“Alert! All Sector 3! Boundary breached! Security breached! Alert!”

“Alert! All Sector 3! Boundary breached! Security breached! Alert!”

“Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!”

The sirens went off after the announcement, dyeing the entire place a crimson colour was the bright spinning LED lights that followed.

“Check the cells! No one leaves!” The guards clad in blue suits shouted at one another as they comb through the different floors simultaneously, all working in unison to detect the source of security breakage.

“What happened?!” A loud voice thundered, hitting the cold metal walls and resonating in the restricted space.

“Sir! We are not sure! We are still checking!” One of the guards had stop in his track and headed straight towards the source of the voice, to give a brief update.

“It’s at the South wing! A kid managed to get pass the wall! Backup needed here!” one of the passing guards shouted.

“Follow! No one leaves!!” the deep voice started clamouring again, causing everyone to turn and head in the other direction at the same time.

“Get me the name of the incompetent person who allowed this to happen! AFTER you get me the details of who escaped!” the same voice shouted at the guards who had joined him along the way.

“Sir! The.” The upcoming conversation was disrupted by a deafening sound of gun shots fired, echoing from a close distance. Judging from the non-stop, inconsistent firing and reloading of the guns, Yoochun can infer that they have lost the chase and are launching an attack. However, to him, it is just another one of them trying to escape, another condemned soul.

“It's number 0065 sir! 17 years old! He got away!” Another guard had announced as he came running towards the tall, darkly handsome man.

“Got away? He is Just a boy! ... Aish… Nevermind! …” Yoochun retorted coldly at the guards. He sees an aching need to do a re-evaluation for his subordinates soon.

He is curious to know exactly how incapable they are, to allow a mere boy to escape from right under their nose and watchful eyes. It is true that this is not the first time an experiment had escaped, but that only happens in other sectors, and this experiment happens to be the youngest one yet. The shame of it. No experiments had ever escaped from sector 3 before, so he wonders if it is the result of complacency under his charge.

Yoochun can feel his blood pressure rising as he ‘browses’ through the incident reports and documents he has to complete in his mind. He has had no use for those documents for pretty impressive length of time, but now, his perfect record had been broken thanks to some ‘fearless’ punk. But most importantly, before he starts with the paperwork, he has to commence a search, and he has to kill, again, which he had not done for a long time as well.

Yoochun had never felt particularly guilty about killing one of that kind. He hated them and can't wait to stain his hands with their blood, but this particular experiment had him feeling really uneasy, since he is only 17.  Yoochun can only say that the boy is either really desperate, or really audacious. There was some gutsy act demonstrated there.

Seeing that it is already dark outside, Yoochun decided to grace the boy with a few hours’ worth of distance, a chance for him to actually make it or die trying. After all, he was sure that the boy is shot in the process of escaping earlier on; there was even a trail of blood.

Also, this decision stems mainly from the mindset of wanting to relieve the feeling of unnecessary guilt. Yoochun wanted to give his conscience a “chance”, hoping that if the boy had bled out along the way, then he will not have to do anything at all, and that was what he is banking on.

“I will leave first thing tomorrow morning, alone. Consult Junjin during my absence.” Yoochun said quickly before heading to the data room. He plans to complete this task to recapture by himself, but he needs to know more about the boy first, just in case.

It is dangerous to face one of the “special ones” without knowing what they are capable of. The most dangerous type Yoochun had ever encountered actually annihilated half of his mercenaries in a blink of an eye, but that type is rare.

“Kim Junsu... 0065. This boy is... weak. Wait a minute… he survived experiment 45 twice? ... 5 years here... Tough cookie! A pity... he wouldn't go far.” Yoochun muttered to himself and the data technician as he read through the boy’s profile.

“Yes sir... here's a picture for identification purposes.” The data technician had printed out the latest picture of the boy and passed the clear folder to Yoochun.

Yoochun could feel a sudden pang of conscience wash over him as the unease from earlier increases, mainly after looking into the eyes of the boy in the picture. The boy, as depicted in the picture, had unkempt light brown hair, enticing big brown eyes and translucent pale skin, a breath-taking beauty hidden beneath that messy mop of hair and rags.

