Chapter Text
Red.
It was all he could see.
From the deep red of Ivan’s irises that only if you looked close enough you got to see, to the crimson red blood that ran down his face as he fell, eyes never once leaving Till’s.
Red.
He stared at the crimson blood that seeped from his wounds, mixing with the water from the rain. The crowd cheered, or yelled, or whatever. He didn’t care. Or more like he didn’t hear them. He didn’t hear anything but his own heart in his ears.
Mizi.
Ivan.
They were both gone.
The two constants in his life, both gone.
He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to curse out every goddamn being that put them on that stage. That made that fucking show. He wanted to curse out fate itself for being so, so fucking unfair. He wanted to scream, to punch Ivan for being so goddamn stupid.
But he couldn’t.
His mind was full of mingled thoughts, of how, what, why? His eyes stared at the still body in front of him, while his mind kept reenacting the past few minutes, all the while shoving memories from the past into his face.
The lights went out, but he didn’t care, didn’t notice.
Ivan.
Mizi.
Gone.
Till’s mind swirled in an endless loop of those two names, his heart thudding louder than anything else in the world. Red—everything red. Ivan’s blood mixing with the rain, soaking into the ground, washing away like it didn’t matter. But it mattered. God, it mattered.
Ivan... you idiot. His lips trembled as he stared at the lifeless body before him. Why didn’t you say anything? Was this your plan all along? The memory replayed again and again. Ivan’s face so close, his lips cold, then warmth, then gone. Just like Mizi. Another part of his world ripped from him. What the hell am I supposed to do now? He was supposed to die today. He had nothing left to live for. Nothing. He was sick. Sick of it all, he wanted it all to end. So why…
And now Ivan was gone. Ivan, who had always been there, who had been by his side for so long. Why’d you leave me? He choked, the weight of it all pressing down on him.
His mind flickered back—images, moments, their past replaying before his eyes. Ivan watching him when he thought Till didn’t notice. Ivan’s quiet presence, his stupid jokes, the way he always seemed to know what Till was feeling even when Till himself didn’t. That asshole always got on his nerves but at the end of the day, he was glad for his presence by his side. He was always there. Always close by.
And now?
His knees buckled. He didn’t have the strength to stand back up. His eyes were glued to the man before him.
He wanted to punch something, to feel his knuckles split, to feel anything other than the suffocating emptiness. Why him? Why not me?
His hands shaking, trembling as he reached out towards Ivan, stopping barely a few inches away.
I have nothing left.
The rain had long stopped falling, yet it seemed like Till had his own cloud above his head, endlessly pouring water down his face. Huh? No, those were tears. He was crying. He reached up, wanting to wipe his face, wipe away the tears that blurred his vision. He brought his hand up and stopped, staring at his palm, at his red gloves taking on an entirely new shade.
Red.
Ivan’s blood.
Red.
It was like a fog being lifted, the swarm of thoughts consuming him clearing up and he could see clearly for a short period of time.
What the fuck am I doing?! Panic surged through him.
He couldn’t just sit there, couldn’t just watch Ivan bleed out. Desperation clawed at his throat as he flipped Ivan onto his back, his heart pounding. No, no no please don’t be gone, you can't be! He pressed his hands against the bullet wound against his side, fingers slipping in the crimson as he tried to apply pressure. Come on, Ivan, you bastard! You were always so persistent on hanging around so why did you suddenly decide to throw your life away like this?!
“You always knew how to get under my fucking skin, and annoy the shit out of me..” He mumbled under his breath “You decided to take it to a whole another fucking level!” The blood kept seeping through his fingers, and his vision got blurrier by the second, his tears obstructing his vision. “Damn it! It was supposed to be me! Not, you…” He stumbled his words, his sobs breaking out. His mind was on the fact that he was alone, and he had to go through it all again. Had to go back. Back to that shitty cell they call his room. Back to that fucking shitbag that is his owner and his group.
He hated it all.
The water rumbled, and he was suddenly pulled back. The robots would be taking him to his room, putting that fucking collar on him again and pumping a shit ton of drugs into his system again and Ivan… Wouldn’t be there to take his collar off anymore. He was going to be taken away, probably back to his own owner who will do as he pleases with his body. What did those sick fucks even do with the bodies of the dead?
He didn’t even want to think about it, but out of all the anger and anguish he felt, he swung on instinct. He punched whatever was closest to him, his mind focused on Ivan’s body that was being taken away.
“Hey, hey, hey! Calm down! We’re- fuck!” He swung again, not registering the voice being directed at him, until another pair of hands grabbed him from behind, stopping his flailing arms. But he didn’t care, fuck, if he couldn’t punch he would kick. And so he did. “Jesus Christ, man, where did this energy spurge come from.” The man said, dodging to the side, away from Till’s legs.
