rammed his way inside the prison cell. Now they were both together, and I thought to myself, Got you .
I smashed my foot against the plate they had given me. It shattered into a thousand pieces, but also left behind a clear shard in place.
I grabbed shard, swinging my hands upward, and sending the fragment straight into Hyun-jun’s arm, dislodging the gun for my mouth. I kicked my legs upwards, straight against Oh-seong’s foot—he came straight at me, full force. The shard still in my hand, I waited for his chin to come close and then—
“Jesus Christ,” he said, ducking away. He held onto Hyun-jun, who gripped his forearm. The gun lay on the ground, and I squeezed my legs and pulled my feet and underneath my ass. Now I had my very own AMT Hardballer.
I held it tight in my grip, and then clicked for a shot.
Oh-seong laughed.
“It’s empty,” I said. “You don’t keep any bullets for your prisoners?”
“I would never keep a lethal weapon near you,” Oh-seong said. He ground the rest of the plate fragments up with the sole of his boot. “What you think this is? The movies?”
It was worth a try.
I closed my eyes, waiting for them to disappear. They hung around the edge of my prison gate for a while.
And I wondered just how long I would have to wait until I could get out.
♥♥♥
In my dreams, I imagined…
A beautiful woman. And she was not Korean.
PART II
JONG-SOO
“Jong-soo?”
I opened my eyes. What day was it?
It didn’t matter too much. I was in prison. Stuck under the watch of the Twin Swords.
If anything, I could tell summer had come. Humidity slicked over the bars. In the air hung a stickiness, as if I had just woken up in the middle of a shower.
A jutting pain stabbed underneath my rib cage.
An ache sprawled across from underneath my heart, digging into my lungs, stretching down into my knees. Going across my stomach, several nicks and cuts that I had no idea about. Slashes into my skin, unknown pains had not paid attention to before.
I didn’t have the time to.
My mind was completely consumed with getting out. The last plan I tried did not work. What I had been aiming for, I wasn’t sure anymore, but I liked the fact that I hurt Hyun-jun. It sent a message at least.
Sleeping in prison had gotten kind of strange.
You sort of woke up and then drifted back.
There wasn’t really any time to have deep meditation, dreams. My body wouldn’t allow it. Constant adrenaline kept me alive but also awake.
Frustrating.
The entire ordeal could not be more frustrating.
I made a fist, trying to break off the chains wrapping my wrists together. But, of course, no dice. I would be stuck there for a long time more. I glanced about the prison cell, staring at the cement near the ceiling, the way the bars thinned out like a mirage and then suddenly thickened, becoming tree-trunk wide.
Hallucinations were common now.
Lights appeared at the sides of my eyes, like auroras at the northern poles, deep purples and teals swirling about my face.
Sometimes I reached out to grab the lights, but I could not touch anything physical.
Just illusions, my brain trying to give itself something to do.
I was glad at least that my brain still functioned. They had not damaged me enough to make me stupid.
Still alive, I could think about life on the outside.
And what was happening.
The news would swirl about me. Rumors sprawling across the land. I wondered what the Double Dragons were up to now. And if anyone was in control.
I figured someone had to be leading them. Maybe that’s why the Twin Swords wanted to keep me alive. I had some sort of valuable “in” that they did not. I had become a living trump card for them, possibly.
It was all speculation until I could receive some actual information though. Meditating on how to get out—much more
I smashed my foot against the plate they had given me. It shattered into a thousand pieces, but also left behind a clear shard in place.
I grabbed shard, swinging my hands upward, and sending the fragment straight into Hyun-jun’s arm, dislodging the gun for my mouth. I kicked my legs upwards, straight against Oh-seong’s foot—he came straight at me, full force. The shard still in my hand, I waited for his chin to come close and then—
“Jesus Christ,” he said, ducking away. He held onto Hyun-jun, who gripped his forearm. The gun lay on the ground, and I squeezed my legs and pulled my feet and underneath my ass. Now I had my very own AMT Hardballer.
I held it tight in my grip, and then clicked for a shot.
Oh-seong laughed.
“It’s empty,” I said. “You don’t keep any bullets for your prisoners?”
“I would never keep a lethal weapon near you,” Oh-seong said. He ground the rest of the plate fragments up with the sole of his boot. “What you think this is? The movies?”
It was worth a try.
I closed my eyes, waiting for them to disappear. They hung around the edge of my prison gate for a while.
And I wondered just how long I would have to wait until I could get out.
♥♥♥
In my dreams, I imagined…
A beautiful woman. And she was not Korean.
PART II
JONG-SOO
“Jong-soo?”
I opened my eyes. What day was it?
It didn’t matter too much. I was in prison. Stuck under the watch of the Twin Swords.
If anything, I could tell summer had come. Humidity slicked over the bars. In the air hung a stickiness, as if I had just woken up in the middle of a shower.
A jutting pain stabbed underneath my rib cage.
An ache sprawled across from underneath my heart, digging into my lungs, stretching down into my knees. Going across my stomach, several nicks and cuts that I had no idea about. Slashes into my skin, unknown pains had not paid attention to before.
I didn’t have the time to.
My mind was completely consumed with getting out. The last plan I tried did not work. What I had been aiming for, I wasn’t sure anymore, but I liked the fact that I hurt Hyun-jun. It sent a message at least.
Sleeping in prison had gotten kind of strange.
You sort of woke up and then drifted back.
There wasn’t really any time to have deep meditation, dreams. My body wouldn’t allow it. Constant adrenaline kept me alive but also awake.
Frustrating.
The entire ordeal could not be more frustrating.
I made a fist, trying to break off the chains wrapping my wrists together. But, of course, no dice. I would be stuck there for a long time more. I glanced about the prison cell, staring at the cement near the ceiling, the way the bars thinned out like a mirage and then suddenly thickened, becoming tree-trunk wide.
Hallucinations were common now.
Lights appeared at the sides of my eyes, like auroras at the northern poles, deep purples and teals swirling about my face.
Sometimes I reached out to grab the lights, but I could not touch anything physical.
Just illusions, my brain trying to give itself something to do.
I was glad at least that my brain still functioned. They had not damaged me enough to make me stupid.
Still alive, I could think about life on the outside.
And what was happening.
The news would swirl about me. Rumors sprawling across the land. I wondered what the Double Dragons were up to now. And if anyone was in control.
I figured someone had to be leading them. Maybe that’s why the Twin Swords wanted to keep me alive. I had some sort of valuable “in” that they did not. I had become a living trump card for them, possibly.
It was all speculation until I could receive some actual information though. Meditating on how to get out—much more
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