Chapter 10- Seven's Past
Seven's P.O.V-
I was ten when my mother broke my first handmade robot. She had screamed at me and said it was a waste of time, said that I should help her raise money for my brother and I instead of fooling around. I remember the guilt and anger I had felt at the time. I had pushed the broken remains of the robot away, throwing them in the trash.
My brother got a severe beating that day, I remember the bruises on his cheek and arms. I remember the horror I felt. I vowed never to build a robot again. I could never erase that feeling of guilt. That feeling that it was my fault. I would constantly beg my mother to beat me instead. He didn't have anything to do with it, it was me. But she always refused. Now, I think part of the reason was because she knew I hated it more.
I loved my brother. He was my one salvation in that hell of a place. I would cradle him to sleep and tell him stories of a happy family, one that we were part of. One where our mother would cook us waffles in the morning and our father would be reading the paper. Where they would kiss us on our heads and wish us luck for our first day of school. Sometimes we'd have a little sister. And then a little brother. And maybe an older sister, who we'd look up to. And after telling him that story, my brother would always smile and fall asleep.
But I would stay up. I would rummage through the beat-up book of hacking I had stolen. I would tell myself that we would have a better life. That we could escape that place. And I would pave the way for it. My determination was fueled by anger, guilt and a desperate need to escape the clutches of my mother.
As it turned out, I had a special talent for hacking. By the age of fourteen I was able to do it effortlessly. That year my life changed, I met V and Rika. It was completely coincidental really. In the time we were together, they became like older siblings to me. When I showed V what I could do, he told me that I was a prodigy.
Prodigy. That word was so foreign and strange to me. I knew that I was skilled at hacking but being a prodigy was always something far off, locked behind the door which was poverty and the disadvantage of my upbringing. I couldn't believe it. My mother had always told me that I was useless and that I couldn't get anywhere in life. But with this I could. V told me that I could join a hacking agency and have a successful career. There was just one problem. I wouldn't be able to see my brother for a long time.
At first I was against it. Yes, I wanted to escape my mother and use my skills, but I could
never leave my brother. If we were going to make a life for ourselves, it would be together. We had agreed on that years ago. But as time passed, it became clear that if I didn't accept that offer my chances of another were slim. V and Rika promised that they would look after my brother while I was gone. And when I came back with enough money, we could live together. Finally, I agreed.
My brother and I escaped in the middle of the night, jumping out of the window of our house. I'll never forget the exhilaration and excitement we felt that night. The feeling of true freedom. Before we drove away however, there was one thing I needed to do. I went back into the house and grabbed a notepad, scribbling the last thing I would ever say to my mother. Goodbye. It was such a simple and undetailed message, but in truth that was the most she deserved. I wanted her to know that we hadn't been kidnapped. I wanted her to know that we had left by our own accord. That without her, our lives would be much better.
That was the last time I would be in our house. And as we got in the car and drove off with my brother beside me, I knew that from then, our lives would be completely different.
But things never go the way you want them to. And as my life unraveled before me, that very fact became painfully clear to me. I entered the hacking agency a few days later, a complete stranger. And after that day, I never saw my brother again. I was prevented to contact anyone from the outside for several years until they trusted me enough. I told myself that this was the price for paving a new life for ourselves.
Despite being younger than all the others, I rose up to the top in a matter of three years by skill alone. By the age of seventeen, I was granted permission to leave, as long as I continued working from a distance. The first thing I did was search for my brother. So I got in contact with Rika and V. I could have never predicted what they would tell me next.
He had killed himself.
I was in denial for several months. Why? Why had he killed himself? I had told him that I would come back for him, that everything I was doing was for him. So why…? And suddenly, everything that I had worked for seemed like a waste.
I didn't want to live anymore. I felt there was no purpose to my life. V and Rika got me through that dark period of my life. They fed me and allowed me to live with them. After they forced me to enroll in college, my life started to slowly get better. I got out of my depression and began working again.
