What was that pulsating sound reverberating through his ears? His heartbeat?

Key clasped his chest, an unhelpful attempt to stop his heart from pounding while one hand rested on the blood seeping from his aunt’s waist. Where was her wound? He couldn’t find it. There was too much…too much blood. It was like an endless crimson river rushing through the falls and out onto the soft mud beneath them.

The sky had darkened quite quickly. There was that, uncomfortable silence emitting through the forest again. No sounds from bugs or birds. Just nothing. And there was that…nauseating feeling in the depth of his stomach, reaching out as to be noticed. Her eyes were sprawled open, the irises, moving about like frantic specs in a small space. He tried to speak, to call out her name, but nothing came out of his throat. She had looked into one direction. Behind him. But when he looked in panicked glances, he didn’t see a thing. He thought they weren’t alone, but now, he wasn’t sure.

His cellphone.

He felt its slight bulge in the small folds of his pants pocket.

Call. Call. Call.

He repeated the words in his mind but for some reason, his fingers were frozen.

Then he heard something.

There was a rustle in the woods. A shake of the leaves from above in the trees. Perhaps it could be Minho and Taemin. Maybe they heard his nervous steps and frantic heartbeat with their Cerberi ears. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly thought against it. The horror movies. This was always how a character died. Trying to call out to friends in the distance that they didn’t see.

Another rustle.

If it were them, then they wouldn’t hesitate to help. Right?

His mind trailed to the first time he was out in the woods. Those piercing, white eyes. The gleaming eyes that bore into his soul. The eyes that reminded him of the Cerberi when they showed theirs. A reminder that he told no one about. What if that thing was still here? In the woods? Is that what attacked Aunt Kim? Why was she out here to begin with?

Another rustle. A shake of some branches high up in the tall trees.

Screw it.

With his free hand he dug into his pocket and clicked on the first number he knew would speed dial Onew.

It rang for a couple of seconds and each time a ring passed without an answer, he panicked and would hear another rustle. Finally, Onew’s voice reached the other end. There was a delight in his tone.

“Hey Key. Made it home-“

“Onew. I. Need. Help.” He whispered each one with short breaths, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. He still kept one hand over his aunt who had no voice to tell him what was going on. The only signs of life he saw in her were the shake of her eyes that irradicably moved about.

“Key what’s-“

“My aunt is bleeding-“

“Oh my gosh Key-“

“We’re in the woods. There’s—There’s something here with us. I think something attacked her. I need help. Get help.”

A growl.

He dropped the phone.

Onew’s voice called out on the other end. He could hear it, but instead of grabbing the fallen phone, he looked around, then turned back to his aunt.

“Aunt Kim, what do I do?” He whispered. “What did you do? What happened?”

Finally, he was getting his voice back. How could he protect the two of them with a monster lurking about?

He heard the click of the phone from the other end and looked down only to find that his battery went out. Why? Why of all times? Horror movies. Something bad was about to happen. He knew it. The battery always goes out when the killer is about to attack. Key crouched lower, spreading his body over his aunt as a means to protect her after putting his cellphone back in his pocket.

There was further rustling from the trees but more active this time. More energetic. Suddenly, the growl came again. From above. In the branches. He didn’t want to. Really didn’t want to, but he tilted his head upwards anyway and there, in the distance up above, he saw it. A black figure. It was smaller than what he imagined but arched. Crouching?

His heartbeat quickened. Any moment now his heart would explode. Key tightened his body around his aunt, feeling the blood from her body soak into the seams of his clothes. He could speak no more. The figure moved in quick paces from one branch to the other. Getting closer, and closer. The ‘small’ black outline soon became larger and fiercer. Key could see those frightening white eyes glow in the midst of the mid-darkened sky and finally a sound came out of his throat. A scream. A yelp.

It was that thing, that monster from his first time in the woods. It seemed bigger. Larger than he first remembered, but then again the first time he was only glancing. Running away as much as possible. Now, he crouched in stillness and could see it in its entirety. Or at least he thought he could. The sky grew darker by the second and with it, shadows blanketed over the figure, casting a cloak over its form. All Key could see now was those piercing white eyes.

The last branch it crouched on, it turned. Then, with a second to spare, it jumped. The way it jumped, it was going to come straight down on Key…and his aunt.

Key screamed again. A long yowl stinging his throat as he closed his eyes and prepared for the pain he had the first night all over again.

But…

There was nothing.

He peeked his eyes open to find something around him. Something around the both of them actually; he and his aunt. There was, a barrier? Flowers and vines made intricate patterns, creating a dome around their bodies, but allowing enough room for movement. It was those beautiful flowers. The ones he’d found or rather, that had grown out of the ground for him the first time he visited the forest. But now, now they were thicker, like the branches of the trees but stronger. He could tell. He could…feel it.

From the slits of their intertwining, he saw the creature on its back. No matter how much he squinted his eyes though, Key couldn’t see just what it was. It was too dark. Even the odd glow of the flowers couldn’t help him at this moment. The creature…cried? A yelp as Key had done, but it seemed injured. It lied on its back from what he could tell and tried to roll back to a standing position.