The boy’s eyes, that stared right back at him, reflected fear and hopelessness, the exact type of look that Yoochun had been constantly trying to get accustomed to, ever since he first entered c0dest.

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Meanwhile…

Junsu trudged across the cold, snow laden ground, dragging his bare feet along, not even bothering to cover his tracks. There is no point in covering them anyways, since he was shot and the blood was dripping ceaselessly. The snow beneath him is dyed a dark red, in a zig zag motion as he stumbles.

Junsu had anticipated and prepared himself to be shot at, but he was not strong enough to block out all the bullets.

Concentrated on picturing his brother's face in his mind, the weakened boy pushes himself forward. He can only tell himself that he has to meet his brother at least once before he goes to their mother. Or rather, he wants his brother to stop worrying and thinking about him. Junsu knows that for his brother to move on, they will have to meet again, even if it means that he is to die.

“Hyung! Where are you!?” Junsu cried out after finally slipping and careening to the ground, face first. Unable to get up from where he had fallen, the boy just lay curled up on the ground and sob as held on to his injured hip.

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POV from Junsu

Chunhee hyung left yesterday... he was so weak from the last experiment… but they still insisted on conducting the next one without letting him rest.

The experiment that killed him is the worst, and the most feared by all of us. I have gone through that twice myself. The scientist behind it is crazy! He would lock us up inside glass boxes and simulate us to defend ourselves continuously for hours just to record how far he can push us, and what we can do.

That experiment never fails to make me feel like some zoo animal at his disposal… so I usually choose not to block the objects that the machine throws at me... hence, ending up with a wreckage for a body.

I usually have more broken bones than I have time to heal them anyway. Now, I can even run with a bullet in my hip. Pain really is not much of a big deal when you get too used to it.

I was hoping that I could go further... but I feel so weak right now. I have not eaten in days... and they have just drawn more than 10 thick tubes of blood from me too. There was no time for me to rest and replenish my energy either, just now… I simply grabbed the opportunity and made a run for it… was I too rash?

I should've escaped another day right? What do I do now? I just can’t get up no matter how much I will myself to…

They will definitely catch up soon... either that or I die from the cold... since I have only the clothes on my back. Should have taken the blanket along! … I miss hyung... so much! I can only imagine how he looks like now... I don’t even have a picture! … I often fantasize about how touching the scene will be when we meet... do I still have this blessing?

Then I tried remembering the beautiful cliffs and the pretty limestone surrounding the valley... and envisage myself collecting flowers to decorate hyung’s room again... Also, how delighted he would always be whenever he sees the flowers I had brought home.

I miss our Shiaki too! … I often fantasize about how he would my face when we meet again… wet but warm.

These thoughts have always brought me peace... calm me down after I have just gone through a tough day… hyung never left me… to me. He will always be in my heart.

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Next morning...

Yoochun left the facility promptly, at the break of dawn and followed the blood trail that the boy had left behind. It had become apparent to him that the boy was injured, but then again, injury is most inevitable, or at least, that was Yoochun’s sentiment.

He was only considering it a high possibility that the boy was shot, but Yoochun is now sure of it. The blood drops is becoming more and more saturated as the source seems to have slowed down at certain points. From the amount of blood present, Yoochun can conclude that the bleeding is probably not enough to kill him, but if the boy is not treated soon, he will most definitely bleed out.

Yoochun then contemplated about leaving the boy be, then at least, he wouldn't have to bear the responsibility of killing him, a helpless and defenceless kid. He does not wish to be scorned at for months, especially if his partner is to hear about the deed.

Then the tracks finally stopped altogether, somewhere around a tree just a few feet away from him. Yoochun had decided to take a look anyway, since he is already there. Gingerly making his way over, the man spotted a small form curled up around the thick snow covered roots, blanketed with a thin layer of red snow.

Blood was pooling everywhere beneath him and he is still as death. Yoochun even kicked him a little on the shoulder blade, but received no response. Somehow relieved, Yoochun proceeded to squat down beside the ‘corpse’ and try for a pulse, while pondering about how he would dispose of the boy’s body.

After he is sure the boy is a goner, Yoochun took out a cigarette and lit it. He can already feel the stress getting to him and needs a smoke to pull himself together.

