Noctura

seventy two

jinwoo

"IT'S OVER, Jinwoo. I won."

Kaila looks down at me. She's the only thing keeping me up on the top of this train car. As soon as she lets go, I will fall to the concrete.

I might not die, but I'm not entirely sure. And I don't really want to find out if I will or not.

"Don't do this, Kaila," I plead with her. "Please."

"Why?" She spits. "Why not? I'm loyal to Mariela. She's promising me freedom and the ability to eat whenever I want. Who wouldn't take that?"

"You won't win!" I shout. "The Nocturas aren't going to win. And even if you do, how do you know Mariela won't just keep you as a slave?"

She doesn't respond to this.

"You can be free right now, Kaila. You can break away from her. You can side with us." I hold my breath, waiting for a response.

Kaila stares down at me.

"You don't have to do this, Kaila," I tell her. "You don't have to kill me."

"You're right," she says. "I don't have to kill you. But I'm going to."

In the second she lets go of me, my hand reaches for her wrist.

She slips forward, falling with me.

But we both claw for something to hold onto.

My fingers wrap onto a rung of the ladder. Kaila doesn't grab onto anything.

My left hand closes around her wrist, just before she slips from my grip entirely.

I throw her back up onto the train car and then pull myself back up on top of the train car.

Kaila is on her side, looking over at me. Her eyes are black and violet, but burning with less intensity. She almost looks... shocked.

"You saved me," she says. "Why did you save me?"

"We could be the only people like each other," I tell her. "We could be the only two people in the world who were once human but are now Noctura. We could be the only two people who can relate to each other."

She stares at me, her eyes turning from black and violet to a clear blue.

"We can be allies," I explain. "You can join us, you can fight with us. Once we win this war, you can be free. You'll be free from Mariela."

We stare at each other for a long moment.

I take a small step toward her, putting my hand out to her as a sign of alliance.

Please, Kaila. Take my hand.

Her eyes change back to black and violet. "I don't think so."

She leaps at me.