track #02 in gwyneth thalia anderson

itzy // domino

I HUFF loudly as we all wait for Eunice in the basement. Cadence got home just a few minutes ago, and we expected the meeting to be able to start; but Zoey and Aiden reported that Eunice's gone out, and now all of us have to wait for her in order for the meeting to start.

After waiting for what seems like an hour, my best friend appears in the stairwell leading to the foyer, panting. I sigh and gesture towards the table.

"Sorry for making y'all wait," she says before jogging down the stairs quickly and taking a seat next to Zoey at our now small table.

We call the meeting to order, and Cadence starts talking right away.

"As you have all seen from the video, Byrok is right at the borders waiting for us to take one wrong step, and the entire world would be in peril. In order to stop that, we need a plan. And quickly too. We've talked about it already, and Gwyneth has come up with the drafts of a personal mission for everyone."

I smile as she gestures for me to take over. "Yeah. I know we're all busy with schoolwork and there's a lot for everyone to do over the holidays – like homework and practical assignments. We have to supposedly save the world, but we can't handle getting kicked out of college, right?" I ask jokingly, chuckling. "Which is why I've designed a personal mission for everyone."

"First, Eunice. You told me you'll just have to catch up on a few assignments and practice that routine for a recital. There's a sports center near the City Square – the small one, not the town one. You can go there and practice – and do the rest of your work at home. You would be able to see the border from a distance."

"Zey and Cady – you two are the silent activities ones. So as we've discussed, you guys should head to the library and do your work. Use not the reading rooms, but the desks near the windows that face the border and the mountains. I'll join you there most of the time to do my psych online lecture things."

"Trissy – Aurore gave us this house, so the wiring may be ear-tapped by Rochbok. You should probably head to a café or something with Ava to code and finish your startup business, so Rochbok can't track you with the internet. Pay attention to any suspicious things; pretend to be coding most of the time when actually hacking Rochbok's system. Try to find loopholes and prevent them tracking our phones, too," he nods, and I reference my notes for the last ones.

"Aiden. You said you wanted to go work that crediting part-time job with Anson, so you can just go to the bank. No specific mission for you, same as the first part of what I said for Trissy. And Kun, just... I don't know, walk on the streets and update us on the Byrok patrolling soldiers. Disguise yourself too. Since you don't have much work."

Everyone nods in understanding, and my phone beeps – again. This time, I don't bother excusing myself to answer. I can trust everyone in this room to help me if it's something bad – then again, it's an unknown number, so what could it be? I sigh and press the green "accept" button, and a female voice rings through the speakers.

"Gwyneth Anderson? Your mom, Mrs Angela Anderson-Barlowe, is with us. Please pay a ransome of two thousand billion dollars in order to..."

Everything I heard ringing through my ears – the silent warnings, the blaring alarms – is gone – my whole world is falling apart. I was right. We were too late, and now my mom's been taken too.

Beep.

The kidnapper hung up. One of James' accomplices.

I sit there staring blankly at the wall, my phone dropping to the table, as Zoey takes the notebook from me and starts scribbling something down in concentration.

Both my parents have been taken because of me. And I can't pay any more ransome either.

"Should we just... surrender?" Aiden asks tentatively, shrugging. He's been known for being logical and sometimes blunt with his words, so it doesn't shock me much when he says it.

Cadence slaps him on the shoulder, whispering something into his ear. "Wrong time, idiot. Plus, of course not! We can't afford that."

"Well, we surely can't afford the entire Adelaide Woods going down in flames," retaliates Aiden, pointing out the logic. "If we don't surrender, they'll just do something to Gwyneth's parents and Natalia, and if they don't get what they want either way, the bombs will hit somewhere – this time not a tree, Cadence."

"Don't you think I put that into consideration? I'm only saying that because what we do doesn't even matter anymore. James has an army placed right in front of the border. They can attack at any time. They're the ones controlling everything, sadly. And look at Gwyn. Have a heart, dude." Cadence argues, looking to Eunice for help.

"Cadence's right, Aiden. Can't you see what a state Gwyneth is in? We can discuss later-" Eunice starts, quickly stopping herself at the word 'later', but it's too late.

"What later?" he retorts. "We said we'd 'discuss later' last time, and now look what it has done. You guys just refused to accept it – there was always something wrong with Byrok. If we had just given them the stupid passcode when we saw the news that Aurore was preparing their weapons, Gwyneth's dad would be back and nothing would have happened! It's been three days. Almost four. If we don't do anything soon, much worse will happen," he repeats, sighing.

"I agree..?" offers Tristan. "But it's too late to give the passcode. They're offering a ransome of two thousand billion for Gwyn's mom. The stupid code is of no use to them already since they've already taken control of Aurore and technically everything we have under them, so the passcode and even this house no longer belong to us. It's just a matter of time before they're here for real. We can't keep delaying this. Let that sink in."

"Judging by what we've seen, James has probably got a rich accomplice," says Zoey. "He's been in jail for years – how could he possibly have gotten to the Adelaide Woods again?"

Cadence exhales. "I agree. They must have paid for everything or might even have bribed the Aurore people. The Natalia I know wouldn't have given up so easily. Besides, he probably told Gwyn's dad that if he didn't use Gwyn's info for Aurore, then he'd kill her mom or something. And look what that brought us – a broken promise and an army looming over our borders."

Kunboss looks at us. "Look, I understand that you want to let everything just be over for once, and I do too. But the problem is, we can't. As Tris said, we barely have money that's not under Aurore or the government, let alone two thousand billion. I'm sorry to say this, but we might have to make sacrifices for the greater good."

At this, I look up in disbelief and disdain, staring into Kunboss' eyes, my own brown orbs burning flames and holes into his.

"What sacrifices? What greater good?" I question, sarcasm and anger dripping from my voice. "Do you want me to just not give a damn about my parents' lives? I've already been such a bad and ungrateful daughter. What would they think of me if they knew I was giving up on them? Even so, James won't be the one to give up first. If we don't save my parents now, they'll still open fire. And both my parents and yours – and the families of everyone here – will burn as the Adelaide Woods goes up in flames. Not an option, Bailey," I snap fiercely, using Kunboss' last name without his first for the first time in eighteen years.

Everything goes silent except for my own voice resonating in the basement as I stand up and kick my chair loudly into the table under me with rage.

"It's a domino effect. If we fall, they fall too. And if they fall, we all fall. Do you want that? The Adelaide Woods is in peril. We're supposed to depend on each other, Kun. You can't expect me to just watch them die, expecting my own death minutes after that. If so, I'm sorry, but I can't meet your expectations for a so-called best friend. I'm going back to my room. Bye."

As I march up the stairs, internally cursing at Kunboss for even suggesting that, every step of mine slapping against the cold, carpeted steps, I hear voices yelling and arguing in the basement – no doubt Eunice, Zoey, Cadence, and Tristan arguing against Aiden and Kunboss.

I don't turn back, but instead, let my mad, mourning feet take me back to my icy-blue room, slamming the door shut with a bang and letting the darkness claim me. 

– a/n: they fought! who do you think is right? this is one of the themes i want to emphasise in fleeting decisions - making sacrifices or choosing for selfishness?

well i guess it's different considering they're gwyn's parents...