COLONY
UNTOUCHABLE"I can't find the kid anywhere in the Sanctuary, Cap. She's not there."
Joohyun covered , attempting to stifle her cry. Seungwan hugged her.
"I think I should take you out, Joohyun. This may be too much for you to take."
"No. I won't go out unless I see my daughter again..."
Seungwan sensed there's no point trying to argue. She continued hugging her friend instead. "Don't worry. This isn't the first time something like this happened. I'm sure Seulgi will be able to find her."
"I just hope so, Seungwan. I just hope so..."
---
"WHAT!"
"I checked all the places, Cap. The kid's not there."
"!" Seulgi left her troop and dashed towards Sanctuary Four. Although it is still foggy, she can see how the barriers were destroyed because of the bomb.
"Yerim!!!" Seulgi shouted inside the Sanctuary. She went to the back and called the little kid again.
No answer.
"!" Seulgi paced back and forth in the room, breathing hard. "Control Room, look for any trails. The bomb weakened the Evens. They shouldn't be far away."
"On it, Cap." There was a short silence before the man spoke again, "There's a trail northeast of you, Cap--"
Seulgi ran outside the Sanctuary right away without waiting for the person to finish. She injected another booster in her vein and followed the trail, leaving her troop behind.
"The kid's captured." Seulgi motioned to her radio. "Don't bother to kill all of them. Follow me. Make sure to take another booster. We don't know what's waiting for us there."
"Roger, Cap," said Krystal, Amber, and Sooyoung.
Seulgi felt hope when she finally got a sight of the trail. She moved further until it led her to an underground opening.
"Disengage, Cap. We don't know what's inside," a voice from the Control Room said.
Seulgi observed the hole that's about ten feet high. "Is this where the herd came from?"
"Captain Seulgi, this is Commander Sunny. Don't go in there unless you have a backup. I repeat, don't go in there unless you have a backup."
Seulgi looked over her shoulder. Her troop isn't there yet. She sighed. She looked at her watch, her eyes focussing on the seconds running.
"Captain Seulgi, I need your confirmation," said Commander Sunny.
Seulgi took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Commander. But the kid is in there. I may be able to get her alive if I go in now."
"Captain Seulgi, yo--"
Seulgi threw out her earpiece and radio far away. And without second thoughts, she dove in.
---
Commander Sunny massaged her head. She motioned to one of the personnel. "Let's connect with Sooyoung instead."
"Copy, Commander." The man pressed some buttons.
"Control Room," said Sooyoung's voice.
"Sooyoung, this is Commander Sunny. Your captain has run amok. Follow her quickly and get out from there as fast as you can. Copy that?"
"Roger, Commander."
"Over and out for now."
After that, Commander Sunny sat on the chair and stared at the screen above, particularly the one displaying the inside of the tunnel Seulgi went in. It is dark because the light inside is coming only from the camera attached to Seulgi's suit.
Commander Sunny sighed. "You really don't care about dying, do you?"
---
It's starting to feel hot now deep within the tunnel. But Seulgi knows she won't suffocate. These creatures need oxygen too. If they are hiding underground, there's a possibility that the oxygen is present there also.
But what about Yerim?
The kid is webbed and is probably having a hard time breathing now.
She's already imagining Joohyun panicking in the Control Room.
Seulgi shook her head, trying to stay positive. Her steps went faster. She doesn't care now what's waiting ahead of her. Her main goal is to free the kid at all costs.
Seulgi felt hopeful when she glimpsed the monster's back ahead of her. It's slowly walking, pulling a web ball behind that's about the size of a kid.
Seulgi pulled out her sword and attacked the Even from the back, causing the monster to create a loud noise.
"Creeeee!!!"
Seulgi took the opportunity to drag the web ball away from the monster. She pulled out a knife and started cutting the web.
"C'mon, kiddo, please stay alive for me. Ouch!"
Seulgi was thrown on the side when the Even hit her with one of its claws. With Seulgi getting knocked down, the Even slowly walked towards the web ball again, trying to fix the web of its prey.
"Ahhh!" Seulgi launched another attack, stabbing the Even from behind. She noticed her Retter Blade is already broken, so she ejected the old one and inserted another bullet in the handle, forming a fresh new blade. Seulgi attacked again, this time focussing on the torso until the Even fell on its back.
This gave Seulgi time to do what she needed to do: she went to the web ball again and resumed cutting the webs.
"C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!"
She looked at the Even, and it's starting to move again, trying to get up. Seulgi knows it won't take much time before it attacks again. She tried cutting the web as fast as she can until finally, the Even stood up.
"Agh! I'm so close!"
The Even was ready to attack when something from the back hit it continuously, until it fell on the floor, lifeless.
"Cap? You alright?" asked Sooyoung, changing her Retter Blade too.
"We were worried," said Amber. "We heard you scream."
"I-I'm fine. Thanks." Seulgi continued cutting the web.
