OH MY GOD THIS IS THE 80TH CHAPTER IT'S PERFECT

I’ve decided that drabble #56 (chapter 64) takes place around this time, so you may want to reread that before you read this.

#72:Go Wherever You Go

Chanyeol really couldn’t believe that they had taken the cats along as well. The dogs he could understand, but did the cats really have to come?

“They’re not mousers,” Tao said, “They’re too used to being fed, they’ll never make it on their own. They might catch one or two mice or a dumb bird but it won’t be enough.”

“But it’s not just the cats,” Chanyeol sputtered. “It’s the litter boxes and the fur and the attacking of feet at two in the morning!”

Tao glared at him. “You want me to leave my pet here to starve because you’re afraid it might cause you some discomfort?”

That was the last time Chanyeol tried to say something on the issue. Kris and Yixing also ended up bringing their own cats along, in addition to the three dogs that they had. That plus twelve humans did not make for very comfortable rides in their new car—an RV, or recreational vehicle. It had four beds—two bunk beds on either side of a small hallway, and there was a toilet and a shower, and a small sitting area with a table and bench-style seats, a sofa, and a lounge chair. In comparison to other cars it was huge, but with twelve grown Guardians there was never truly enough space. And the cats got everywhere.

It wasn’t that Chanyeol didn’t like the cats, it was just that he much preferred dogs. Cats seemed to have a thing for his wings, or rather his feathers. During the second week of their road trip, Chanyeol had fallen asleep on the sofa when his wing was attacked by one of the cats. It was so unexpected that he started crying. He thought he kind of freaked everyone out with that. he tried to tell them that he was just so tired, he hadn’t been sleeping well and all he wanted to do was have a nap. Suho was the only one who could understand him through the tears, who ended up leading him to one of the beds and tucking him in. Chanyeol slept for ten hours after that, and an hour after he woke p he was tired again.

Chanyeol could see it in all of them now. They were all so tired, if not physically then mentally. The years of solitude were taking their toll, they had all been left alone with their thoughts for too long. Something needed to happen, and soon.

“You know, we never did go back to that hospital and try to find out what happened to us.”

“Isn’t it a little too late for that?”

“I don’t think so. We should go that way anyway, we never went beyond the other side of the forest.”

Tao gripped Kris’ hand so tightly that he even hurt himself. “I don’t think this was one of my better ideas,” he said quietly.

Kris stared at the hospital—no, research center. Hospitals were for healing, this place wasn’t for healing. “It’s not too late to turn around.”

“You’ll regret it if you don’t go,” Kyungsoo said. He was the only other person who had joined them, at Tao’s insistence. He said that Kyungsoo needed this, to be involved in something that would take his mind off his own problems.

“Kyungsoo’s right,” Tao said, squaring his shoulders. “Let’s at least see if there’s anything left.” He held out his free hand, and Kyungsoo took it. The three of them walked into the hospital side by side.

It was very much like what Kris remembered, but more decayed. Weeds had crept inside and grew all over the floor, the windows were cracked, and it looked like several animals had once made homes among the overgrowth. The three of them walked down the hall in absolute silence, and when Kyungsoo spoke, Kris and Tao jumped even though he was whispering.

“This is really creepy.”

Tao shuddered. “Yeah, it is,” he said, squeezing Kris and Kyungsoo’s hands tighter. He nodded at the doors at the end of the hall. “Look at that, it’s still locked.”

All three of them took a step back.

“What are we afraid of?” Kris asked loudly. “We’re the only people here, right? It’s not like something’s going to jump out at us!”

Tao squeaked in fear and covered it up with a cough.

“We’re fine,” Kris insisted. “Look, watch me,” and he shook Tao off, marched over to the door, and grabbed the heavy chain and lock that held the doors shut. The heavy metal crumbled apart in his hands. Tao’s jaw dropped and even Kyungsoo looked shocked.

“Jeez, overkill much?” Kyungsoo asked.

But Kris looked at them both wide-eyed. “It wasn’t me…it just fell apart.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo said. “Well, um…it has been there awhile.”

“Right,” Kris said uneasily. He pushed at the door, and it fell flat to the floor.

Tao screamed as the heavy door fell to the ground. “Oh god, by the Tree, this is too creepy, what are we doing, why did I think this was a good idea?”

Kyungsoo put his arm around Tao’s shoulders. “Hey, this is about letting go, remember? Come on, we’ll just go in for a few minutes and try to find something.”

