Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

He stayed by my side all these years.

Damien and Eason were violently knocking on the tiles, trying to get Joel out.

However, I couldn’t pry them open, and neither could they.

Zion knelt on the floor, his hands covered in blood. His fingers were still in the gap in the floor tiles, adamant about getting them open. He screamed and struggled in despair. My numbed senses seemed to have gradually sharpened.

This was what despair felt like.

I knew it for a fact-this was despair.

"The first person who triggers the destructive mechanism can get out of here alive. The price being... everyone else will end up dead," the creepy voice said once again.

I instinctively looked toward the far end. Taylor, who was usually unnoticeable, had already run to the end of the hall without us knowing.

He stared at the red button on the wall. Then, he turned to look at us with a shaky gaze.

"Press it and the exit will appear," the voice said, tempting him to press it.

Everyone held their breath and stared cautiously at Taylor.

He shook his head, sobbing. "I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m too afraid. I want to leave. I’m so sorry..."

This was human nature-sacrificing everyone else was a valid option if it meant one could live.

"Taylor!" Quinn screamed his name while crying.

But he pressed the button anyway.

"I know I’ve made mistakes in the past, but I’ve corrected them," Taylor cried, shaking his head. "I’ve been doing endless good deeds these last few years in order to make up for my mistakes."

He continued, "I know I shouldn’t have left Dexter and Simmy to fend for themselves during the fire, but what choice did I have...

"I wasn’t as strong as them. I just wanted to live. Where’s the fault in that? All these years, I’ve worked hard at my job in order to live life like a regular person. Why was I brought to a place like this? Why?" He screamed and cried in agony. Subsequently, he bolted for the exit without hesitation as soon as it appeared.

"Autonomous device, on."

Just as Dexter grabbed my hand and wanted to escape, a metal barricade dropped down where the exit was. We were all trapped inside. There was no way out.

Behind us, the lights dimmed. Countless red sensor beams were aimed directly at each and every one of our foreheads and chests.

I knew for a fact that there were multiple machine guns being operated in the dark.

There was nowhere to run or hide.

"Let’s play a game." The creepy girl reappeared in the dark.

She smiled at me and said, "Sophia, between him and him, only one can stay alive. It’s your pick. I’ll give you 20 seconds."

She was pointing at Dexter and Damien. She wanted me to pick one survivor between them.

My entire body was shaking as I clenched my fists. An impulse to destroy everything was brewing from my anger.

I shot a furious look in the direction of the camera. "I’m going to kill you..."

"I’m helping you out, Sophia. I’m

helping you figure out where your heart lies," the little girl said with

smile. "Don’t you want to know if you love Dexter or Damien?"

"Counting down-20... 19, 18, 17..."

Neither Damien nor Dexter spoke. They just stared at me in silence.

I knew that they were also waiting for my decision.

I lifted the ax and swung it down onto the projector.

"How dare you tell me what to do," I said in a low voice.

Before the countdown ended, I ran diagonally toward the wall in front. Stepping off the wall at the side, I jumped up and tore the infrared sensor down. I smashed it on the ground.

Eason pulled Zion and Quinn out of the way and promptly moved away from their original position.

Dexter and Damien quickly stepped aside as well.

The machine guns started shooting in the pre-aimed direction. Without the

answer, they could only firee 1.9

around blind and aimlessly,

"Sophia." Amidst the chaos, Dexter found the switch for the metal barricade.

He guided me away from the line of fire as we escaped.

"Sophia!" Damien had also gotten out. He wanted to reach for my hand, but Dexter quickly pulled it away.

Breathing rapidly, he hugged me and shot a provocative gaze at Damien.

"I’d like to know as well, Sophia," he said. "Who would you pick between me and Damien..."

Furious, Damien glared at him. "Are you crazy? We don’t have time for this. Go!"

Dragging a dazed Zion in one hand and a shocked Quinn in another, Eason also headed for the exit.

Juliet, on the other hand, was extremely lucky to be alive.

Damien had to guarantee her safety in order to find out about the Genome Society’s secrets.

I couldn’t believe she made it to the 14th floor.

"Would you pick me, Sophia?" Like an upset child, Dexter asked stubbornly with his red eyes.

Damien leaned on the wall at the side like he was injured.

"Damien..." Juliet called out his name nervously.

I lifted my head and looked at him. His gaze was fixated on me. It looked like he wanted to know my answer as well.

"Let’s hurry. Damien is hurt." Juliet looked at me angrily as though I was the one prompting this argument.

I looked back at Dexter and asked quizzically, "Why wouldn’t I pick you? You’re my legal husband."

Dexter froze for a moment before his eyes lit up.

He looked toward Damien as if to gloat, the triumph evident in his expression.

Damien’s fists tightened, and his expression seemed to have paled slightly.

"You heard her. She only picked you because of the marriage certificate." He scoffed.

"We’re not getting a divorce," he declared gleefully while hugging me.

He didn’t look like someone who almost died at all.

I felt a bit numb. I stared at Dexter with furrowed brows but remained silent.

Seeming to notice the shift in my mood, Damien said, "Violette was her best friend. Joel was one of your people as well. Is this all you care about when they just died down there? How cold-hearted do you have to be? What a lunatic."

He was trying to cause a rift between us as Zion’s emotions were also suppressed to their limit.

At the side, Quinn was still crying. Everyone was submerged in sadness, including myself.

Eason opened his mouth to speak but ultimately chose to remain silent as well.

This time, no one was on Dexter’s side.

Dexter did seem like he wasn’t sad about the situation at all, though.

"He’s actually a lunatic. What a heartless monster," Juliet berated him.

Dexter glanced at Damien.

"Carol... is gone. Joel and Violette are also gone," Quinn sobbed out the words. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Everyone’s sadness peaked after her words.

They all stared at Dexter who didn’t appear visibly upset.

In that split moment, I felt the prejudice that was cast upon Sophia back then.

It was as if not knowing how to express sadness made you a monster.

"Let’s go..." Eason broke the awkwardness and tried to get everyone to leave.

Dexter turned to look at me again. It looked

Did he deserve to be discriminated against or berated just because he wasn’t collectively in despair?

He might not care about what the rest thought, but he cared about my opinion.

I didn’t offer any words of comfort, but I tightened my grip on his hand.

"Do you really not care about Joel’s life, Dexter?" Eason, however, suddenly asked.

"I only care about Sophia." Dexter seemed like he was upset as he pulled me into his chest.

He should’ve known what the others would think of him if he said things like that.

"Ha... What an actual lunatic," Juliet mocked before reaching for Damien’s arm and turning to leave.

He shouldn’t even say anything out of spite.

Faced with accusations and those who disagreed with you, any form of explanation was pointless.