Chapter 3.

Mark didn’t even hesitate, he just ran forward and kicked Taeyong in the chest. The boy flew back and Mark avoided being caught in the arms of Hansol, he kicked the other in the side and Hansol stumbled, but he didn’t fall. Taeyong was quick too, Mark didn’t even see the other coming and before he knew it he was taking a hit to the face and stomach and then he was pushed back.

  “You think you can fight me?” Taeyong asked. “I’ve been soft because I didn’t know if any of you could take it. But now that I know you’re Damned. I also know you can take a beating.”

Taeyong, no matter how much awe he felt for the Blue Eyed Damned, couldn’t control his anger either and this was one of the things why they were Damned. Mark raised his arms to protect his face and head when Taeyong kicked him while he lied on the ground. Hansol lifted him up by his collar and angrily stared at him with his red glowing eyes. Mark kicked out but Hansol didn’t let go of him and threw him into one of the wooden poles that held up the tent. Mark fell to the ground, coughing as his body ached and begged him to stop moving. Ten had heard him cry out in pain, but the other boys couldn’t see much other than the glowing eyes. It was dark outside and only a small candle was lit and it only made them look like shadows.

Mark pushed himself up but Taeyong kicked him in the abdomen and he collapsed. Mark wanted to tear Taeyong apart, but knew angering him more was stupid. So instead of getting up he kept his head to the ground. Taeyong growled.

  “Why aren’t you getting up?” He asked. “Get up!”

Mark looked up at him. “It’s no use angering you.” He spoke softly and Taeyong frowned.

  “What? Angering…” Then he silenced. “Oh , what did I do?” Mark’s eyes widened as Taeyong pulled him up. “Get some light in here.” He commanded and Mark frowned when he saw Ten quickly hurry right outside where a torch hung and take it inside to light up the other torches. Hansol took the torch from Ten and brought it back outside again. Jaehyun hurried over to help Taeyong with Mark. For a moment everyone was silent.

  “That’s one of our curses.” Hansol suddenly spoke. “We can’t control our anger and we are very aggressive.”

  “I can see that.” Said Johnny and Hansol looked at him, his eyes only slightly glowing in the dim lightning.

  “Emotions and feelings are very intense.” Taeyong said and Mark squinted his eyes when he noticed Taeyong glance at Ten, Ten looked away.

Mark nodded. “I can relate to that.”

Taeyong shook his head, Hansol too. “You’re in control of your feelings, in a way I have never seen.” Taeyong smiled. “You took a beating, no Damned would ever do that they would tear at the other until one of them died.”

Mark frowned. “You were testing me.”

Taeyong smiled and shrugged. “A little.”

Mark thought hard, so Taeyong was testing him, but he was also not in control and Mark was sure he had seen real anger in Taeyong’s glowing eyes. Even Taeyong, who thought through the situation and was cunning, was under the control of his feelings. This made Mark think even harder, and as Taeyong who was now a little cool, tried to make his captives feel comfortable, he sat down and just took time to think.

The Damned was controlled by their feelings and emotions and when you die and suddenly wake up again, wouldn’t you be full of fear? Fear makes you do odd things and the stories of the Damned waking up and acting crazy… maybe it was just because they were new and not in control of what they felt, so they just acted out as a baby would but with full power?

Mark looked at Hansol who was talking to Johnny with a slight smile. Jaehyun still sat with wide eyes and they followed Taeyong who walked around and spoke with Ten who interrogated him and snapped at him. Ten didn’t like Taeyong at all. Mark could understand that. Taeyong had acted like a creep, but if you felt desire, which often is strong, wouldn’t it devour you completely? There were people who couldn’t control that in the first place, and then if they become a Damned, they would forget themselves and their moralities. Mark noticed Taeyong submissively answer to Ten’s questions, but at times laugh which still sent a chill down Mark’s spine. They weren’t entirely good, but not entirely bad either.

Someone dropped down beside him and Mark sensed that it was Ten immediately. The way the person brushed his shoulder against Mark’s, and his arm was resting on Mark’s raised thigh. As if personal space was something the other didn’t know. It was a comfortable way to sit amongst family and close friends and no one in the tent had that relationship with Mark except Ten.

Ten fixed Mark’s bangs. “Your lip’s bleeding.” He pointed out with his finger almost touching it. Mark grabbed Ten’s hand and dropped their hands to rest upon his knee. He knew he looked bruised, but it had been a fight that proved who he was and all his fighting had proved to Taeyong and Hansol that he was something more than just a weak boy. Mark had only fought when learning to fight and protect himself against a wrou, and his father had taught him that until the day he passed.

Mark felt a heavy sorrow fall upon him, it was hard to keep his tears from falling. It was a long time ago, still now it felt like yesterday. Mark tried to stop his train of thought from reaching to the point where he would definitely not be able to stop himself from crying.

The day his mom gave into the decease and stopped breathing.

