Journey 37

Sehun shifted farther in the corner while Chanyeol stood up and opened his arms protectively for his friends.

"You can't take them! Take me instead!" he hissed.

Tao laughed while shaking a naughty finger at him.

"Tsk. Tsk. That won't do dumpy prince. You see, King Luhan specifically ordered me to bring all of you out so..."

Five EM guards entered the cellar and gripped Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Chen, Sehun and Jongin's wrists. Jongin winced as he was forced to stand up; Sehun was obviously shaking with fear; Meanwhile, Chen and Baekhyun gave shooting daggers at Tao; and Chanyeol hissed angry curses from his captor.

"Bring them out! Oh I sooo love this day!" Tao ordered and resumed his singsong voice.

Every crescent moon, the EMs gathered around to enjoy their ultimate entertainment: watching an EK dies from torture. It could be finger cutting or whipping, starving or fighting - whatever the measure was, as long as they see blood and desperate hearts, they were satisfied.

"Sehun, quit trembling. They'll see us as chickens if you sweat like that." Baekhyun whispered.
"I c-cant st-t-op B-baekhyun." Sehun answered. "I h-had too much exp-p-perience in tortures."

It was a long way up to the ground floor. Chanyeol doesn't know how long they walked. All he cared about was the safety of his friends. He glanced at them and he swears that his heart just breaks. The EM guard holding Jongin was literally dragging the latter. Jongin could barely stand up. His wounds were starting to reopen, his lips returning to its whiteness. He caught eyes with Chanyeol and all he did was to grin.

*I'm fine Chanyeol. Don't worry about me* sent by Jongin's eyes.
*Fool.* Chanyeol stared back.

After what seemed like hours, everyone was panting and out of breath. Tao was the first one to regain his composure and turned to face the EKs.

"King Luhan was waiting for you all at the majestic hall. Let's go." he smirked.

While the echoes of their loud footprints rang loudly across the hollow corridor, Chanyeol can hear a chant repeatedly sang from inside the high doors of the majestic hall. It brought chills on his spine, shivers that make his hair stand. They stopped in front of the high doors while Tao knocked on the door which magically opened for them.

At first he thought they were get to be sacrificed. Chanyeol had that impression so bad. Thousands of hooded men were lined up on either sides of the aisle. They were all holding long candles with blue fire, while their mouths moved in synchronization. 

"Careless, careless. Shoot anonymous. Anonymous. Heartless. Mindless. No one. Who care about me?" the hooded men chanted. They continued singing it with low, deep voices that echoed more loudly when the door behind them was closed.
"Welcome back my brothers!" Luhan chimed in, standing up from his throne. "Missed me?"

Jongin gritted his teeth.

"Traitor!"
"Obviously." Luhan smirked.

Chanyeol remembered Sehun's words earlier. Luhan was his brother. He was the mastermind of all murders. He killed their own father. Him - the person he trusted in Earth, was a betrayal of their kind.

The aisle was another long walk. The EM guards nudged the EKs forward and so they started walking again. Chanyeol frowned as he felt droplets on his head. Was there no roof in the majestic hall? He kept on frowning until his curiosity got the best in him. Looking above, Chanyeol gasped in horror.

Chen, Baekhyun and Jongin looked up too, giving the same expression as Chanyeol's.

They couldn't count how many men EKs were hung above them. Everyone was almost except for the small clothing that wraps their waist. Wounds from whippings were barely visible across their backs. Fresh blood trickles slowly from these wounds, dropping at the faces of Chanyeol, Chen, Baekhyun and Jongin. How much horrible can this hall gets?

"Careless, careless. Shoot anonymous. Anonymous. Heartless. Mindless. No one. Who care about me?" 

Luhan waited until Chanyeol reached the foot of his throne.

"Can you hear it my dear brother? Can you hear our song? No one cared about us. Now who's going to care about you?" he asked.
"The tortures my king?" Tao asked.
"Ah yes, I don't forget that Tao." Luhan answered. He eyed his captives, a slow, malicious grin forming in his lips. "Kai would stay here in the majestic hall together with that rainbow trash."
"Stop doing this Luhan!' Chanyeol growled, panicking at the worsening case of Jongin. Lay's treatment was not enough for Jongin to endure the whippings.
"The rest will be in the arena. Kris will take care of them." Luhan continued, not listening. "You may go."

