En route to their home they were, but rather than a walk in the park, they spend their time melting with the dense darkness of certain alleyways, running across the empty streets, almost cowering at the distant sound of sirens or passing cars. Upon walking past a small store, they saw the time with a frown on their faces.

A little over midnight, that meant something for the armies of the night. That meant that it was time to come out and play, protect their territory, chase and scare a few rats away from wherever they wanted--It was the time where most delinquents like them got ready to start a night of terrorising and ruckus, scarring the innocent citizen that dared to walk the streets.

The Warriors continued walking and running closely to one another, Irene sharply commanding the best route, saying when to shut up, when to start talking, when to ask something. It was going smoothly, but they were wearing their colors, their uniforms, so they couldn’t hide for long. They sheltered in the darkness with the cops passing by, the red and blue light only showing a fraction of their faces for less than a second but soon enough they'd be noticed by the hawk eyed cop. God forbid that.

Rain and thunder greeted them shortly, making the streets shiny and slick while refreshing their sweating and warm bodies. Seulgi was particularly grateful of it, she was always fond of rain and running in the rain (in addition she was the one who was shirtless), but if there wasn’t the constant pressure of possibly getting ed over by the cops--or gangsters--it would be ten times better.

They were all tired of running, sheltering under a bridge momentarily as they caught their breath, brushed away the water from their face and recalled where they would go first.

“Goddamn, why did it have to rain now?” Yeri groaned, shaking her limbs like a wet dog.

“God probably smelled your stench,” Joy joked, gently nudging Yeri with her elbow.

The Warriors laughed. It helped ease up the tension a little bit, keep them in check before Irene spoke again with her thunderous tone.

“Namtae, stick closer to me, man, you’re falling back.”

“Sorry,” Taehyun softly said, still catching his breath. Only eighteen years old and he was already in this huge mess.

He was one of the youngest of the group, he looked to join in the gang earlier because he felt he did not have a family, but instead Joonhyung told him to wait a year, to think it well. Of course, he did not change his mind. For this, Irene had sympathy for him; when she was his age she couldn’t run that long either, it took her months and years to get that kind of stamina she had now. Hell, it took months for her to adjust at all, but she needed to get tough and the person to help her with that was Seulgi. So she figured, Namtae probably needed a little mentor and a push.

“It’s okay, just try it, I don’t want you falling back,” Irene said softly, patting his back.

He nodded his head and recomposed himself up straight, a little more energized now.

Irene looked around at the soldiers and gave the order to move forth, walking out from the darkness of that tunnel and being closely followed by the Soldiers, who briefly spoke amongst themselves to ignore the thunder and the rain falling upon them, to ease their tenseness.

One thing raced their minds of course and that was the truce and this meeting. The meeting had ended fatally, with the worst of the worst happening. The leader of the biggest gang in New York was assassinated right in front of over hundred gang members and god knows how many more. There was someone who was guilty, because that wasn’t the cops. The cops arrived later with their vehicles and causing havoc, it couldn't have been them at that moment.

Someone from those gangs in the meeting killed the Gramercy Riffs’ leader.

Either way, that was none of the warriors business, not at the moment. All they needed was to get home, to make it there without a scratch. Their train was nearer and nearer as their feet got weary and tired, but danger was starting to creep through to the streets, coming out of the shadows like the boogeyman would do. They had weapons, they were packed, they were angry and ready to fight--and that’s only the organized gang members, not counting the eager, blood thirsty cats that did not have a name but had a fearful face and were ready to get their hands bruised and dirty.

Soon enough a gang was going to catch up on them, try to bust them down for being in their territory or for looking at them in a funny way. Seulgi thought that they can come at her all they want, she was going to bring them down--but realistically, this was her oversized confidence talking.

Fifty gang members versus eight of the Warriors? No chance, not even with a rocket launcher.

Unknown to them (Well, they knew, just that they didn't know exactly what magnitude), the other gangs were starting to get around. Those with an ear for the action were aware of the current situation--the current war, almost. Everyone was ready to get the warriors, send them to the Gramercy Riff’s. Word on the street was that the Warriors were responsible for the death and the imprisonment of many boppers that night. They ratted out to the cops of the meeting, they assassinated Cyrus. A lot of people were thirsty for some action on that boring July evening, especially for a manhunt in this magnitude. In reality, no one cared about avenging Cyrus, if it wasn't for the Gramercy Riff's influence and power--the reward was not said, but implied.

In addition, some of the boppers did want revenge, but because their soldiers got busted. So, it was blood shed that night.

The punks had just gotten done enjoying their drinks in their favorite bar, hearing a clear message over the radio, sent especially to the Warriors; the Baseball Furies had just gotten done putting their face paint on and were ready to hit the road with their wooden strong bats with dried blood in them; and the Turnbull A.C’s… they the engine to their run-down bus--carrying a big pack of savages inside of it--and started to cruise around the block with their rusty steel pipes, bats, chains and all kinds of weapons.

All hunting the Warriors, who hid cleverly in the shadows and moved smoother than the wind.

