Beneath the City ✔️

Noon

Jin and I were on lunch break, and stood together at the edge of the square in the city centre. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but there was still something just off. Perhaps people were being nicer than usual, smiling as they passed, or maybe it was in the darting eyes or the more prominent presence of the night guard. It felt like the city was holding its breath. I tried scanning the crowd, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly why everyone was on edge. For a moment my vision darkened and I struggled to make out shapes in the crowd. But my vision cleared after a minute, and I'd still seen nothing.

Jin tapped my arm, and I saw him pointing into the crowd, but I struggled to spot where he was pointing until I saw a small group of darkly clothed people on the far side of the square who were huddled close together.

'Look at there eyes.' He told me quietly. I watched them for a moment, then realised what had caught Jin's attention. Every few seconds, one of them would check their watch, or turn to look at the alley way slightly to the left of them.

'What're they waiting for?' I wondered aloud, and shifted the strap of my rucksack.

'God knows.'

As we watched, on of them knocked the other's shoulder, to get their attention. Suddenly the were all checking their watches, and they began to talk intently. Jin and I began to walk towards them, picking our way between indiduals, trying to get closer to the group. We made it half way when a bang echoed across the square.

The crowd split in two, a passage formed between the group we'd been watching and another group emerging from the alley way. Both groups began to stalk towards each other. I pushed my way through the crowd to reach the front, Jin close on my tail.

The group we'd been watching were all dressed in dark grey, the other were a mix of colours. One pale man from the grey group, whom I assumed were Chrome, stepped forwards.

'Where's JB?' He snapped. A man from the other group, presumably chipped knife stepped forwards.

'A man for a man.' He demanded.

'JB belongs to us.' The pale man hissed.

'You told us you had Nochu.' I gasped, and gripped Jin's arm.

'We would've had him, but he vanished.' The pale man said.

'So you didn't have him?' The other man accused.

'I asked for JB.'

'We asked for Nochu.' Both stared at each other, seemingly at an impasse, and the groups were frozen in place, like stone. Why was Jungkook so important?I watched the groups, then realised.

'One of them is V!' I whispered to Jin.

'Where?'

'To the right of the pale guy.' I replied.

Then the pale man from Chrome began to speak.

'Take this as a warning.' He spat.

A flash of red light arced from his hand towards the other man, who was shoved out of the way by another member of his group who put up a forcefield in a split second. Behind him a spear of ice lanced towards the other side, who retaliated with a flash of light which sent two people flying. The groups converged, as waves of heat and light rushed out. Some people were barking orders to others amidst cries and shouts. One by one the members of the chipped knife were strewn across the ground, breathing shallowly. The ground around them was blackened, and the acrid smell of smoke caught on the back of my throat.

'We have to follow them.' I whispered to Jin, as Chrome began to walk away. They were hobbling as a group towards a different street. Two including V were limping badly at the back, and one further in front was gripping his side. In this state we were catching up to them quickly, but just ahead some movement caught my eye.

One of the men who was previously down had pushed up onto his elbows. He began to stretch out an arm, pointing towards V. As his finger began to glow, I slipped my rucksack of my shoulder and slung it towards him as hard as I could. It collided with his head as he released his spell, and it ricocheted off the building on the left of where Chrome were headed, missing V. My bag flashed from inside and some Ice sprung out around his arm trapping it to the street. I groaned as I rushed towards it; one of the ice bottles must have shattered.

I walked over to the man who was unconscious again, and tried to pick up my bag. I lifted the strap, but nothing else moved. The ice had frozen around the bag.

'This wouldn't have happened if you hasn't been a fucking coward.' I muttered.

'ARE YOU NUTS?!' Jin shouted at me as he caught up.

'He's the one that was about to attack an injured man with his back turned!' I protested. 'And my bag's stuck!' I complained.

'Then perhaps you should've stayed out of their fight!' Jin exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

'Did you roll your eyes at me?' He demanded. 'You need to be less irisponsible.' He laughed? I frowned.

'Was that a joke?' I asked.

'Potatoes wouldn't recognise a good joke.' Jin stated.

'I should've thought about the risk, sorry for being short sighted.' I told him, keeping a straight face. He grinned, and pretty soon I was laughing too. 'Could you melt the ice?' I asked Jin. He shook his head.

'Sorry, my powers don't stretch to ice.' He explained. I nodded. 'You wouldn't have a fire potion on you?'

'I used it.' I explained.

'I'm pretty hot, so I could try sitting on it.' Jin suggested.

'Be my guest.' I told him with a laugh. I looked around me at the ground for something to chip the ice away with. I turned around and walked right into something else. I stumbled back and looked up at V.

'I can melt it.' He told me. He walked towards the block of ice, and set his hands on fire. 'But first tell me why you're here.' He demanded.

'To find you.' I said. He regarded me with suspicion.

'Why?' He asked. I reached a hand out to him and he took a step back.

'Wait.' I said, taking a hold of his arm. I pulled back on his sleeve, revealing his brand, exactly as I remembered it. I pushed his sleeve higher until I reached his shoulder. 'There's an elephant on your arm.' I whispered.

'Are you..?'

'Tae it's me.'

'You left me.' He said.