“Kid, it’s alright, we’re here to help you. Calm down.” He heard a voice right next to his ear. His head snapped, towards the sound, eyes glaring at what he expected to be one of the robots or aliens.
His eyes widened at the very much human face.
“There we go, ya with us?”
He blacked out.
.
Mizi was panicking.
Hyuna hissed in pain as Mizi tightened the cloth around her bicep, trying to stop her bleeding. She shot her an apologetic look “Sorry” she mumbled, but Hyuna shook her head. She was smart enough to know it only helped. This was nothing compared to her leg.
They almost got away completely unharmed, but those doors just had to have been jammed. if it weren’t for that glitch, the robots wouldn’t have time to catch up, they wouldn’t have seen them running through those door and. And they certainly wouldn’t have time to shoot at them.
Hyuna noticed far earlier that Mizi did, and she pushed her away just in time, her own arm literally biting the bullet. The door shut right behind them, and Mizi cursed at how stupidly timed it was. Only a second, and they would’ve been fine.
But now, Hyuna was bleeding right in front of her, and she couldn’t do anything to help. As she stared at the blood soaking her blood, her mind went back to her first round. Back to Sua. Back to…
She shook her head.
This wasn’t a time to be thinking like that. She had to focus now.
Her makeshift bandage made from her pant leg seemed to have helped at least a bit, and they both knew they didn’t have all the time in the world for them to be sitting leisurly like this. They were there for a reason, and they were found out, they had to go, and fast.
“Hyuna! Hey! Answer, damn it!” The walkie talkie was left forgotten in midst of the treatment. Mizi reached over and passed it to Hyuna.
“Sorry, we - shit, we got caught. The door got jammed and they saw us.”
“Fuck, this isn’t good. Are you both alright? Ya safe?”
“We’re fine. My arm’s fucked up though.” She took a glance at her bandaged arm, the blood already soaking the whole cloth. “Bastard shot me before door closed. Mizi helped so we’re fine. We need to move faster now.” They could only hope the others were in position, even if they were far away.
“Shit! This is not good. Everything’s all fucked up.”
“Don’t mind us, we’ll manage and get to you in all in time. We just got held up. Are you all in position?” Hyuna didn’t seem to be losing the sight of their goal. They were there for a reason, to get those damn kids out just like they did with Mizi, and she’d be damned if one motherfucker and his lucky shot to her arm fucked it all up.
“That’s not what I meant, Hyu. Seems like things went south just like with our Mizi.” Mizi could feel the beat her heart had skipped as he said that, chills creeping up her spine. No. Please no. “Guess they weren’t taking any risks… They shot one of them down. We might need to change our plans.” Tears welled up in her eyes even though she told them not to not long ago. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. She knew whose round it was, and she knew that no matter what, she just lost a friend. One of them was gone, because they were late, because-
“We’re not changing anything!” Hyuna’s head snapped towards Mizi, who snatched the walkie talkie from her hand and stood up abruptly, “It’s not too late! You heard Hyuna, if you are all ready, then save them!” While determined, she knew this was not her call to make, her head turned to Hyuna with pleading eyes, but the girl already had a proud smirk on her face.
“You heard her, get on with it! We’ll meet you there in a bit!” She spoke into the walkie talkie, before grabbing Mizi’s hand with her good arm and swiftly dragging her out of their little hidden corridor and running towards the place her friends were at. “Glad to see your spirits back, girl! Keep that up, though, you gotta be strong now.” She blinked her tears away and continued running with the girl.
Everything was gonna be fine. It’s okay. It was going to be okay.
.
Fuck their luck, honestly.
Mizi struggled to keep her breathing steady as she clutched the gun in her hand, while the other was around Hyuna, pulling her along. The intruder alert from earlier was obviously bad, but they hoped that at least that one part went according to plan. The door they shut should’ve been the last danger zone, and the path from then on should’ve been free from the robots who were usually close to the stage. But because of the alert, it seems like some robots were sent out for their search, so their path to escape went a lot less smoother. They were intercepted. Thankfully, Mizi tossed a single grenade their way and they and they were all gone. Sadly, it wasn’t before they shot at them - and to her horror, managed to shot Hyuna again, now in her side.
She clutched her hand tighter around the girl’s hip, the older girl hissing in pain and cursing under her breath, but otherwise staying silent. She looked bad, her skin was getting pale from the blood loss, and she was losing some strength. If she collapsed, Mizi wasn’t sure if she could carry her to their escape.
They passed a corner and after a while, Mizi could hear footsteps coming from behind them. Not again. No.. She turned her head around, but instead of dread, relief flooded her eyes.
