PAWNS [squid game]

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The lights turn off.

Jiah takes a deep breath. In the darkness, she lowers herself out of her bed and onto the cold floor. She army crawls over to Aheum's bed and squeezes her shin lightly. Aheum rolls out of bed and onto the floor.

"Idol?" Aheum whispers just loud enough for Jiah to hear her.

"We'll find him," Jiah assures.

A scream echoes through the room.

Then, yelling and struggling fills the air.

"Go, now!" Jiah shouts, pulling Aheum to her feet.

They make it to the row of beds Dohyun was assigned. Then, the lights turn on.. and off.. and on.. and off.. a strobe light.

"Shit!" Jiah curses, holding a hand to her forehead.

"069!" Dohyun calls, running over to the girls with ease.

"What the hell?" Aheum asks as she squints to try and see through the flashing lights.

"Idol, remember?" Dohyun asks. "Strobe lights don't bother me.. I'm used to it."

Across the room, a stack of beds crashes to the ground.

"So, you can see fine?" Jiah clarifies.

"Yes, of course.. can't you?"

"Get behind me," Jiah shoves him. "I need a weapon."

"I found this on the floor." Dohyun holds up a metal bar that had fallen off one of the beds.

Jiah blindly grabs it. Once she feels it in her hands, she holds it up like a bat.

"You need to be my eyes," Jiah tells Dohyun. "Aheum, keep an ear out behind us."

"Where are we going?" Dohyun questions.

Jiah hesitates.

456 offered her a spot with them. Ali did the same for Dohyun and Ali was friends with 456.

"Your curly hair friend," Jiah decides.

"Ali?" Dohyun questions.

"Whatever his name is. The foreigner. Where is his team?"

"This way," Dohyun leads.

He puts his hand on Jiah's shoulder and pushes her forward a little. Aheum grabs the back of Dohyun's jacket so she doesn't get lost in the chaos.

"Left!" Dohyun shouts.

Jiah swings wildly, following Dohyun's orders. The metal bar cracks against a man's head and he falls to the floor. Dohyun doesn't bother checking if she killed the man or just knocked him unconscious.

"Where's 067?" Aheum asks.

"Are they a friend or a threat?" Dohyun asks.

"Friend," Jiah answers. "Do you see her?"

"I thought we were going to Ali?"

"Fuck," Jiah curses.

Aheum and Dohyun weren't fighters. She had to get them to safety before she could worry about anything else.

"Ali first," she gives in. "She can handle herself for a little. I'll find her after."

Dohyun continues pushing Jiah in a certain direction. he shouts which way to hit when someone rushes an attack on them and Jiah reacts with ease. He only counted one for sure she must have killed because the man hit the floor and Jiah jabbed the end of the rod through his eye.