Annihilation

Warfare

As the complete view of the yard came past the flash of sunlight my heart dropped. Namjoon, Jimin, and Jin stood to our right, close to a small shed that was used for storage. Just beyond, across the yard, we were faced with Leon and over half of his men, lined up in the same way they'd greeted us when we met.

"Leaving us already?" Leon called out, nodding so that his men held their guns up, focused in our direction. In my peripheral vision I spotted Yoongi, hidden in the shadows of the shed with a bag of weapons draped across his body.

Namjoon held his hands up, taking a couple of steps forward as I watched Yoongi discreetly pass rifles to Jimin and Jin. "We are, we won't be any more trouble to you." He attempted to mediate the situation so that things didn't escalate.

Leon paced back and forth as he talked, sloppily swinging around the pistol he carried. "That's the thing Namjoon. You've already been trouble for me." He started on one of those long rants he'd become known for.

I glanced at the parking lot, sure Hobi was hidden by the cars, waiting for his cue.

"And you know I'm a decent man," Leon continued, "so I'm going to let your group leave, but not before you pay the piper." He wagged a finger.

Jungkook squeezed my hand, nudging his head toward the shed so that I looked at Yoongi again, three rifles on the ground by his feet for us.

"You don't have to do this. We can leave peacefully." Namjoon reasoned.

"Let's not kid ourselves Namjoon. One of yours took two of my men last night and you think you're just gonna leave? You're must be more stupid than you look." Leon laughed, rubbing at his temple the same way he did when he first saw the bodies, a gesture used to calm his anger. "But I'm still a good man at heart so I need you to understand. I'm only going to take one of your men."

Jimin and Jin didn't try to hide anymore and raised their rifles at his words, Leon amused by the two weapons pointed at them.

He wasn't threatened, his commination coming to its peak. "Well maybe two, since I'm only counting six of you. If we find your missing man we'll likely have to do away with him too." He waved his hands, even finding humor in himself. "But let me stop stalling and get on with it."

He snapped his fingers, one of his men emerging from behind a part of the fence that we reinforced with a sheet of metal. Even before he came into sight I noticed the Converse sneakers that dragged along with him, a smiley face drawn on the toe of one and the word "hope" written on the other. My vision blurred from tears, my heart feeling like it dropped into my feet as Graham stepped in next to Leon, keeping a grip on Hobi's wrists to restrain him.

Yoongi wasn't shy about his position or movements then, tossing the rifles one by one to Taehyung and moving into the space between the six of us. Taehyung passed them down the line and we assumed our stance. Leon gave a simple nod in acknowledgement, Graham releasing a hand from Hobi to reach up and grip his hair, pushing him to his knees.

The next few seconds of my life felt like they moved in slow motion. Hobi looked out at us, a single tear slipping from his eye. He raised a hand toward his chest, crossing his thumb and index finger over one another to create a small heart, the last message of love and light before Leon held up his pistol, putting a bullet through his head.

As soon as his body hit the ground time sped up again, a constant stream of our guns being fired and a cry of agony from Jin. We descended on each other with all the force we had, firing away with an instant need for vengeance. Taehyung, Jungkook and I moved toward a protrusion in the fence that held another sheet of metal, to be used as a shield while the other half gravitated toward the shed.

When we were mostly covered, Jungkook paused, grabbing onto my arm and pulling me around him so that we switched places. "Alena, go now!" He yelled over the barrage, resuming his fire.

I kept my position, a man falling backward as one of my shots hit him in the chest. "I can't!" I called to him in response. When we first had the conversation about this moment, I hadn't pictured it like this.

He and Taehyung shouted in sync, keeping their gaze on their targets. ""Get out of here!"

Before I backed away from the covering I looked to my right, catching sight of them one more time and saw more of Leon's men trailing up the other side of the prison. I lined my gun toward them, pulling at the trigger as I sped in the opposite direction, through the gap we'd cut in the fence and down to the car that awaited.

I started it easily, the wires already pulled up through the floorboard, getting in and ducking just as the back glass was shot out. I put the car in reverse, stepping on the gas so that it jolted backward, the crunching bump that came a second later letting me know that I hit the shooter. I looked over my shoulder as I spun the wheel, backing into a small gap at the end of the lot before putting it in drive, my foot hard on the gas to keep me from the burning urge to turn back.