But I never opened up to anyone else. After my brother died, a wall formed between myself and the rest of the world. I focused solely on my job and made it the only important thing to me. I don't know why. Maybe because that was the only thing I could hold onto. Because without that job, I was nothing. Without that job, I was merely the useless fourteen year old boy that had run away from his home, whose brother had killed himself.
I met Vanderwood in college where he was assigned as my mentor and trainee with combat and other work for the agency. And then sometime after that, Rika and V created RFA. I had little interest in it at first, I was rather stingy and didn't want to take time away from my job. But after awhile they finally convinced me. They told me that I had to get to know other people and that I had to open up.
And so I created 707. The fun, cheerful genius that everyone loved. It wasn't completely an act. In a way, a part of me had always been 707. The part of me that held the playful demeanor that had been shut out for the majority of my past. And for the first time in ages, I genuinely enjoyed myself. Zen, Jaehee, Jumin, and Yoosung became close friends that I had fun talking to. I created a lifestyle for myself and bought my own living area with my own money. I played video games, made online friends, and watched movies. Aside from working with the agency, my life became relatively normal.
But a little while later, Rika committed suicide. It was a blow to us all and we were devastated, especially V. For me it felt like I had lost a sister, but V had lost the love of his life. Even so, I wasn't ready for the pain of losing someone again. I had nearly died from it last time. This time it was different though. Now I wasn't alone in the loss. And although it took some time, we all recovered together. We shared our guilt in the brief moments of happiness we had. And eventually, things became relatively normal again.
And then I met Kao.
Something about her was different. I don't know what it was. But from her voice, her personality, and the way she laughed and smiled, I could tell she was something else. I couldn't take my eyes off her. There was the feeling I got when we touched and met eye contact. It was strange...abnormal even. I had never felt romantic intentions towards anyone before, and I thought it was impossible for me.
And then suddenly this whole other world opened up after meeting Kao. At first I was weary, I talked to her but tried not opening up too much. But eventually I couldn't stop myself. I wanted to talk to her every day. To ask her how she was. To pull her into my arms, weave my fingers through her hair, and kiss her like we were the only two people in the world.
The message from Mint Eye was a reminder for me. And suddenly, everything I knew seemed so incredibly fragile. My friends, my happiness, and Kao. I became terrified that I would lose them. So I shut them out, little by little. I tried strengthening the algorithm, doing anything that would prevent Mint Eye from breaking in. My job began to take up more of my time, forcing me to hack into dangerous agencies; agencies that I knew would slaughter anyone I loved if I was caught. I told myself I had to keep Kao away. And for a while, it worked. She was someone I saw from far away that I knew I couldn't have. But despite acting cold towards her, I threw down everything when I knew she was in danger. I didn't even hesitate.
From there my restraint broke, and everything went downhill. When I kissed Kao it was incredibly satisfying but also painful. Satisfying because I had wanted to do it for ages, and I couldn't repress my feelings. Painful because of how selfish I was being. I knew the danger Kao was in, and kissing her was potentially putting her in even more. How could I protect her if I was too busy loving her? Kao would just dive into the fray with me, she wouldn't let me protect her on my own. So I ran. Like I did with my mother, like I did from the loss of my brother. I ran, because I wanted to save her, because it was too painful being with her, and because admittedly, I was lost.
I always run. In the end I couldn't protect anyone. Not my brother and not even Rika. But this time it's different. I have a chance to prevent someone I care about from being hurt any further. And no matter what it takes, I'm going to do everything I can to do so.
Present Time
The glow of the campfire illuminated Vanderwood's face as he stared at me. I remained impassive, nudging the flames with a stick and then leaning back. The soft hum of crickets had replaced the cheerful chirping that had resonated throughout the trees beforehand. Since then, a blanket of shadow had cast itself upon the treeline and now the only light that I could see was the campfire before us.
"How close are we to the hideout?" Vanderwood asked finally.
"You tell me. You're the one who broke the 'map.'" I snapped. I would be lying if I said a bit of me wasn't still pissed off. It was true, without the map on my phone (which was now broken) we were essentially lost.