Kris lead the way into the room, and when Tao refused to budge, Kyungsoo went in after Kris alone. There was one large window in the room, letting in enough light to see that the room had once held papers and various computers, but by now almost everything had decomposed. When Kyungsoo touched a piece of paper, it fell apart in his hands.

“Here’s something,” Kris said. He was standing in front of a metal cabinet, pulling on a drawer. “It’s locked, not rusted. It must have been locked for a reason.” He started looking for a key, but Kyungsoo pulled a small piece of wire from his pocket and picked the lock himself.

“How did you learn to do that?” Kris asked.

Kyungsoo shrugged. “When I didn’t have my gift, I had a lot of time on my hands.”

Tao peeked into the room. “Have you found something?”

Kris opened the drawer and pulled out a bunch of papers. “Hey, they’re in pretty good shape,” he said, and then his expression turned dark. “Oh my god…”

“What?” Kyungsoo asked.

Kris’ hands were shaking. “They’re diagrams…of our bodies.”

“What?” Tao yelped, running over, “How can you tell?”

Kris showed the papers to Kyungsoo and Tao. “See? It’s got our marks on it.” And indeed, Tao and Kris’ marks were drawn on the bodies. Kris flipped through the papers, agitated. One tore apart when he was too rough with it.

“They wrote a lot about my wings,” he said, his voice shaking with rage. “They did all kind of tests on us.” He pulled out one page. “,” he swore, “This one’s got names of drugs on it…they tested our resistance to drugs…they tried to kill us!”

Tao staggered backwards. “Why?” He gasped. “Why would they do that? We…we didn’t hurt them!”

Kris looked furious. “They didn’t care if we were hurting them or not, they used us like lab rats. This place disgusts me, it…Tao, are you okay?”

Tao was shaking, his arms wrapped his chest. There were tears in his eyes. “I remember,” he said, “They stuck me with something, and it hurt, and I couldn’t move…I wanted to die.”

Kris’ face changed. He dropped the papers and rushed over to him, gathering Tao into his arms. “Shh, it’s okay baby,” he soothed, petting Tao’s hair. “It’s over now, it’s over…”

Tao held him tightly, probably too tight, and he tried to calm down but he just couldn’t. Kris ended up carrying him out of the building shortly after that. once they were outside Tao felt a little better, not like he was slowly suffocating.

“This wasn’t a good idea,” he said again, his voice shaking. “I’m sorry.”

Kris had an odd look on his face. “No, it was a good idea. We needed this. We’re going to do something, I just…haven’t figured out what.”

“Burn the place down.”

The two of them jumped and looked over at Kyungsoo—they hadn’t seen him leave the building.

“Burn it?” Tao echoed.

Kyungsoo nodded. “All the information they had on you, the equipment they used on you, just burn it all. Erase it. Make it like it never happened, and then you’ll be able to move on.”

They both considered it for a moment, then Tao spoke up. “We should have Suho nearby, just in case something goes wrong.”

“So we’re doing it then?” Kris asked. “We’re burning it down?”

“I want to,” Tao said. “I hate this place. I want it gone.”

“Okay,” Kris said. “Then let’s burn it to the ground.”

Baekhyun held Angel on his lap as the fire raged on. Kris, Tao, and Suho stood closer to the building than the others. Tao and Kris because they wanted to, Suho because he had to be there in case the fire got out of hand. Everyone else was hot enough and wanted nothing to do with the fire.

“Can somebody tell me why we decided to go for a drive through the dessert in the summer?” Baekhyun asked.

“Can you tell me why you keep talking?” Kyungsoo snapped, snatching the earbud from Baekhyun’s ear. “If you’re not going to listen to it, then tell me for heaven’s sake and I’ll . You’re the one who asked me to listen with you.”

“I know,” Baekhyun sighed, leaning his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Kyungsoo sighed and slumped against Baekhyun, resting his cheek on Baekhyun’s head. “You’re no fun to argue with anymore. We used to argue a lot, didn’t we?”

“When we were kids and didn’t know better,” Baekhyun said. “We’re more mature now.”

They lapsed into silence once more, still leaning on each other.

“It’s too hot for this,” Kyungsoo said, trying to sit up, but Baekhyun pulled him back down.

“We never cuddle anymore,” he whined. “I don’t think I’ve been this physically close to you since we went to the beach.”

Kyungsoo frowned. The beach…he had been thinking about that a lot lately, and honestly Baekhyun’s recent behavior was reminding him of that time for a different reason.

