Crying out in shock and fear, Jisoo used his legs to push himself backwards, away from Chan's body and the Being. His palms ripped open while he dug his fingers into the sharp gravel for leverage but he only stopped when the back of his head met the trunk of a tree. Small dots were swirling in his vision.

An odd noise pulled his focus away from the pain, back to the skinwalker.

The Being was staring at him, dark lips pulled back to reveal sharp teeth, light grey fur reflecting the flashing red light of the locator. The deep, guttural sounds it made in the back of its throat almost sounded like laughter and Jisoo felt the hairs on his skin rise.

It was smaller than the first one, thinner too, but its yellowish eyes held a very human glimmer of intelligence - it had imitated Wonseok convincingly enough to fool his long-time friends after all. Based on what Jihoon had said earlier, Jisoo assumed that this skinwalker was older than the other one. Not that it made the situation any better; even if it was weaker, the Being still had sharp fangs and claws.

To the monk's relief, it finally turned its eyes away from him.

The feeling only lasted until Jisoo had figured out what had caught the Being's attention. He jumped when the remains of the mangled radio hit the ground and the skinwalker took a step towards Chan's dead body. A long, wet tongue ran over dark lips and an undeniably hungry look crossed its features. Jisoo's stomach clenched.

There was no way he would let that thing anywhere near Chan. His teammate had died fighting the other skinwalker; he would not let his body get defiled. He owed him that much.

Jisoo's fingers wrapped around one of the many small stones on the ground - a rather flat one that fit snugly into his hand - the sting of the scratches on his palm not even registering in his brain.

The skinwalker snarled and looked up when the stone hit its shoulder. It growled even louder when a second stone hit it square in the face.

Using the trunk of the tree, Jisoo had pulled himself up - and even though his heart was almost jumping out of his chest, he was determined to get the undivided attention of the Being.

Maybe he could constrain it somehow. Or at least distract it. Maybe Minghao could use Chan's radio to call Seungcheol and Jihoon. Maybe then this ordeal would come to an end.

The skinwalker took a step towards him, away from Chan's body, and crouched; a predator ready to pounce.

The monk froze momentarily. There weren't many options to choose from. He could try to run and lure the Being away from Minghao and Chan. Or he could try to fight it - although, seeing how the other skinwalker had overpowered him so easily, maybe that wasn't the brightest idea. If he managed to use his ability, his chances would be a lot better - but that was a very big 'if'. He still didn't know how to trigger and control it and by now he wasn't quite sure whether he even had an ability in the first place. Shouldn't it have activated when he almost got choked to death earlier?

Maybe this whole Aegis thing had been a mistake.

Another low growl was all he got as a warning and he barely managed to duck when sharp claws embedded themselves into the tree behind him.

Jisoo's stomach sank. This skinwalker was fast. Much faster than the first one.

The monk used the chance while the Being tried to free its claws and landed a solid punch to its gut before he threw himself to the side and crawled out from under its arms. The skinwalker grunted and a shiver ran down Jisoo's spine when his eyes met its burning gaze.

With a violent yank, the Being freed itself, causing the tree to creak. Leaves rained down on them.

Jisoo had barely taken three steps when the skinwalker reached him and forced him to duck once again. This time, he wasn't as lucky: A shallow cut opened on his shoulder and more blood soaked into his already badly stained sweater. Clenching his teeth, he breathed through the pain while blocking another blow.

He wouldn't get anywhere just by running; he was too slow. Engaging the Being was the only way left. But how could he win against something that had freaking razorblades attached to its fingers?

Attempting a leg sweep, the monk faked an attack from the left but the Being seemed to read his movements and counter-attacked, its eyes focused on Jisoo's chest.

"Watch out!"

The monk couldn't suppress a surprised squeak when all of a sudden he got pulled backwards and landed in Minghao's arms. With no time to dwell on it, his eyes widened when the other male blocked the incoming blow with his forearm, the sharp claws of the Being tearing through his flesh.

Minghao cursed next to his ear.

Stumbling backwards, they almost fell but Jisoo managed to find his balance and held onto the younger while the Being kept its distance, examining the new threat.

"You okay?" the monk hissed out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes never leaving the skinwalker.

"Never felt better."

Jisoo couldn't help but chuckle at the sarcastic tone. Minghao's sense of humour hadn't changed at all - somehow, that was a relief. He was still worried about the wound though. Since the younger was standing behind him, he couldn't see it but he was sure that it was bleeding heavily. All because of him.

Guilt crept into his heart but he managed to push it away. This definitely wasn't the time to get distracted.

They jumped apart when the Being pounced and Jisoo found himself almost tripping over Chan's body. His chest tightened at the sad sight but he tore his eyes away from it, just in time to dodge the skinwalker. He stumbled backwards as fast as he could, expecting another attack, but the Being only screeched in annoyance before it pulled back and looked around for Minghao.

Compared to the first skinwalker, this one seemed a lot more deliberate in its actions.

It proved the thought true almost immediately by changing its tactic. Once it had spotted Minghao several meters away, it moved closer to Chan's body, gaze focused back on the monk. Staring at him as if gauging his reaction, its lips once again pulled back into a deformed version of a grin before it slowly leaned towards Chan's unmoving face. A string of saliva dripped onto his blood-smeared cheek and Jisoo clenched his fists, knuckles turning white.

"Keep your filthy hands off," the monk growled, barely containing his anger.

The Being moved forward even further, its teeth getting dangerously close to Chan's nose. Jisoo could make out the reflection of the skinwalker in Chan's sightless eyes.

"Don't you ing dare!"

It was taunting him. And the monk had to admit that it was working.

"I'll kill you if you touch him!"

All reasoning flew out the window the moment the skinwalker Chan's cheek. Without another word, Jisoo dashed forward, uncaring that the Being was waiting for him, triumph shimmering in its much too intelligent eyes.

Fury was burning through the monk, accelerating his movements, much faster than it should be humanly possible. But he didn't notice, too focused on the Being whose eyes had widened in the second it had taken him to get on top of it. Punch after punch rained down on it and Jisoo felt the skin on his knuckles split open. Wet teeth reflected the light when it opened its mouth in an attempt to bite him but its movements seemed sluggish and the monk used the chance to ram his elbow in its face.

Time snapped back into place when searing pain flooded his body.

Sharp claws had pierced his thigh and with an anguished shout, Jisoo pushed himself off the Being, away from its deadly grip.

His leg was bleeding heavily and he couldn't put weight on it without wanting to scream. Limping, he tried to put some distance between them but he could already hear the skinwalker snarling behind him. He probably only had seconds until it had recovered enough to go after him. Face distorted in pain, he forced himself to move faster, ignoring the protests of his leg. He wasn't ready to die just yet.

"Hyung! Duck!"

Without a second thought, Jisoo followed the order and threw himself onto the ground. Something heavy landed on top of him, driving the air out of his lungs and pain flashed through his leg but he was too breathless to make a sound.

In a few seconds, everything would be over anyway. The skinwalker would pierce his heart or bite his throat or something equally gruesome and then he'd be dead. He should probably start praying now.

". That thing's indestructible."

A very familiar voice close to his ear made him lift his head abruptly, causing Minghao to tumble backwards with a curse.

"Are you trying to break my nose?!"

"I thought the skinwalker got me," Jisoo sputtered. Looking around, he could make out the Being looming in the darker shadows between the trees. It was standing there motionlessly, staring at them and the monk had the unsettling feeling that it was trying to figure out what to do next.

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