Chanyeol cast a desperate glance at Jongin and Sehun. Jongin was brave-looking despite of his condition. He gave a brief nod at Chanyeol before glaring at Luhan. On the other hand, Sehun was on the verge of crying.

"Move!" the EM guard pushed Chanyeol forward.

Chanyeol, Chen and Baekhyun stumbled outside the door, suddenly facing a large, Roman-like arena filled with thousands of spectators. When the three of them entered the arena, the cheers grew louder and louder.

"And here comes Exo-K's savior, Prince Weakling!!!" Kris announce over the stadium. "Together with his side-kicks, I-Do'nt-Know-His-Name and So-What-The--Is-His-Name!!!"

Laughter, jeers and boos followed Kris' introduction. Baekhyun balled his fights angrily. He can tolerate humans mistaken his name as "bacon", but not Kris' taunts.

"So our today's game will be called as "Bet on your Survivor". I suggest you pull out your comet coins out because we're starting to bet for our last man standing!"

The spectators pulled out their comet coins and waved it enthusiastically over the heads. Kris nodded in approval.

"Good, good. Now here are our choices: who would bet for a man who had been taking care of sheep unicorns all his life? Enter challenger number one!"

The east gate below the arena opened wherein a scared but determined -faced man entered the area.

"The twin brothers as challengers two and three!"

The west gate opened, revealing two identical men in their late 20s.

"The boy who cried wold as challenger four!"

The north gate opened, pushing a small, eight-year old boy in the arena.

"Mama! Papa!" the boy cried.
"Ermithus!!!" one of the ladies in the crown wailed desperately. The boy named Ermithus ran towards his mom but Kris had swifly threatened a knife against the woman's neck.
"Try not fighting and you'll see your mom dead by the next second." he snickered.

Ermithus stopped running and knelt down hopelessly. Chanyeol had an urge to suddenly protect this boy who was neither a friend nor family. As a matter of fact, he wanted to protect all EKs from the grasp of the EMs.

"And the prince of all the garbage EKs as challenger number five!"

Someone pushed Chanyeol on his back, making him stumble on the ground. Hesitation crossed the other challengers' faces as soon as they saw Chanyeol. But when they heard the cries of their own loved ones, their hesitation turned into determination.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" the EMs chanted.

Weapons were thrown from all sides of the arena. The twin brothers grabbed knives immediately and started throwing the weapons at each other. The unicorn shepherd hurdled at Chanyeol with killer ropes. Chanyeol dodged the man's attack swiftly and grabbed a sword. The boy retreated father, afraid to kill anyone.

"I am truly sorry my prince. But I lost hope in you several years ago." the shepherd said. "It's my family that matters now."

They had lost hope because it was too late for him to come back. Chanyeol wondered how many more EKs had lost faith in him. 

Chanyeol felt a quick swish behind his ear. He sidetracked just in time the knife from one of the brothers fell sharply on the ground. Then the brothers, along with the shepherd, joined forces and attacked Chanyeol. Chanyeol ran and dove for a metal shield that weighs heavier than him. He raised it and armed it protectively over his head so the knives clattered uselessly against it. He charged for battle and wounded one of the man's knee - he doesn't know whose knee - and dug another blow from another challenger. 

They heard random bullets around them. It was an Exo version of machine guns in Earth. The shepherd was randomly firing, shouting the word "DIE" loudly from the crowd. Chanyeol seek cover on his shield, but he heard someone fall dead beside him. It was one of the brothers.

"Arno!!!" the remaining brother wailed. He launched himself on the shepherd and quickly inserted a knife on his neck. Then his fiery eyes met the boy's innocent face. Without warning, Chanyeol abandoned his shield and ran towards the boy, his heart told him he should protect the kid. He was harmless. He's still young.
"Watch out!" he yelled after him.

The boy turned to his direction. For a split second, Chanyeol saw a glint of faith on the boy's eyes. But then a squenching sound followed his cry, revealing the last brother standing behind him with a knife on his hand.

"Nooo!!!!" Chanyeol shouted desperately, tears forming in his eyes. Perhaps it was by instinct, but Chanyeol felt angry at the brother for killing the innocent boy. He then dug his sword at the exact point of the man's heart, where he choked out blood, finally joining his brother in heaven.

Chanyeol was the last man standing.

And he felt horrible as he looked at the eyes of his first victim.