“Baekhyun?”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve been hanging off of me a lot lately. Care to tell me why?”

Baekhyun cleared his throat and held Angel to his chest, as though the puppy was a shield. “You’re my friend, am I not allowed to hang off of you?”

Kyungsoo frowned. “Not when you’re hiding your motives. You’re acting the way I did towards you when you were having a hard time learning how to swim, but I was upfront about that.”

Baekhyun sighed heavily. “Look, I’m just worried about you, okay? You…you scared me on the bridge. We were all really scared for you.”

“I was scared too,” Kyungsoo said defensively. “I felt like the ground had dropped out from under my feet. It’s not like I meant to scream that loud.”

“No,” Baekhyun said harshly, “God, it wasn’t even the screaming it was…it was watching you pass out, and wake up only to get sick, start shaking violently and then pass out again—” He was gasping, tears in his eyes. “My god, it was like a month ago and I just can’t forget it. I’m so worried about you, because seeing you suffer like that was terrifying and…and I couldn’t even do anything. I couldn’t move or think, I just let Kris and Suho handle it.” He was squeezing Kyungsoo’s hand so tightly that Kyungsoo couldn’t feel his fingers. “I wish I had done something, I’m so sorry that I didn’t.”

“Don’t apologize,” Kyungsoo said hastily, “I don’t…I’m not mad at you or anything. you didn’t do anything wrong, if you had tried to help, I mean it would have gotten very crowded.”

“I was standing closer to you, on the bridge,” Baekhyun said, “When you started screaming I should have grabbed you, but instead Kris did it. He saved the day,” Baekhyun laughed bitterly. “Again. He saved the day again. What does that say about me? What does that make me?”

“Human, maybe?” Kyungsoo suggested. “Kris is too, he’s just…”

“Just what?” Baekhyun asked. “Better at it? more equipped to handle these things? What are we going to do when we have actual little Guardians running around, getting hurt and crying? Are Kris and Suho going to raise them all alone?”

Kyungsoo always felt a little dizzy whenever somebody mentioned the future Guardians, and he knew why but he tried not to think about it too often. “We’ll be okay,” he said faintly. “We will, we just need time…” he held a hand to his forehead and groaned. “Oh, I’m really lightheaded all of a sudden…”

Baekhyun shoved Angel off of him and started fussing over Kyungsoo. “Are you sick?! Do I need to call Yixing? That was really sudden, is it the smoke?”

“No, no,” Kyungsoo said, batting at Baekhyun’s hands. “I feel weird when I think about the future Guardians but it’s been getting worse lately.”

“Why? Do you have any ideas?” Baekhyun asked.

“Well…remember how I…” Kyungsoo looked around, but aside from Suho, Kris and Tao, everyone was in the giant RV having a nap, so nobody was around to overheard him. “Remember the vision I had, of the mysterious twelfth guardian? I think about it a lot, more than I probably should, and when I think about it for too long or try to see more…I get really bad headaches. It’s been on my mind a lot lately and I guess it’s why I’m not feeling so well.”

Baekhyun stared at him. “This guardian must be pretty special. He or she hasn’t even been born yet.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo sighed. “But I really, I just know that whoever it is will be amazing. I just can’t stop thinking about them.”

Baekhyun continued to stare at him, and Kyungsoo waited for him to say something but he never did.

After a while Suho extinguished the burning building and the three of them walked back to the vehicle, their arms around each other.

“Do you feel better?” Kyungsoo asked when they got close enough to hear.

“Surprisingly, yes,” Tao answered. “It was really satisfying, watching it burn.”

Kris nodded. “Yeah, it feels…freeing, somehow.”

Kyungsoo grinned at them. “Sometimes the best way to take your anger out on something is to destroy it. when I get really upset, I build up statues and then dismantle them with my bare hands. It’s so satisfying.”

Suho looked concerned. “It is as long as you don’t do it too often.”

“I don’t,” Kyungsoo promised.

Yixing poked his head out of the RV and waved at them. “Ready to get moving again?” He asked.

Kris and Suho looked at each other, then shook their heads.

“It’s late in the day,” Suho said, “It’s probably better to just set up a campsite and get some rest.”

“Can we set up came away from here though?” Baekhyun asked. “The smoke is still pretty bad.”

Suho waved him and Kyungsoo into the RV. “We can if you all get your butts back inside, now let’s go. This place gives me the creeps.”

