JEOSWA
UNTOUCHABLE (KRYBER)"This isn't looking good, Cap," said Taeyeon, stopping on her tracks. Ahead of them are Evens walking around lazily.
Amber looked up at the sky and sighed. "Draw out your swords for security. But let's try to avoid contact as much as we can. Our objective is to get the kid and go to the nearest Sanctuary before it rains."
Yuri, Taeyeon, and Tiffany, drew out their Retter swords. The troop continued walking as stealth as they can until they reached the first Sanctuary. Their faces fell.
"I-it's wrecked..." said Tiffany.
Taeyeon walked towards one of the broken Retter barriers and touched it. "Tsk. This tells us how messy the attack was."
Amber motioned to the radio on her suit. "Control Room, how far is the next Sanctuary?"
There were about 5 seconds of silence until a male voice responded, "About three kilometers, Captain."
"What is the nearest sanctuary near the target?"
"It's the fourth Sanctuary, Cap. Nine kilometers away from there."
"And the kid?"
"About seven hundred meters away from the fourth Sanctuary."
"Is the fourth Sanctuary still functional?"
"Yes, Captain, along with the other two remaining Sanctuaries."
Realizing the situation, the troops looked at each other. "Since this one's wrecked, it means that once we got the kid, we'd have to run from the second Sanctuary to the exit of the village," said Yuri.
"That's gonna be dangerous if it rains along the way. That's a long run," said Taeyeon.
"That's why we brought Tiffany. We'll handle the Evens while she makes sure that the child is safe," said Amber.
"Maybe we can use one of the cars here from second Sanctuary to the exit?" suggested Tiffany.
"We could, but it might get messy," said Yuri. "They'll be able to track our movement and will surely target us."
Amber was about to say something but there was a sudden movement on the ground. It lasted for about ten seconds.
"W-was that an earthquake?" asked Tiffany.
"Control Room, what was that just now?" asked Amber.
"There's a movement underground, Cap. Probably Evens. It's not an earthquake."
"Thank you. Could you please instruct the mother of the kid to call her daughter and make sure she's staying in the car?"
"Will do, Cap."
"Thanks. Over and out." Amber looked around her team members. "We have better chances of defending ourselves outside than inside a car. After retrieving the kid, we'll stay in the Fourth Sanctuary until the sky is clear. From there we'll run to the gates as fast as we could. Let's move now."
---
"Thank you. Could you please instruct the mother of the kid to call her daughter and make sure she's staying in the car?"
Krystal stiffened upon hearing that. Jiwon looked at her.
"The mother of the kid," said Jiwon, shaking her head. "I wonder if ever I'll be able to hear her say your name again."
Krystal quickly glanced at Jiwon, then to the AEF personnel who approached her. "Her batteries are out. But I think she's still sleeping. I asked her to sleep on our last call." She pointed at the big screen showing the car with Katrien in. "There's been no movement in the car for about thirty minutes now."
The AEF personnel said thank you and left them.
Krystal moved closer to Jiwon and whispered something, making sure her mom won't hear it, "Me too."
Jiwon smiled a little. "I talked to her this morning."
"Oh. And I thought she hasn't visited you yet?"
"This morning was the first time. Said she's having same dreams lately."
"Dreams? About what?"
"About the death of her dad. And she said it started since she came back here."
Krystal squinted her eyes, thinking. "Do you think it has something to do with her depression?"
"Could be. But I can see she's trying to avoid it, Krys."
"Avoid what?"
"Avoid anything that could remind her of you."
"And why would she do that?"
"I dunno. Maybe she doesn't want to be reminded of the pain?"
Krystal sighed. "But that was already seven years ago, Jiwon. Is it possible for her to still remember everything?"
Jiwon smirked. "That's the thing about Amber, she never forgets. You know that."
Krystal looked at the screen in front, feeling guilty. "Do you think this mission is torture for her?"