"They would have tracked us." Vanderwood replied nonchalantly, rubbing his shoulder.
"You don't know that." I muttered. But I decided to drop the argument.
"Any supplies left?" Vanderwood asked. I tossed him a granola bar, one of the last ones I had packed.
"No water." I added. Vanderwood winced and ripped open the wrapper.
"Didn't think of packing more supplies?"
"I didn't think I would be hiking." I replied. "I accidentally crashed my car into a tree. Besides, don't you have any supplies?"
"That's all in my car, which is far away now." Said Vanderwood with a frown. "If you'll recall, you didn't let us go back there."
"That would have been too much time wasted."
"Uh-huh." Vanderwood replied as he bit into the granola bar. "So what's the rush?" He asked after swallowing. I was silent as I poked the flames with a stick. "What convinced you to do aaallllll this?" He pressed. When I didn't reply Vanderwood leaned forward. "Luciel."
"What's it to you." I snapped.
"I'd like to know what's dragging me out into the wild. You know I despise hiking. Is it that girl? Kao-something or other?" My eyes snapped towards his.
"Don't butt into my personal life."
"How about you don't go running off when you have a fight with your girlfriend?" Vanderwood smirked. I couldn't prevent the cold glare that appeared on my face.
"She's not my girlfriend."
"But you want her to be"
"Vanderwood."
"Okay, sorry." He muttered, throwing his granola wrapper into the flames. "But seriously, why?"
"Because I think she might be in danger." I said finally, giving up. I was going to be spending a lot more time with him before we got to Mint Eye's hideout. I wouldn't be able to keep silent forever.
"Danger?" He asked.
"Remember when Mint Eye broke through my algorithm?"
"How could I not? You had such a hissy fit about it."
I ignored his jab. "That's when I became aware of it. After I tried to track them I found out that it was Mint Eye for sure. And then I found traces of their signal at Kao's apartment. I panicked and went there to save her, barely making it in time." Vanderwood nodded slowly.
"During the fight I secretly placed a more accurate tracker on her attacker." I said. Vanderwood laughed. I sent him a questioning glance.
"It rhymed. Tracker on her attacker." He clarified. I stared at him, silent. "Yeah sorry. Go on."
"After that I was really cautious of the organization." I continued. "Afraid that they would go after her again, I did as much research on it as I could."
"And?"
I leaned forward. "Remember the incident with the police? A few years back?"
"You're going to have to be a LOT more specific."
"When RFA was under suspicion for stealing money?"
"From your donors?"
"Yeah."
"That was awhile ago." He said with a low whistle.
"Well I always had the suspicion that another organization was behind it, not just one person. It was too big of a heist for one person to do."
"You're saying that Mint Eye was behind it?" Vanderwood asked. I nodded.
"It's just a guess, but Mint Eye must have had access to our private information several years ago."
"Otherwise they wouldn't have been able to steal the money." He added.
"Right." I replied. "So they would still have it now, making it simple for them to break into the system like they did." Vanderwood nodded.
"Okay, that makes sense. But why would they wait until now to do this? Why attempt that big heist and then wait all this time to make a move again?"
"I think it's because of Kao." I answered. "Kao inspired us to attempt fundraisers again. Kao became our new leader. We weren't getting anymore money after Rika passed away." Vanderwood nodded, then his eyebrows furrowed.
"I also think that Mint Eye was the one who got Kao into RFA." I added.
"What do you mean?"
"Kao came to us randomly. She said someone had led her to Rika's apartment. And it was none of us. After talking with her we had her join."
"Pretty quick decision there."
"There was more to it then that." I snapped.
"Uh-huh. So is there a possibility Kao is a double agent?" Vanderwood asked.
"I considered that but I find it hard to believe. She was really banged up when they broke into her apartment."
"Okay, so they helped her get into RFA...and then attacked her." He said slowly. "That doesn't make sense, why would they attack Kao? If she was so important to their plan to make money, what good would come from her being in danger?" I shook my head.