They drove for about an hour before they finally decided to stop and set up camp. Not everyone could sleep comfortably in the RV, so they had a few tents and sleeping bags for those who would sleep outside, weather permitting. If it rained, then they all just had to deal with sleeping uncomfortably. The RV's four beds usually went to whoever was going to do the driving the next day. Only Kris, Chen, Xiumin, Kai, and Suho were considered good enough drivers to be trusted with the large vehicle, and they rotated who drove first every day. Usually they were all fighting over who would get which bed, but for some reason they were all silent on the issue.

Chanyeol was the one who brought it up. “So, who’s sleeping inside tonight?” He asked hesitantly.

The five of them glanced at each other and shrugged. “I don’t care,” Kris said, and the others murmured similar statements.

“Let’s just all sleep outside,” Suho suggested.

“No,” Lu Han blurted.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

“Let’s sleep inside, all of us,” Lu Han said, “I don’t care about being uncomfortable, this place is creeping me out. I can’t explain it but I…I feel so on edge. I don’t know what it is! I keep thinking that I’m afraid, but I’m not.”

“I feel the same way,” Kyungsoo said. “I’ve felt it for…a while now. Like Lu Han said, I’m not scared, but at the same time I really don’t want to sleep outside. Doesn’t anyone else feel it?”

“Not really,” Chanyeol said, “I mean, I feel kind of excited but I think I always feel that way when we’re exploring.”

“You can sleep outside then,” Lu Han muttered, “But I’m going to sleep inside even if it means I have to lay on the table.”

In the end, they all ended up sleeping inside, twelve Guardians, three dogs, and three cats. It was uncomfortable, but now that they had acknowledged the feeling it was like they could think of nothing else. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but they were all so focused on it that it made them nervous, and nobody knew what to do about it. So they kept their mouths shut and pretended that nothing was wrong.

Nobody slept well that night, but eventually they all did fall asleep. They were awoken at an ungodly hour of the morning when suddenly they all found themselves hitting the ground hard.

Chanyeol sat up and screamed, “WHAT THE ACTUAL LIVING TREE JUST HAPPENED?!”

Suho looked around wide-eyed and yelled, “We’re moving!!!”

Just as he said it, the RV ground to a halt and they were all thrown forward. Several people knocked heads, a few more got whiplash and poor Yixing hit the ground and bit his lip by accident. 11 boys picked themselves up, rubbing at their injuries and muttering to themselves, but Kyungsoo remained on the floor. Baekhyun was the first to notice.

“Hey, Kyungsoo, are you okay?”

Kyungsoo gulped. “I…um…I think it was me.”

“What was you?” Baekhyun asked.

Kyungsoo looked like he was about to start crying. “I made the RV move. Not on purpose though, I…I was definitely sleeping.”

“That’s just fantastic,” Sehun growled. “Ugh, way to go this is just what we needed! Where the heck are we now?”

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo said meekly. “I didn’t mean to!”

Sehun glared for a second, then slumped over. “I know you didn’t,” he said. “I’m sorry, hyung.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “God, what’s wrong with me?”

“It’s not just you,” Chanyeol said. “It’s all of us. We’re cracking.”

“Don’t say that!” Suho snapped. “We’re all just tired, okay? We’re going to be fine. We’ve had some setbacks but it’s nothing we haven’t been able to face before now.”

“Why did I move us?” Kyungsoo asked, seemingly not hearing Suho at all. “I don’t understand…how could my gift just take over like that?”

Lu Han had his face pressed against the RV’s windows. “Guys,” he said quietly, “I might be wrong but…but I think there’s something out there.”

A collective shiver went down everyone’s spine.

“What kind of something?” Tao squeaked.

“I don’t know,” Lu Han said. “I don’t think it’s malicious, whatever it is. But something is out there.”

Kyungsoo suddenly leapt to his feet. “I can feel them!” he shouted. “We have to get over there!”

“Feel what, though?” Suho cried, “What are we running into?”

Kyungsoo wasn’t listening, he dashed out of the RV and took off running. Baekhyun went after him, and Chanyeol followed, and soon they were all running, Kyungsoo in the lead. They didn’t yell out to each other, though all of their minds were racing. Their hearts were racing too, both from the running and from sheer excitement. They were all thinking the same thing—is this it?

Suddenly Kyungsoo stopped and everyone else skidded to a halt behind him. He was shaking, his eyes fixed on a point just ahead.

He raised his hand and pointed. “Do you see what I’m seeing?”

