Interwoven ✔️

51~ Bullet Rain

[Warning:] Some graphic action sequences ahead
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One moment everything had been silent and peaceful.

The next screams and roars shattered through the air along with the sounds of guns cracking.

I sprang out of bed, half slipping half falling down to the floor. Tzuyu's and Irene's Marks came blazing to life and Krystal also scrambled up, swearing profusely.

"What the hell is happening?" She blinked rapidly.

"We're under attack." I gasped as something loud and heavy slammed against the door, rattling it on its hinges. "The Purists are here."

"What?!" Irene stumbled to her feet, eyes dilated. "They're supposed to be at the North City!"

Unless...

My eyes widened.

Unless it had all been a diversion to draw away the main troops from the base, leaving it unprotected and vulnerable— perfect to strike true and hard. It made sense. It explained why the main troops had barely gotten into any fights with the Pure Reformists in the North City. Because they weren't even in the North City.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Tzuyu's wailed.

Irene grabbed Tzuyu and shook her shoulders, hard, snapping the violet Marked girl out of her hysteria. "We fight. We've been training for this exact kind of thing."

Another loud gunshot cracked through the air. Closer. We all flinched at the scream of pain followed.

"We don't have any weapons though!" Krystal protested. "And we can't morph."

Irene's sharp eyes snapped from the door to us. "The training rooms hold lots of different weapons."

"That's ten levels—"

"Let me finish!" Irene snapped, slicing through Krystal's voice. "Tzuyu and I are going to morph and get us all down there so we can get weapons. Got it?"

"But Irene!" Now Tzuyu protested. "We're not Exclusives! We might not be strong enough to carry them all the way."

Right. When Exclusives morphed, they literally became what they morphed. Which included all the strength and primal instincts of whatever they morphed into. Meanwhile, normal Outworlders when they morphed possessed only the strength they had as human form, and didn't connect as much with the instincts of what they morphed into.

Irene pursed her lips. "We have to try." She grabbed my arm. "Jiyeon and I will go first. Tzuyu and Krystal, you follow. And whatever happens: Don't. Stop."

I didn't have time to say anything else before Irene abruptly morphed into a large, golden-pink horse. Any other scenario I would've found a pink horse humorous. Krystal and Tzuyu yelled and ducked as Irene-horse's body took up most of the room's space.

I'd never ridden a horse before. Swallowing hard, I clambered halfway up the bunk latter until I could swing my body over the her broad back. Uncertainly I grabbed a fistful of her mane, and shrieked when Irene lunged forward.

Her hooves slammed against the door. Three blows and it caved out. I ducked, narrowly avoiding getting knocked off from the top of the doorframe.

Horror seized me as we leapt out into the hallway. The thump that had shaken the door earlier was a slumped body. I didn't have time to take a closer look before we were streaking down the hallways.

I almost slipped off several times, holding on to dear life. The loudest of the fighting sounded like it came from the level above, but even in this level trainees were running around shouting. A few other Outworlders had similar ideas and were morphing into predatory beasts and charging after us, with us.