"I don't know. That's the one thing I couldn't figure out." I admitted. We fell into silence. The fire cackled at us, spitting embers at our feet. It was as if it could sense our frustration and was teasing us, slowly shifting back and forth.
"So you're here to figure out how Kao is involved with them." Vanderwood said finally.
"Essentially." I could feel Vanderwood's eyes shift to mine.
"What if you don't like what you find?"
"You mean if she really is a double agent?" I asked. Vanderwood nodded. "I don't know." I admitted. "But if there's the possibility that she's in serious danger, I can't waste any time."
"Do you love her?" He asked.
"No." I snapped, hoping he couldn't see the blood that rushed to my face.
"So you would do the same for me?!" He teased.
"Just shut up." I muttered, turning away from him and resting my head on my jacket. "I'm sleeping."
Vanderwood's P.O.V
I smiled a little and stared at the fire as it shifted to the right and then the left. My smile faded. Love has made you foolish, Luciel, I thought. But then again, love had made me foolish as well.
I had grown to be rather fond of this boy, although originally he was just an agent I was in charge of. Even though I was only two years older than him, he had become something akin to a younger brother, something I never really had. I was risking my life to help him accomplish his goal, when originally I would have just called the higher ups to retrieve him.
I sighed, digging in my pocket and pulling out a cigarette. After putting it to one of the hot embers on the ground, I put it to my lips and blew out a puff of smoke. I remembered when he was younger, when he showed no emotion and let nothing get in the way of his work. I breathed out again. The smoke filled the evening air in fluffy puffs and floated up to the sky. I stared at him thoughtfully. Out of all my agents, Luciel was the one I never believed could fall in love. And now he had, and the idiot couldn't even admit it. I shook my head a little.
"Kids grow up fast." I muttered.
"Vanderwood, put out the damn cigarette." Luciel snapped. I chuckled and stamped it out.
"Whatever you say princess."
Seven's P.O.V
I woke up the next morning with another jacket thrown over me. The sun hadn't fully risen yet and the air was chilly. I shivered due to the damp grass and then brushed off my pants after standing up. Vanderwood was lying against a tree, smoking a cigarette and staring at the remains of the campfire.
"Finally up?" He asked as his eyes slid to mine. I frowned.
"Did you stay up all night?" I asked. Vanderwood shrugged.
"Someone needed to take watch."
"You could have just asked me to get up." I replied, shrugging on my jacket and swinging my backpack over my shoulder.
"But you looked so cute while you were sleeping." He cooed, dodging a large stick as I threw it at him.
"What time is it?" I asked, already recovered from his jab.
"I don't know, early morning." He got up slowly and yawned. I kicked a few leaves over the remains of the campfire and walked past him. Vanderwood trailed behind me.
"You know where to go?" He asked as we hiked up a small hill, dodging outstretched branches and weaving through narrow trees.
"I have a general idea. The GPS said I was to head north for the majority of the way." I looked up through the leaves to the dim sky. "This should be right. I never changed directions after you broke the phone." Vanderwood muttered something along the lines of, still whining about that, but I ignored him and we fell into silence.
It must have been around midnight when we finally arrived at what appeared to be the hideout. Surprisingly, It wasn't hard to miss. We had a good view of it since we had emerged upon a cliff that overlooked the structure. Vanderwood and I took a few steps forward and peered at the hideout below us.
"Finally." Vanderwood muttered as he rubbed his calf. "I would be in less pain if you snapped my legs."
"Somehow I doubt that." I replied, although my legs were also extremely sore. Vanderwood scoffed and we crouched down, observing the building. It was relatively compact, enough so that it could hide under the treeline but still occupy a large area. To make a comparison, it was slightly smaller than your average high school. The main building was surrounded by fencing and small satellite towers that were scattered around the area. Spotlights flicked across the ground, beacons in the darkness.
"How has this not been found?" Vanderwood hissed. "Someone must have stumbled across this, and satellites would have seen it." I shook my head.
"They probably kill those who wander here. And they have a blocking signal strong enough to stay invisible from satellites. That's why I couldn't track them directly."
