“Ahhh!”
Her vision went black. The next thing she knew, she was hitting the cold, firm ground. Tumbling hard, as though someone had slammed her onto the pavement, she let out a short scream.
“It’s time to stop running. There’s no point in struggling anymore,” a voice called out to her from behind in the darkness. At the same time, numerous soldiers emerged from the shadows, all wearing identical military uniforms. In the center stood a single captain wearing a beret.
Holy stared firmly at him. He shook his head as if he was astounded.
“You didn’t actually think you’d be able to defect, did you? This is your chance. Give in.”
Holy attempted to pick herself off the ground as she listened to him.
She was trembling with cold, fear, and pain, but she clenched her back teeth and turned to catch a glimpse of the high-speed boat behind her.
The boat was just a stone’s throw away. She tried to stand up, thinking there was still hope if she could find an opening.
However, the captain saw through her half-baked idea and snapped his fingers.
On his cue, white flames suddenly rose in front of Holy’s eyes. The light, overwhelmingly intense in the darkness of the night, appeared to be emanating from the boat itself. What in the world was that?
A moment later, the hot air hitting her cheeks told her everything she needed to know: The boat she was supposed to board had exploded. Her last hope, so close that she felt like she could touch it if she stretched out her hand, had been completely obliterated in an instant.
After a pause, tiny fragments of metal came raining down on them from the sky. The surface of the water rocked violently, drenching the area in splashes. Holy looked up at the smoke rising to the sky and was left speechless.
Debris from the boat, reduced to smithereens, tumbled to the ground by Holy’s feet. She had once dreamed of riding this vessel to freedom.
But now it was meaningless. It had become literal debris, useless trash.
Holy couldn’t tear her eyes from the cruel turn of events. Collapsing to her knees, she sat and whispered faintly through her trembling lips.
“No, it can’t be. Not like this.”
The already dark port slowly turned pitch-black. The sounds in her ears grew distant, and she started feeling groggy. Her spirit broken, Holy looked up at the soldiers inching toward her.
As the captain stared down at the now-helpless girl, a sadistic grin appeared on his face. He gave orders to his troops in a cold tone.
“Restrain her. Don’t worry about being rough.”
Several armed soldiers approached and violently pinned down the fragile girl.
As she was forced against the cold asphalt still covered in snow, Holy cried silently. This was as far as she would get. The tiny sliver of hope she had been desperately clinging to vanished before her eyes.
The landscape was entirely swallowed by darkness, blurry through her tears. This is where she would die. As she faced the end, her feelings dissolved into the night.
She should just give up. She had given her all. Even if she died, she had done everything she could. Trying to console herself, Holy suppressed the sobs welling up from inside. And then, in an attempt to accept the end, she began to slowly close her eyes.
But just before she could shut them entirely, something met her gaze. Two objects, swaying eerily before the despairing girl’s half-shut eyes; in the tear-blurred darkness, they looked like will-o’-the-wisps.
The shining blue lights weren’t a good memory, or anything of the sort. But for some reason, the moment she saw them, a strange hope reappeared in her heart.
She hadn’t come up with a plan, but she instinctively drew in a breath and parted her lips, which now tasted of metal.
“Over here! Help!”
Her abrupt plea was loud, almost a scream. The captain looked up in surprise, then followed her gaze. His expression stiffened.
“It’s an Informationist! Kill him!”
At the captain’s command, the soldiers simultaneously pointed their guns at the dark and blasted away without remorse. Holy covered her ears. The volley of gunfire seemed like it would rupture her eardrums if she didn’t.
So many spent shell casings dropped to the ground that there was nowhere to step. The soldiers had fired thousands of bullets at their target.
But, unbelievably, none of the shots found their mark.
As if there was something between them and their target, the bullets swerved off their trajectories, flying every which way. In the center of the disturbance, the blue lights approached, leaving lingering afterimages as they flickered.
Holy stared intently at the unknown figure. Shining like a flashlight, they grew more visible by the instant, their true form gradually coming into focus as they crept from the darkness.
The captain backed away, afraid of the lone Informationist. Following his lead, the soldiers also started withdrawing. Regardless of how many bullets they shot, the Informationist never slowed. Terror began to overtake the soldiers.
The impulse to retreat spread through the entire troop, eventually reaching the men near Holy. The soldier who had been pinning her down slowly rose to his feet and grabbed her by the hair.
He forced her to her feet, the pain making her snap back to reality. Holy squirmed and twisted around, screaming.
“Stop! Let me go!”
Right after that, the soldier who had grabbed her suddenly burst into flames, releasing an inhuman shriek. Now free, Holy tumbled to the ground half in fear.
She couldn’t make sense of what had just happened.
“Wh-what?”
Shaken, she felt a presence approach her from behind. She nervously lifted her gaze to it.
A man appeared before her, illuminated by the light of the burning soldiers. Two ominously glowing eyes looked down at her.
Despite the bitter cold of winter, he was only wearing a midlength jacket, a wrinkled shirt, and boots.
His purple-tinted black hair was unkempt, with the messy ends falling in front of his eyes. He had a slim face without any excess flesh on his cheeks, and his lips were pale. At first glance, his appearance gave the impression of weakness, but this contrasted sharply with the unusual gleam in his eyes.
“Keep crouching for a bit. It’ll be over soon,” he said bluntly. Not comprehending the meaning of his words, Holy just froze with her mouth hanging opening.