Just a quick warning: this chapter is going to be a bit more violent with some details of broken bones and a very minor character death.

Crickets chirped loudly through the night, scurrying away when prison lights shined on them every time it moved by. Soldiers guarding around the outside premises grew tired and cold from the fall season, wanting nothing more than a simple hot chocolate. In their dreams, maybe. The last bell signaled the end of labor as kids reentered their dorms like always, being used to getting shoved left and right. Even after half a year of rather solid behavior, that didn’t seem to be enough for the insecure, knuckle headed soldiers. The bedtime routine carried on like usual, or at least it seemed so. Tonight something massive was going down. Jiyoon stayed in Soeun’s dorm right before lunch had ended today, thus evaded inspection by the soldiers when they counted everyone going to bed. As Zoa had advised, everyone had to keep watch for the time.

Soon midnight fell and she unlocked her bedroom door by picking at it with a paperclip, slipping it out with Soojin’s backpack. Zoa’s dorm was located on the furthest side of the hallways, so the security cameras couldn’t see her. For a prison, they should’ve invested more in proper angles, better yet just get rotating cameras. Zoa tiptoed towards the edge of the wall, looking down another hallway, the coast still clear. Some wires caught her attention, which lead up to cameras. Smiling, she unscrewed the back of a small fuze box, tampering with the mechanics and pulling plugs, which temporarily disabled them. This was the cue for everyone to get out while they still could. When that time came, Soeun immediately unlocked her door with a spare key that she “received” from a soldier on day one, with Jiyoon close behind. Meanwhile, Soojin and Jihan forced their doorknobs open, breaking apart the lock internally before going upstairs together to fetch both Jaehee and Monday. Afterwards, all four of them wished good luck to each other, separating to finish their parts of the plan. 

Soojin snuck up behind two oblivious soldiers, before telekinetically cracking their heads into the wall. Afterwards, Jihan helped hide their unconscious bodies then continued on. It didn’t take long until the hallway was thoroughly cleansed of guards, allowing Monday and Jaehee to enter the camera room, which was surprisingly unlocked. Without wasting any more time, they placed their hands on the monitor, overloading the system and disabling the CCTVs for good. Once all the screens read “error”, the girls smiled and high fived each other. Monday gave Zoa the cue, leading her, Soeun, and Jiyoon towards a particular control panel room where the alarm was located. In the meantime, Soojin and Jihan had unfortunately forgotten one hallway that was still guarded. Upon arriving there, they immediately alerted the soldiers.

“Hey! What are you two doing down here?!” One barked loudly, causing the two to flinch as Jihan hid behind Soojin as the older girl tried explaining. 

“Listen, do any of you know where the nearest bathroom is? Whatever they’re feeding us is not agreeing with my bow—” 

To no avail. “You should be in bed!”

With no other choices, their eyes turned bright blue as they began their attack. Two soldiers fell to the ground, muffled screams escaping their helmets as they looked at their now broken legs. That still left about five more. Soojin then used large lockers, throwing some at the remaining soldiers, breaking one’s collar bone while the rest evaded in time. They all hastily equipped their machine guns, firing real bullets this time. Soojin grabbed the younger girl closer to her side and moved another locker as a shield. Once they had to reload, Jihan decided to return the favor by directing her hands at them. The soldiers halted in their tracks upon hearing a rumbling noise that gradually grew louder and soon, chunks of the wall went hurtling towards the soldiers. They all screamed in pain before retreating to get away, which allowed Soojin to throw the locker, knocking them out. The two chuckled, relieved it was finally over...or so they thought.

“Come on, we should get going.” The older girl said as Jihan nodded. However just as they turned the corner, a soldier lying in wait ambushed them by shoving them to the ground. 

“Don’t move or you’ll regret it!!” He barked loudly and pointed his pistol directly at Jihan, who yelped in fear. 

“No! She’s just a kid!” Soojin instinctively got in between. “Keep your gun on me.” 

“Aren’t you tough?” He smirked as she glared back. 

“Just let her go and take me instead.” 

“U-unnie—” Jihan wanted to protest but Soojin wasn’t having it. She felt rather disgusted by the soldier’s actions since he didn’t even hesitate with threatening a whole child. Soojin would rather risk her own life than let that happen. 

“Sorry. I don’t take orders from some .”