"So you put that tracker onto Kao's assailant."
"Right, that way I could clearly find their signal. Luckily, they led me here." I finished. Vanderwood nodded.
"So how are we going to do this? They obviously have a high tech security system."
"Every system has a weakness." I said as my eyes scanned the building. "I just need you to find theirs and disable it long enough."
"Wait me?" Vanderwood asked, exasperated. "No, nu-uh. You're the one who has to do this."
"No, I need to find the information. I know what I'm looking for."
"Disabling security systems is high tech stuff." Vanderwood snapped. "I'm not the tech person, you are."
"You know the basics." I countered. "That'll have to be enough."
Vanderwood scoffed. "We're going to die here, aren't we?" He asked sarcastically.
"If we do die, I'm blaming you." I said as I rummaged in my backpack and grabbed a coil of rope.
"Like hell you are." Vanderwood murmured. I smirked before wrapping the rope around a tree.
"No but really. What's the plan." He said quickly.
I bit my lip. "I hadn't really thought about it."
"Well think about it now." He snapped. I was silent for a few minutes, my brow furrowed. Vanderwood tapped his foot against the ground impatiently.
"Hurry up princes-"
"I got it." I interrupted, causing him to frown. Before he could say anything more, I quickly explained the plan I had in mind.
Vanderwood would sneak in first, taking out one of the guards who patrolled outside. He would put on his uniform and take his ID badge. Then he would walk up to the fence and hopefully taking out the few remaining there. He would hide the bodies and sneak inside the grounds. From there he would locate the main hub of security and enter as a worker with his ID, replacing the cameras with a default tape and turning off the alarms.
Afterwards, I would sneak in, putting on the uniform of one of the unconscious guards there. I would find the nearest map and sneak into one of the confidential file rooms. I suspected that each file cabinet was locked electromagnetically and with the help of Vanderwood they would be disabled. I would take the files I needed and close the cabinets without triggering the alarm. And then we would walk out unscathed. At least that was the plan.
"You know the chances of this working, right?" Vanderwood asked.
"They're looking great." I replied sarcastically.
"Yeah, five percent is a great percentage." He drawled. Despite myself, I grinned and grabbed onto the rope that I had tied. I eased off the cliff so my weight hung from the thin but sturdy length of fiber.
"Wait." I said as I pulled myself back up. "Umm." I paused, and Vanderwood looked at me expectantly.
"Thanks for helping me with all this." I said finally. Vanderwood blinked, a little surprised. And then he nodded. We shared a grin before I kicked off from the cliff, gliding through the air for a few seconds before my feet slammed on the side again and I kicked off once more. And within a few minutes we were at the bottom.
While Vanderwood accomplished the first part of the plan, I lay behind a bush, staring at the building intensely. It was a relief that we got here in the evening, it would be much harder for them to spot us at this rate. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I didn't know what was going to happen in there, I didn't know if we were even going to make it out alive. But I had to try. I leaned against a tree while keeping my eyes on the structure. I tried not to think of how tired and exhausted I was.
Despite being against it earlier, I was glad Vanderwood had showed up. I had no idea how I was to sneak in by myself. It also helped when someone else was there. It gave me incentive to keep going. Vanderwood kept my thoughts off of Kao which was necessary right now. I knew that I was beyond reckless when I was thinking of her.
My thoughts were cut off as there was a quick flash from the entrance. It was so small and brief that hardly anyone else would have noticed it. Quickly and silently, I hurried towards the entrance. The fence was peaked open with no guards to be seen. The lights near the area had been cut off, leaving it in mild darkness. I ducked behind the counter next to the fence and stripped down one of the unconscious guards that lay there.
Despite his appearance, Vanderwood was quite skilled at close combat and so far the plan had gone off without a hitch. I shrugged on the uniform, which was military like, and put on the man's hat. After checking that I had the ID badge, I strolled inside. I rounded a corner and spotted the front entrance of the building. Two guards stood outside the door, not sparing me a glance as I opened it and went inside.
