𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 ✔

𝟖𝟑. 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄

The spark had burnt out, the house abandoned, the lights dimmed.

It had all happened so fast that she hadn't had any time to really, truly realize what had just been lost, what had just gone down. Now, it was much worse; everything was flooding to her like jagged shards of broken glass. She panted, but her breath was barely there. Silent tears stained her face, but they never prompted a single noise.

"SUGU!"

The silence was broken by a scream, so vanquished, so torn, so painful that even the wind, once blowing serenely, was now tormenting through the sky. Harsh, humid gales blew through the interior, roaring amongst the dust.

Taelyn staggered to the broken window, falling to her knees, not even bothering to brush the glass away. She closed her eyes forcefully, trying and trying and trying to convince herself this wasn't happening...that she didn't have to throw herself over the edge just like he had fallen...down...down....down....

The man with the rifle towered over her, a infuriated look contorting this face. He pointed the gun straight at her back...

"Tae!" Cara tried to run to her aid, but her time was lost; she was alive, but the energy had been drained from her.

Aiden acted on a despair, he pleaded to Dominique with his eyes. The latter nodded and started to run...

Dominique grabbed the weapon, the one weapon that hadn't been lost, and skidded to a stop right behind the man called Mamba. He turned around upon sensing her arrival, but it was too late...she took a deep breath and shot him straight in the arm, and while this would have done nothing to a strong man like him, it was a temporary crutch, disarming him...

"Cara, come on - sorry that it took so long, the gun was jammed!" she shouted aloud. "Aiden hazz a plan, juzzt prepare to run. Ah-!"

Mamba had punched her straight in the stomach, causing the gun to fall out of her grip and slide off of the edge...

Cara blinked. Suddenly, everything had synced up. With the little energy she had, she picked herself up and rushed to where Dominique was staggering...she quickly pulled her away from the furious man...

"Taelyn! Taelyn, please, you need to get up," Aiden ran over and shook her shoulders. "Please, we need to go!"

She was sobbing; her entire body shook as uncontrollable tears spilled out of her soul. It was all the strength she had left to prevent herself from falling over the edge as well...

She felt an arm pull her, away from the ledge, away, away, away....she screamed in protest, but it wasn't working...every second that passed she was moving farther and farther away from him. Her Sugu.

He was gone.

And she had snapped in two.

_*_

"What's your plan?" Cara asked Aiden with a very weak voice once they had reached the hallway.

Deep, scarred emotional pain was all she could feel at the moment.

"We need to get out of this building right now. When Sugu came back, he told me he had gotten a bunch of grenades from an Itch transport. He planted them all over the building before coming up here. I have the detonator, he dropped it when he went to save you."

"You're going to blow this all up?" she breathed. "The entire building?"

"We need to find a way to get rid of Mamba and get out safely...and this is the only way we can do it," he said. "I can't believe Sugu came up with that idea...he was a genius."

"Ve need to move now," said Dominique firmly. "Cara, are you going to be okay vith that injury?"

"It hurts like a bitch," Cara muttered. "And it keeps bleeding, I'm going to die in the next second, but it's okay. What about Tae? She's in no condition to run."

"She'll be okay," said Willow, appearing beside them, supporting Taelyn with her arms. Her face fell, eyes full of worry. "But I think it's going to be a while before she can be in a normal state."

"Come on, we'd better get moving-"

"You are not going anywhere."

Cara sighed. She closed her eyes and turned around. Her jaw dropped immediately.

"J-Jynni? What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, all right," Jynsoo cracked a nefarious grin, taking out a gun. "But I don't think your precious Mint is."

"You? No...no, don't tell me," Cara's voice broke. "Don't tell me. Just kill me and get it over with."

"Oh, but wouldn't that be boring?" Jynsoo pouted. "You see, I didn't think Mintel would die....but here we are."

"You were the one who gave Itch the room numbers, weren't you? You killed Mint," Cara's eyes were on fire. "You're not even ashamed? She was your best friend, Jynni! She trusted you! Goddamn, we all trusted you!" She blinked away hot, angry tears. "Just kill us now."

"Cara-" Aiden tried to interfere, but she pushed him back hotly.

But then- BAM!

Jynni slumped to the floor.

Cara whipped around to see Willow holding a rifle - Mamba's.

"She's not going to be dead, but she's not going to be a problem anymore," said Willow. "And for the record, I believe that we should have hope, Cara. Hope that we will stay alive. Even if nothing is working in your favor....just a sliver of your belief could change everything for the better."

They were broken, they were losing, they were emotionally and physically wrecked....but somehow, they knew this was going to be worth it. They were going to be free...and the other innocent people were going to be free too.

Even if it meant that they died. Even if it meant that the pain would be unbearable.

That thought was what made them continue. That was what prompted them to run like they'd never ran before, ignore all the pain in the world, focus solely on their goal, because even if every single light shut, leaving them in darkness...they would still push on. This was their luminescence, their guide, their one true hope.

a/n:

"Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower."
– Shigenori Kameoka