Jihan closed her eyes shut and tightly gripped onto the older girl’s suit, waiting for it to happen. Soojin gulped and said one last loving message to Zoa and the rest of their friends. If this was going to be their end, at least they did a noble thing. Then, at that moment, the pistol dropped which prompted the two girls to open their eyes, confused when the soldier suddenly looked empty, his mouth slightly agape. Soojin and Jihan looked to the side and saw Soeun’s bright orange eyes, utterly relieved to see her. But without wasting the opportunity, Soojin knocked him out with a hard push to the wall,  shattering his jaw. Shortly after, Zoa and Jiyoon came rushing towards them, concerned by the commotion.

“Hey! Are you guys alright??” The youngest asked. 

“Don’t worry, we’re fine. T-thanks to Soeun.” Soojin answered while slightly smiling. 

“He almost shot us….” Jihan was still shaken up by the near death experience just now. The rest comforted her. 

“Yeah…but it’s ok, we lived.” 

“We’ll be out of here soon.” Zoa petted her head before looking around. “Let’s get out of here, that guy might’ve already called for reinforcements before Soojin unnie knocked him out. The room is just ahead.”

Without wasting any more time, they rushed further down into the hallway before hurrying inside. It was an enormous area that could fit about fifty people inside, with the control panel stretching the diameter of the room. Zoa found the alarm button, which was obvious considering its design. While everyone guarded the door, she worked on cutting through wires and disabling functions. In the middle of this, they decided some small talk might help pass the time. Well, maybe this wasn’t exactly the best place to do that, but what else could be done? Soeun leaned against the wall, crossing her arms as she waited for Zoa to finish. Soojin asked if she was feeling alright, to which Soeun simply nodded. The younger girl was surprised that a stranger would be genuinely concerned for her to that extent. Soojin then nervously shifted in her chair and wondered if that question was a bit too far. Jiyoon, on the other hand, was more worried about guarding the door and constantly looked out the door’s small window, which didn’t provide much of a view. Growing more anxious by the second, she just remembered something.

“Hey guys, where’s Monday and Jaehee?”

They were…utterly lost in the prison’s maze and now cluelessly wandering down the hallways, as lost as a blind man in an open field. Monday had tried contacting Zoa to ask directions but the earpieces stopped working a few minutes back. Quite an inconvenient scenario at the moment. So now it was just up to them to figure what to do next. She’d previously suggested they try asking their fellow Gold friends for help, which didn’t work as everyone was basically fast asleep at this point, therefore, no one answered the doors when they knocked. Along the way while hiding in empty rooms and such, they had to electrocute some wandering guards before continuing on. But pretty soon, the two girls didn’t have anywhere else to go and were now stuck in some office room, trying to figure out why their earpieces went haywire out of nowhere. Monday and Jaehee could only hope it could still nullify the ultrasonic sound at least.

“Do you think it could be some connection problems?” The younger girl asked while looking at it. 

“Probably, but that’s weird. They were working fine earlier.” 

“I guess it’s because we got lost somehow….”

“There has to be a way somewhere.” Monday gave up investigating her earpiece before scanning their area. “Hm…let’s run through the plan again. So Zoa is going to disable the prison’s alarm, Soojin and Jihan get rid of the guards...what else?” 

“Uh, I think after Zoa finishes that, she leads us through the vents?” 

Bingo. “That’s it! Let’s go into the vents.” She quickly stood up but Jaehee still remained hesitant. 

“But—how will we know where to go?”

“It’s better than being vulnerable out here and getting caught. Come on, at least we have some place to hide.”

“A-alright, that’s a good point…we have to be really quiet though, the vents can easily attract noise.” They both soon found a chair to boost themselves up towards the vent, prying its barrier off before climbing through, though not forgetting to close it behind them. “I’m still not sure if this is a good idea.” Jaehee nervously whispered. 

“No worries. There’s going to be more vent gables for us to look through.” 

“Ok, I’ll be right behind you.” 

“It’s surprisingly very spacious, too.”