A dimly lit hallway loomed out before me. I saw several guards and workers disappear through doors and scurry across the floor. After being unnoticed for several years, Mint Eye appeared to have become careless. I pulled the hat over my eyes as I smiled a little, and then strolled down the hallway like I belonged there.
I saw rooms with twenty computers lined across the walls. And rooms with large maps strewn across tables, alongside spaces that were filled to the brim with agent gear and weaponry. I quickly entered one of the rooms stocked with guns and grabbed a smaller one, shoving it in my uniform. I had packed a handgun beforehand, but one more didn't hurt. My eyes scanned for a kind of map until I spotted a large one taped to the wall. I walked up to it and observed it intently.
I knew what I would be looking for, some sort of confidentiality room, near the main meeting room but locked off so only privileged members could enter. It would be in the middle of the building so it was more secure, and probably in the bottom floor- My thoughts were cut off as I found the perfect candidate. Pulling up the gloves on my hands, I set off for the lower floor.
Luckily, the middle of the basement seemed to be relatively unoccupied other than the occasional worker hurrying across the hallway. After waiting for the coast to be clear, my fingers wrapped around the handle of the room. Holding my breath, I tilted it to the right. To my relief, it clicked and the door opened. Vanderwood had done his job. Now I had to do mine.
The room was dimly lit. An overhead light flickered on and off and the crusty smell of paper and metal blended together. I closed the door behind me and took a step further inside. Cabinets upon cabinets were lined in rows, labeled alphabetically. I grinned, my prediction was right. My eyes slid to the camera in the corner, the light that typically blinked red was now black. I had a limited amount of time before the cameras started working again.
I walked briskly between the rows of cabinets, scouring for Kao's last name. When I found the correct letter I opened the drawer and observed file after file. My fingers skimmed across the folders. Nearly five minutes had passed before I sat back with Kao's file in my hand. I was surprised that they had listed her under her current name. Due to Kao being adopted there was a chance that her file would've been organized under her birth name. I guessed that they went with present information.
My thoughts were cut off as I heard voices from the hallway outside. I turned towards the door, alert. After silently moving behind a cabinet, I waited in anticipation, my heart pounding. After a few seconds the voices faded away. Slowly, my fingers relaxed as I released the gun I had been holding.
I was about to exit the room before one file in particular caught my eye. Mint Eye Information, it said. My eyes lingered on it's name before I opened the cabinet cautiously. I scoured through the files before I found the one I was looking for and tucked it under my arm.
Withholding a grin, I hurried to the door and grabbed the handle, twisting it to the right. But it didn't move. I jiggled the handle again, and again, appalled when the door stayed shut. I swore loudly. Why wasn't it opening? It shouldn't have locked from the inside unless something had gone wrong upstairs. I sighed, running my free hand through my hair. What was Vanderwood doing?
I tried the door one last time and it didn't budge. I didn't have time for this, someone could enter the room any minute and I would be discovered. I looked around wildly, my eyes locking onto the large ventilation shaft on the ceiling. Tucking the files into my jacket, I climbed onto one of the cabinets. After grabbing the gun in my inner jacket pocket I hit the corners of the grate blocking the shaft until it was bent and loose. Quickly and quietly, I removed the grate and pulled myself up into the vent with a grunt, putting it back afterwards.
I was just in time too. Because just as I had covered the vent with the grate, a group of people had slammed the door open and ran into the room.
"See them?" A man asked. Though his voice was calm there was a sense of rage hidden beneath it.
"Nobody here." A woman in black replied. I could feel the sweat that trickled down my face as I peered at the group. They knew I was here? What had happened?
"Find them!" The man ordered. I winced. This was bad, Vanderwood and I had to go, now. Bitting my lip, I crawled away as quietly as I could.
The vents were hot and stuffy. I held back a cough as I breathed in a cloud of dust. My clothes were filthy, my throat was parched from dehydration, and I had no idea where I was going. A bit of me was worried about Vanderwood, but I knew that he hadn't been caught yet. He was too skilled for that. I looked up as the vent changed directions and went above me. I guessed it led to the first floor. I took off my shoes and socks, tying the laces to my belt as I grit my teeth and slowly climbed up the vent. The metal was hot against my hands and feet as I made my way upwards. When I reached the top I hauled myself up and continued to crawl until I reached another grate where I could peer into the hallway.