Ten gripped his hand hard, and Mark gasped in pain, but he knew it was Ten’s way to distract him. Mark looked over at Ten who’s gaze wasn’t on him in that moment. “Don’t cry.” Ten muttered and his eyes scanned the room before landing on him. Mark looked for comfort in the other’s dark eyes and found it. He exhaled deeply and breathed in shakily, dropping his forehead to rest on Ten’s shoulder. Ten was all he had left from his past life. A new one began and he’d have to accept and adapt.

Taeyong told Hansol to stay before leaving. Mark stood and Hansol immediately spun around to face him. Mark couldn’t help but smirk, but instead he went over to Jaehyun and Johnny, taking a seat in front of them. Ten followed suit.

  “You’re from the 5^th clan.” Mark started and the boys nodded. “I owe you an apology, for bringing you in danger. If I’d said something sooner or let myself get caught you wouldn’t have been brought here.”

Johnny nodded, but Jaehyun was squinting. “We were meant to be brought here with you.” He said, voice full of wonder as if he couldn’t quite understand why. “We in the 5^th clan have learned that trying to go in the opposite way of the flow will only tire you out and you’ll drown. You will have to use the flow to maneuver yourself to where you want to go, or where you can go.”

Johnny nodded, breathing in, signaling to Jaehyun that he would continue. The other looked up at him, letting the other speak. “The river is our symbol, our way of life. Like the trees are yours.”

  “The higher you go, the bigger the fall.” Ten muttered and Mark nodded.

  “The flow is our way, we’ve learned not to fight it, but to learn from it and use it to our advantage.” Johnny’s gaze was stern. “We will survive here and we’ll adapt to this change of direction.”

Jaehyun agreed. “But we won’t let you drown. We’ve fallen into the same river. This is our chance to make it through together and strengthen our bond.”

Ten smiled and reached out to hold Johnny’s and Jaehyun’s hands. Mark looked at them and hoped his gratefulness would show through his eyes. Mark turned his gaze and it met with Ten’s. “When someone’s grip on a branch falters, it is our job to help them find another. I will get you out of here, my branch is broken, but yours are not.”

Johnny gave him a look that he couldn’t quite read, as if he was trying to see what strength Mark had. He then gave them one nod and then glanced at Hansol. “We’re surrounded by a people we do not know. We’ve learned the animals in our clans’ reach behavior, and we have adapted to them, but now we’re in a whole different land.”

The others followed his gaze, Ten’s landed on the opening in the tent. “Luckily we have one on our side.” He said and turned to look at Mark. “You’ll have to help us adapt, because you now know much more than us.”

Mark gave them all a stern look before noticing Hansol sit by the tent’s entrance and begin drawing in a small book. This meant that he was distracted by what he was doing. He decided to warn them that everything they did to another person and the reaction they expected, it would be doubled by 2, maybe more. The less control a Damned seemed to have the quicker it will lash out. Taeyong who seemed collected and cool could be easily consumed by what he felt and it wasn’t different from anyone else, not even Mark, who was already marked as one who was in full control.

All of them listened intently, even Hansol raised his gaze, Mark didn’t notice, but Hansol snickered and continued to draw.

Then Taeyong came back and the group who sat close together turned to see Taeyong enter, followed by a taller lanky figure. His eyes glowed a faint yellow and his hair was red. He looked at them with wide eyes and Mark thought the movement of his nose crinkling together reminded him of a rabbit. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

Taeyong smirked in the direction of Mark, but when Mark felt Ten move closer to him, he knew it was Ten Taeyong had smirked to. Mark stood out of reflex to be taller and Taeyong eyed him. Mark turned to gaze at the other Damned whose eyes now looked brown with a slight glow.

  “Hello Blue.” He greeted Mark and bowed. Mark bowed back, finally someone who wasn’t rude. “I’m Doyoung.” The other said and smiled a little, he blinked with his wide eyes and Mark would say the other seemed nervous, even though his voice sounded steady.

  “I’m Mark.” He said.

Doyoung grinned and waved with his hand. “I like calling you Blue, I’ve done that for a while.” He said and Ten looked up at Mark. Mark stepped a forward and took a seat against some boxes in the right side of the tent’s entrance, Ten followed suit and the two other boys did too. Mark felt reassured, so they were really in this together. Doyoung kept standing and Hansol took a spot behind Doyoung as a bodyguard. Taeyong sat on the wide bed full of furs and eyed the scene. When Mark glanced at Ten he saw the other glare at Taeyong for a moment before shifting his attention to Doyoung.

Doyoung breathed in deeply. “So I’m known for prophecies.” He said and Mark nodded, Taeyong had spoken of Doyoung. “Ah, you’ve heard of me already.” He laughed heartedly. Mark felt comforted. “Well, I’ll explain if you think I’m nothing but a scam. I dream things and analyze them and from what I get most of it is true. Like what I saw of the Blue Eyed Damned. He came with a dark eyed in his back and he died at his hands.” Doyoung spoke and Mark glanced at Ten who’s eyes flickered to him. “Then I saw something different, just yesterday. I saw the sun set, but it was in the back of the Blue Eyed Damned and he reached out his hand and the dark eyes held it.” Doyoung looked down thoughtfully. “My analysis of this was that maybe the Blue Eyed Damned had agreed to die and wasn’t betrayed, but it could also mean he was receiving help or accept. If it meant help maybe he wouldn’t die.”

