. So, when the fabric fell apart, when she saw the future she'd envisioned since she came of age at fifteen will never be; when she looked into his eyes and saw reflected in those tears a person she couldn't recognize, she blamed him. She blamed him for her pain, blamed him for the crushing of her dreams, blamed him for being disloyal, blamed him for making her unsteady Warrior Core fire up in hatred. She blamed him for robbing her of the last person who made life worth a damn.

For her, it was his own fault he was crying and bleeding and pleading and passing out. For her, he was nothing but the guy who broke her heart and he deserved to suffer like she was. For her and her blistering hatred, it was music to hear him begging for death. And she smiled at his pain because, for her, his pain was the only reason she was living now, as short as her life may be from now on.

He'd been the last person keeping her from surrendering to the pulling in her Core. So, now that she didn't love him anymore, she didn't care.

Warrior Cores draw power from the fiery center of the earth. Imagine that power being pulled twice as hard by a single body whose only source of cooling down the fire was the same that ignited it.

If Garrett's saviors don't hurry, he will die.

Rewind three hours and forty minutes:

2:30 pm

Macaria and Draven were flying ahead, running through the woods nearly on all fours, the only sound coming from their feet barely touching the ground. Yoongi ran behind them, arms tucked in tight and moving as fast as his legs, avoiding any tree and fallen blanch without having to jump as much as the twins, and barely making any sound at all.

Hoseok was behind all of them, only able to follow because he could still see them in the distance, breathing fast and hard thru his open mouth, avoiding any fallen branch because he knew he would lose momentum if he tried to jump, legs already burning along with his lungs as he ran as fast as he could but could barely keep them at eye view. He was a Wisdom Core, he barely had any field training with how much time he spent in libraries and with his computer as well as being generally weaker than his clan. But he pushed on and on and on, knowing that by the end there will be Garrett and he'll need him to be there just as much as he needs to see him still alive.

He was running. Panicked and desperate.

Draven was the fastest up ahead, running with a deadly look on his face, an animal instinct taking over as he bared his teeth and nearly ripped bark out of trees in his wake. He could only see that stain of blood on that decrepit wooden floor behind his focused eyes. The blood of his older brother, the blood of his family, the blood of a person he looks up to and loves as if they shared DNA. Even if they had adopted Garrett into their family and he hadn't been born in the same land as them, he was part of them like lungs to a body. He was what made them a true family. He was family.

And she will pay for every drop of his blood.

Then, he smelled it. In one whiff, his eyes opened, his head snapped to the left, and he jumped sideways, changing course sharply in the direction at the same time as his sister. He saw her with a side glance and noticed her body was lowered to the floor, smelling the ground as they ran, so he pulled his nose up instead to smell the air. Again, their heads snapped to the right, and they jumped, changing course again.

They were close, he knew it. This trace smelled not as old as the one in the cabin and the path she was taking was designed to confuse them; changing from left to right so sharply that any other fifteen-year-old Warrior Core would've lost the track at once. But she was dealing with a pair of gifted Warriors. Unlike her who siphons too much energy into her body, their souls remember this warrior life, making it become as easy as breathing for them.

She was currently running, maybe even carrying Garrett over her shoulder, and she was slower than usual because of the added weight. That, adding to the fact that the twins were naturally faster, was what made her trace clearer to their noses with every tree they passed by.

It wasn't until they had to jump over a fallen tree that he saw where the noise he had been hearing for a while came from. At the end of the scent, Draven saw a river flowing south. He frowned as they ran closer to the shore. It seemed unlikely she would be able to jump it from shore to shore even without carrying a body, and yet her scent was leading them straight to the water.

Right when their boots hit the pebbles of the shore, they skidded to an abrupt stop.

They stood there, looking to the other side of the river, lifting their noses to catch anything from the other side. But when they couldn't, they looked at each other with wide eyes. They were breathing harshly, he could hear her heart beating just as hard and fast as his, he could read her worry as he looked at the eyes of his twin and recognized them as his own. Slowly, the pair of them looked straight into the water.