When the creature got its standing—those piercing white eyes—they stared in Key’s direction. He held his breath, in his lips. The dome still sat around him. The large creature, a creature that had to be the peaking height of seven feet, towered over his vision and growled; an attempt to attack again. Key closed his eyes. The first round of protection was nice from the flowers but could they handle another attack? The creature grew closer. He waited for another pounce.

“Key!”

Oh. It almost sounded like Onew’s voice. Was he now envisioning the voice of his best friend? Is this what happened when you knew you were going to die at any moment?

“Key!”

Wait. That voice belonged to Onew’s mother. No. There was no way her voice would be stuck in his afterlife right?

“Key!” They both yelled in unison.

Wait! That was them. He opened his eyes in fright, hoping to find a voice and tell them not to come for the mere fact that the creature was here. Right in front-

The thing. It was gone. Had vanished. The thick branch vines and flowers around him slowly ungrew and as their gazing beauty entered the ground again, he saw the two of them; Onew…and his mom? Onew stood there, far away, staring at the flowers as they took their descent. His eyes were wide and Key wasn’t entirely sure if it was from witnessing the flowers and vines in action, or the fact that Key’s chest was now covered in the blood of his aunt.

“Key!” They both shouted, running over to him in frantic breaths.

Key looked down at his shirt and only then realized the thickness of the blood that covered him like a shawl. He opened his mouth to speak, to scream, but all that elapsed were shortened, confused breaths that made an eerily rabid sound. His throat and chest tightened in unison, working together as to stop him from breathing.

“Onew, calm him down. Get him together! I need to grab Kim.” His mom went straight for Key’s aunt, scooping her slender arms beneath the dead weighted body.

Onew flashed over to him in a second, cupping both his hands around Key’s cheeks and lifting his head up to look him in the eyes.

“Key, get a grip. Look at me.” He demanded.

“H-H-How-“He wanted to ask how’d they gotten to him so fast. It was only a second ago that he told Onew to get help in the first place. But nothing came out except for incomprehensible stutters.

“Shh, Shhh, Shhh. Don’t try to force any words out. Just calm down and look at me. I know that’s asking a lot, but I need for you to do it.” His voice was strangely calm in the dire situation they were in.

“It’s gonna be alright Kim.” They heard his mother whisper.

It was like she was cooing to a child, pulling her body to stand with Aunt Kim in her arms. Key eyed the confusion that lapsed onto Onew’s face if only for a moment. His mother’s eyes scrunched up and her skin pinched itself in the middle of her forehead, brows lifting in worry. She was terrified, no matter how calm her demeanor of the situation seemed. Key could sense it and so could Onew. But her clasp around Aunt Kim’s body was effortless, as if she weighed nothing at all.

There was a rustle.

Key snapped his head around, instant fear gripping his lungs, gripping his mind. He was going to go through another panic attack. He could feel it. Onew grabbed him again and forced their eyes together once again.

“Key, don’t take your eyes off me. Look at me. We have to go.” The softness of his voice leveled to something of a demand.

“T-There’s something here. I-I-It’s still here.” Key stuttered.

His eyes darted around their still environment, nothing but the rustling of the wind against the high leaves creating sound in the forest.

“What are you talking about Key. There’s nothing here.” Onew assured, but the boy shook his head in a furious swing.

“No, no, no, no, no.”

“Key!” Onew’s mother snapped.

They both looked up at her with anguished eyes.

“It’s not here anymore.” Her voice grew softer, gentler. “The monster is gone. Trust me. I scared it off.”

As the boys gazed at her in wonder, she smiled, her eyes beginning to…transform. Her pupils grew large, the skin spreading slightly as to make room for the growing irises as well. They would think the pupils took over her entire eyes if it weren’t for the glowing gold hue around the edges of them. The whites in her eyes that made her look even the slightest bit human had disappeared, consumed in these round orbs. Both the boys became shaken, looking at her like a stranger.

“I don’t have time to explain. I need you two to stay behind me at all cost, and we need to get the hell out of these woods.”

She looked around as if expecting someone to jump out at any moment.

“They’re gone for now but they’ll be back and our scent in these woods need to be gone by then. Do you hear me?”

Her voice boomed in the silence. The reverberating vibrations made the two of them stand up and nod their heads. Onew’s mother looked like a mystery in the night. Not only had her eyes grown but the sheen of her black hair had brightened and the strands had grown longer. There was a fierceness to her posture that neither of the boys had ever seen. They nodded their heads again to her look and stood behind her as she adjusted her back and arms to cradle Aunt Kim.

“Onew, I need you to build up as much strength and alertness as possible like you always do when you’re around Key and watch out as we go.”

