Darin scanned the barren horizon. Not a single tower, not a building, not a whisper of life. Her stomach knotted, pulse spiking, hands clenching the edge of her pack.
A cold unease curled in her stomach. She opened her mouth to call, "Hyung–"
...
An engine roar tore through the silence, the gravel started to rattle, air vibrating with their approach.
Dust blurred the horizon. Kangwoo and Darin stood in the center of the cracked road, their motorcycle tipped on its stand. The sound came from the west, a straight mile of empty asphalt.
"Get down."
Kangwoo ripped off his helmet and drew a metal bat from the bag.
Three bikers tore through the dust, tires spitting gravel, helmets glinting in the sunlight.
On the back of each jacket, a jagged emblem flashed, a wolf's jaw split clean down the middle, fangs pointing outward like broken blades.
Their weapons raised, coming at high speed.
"I SAID GET DOWN!"
Kangwoo flung his helmet low and hard across the asphalt. The lead biker's wheel clipped the helmet, making the bike wobble violently, and the rider pitched forward, crashing hard into the cracked road with a gut-punching THUD.
Darin stumbled backward toward the motorcycle, the machine now a half-toppled barricade, as the second rider swerved in, leaned forward, metal pipe lifted high, ready to swing.
Kangwoo planted his feet, body coiled, hands gripping the bat tight. He pivoted on his back foot, the perfect follow-through of a slugger, then swung with every ounce of strength.
CRACK!
The impact reverberated through his arms. Both he and the rider lurched off-balance. The thug's helmet exploded under the bat's force. Shock ripped up his arm. The rider crumpled, rolling across gravel. The bat skittered free. Kangwoo's back hit the asphalt. His shoulder throbbed as he groaned in pain.
Behind him, Darin pressed against the half-toppled bike. The third biker surged forward, weapon raised, aiming straight for her head– It arched like a scythe, like death coming for her. She ducked just in time.
POP! The helmet cracked, sending sharp vibrations rattling her skull. The world tipped as the force flung her backward. Gravel tore at her arms, her ankle twisted painfully. Her head spun, ears ringing, the metallic scent of blood thick in her nose, vision blurring into white-hot streaks.
"DARIN!" Kangwoo called out for her.
"Hyung…" Barely able to lift her head, she mumbled.
The third biker blocked her view, he kicked the stand of his bike. Dust and gravel spat out from the tires, lingering across the cracked road. Sunlight gleamed off the crowbar in his hand as he advanced toward her.
Behind him was Kangwoo, who staggered to his feet, holding his shoulder in place.
The world blurred out from her perspective as it went pitch black. Her last thought before the darkness swallowed her was Kangwoo's voice, strained and desperate.
Kangwoo's gaze flicked to his metal bat, now far from his reach. Then quickly turned back to the biker. The biker had already lifted his crowbar, aiming at the unconscious Darin.