Surely she wouldn't have put her captive in danger just to run away faster. It would make the kidnapping pointless. It is less than twenty degrees; for her, it won't make much of a difference because her energy is so hot the cold won't harm her or slow her, but for someone weak and harmed who didn't finish his warrior training it could be deadly if she keeps him in the water for long, and then even more so when they walk out with their clothes all wet.

The sound of Yoongi running nearer woke Draven up. He snapped his head up and began to follow the river's flow south. He heard Macaria by his side and their speed accelerated once more, all the while their eyes looked from the other side of the river to straight ahead at the waters. Eyes, noses, and ears were ready to pick up anything again; because they had lost her scent the moment she stepped into the water.

But they didn't have to run for long. On a rock up ahead, there was a splash of water that looked exactly like someone had tried to cling onto it. Maybe even succeeding.

In one swift and powerful motion, Draven had jumped over two rocks and then landed on the other side. As he heard his sister do the same, he looked over the water stain in the shape of a hand and took in a deep breath.

His eyes widened in sharper focus. There was a trail at last.

Without knowing exactly why she had suddenly decided to abandon the water, Draven and Macaria bolted straight into the trees. Maybe that stain was from Garrett who'd finally managed to run. But for how long? There was her scent, his scent, the scent of blood, the scent of wet clothes, and Draven's heart was beating like a bird's wings as they drew nearer and nearer. Because he knew they were getting nearer. She could only run for so long with a wounded captive who wanted to escape; she could only run for so long without making a mistake. They ran, jumped, flew through the trees, and then...

Draven's heart did a somersault. He dug his heels into the ground, skidding to a halt again along with his sister.

3:00 pm

From one moment to the next, they had lost her scent.

But how could that be? It hadn't gone left or right but neither did it go onwards. Draven's eyes looked wildly around, trying to catch anything that was moving, any spot, any distant dot. Then, Macaria grabbed his upper arm in a claw-like hand, and he looked at her at once in terror.

But she was looking up. Some trees behind Draven, she appeared to be looking up at one of them with eyes so wide she looked horrified. It even looked like she wasn't breathing at all.

For a single millisecond, as long as it took him to turn his head and look at his sister, Draven felt his stomach tightening uncharacteristically. He couldn't see what was behind him, but her terror was such that he knew he would have nightmares if he looked. Without breathing, he turned sharply to stand by her side and look straight to where she was looking... and he froze.

They were both up that long tree. Alex was standing over a thick, long branch while holding a limp Garrett by pushing his chest against the trunk of the tree. His golden skin was sickly white, his arms were scratched, his bent neck was bleeding... and her mouth was right where the blood was coming from.

She was sucking his blood.

They had only heard of these creatures in history classes. Those who draw strength by sucking the life out of people were part of those creatures that dwelled in the darkness before the curse had been made and the wall protecting the light had been broken. They had never encountered one of them, they never thought a person they knew could ever be one of them, they didn't know what to do with them. From deep in their souls, there came a chill, and they stood there, frozen in terror.

Alex lazily pushed her head back, a trickle of blood flowing down her chin as she smiled drunkenly. She closed her eyes and gave a great sigh to the heavens. Then she laughed and spoke, dragging her words a bit.

- I knew those two would pick you kids up. I knew sooner or later you would catch up. But I hoped it wouldn't be so fast. - She crooned.

It horribly looked like Garrett's chest wasn't moving.

- I hoped I could follow the river down to the nearest city and jump up a cargo train; making the game last longer. But this piece of shit suddenly wanted to fight back. - She scoffed. - Really. First, he stays unresponsive, and then when we're in the water he starts yelling again. We had a little fight down here and I pushed him... a little too hard. He hasn't woken up since. I figured he died so I thought, well... I thought running would be funny... but seeing him dead made me realize I would be all alone. So why even bother? -

She finished in a numbed tone of voice, dead eyes looking unseeingly at the body she held in her hands. The air all around had stopped just like their heartbeats. And, slowly, she let go of Garrett while letting her body tilt to the other side so both would impact the ground head first.

Adrenaline kicked in like a kick to the accelerator and Draven and Macaria were propelled onwards by their legs. Their arms stretched completely, their hearts in their throats as they saw him falling, a single tear sliding down Draven's cheek as slowly as they felt time moving around them, and just when he thought Garrett's neck would break as the back of his head hit the floor, Macaria threw herself onto her back and managed to catch Garrett's shoulders to stop his fall. Right before his limp body fell over Macaria, Draven caught him around the back and knees.

