Zero Two Three One | John Laurens X Reader [Hamilton]

VII: Twenty-Nine Is Not Enough

❝One man with courage makes a majority.❞
-Andrew Jackson

"What the fuck is that?!"

"Holy shit sticks!"

"What the actual hell?!"

"What the holy hell are we supposed to do?!"

The shouts from my peers pierce through the screams of the people. I continue to watch in horror as the giant monster watches the scattering people wickedly like rats being hunted, that ominous grin still on its face. It slowly turns its head left and right, taking in the entire village with its red eyes.

I gaze up and down the giant, inspecting all its details. It wears no clothes but it has no genitals, which is confusing. It is visibly muscular, bearing large arms and legs. There seems to be some sort of large bump in the center of its bare chest, an odd illuminance glowing red underneath it.

It's big. It's dangerous. And it's ready to kill.

The screams suddenly heighten in pitch and sound when the giant kicks one of the buildings, sending debris in the air and rocketing in all directions like dangerous cannonballs.

"General Chul," I hear Peggy call desperately. "Your orders, sir!"

I turn back to face Chul, loosening my death grip on Alexander as I force myself to steady my body. Shit, we've been trained in the art of killing people, not this shit. Alas, Chul perhaps doesn't seem the slightest bit worried. He had already said something to Daeshim, who ran off towards an installed radio tower further away from town.

Chul's mature expression remains mature as he pulls out his gun - something I didn't think he'd ever need to do.

"We'll carry out a 2465!" he barks out. "Spread the word, soldiers!"

"Yes, sir!" the five of us reply, saluting stiffly. We act all tough, but I can tell we're all slightly dying inside. A 2465 essentially means fuck everything else and focus on evacuating as many civilians as possible. Chul is putting the lives of the civilians above all else, which I suppose is a good call.

I watch in confusion as Chul follows wherever Daeshim went. He's essentially abandoning us to carry out the task by ourselves. AC trainees who have yet to graduate.

More soldiers begin gathering around the well, waiting for the news of what to do. They just watched Chul walk off without hearing his orders, so I imagine they're rather confused. Luckily for them, Alexander is quick to take charge. He hoists himself on to the stone surrounding the well, then repeats Chul's orders.

"We're doing a 2465! Get out your weapons and search for civilians! Direct them to the train and return for more! Out!"

With the directions given, the soldiers disperse, yelling orders at the scrambling civilians to follow them. The language barrier doesn't seem to matter, as the civilians appear to understand that the soldiers are directing them to safety.

Well, the village people around the well are easy to save. The giant is still far away on the other side of town, and it's too occupied crushing homes and stomping the ground to dart to us.

It's the civilians caught close to the giant that will be hard to save. None of the other soldiers appear to even think about going to save those people. They probably see it as a lost cause! Well, this entire situation brings back bad memories. I intend to leave no one behind, no matter the danger.

"Alexander, we gotta go save those close to the giant," I shout out, hoping I can be heard over the hair-raising sound of screams.

"My thoughts exactly, (Y/N)," Alexander murmurs, his eyes already set on the giant as though he wants to confront it face to face.