Chapter Five

The sun was setting, and she felt like she made no progress in her journey to the City. She was also feeling a little chilly and sore due to walking on her injured foot. No cars passed her, not even once. She looked toward the sun that was nearly setting and saw something that caught her eye. Her eyes grew in surprise when a realization hit her. She had seen that dried up lake from somewhere. Looking a little farther right, her heart skipped a beat when she saw a figure in the distance. She thought back on the memory of the dark room and remembered the cheerful boy in the fourth screen. She would without a doubt guess that very figure was him.

Without thinking twice, she looked both ways before crossing the road. Luck would have the guts to make the only car to pass in the last hour run me over.  After crossing it, her feet attempted to adjust to the new surface. It was a little more painful on her foot, without the cushioning of the grass.But nonetheless, she walked or rather limped as fast as she could to the boy.

The closer she got, she happily concluded that she had been correct. It was the boy, but instead of being equipped with a compass, he was peeking through a telescope.  She quietly made her way closer until she felt she had been close enough. She stopped and waited, without saying or making a sound. He finally turned around with the telescope to his eye and jumped back. She snickered behind her hand.

“Wow, this telescope is better than I thought... She looks so close.” He muttered. That was when she burst into laughter. He quickly put down his telescope and his eyes widened in shock.

“Um, hello.” She curved her lips into a small smile and awkwardly waved. “Guess your telescope isn’t as good as you thought, sorry about that.” He noticeably flushed, probably feeling a little embarrassed.  He quietly collapsed and placed his telescope in his back pocket.

“I-It’s okay. It’s just…you kind of came out of nowhere and I didn’t even hear you.” He stuttered out, rubbing his neck. His eyes ran over her appearance and she was given a look of confusion. “Um, are you all right?” He asked.

“Kind of.” She sighed, “I hurt my foot a little while back. I’m not bleeding so much anymore, but it’s a little sore to walk with.” She didn’t usually say those type of things to strangers, but after the situation with Chanyeol, she felt the need to be a little more honest. Also, something about this boy made her want to trust him. Whether it was to spill all her life problems or to joke around with him, she felt completely at ease.

“I see.” He looked her up and down, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look too good right now.” He frowned a little. She definitely did not take it the wrong way. She actually thought he was rather nice with his description. The proper one would probably be along the lines of a dirty mess. She looked as if she had been dragged through mud and grass, with little bits of vegetation sticking to her. Her hair was similar to that of a bird's nest due to the wind. She also felt dirty. A shower would be the greatest gift to give her at that moment.

Her train of thought stopped when the boy crouched down and looked at her injured foot. He looked up at her.

“May I?” He gestured toward her foot. She nodded and obediently lifted her foot, minding her balance. He examined it for a short second and tsked. “This isn’t pretty. How long have you been walking on it?”

“An hour, maybe? Give or take 10 mins?” She mumbled.

“That’s the perfect way to get an infection.” He gave her a stern look before exhaling, “Well, let’s go get this cleaned up. The RV isn’t parked too far from here.” He let go of her foot and stood up, while dusting himself off. “ By the way, the name’s Luhan. Nice to meet you.” He nodded his head in greeting.

“Ileana, nice to meet you too.” She smiled.

“Ileana? Nice name, never heard of it before.” He said while returning her smile.

“A lot of people haven’t either.” 

“Ah, unique name for a unique girl.” He smirked. Her smile slowly disappeared and she paused in thought.

“Do you... know who I am?” She eyed him, “Is that why you’re so nice to me, who randomly approached you in the middle of nowhere?”

He chuckled a little. “Can’t say I do, but I figured you had something to do with the energy flare that was recorded a day ago. Then, with the whole vision thing that happened, it only confirmed our supicions that someone caused it. Sehun insisted we stay until we find you or I guess, until you found us.” He replied.

“Sehun?” She asked.

“He’s the guy who was wearing the knitted hat in the vision thing. We’re partners. Oh, and give me your arm.” He commanded. She did as she was told without questioning his intentions. He grabbed her arm and wrapped it around his shoulder. He put one of his arms around her waist as well. “Good, now don’t be afraid to put some weight on me. I’m stronger than I look.”  She blinked up at him and nodded her head. After adjusting the weight distribution, they managed to find a happy and comfortable pace.