Just as time resumed its pacing and their hearts began beating again, they heard Alex growling and turned to look, Macaria jumping to all fours.

Yoongi had caught her, preventing her from killing herself, and was right now wrestling with her, trying to hold her down.

But he had nothing to tie her with.

Draven looked down at his sister at the same time that she took out Kevlar rope from one of her many pockets and jumped forwards. Even with all her energy, Alex won't be able to break this rope.

Swiftly but gently, Draven lay Garrett down and looked him over as quickly as he could. He had a trickle of drying blood flowing down his nose, but blood was still oozing from the bite on his neck. He took a bandage from one of his pockets and tied it around Garrett's throat, trying not to grimace or shake too much.

He bent over to check for breathing: No breathing. He put his head over his chest: Heartbeat too weak, slowing down due to lack of oxygen. If oxygen doesn't go up to the brain for more than six minutes, there can be lasting damage.

Immediately, he began performing CPR while giving his own energy into Garrett's body.

Just when he finished the first thirty compressions and bent over to give two breaths directly into his mouth, Macaria arrived. So, once he let go of Garrett's nose and went back to give compressions, he could see her ready to help. But she froze in place for a moment. Then she decided on placing a hand on Garrett's upper abdomen and giving her energy as well.

He couldn't blame her for freezing, her first thought would've been to do Interposed Abdominal Compression-CPR, but they needed another person and it was just the two of them as Yoongi was fighting the creature.

Twenty-four and twenty-five and twenty-six and twenty-seven...

Draven couldn't help but think that the third person in their group had always been Arne. And his eyes filled with tears even as he bent over to give Garrett another two breaths.

They couldn't lose Garrett too.

- No... - Someone gasped.

It didn't take long for Draven to figure out who it was. Once the person had run to them and thrown themselves to their knees, Draven could see that it was Hoseok, dripping wet and shaking for not being able to jump from shore to shore.

Draven bent over to give two more breaths as he heard Macaria telling him that he would be the third person and, the moment he straightened up again, they began.

Hoseok was giving direct breaths, Draven gave compressions to the middle of his chest, and Macaria gave compressions to his upper abdomen. One, two, one, two, when Draven moved up, Macaria moved down, and vice-versa as Hoseok gave continual air. And all three of them gave all the energy from their cores that they could give him.

None of them were counting the minutes in their panic, they simply worked tirelessly, draining everything they could from their energy, continuing to give it to him even though they were dangerously getting close to twenty percent. But they still could feel time passing, asphyxiating them. Draven and Macaria were both crying, unable to look at each other because then it would be real.

This couldn't be real.

Garrett... Draven could smell a big, good meal after a hard day coming from the open kitchen. He could hear his dad laughing merrily and smiling widely and honestly by his side. He could hear his sister confiding in him that she felt how, if it wasn't for Garrett, they wouldn't be a family. He could feel the sun on his face as they spent a good day near the waterfall; all six of them playing in the water and then seated near a tree to eat the lunch Garrett made while he told them excitedly what he learned as a Healer. He could feel cared for as he remembered every time he forgot to take his water flask to warrior training and saw him arriving with it. He could hear his laugh, feel his hugs, see his honey-brown colored eyes shining as he smiled at them. He could hear Arne telling him how lucky he was to have him.

He could feel the void his loss will leave. And none of them, including Rixon, will ever be ready for it.

- Come on... - He muttered with clenched teeth as his compressions went harder. He could see his tears falling on the back of his hand. - Come on, Garrett... - If he went any harder, he would break his ribs. But he was getting desperate at the thought of him dying in his hands. - Please, Garrett... - He sobbed.

And his panic reached its limit.

- Compressions! - He commanded his sister and let go of Garrett's chest.

At once she took his place, frowning at him but not asking anything. She knew he had an idea. Even Hoseok could tell he thought of something because he too frowned up at him in between breaths.

