track #02 in tristan william hale

stray kids // thunderous

I NOD at the screen that shows Atlas' face as he teaches me how to connect the hoverhouse to World Database and disconnect it from the local internet, so Byrok doesn't manage to track us. He tells me to unplug some wires that are connected to the internet system, and I follow his instructions before connecting my computer to the floor outlet and inputting the code he sent me.

The green words rolled by on the black background - I understood those words for once. It was like the human world never made perfect sense to me. The alien language which people would scrunch their eyebrows at - the world where that language was spoken was where I belonged.

"Here. Should work now," he says, and I thank him again. "Go offline to try it once. I'll play white-cap hacker."

I try it - and sure enough, we're off the map on the local internet.

tristhebetterhale: it works now thanks

at_lasss: no problem contact me if there's anything wrong :) happy to help

I exit my room, still holding the laptop in one hand, to tell Gwyneth the good news, but find her seated at the kitchen island talking to her mother while Zoey cooks dinner, and I slide in opposite her, flipping the laptop open to show them the screen with the internet map on it.

"It works," I say as she sighs in relief at the presence - or better, the lack thereof. "Atlas said we just need to delete the home-based WiFi and use the Database one, and it'll work for phones too. It won't be as speedy as the original networks, but it's better than being tracked," I explain, taking my own phone out to show her. 

"Also, I find that the smart trap doors are connected to Byrok too. We can't use them anymore. Convenience just flew all the way out the door," I say, immediately typing a few lines of code to shut down the trap doors for good.

She sighs. "Better get Mom a phone too. Now that we're off the radar, we should probably resume missions-" Gwyneth trails off in the middle of her sentence, thinking about something.

"Kun." she utters only  one word, but I immediately understand the internal conflict she's facing. "Should we let him back?"

I shrug. "It does look like he's up to no good, but he should be back at the seaside very soon. If he doesn't see us there and we don't reply to his messages, he's going to suspect something. Plus, if it's a red herring, he might be the only one tracked by Byrok. Like when your parents were kidnapped and Anson's death against you and Aiden respectively - this might be when something happens to Kunboss."

Gwyneth bites her lip. "I'm still mad at him, but in no way would I want him to suffer like we did. He may have done something wrong, but in my heart he's still my best friend. I believe he'll repent. Let's not put him through that torture."

"You sure?" I ask again.

She nods. "If you don't do it, I'll get anxious too."

"Okay," I say, sending our location to my ex-friend through group chat. Gwyneth may be able to forgive him easily, but I can't. He used to gain all my respect at school (and even as one of my closest friends)for being kind, understanding, and hardworking - but now that I've seen his true colors, all that admiration and happiness I felt for him as my friend is gone. But if Gwyneth - the one he's hurt the most - wants to give him another chance to repent, then I won't complain. Let's see.

Zoey serves dinner before sitting down beside Gwyneth and opposite Mrs. Anderson.

"Thank you, Zoey," Gwyneth's mom says before digging into the rice with deep-fried pork chops Zoey has made.

"Everything aside, how did you even manage to escape," asks Gwyneth with her mouth full of curry. "Isn't it closely monitored?"

Gwyneth's mom smiles. "Long story. Basically, they decided I wasn't that important. The soldiers who took care of me weren't even very loyal to James - they talked about how horrible of a person he was on breaks, and even carelessly drank beer during their shifts. They got drunk and I slipped out in the middle of the night before the sun rose."

With hope laced in her voice, Zoey pipes up. "Does that mean we can save Uncle Tommy and Natalia too? I mean, if it's that easy to get in and out-"

Gwyneth's mom shakes her head in despair. "They're using the highest level of Rochbok soldiers for those two. I'd say it's impossible."

"Mrs Anderson, but what about our missions? Does monitoring the border even have any use?" I ask. "We don't want the bombs to hit, but if we don't do anything, they'll come anyway."

"Call me Angela, Tristan. I already told you," she says. "Actually, I'm not really sure. But I guess it's better than nothing. If you want the best results, maybe you should go and negotiate."

Gwyneth cuts in. "I'll do anything to save Dad."

Angela scoffs. "Sweetie, that doesn't count when anything isn't a valid method," and I hold back a laugh of my own as Gwyneth pouts and Zoey smiles.

"But-"

"No buts. Do you not think I want to save my own husband?" she says sarcastically, and this time, I snort loudly, not even caring about my self-dignity at this point.

"If you don't mind, what was it like? Did you manage to overhear anything or know who to look out for except for those black-clad people and James?" asks Zoey, already ever so calm and recovered from laughter.

"In fact, I did," replies Angela, smiling warmly. "There's this woman whom they address as Miss Henderson - she's James' wife. From what I've gathered so far, she's the mastermind of the plan and helped break him out from jail. Also, she's not a Byrok native - her accent is different."

"That'll help a lot," I say, immediately searching for the name Henderson on the internet, but come up empty. "Oh."

"'Keep on talking, we don't play by the rules' is apparently their slogan, taken from this song," she starts again, and Gwyneth writes it down in one of her notebooks quickly.

Zoey finishes the rest of her food and heads to the sink to wash up, talking as she scrubs her plate with dish soap. "Is there really no other way?" she says.

"Probably not," Gwyneth says, carrying her plate to the sink too. "I don't really think they can wait any longer though - how long do we have before they'll open fire?"

"Not sure," Angela says. "They want to wait it out until you start getting anxious and surrender - but if I know you guys, I'm pretty sure you won't, will you?"

I shake my head, scooping up the rest of my food and chewing. "We were arguing about that earlier too. But my point is that it's too late to surrender anyways. They won't want the passcode anymore - they only want money. And they're already at the borders - they can attack any time. Us surrendering won't do anything but prove their power."

The sink turns off as Gwyneth dries her hands and I make my way towards it with my own plate, turning on the water again, earning a frown from her, and shrugging.

"I don't know if it's just me, but we should probably go talk to James or something," Zoey suggests tentatively.

"Do you think James would take that, though?" I ask. "He always plays dirty and isn't sorry for it."

All the small talk stops as the door cracks open to reveal an angry Kunboss with his face almost as red as a tomato. "I hate- Oh, hi, Aunt Angela."

He shoots us a look that visibly says 'we need to talk' before storming up the stairs in a rage, and Gwyneth and I exchange worried glances.

Zoey chuckles awkwardly. "It's a bit cold here. Uh, good night! I'll probably go check up on Kun," she says before sprinting up the stairs in pursuit of Kunboss.

"She's right. It is kinda freezing," Gwyneth says, walking towards the thermostat on the wall and turning the heating on.

"Stop," I say and turn the heating back off. She looks at me with arms crossed. "What?" I ask. "If you turn it on it'll burn instead of freeze - and it isn't even that cold."

"Bad pun, Trissy," she says, trying to make her way past me to turn it back on, but I continue.

"We'll burn to death otherwise."

We both double over laughing from the bad joke I made, but suddenly she brightens up with what seems like a nice idea, and a bad feeling rises in my chest, all while her mom is looking at us like we're lunatics.

Before she can say anything, I cut her off.

"Freezing cold but I know we'll burn forever," I quote wistfully.

"What the heck is that?" she asks, still trying to turn it on.

"Lyrics. If you're cold, wear a jacket," I say, blocking her from the thermostat.

Gwyneth huffs and storms towards her room jokingly, and I yell after her. "It's cold, but the PASSION in us will BURN forever!"

She yells back, "You finally admitted it was cold?" Halfway up the stairs, she turns and shows me a thumbs down. 

– a/n: ngl this was a quite fun chapter to write :)