Watch out as we go? Strength and alertness? What was she talking about? The two boys turned to each other but with a small squint of his eyes, Onew assured Key he had no idea what his mother was talking about. Before either of them could ask, she shushed them behind her and was off, walking in quick strides…or rather…flying? It was hard to tell. They stayed behind her and to some miracle, kept up. The whole ordeal was a whirlwind of confusion to the both of them, but Onew kept his hand clasped around Key’s hand and Key did the same. Key let the nerves waver away and stayed alerted, making sure his footsteps never faltered.

“Where’s the car?!” He shouted, unexpectedly finding a voice.

“We didn’t bring one.” Onew answered, though the tone of his voice was muffled through the running or fast walking they were doing. What were they doing? Were they flying?

The environment around them only looked still. Like nothing was moving. There was no wind; he even caught one of the trees stuck in mid-sway. The experience was like what he felt when rushing out into the woods to find his aunt, only more refreshing, more cooling. Maybe it was because he had Onew and his mother here with him. He wasn’t alone.

****

Before he could even think about it, they were at Onew’s house, opening the front door to get inside. How did they get here? When did they get here? He’d been so lost in his thoughts. But their surprises were far from over. Onew’s father stood ready at the door, alert and stern. His posture stood broad and attentive, his amber-green eyes mounted on the four of them. His mouth stretched in unease and he turned his body aside to allow them inside.

“Min-seo, how bad?” He asked, obviously talking to Onew’s mother.

He rushed over to their beige couch, where a long white sheet laid out, waiting. He fluffed the ends a bit before helping his wife with Aunt Kim’s body. By now, Key’s aunt had closed her eyes, her lip quivering in small murmurs and hand shaking every so often.

“White Seo-jun, really?”

His father shrugged.

“We needed something fast, I got something fast.”

Key and Onew stood at the doorway, framed with surprise, awe, and frustration. Neither understood the situation nor knew what they could do to help. His mom came back over and closed the door behind them, then grabbed Key’s hand and rushed him over to his aunt’s side.

“I need you to hold her hand and think to yourself with all your power that your aunt isn’t going to leave us. It will help a lot. Can you do that?” Her voice was loud and more demanding than questioning.

“Key, can you do that?!” She yelled again.

He furiously nodded and grabbed his aunt’s hand, squeezing her palm as tightly as he could. He closed his eyes, the lashes fluttering against his cheeks as he willed for his aunt not to leave him. Not alone.

Seo-jun, Onew’s father, strode over to his son and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down their dimly lit hallway that held enough space for three or four people. Their lights shimmered against the lustered floors and without a single word, his father dragged him further down. They stopped at a tall white door with a golden knob that seemed to have dulled over the years, leaving a weird rusty white that contrasted against their floors.

“Onew, your mom is busy right now, I need you to open this door for me.” His voice matched his mothers. Assertive and alert. Demanding.

A door? It was just a door, what matter did it make who opened it? Onew furrowed his brows and relayed this question through the scrunching expression on his face. His father sighed.

“I know this may sound a little weird to you, but only you and your mother can open this door. Okay? I need you to do it. There’s medicine inside that can help Key’s aunt. Just listen to me right now, okay?”

He nodded. In fact, this was the most he’d ever heard his father speak in his life. His father was a quiet businessman who somehow distracted himself from all the crazy things his mother would do inside the house. Singing aloud, dancing, having crazy nights with Key’s aunt. He was always quiet, applauding Onew when he did something good in school and giving him words of encouragement whenever the time needed. No matter the situation, he was quiet; attending to his papers and always making sure his work was well polished and finished. But now, now his father stood next to him, sweating and rushed in speech, asking him to open some regular door that—now that Onew thought about it—none of them ever went in. He’d assumed for years that this was just a storage room that was too crowded to use.

But none of this was important right now. What was important was Key’s dying aunt in the next room. That made him but aside his questions and simply go along with what he was being told to do. He clasped his hand around the doorknob and pushed it open.

****

Onew’s mother placed her hand over Aunt Kim’s forehead, closing her eyes and breathing deeply to herself.

“I can’t help you as much as I used to.” She whispered to herself, but loud enough to where Key heard.

He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. His aunt’s hand stopped shaking, her eyelids had calmed, and her lips stopped moving. He’d be worried, if he couldn’t feel her pulse throbbing through her veins at this moment. But he could and a flood of relief poured over him in calming showers. Min-seo, Onew’s mother, opened her eyes.

“What are we?” The question and his voice, came from nowhere. He didn’t expect to speak, nor did he expect a question to come out.

His mind was so dazed right now, so unfocused, that his lips felt sealed until their jumbled questions were answered on their own. But instead, words had rushed out of his mouth in the moment of solitude. She sighed and removed her hand from the beading tears of sweat that slid down his aunt’s forehead.

“I thought we were going to have more time to tell you. We had plenty of time,” she laughed to herself, not out of a joke, but out of nervous seriousness. A laugh that escaped your lips when you couldn’t think of anything else to say. Her bloody hand brushed through her hair in frustration just as Onew and his father came back into the room.

“We were wrong,” she continued, “you are…you and your aunt are Gumihos. And you are the last of your kind.”

Her eyes lingered back to the sleeping aunt.

“And I was supposed to protect you both.”