“Stay here,” Suhyun demanded. They were hiding behind the wall and let Suhyun approach the guard alone.

“Are we really trusting her? What if she set us up?” Yena anxiously asked. She was still baffled how Suhyun agreed and how could Hyewon trust her so easily.

They were so close to getting out until the elevator opened and armed men wearing gas masks were waiting for them. Guns aimed at them, “Move. They are my prisoners,” Suhyun lied but the guards only cocked their guns at her. “Shin Suhyun; committed treason by joining forces with these three mutants. We have permission to shoot if you don’t surrender.”

“What bull is that? I am your superior!” Hyewon immediately pulled Suhyun to the side when a guard released a smoke bomb. It was the same gas that they released in the Academy.

“Okay. They just accused her of treason. What are going to do now?” Yena was in a panic. She already thought that their plan would go smoothly. “We have to fight them,” Chaeyeon said.

“New plan; Suhyun and I will hold them off. Now that they released the gas, our abilities won’t work and you guys aren’t fast enough to fight them in combat. If you see a clearance, go for it. Make sure you guys arrive at the Academy safely. Got it?” Hyewon calmly spoke.

“But we can’t leave you here!” Chaeyeon opposed.

“Hyewon!” “Kwangbae!” Hyewon didn’t listen to her friends when they called her. She proceeds with their new plan. Yena and Chaeyeon could only groan their annoyance out.

“I gotta say, I missed fighting with you on my side. Good old days,” Suhyun commented after sending a guard flying.

“We can walk down in memory lane some other time, Hyun.” Hyewon missed it too except for the fighting part. Now that she had experienced a somewhat peaceful life in her stay at the Academy, she can’t help but hope that Suhyun was with her. Maybe if that happened, the latter could see things from a different perspective. A view that doesn’t require them to kill or harm anybody.

“Yena! Chaen! Now!” Hyewon called when she saw an opening. Hyewon and Suhyun kept their way clean as the two mutants run as fast as they can towards the exit. The two immediately run to the van where their other three friends waiting. Minjoo was sleeping, while Chaewon and Yujin were the lookouts.

“You guys need to go now! I’ll make sure you weren’t being followed. I’ll stay and help Hyewon,” Yena said.

“What do you mean you’re staying? We need to go!” Chaeyeon said. Yena shrugged her shoulders with a smirk before she disappeared.

“That sly duck! It was a duplicate! How did she even manage to do that when they released the gas?” Chaeyeon was contemplating whether do what Yena said or follow the duck back in hell.

“The gas can only stop you after inhaling it, you can still use power for a short time before breathing it in,” Chaewon explained. She heard Dr. Kang talking about developing the gas one time when they were checking her vitals.

“Argh! Remind me to kill Yena myself when they arrive at the Academy, okay? But now, here’s what we’re going to do; I’ll take Minjoo and fly, she doesn’t look good. Yujin, you take Chaewon and run. We’re leaving this van to them to have an escape vehicle.”

*****

“What are you still doing here?” Hyewon shouted when she saw Yena was still hiding inside the elevator.

“Magic?” Yena smiled. “I can’t leave my best friend alone with this psycho,” Yena pointed at Suhyun and the latter rolled her eyes, “Who knows what she’ll do to you!”

“Hey! Out of the three of us, you have the slimmest chance of surviving,” Suhyun retorted.

“Yena, I appreciate the concern but you should’ve just gone with them,” Hyewon said. “Welp, I’m still here so I guess we’ll have to make it work,” Yena then face Suhyun, “ And if I die, I will haunt you till your dead too.” Suhyun laughed at Yena’s empty threat.

A new set of guards came rushing to their location and opened fire. Once the guard was close enough to them, they attacked. Suhyun and Hyewon kept Yena safe, not letting the guards touch her even a strand of her hair. “ Let me fight! I can do it!” Yena was annoyed how the two acted like she was fragile.

