↭CHAPTER 32↭

A whir of engines came to life and heat spread across the barren cold wasteland. People from all walks of life trudged in the new brown boots and barely-there jackets to keep them warm in the extreme coldness. A kid whined, a businessman grunted, a housewife screamed in an attempt to run away. With a slip of a foot, the ice gave way she fell over the edge of the cliff towards her death. The other gulped, and parents covered their children's ears to prevent them from hearing the woman's screams.

"Well well how is the army growing, Brother?" The Old One asked another as he tapped on an imaginary tabletop.

"Extremely well. Recruits are being sent to South Korea for the first battle."

"Excellent. I assume those six blond heads are doing well misleading The Forces?"

"They're all heading towards South Korea I assume. I'm not sure if they know about the gates."

"I doubt they will ever know about it unless that old man tells them that such things exist. He has disappeared for ten years along with the twelve of them."

"Well I heard one of The Forces is one of fainthearted. He's currently in Naples, Italy- being housed by one of our men disguised as a pizzeria operator-"

"Well well, what else a better bait to lure all of them to here in Oblivion while that Luhan human tries hard to make them go to Korea."

"Inform the blondie in Italy, capture the softie and persuade him onto our side." he said with a cackle and the evil laughter spread throughout their icy cold abode.

"Adding an '-ie' at the end of the words weren't necessary though."

"Don't be lame brother." The Old One laughed.

-

"Hello boys, how have you been?" a voice said.

Tao and Xiumin turned their heads in the direction of the voice, away from the weird book that magically had legit writings on it. What other surprises could that day bring to them after meeting up with the others in the dreamworld?

The aged pizza man that they hadn't seen for weeks (or what it seemed like weeks) was smiling gently back at them. Immediately, Tao and Xiumin's tough stares soften and their lips curled up into smiles. They finally met someone instead of waking up to a constant supply of pizza and water by the door. Pizza was getting boring and often Tao craved for spicy noodles while Xiumin craved for the steam buns he often got from the store by the corner.

"Where have you been all this while?" Xiumin asked and got up from the floor, walking over to the old man.

The man did not stop smiling and Tao felt an itching sensation in his hands. There was something wrong but he could not tell what it was. Why was it like this every time? He was irritated with himself and wished he could say something to Xiumin.

With a of the man's head, people in black suits with silver zippers and grey fabrics for masks and goggles atop their heads and heavy metal guns in their arms barged into the small confines of a room, taking the duo by surprise. An instinct was to run, but where? Xiumin helplessly scurried about, not long after being pinned to the wall with his arms at his back, surrounded by more than five men ready to shoot him.

Maybe the wushu training Tao took since he was four was quite useful after-all (and not just for showing off to people). The moment some of the masked men rushed towards him, he grabbed something random from behind him. He took a quick glance, okay maybe a non-working lamp was too random but whatever he thought- and swung the electric cord of the lamp around him to create a barrier between him and those ugly dark grey guns.

"D-don't come near me!" he threatened and looked behind him. There was a window bolted shut. If only he could-

"Just jump Tao!" Xiumin shouted against the wall he was pressed against. "You'll be fine if you run!"

Tao took a glance at Xiumin before throwing the lamp in the men's direction and forced himself to go against the grimy glass panels. In the quiet neighbourhood the silence was broken by a shattering of glass and Tao landed against the cobalt (or was it granite?) surface of a road. The masked men shouted in an unknown language and Tao took that opportunity to run away despite the cuts and bruises he got from surviving a fall from the second story of a pizzeria.

Off he went with the wind trying to slice his face as he went against air pressure to escape. Now why in the world did those men want to capture him? He was only a kid from China that transferred to a school in Korea when his parents were offered better job prospects. For heavens sake, he was still in his school uniform and the tiny soup stain was still near the collar of his shirt!

The roads were empty and Tao presumed the alleys were too. He took a sharp turn to the left and it lead to a series of wet dark alleyways. The shouts were echoing off the walls. Faster, catch him! they were probably screaming. He came to a junction between the alleyways and hesitated for a moment. What if they led to dead ends? A gunshot zipped past his ear and he ran right on instinct.

He was losing his stamina, and he needed rest. He leaned against an unseen door and breathed heavily. His lungs greedily gulped in the barely-fresh oxygen and he tensed when he heard the trampling of boots run past him, not noticing him in the shadows.

Hey wait a second, he remembered. I can control time!

Mustering his mental strength, he put two fingers on either sides of his temples and shut his eyes, calming down his breath once again. Breathe In, Breath Out. The water droplets from a leaking pipe slowly stopped it's movements in mid-air. The wind billowing through someone's curtains froze and the curtains stayed afloat. The trampling of boots in the distance were reduced to nothing.

He opened his eyes and walked out of his hiding spot. The air was still as expected and he smiled gleefully to himself. Of course, he was free wasn't he?

Tao had no idea where he had end