It had been a couple of hours and Chanyeol kept falling in and out of sleep. He was immensely tired, but he couldn’t let himself completely drift off. He heard the stranger whimper before he woke up with a loud scream. 

“Hey, hey-- Calm down. They’re gone.” Chanyeol said, trying to calm him down. “I took it off remember?” 

“Wha-?” The stranger looked down at his arm. His face flushed away all colors and he visibly gulped. “That’s right… thank you.” Chanyeol only stared at him. “I don’t--- I don’t think anyone has ever been able to take one out before you.” The stranger stared down at his arm. It had a red tint to it and the burn looked nasty. Chanyeol winced as the smaller touched his arm. He scrunched up his face in pain. “Thank you.” He finally said. 

Chanyeol wasn’t sure what to say. Noone had thanked him in a long time. He should’ve said you’re welcome but instead he asked, “Who are you?” He squinted his eyes at him, waiting for an answer. 

“I’m Baekhyun.” Chanyeol only nodded. “What about you?”

“Chanyeol.” He stated simply. “But I mean, who are you? Those people… They were determined to get you. Why?” The stranger said nothing. Chanyeol didn’t press him. He knew what he was going through. He himself had escaped from that city, he couldn’t imagine what it was like with him. He had actually been captured. Only he knew what he had gone through. Baekhyun had begun to nervously fiddle with his hands and Chanyeol could tell that he was nervous. “Well, no matter the reason, we need to move before sunrise. I don’t think they’re going to stop looking for you anytime soon.”

“And now you as well.”

“Wha-?”

“I mean you only threw a huge ball of fire into the sky and took down 6 soldiers by yourself.  No biggie.” 

“I didn’t have a choice. They had already assumed that I was with you.”

“I know. I’m sorry… I didn’t think they would go that far to get me. They shouldn't have.” Baekhyun had now begun to draw on the dirt ground with a stick he had picked up nearby. It seemed to Chanyeol as if it was some sort of complicated math. 

“What is that?” 

“This?” Baekhyun pointed at his work. “Just some scratch… I saw something about it when I was over there. I don’t know what it means though. He never told me.”

“He?” Chanyeol asked as he crouched down next to the small male. 

“It doesn’t matter who. I don’t even know if I’m writing it correctly…” 

He was strange, Chanyeol thought to himself. He revealed things without revealing too much, probably hiding  the most important details. Chanyeol wasn’t sure what to believe. He didn’t think Baekhyun was an enemy, but he was definitely someone he had to watch out for. 

“So blinding light huh?” Chanyeol asked as he made his way to the wooden log and plopped himself down. 

“Something like that. It can only blind you when I have enough power though which is honestly never.” He continued to write on the dirt ground. “You saw me with the first soldiers?” This time, he looked up at Chanyeol. 

“Yes, I just didn’t know that you weren’t one of them. It’s just that usually they never come up this far.”

“That can’t be good. Does that mean there are more of you?”
 

Chanyeol found the question weird. Why hadn’t he included himself in that group? He had asked, “more of you?” but he should’ve said more of “us.” Chanyeol was cautious. “Of people that can control fire? I’m not sure. I’m not sure if there are even more of the other powers still alive.” He didn’t want to give him a single clue. “What about you?”

“I don't think so. I think I’m the last of me. They killed them all.” This time he looked down. Chanyeol could clearly tell the pain that was in his voice. “Inside those walls it’s just normal people. Most of them don’t even think about people like me. They probably don’t even care about what they do to us.” 

Chanyeol nodded. It had been a long time since he had been inside the city. The last time it was to ransack some food in the outskirts. It was too difficult to get in there and way too risky. The people could probably tell just by looking at him that he wasn’t one of them. “Yeah, I don’t think any of them even know what they do to people like us.” 

“You’re right. I saw a bulletin sign saying that we had been taken to a richer land where we could use our powers freely.” The small male chuckled. “If only they knew. Although, I’m not sure if them knowing would really make a difference. Would they even care? I highly doubt it.” Then, Baekhyun’s stomach growled. Chanyeol looked down at his stomach and then back up at Baekhyun. His face was flushed red in embarrassment because of what had happened. 

“And they definitely don’t care if you’re starving.” Chanyeol jokingly said. “Here,” He reached over his side and into his backpack to pull out a can of food. “Eat it slowly, it’s one of the few left.” He placed the can’s bottom on top of his hand and lit his hand on fire. A small light wouldn’t catch too much attention. He waited until he heard the can pop open and turned his fire off. “Be careful, it’s hot.” He told the smaller. Because of his powers, Chanyeol wasn’t affected by the cold, in fact it was something he could endure very easily. That’s why winter wasn’t a big problem for him. He actually preferred it because he could cool down. Summer was absolute hell. He was always hot and sweaty no matter what he tried. He had