Aftermath || Sequel to The World Without Them [HIATUS]

11 | Opposition

 At the sound of the shot being fired, Frost's very first instinct was to freeze in fear.

 His second was to run. 

 The boy scrambled to come to his senses as he broke into a sprint without any destination. He gasped as more rounds were fired, all thumping into the dirt behind him. Frost threw a single glance over his shoulder and only had enough time to register the small clouds of dust rising up from the ground when he was shoved behind a short concrete wall.

 The teen grunted as his back hit the hard surface, the impact making his head spin. Once his blurred vision had cleared, he turned his attention to the person crouched beside him. It was Corinne, her teeth clenched into a highly aggravated scowl.

 "Are you alright?" She asked above the panicked shouts and gunfire. 

 Frost nodded, barely paying attention to her. His mind was on something else, something familiar that had haunted him the night before. The opposing men, the gunfire aimed at him... He had seen it already.

 "This is just like my dream," he muttered as he sat up.

 Corinne clicked the safety off of her pistol and gave him a strange look.

 "I have no idea what you're talking about, kid, but we kind of have a situation here. You were almost murdered."

 "Retreat to Niska immediately." Acacia's voice over his earpiece made him jump. "Negotiations have turned hostile. Get back to the capitol."

 Frost pressed a finger to the device. "We will soon, we just have to wait for an opening." He looked over at Corinne. "Where's the shooter?"

 His comrade peered around the wall before drawing back. "Third floor of the government building. Lone shooter by the looks of it. Young adult male. He's just raining bullets down onto the courtyard." She lifted her gun and took aim. "I can get rid of him right now, and anyone who stands with him."

 Frost's eyes widened at what she was implying. She was going to kill the man, and the rebels if it came down to it. He immediately shook his head.

 "Don't do it, you can't."

 Corinne took her eyes off the gunman to glare at the boy. 

 "What do you mean "don't"? That fool just opened fire on you and you don't expect me to do something about it?"

 The Silverkeep native temporarily ignored her comment so he could glance over the barrier keeping them safe. He could make out a single figure standing in an open window high above the courtyard he and his team members had been standing in only moments prior. 

 His gaze drifted to the second story balcony where the Deepwind rebels had been positioned during the negotiations. Almost all of them had already ran inside, but a couple still remained visible. They cowered in the balcony's corner and the open doorway, out of the line of fire. Frost frowned.

 "This wasn't planned by the rebels, he's acting alone," he stated. "None of them knew this would happen -- they're scared too."

 "Beautiful, then it shouldn't matter if I nail him," Corinne shot back, weapon still raised.

 Frost reached over and placed his hand on the barrel of her pistol, pushing it down. The ex-official gave him a warning look.

 "You better not-"

 "We're here to understand and negotiate with them, Corinne. It's safe to say that he isn't the only person who's going to try to kill me at some point."

 The boy was caught off guard when the woman grabbed him by the collar.

 "What good is being Head of Security when I'm not allowed to keep the most important person in the whole god damn country safe?" She spat. "And who's to say this isn't all a show that the rebels are putting on? They're losing their independence to you, they have every reason to try to take your life."