It was utter chaos on the main floor. Alarms that I had not heard beforehand were going off and workers were running back and forth. The entire hallway was flashing red. I looked for Vanderwood but he couldn't be found amongst the panic. I hurriedly opened the grate and blended into the panicked crowd. Luckily, no one spared me a glance as I sprinted towards the front doors.
When I got outside I spotted Vanderwood's silhouette near the fences, fending off several security guards. The tall light above him flickered on and then off, casting a spotlight over him before going out and leaving him in darkness. His form had slouched slightly, and I knew he was exhausted. I ran towards them, kicking the legs of a guard with his back to me. He fell backwards with a cry, his head hitting the ground with a sick crunch. Stepping over him, I grabbed the arm of another who currently was holding a gun. After twisting it in a way that made him yell in pain, I flipped him over my back. Vanderwood cast a glance towards me, the relief on his face was blatant.
"What the hell happened?" I asked incredulously.
"I don't know!" He snapped, blocking a punch. "I went in there, disabled the cameras and locks, and suddenly a guy grabbed me!" Before I could respond a series of gunshots rang out. Without exchanging any words, Vanderwood and I darted away from the entrance.
"This is your fault! You probably messed up somehow!" I yelled as we sprinted across the grass, dodging bullets that fired past us.
"I told you that I wasn't the tech person!" Vanderwood snapped, breathing heavily.
"You just had to be more secretive about it!"
"I really DON'T want to have this conversation right now!"
"Fine! Go to the cliffside!" I panted.
"After them!" A guard commanded. Spotlights were moved, shining on our uneven, frantic steps as we ran across the wet grass and underbrush. I heard more gunshots from far away, whisking past us. My heart hammered against my chest.
"Go up first!" Vanderwood yelled as we got to the rope. I opened my mouth to argue but he forcefully pushed me into the cliffside. Dazed, I gripped the rope for dear life as I scrambled up it as quickly as I could. I heard more gunshots and yelling, branches snapping and falling to the ground amongst the commotion. I wanted to look down, to see if Vanderwood was still standing, or if he had collapsed from exhaustion. But I didn't, I couldn't. I could only climb and climb. I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them again, my breaths uneven as I gripped the top of the cliff and hauled myself over with a grunt.
Shakily, I looked over the side of the cliff, Vanderwood was climbing up, doing his best to avoid the gunshots as he swayed back and forth. But it was clear he wasn't going to make it. I pulled out my handgun and fired shots into the crowd of guards that had begun to gather around the cliffside. When it was obvious that it was too dark to see clearly, I dropped the gun and began to pull the rope up as quickly as I could. I did so over and over again until my hands became red and raw and my arms were shaking.
Vanderwood came up a minute later. His brown hair was a mess, his face sheen with sweat as he groaned in pain. Never had I been so happy to see his face. I breathed a sigh of relief as I grabbed my gun and sprinted to help him up the cliff. After untying the rope and throwing it off to the side, together we escaped as quickly as we could, half limping and half dragging each other into the trees.
I don't how long we were running. It could have been hours, or days. It felt like years. I knew that I had twisted my ankle during the escape. Due to the adrenaline I hadn't felt it then, but I was certainly feeling the pain now. Walking for nearly twelve hours, combined with pain and exhaustion had taken a heavy toll on me. After every step I took, I felt like throwing up. Vanderwood was in even worse condition. During the climb he had been shot, and even as he was on my back his face was scrunched up in pain. He grunted as I tripped over a stump.
"Sorry." I muttered, wincing. "How're you doing?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I knew we had lost them for now, but Mint Eye wouldn't have given up the search and Vanderwood and I were in no position to fight them off if they found us again. If we were caught, we would die.
"Better than you." Vanderwood slurred. "I know you twisted your ankle."