There, still a good distance away but just visible, sat a small child.

“In the name of the Tree,” Minseok breathed, “Are we hallucinating?”

“We’re all seeing a little kid, right?” Jongin asked, and they all nodded. “Then we’re not hallucinating. We can’t be.”

“What do we do?” Tao asked.

Kris answered, “Well, let’s go talk to her.”

He started walking, but nobody else moved. Kris looked back at them. “Come on, let’s go.”

“How do you know she’s a girl?” Suho asked.

Kris looked confused. “Did I say that?”

“You did,” Jongdae said, “How do you know?”

“Guys,” Lu Han interrupted, “She’s seen us. She’s coming closer.”

They all turned around. The little girl was walking towards them at a steady pace. She would soon be within earshot, and as they realized that they all fell silent again. Kris began to walk once more, though he seemed unsure as to whether he should approach the girl or let her come to them. He stopped after just a few steps.

It didn’t take long for the child to catch up to them, and as she got closer they could tell that she was indeed a girl. She ran the last few feet, her hands outstretched, and let her momentum carry her right into Kris’ wings. She tugged on the feathers experimentally and jumped when Kris fluttered his wings.

“They’re real,” he said, his voice shaking.

The little girl kept one hand fisted in his feathers and pointed to Chanyeol with her free one. “What about his?” She asked, speaking in a dialect similar to the Southern one of their home planet.

It was a shock to hear another person’s voice, one that wasn’t a recording. Suho was brought to tears, though he tried to hide it.

“Mine are real, too,” Chanyeol said.

The little girl began to walk, pulling Kris along with her, until she got her other hand onto Chanyeol’s wings as well.

“Pretty,” she cooed, petting Chanyeol’s wings. “Why are yours so much smaller?”

“They’re newer,” Chanyeol explained. He sounded like he was about to faint. “Kris has had his longer then I have.”

The little girl looked over her shoulder. “Kris?”

Kris nodded and knelt down—carefully, since this child still had a tight hold on his wing. “That’s my name. That’s Chanyeol, with the orange and red wings.” He went around, pointing everyone out and telling the little girl their names. “What about you, what’s your name?”

She smiled. “I’m Amber. I’m five years old.”

“Amber,” Kris repeated. “Wow, that’s a pretty name.”

Amber continued to tug at Chanyeol and Kris’ wings. “How come you have these? Are you birds?”

“No, we’re not birds,” Kris said, taking Amber’s hand and gently untangling her fingers from his feathers. He winced as one came loose. “We’re Guardians, we all have special gifts.”

Amber stared at him with wide open. “Show me!”

Kris looked up and his eyes locked onto Lu Han. Out of all of them, Lu Han was standing the furthest away, but he was looking at Amber like…like…

“Lu Han,” Kris said, jolting him out of his stupor. “Can you show Amber your gift?”

Lu Han nodded, and slowly walked closer. He didn’t say a word, but continued to stare at Amber in wonder. He knelt in front of her and picked up a few rocks from the ground. He held them out in his palm, and gestured for Amber to watch. Then he made the rocks levitate and turn in a circle.

Amber squealed and jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Me too!” She screamed, “Me too, me too!” She snatched a few rocks from the ground, held them flat in her palm, and stared at them with a furrowed brow. After a few seconds the rocks began to float, and turn in a circle.

“In the name of the Tree!” Tao cried, clapping his hands over his mouth.

Lu Han dropped the stones. He was looking at Amber like the sun rose at her command, and he began to cry.

“She’s mine,” he said faintly, “She’s…she’s mine,” he started to sob.

Amber let her own rocks fall to the ground. “Why are you crying when you feel so happy?” She asked.

Lu Han gasped and started to cry even harder. “She’s so beautiful!” He wept, “By the Tree, she’s so…perfect, so perfect!”

Amber wrapped her arms around Lu Han and patted his back. “There, there,” she said, “You don’t have to cry because I’m perfect.”

Lu Han laughed and swept Amber into his arms, hugging her close. “Amber, you’re a Guardian,” he whispered. “You’re the first Guardian we’ve found, and you’re mine. By the Tree, I can’t believe it! I never thought this day would come!”

It hit them then, exactly what this meant. There were humans on this world, and there was a Guardian among them.

Finally, after nearly four hundred years of solitude, they weren’t alone anymore.

Cue the screaming fans I guess.

I too will be screaming my way through to the next update. And don’t worry, the next chapter will explain how Amber came to be and where the other people are!!