After a few steps, she finally came to terms with what she just did. Was she this impulsive back home? She randomly approached someone she didn’t know and chatted as if they were old friends.  She didn’t know anything about him and him about her. The only thing that connected them was that stupid dark room. She tried to reason with herself that everyone she had met from the vision were kind, so why would he be any different? Her thoughts reminded her of the beast like boy in the vision and her reason collapsed. She did not think that boy looked all that kind…at all. Maybe I should just find out more information on this Luhan guy…just in case.

 “You said you were partner with that Sehun guy. What kind of partners?” She asked, breaking the silence that went between them. The sun had set at this point; she could only make out a little of his face.

“Sehun and I are lab partners. We conduct experiments and observe energy flow in our and surrounding sectors. Our main focus is to make sure the flow current is maintained and to see if we can possibly improve it.” She nodded, understanding the concept at least. The whole energy flow, on the other hand, was new to her.

“Um, sorry if this is a little weird, but…what kind of energy are you talking about?” She asked. A smile appeared on his face.

“I hope you know only a person from a different world would ask that. Or someone who lived under a rock their entire life at least. But to answer your question, the energy I’m talking about is sort of like a life force for Exo. It’s what makes stuff like magic possible, for instance, that vision from earlier. Get me so far?” He asked, looking down at her. She quickly nodded.

“Good. So, the energy isn’t just used for that. It’s important for us because we need to absorb energy in order to function properly.  But absorbing raw energy is too much for our bodies to handle. So, we have these built in filters that filter that raw energy. Everyone has a different type of filter, and with different filters come different abilities. For example, D.O, one of the guys from your vision, is a seer. Seers typically have filters that allow a lot more energy to flow through. He also specializes in finding people, which means his filter doesn’t completely filter out energy from the earth. So, he’s more connected to the earth in comparison to others who completely filter earth energy. Still with me?” He asked.

“Yeah, I get it. Is earth the only type of energy though?”

“Ha, no. There are many others. Suho, D.O’s guardian, has a filter that doesn’t completely filter out energy from the air. So, he’s more in tuned with the air, which in turn makes him very good in fighting.”

She was completely in awe. This planet was so different compared to her. Magic, energy and special abilities… None of those really existed back home.

“And what about you?” She asked.

“What about me?”

“Your filter, do you have any special connections?” She rephrased.

“Oh, no. We can’t all be super beings connected to different elements. I, on the other hand, am still a little special with my filter. You see, my filter does process energy a little faster than others. Usually, the faster you process energy, the smarter you are. And not to brag, but Sehun and I are the fastest out of the entire lab.”

She was impressed. It was simply incredible. She never knew something like that was even possible. Her home seemed so lacklustre now.  She looked down to her feet, as if she’d see some energy flow pop out and do a show. “I see, that’s pretty amazing. But you know what’s more amazing?” She cracked a mischievous smile.

“Okay, what’s more amazing?” Luhan smiled back.

“The rock I lived under my entire life. I furnished it quite nicely.”  She snickered to herself at her joke. Luhan just raised his eyebrow.

“Oh, you think that’s funny.” He mocked.

“I know I’m funny, so you don’t need to. I’ll have a good time all on my own.” She pouted.

“I’m sure,” He said. He raised his head and they stopped moving. She followed his gaze and was met with the sight of an RV.

“We’re here.”

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Oh hi :) I got this out a lot quicker than I imagined. Mostly because I probably won't be able to update until Thursday, possibly, maybe? I never figured myself an update everyday author, but this story is begging to be written. But alas, Imma busy. School and work . Socializing does happen occasionally too. Weird, I know.
Anywoot, LOVE YOU. Though I especially love the subbies and commenters. They get my full love, while silent readers get my half love. I swear you guys are missing out.
Typical give away: *Throws Luhan-look-alike porcelian dolls* Why must this boy look so much like a doll in the History MV. I think people might find me weird, BUT I found him incredibly manly in the photoshoot below:

GODDAMNIT LUHAN. WHY MUST THAT HAIRSTYLE SUIT YOU SO WELL. AND THAT SHIRT.FITS.TOO.GOOD.

Kay, fangirling done... <3 ?

ps: Saw The Hunger Games, loved it. But now I keep wanting to call the City, the Capital :(