“Can’t let that happen. She specifically said not to let them get close to you,” Suhyun pointed Hyewon, busy fighting two guards at the same time.

After fighting, probably more than hundreds of guards, the three mutants started to feel the tiredness and numbing of their bodies. Yena did great protecting herself when Suhyun and Hyewon got busy and she was proud of it. She felt there’s a hope that she’ll manage to get out alive with Hyewon and she’s now fine if they have to bring Suhyun too.

“We need to go before Lykos sends more guards.”

“Yeah… But they are already here,” Yena pointed across the room. Bigger men are now coming to kill them.

Suhyun stood up and sighed. “Then we better finish them off the flee the scene as soon as possible.”

The three didn’t wait for them to come; instead, they made the first move and attacked. They did great, all men were on the floor. But then, a man aimed his fire directly at Yena’s head. With much speed, Hyewon blocked the bullet with her body. She didn’t feel any pain so she turned around and saw Suhyun take the bullet instead. It hit Suhyun in a critical area so she fell. “Why’d you do that?! Have you lost your mind?”

Suhyun smiled weakly and held Hyewon’s face with care. “It was really nice to see you, Hye.”

“No, no, no.” Hyewon was on the brink of crying. She knew it wasn’t an ordinary bullet. Lykos personally designed the bullets for their two-produced mutant. It was one of many pre-cautionary weapons that Lykos developed in case something like this happens; betraying the organization.

“Hye, there are five men with huge guns approaching us.” Yena’s adrenaline had runoff. She was starting to feel scared again.

“Run, Yena! Run!” Hyewon screamed when the five men simultaneously fire their machine guns. Hyewon carried Suhyun in her arms as she follows Yena to the exit when the men reload their guns. “The van is still here! Hurry, Hye!” Yena screamed as she starts the van’s engine.

Yena was silently praying that they would make it to the van safe. She wanted to help Hyewon with Suhyun but she has to keep the engine running for them to escape as soon as they enter the vehicle. “A little more!”

Yena immediately drove. She looked at the two in the peripheral mirror. Hyewon has her hands hovering over Suhyun’s wound. It surprised Yena what was Hyewon was trying to do. “You’re a healer too?!” Yena screamed. "Seriously?! What can you not do?"

“Eyes on the road, Yena!” Hyewon scold. She was trying to remove the bullet but failed. She had never thought of the possibility of Suhyun dying in front of her. Yena checked on her again when she heard her best friend groan. “Hye, you’re bleeding…” Blood was dripping from her arm. Hyewon was busy trying to save Suhyun that she didn’t notice she got shot too. Her eyes started to get heavy. Tiredness and pain slowly register in her system.

“Hey! Hey! Don’t you dare try to close your damn eyes!” Yena loudly says. Hoping it would be enough to keep her best friend’s eyes open.

*****

Minjoo and Chaewon were immediately sent to the medical wing for heavy treatment while Chaeyeon just finished receiving treatment for her wounds. The group hurriedly comes to greet them with a hug.

“Why are there only for of you? Where are Yena and Kwangbae?” Yuri worriedly asked.

“They… They stayed to help us get away…” Chaeyeon replied softly.

“No, no, no, no. Tell me they’re alive. Tell me that they are speaking with Ms. Park in her office for getting scolded for making everyone worry!” Eunbi cried.

“Eun… I’m sorry…” Yujin hugged her and cried too.

“We need First Aid at the entrance. Some students came and badly hurt!” A guard entered in panic.

The rest rushed as soon as they heard the man. They all hoped that it would be their friends. When they arrived, the teachers are all there. Making their way up to the front, they saw Yena sitting on the ground looking tired. Next to the duck were Hyewon and Suhyun, both unconscious.

“They need operation pronto. Their injuries are severe, if we don’t perform the operation as soon as possible, both of them could possibly die,” they heard Ms. Yoo explain to the other teacher. The medical team arrived with the stretchers. They hurriedly put the two mutants on the stretcher with extreme caution.