~Hyemi~

 

          "Wake up Hyemi! We gotta go!"

 

          I woke up once again to the sound of my sister's panicked voice and the smell of burning flesh. It's the seventh time this week that the queen has found us. This time we were staying with some other witches, and I guess the guards got to them first because the sounds of their helpless screams filled the air. 

 

          "We gotta run!" Hyesun was already packing her things and going for the door. I was doing the same when I realized that the amulet my parents gave me was missing.

 

          "Hyesun! Have you seen my amulet?" I was starting to panic.

 

          "Damnit! Don't you always keep that thing on top of your bag?" she replied in a frantic voice. We didn't have time to look for it. 

 

          "Take mine!"

 

          "No! Omma and appa clearly said we need to have both of them with us!" 

 

          "Looking for this?" I whipped my head around to locate the source of the sound, and my eyes landed on a guard of the queen. This was not looking good. My amulet was dangling from his pinky finger, and he was leaning against the frame of the door. He had what we needed, and he knew that we would do anything to get it back. He already won.

 

          I wasn't ready to give up, though.

 

          I snuck a glance at my sister, and she winked at me. Huh. I guess she hasn't given up either. After mouthing the words "One, two, three," we took off and ran to the guard's sides. Hyesun snapped, and the bottom of his coat caught fire. It quickly spread, and he started to panic. I took my chance and snatched the amulet at once. I nodded at Hyesun, and we both ran for the back exit, leaving the guard in flames. 

 

          As we ran towards the door and our seventh attempt at freedom this week, Hyesun tripped. I looked back and saw that a different guard had caught hold of the tail of her coat. 

 

          "Run, Hyemi! I'll catch up later!" I knew that I couldn't leave her, but I was too scared to do anything to save her. I looked for other options but I only saw that going back would lead to my impending capture, but going on would give me freedom.

 

          "I said run! They're gonna get you too if you don't move now! I promise I'll get you later!" Her muffled voice worried me, but, as always, she was right. the guard from earlier managed to shrug off his burning coat and was already heading in my direction. Too scared to do anything else, I ran.