Before it All - A Love Wins All Fanfic

Chapter 8 - The Trap

Everything was still, like the world was holding its breath. The cube floated right in front of her. It was a true duplicate of the large mothership that had released all these monstrosities with its sharp edges and a metallic sheen that was aging and rough. It seemed to have grown more than twice its original size since that first day, looking like a fat and happy royal as it lazily floated through its domain.

I really hope the bomb is big enough for this thing, she thought as she poked her head from her hiding spot.

She was hidden in one of the entryways to one of the many retail shops lining the street. The sidewalk was littered with tall banners and signs for all the different shops advertising their wares. She scrunched her nose a bit at the smell, as the stagnant air was tainted by the various trash piles along the street. Despite that, she figured this area, cluttered as it was, would give her the highest chance of moving around without being noticed.

Passing over cars that were crushed bumper to bumper from their owners' sudden disappearance, it skimmed above them, barely clearing the tallest car, like it was too much of an effort to keep itself afloat.

She crouched down behind a bright red sign, almost as tall and thin as her, with big letters advertising "real estate" written across the front, as the cube got closer. This was it. She would draw its attention and start running for her life. She prayed that Ye Joon was still ready where she had left him.

How long had it been since she left? She had given him very specific instructions to wait and be ready. That as long as the sun was in the sky, she would come back with one of these monsters.

She still didn't like the fact that he was involved at all. She had told him it was too dangerous. That it was her crazy plan and that there was no guarantee that it would work. He wouldn't back down though, even though she had tried to reason with him. She was the faster runner and would have the better chance at out running the cubes. She was the chemist, so she better understood the bomb they were trying to detonate. He had gone over to the table, grabbed the makeshift detonator they created, and had told her stubbornly "anyone can push a button." Letting out a frustrated groan, she had tried to think of any way to refute him, but she came up blank. If she was willing to risk her life for this idiotic idea then he had every right to too. Telling him he couldn't simply because it was dangerous and she was scared for him, would be selfish. She knew he had been thinking the exact same thing about her, but he was still letting her go. She could at least respect his decision and give him the same respect.

"Fine," she had conceded, "but you have to stay as far away from the action as possible. And if you see a cube without me leading it, you run. You run anywhere you have to to get to safety. And if I don't come back by the time the sun sets, you leave without me."

She held up a hand stopping his protests.

"Don't go looking for me. That's how people always miss each other in the shows. So, you come back here, okay? I'll meet you here,"

If I'm still alive, the unspoken words hung between them, and she had tried not to think about how this might be one of the last times she would see Ye Joon.

She gave him a small smile hoping to cover just how anxious she was about this plan. In its essence their plan was simple. She would go out and find a cube, lead it back to where Ye Joon was hiding with the bomb, and he would detonate it. They had gone over it hundreds of times, but the real world wasn't a whiteboard and they knew next to nothing about these cubes.

But she could tell her smile did very little to comfort him.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," she had promised.