Doyoung smiled. “And you didn’t.”

Ten and Mark shuddered, both of them knew Ten was the dark eyes. If Doyoung’s prophecy hadn’t changed, would Mark have died at Ten’s hands?

Taeyong raised a hand. “Thanks to me he didn’t.”

Doyoung’s gaze hardened and he fixed it on Taeyong’s. “Thanks to you the sky is glooming with rage and dark eyes - that shouldn’t be here - which don’t have a glow - who once again shouldn’t be here - are here!” Doyoung cleared his voice. “Tomorrow I hope I’ll receive a clearer image of what the future will bring, but even an idiot can see that those three boys weren’t meant to be brought into this land.”

  “Or maybe we were.” Jaehyun said. Doyoung’s eyes shifted to him and he smiled.

  “Oh dear, where are you from?” Doyoung asked but then his eyes widened, if it were even possible. “River… you’re from the river?” He titled his head. “5^th clan?”

Johnny gaped. “How did you know?”

Doyoung shook his head. “I just remembered a strong river, well then…” He frowned. “This means…”

Mark leaned forward to look at the others’ reactions. Jaehyun and Johnny were sharing an expression that clearly showed they were very confused and thought Doyoung was strange. Ten though didn’t take his eyes of Doyoung as if finding the other interesting. Mark knew for sure that Doyoung would only say things that were interesting and he too leaned back to wait for Doyoung to say something.

  “I’ll need to analyze this further.” He then said. “Give me the night and a bit of morning and I’ll be back.”

  “I’ll bring him forward to the Lord tomorrow.” Taeyong said. “Come before that, also I’m sure Kun will pay a visit and please come before him too.” Taeyong said dismissively and Doyoung nodded.

  “Alright alright.” He nodded and then threw one last glance at the 4 standing in front of him. He looked at Ten.

  “Dark eyes…” He muttered and glanced at Johnny. “5^th clan.” He looked aside and began walking forward while seemingly calculating something, then he spun around but still walked towards the exit. “See you guys!” He beamed and then he left. Hansol gave Taeyong a look. Then Taeyong waved at Hansol and the taller hurried after Doyoung.

  “Who’s Kun?” Mark asked and walked towards Taeyong. The other three boys sat down, their heads dropped and Jaehyun rested his head on Johnny’s shoulder.

Taeyong was removing dirt from his nails and he looked up at Mark. “He fights like hell.” He said. “His eyes are blood red and he killed three people before being banned to this place. He’s actually quite in control now, but don’t agitate him.” Mark crossed his arms over his chest and Taeyong lied down and sighed.

  “He sounds like everyone else.” Mark said and saw Hansol come in out of the corner of his eye.

Taeyong chuckled. “Don’t agitate anyone, Blue Eyes.”

Mark wanted to roll his eyes. “My name is Mark.”

Taeyong laughed once again, but he was drifting off. Mark decided to speak before the other fell asleep.

  “Where can we sleep?” He asked and Taeyong opened his eyes.

  “You could come spoon with me.” He said with a smirk and raised his head to look over at the other three. Ten glared at Taeyong before continuing a conversation with Jaehyun and Johnny. Jaehyun glanced in Taeyong’s direction.

Mark shook his head and Taeyong groaned. “You’re no fun.”

  “I just died.” He said.

The corners of Taeyong’s mouth went down. “True.”

Mark sighed. “Just a blanket for the others.” He said and Taeyong then rolled over grabbed a handful of blankets of fur and swung them through the room. Hansol avoided being hit by them. Taeyong threw some more and then turned his back to Mark. Mark took it as a sign to leave the other so that he could sleep. Jaehyun and Ten found a corner for them where the least wind got in and then they made a spot for them to sleep. Hansol had a bed near the entrance and Mark liked that the tent was shaped more like a thick L, so they couldn’t see Taeyong. Mark lied closest to Taeyong to make sure the other boys were protected from that side. Their feet were vulnerable though, but they would sense if someone was dragged away.

Mark took a decision. He would get the three boys out of this place. That was his first priority. what happened to him, he was already lost.

A/N:

Doyoung is beautiful and spiritual in this and I'm growing to love him more and more. Did you guys know his brother is an actor and played a character where he kissed another guy? No? Well that was so freaking cute and he's in Entertainer right now. I need to watch that drama. 

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I just planned out the whole story haha, so I know where to go and I've planned ahead in details so I don't get lost. 

I've decided for the commander to be someone who's not in NCT or Smrookies but he's my fav, so don't hate, haha~
 - If anyone have read my other fics you probably know who it'll be. (Also I'm just waiting for sm to release more subunits to NCT so that I can add more characters to this) lol

Love,
Emma. <3