Draven looked down at Garrett's upper abdomen and pulled up his shirt to expose his Core. He grimaced when he saw it scratched and red with punches, and thought very carefully about what he would do next. He'd only heard of it, only knew the theory, but they were running out of time.

He turned his palms up and held them before his own core as if holding a vase, then took a deep breath. He imagined what his energy would look like if it had a form and color. He saw it in his mind like a miniature version of the earth's core, firing up and burning with violent, primitive energy. He concentrated very hard, breathing evenly through his nose. Not even when he heard a gasp beside him did he open his eyes.

He stayed with his eyes closed, simply feeling with his body and soul. He was putting all his emotion into it, all his desperation to save someone he loved. And slowly, he began to feel something growing in his hands.

It was hot and getting heavy, it didn't feel like the floating orb it should be but nearly liquid in the palms of his hands. Like what he thinks lava would feel like. It felt like the energy in his body had turned into this liquid and it was all flowing up or down towards the palms of his hands. Rapidly, he lowered his hands until the backs of them were touching Garrett's wet and cold abdomen. He could hear his sister saying something but it was all muffled in his concentration. He had to give him his all, he couldn't allow her to stop him from saving Garrett even if it was dangerous for him.

The feeling in his body was like getting drained of blood. He was pushing it out of his hands, drawing it all forwards, and he could feel the cold it left behind. His feet were first; he couldn't feel them, only cold, as if they had frozen. Then the cold crept up his legs until it got to his knees and he couldn't feel the ground he knelt on anymore. Then the cold started on his shoulders, in between his shoulder blades. It was unpleasant and mildly painful; he grimaced as he felt his shoulders falling without any strength to pull them up. Then the cold got to his chest, nearing his stuttering heart... and he knew he would die.

But a pair of hands grabbed his wrists, stopping him.

These weren't his sister's hands. They weren't the uncalloused hands of Hoseok or the cold hands of Yoongi.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. And Garrett was looking up at him with wide, frightened eyes, panting fast and hard.

Draven's mouth widened in a smile as he gasped in surprise, then he looked down at his own hands as each held drops of orange light, and then he fell backward, unable to hold himself up anymore.

- Garrett... - He tried to speak but it was only a whisper.

His sister jumped to his side in a panic.

- ¡What the fuck were you thinking, you moron! The idea was to lose no one! - As she went on to inspect him and see if he needed CPR, he felt like laughing.

- I just need to... lay down a minute... -

- ¡That's exactly what every character says before they die, you stupid! -

He felt like laughing again when she got ready to perform CPR on him, but Yoongi stopped her sharply. Draven frowned up at him, wondering frightfully where Alex was and if she couldn't run away, but before he could ask anything, Yoongi did something only the Shadow Core can do.

He put his palms together, took a sharp deep breath, and pulled them apart to show lines of pure light connecting them in the middle. Then, he plunged in to connect them against Draven's Core.

3:30 pm

Macaria only had a second to jump back just as Draven could only widen his eyes at the knowledge of what was going to happen before ZAP!

It felt like lightning had come down the heavens to hit him right in the stomach.

Draven's body jolted so hard it left the ground, then his whole body was burning hot from the inside and he screamed, churning and turning in agony, scratching his arms and chest. It felt like something was filling his veins rapidly and something else was creeping up and filling his throat, sickening him. He turned to hold himself up on his hands and knees and vomited violently. He vomited what looked like the lava he had imagined before, then he vomited something of a near-black color, and finally, when he vomited bile, was when it all stopped.

Shaking all over, he crawled back from the pool of whatever had just come out of his body and into the arms of his sister who held him tightly, shaking just as hard.

- I know what you were trying to do. But you did it wrong, kid. - Yoongi panted from somewhere behind them. - You were giving him your core instead of making a new one. That's why it's not taught before you come of age; you're not ready for it. You nearly ripped apart your soul. -

Shadow Cores have a direct line to the Darkness, and that's where all the lost souls reside. Meaning that the Shadow Cores have an easier connection to souls both living and lost. The souls are divine beings with divine energy. The E.V.Is can connect to this divine energy because of their Cores which draw energy from both mortal and divine realms. So the Shadow Cores are the only ones who can take pure light energy from the Darkness realm with an almost alchemical process and give it directly into an E.V.Is soul through their cores. But only the most experienced ones can do it as fast as Yoongi did.