"Let me help you there, Cap." Krystal pulled out a knife too and helped Seulgi.
Not too long, the kid's face is finally revealed. Seulgi and Krystal hastily tried removing the web all over the kid's body. Once done, they laid her on the ground.
"Yerim, baby, can you hear me?" Krystal tapped the kid's shoulder gently.
No answer.
Seulgi was breathing hard while looking at the somewhat bluish girl in front of her.
"Yerim..." Krystal tried sensing the pulse. She looked at Seulgi. "Not breathing. No pulse."
Seulgi shook her head. "No... no..."
"Captain, we did our best --"
"NO!" Seulgi knelt on the side of the kid and tilted the little girl's head back. Seulgi pinched Yerim's nose and blew into twice.
There was no reaction from the kid.
"C'mon. Don't go dying on me now!" Seulgi placed both her hands in the middle of the kid's chest and pushed down repeatedly. "C'mon, Yerim. Please!"
After the chest compression, Seulgi blew air into Yerim's mouth again.
Still no response.
Seulgi wiped her eyes with her hand, preventing tears from falling. She repeated the process one more time to no avail.
Krystal started crying, turning her back at the scene.
"Captain..." Amber hesitated.
"She's gonna make it, Amber," said Seulgi, doing chest compression again. "She's gonna make it." She bowed one more time to give air until the kid's chest rose.
Yerim's body finally responded. She took a deep breath in and exhaled. Then she coughed several times, which was followed by a loud cry.
"Mommy..."
Seulgi couldn't hold her tears now. She hugged Yerim. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm not going to forgive myself if something happened to you..."
The kid hugged Seulgi back and rested her head on the captain's shoulder.
Amber looked away, her eyes watery. Sooyoung had to wipe her tears too. Krystal cried more tears of joy now.
Seulgi pulled away to look at the kid. "Are you okay?" She checked the kid's whole body to make sure it's not injured.
"Y-Yewim s-scared..." said the Yerim.
"I know. I know. It is my fault," said Seulgi, tidying the kid's hair. "I swear I'm not gonna let you go out of my sight this time."
The kid nodded and hugged Seulgi again.
Their happiness was cut short when the ground started shaking.
"Captain, something's coming from inside. We need to move now!" said Amber, looking terrified.
"Too late. They are already here!" Krystal drew out her sword and attacked the first Even who approached them.
"Captain! We'll try to hold them off. Go out now!" said Sooyoung. Seulgi nodded and carried Yerim.
The three SAU members killed the first few Evens who approached them. Eventually, they noticed the wave isn't stopping.
"How many are there?" asked Amber, irritated.
"I don't know! This may be another herd attack!" said Sooyoung.
"We won't last long in this, guys. Let's go out now!" suggested Krystal.
And so they followed Seulgi outside. But the movement in the ground intensified.
"Keep running. I'm throwing a bomb!" shouted Sooyoung.
"Hopefully, that one will blast right away!" said Amber.
They kept running until they were out in the field again. Sooyoung immediately detonated and dropped the bomb in the opening on the ground. They didn't wait for it to explode. Instead, the troop continued running until they reached Sanctuary Three.
"Let's go straight to the exit of the village! The Sanctuaries won't be able to protect us from herd attacks!" said Seulgi, still running and carrying Yerim with both her arms.
There was another movement on the ground, different from the usual one, telling them the bomb had exploded. The troop stopped for a bit, trying to see if there are still Evens that would go out of the hole from afar.
Five seconds, none.
Ten seconds, still no sign.
All their faces fell when they spotted one claw appearing from the hole. Another one then followed it, and another one, until the Evens are finally out.
"! ! ! Run!" shouted Amber.
Few Evens are ahead of them. Krystal, Amber, and Sooyoung killed those, making sure that Seulgi and Yerim will pass safely.
"There are too many of them!"
"Just keep attacking!"
"On it!"
Seulgi can hear her troop having a hard time dealing with the number of Evens. However, her main focus is to protect the kid now. She felt hopeful when they reached Sanctuary Two.
"Little more, Yerim. Just hold on," she whispered to the kid.
The ground moved one more time, stronger than ever before.
"CAPTAIN!!!"
Seulgi turned around when she heard Krystal's cry. She felt relieved for a second after seeing Krystal still alive with complete body parts. However, the next thing she saw broke the last piece of hope left in her body.
Evens. Probably about a hundred of them. All running towards them.
At this stage, everyone knew it was futile to fight. They kept running even though they know it won't take long before those monsters catch up with them.
Seulgi can't hear a single thing now, except for her heart which's beating fast.
She looked at the kid in her arms and felt sorry for herself.
She doesn't mind dying. She's prepared for it.
But Yerim. She's too young.
And Joohyun, she will surely suffer.
Seulgi can't let that happen.
She'll do what she can to protect the kid, even if the chances are slim.
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