“Finally cau- Holy shit, Hyuna!” Isaac was by her side almost in the blink of an eye, taking Hyuna from her and putting pressure on her wound. “Fuck, I thought you said it was only your arm?!” He asked.
“Well, it was. Until it wasn’t.”
Mizi let him take Hyuna, and was about to explain the situation, before her eyes caught onto the figures behind her.
“Till!” She ran back, coming side by side to Phil and walking at their speed. He had Till on his back in a piggyback ride, with his arms losely hanging from his shoulders. He seemed to be unconscious. She gasped at the blood staining his clothes and hands, and imediatelly searched him for wounds.
“Don’t worry, he’s fine.” Phil commented, adjusting Till on his back so he didn’t fall without stopping. “He must’ve passed out from exhaustion or shock, maybe both.” He snapped his head back. “The blood is from that other kid, the one that got shot.” Her eyes widen and she can physically feel her heart dropping. No… Then… That means..
She turned around and imediatelly, her eyes found Dewey’s, who looked at her almost sorrowfully. Her eyes were trained to the body he carried in his arms.
Black hair. White suit stained in blood.
Ivan.
Tears prickled her eyes as she fell into step with him, imediatelly covering the very obvious gunshot wound on Ivan’s hip. The blood was pooling through her fingers as Dewey carried him, but she tried her best to slow the bleeding. Any effort counted. Any second was worth it as they quickly tried to get to their helicopter. Her eyes shuffled between her two injured and one unconscious friend, silently cursing herself for not being able to protect anyone again. Her hands pressed harder agains Ivan’s wound unconsciously, her mind coming back to her previous thoughts about Sua. She couldn’t lose another friend. She couldn’t. There were shouts at the front from Isaac, and as she looked up from Ivan, she noticed they were already at the meeting point, and Hyuna was already being sat in one of the cars.
“Hey! We got another one here!” Dewey yelled next to her, she nearly flinched at his volume but it was Dewey after all, and amidst all the shouting already going on and the cars, his loud voice was the best suited for the situation. Heads turned and Mizi saw one of the medics imediatelly bring out a gurney to put Ivan on.
She came over to the back of the car Hyuna sat in, still holding onto his wounds before another medic took her place. Her hands shook as she stared at the blood on them, and her eyes wandered off towards Till, who was being sat in one of the other cars. His hands were stained with blood just like hers. He must’ve also been trying to save him. She hiccuped as she looked around, noticing more were wounded from gunshots, even if not as seriously. Hyuna was still conscious, but she looked bad and was being tended to by another medic.
“Looks bad.” Hyuna commented weakly, glancing back as the medics placed him in the back of the trunk and climbed on. The medic who took over her started called over for help to put pressure on the wound.
“You’re one to talk.” The medic replied, checking Ivan’s pulse and lifting his white shirt. Mizi’s breath hitched, just waiting to hear the words- “Got a pulse. Gotta get him stable fast.” She released a breath she was holding, relief flooding her at his words. There was hope.
“Left hip and shoulder were shot… No exit wounds on either, so the bullets must still be in, fuck-” She saw him take a look at Ivan's face. “Damn it! Terry! We need intubation, STAT! We got lung damage!”
“Lung?” Mizi whispered, her stomach churning. The medic barely spared her a glance, not taking his eyes off Ivan for too long as he measured his breathing.
“Yeah, but he’s still breathing. It’s shallow, but it’s there. Probably lower lung, but we still need to clear out his airway so he doesn’t drown in his own blood.” He kept commenting, if for her sake or to the other medic, Mizi didn’t care, she just needed to know. She needed to know if he was gonna make it. His words weren’t harsh, and she knew they weren’t meant to be, but each one squeezed her heart uncomfortably.
“Hyu..?” She glanced at the brunette in the front, who just finished getting bandaged as the medic moved to tend to Ivan. She glanced at her and held up a weak thumb up.
“’M okay. Been through worse, I’m a tough bitch.” Mizi smiled in relief before her sight caught on something shiny. As soon as she realized what it was, she turned away.
“…Perfect, tube’s in. Airway clear.”
“Got one out, seems like he got shot twice here. Explains the lung.”
“Fuck, this guy’s real tough.”
“Or lucky... Got it, gauze.”
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to meet Dewey, who gave her the same worried expression as before.
“Come on, we need to get going. They will take care of them.”
She glanced back, reluctant. She wanted to ride with them, to make sure they make it. But she knew she couldn’t, so with a last look at them, she made her way to their own car.
At least they got them out. Both of them.
Sitting next to Till, she glanced at their forms. Compared to her own hands, Till’s whole front was covered in blood. Her eyes finally let the tears flow as the car started moving.
Now all they could do was hope.