That black thing he vomited had been dark energy. Darkness' energy.

He had nearly turned himself into a shadow. If Garrett wouldn't have–

- Garrett. - He muttered in a shudder and, freeing himself from his sister's hold, he turned around.

Hoseok was hugging Garrett tightly to his chest and crying silently over his hair while the latter sat with his legs straight before him and looked unseeingly at the floor. His arms were limp, scratched, and bruised on each side of him. It didn't even look like he cared or noticed Hoseok was hugging him in hysterics.

Something was wrong.

- Yoongi. - He turned in his kneeling position to look worriedly at Yoongi. His body felt all strange. - Can't you do the same... - But his voice trailed away as he looked at his state. His lip was busted, his eye was getting dark with a heavy bruise, his arms were scratched, and his shirt was torn in some places. It looked like all this time he'd been wrestling with Alex.

And he shook his head.

- It takes too much energy. - He answered his unfinished question. - I was about to do it at first but then she tried to run for it. And then you needed it. - Then he looked over at Garrett and back at him before walking closer and kneeling down to whisper at his sister and him. - The darkness you expelled was just creeping in, that's why it could be taken out. The darkness he has right now... looks like it's been there for a while and is only now manifesting. It's taken root. Healers will have to take it out. -

Macaria tried to say,

- But what if we wait until you get your energy back–

- It only works when darkness is only starting to creep in. - He explained again. - Once it takes root inside someone, ripping it away like this will leave lasting damage. Imagine I do it to him and the darkness has taken root in memories he loves. He would expel that darkness and those memories of light. -

They won the fight but lost the battle. They got Garrett back, but in what state?

Draven clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists as he stood, then looked in the direction Yoongi had come and found her tied from head to toe with all his sister's rope at the foot of a tree. Her feet were tied together, knees tied together and then tied to her torso, arms tied together behind her, mouth gagged so she couldn't speak. And he took a step in her direction.

But Yoongi stopped him.

- We have our orders, Draven. - He warned him. Reminding him that justice will come to her as she deserves once they're back in their lands.

He looked back at him then.

- Garrett can't go. - Not with her, not in the same direction, less in the same car. She had brought darkness into his soul, she had claimed him, and Draven won't let her continue terrorizing him.

Yoongi nodded.

- We'll have to separate. -

- I'll go with Garrett. - Hoseok spoke up, voice level as he dried his tears with the neck of his wet shirt. All three of them looked at him still holding Garrett with one arm. - We have to head back to Evanthe. Our job is not yet over and all my equipment is there. -

- Then I'll go with you. - Draven spoke up defiantly, still feeling weird chills running up and down his body. - She won't arrive anywhere if I go with her. -

- Then I'll go with Yoongi. - Macaria finished, stepping in from behind him to stand by his side. - We'll go to a secure location and wait for Hoseok to tell us where to go next. -

- Very well then. - He nodded up at them. - We should go. The next stage in the capital will be starting this afternoon. -

With that, Yoongi took the car keys and he and Macaria took hold of the creature as she snarled while Hoseok and Draven walked with Garrett in their midst silently. They didn't need to hold him up since he could walk normally and Draven even had the impression that Garrett would be able to run if needed, but they still held onto his arms -realizing at once that his skin was burning hot- once they've crossed the river (Hoseok stepping into the water again).

Garrett's clothes were still wet and Draven didn't know anything of how he felt, but he stood silent, not knowing what to say or how to approach. Just like his siblings, he had a hard time voicing out his feelings, and right now he didn't know how to explain the utmost crushing relief and pride he felt at seeing him alive thanks to him (and the other two, but mostly him). So he walked silently, holding onto his arm.

It wasn't until much later when they reached that awful cabin that Garrett gave a tiny gasp and stopped walking. The pair of them looked at him at once and saw his eyes filling with tears as he looked up ahead. But before Draven could snatch his attention away from the sight, Garrett turned and hugged him tightly, crying on his shoulder.

Draven has seen Garrett crying before. But never like this. It brought tears to his eyes.

- I love you. - Was all he thought to say.

