Hongbin felt his heart stop the moment the words left the vet's mouth. He hastily shoved the others out of his way as he climbed into the back of the Kia, crouching next to Hakyeon who finally took his gloved hands off of the blood soaked towels pressed to Hyuk's back. The younger shook his head in denial when he saw how deathly pale Hyuk's face was, and his hand trembled as he brought two fingers to his friend's throat. When he didn't feel a pulse, his heart started to pound in panic.

"N-no." Hongbin stuttered as tears filled his eyes. 

"I'm sorry," Hakyeon said numbly, looking away from the body.

"No." Hongbin repeated, his voice suddenly filled with determination. "No, he's not dying today." Pushing Hakyeon aside, he straddled the stretcher the same way the vet did, and a soft buzzing sound filled the room.

"What are you doing?" Hakyeon asked, apprehensively putting a hand on Hongbin's shoulder. Ignoring the elder, Hongbin undid the straps and moved Hyuk's body so the upper half of his torso was lying flat on his back. 

Hongbin hovered his hand over Hyuk's still chest, and yelled, "Clear!"

Hakyeon reflexively withdrew his hand from the younger's shoulder as the cyborg's hand came into contact with Hyuk's chest. The body arched as electricity flowed through it, and then it collapsed back to the board when Hongbin removed his hand. His eyes scanned Hyuk's serene face, searching for any sign of life. Seeing none, he placed his buzzing hand back onto the still chest.

Come on, Hyuk! Hongbin shouted internally. You're not leaving like this! Not after all you've done for me!

Visions of Hyuk started flashing through his head. Hyuk smiling at him when he brought the steaming spaghetti to the dinner table. Hyuk tossing the antibiotic ointment and t-shirt to him with caution after he had electrocuted him, which he still feels like he hasn't apologized enough for. Hyuk's eyes lighting up when he made Hongbin laugh at something he had said. And what did Hongbin do in return? Nothing! Absolutely NOTHING!

"Stop it, Hongbin!" Jaehwan shouted at the younger when he brought his hand down for the fifth time. Hearing the words, Hongbin lifted his hand, and stared at Hyuk's pale face panting and sweating from his efforts. Knowing that he had failed, he turned to move off of his dead friend. But when a deep intake of breath came from underneath him, he whipped back around hope filling him once again.

"Huuuuughhhhh!" Hyuk gasped, eyes fluttering open, and he proceeded into a coughing fit after filling his lungs with the cool garage air.

"Hyuk!" Hongbin cried joyfully, relieved to see him moving again. He was about to lean down and give the injured man a tight hug when Hakyeon grabbed the back of his shirt collar, then practically threw the cyborg out of the vehicle, who let out a breathy oomf! as he landed on the concrete floor. The vet quickly repositioned Hyuk so he could resume putting pressure on the wound.

"Wonsik, start the car!" Hakyeon ordered.

"But," Wonsik said, hesitating. "What if they're still out there?"

"They're always going to be 'still out there'!" Hakyeon snapped back over his shoulder, glaring at the musician. "Let's just hope they're far enough away so we can sneak out of here, and get Hyuk to a God damn hospital!"

Silenced by the older's angry outburst, Wonsik did as he was told. Leo lifted up the garage door with Hongbin helping to open it faster, and Jaehwan closed the hatch and switched off the garage lights before returning to his seat. The second the other two slipped back into their seats in the Kia, Wonsik turned the headlights on then thought better of it and turned them back off.

"Why'd you turn them off?" Hongbin questioned.

"Because," Wonsik answered as he slowly eased the car out of the garage, "If we want to get out of here without 'them' finding us, the last thing we want to do is shine a bright light in the middle of the night like a beacon screaming 'Here we are, come get us!'."

"Oh."

When they reached the end of the driveway Wonsik stopped the car, and all of their heads turned back and forth as they glanced in both directions down the gravel road, searching for the headlights of the black SUV. Seeing nothing, Wonsik backed onto the road, and started driving slowly in the direction they came from. He couldn't go much faster than 20 mph since he was driving blind through the dark due to the absence of his headlights. The only light that illuminated the road was the soft glow of the full moon in the sky above. Black silhouettes of trees bordered the sides of the pale moonlit road, giving it an eerie feel. But soon the trees disappeared as they finally reached the open rice field, allowing the moon's light to fall unobstructed on their path that also gave Wonsik a clearer view. 

Wonsik finally turned the headlights on when he pulled onto the paved road that led to the city of Seoul waiting for them a half an hour away in the distance. At least, it would be if a person drove the speed limit, which he was not doing. He ignored the signs saying Speed Limit 55, and kept the vehicle moving at a steady 80 mph. The group remained silent during the drive, but when Hakyeon cursed under his breath it went unnoticed by everyone; except for Leo, who's wolf ears perked up at the sound.

"What's wrong?" Asked the wolf man turning around in his seat, and gaining the others' attention.

Hakyeon looked up and responded, "I can't see anything with this lighting. Wonsik, do you have a flashlight or something in here?" He saw the driver shake his head through the rearview mirror, and swore.

"Here," said Hongbin as he reached his hand over the back of his seat. Hakyeon's jaw dropped a little in astonishment when the center of Hongbin's palm lit up, making a perfect flashlight.

"Thanks," was all the vet could say, stunned by what the younger was doing. Silence fell on them once again, and it stayed like that for the rest of the twenty minute drive to the city.

~  ~  ~

When they entered the brightly lit streets of Seoul, Wonsik handed his cell phone to Jaehwan asking his boyfriend to find the nearest hospital. After a few minutes of searching on the digital device, he started directing Wonsik through the city. Three turns and seven stop lights later, the red Kia was pulling up to the glass doors of the emergency room at St. Paul's hospital. Hongbin jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped, and ran inside to get help. Leo tapped on Wonsik's shoulder, and the musician looked back at him raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"Hat?" Leo asked, pointing at his ears. He immediately understood what the other was asking, and reached across Jaehwan's lap to open the glove compartment. Wonsik withdrew a black beanie and tossed it to the wolf man, who was tucking his tail into the back of his pants. Just as Leo pulled the beanie over his ears, Hongbin returned with a group of people dressed in scrubs and white lab coats following close behind. Jaehwan sunk down in his seat at the sight of them, gripping his thighs tightly as if he was keeping himself from running away.

Hongbin opened the Kia's hatch, and Hakyeon got out explaining to the situation to the doctors.

"He has a gunshot wound in the back. I think the bullet pierced one of his lungs, I'm not sure. We had to use a vetmax stretcher from my animal clinic to m