Chapter Four-

When they had reached the outskirts of the forest, Kami and the guys quickly searched for a road. They weren’t far from one and luckily for them, they were able to hitch a ride with a man who was delivering a crop, Sehun told her it was called choppi, to a town in the South called Basiks. He seemed hesitant at first, but the warriors put on a front and the man gave in, probably scared as to why their clothes were covered in blood. The seven of them squeezed into the man’s cargo bed with all the boxed choppi, which in Kami’s opinion looked like already shucked green corn. The vehicle wasn’t like anything she was used to, it was more old fashion and clanked a lot as it went along the winding road. The ride was awkward, and a longer one at that. Kai sat so close that he was almost on top of her because he still wasn’t sure about these guys, which Kami understood because they had basically attacked him. Luhan was on her other side and she tried really hard not to notice the looks he had been giving her. At least they weren’t as strange as Chanyeol’s looks were so they were easier to ignore. Chanyeol sat across from her and stared at her for almost the whole ride. It was really uncomfortable the way he glared and Kami wondered what she had done wrong to make him upset.

“Have you found him?”

Kami snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Baekhyun as he spoke to Tao. Out of all the warriors so far, Baekhyun seemed like the most easy to get along with. He was always smiling though Kami could sense something deeper that he chose to keep hidden, and she could relate.

Tao sat in the middle of all of them, legs crossed and eyes closed in concentration. As soon as they had boarded the cargo bed he had announced that he was going to search for Joonmyun. Kami had wondered how that was possible but then remembered what Luhan had said about the warrior’s power. “Tao, our warrior of time, is able to look into the past and the future of his own timeline, and that’s how he was able to find Kai because he was destined to meet Kai in the future.” Still, Kami was intrigued by how it worked, and found herself questioning why he couldn’t just look back in his timeline to see what had happened at the end of the war. If I can ever talk to him by himself I’ll make sure to ask.

“He appears to be in Basiks Port, by the fishing docks,” Tao said, opening his eyes and stretching out his limbs. “Geez I’m beat. These five hundred years seems to have made my power weaker.”

Luhan hummed in agreement, looking out into the distance. Kami stared at him, wondering what was going through his mind, and across from her Chanyeol tsked.

It wasn’t much longer until they were dropped off in Basiks and started to make their way down to the port. They were walking through what could only be described as the slums of the town. Though most of the town itself seemed run down, this part was even worse. There wasn’t much light even though it was the middle of the day, and there wasn’t much greenery either. There really weren’t many people walking around either, just the few here and there. It all seemed so gray and lifeless and it sent chills down Kami’s spine.

Kami felt something fall on her shoulder and she looked up to see the sky covered with dark gray rain clouds. Another raindrop fell on her forehead and she looked towards the guys who were now a few feet ahead of her. “Um… guys,” she called out but wasn’t heard. She started to walk forward when a hand wrapped itself around her wrist and turned her around.

She was now facing three guys, all at least a head taller than her. Their appearances were rough, hair all messy and clothes tattered, and the smirks on their faces were scaring her. She tried to yank her hand away but the guy holding just tightened his grip and pulled her closer to him. “What’s a beauty like you walking around like this? It’s about to storm again, why don’t you come with us?” the man holding her asked, leaning his face closer to her own.

Kami inwardly groaned. Beauty? Seriously, I’m in my pajamas and my hair is a wreak and he calls me beautiful? This guy must be blind. Kami stared him in the eye, more raindrops falling onto her hair. “Sorry, I don’t want to.” With that she stepped hard on his foot causing him to let go of her and shout in pain. She was turning around to walk away when one of the other guys grabbed her from behind causing her to shout in surprise, his arm wrapping around her waist and his head resting awkwardly on her shoulder.

“He wasn’t asking,” he breathed into her hair, raising the hairs on her neck. By now it was pouring and she could feel the guy’s wet clothes on her arms, trapping them by her sides.

She was about to kick him and make a run for it when a bright light whipped past her and suddenly the guy was yanked away from her. She turned around to see Baekhyun had the guy in a headlock, a slight glow around him and the rain falling on him seemed to glisten in the light. The other two guys closed in on Baekhyun, but he was too fast. He had knocked out the guy he had in the headlock and was suddenly behind the guy who had grabbed her wrist. He twisted the guy’s arm behind his back and in an instant the guy was face first on the ground in a puddle of water. Baekhyun stood up and took a step towards the last guy who had started to back away. The warrior was about to rush at the guy when a voice boomed through the air.

“What is going on here?”

Baekhyun stiffened, slowly looking towards where the voice had come from giving the last guy the chance to run away. The glow around Baekhyun faded as the man who had spoken walked towards him and Kami.

The man was a similar height to Baekhyun and he wore simple clothes made up of a worn in tan long sleeve and a pair of what looked like dark brown jeans. The man’s face was on the rounder side and his light brown hair was pushed back by the rain revealing his wide forehead. “Who are you people and what are you doing here?” the man asked, his voice full of command.

It was then that Kami realized the other warriors and Kai were now by her side. Kai pulled her into a hug and patted her hair but Kami soon pushed him away and turned back to where the man stood face to face with Baekhyun.

The man was looking Baekhyun up and down and Baekhyun just stood there stalk still. The man looked Baekhyun in the eyes and asked, “Are you some sort of hooligan? Why are you covered in blood and picking fights in front of my docks?”

Baekhyun gulped and opened his mouth to speak when Luhan stepped up and diverted the man’s attention to him. “I’m sorry for the disturbance. My friend here was saving our female friend from some ruffians.”

The man looked Luhan up and down as well and then turned to look at the rest of their group. When his eyes rested on Kami his face seemed to soften a bit. He looked back at Luhan and spoke again. “I see. Sorry for the harshness but it’s not every day that we see newcomers around here, let alone ones dressed like you are and covered in blood.”

Luhan smiled at the man and extended his hand. “Sorry for the confusion. We are just travelers and we had some trouble with a Shan in the eastern forests which explains the bloody attire. I’m Luhan and my friends over there are Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Sehun,