“Aish... dead already?” Yoochun muttered to himself as he took a drag from his cigarette, before gathering the cold pieces of wood nearby and arranging them around the ‘body’. The man had decided that he could at least appease the boy's spirit by cremating him. This time, he will not leave the corpse there to decompose like he usually would.

Then, just as Yoochun was picking up the final few pieces of wood, he heard a soft shuffling coming from behind him. However, the man still kept his back turned towards the boy, thinking that it might be some small animal scuttering by.

Yoochun never anticipated that the boy is still alive.

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POV from Yoochun

I left first thing in the morning today… preferring to do this alone. I will find this boy fast… that I know… since he did not even bother to cover up his tracks. Deep down inside, I was kind of wishing that he would either be already dead or gotten so far that I will never find him again… I will bet on the first option though.

I kept close to the blood trail and it led me to under a tree. Over there, I noticed the kid huddled up amongst the thick roots. I assumed he was dead as he did not respond to my nudging… then his ‘pulselessness’ confirmed my suspicion. I can only say that this child is better off dead anyways. I am actually very glad that I don’t have to end him myself. This way, I will not need to regret anything… and since I am here, I shall give him a proper burial… that poor thing…

I was too busy collecting the thick branches nearby and arranging it beside the small body to give a damn about other things… I even ignored the irritating sounds coming from behind me… which turns out to be a big fat mistake.

“Crack” the sound of wood breaking finally caught my full attention, so I whirled around just to catch a big pair of brown pupils staring right back into mine. Apparently, the boy had awakened and rolled away from the pile of wood. Through those big brown eyes, I can see terror and despair. The emptiness reflected in his eyes is also painfully noticeable… similar as it had been in the picture.

Those eyes managed to keep me in a hypnotised state for some time… and I have to admit that I was fascinated at how alluring they are, even though they reflected years of hardship and sufferings. What snapped me out of my little trance was the feeling of being lifted into the air and thrown towards the tree… by an invisible force.

!! I got careless!

I immediately braced myself for the crash landing into the tree by tightening my muscle… but nothing came. I just stopped flying half way and was left to dangle in mid-air. It's as if the boy is thinking about what he wants to do... hesitating... not willing to hurt me. He is SO getting it from me when I get out of this mess!!

Damn! How did I let myself end up like this anyways? I should have known better than to turn my back on him... he is a “special one” after all! I have been thrown into trees and even walls before during previous hunts… so I honestly didn’t think that this harmless looking creature will be able to do any irreversible damage to me… but I have underestimated him… yet I was right to do so!

The boy did not even have the guts to throw me against the tree just to break a bone… much less kill me. Then all of a sudden, the invisible force holding me was withdrawn, causing me to plummet onto the ground below. I was lucky that the drop was less than a meter though, so I recovered pretty quickly. Cursing under my breath, I allowed fury to take over completely.

“What? You are just going to give up half way through a fight?” I shouted at the boy while he looked back at me through glazed eyes… as if I am speaking some alien language. I am SO going to blow his head off! No one will mess with me without paying the price! With this in mind, I charged towards him, loading my gun.

The boy just slumped back onto the ground and lay there gasping for breath. He must have drained all of his remaining energy while attacking me… It's too bad that he had blown his chance by not causing me any grievous injuries... now that his “battery” had gone flat… he should knew that his end was near. I placed the barrel on his temple and was about to pull the trigger when he finally said something that cause me to hesitate… I should never have hesitated!

“Hyung…” He called out to me while looking like a pitiful dying puppy.

I accidentally stared straight back into his eyes again as I hovered above him… and I can see myself in them now. I almost couldn’t recognize the person gazing back… I looked like a monster! Damn! What have I become?! Terrified by what I have become, I turned and shifted my eye contact away from him quickly.

Then without much thought, I ripped off a piece of my shirt and blind folded him with it, before tying his hands up with the remaining clothe. I even applied some pressure onto his bleeding wound with a pressure bandage from my pouch.

When I am finally done with him, I used one of the fallen tree branches to sweep at the tracks as thoroughly as I could, before loading the boy onto my back and heading off in the opposite direction.

TBC 

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