1.1 | louder than bombs

- 10 -

"DECAL! Decal, this is Viper," came a distorted voice from a black, pocket-sized device, startling the Captain who was going through paperwork, approving arrivals of new ammunition and whatnot, "the City is under attack, I say again, the City is under attack, out."

"Copy," Jaemoon replied before hurrying over to the grounds while speaking into his walkie-talkie, "Unit, get the weapons ready. We need to get to the City right this instant."

🏔

The City was in a state of absolute chaos. The roadside stalls turned over and broken down, food fallen to waste on the cobblestones. Bikes abandoned, dumped onto the footpath by their panicked owners. People running around in search of refuge.

"Can you tell me all that happened, Miss?" Dohyun asked, crouching down to look at a sobbing woman, her blonde hair tangled and her long fingers clutching onto her blue dress, wrinkling the chiffon cloth.

"I-It happened too fast. I just went to the ba-bakery to get some bread and by the t-time I came back they-," she broke down, sobbing even harder, clutching onto her dress so tightly that her knuckles turned white with the pressure.

They? Damn these assholes.

"They did what, Miss?" the Lieutenant prodded in a soft tone, not wanting to trigger the poor woman any further.

"They took my s-son. Th-they were pulling some people onto this big pick-up tr-truck and they drove that way," she said, pointing a shaky finger to her right, towards a road that led to the edge of the City.

Giving the women in tears some reassurance, Dohyun faced his Unit, standing tall.

"The enemies managed to cross the border, again, and have some civilians in their custody. It appears that they went to the abandoned City hall by the edge," he announced, getting onto the troop jeep.

"Alex, you heard me. Let's show these fuckers not to mess with us."

"'s sir!"

🏔

The Unit parked their jeeps by a corner, getting off in a flurry of hands, making sure that they have enough ammunition, just in case a gunfight breaks out. They filed into two lines, crouching low to stay invisible to the prying eyes of their enemies.

The soldiers lurked through the long, green grass, heads ducked and elbows in, adrenaline slowly taking control of their taut bodies.

"It's locked, sir," announced a cadet, tugging on the doorknob of the back door of the abandoned building.

"Move," Jaemoon pushed through, taking a step back before charging at the door, shoulder out.

The rotten door flew off its hinges, making a loud sound upon hitting the floor. Jaemoon shrugged his shoulder, brushing off the wood shavings from his uniform.

Dohyun patted his shoulder, giving him a small nod before walking into the building. The Lieutenant made it through, motioning his comrades to follow closely behind him.

"Captain Jeon, let's split up into two groups," Dohyun started, his tone as impassive as his face, "I'll cover the west wing with my team. You may take the east wing."

Jaemoon nodded, the cogs in his brain already spinning at full speed, carding through all the military tactics in his head to come up with the best strategy.

The Unit split into two teams as per the advice of their Lieutenant, one following their Captain while the other followed Dohyun.

The City Hall was centuries-old, the air inside the structure laced with a musty feel, not having been serving its purpose as a building of gatherings for ages.

The lobby was spacious, the generously sized windows flooding the space with sunlight, tiny flecks of dust dancing to an unknown tune in the forgotten room. The foyer branched into corridors and staircases, it being the centre of a maze riddled with untrodden hallways.

Jaemoon moved towards the stairs by the far end of the lobby, signing to his soldiers to be silent, something which they were already aware of but important enough to be reminded.

The soldiers took each step with the utmost care, looking for booby traps and to avoid the broken debris of the old building, mindful of each move. Jaemoon led his part of the Unit through a corridor, pointing his rifle at an empty space every time he looked into a room, ready to shoot the enemy.

The sub-unit turned around after making sure that there was no intruder in that floor, having swept each room with their hawk-like gaze. They were going up the stairs when it happened.

BANG!

"Get down. GET DOWN!" Jaemoon yelled, jumping over the fungi-moulded railing to the ground, rolling a couple of times to even the impact of his leap. His soldiers complied in a heartbeat, dispersing to take cover.

Jaemoon looked up to see a rifle retreating, squinting to look through the harsh glare of the sunlight.

Second floor.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before looking right into his Hyung's eyes from across the room, Dohyun hurrying back with his part of the Unit at the loud shot.

Jaemoon nodded once before bolting from his place and running over to the staircase, taking three steps at a time, confident that his Lieutenant had his back for him to ignore any bullets coming his way. An instant onslaught of shots began, his Unit shouting to be heard over the chaos.

Jaemoon punched a man wearing all black upon reaching the clearing, a contrast to the North Base's soldiers' green camouflage. He disarmed his enemy, using an old trick from training.

Ha, doesn't know even basic defence. Must be a cadet.

Jaemoon smirked, looking down at the unconscious man. But his victory was short-lived.

"Jaemoon! Behind you!"

The ravenette ducked down just in time, his huge body tensing in anticipation, narrowly missing a bullet to his shoulder. He turned back to look at Jun, slightly tipping his head as thanks before turning back. His dark eyes locked on the man, aiming his rifle at the black-dressed male.

BANG!

The man dropped down, eyes wide with a bullet through his left ribs. Jaemoon moved forward, stepping over the dead man's body, entering a long corridor which divided into quite a few rooms.

Jaemoon paused, took a step back, turning around to lean his back on the wall. The Captain closed his eyes for a moment, steeling himself before straightening up and walking into the corridor. He was peeking through the second last room when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

His body tensed, he swung his hand as a reflex only to stop when he saw Dohyun behind him. The familiar face made him lower his fist.

The two nodded at each other, looking at their Unit one last time before signalling them to follow. They charged through the door, scurrying into the last room with their rifles up only to pause at the scene in front of them.

"Drop the weapons, Jeon," said a voice, dark humour lacing his low baritone. Jaemoon lifted his gaze to the male who just spoke, a tall man who oozed authority.

Behind the man stood his soldiers, all standing in a row in front of the civilians kidnapped from the City.

His eyes paused on one face.

Doe?

🏔

so cairo is with them. what do you think is going to happen?

QOTD: if you had the world's attention for 30 seconds straight, what would you do?

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love,
athenelar