And Garrett sobbed as if he had a broken bone, hugging him crushingly tight.

Draven could see Hoseok crying into his own hand, trying not to make noise by biting down into his fist. None of them, Draven was sure, had been able to process what had happened; the true danger of it all. But none of them wanted to talk about it, so none of them did.

It was some minutes before they could walk again, and, once more, they walked silently, but Draven's chest felt lighter once he'd made sure Garrett knew he loved him. Something he never thought of doing before he nearly lost him.

4:00 pm

They reached the road, he saw the car gone but coats and a hoodie left in its place, and they continued to walk, now wearing the added layer of clothing. They walked over the grass since Garrett had no shoes. And once they reached the perimeters of Evanthe, they stood frowning at what they saw.

It was raining only on Evanthe. The line of water was like a curtain that neatly separated the road from the university.

Draven looked up at the sky in defiance. Darkness was the reason Garrett was in this state.

Before nearing the side gates, Draven looked over at Garrett's mangled appearance and at once helped him put his hood on and tighten the straps so the neck of the hoodie would hide the bloodied bandage on his throat. And then, they arrived.

But when Hosoek tried to open the gate to walk in, they realized it was closed.

Then a guard walked out of a security cabin by the side, opening an umbrella. And when he saw Hoseok, he squinted at him.

- Weren't you one of the guys in the black car that left to search for another boy? -

Draven blinked and looked over at Hoseok.

- Yes. Could you let us in? -

- Where's the car? - The guard squinted more heavily at him.

Neither gave any attention to the fact that the guard needed an umbrella and they didn't.

- The other guy I was with left with it. -

- And who are they? - He looked Draven up and down and then at Garrett barefoot by his side.

- Students, friends of mine. -

And the guard finally shrugged.

- Ok then. I won't ask why he's barefoot. - And he unlocked the door and let them in.

It wasn't raining that heavily, but it still was very cold.

Once the guard locked the door again, Hoseok found it odd.

- Why are you locking it? It usually remains unlocked. -

- Well... - He scratched the side of his head. - We were told that no one could get out until later notice. I think it has something to do with the police being here or something. ¡Hey, Regie, why was the police here again? - He bellowed at the half-opened door.

And out came,

- To lock someone up. -

- Wasn't it because a computer here was helping the criminals or something? -

- Yes, like I said, to lock someone up. -

Then the guard nodded and turned back to them.

- To lock someone up. So we can't let anyone out. Go on then. - And he opened the door of the room to walk in and close it again behind him.

Draven looked over at Hoseok, both with rain flowing down their faces, and they started walking faster than before. With just one look at him, he knew.

It was one of Hoseok's computers.

- How did that happen? - Draven whispered as they reached the building, but instead of walking up the stairs to the door, they ran beside it to go around the place.

- This morning... - Hoseok grunted. - We were so distracted and stupid, I forgot to [something Draven couldn't understand] to send that photo. -

- The photo of the perimeters? - Draven asked, making sure Garrett was behind them. And he was; running like a soldier with no emotion on his face.

- Yes. I bet they figured out what they'll try to do now. We have to figure out something and send the information to them before they walk into a trap and before we get caught. -

Draven could only be mildly amazed by the architecture and design of the place given how his panic was filling up again.

There were three things frustrating him as a whole. The first was their speed, given how Hoseok was the only one who knew where to go, they could only go at his already tired speed. The second was that, even if he wanted to run faster, he knew he wouldn't be able to; his legs felt weak and strangely went from cold to hot as well as his shoulders. And the third reason that frustrated him was Garrett's silence.

He knew he just experienced something worse than death and knew he was only running out of training. There was no emotion on his face at all, he was only being the warrior they taught him to be.

Maybe that's why his Warrior Core marking appeared on his forearm and not on his back. Being a warrior was something he goes back to when he's hurt or frightened, it's not a part of who he is.

They ran through the wood, avoiding a white path near the edge and going deeper. The louder Hoseok's breathing got, the higher Draven's respect for him went. He knew the guy was naturally weaker and ate only organic food to consume the earth's energy directly and be healthy, so it was truly humbling to see him not only able to keep running after what happened this morning (with no food in) but also have the head to think solutions to help the others even if he himself was put right against the ropes.

