The long white corridor stretched further than Minseok could make out. Behind him, Sehun breathed erratically right against his neck, one of his hands clutching the back of Minseok’s robe.

“I don’t see any of them,” Minseok whispered into the darkness. It had been exactly thirty-two seconds since the power had gone out in the building, thirty-two seconds since the alarm had started shrieking and thirty-two seconds since the door had slide open silently. The emergency lights were on, red and disturbing, and Minseok grabbed Sehun’s free hand in his own before taking a tentative step forward.

Nothing happened, which Minseok took as a good sign. They crept along the halls in a rushed manner, Sehun gripping Minseok’s hand tightly. The now twenty-two year old had grown a lot since they had last seen each other back in their planet; he was no longer the same skinny kid scared of his own shadow.

They knocked into a stocky figure when they rounded the corner; Minseok lifted his hand, ready to strike, but his breath got caught in his lungs when he saw who it was. He could recognize those lips anywhere.

“Jongdae?” he whispered, afraid to make much noise and alert the white coats of their whereabouts. Jongdae’s eyes were wide and terrified, but Minseok saw the ghost of a smile before he was nearly tackled to the ground by his best friend.

“Hyung,” Jongdae whispered, almost as if he couldn’t believe he was there, “Sehun, are you ok?”

Sehun looked pale as a sheet but he hugged Jongdae with all his might either way; if Minseok wasn’t mistaken, one of them was hiccupping back sobs. Their reunion didn’t last long, however; the clipping of heels began resonating around the corner, sending them into frenzy. Minseok tugged them both backwards until their backs hit the wall and they were well hidden in the shadows.

The white cloak looked exactly like all the others did: white dress, red goggles and white lab coat. She noticed them almost right away, as expected. However, she didn’t move, simple stood a few feet away, eyes hidden under her mask.

“You go,” Minseok said to the two, “I’ll handle it.”

Jongdae looked at him with a seriousness Minseok had never seen on his face before and said: “You can’t confess to Junmyeon if you’re dead.”

Before Minseok could answer, Sehun let out a panicked whimper and tried to steer Jongdae away from the white cloak. Jongdae gave one last grave look in Minseok’s direction before following after Sehun and dashing down the hall. Like that, it was just Minseok and the white cloak. Perspiration rolled down his face but, surprisingly, froze midway and crashed to the ground. This was the first time since he got captured that his power worked.

With a renewed sense of determination, Minseok directed all his energy on blasting the white cloak. It worked… kind of. She slipped to the floor when she attempted to take a step forward; when Minseok looked down, he saw that the only thing he had managed to freeze were her shoes.

But it was something, so Minseok wasn’t discouraged. He didn’t stick around after that, taking off in the direction Jongdae and Sehun had mere minutes before. It was just his luck to run into the last (or first) person Minseok wanted to see.

“Minseok hyung!” Junmyeon exclaimed, yanking Minseok into a bone-crushing hug. Minseok, in the back of his mind, noticed that Junmyeon had gotten buffer over the years. His foremost though was, of course, I’m ed. Quite the vocabulary on him.

“Ah, Junmyeon,” Minseok said back shakily. Hopefully, Junmyeon would think it was more out of happiness than nervousness.

Junmyeon looked like he’d gotten through some rough times; there was a deep cut on his left cheekbone and the skin on his knuckles seemed to be reddened. Other than that, however, he seemed completely fine, a bright smile etched on his face as he looked Minseok over. The older man suppressed a shiver at the intense gaze.

“Are you ok?” Minseok asked, suddenly remembering the circumstances. The alarm was still wailing, though it had become a dull ringing in his ears rather than the blaring nuisance it started out as.

“Yeah, I blasted some white cloaks out of my way with water but…,” the water bender looked at his bruised knuckles with a sheepish grin, “I couldn’t do that to this huge guy I ran into.”

Minseok blinked. “Wait, your powers came back but then faltered?”

“Yes,” Junmyeon confirmed.

“I,” whatever Minseok was about to say got cut off when ten white cloaks came into view. The adrenaline Minseok had felt before was gone now and he was left with a deep fear. He didn’t know where Jongdae and Sehun were, where the rest of them were, but he was certain that they were all surrounded and out-numbered.

Without a word, Minseok grabbed Junmyeon’s arm and took off down the first corridor he saw. They ran up and down, past halls and double doors and locked compartments, until they were breathless and hiding in what seemed to be the kitchen.

They saw a mop of red head whizz past the door’s tiny window, heavy footsteps pounding into the ground. They listened for any sign of someone coming inside, but there was nothing.

“What now?” Junmyeon whispered right into his ear. Minseok nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Well,” he swallowed, “I think I saw an exit once.”

Minseok blushed at the rising of Junmyeon’s eyebrows. He rushed to explain: “They were leading me into one of their examination rooms when a door opened down the hall. I was already going inside and they had me lying down on a wheeling bed but when I turned my head I saw sunlight.”

“Are you sure?” Junmyeon inquired with uncertainty.

“One hundred percent,” Minseok was completely confident, “I would never forget what sunlight looks like.”

“Alright,” Junmyeon said, “Let’s go there. Whoever we meet on the way, we’ll lead them.”

“What about the others?”

“We’ll send help as soon as we can.”