The darkness was their blanket for the occasion. Hiding across the streets and staring at the stairs that led to the train, the platform--their salvation. They were all breathing slowly and trying to make as less noise as possible despite being extremely tired and exhausted from all that cardio they had. They stood in line and following their previous follow-up. Irene, then Joy, then Seulgi, then Wendy, then Yeri, then Namtae and the nitro-duo Peniel and Dongho. They were all just silently watching, keeping their ears peeled.
 

The streets were dead that night, deader than their ancestors, the air was heavy but not because of humidity--in fact it was pretty cold and breezy (it wasn't cold enough for Seulgi's bare body, though, even if it just had gotten done raining). It was heavy because they felt the prey to hundreds of hunters, gangs ready to spring out from the corners.

They felt at war. None of them were used to soldering during War Time, in a place like the Bronx.

However, they have wisely decided not to get up in the platform. What if a gang member was up there--what if several of them were crowding the platform to forbid the Warriors from making it back home.

So, they waited for the cue, the sound of the train passing by and stopping at the platform. They were ready to run. Especially Seulgi, who was shifting her weight again and again, muffling her constant need for yapping.

She was growing tired of waiting, she was about to cross the empty street and get up to the platform by herself but that meant disobeying Irene's order. The warchief's orders for that matter. Despite that, she was ready to express her discontent. "C'mon, what kind of chicken crap is this?"

There was not a single movement on Irene's face, instead she blinked and deeply inhaled, keeping her eyes peeled to their target still.

"Yeah," Wendy suddenly spoke. "C'mon, man, we're here. What are we waiting for?"

"A train would help," Dongho chimed in, keeping his voice real low.
 

"Unless you want to get our heads busted in an open platform," Joy then finished, crossing her arms and shifting her weight as well with certain impatience.

"That's bull, ain't nobody on the streets," Seulgi spat back, unintentionally raising her voice and earning all the hushes from the crew except Irene's. "We're acting like wimps," she continued, her voice lower and a growl creeping out of her tone.

As if god loved to prove her wrong, in the distance--down the road--a big vehicle was emerging. It was not a car, that's for sure, it was a truck or a bus. Yes, it was a bus, definitely, there could be no mistake that it was a ramshackled bus with graffiti on it--all kinds of obscene words and imagery tagged all over that vehicle. It only gave the idea of who that bus belonged to.

"Keep talking," Irene's words spat back like venom, straightening her posture and raising her chin upon coming to a realization of who they were.
 

"Turnbull A.Cs," Joy mumbled, a shaky tone to her voice.
 

As the image became clearer and clearer, the headlights grew bigger, the shape was earning clarity. Way too many people to be inside just one bus. Were they... on the roof? They hung from everywhere: windows, the back, the roof. They could even hang from the front if the driver didn't need the sight. However, thanks to this, the bus was going extra slow. This wasn't just a bus with adults in it, they were indeed the gangsters.

Once the light started to shine on those gangsters and the bats and other weapons were revealed, Irene's command was clear as water.

"Move!"

When the 'M' left Irene's lips they were already running ahead deeper in the dark of the alleyway, leaning against whatever wall they had behind their backs as they washed the bus drive past at an agonizingly slow pace. When they paced by, the crew sighed in relief before one of them spoke.

"That's definitely the Turnbulls," Peniel groaned out.

"I think they forgot about the truce," Yeri sarcastically remarked, rolling her eyes knowing that no one would see.

"I doubt these kids would even respect the truce to begin with," Joy said confidently. "They're brutal, unruly... they're frightening even to the toughest gangs out there."

"I've heard of them before I moved here," Namtae shakily commented, coughing afterwards. "They're real heavy."

"Those lousy sadistic s," Seulgi bitterly commented under her breath.

No one could disagree with her on that one. Irene was busy giving her head a few spins around the situation, to which she tapped Joy's shoulder. When Joy turned to see the dark silhouette she only saw the tilt of Irene's head and she knew exactly what to do and what was the course of action.

Sneaking out of the dark, she came forth to the broken streetlight they were by just moments ago, scanning the streets and watching the Turnbulls continuing their stroll through. But as if it weren't enough, they all hear the train starting to make its way to the platform.

"That's our train!" Yeri exclaimed. "We gotta make it there."

At that moment, Joy mumbled a curse upon seeing the Turnbulls starting to change course and turn around. She wasn't the only one that saw it, the crew did too and they were all in collective agreement.

God hated them that night.

Joy quickly ran back to where they were. "Are we going to go for it?"

Irene had only a few seconds to think about it and she did the thinking real fast. What were the chances of not making it there? They all had to get out of there as fast as possible, they could almost taste their sweet home ride, bringing an end to a hellish nightmare. So, without even a command, they all started to run and leave the darkness behind.

As soon as they light was shed upon them running through the pavement, they heard animalistic hollering and shouting from the bus aside from its tired but roaring engine. It was a thing that came out of a nightmare for sure, it was certainly going to hunt them in their dreams.

Their adrenalines were pumping to their maximum as they ran like all hells through.