That being said, the two carefully crawled on, now in search of their friends. On the other hand, however, everyone else was looking for Monday and Jaehee right after Zoa finished with her work. They all checked every room they come across, just in case the two might be hiding inside. Jihan was especially anxious because her best friend could potentially be in serious danger and went unbeknownst. Soojin and Zoa were quick to reassure, rationalizing that she and Monday were smart enough to hide in some place where no one could find them. They all had tried to use their earpieces to contact them, which were only meant with complete silence. It was quite dangerous for the group to be running around in the open like this, but they weren’t just going to leave without their friends. Though, eventually, the reinforcements finally arrived, eager to put an end to this. The soldiers had quickly gotten word of an escape, thus were instantly dispatched. Jiyoon heard footsteps coming from a hallway she was standing in and hastily ran back to the group.

“G-guys! Reinforcements. We need to get the hell out of here, now!” Soeun frowned before grabbing Soojin and Jihan’s elbows. 

“This way.” She led them through numerous turns, panting as everyone tried to keep up until they barged into some lab office. Immediately after, the girls barricaded the door. 

“Ok, now we’re about…a mile away from the outside.” 

“Damn…there might be another door around here?” Jiyoon tried peeking through the dark. 

“Is there a way to get some lighting in here?” Soojin asked while squinting. Before they realized it, someone else was in the room with them. In the distance, Zoa caught a glimpse of a figure coming towards them. 

“We’re not alone.” 

“What do you mean?” Soeun quickly got her answer when a scientist flipped a lamp on, even more surprised when he was standing on a table for whatever reason. 

Just when they were about to use their powers and apprehend him, he quickly stopped the girls by brandishing a handgun. “Don’t. I’m just here to talk.” 

Jiyoon gasped, recognizing the elderly man. “Y-you're….”

“That’s right, Shin Jiyoon. That wasn’t kind of you to just run away from us like that.”

“How are you still…?”

“I escaped before the whole underground lab burned down and everyone was evacuated. I’m impressed you made some new friends already in your little escape.” She glared menacingly at him, wanting nothing more than to burn that idiot to ashes. Just then, Soeun’s voice echoed in her head.

Who is this guy?

He’s one of those scientists who experimented on me. A grave , as you can see. Can you get into his mind?

I’m trying, but there’s something blocking me.

“What do you want with us?” Zoa asked, to which he smirked. 

“I just want Shin Jiyoon. All four of you can exit out in that door over there and continue your lives.” Then he went on and on, and on, about random stuff anyone could care less about.

Soeun groaned under her breath, feeling frustrated. Even after pushing one thought away another kept popping up. There had to be some ways to distract him, otherwise, they’ll just stand here until he puts a bullet through one of them. But thankfully, he kept rambling on about his works and how much more he can become successful in the military. That was pretty much all he could think of for his old brain. Jiyoon looked desperate to get out of this situation because she really didn’t want to go anywhere with this weird man and his goons. The girls weren’t going to let that happen of course, so now they were all mindfully conversing with Soeun. Their plan was Soojin would subtly use telekinesis and cause some noise in the distance to grab his attention long enough for Soeun to get into his mind. 

But by the miracles, Monday and Jaehee had just crawled into the same room they were in after hearing some noise. Upon reaching another vent gable, both peeked through and saw some old man ranting. Then they looked at each other, bewildered and wondered how long he’d been doing that. But what was very alarming was his hand gun pointing at something. Or someone. Jaehee gasped quietly, whispering that it might be the girls. The older girl agreed before prying off the vent’s gable as quietly as possible, before setting it aside. Back to the group, they were just anticipating Soojin's part when a hand slowly reached down towards the oblivious scientist’s head. Trailing their eyes upward, everyone noticed the Gold suit, before subtly sighing in relief. It was Monday. However, at that moment, he just finished long overdue speech and unclicked the safety trigger from the handgun.

“So. You’re all not going to give her up, huh?” 

“Like hell, we are.” Soojin returned the glare. 

He sighed. “I’d hate to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.” 

Instead of fearing for the worst, Soeun smirked at him. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to do anything.” Her eyes then turned bright orange, finally able to manipulate his mind, thus stopping all of his movements entirely.

Right then and there, Monday saw her chance and gripped onto the old man’s head, electrocuting him to the max. His skin pretty much turned charcoal before falling forward, Jihan catching the corpse before it could hit the ground. “That was awesome.” She giggled as Jaehee looked down from the vents. 

“Guys! Up here.” 

“Jaehee~!”

“Shhhh, hi Jihannie!” She whispered back. 

“We were looking for you guys.” Zoa chuckled while peering up at her friends. 