"Can't say. But knowing her, I don't think it's a torture. Amber's all about saving people. Plus, I think it'll somehow help her. This time she's got no choice but to face the past she'd been trying to run away from," said Jiwon, looking at Krystal eagerly. "Facing it is the first step to acceptance."
Krystal bit her lip and looked away. "Seven years. Is it really possible for someone to not move on from something even with that long period of time?"
"People don't actually move on from something really special, Krys. They just learn to accept that some things will never happen again. Just like you."
"L-like me? What do you mean?"
"I know you two broke up a long time ago. But it just amazes me how you two still keep track of the time you've been apart now."
---
The wind is starting to pick up now. There’s moist in the air. Amber knew it, anytime now the rain will fall. She just feels lucky that there's no encounter so far. The troop moved in with ease pass the second and third Sanctuaries.
"Approaching Sanctuary Four," announced Amber to the radio. "The Barriers seem to be intact. We could proceed to the initial plan of resting here during the rain."
There was a static line on the radio before someone spoke, "Roger, Captain. Can you see the car from there? It's at ten o'clock. Red compact car."
Amber squinted her eyes in the direction. "Target located. We'll proceed there now." She motioned to her troop and they continued walking.
Every step leading to the car makes Amber feel like she's having a hard time breathing.
Every step leading to the car makes Amber feel like her chest is about to explode.
She's now rehearsing on her mind how she'll react if she sees the child. The child of her ex-girlfriend whom she can't stop thinking about. The child of Krystal from another man.
A man.
A man who is her husband.
A man who was able to touch Krystal the way Amber had touched her before.
The man who was able to experience Krystal in every way that Amber could've done before.
The man who stole the love of her life from her.
She started hearing voices in her head.
"I like him."
The voice gets louder.
"I like him."
She's now seeing Krystal's image, sitting on the bed, her eyes looking on the floor.
"I like him."
Everything is flashing back. The voices keep on repeating on her head. Amber felt her heart starting to ache.
"Captain we're here."
Tiffany's voice pulled Amber back to Earth. Amber felt exhausted for no reason at all.
"Captain, you alright?" asked Yuri.
"Y-yeah." Amber nodded hesitantly. She motioned to Tiffany. "Retrieve the target now. Yuri, Taeyeon, and I will be on standby for any Evens."
"Roger, Cap," said Tiffany. She walked towards the car and checked the inside first before holding the doorknob.
Amber held her breath for a moment as Tiffany opened the door, revealing to them the little person inside.
---
"Kids? You want to have kids?"
"Yes."
"And you don't want to adopt one. You actually want to get pregnant."
"With your baby, yes."
"Wow. That sounds like starting a real family."
"Of course! Don't tell me you're not planning to start a family with me!"
Amber caged Krystal in her arms to stop the latter from slapping her playfully. "Of course, I want to! It's just that I haven't really thought about it yet..."
"Amber, we have been dating for over five years now and you haven't thought of that with me?"
"Krys, there's no one in the world right now that I would want to spend the rest of my life with but you," said Amber sincerely. "But there's just a lot going on right now with the Evens. The last thing I wanted to do is to bring a child only to live in fear."
"That makes sense. How about if everything's over? Like if the Evens are finally extinct?"
"Then yes, I'd like to have one with you. But how are we gonna have kids?"
"Science has its ways now. I could carry your baby in my womb," said Krystal, motioning to her tummy. "I would love to give birth to a healthy baby who looks just like you."
The idea made Amber smile. "What gender would you prefer?"
"Boy or girl, I don't care. As long as it looks like you. What would we name it then?"
Amber looked up, a finger on her chin. "I want his or her name to be close to yours, or at least starting with letter K. Hmm. If it's a boy, let's call him Kristoff."
"Sounds nice. And if it's a girl?"
Amber looked up again. formed 'o' shape when an idea hit her.
"Pure."
"Huh?"
"Katrien -- it means pure," said Amber, turning to Krystal. "I want us to call her that."
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