The fastest were Joy, Yeri, Wendy and Namtae, while the rest of them were a few steps behind. Of course the last one was Seulgi, who was deliberately running slower to stay closer to the view of the blood thirsty gangsters, occasionally looking back and giving them the middle finger.

The stairs to the platform were getting closer and closer. It was just getting to reach but so were the Turnbulls.

The moment they got close enough to it they turned and went up the stairs as fast as humanly possibly. Of course, Seulgi stuck behind to give them a very clear and taunting middle finger. As they cruised by they tried to hit Seulgi with a stick, managing to only hit the big pole she was standing behind. Then, without anymore hesitation, she began to ran her way upstairs as she saw the turnbulls start to slow down and pull over.

They started to pour out like bees ready to attack any intruder, while the Warriors were jumping the toll like animals and running their ways through the stairs, pushing people out of their way and scaring the normal citizen in the night life of the Bronx.

Seulgi wasn't close behind, starting to laugh and enjoy this moment as she heard the desperate bastards start to slowly holler and shout in anger rather than enthusiasm. They were getting closer. Luckily, she jumped the toll and went up in those stairs with godspeed, having the privilege of the people already hugging the walls thanks to her friends who were just running past there like maniacs.

Soon enough she met with the last few of the warriors making a run for it through the only open doors of the train--they were holding there and the train was about to leave, hearing the Turnbulls starting to pour through to the stairs she just went up on.
 

"Here! Seulgi!" Irene shouted standing just outside the door and grabbing Seulgi and pushing her inside as soon as she was within arm's reach. Without any waiting she closed the train's door and she saw the Turnbulls running at them, but the train was starting to move.

Now the excited hollering and the shouting was from the Warriors who were mocking and taunting the Turnbulls through the windows, laughing into their faces for being so slow and dumb even en massé.
 

Irene however was panting and looking at Seulgi. "You OK?"

Seulgi laughed and nodded, panting as well. Finally the train was moving in full speed and they were going home.

Everyone celebrated, high fiving one another and sitting on the empty seats of that almost empty train--the occasional citizen that WAS there looking at them with weird eyes and disappointed shakes of their heads.

Mostly everyone was seated, almost sprawled into their seats, except for Seulgi and Irene.

", those were some desperate dudes!" Joy laughed.

"Hey! So was we," Yeri quickly added, also laughing at the situation.

They were all hyped and proud, filled with this new-found power and celebrating their victory.

"Even fight, we could take 'em!" Seulgi exclaimed between breaths, looking extremely pumped. "Bunch of chicken !"

"Nah, man, those cats didn't look so chicken to me," Wendy commented along, ruffling her hair and sinking to her seat.

"To me either," Namtae expressed out of breath, earning a pat from Irene to his back.

"Well, yeah, we made it!" Wendy expressed. "Now it is the big Coney in just an hour, guys!"

"Gimme that fist, Wondo," Seulgi exclaimed, bumping fists with Wendy.

Everyone was hyped, looking into one another and patting themselves. All except Irene, who was standing and still keeping her eyes peeled. No, this wasn't the end and she could feel it in her gut. And if she learned something new from that day is that when her gut feeling says something it's certainly true. So, still tense and her face still blank despite her relief, she commented cold as ice.

"When we get there that's when we've made it."

Everyone's chatter and celebration was silenced as they all stared at her with sudden realization. She was the warlord now, she was right in a way, and they had to keep their eyes peeled. Namtae felt so tense he had to go to see the subway map to alleviate the tense.

"C'mon, loosen up a little bit, warchief," Seulgi commented, drunk with relief.

"I will when we get home safe, I'm still worried about Joonhyung," Irene said, not sounding upset but sounding firm. "We still don't know for certain if the cops busted him."

"It's the logical stuff," Wendy chimed in. "I mean, unless the person who assassinated Cyrus wasn't a cop and went for someone else."

"That's great food for thought," Dongho added softly, breathing heavily.
 

"Let's not think someone killed Joonhyung," Irene said optimistically despite sounding firm--again. "He could be out there stranded, that's the most thing I'm worried about. If he meets up with the Turnbulls he gotta get real lucky."

Everyone was silent again, even Seulgi who had now decided to sit down and ponder a bit. Before Namtae's cheerful voice talked. "Guys, I found Coney Island!"

"Sweet, how many stops 'till Union Square?" Peniel asked.
 

"That's too much math for Namtae, man," Joy laughed out, causing the others to laugh as well.

Irene couldn't help but to smile at the banter but also feel that smile slowly fade away. This wasn't the end and she felt it, something rotten was happening. It wasn't just that making it home was going to be dificult, but that there was something else other than a truce being broken.

Their business wasn't who killed Cyrus, but rather... what's happening afterwards? It seems that all the gangs were looking to retrieve home, but instead they were on the streets ready to bust heads open. It was strange to think so. It didn't really make any sense.

"It's alright, no one can figure these maps anyways," Seulgi said loudly.

And so they were heading to their demise.

It had just started.