“Sorry, Jaehee and I got lost while trying to look for you, too. We tried using the earpieces but they stopped working.” 

Jiyoon frowned, scratching her head in confusion. “Really? They were pretty new when I grabbed them.” 

“Whatever, we need to leave now.” Soeun suggested as they all nodded.

“Right. Can you guys get us up there?” Monday nodded before asking a very important question. 

"By the way, you have any handsanitizers?" Zoa giggled before offering some.

The older girl then reached down to grab her hand, speedily dragging her up into the vent, followed by everyone else. Afterwards, Zoa navigated the whole way through, constantly looking at the notebook to check. Jihan and Jaehee were side by side, Monday and Jiyoon were getting to know each other more, while Soojin and Soeun remained silent in the back. The older girl occasionally looked to the side, but always saw her looking stoic and void of emotions. On some occasions, Jiyoon would crack some jokes just to lighten up their moods a little, which made everyone laugh, except her. Soojin wondered, though she didn’t want to seem invasive for thinking about it too much. When Zoa informed they were close to the outside, which had them all silently anticipating. Aside from that, the girls whispered amongst themselves to pass time and Soojin took this opportunity as well.

“What are your hobbies?” 

Soeun took one slightly surprised glance before facing forward again. “Handball.” 

“Ooh, I like playing that, too. I’m not too good with sports.” 

“I see.”

“Did you play any at school?” 

“Nope. I don’t go there often.” 

“Oh. Right.” Soojin just realized and nearly facepalmed herself. “How come you don’t go to school often?” 

“I don’t like it.” 

“Why don’t you like it?”

“It’s too boring and a waste of time.” 

“Ah…I get that.” Somewhat. “Do you have any dream jobs you want to do?” 

“Boxing.”

She deadpanned as Soojin was taken aback. “B-boxing?? You know how to do that?” 

“Yeah. It’s just beating the out of people.”

“You could say that….” Then the next question. “What else do you do?” 

“Hang out with friends.” 

“Yeah. I miss my friends before all of this. I’m still wondering where they are now.” 

Soeun nodded, knowing that feeling. “I'm seen two of my friends get caught. But I never saw them in this camp.” 

“Oh…maybe they’re at a different one? Zoa said this wasn’t the only place they locked up kids.” 

“Hm. Who knows?” 

“I’m sure they’re safe.” 

“I hope so.” There was a brief awkward silence that thankfully didn’t last long when the group stopped in front of another vent gable. Jihan pried it open before setting it down softly and quietly. 

“It’s…fresh air.” She took a deep breath and sighed. Everyone gazed at the night before them, although a fence stood tall and blocked them from actually going more than ten feet away. One by one, the girls jumped down and helped each other before looking around. 

“Well. This is it.” Zoa placed her notebook in the backpack, then zipped it up. “Now let’s bust out.” She smiled while holding some large pliers. 

Monday raised an eyebrow. “Got that from work?”

“Yep. Kept it since the first day.”

Then without wasting any more time, she quickly snipped away at the edges as fast as possible. Jiyoon stayed close by Zoa’s side in case she needed any help with it, while everyone else guarded to make sure there weren’t any unsuspecting soldiers nearby. Occasionally, they’d stretch their limbs after being crawling through the vents for about twenty minutes. At one point, Jiyoon assisted Zoa to add more pressure until the wire finally snapped. The loud sound startled everyone, but thankfully, no guards seemed to have heard. She continued on and was just about halfway done. Sighing, Jiyoon looked up at the fence and saw a string that stretched all the way across, going left and right. It served as an odd addition, but since it was in the way, Jiyoon pulled, tearing the thing off. To the girls’ horror, it set off an extremely loud alarm and their entire area turned red. Soeun immediately grabbed her by the collar, shouting.

“What the hell did you do?!”

“I-I didn’t do anything!!” 

“Zoa! I thought you said you disabled the alarm!” Jaehee frantically shouted. 

“I did! That’s the one that usually sets off when something goes wrong!”

“Then what the is this?!?” Monday screamed at the top of her lungs. 

“I—I don’t know! I didn’t know they had another one here!” But Soojin wasn’t going to stick around for them to get caught.

“Oh for christ’s sake, we have to run! NOW!” Before they could even move, the whole spotlight shined on them.