"Twisted ankles heal. Amputated legs do not." I replied sharply.
"It's not going to be amputated."
"If you use it too much it will be." I hissed. Vanderwood was silent to this. As we trekked through the woods, the leaves crunched beneath our feet. The sun was beginning to rise and the previously dark forest was starting to become illuminated. Bits of sunlight poked through tree leaves. The crickets had been silenced, and in their place chirping birds could be heard. If not for our situation, I would have loved to go hiking here.
"Sorry." I said finally.
"For…?"
"All this." I replied. "It's my fault you got shot."
"A little bit." Vanderwood admitted. "But I knew what I was getting into, it's not like I was surprised. You got the files right?"
"Yeah. But I'm not going to look at them until I know we're safe."
"They better be worth it." Vanderwood muttered.
"Believe me." I replied. "I hope they will be.
We arrived at a small stream a while later. The sun was fully up now and it's rays of heat beat relentlessly onto our backs. With a groan, I knelt so Vanderwood could get off and then sat on the rocks beside the water, dipping my sore feet into the cold surface. Beside me, Vanderwood rolled up his pants and observed his wound impassively. I eyed him.
"It's not as bad as it looks." He said finally. I shook my head and tore a piece of cloth from my shirt, dipping it in the stream and grabbing his leg.
"Did you disinfect it?" I asked, dabbing the wound carefully. Vanderwood winced.
"Didn't have time. You need to get the bullet out."
"I have nothing to get it out with."
"You're going to have to try." He replied, to which I grimaced.
"I always hated the treatment classes at the agency."
"You were always awful with that stuff." Vanderwood replied with a grin.
"That feels like such a long time ago." I admitted, trying to keep his thoughts away from the wound as I washed my hands off at the stream.
"It was." Vanderwood said, dazed as he stared at the water. Without warning, I grabbed his leg and dug into his wound to find the bullet. Vanderwood yelled so loudly that I swore birds flew from the nearby trees. I could tell the next few seconds were agonizing for him, but after finding it, I threw the bullet into the stream and quickly bandaged his leg with cloth from my shirt.
"I'm surprised you found it." Vanderwood muttered. "God that hurt."
"I can imagine." I quickly dipped my hands in the water, trying not to see how
crimson it briefly turned.
"Aren't you going to look at those files?" Vanderwood asked. My hands stopped moving briefly before I continued to wash them off.
"I don't know. I think we should keep going, they might be close behind."
"We both know neither of us can properly walk right now." Vanderwood slurred. I was silent as I took off my glasses, cupped water in my hands and splashed it onto my face. I breathed out, running a hand through my hair.
"Well?" Vanderwood asked.
"Well what?" I snapped.
"Aren't you going to look at them?" He asked. With a sigh, I unzipped my jacket and pulled out the wrinkled files. I stared at them for a little before I shook my head and set them beside me.
"Luciel, you know how much trouble we went through to get those files right? I thought you were desperate to read them." Vanderwood said as he eyed me wearily.
"I know-"
"Then read them!" He snapped. I glared at him.
"I don't know what I'll find. What if-"
"Read the damn file." Vanderwood interrupted, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes.
"Fine." I muttered. I disregarded the Mint Eye file and opened Kao's, placing it on my lap. My eyes automatically drifted to her picture at the top of the page, resting there. It felt like it had been ages since I had seen her. My fingers brushed her face. I cleared my throat and tore my gaze away from the picture to look at her information. After scanning the page my eyes widened.
"Seven…?" Vanderwood asked, one of his eyes was open as he peered at me. "You okay?" Without responding, I shakily set the file beside me.
"Hello?" He asked.
"There's no way that's true." I muttered. But it was. The file sat open beside me, unfaltering as it rippled in the breeze.
I wanted to make a longer chapter for everyone. I'm currently working on Chapter 11 so stay tuned for that as well. I also want to clarify once again that this fanfiction is not completely based on the game, there will be facts and occurrences that do not line up with it. Anyways, thanks for reading everyone! Hope you are all enjoying it :D