Then, Hoseok stopped. He gasped for breath as he held onto a tree and looked over at the edge of the raining wood, watching the side entrance intently. As drops fell loudly on the tree leaves and down at them, he took out his phone for a brief second.

- It's twenty past four. We forgot to ask the guards at what time the police arrived, goddammit, Darkness again. - He cursed under his breath and stood silent for a moment.

And Draven realized that his own growing panic was because of their enemy and it wasn't real.

He frowned and stood his ground, tightening every muscle and willing himself to concentrate. Then, passing a Garrett that was looking into the woods as if trying to find somebody, he neared behind Hoseok and looked over his shoulder at the door, focusing to see through the rain and over the distance.

- There's no one in the corridor. - He informed them.

- Ok, let's go. - Hoseok muttered and took a deep breath before running again.

They ran straight to that door, crouching low, looking from one side to the other. Then Hoseok opened the glass double doors first and went in. But Draven stopped him by the wrist, frightening him.

Draven had felt something below his feet that startled him. He got himself on his knees and felt the carpeted floor with his gloved hands. It felt like there was hollowness after a thick layer as if there was another corridor beneath. That explains why he can feel everything more clearly, the reverberations of movement can flow farther. And he can feel a lot of movement right now.

But it wasn't coming from the corridor beneath. No. Once he placed a hand on the wall near the floor he realized it came from the massive room beside them.

He looked up at Hoseok.

- There are a lot of people in this room. They seem impatient. -

- They've told them already. - Garrett muttered.

But Hoseok frowned as he looked ahead.

- If the police were inside, they would've stationed someone outside so no one could head out. -

- Maybe many of them saw the police arrive and rumors spread. - Draven murmured.

And Hoseok nodded.

- Yes. We need to go quickly. -

They ran again to the doors, staying close to the wall, but slowed down to a walk before people on the other side of the glass could see them.

Casually, Hoseok opened the doors and they walked in, looking down and keeping their hands in their pockets. There were a lot of people talking in this lobby, the doors to the rooms on either side and down into a darker one were opened with people inside walking from one side to another. The murmurs were deafening in such large quantities. But the closer they walked to the stairs, the quieter they became.

And then Draven saw a glimpse of the televisions at the far end of the room in the middle before stepping up the first step and his heart fell to his stomach.

They were watching replays of the fights at the capital.

These people could recognize his pants and shoes.

By the time they reached the first floor of the rooms, there was silence but for the few in the rooms downstairs who wanted to get closer and see why everyone went hushed. And no one moved a single finger as they watched him intently until they finally reached the second floor and Hoseok took out a key from his pocket.

Thankfully there was no one on this floor. But Draven felt a very uncharacteristic desire to cry. He wanted his sister to be here by his side, he felt so utterly surrounded by the enemy in a way that made chills run up and down his body.

Then he shook his head and forced himself to focus and remember that these feelings were not real, these thoughts were not real, they were just Darkness trying to play with his insecurities and drain him of his strength, he won't let him.

- Alright. Draven, you stay at the door while I send the message to the others. - Hoseok commanded as things got faster again.

- Yes, sir. -

- Garrett... - His eyes got softer as he saw him and then he placed a hand on his shoulder, very gently. - If you have anything you want to take from your room, this is the time to do it. We'll have to leave. -

Garrett frowned a little then.

- What about Jungkook? And Tyr? -

- Tyr? - Draven asked, bewildered. But Hoseok shook his head at him.

- We'll come back to get them later. I'll leave a message for Jungkook as well. Circumstances changed. They know the signal came from this room and only this room. -

- Then... I'll stay. - Garrett muttered decisively.

- Absolutely not. - Draven stepped closer to him and grabbed his forearm, not letting go even if it was blistering hot.

Garrett turned to him and held his shoulder with the other hand.

