Chasing Liberty // Countryhumans North Korea fanfiction

Lonely Sits The City

1935

    Korea ricocheted down the halls of the prison, boots flying. His head darted from side to side, making sure to take a glance at every cell they passed, but getting no more than that, leaving the provinces and guerrillas to free those in them.

    North Pyongan followed on his heels, shouts and screams echoing through the grey stone corridors, the sound of blaring klaxons clamoring over it all.

     “Korea!” he tried, panting. “We’ve managed to free plenty of our people. We need to go before the military comes!”

     Korea didn’t respond, leading them deeper into the prison. He turned the corner, revealing a heavy steel door, which he flew at, not even bothering to pull his gun on the man guarding it, instead bodying him with full force, slamming his head off of the wall until it cracked. The human hadn’t even had time to fire a shot. He rifled through his pockets, pulling out a key and shoving it in the lock, disappearing down a flight of stairs.

      “What is his issue?” South Pyongan shouted as they followed, snatching the dead man’s gun.

     “I don’t know,” her brother huffed, trying not to trip in the dim stairwell.

    Korea had been acting weird about this entire mission, from suddenly declaring that they would lead a raid on Seodaemun Prison- ignoring all urgings that walking right into a prison wasn’t something militant revolutionaries should do- to bringing such a large force of the newly-formed Korea’s Army with him, to this single-minded charge.

     Then again, Korea was always weird when it came to Seoul. They took too many risks with the city, visited it too frequently. North Pyongan had thought it expected, considering it was their capital, but now…

     They were the only three of their army on the lower floor of the prison, the lights flickering, the cells even smaller, windowless. Korea went from door to door, slamming it open, glancing in, moving on without a word to those they were freeing.

      He had said this was to liberate their captured guerrillas, but it was almost like he was… searching for something.

     “Help them!” Korea snapped to the two provinces.

     Exchanging looks, wordlessly the Pyongans agreed that South Pyongan would help the malnourished and tortured prisoners while North Pyongan followed Korea. By the way he was acting, he was going to need someone to drag him out.

    He grew more and more frantic as they went, and when two guards rounded the corner he barrelled through them, not hesitating to slam one face first into a steel door, leaving streaks of red on it before smashing the another into the ground, stomping on his skull. He yanked open the last door in the hall, exposing a man curled up on his side, emaciated and dead. More alarms kicked in from above, a horrific cacophony that made it hard to think.

     “Ssi-bal!” Korea slammed his fist into the door, his blood joining the guard’s.

     “Korea!” North Pyongan had to scream to be heard over the harsh noises. “We need to go back up! Staying here this long wasn’t in the plan. We’ve saved everyone we can!”

     Korea froze, looking down at the dead man with a strange look on his face. Then his expression hardened, and he snarled, “I’m not leaving until every single one of them is dead!”

    “This isn’t about killing! It’s-“

    But Korea was already gone, heading down featureless tunnels with no more cell doors. Despite his violent words, whenever they encountered guards he would simply mow them down or smash them aside, barely checking to see if they were dead.