KILLING him was a mistake. Sulli didn’t mean to pull the trigger but he moved too quickly and he spoke too aggressively. When she found the 9mm behind a radiator, the small storage room fell quiet after the Kids had been arguing about there being too many people in the small hideout. There were six of them. Bomi, Krystal, Hyeri, Woohyun and an older Kid Sulli didn’t recognize. Woohyun noticed what Sulli had found first. He had demanded she hand it over, for the sake of everyone’s safety. No one spoke when she aimed it. She wasn’t thinking then, she was scared and didn’t want to hand over such a dangerous tool to someone else. It agitated him even more and when it looked like he was reaching out to grab her she squeezed her hands and there was a loud pop. All but Krystal and the older boy shrieked. Woohyun fell back against the shelves with a hole between his eyes. He was staring at the floor when he sunk to the ground. Krystal stayed while the rest left the storage room. Sulli still had the weapon up but aimed at nothing.

Breathless, she asked herself out loud, “What did I just do?” Her breathing became so quick her heart began to hurt. Soon, it felt like she wasn’t breathing at all.

“Sulli, calm down.” Krystal’s voice never wavered. Sulli had never heard her raise her voice or even cry. She was always composed, the complete opposite of Sulli who began to weep.

“I just killed someone!”

Krystal placed one hand on Sulli’s shoulder and gently grabbed Sulli’s hand with the other until the weapon was fully in her grasp. They suddenly heard the quick scuffling of feet and a boy outside the storage.

“Somebody help!” He yelled and joyous robust laughter from others followed after. Sulli recognized it was Jimin being pursued by whom she assumed was JR and a few other males. She felt frozen, the fear colder than the air.

Krystal spoke to her softly again, “We have to move.”

Before she could respond Krystal pulled her out of the storage and navigated them around the corner to the adjacent corridor. They were still on the first floor and could hear the trample of Kids above them and nearby. Sulli pressed against Krystal and squeezed her hand tightly. With her, Sulli could feel secure. Outside of Krystal’s serenity, Sulli would not last a moment in the Course. They watched as someone passed by at the other end of the hall, walking around aimlessly. As soon as they disappeared around the corner Krystal was on the move again.

Sulli whispered, “Where are we going?”

“I’m looking for a possible way out.” She crouched as she quickly paced the halls and looked around cautiously. Sulli spun her head as well, pretending to look like she was watching for her surroundings but she was way too scared to even react correctly had she seen someone. Krystal stopped and Sulli’s face rammed into her back. As she rubbed her sore nose she scanned Krystal’s face whose eyes leered at a set of doors. They were steel and shut tightly. The doors did not match the rest of the school. The two knew there was something behind it that would be difficult to reach.

“This could be it.” Krystal said, “Our way out.”

Sulli pressed her hands against the entrance and there wasn’t even a wiggle. She began shaking as she pressed harder and harder and she realized that the door may as well had just been an extension of the wall. She balled her hands and banged them against the steel doors causing an echo through the empty corridor. A low sob came from and then Krystal shoved her. Sulli slid a few paces away and fell hard on her behind. She hadn’t registered the loud rain of metallic clanging until she saw the heavy flag tips that were purposely sharpened to where they pierced and cracked the hard floor. Krystal stood on the other side, her face still sharp and focused. Sulli couldn’t help but panic and feel stupid that she triggered a basic trap at the start of the Course.

“We’re going to die.” She cried. Krystal lifted Sulli up to her feet.

 “I won’t allow you to.” She said firmly. She grabbed Sulli’s hand once more and continue to progress through the dark cold halls. They stopped at the opening of a staircase and Krystal tactfully looked up and listened closely for Kids above them. They took a few steps upwards when they heard feet scuffling behind them. Krystal shot around quickly and pointed the weapon down the staircase at a older boy who already had his hands up.

“Don’t shoot!” He yelled. Krystal decided that he was harmless and began to pull Sulli up the stairs. The boy watched them anxiously. “Let’s go together.” He suggested.

Krystal aimed the pistol at him again and both he and Sulli flinched. “Let’s not.” Krystal warned. “Take another step and the last thing you’ll see is the mouth of this 9mm.”

“You can’t work like this.” The older Kid kept his composure but breathed heavily. Sulli could see that sweat had already damped his brown hair. “If you don’t want to be the only person alive we have to work together. Otherwise the killing won’t stop and between the two of you, one of you or both of you will have to die.”

Krystal slowly lowered the weapon but kept it at the ready. She wasn’t a dumb girl. “You’re an older Kid. You’ve taken the course before?”

“Obviously not.” He responded frustrated, “Like a few others, my year was delayed.”

Suddenly there was yelling. Jimin was still being persued. The older Kid realized that he’d have to hurry up with his explanation and Sulli was anxious for it.  

“I was able to talk to the winner who took the course here.” He admitted. He had drew his hands down then, but he didn’t move a muscle. He already knew Krystal was not one to test.  “I know it’s hard to trust me but believe me when I say that I don’t want to kill anyone and I especially do not want to die.”

“Come with us!” Sulli blurted. Krystal looked at her with an odd expression.

“Sulli.”

Sulli pushed Krystal’s hand wrapped tightly around the 9mm down so that she couldn’t point it at anyone. She spoke to her friend with an unnerving eagerness, “We are a team, aren’t we? Let’s strengthen our group so that we can protect each other.”

“I’m more than enough.” Krystal protested.

“I’m not satisfied with that.” Sulli turned to the older Kid who was shocked that she wasn’t as harsh as her companion. “There are steel double doors on the south wing corridor, did you see it?”

He responded quickly, “The winner of my intended year told me there are doors to the school’s basement, possibly another means of escaping the school, but,”

Krystal squinted her eyes and her aiming hand jerked but didn’t move from the tight lock Sulli had on it. “But what?” She asked the boy sternly.

He averted his eyes, almost shamefully. “But it was locked too tightly.”

“Then you’re useless.” She broke Sulli’s lock and turned to continue up the stairs.

“Wait!” The boy shouted, “I did engineering back at the Tundra. I welded and supposedly there’s a workshop here in the school. I’m reaching but I would like to see if I can make something durable enough to break though these doors or windows.”

Jimin’s yelling was getting closer, and what trailed behind him was sinister laughter from a group of people. A group of people Sulli nor Krystal wanted to deal with.

“We’ll go to this workshop class.” Krystal agreed. Sulli sighed, almost laughing and the older boy blew out a long breath he’d been keeping in. “If you can’t keep your word, you’ll be left behind.”

“I’ll do my best. My name is Changsub, by the way.”