- Darkness is here. We cannot leave Jungkook without our protection, that's our job, that's why we exist, Ven. -

- Garrett. - Hoseok took a step closer as well. - You need us. I cannot leave you here all by yourself right now. -

- Look, we either take Jungkook with us now or I'll stay with him. Our main priority was always The Rose. That's why we were created, that's why you and Yoongi were put in Evanthe, and that's why Arne died. But even if we've physically found him, he's nowhere near the man he used to be. He heavily mistrusts us and hardly believes a word we say. I have to stay to talk to him at least once every day to gain his trust, or else he'll never let us talk to him about his past lives. I won't let everything our people have done these past two decades come to nothing when we're so close to having the answers we're looking for. Think about it, Hoseok, if we don't get that information quickly, our people in the capital will keep fighting blindly. You can't stay because the police will see you as a suspect and our people can't have you locked up and Draven can't stay because he's not a student and... I think people recognized his clothes already. Yoongi's not here. I'm the only one left who can do it. So I will do it. -

Hoseok clenched his teeth. He looked in pain as he watched Garrett over. He knew he was right just like Draven knew he was, but still, neither wanted to leave him alone after what happened and not after knowing he needed Healer's intervention to take the darkness out of him.

But even so, he was right. What they were fighting for was far greater than any of them even if their hearts told them otherwise. They couldn't think of their feelings right now; they couldn't think of only him right now. They were a tribe; one people. They pursue the same goal.

- Who are you? -

4:30 pm

All three of them snapped their heads to look at the stairs. None of them had felt nor heard this stranger getting near, not even Draven himself.

It was a guy with unnatural orange hair, as tall as Garrett but skinnier, with gray eyes and freckles. He was looking wide-eyed directly at Draven and seemed to be breathing faster than usual out of fear or adrenaline. He certainly seemed to be alone and ready to run back down the stairs, but there was palpable defiance in him; a force oozing out of him the longer he stared at Draven.

Draven looked once at Hoseok, noticed by his frown that he didn't know this guy either, and looked back at him.

- I think you should go back down. - Draven told him with no hint of a threat.

But the guy locked his jaw and looked down at Draven's forearm as if he could see the marking beneath the coat. Then, he took a step toward him.

- Tell me... - He looked up, and his eyes widened with desperation. - Are you one of the–... in the capital...? - His sentence had been cut in parts, but they all understood what he was asking.

Draven glanced at Hoseok again, only to find him staring down at him, waiting to hear how he would answer.

- What would you do if I said I was? - That was all he could come up with. For all the responses they've gotten in the capital, this guy's reaction could be fifty-fifty. Either he supported them or he won't and Draven would have to stop him from going back down the stairs again.

But this guy didn't try to run. Quite the contrary. He gave a tiny gasp of surprise and dashed forward, running towards him with emotion in his eyes.

- Take me back with you. - He nearly ordered, breathlessly. He clutched the fabric of his own t-shirt by his chest and nearly pleaded. - I have to go with you. I can't keep looking at other people fighting a war I should be in as well. Please, I can help you; my sister can help you, I have friends in the capital that can help you, just, please–

- Hey, hey there. - Draven held him by the shoulders when the guy's eyes began to get dangerously wet. He looked back at him, the middle of his eyebrows pulling up in near anguish. This had never happened, as far as he knew; the people from the capital fighting with them merely appeared by their side. He never gave a thought to the people far away who felt like it was their duty to be a part of the fight for freedom. - I want to tell you yes, you have no idea. - He said with sadness as he shook his head. And the guy's shoulders fell as slowly as his hopeful stare. - Hey. - The guy looked back up. - If you find a way to get there, I'm one of the "Hyenas", alright? - He smiled at the guy, and, in return, he smiled back at him with renewed hope. - Go back down then. But don't tell. - He pointed a finger at him.

The guy nodded once, sharply.

- I won't. I promise. - He took a step back from him. But then frowned a little. - Could you tell me exactly what you're fighting for? Just so I know... -

Draven took a deep breath, knowing even as he was filled with pride that what he will say next will mean little to this guy, and still he said it as he'd said it with his brothers and sisters before a fight.

- We fight for Light. Against Darkness. -

However, it didn't look like it meant little. The guy took in a breath as if the same sense of pride was filling him and then nodded like a warrior would've done. Then he turned around and left with his head down in deep thought.

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🌼Thank you for reading Chapter 71 <3<3<3

Your devoted writer,

Ela Shadow Rose 🥀

Go ahead with the next Chapter ->->->