NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 32: Chapter 32- Unexpected
When Talon finally realized that he was going to be fine, exhaustion caught him and he finally fell unconscious on Hyun-Jae's shoulder. For some reason, the feeling of her body supporting him felt rather nice. The softest and warmest pillow he ever had.
Hyun-Jae noticed that and could only sigh with a small smile.
"I guess you can rest for now till we reach the university." She murmured as she helped Talon lay down on her lap instead of her shoulder. Adjusting her position, she rested her back against the wall and finally exhaled a long sigh of relief.
"We can finally take a breather..." She said as she cracked her neck. Ever since they left the warehouse, it has been nothing short of chaos.
Hyun-Jae felt as if she faced a lifetime's worth of dangers in a matter of minutes. It was by far the worst situation she ever faced and luckily, she made it out alive along with her companion.
Looking down at Talon, Hyun-Jae found herself completely focused on him. Ever since she met this guy a few days ago, the most bizarre things kept happening again and again. It was as if he was a magnet for the weirdest situations possible.
Yet, she still didn't hate it. In fact, the past few days, as tough as they were, made Hyun-Jae feel more alive than ever before.
Hyun-Jae had lived all of her life being put under heavy expectations from everyone around her. Being from a very rich and powerful family, she was naturally put in the highlight from the moment she was born.
The fact that she showed exceptional talents early on didn't help either and instead made her turn into a machine that was only meant to achieve what others thought was exceptional. Be successful in school? She ranked number one every year. Be talented in sports, music, and a multitude of other hobbies? She mastered most of them in record time. f(r)ee
For Hyun-Jae it was nothing but a continuous grind every single day as if there was no tomorrow. She didn't know why she had to work this hard for others but she didn't learn how to work for her own goals and desires so she had no other choice.
As she grew up and her talents bloomed bigger and bigger, countless people admired her, loved her, and even worshipped her as this perfect human being with beauty and brains and Hyun-Jae understood why they thought that way.
But, it never made her feel anything. Granted, it made her understand that she was blessed with many talents. But, it also robbed her of her ability to think for herself and choose what she wants to do instead of simply doing the 'Right' thing.
All of that changed when the integration started. When all the chains that were shackling her were broken and the rules of society were no more, she found herself feeling free. In a destroyed world where death was at every corner, she felt the freest she ever felt in her life. It was ironic.
'He really made me do things that I never even thought were possible.' She thought to herself with a small smile.
putting her hand on Talon's hair, she slowly caressed it as she fell into deep thought.
Meanwhile, Acrypha watched from the other side with a neutral expression. Nobody knew what was going through her mind at that time.
With that, 20 or so minutes passed in silence. Hyun-Jae heard the occasional noises coming from the other parts of the metro which she assumed were probably that of Dimension Walkers.
Luckily, none of them tried to attack the control room at the front so they were relatively safe. At that time, Hyun-Jae felt Talon starting to wiggle on her lap as his eyes were slowly opening.
Looking down, she saw his confused pupils looking around before they focused on her.
"You can rest for a little bit. There are at least another 10 minutes before we reach our destination. We can also remain inside the metro till we're ready to move again." She said.
"It's... fine... We need to hurry back to the warehouse." Rising up slowly, he wiped his face with his hand before he finally looked back at Hyun-Jae.
"Sorry for the... Uhm..." He said as he coughed awkwardly.
"Hm? Oh, it's fine. You fell unconscious so I just put you in a more comfortable position."
"Thank you..."
'Damn, that felt really nice for some reason.' Talon scratched his head as he thought to himself. The nap, as short as it was, really energized him.
After that small nap, he was feeling a lot better than before. The pain was still strong, but he at least could bear with it unlike before. His bleeding also stopped completely which was a good thing.
'Though my back still looks like Swiss cheese.' He laughed dryly as he finally stood up slowly.
"Hey, don't move too much. I don't have bandages to wrap it around your back." Hyun-Jae said with a serious tone.
The bag they brought along with them remained on the bike.
"It's fine. My back won't be a problem anymore. We need to focus on the mission." He said.
Hyun-Jae wanted to protest but she could only shake her head. Talon was too stubborn to listen to her.
"The station we will stop at is outside the university itself on the northern side near the entrance. It's a 30-second sprint if we hurry. From there, the research center is approximately 3000 meters east, near the science department building." Hyun-Jae explained.
"We don't know what could be inside or how many monsters infested the campus. So, we will have to improvise with every situation we find ourselves in. With everything we saw, it's safe to say that we should expect even the unexpected." She said with a dark tone.
The monsters Hyun-Jae witnessed prior were things that she never even imagined could exist. Things that were straight out of nightmares or horror movies.
What they heard on the radio was still vivid in her head.
"I know. It's going to be tough. But, I know we can pull it off. Just 3 kilometers."
"Mm... Let's hope for the best." Hyun-Jae nodded her head in agreement.
As the two were talking, Talon walked to the control panel and looked through the window. They were still inside the tunnel so it was pretty dark. The outside was very calm from what he could see and the speed of the metro was normal too.
"Hmm... Isn't this kind of odd?" Talon murmured.
"What's weird?" Hyun-Jae asked.
"I don't know. I feel rather uneasy. Can't you feel it?" Talon asked.
As Talon was about to turn around and speak to Hyun-Jae directly, his eyes suddenly caught something in the far distance. Something that made his eyes widen to the extreme.
Just a few hundred meters ahead on the rails, Talon saw a giant creature that was closing the entire tunnel.
Talon didn't even have time to identify what kind of creatures it was as the metro reached it the next second.
"Crouch, now!!" He yelled as his instinct kicked in and he rushed toward Hyun-Jae and Acrypha, grabbing them by the hands before he pulled them closer to him and jumped.
*BOOOOM*
The metro hit the creature at full speed, piercing its abdomen as it continued moving in a frenzy. Inside, chaos ensued. The impact felt like a giant earthquake had shaken the metro as the trio smashed against the wall violently.
The front part of the metro was smashed in as bits and pieces of metal flew everywhere. The vehicle was completely diverted out of its path, smashing into the wall violently. Rocks and debris fell down like rain as the metro continued moving.
A noisy screeching sound filled Talon and the two girls' ears.
A few seconds passed before the metro finally stopped as it dug deep into the tunnel's walls. The rest of the vehicle followed suit, hitting the cockpit from behind.
The trio were thrown like ragdolls to the other side before they also stopped.
"Cough! Cough! Agh!! Are you ok?!" Talon asked as he looked down. Hyun-Jae and Acrypha were lying next to him.
"I'm fine... Cough!!" Turning to the side, Hyun-Jae groaned slightly. Luckily, because their bodies were stronger than normal and because Talon was able to react in time, the impact didn't injure them too badly.
However, the shock from the hit and the realization that the train had just crashed was still a disaster.
'What the fuck did it hit?!' Talon's eyes shifted to the side to look outside. What he saw made his jaw drop and his heart stopped beating for a second.
(A//N: Thanks for everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )