An alarm, screeching down the halls, sending the coats into a flurry.

“Abandon the project, save yourselves!”

“There’s nothing we can do.”

“You there—kill it.”

“Find your brothers.”

“What?”

“Find them. Don’t ask questions, just find them and get home.”

That was the last thing Kris heard before the needle slipped under his skin and he fell into unconsciousness, the alarm fading into the distance, blissful warmth encasing him.

The next time he woke up, all he heard was silence. That was odd, usually at least there would be the hum of the machines that monitored his vital signs, if not the buzzing voices of the coats who stood over him.

No, not just coats…people. Not his people. Doctors, they were called.

He opened his eyes, stretched his arms. Another peculiarity, there was no pinch in the crook of his elbow. He turned his head to the side.

There was no needle in his arm!

“How strange,” he muttered. There had always been a needle in his arm, regulating when he woke and when he slept.

No, there had been a time when there were no needles, when there were no doctors. When it had just been him.

No, not just him…others…eleven others.

“We’re going down, get to the escape pods!”

 “Don’t let go!”

“We’ll never make it!”

‘Find your brothers and get home.’

Kris sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The material of his shirt rubbed painfully against his arms. He plucked at it and frowned—what was it? Paper? That was hospital garb, wasn’t it? He looked around, taking in his surroundings for the first time since he’d arrived—no, he’d been kidnapped. Held hostage. This wasn’t any ordinary hospital, this was a lab. He’d been a lab rat, a thing for people to poke and prod.

Except one, who had cared about him.

‘Find your brothers.’

Kris walked to the door and it easily slid open for him. He was in some kind of hallway, with a door at each end and many more lining the sides. He went to the right, only to find the end door locked. He turned around intending to try the door on the left, and was greeted by a teenage boy standing a few feet away from him.

“About time,” he said crossly. “I thought you would never wake up.”

“What—Who are—”  Kris stuttered, struggling to place the boy, who clearly knew him. Slender, thin face, tall…his eyes…he knew this boy.

Chasing butterflies around a garden, arms aloft. “Pick me up, Kris!”

Years later, twirling a long staff, striking his foes down with one blow, he didn’t even need to look.

“Tao!”

His little brother, his best friend. Kris ran over and hugged him tightly.

“It’s not just me then.” Tao muttered, clinging to his friend’s shoulders. “I didn’t remember you at first either,” he confessed. “I think the people here did something to our minds.”

Kris recoiled in disbelief. “What? How could they? How long have we been here?” he fired off.

Tao shrugged. “Time has no meaning to me, you know that.”

Kris fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, now he remembered Tao’s gift and what it meant to him.

“Never mind, then. Let’s just go, we have to find our brothers and get home.”

Tao gave him a puzzled look. “Find our brothers…and get home?”

“Yes,” Kris insisted. “That’s what we need to do. But first,” He looked over the outfit Tao was wearing, “Where did you get those clothes?”

Tao jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “In the last room on the left.”

Kris nodded. “I’ll be right back then, this paper is killing my skin.”

He walked off, pulling the shirt over his head as he left.

“Kris!”

Kris froze. “What?”

He turned around to see Tao staring at him in confusion and awe. “Your back…”

Kris tried to look over his shoulder but there was only so far he could twist his neck. “What about it?”

Tao ran over and pulled him down the hall, stood him in front of a door on the right side of the hallway and opened the door directly across, angling it so that Kris could see his back reflected in the glass window. What he saw nearly made his heart stop.

There was a large black dragon marked into his skin, much in the way that his smaller, winged birthmark was marked on his chest, in thin black lines. But this marking was new—or at least, it hadn’t been present prior to his descent to…this place. Kris felt fear threaten to overwhelm him and he forced himself to take deep breaths. He’d never heard of a Guardian receiving more than one mark before, why was he different? Was it good, or bad?

“What does it mean?” Tao asked, rhetorically, since he knew by the look of shock on Kris’ face he had no idea what it was either.

“I suppose I’ll find out when we get home,” Kris managed. Then he forced himself to go to the other room and find something else to wear. There was a large box filled with clothing, most of it men’s. He grabbed a white shirt with long sleeves and a grey one with shorter sleeves. He ripped slits into the back of both before layering them on. The pants he found were a bit too big, but he found a belt buried at the bottom of the box. As he made to leave Kris spotted a few bags, and he grabbed a large one and filled it with the excess clothing, since he didn’t know what his brothers would be wearing. Before he left the room, Kris allowed his wings to slide out of his back. Spanning 10 feet in length, his wings were his favorite feature and he took great pride in them, almost to the point of narcissism. The sight of them had always brought him comfort, and now they calmed his fears. After a moment he folded them back up and exited the room.

“Do you know where we are?” Kris asked Tao, determinedly avoid the topic of the marking.

Tao got the hint. “We called it MWTI 81.”

Milky Way Terra Inhabitable 81. Known by inhabitants as Earth.

“At least we landed on the right planet,” Kris muttered as the pair of them made their way toward what they assumed to be the exit.

Tao snorted. “The right planet,” he sneered. “Why were we sent here? We were tortured by those people.”

“Not all of them were so bad,” Kris insisted. They came to the final door, huge, windowless and plated with metal. It didn’t give when they pushed it. Kris eyed his younger brother.

“Can you break it?”

Tao shrugged. “I can try.”

Kris stood back and Tao ripped a pipe off the side of a wall. He eyed the door for a few seconds, Kris blinked and suddenly the door was lying on the floor, Tao standing in the sunlight that spilled in.

“Was it really necessary to freeze that moment?” Kris sighed. He was starting to remember Tao’s fondness for his gift, and his ability to sometimes over use it.

“Yes,” Tao insisted stubbornly. “Now then, fearless leader, which way do we go?”

Kris stepped outside and looked around, blinking a bit in the bright light. there seemed to be nothing but desert all around them.

“Give me a second,” Kris muttered, before his wings slid out from under his skin and he flew up to the roof of the building they had just exited. Those few second in the air were like heaven, and Kris purposely stayed aloft longer than he needed to. From his new height, he could see a forest about a mile behind them. Without explanation, he knew that their escape pod had crashed there. He flew back down, knowing that was where they needed to go.

“We’re going back to where we crashed,” He told Tao. “Maybe it will help us remember more.”

They struck off, Tao carrying the bag of clothes so Kris could have full use of his wings.

They had been walking for a few minutes when Tao suddenly spoke. “What did you mean by ‘Not all of them’?”

It took a moment for Kris to place the conversation. “Not all of the doctors were horrible people.”

Tao’s lip curled. “Oh really?”

The doctor his hair back in a soothing gesture. “What is your name?”

He swallowed dryly. He wished he had water. “Kris,” he croaked. Her eyes widened, but he couldn’t read her expression.

“How do you spell it?” She asked, her voice strained.

“K-R-I-S.”

It was quiet for a minute, but soon he heard a muffled sob.

 “That was my son’s name.”

“Some of them were parents. They didn’t like what they were being forced to do.”

Tao heard the note of finality in Kris’ tone and dropped the topic.

After an hour they finally neared the edge of the forest and proceeded with caution, not knowing who or what was in the trees. They walked forward for a long time, not daring to speak. Finally Tao turned to Kris.

“Are we lost?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper. Kris started to suggest that they head in another direction when suddenly he felt like he was being jerked backwards. Kris stumbled against a tree, barely managing to hold himself up as the memories of the crash flooded back.

They had not been warned of the asteroid belt, they had little time to prepare for it. They had been struck, irreparable damage dealt to their ship. They had to evacuate and hope to make it to the planet alive.

They should have landed together; the escapes pods were meant to be locked on to Su Ho and Kris’ pod. But they had all been separated, after they had landed Kris had searched for their brothers for hours, but Tao had gotten hurt; his foot had been jammed and it wasn’t getting better, Kris couldn’t leave him alone. And as they weakened from hunger and thirst, they became aware that they were being watched. By then it was too late, the doctors appeared and took them away.

The memory ended and Kris fell to his knees, unable to stand because he was shaking so badly. He’d abandoned his team, his brothers. He should have been there, he and Su Ho were the leaders, they were supposed to have stayed together in times of crisis. But Kris hadn’t gone in the same pod as Su Ho; he had to be with Tao at this moment. Tao was his little brother, his best friend…they had needed each other.

That shouldn’t have made a difference though, Kris thought desperately. Why would that have thrown the pods into chaos? They were built to track each other, to stay together, what had gone wrong?

Kris became aware of Tao, curled up on the forest floor next to him. He was sobbing.

“Oh, Kris,” He cried, hysteria lacing his tone. “What if they didn’t make it? What if we’re the only ones left? That landing was horrible, the atmosphere was so…we weren’t prepared for this!” Tao looked up at him, and Kris felt tears gather in his own eyes.

“Kris, they can’t be dead, can they?”

Kris pulled his little brother into his arms and held him tightly, keeping his face angled so that Tao wouldn’t see his own tears.

“They’re not dead,” he said, half to convince himself. “We would feel it if they were.”

Tao only grew more hysterical. “How do you know?!” He all but screamed. “I can’t feel anything, Kris! I’m lost! We’re lost! We’ve been abandoned! This was a trap!”

Kris jerked away, holding Tao at arm’s length. “What are you even saying?” He demanded.

Tao glared at him. “I—” He froze, rising to his feet so fast it was as though gravity had lost its hold on him. Kris felt it too though, and he got up just as quickly. They stood back to back, scanning the forest.

“Who’s there?” Kris yelled. “Show yourself!”

From behind a tree about ten feet away there was a shuffling of feet. A young boy peered out from behind the trunk, and even though he was emaciated and covered in dirt, Kris recognized him.

He appeared in a flash of black smoke, a cheeky grin slimming his eyes to crescents. “You won’t catch me!”

Tao went to him first and threw his arms around his skinny frame.

“Kai!” He yelled, hugging him tightly. “You’re alright! You’re alive!”

Kai pushed Tao away from him. His eyes were narrowed to slits, and he looked ready to spit acid.

“Where the bloody hell have you been?” He growled. Kris backed away. Kai’s face was much thinner, his eyes—even narrowed as they were—looked too big for his face. He was covered in a layer of grime and his skin scratched. Kris felt a sense of dread; this hadn’t happened over a period of months, this had taken years.

“We’ve been waiting for ages,” Kai went on, advancing forward. Tao and Kris stepped back. “Why didn’t you look for us? Do you know what it’s been like? Do you have any idea what we’ve been through?!” He screamed the last part.

Both Tao and Kris were initially startled by his hostile reaction, but as Kai screamed Tao leapt to the defensive. “Where have we been? Where have you been?”

“Right here!” Kai hollered back. “Stuck here because we literally couldn’t go any further!”

“Well we were stuck in a lab with needles and tubes coming out of our arms!” Tao screamed. “We were cut open and studied like lab rats!” He lifted up his shirt, showing scars from surgeries. Kris wondered if he had them too, he hadn’t bothered to check. “We were tied to hospital beds with doctors standing over us all day and night!”

“Not in the last 332 days when they left with everyone else!” Kai screeched. By this time Kai and Tao were toe to toe, yelling in each other’s faces.

“We had been placed in comas,” Kris broke in, literally, shoving the two apart. He then grabbed Kai’s hands and held eye contact, even though Kai still looked ready to kill. “Kai, I’m so sorry it took so long to find you. You know I would have come sooner if I could have, you know that. You’re my brother. I would never leave you alone if I could help it.”

The anger seemed to leave Kai all at once and he slumped forward, Kris barely caught him in time. Kai clung to his shoulders and spoke into his shirt.

“I know,” he muttered tearfully. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean all that.”

Kris sighed and hugged him tightly, glad that he wasn’t yelling but also glad to have his little brother back. He beckoned Tao over, but he stood his ground, glaring at Kai’s back.

“Who else is with you?” Tao asked, blatantly ignoring Kris’ gesture to get his over for a group hug.

Kai pushed himself away from Kris. “Lu Han and Sehun,” he said quietly.

Of course, Kris thought as the memories came back to him. The three of them had been inseparable; Sehun and Kai had been best friends, and Lu Han had loved Sehun more than anyone else. It made sense for them all to have squeezed into the same escape pod.

Tao grabbed Kai’s shoulders and shook him. “What did you mean by, ‘We couldn’t go any further?’” he demanded. “What happened?”

Kai stared at the ground and refused to make eye contact. It was a moment before he answered, and when he did he sounded like he was crying.

“It’s Lu Han,” he whispered brokenly.

Icy fear flooded Kris’ veins. “What happened to him?” He gasped.

Kai looked up at him and shook his head hopelessly. “He’s lost.”