“Had enough?”

You turn at your heels and quickly throw your knife, yelping when you notice who you were targetting.

“Crap, crap, crap!” You run over and drop your knives, cupping Luhan’s cheeks with your hands.  “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine,” He winces and you lift your hand away from his cheek to reveal a scrape, blood oozing out of it.

“Don’t ever jump on me in the Dome,” You say through gritted teeth as you pull him to the seats at the side, pushing a button that gave you aid kits.

“Sorry, you were wheezing so hard I thought you needed a break.  I’ve been calling your name but you weren’t responding,” He grimaces as you clean the wound on his cheek.  “Ow!”

“Don’t be a kid,” You sigh, but dab at his wound more gently. 

“You shouldn’t overwork yourself, Amara,” Luhan brushes a strand of hair away from your face.  “I know it puts your mind off of things but you gotta care for yourself too,”

Sticking a band-aid on his cheek, you slump, looking away.  “I know,”

It’s been a week after you saw your mother and father in that flashback.  You had went through the newest files with the two and you only have the visits left.  Nothing came in after, because you had been training yourself to exhaustion you didn’t even have time to think about whether or not you have the right pair of pajamas on before you sleep. It helped, but you truly were exhausted for a constant 7 days.

“Amara, Amara,” Luhan sighs, pulling your head into the crook of his neck. 

“I have to stop being so weak in front of you two,” You groan, squeezing his hand as he takes yours.

“It’s fine, as long as you’re weak only when you’re in front of us,” Luhan chuckles.  “Wouldn’t want anyone seeing this side of you,”

He takes you by the shoulders and plants a kiss on your forehead. 

“Let’s go on the assignment,” You stand up, smiling at the older guy.

“Sure.  Go change into something more comfortable,”

“See you by the gate in 20.  Tell Baek too, ‘kay?”

“Mm,”

Parting ways, you bathe in your room, washing off the grime and sweat on your body before picking out a casual outfit; brownish red pants and a white, fitted top, with a navy blue parka and white sneakers.  You put your hair in a bun and pull a wig over it, sighing tiredly as you step outside the castle to see Baekhyun and Luhan standing together under a tree.

“Aren’t we supposed to not attract attention?” You eye them up and down.

Damn their looks.

Baekhyun was out with black shorts, grey tee and a hat, and Luhan had on casual jeans and a cotton sweater, the sleeves pulled up to his elbow.

And still, damn their looks.

“We’re not,” Baekhyun frowns at you.

You wonder how you, of all people, get to end up with people with looks like them. 

You scroll through the printed handouts, the floor plans of several buildings laid out for you.  There were 10 of them, which meant that you had to visit 10 buildings, in discretion.

“It’s only 6 in the afternoon,” Baekhyun shrugs, pushing in the earpiece that would connect the three of you together.

“How many do you reckon we’ll be getting today?” Luhan asks, locking his hands behind his head.

“I don’t know, 4, 6,” You answer, considering their distances.

“Let’s make it 7 then,” Baekhyun grins, facing the door of the first building.

It looked old, its windows broken, the paint barely left, the wooden doors looking too frail to touch, the lamps all out.

“Take it easy, Baek,” Luhan pats his brother on the shoulder, the two of them chuckling.

“We’ll go with 4 then,” The two agrees together.

“Hey, don’t mind me,” You step back a little bit, knowing that they had agreed on 4 buildings because they were concerned about you.

“No, really, we’ll go with 3, actually.  First time out,” Luhan nods, sealing the agreement as the oldest.

“Whatever you say, Your Majesty,” You roll your eyes, dodging a smack on the head successfully.

“No y trap guys,” Baekhyun dusts his hands, pulling you and Luhan around the back of the building, pointing at a third floor window that was fully open.  “Best entrance,”

“Ladies first?” Luhan smirks.

You stick your tongue out at him and climb at the tree by the building, grabbing a branch to steady yourself on another.  You were on your tiptoes and the constant training at the Dome paid its toll, because, you weren’t even using the littlest bit of your energy to swing and leap at a higher branch, grabbing it before looking down to grin.  “Watch this,” You hang yourself by your arms at a branch, swinging back and forth and chuckling at Luhan and Baekhyun’s worried exclamations below.

You throw yourself after a mid-air flip into the building, landing perfectly on your feet.  You look out the window and show them an OK and clear sign after surveying the room you’re in.  In a few seconds, Luhan is behind you and Baekhyun, at the same time, asks you through your earpiece if you’re okay.

“I’m o—“

“Don’t falter! Focus! Never show any signs of weakness!”

You find yourself breathing hard, holding a stick in your hands, your own sweat wetting the ground below you.  Your arms stung, your legs burn, your lungs are in pain as if you had been running for hours when you’re actually standing still.

“Are you tired?”

“I’m okay,” You find yourself answering the man facing you.

“Good,” He says. 

But you’re not, because your knees buckle underneath you and you fall heavily onto the wooden floor, the damp smell pushing into your nose.  The wooden stick falls along with you with a clatter rolling away until the man steps on it to put it to a stop.

“Weakling,”

A sharp pain hits your stomach as you cry out, unable to protect yourself as the man kicks you three times.

You’re forced to lift your head when he pushes it up with the wooden stick, and you meet his cold eyes. 

“You see what you get when you’re a weakling?”

“..ra!! Amara!!!”

You cough into your hands a moment longer, realizing that you’re hugging your stomach, your body curled on the ground. upright. 

Luhan scoops you up, immediately carrying you out the room and out the front door, laying you down on the grass after setting your back on the tree you climbed before.

“My God, what happened?” Baekhyun pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes your lips with it.

“It’s—“ You cough some more, eyes widening in fear as you listen to your own cough. 

It was wet.

Looking down at the handkerchief, you see blood.

“What’s happening to me?” You search the brothers’ eyes for answers, but tremble when you see their loss for an answer and their own fear.

“We’re going home,” Luhan carries you after he takes the handkerchief away from your hand, giving it back to Baekhyun. 

You grip your clothes tightly, shutting your eyes to try to tone down the pain in your head and most of all, the fear clawing up your throat.

All the way back into the castle and until you feel the familiar material of your bed cover. 

“Stay here, I’m getting the nurse.  Keep her up,” You hear Luhan say urgently.

Next comes the familiar feeling of Baekhyun’s hand in yours.  “Amara,” He calls your name.  “Amara, open your eyes, I’m here,”

You squeeze his hand and open your eyes as told, shaking in fear. 

“I was there,” You say to him absently, your eyes unfocused.  “I was there and someone was too, and I was lying, I wasn’t okay, and then—“

Your breath catches and you cough again, the tears making its way down your cheek.

“Amara,” Baekhyun calls your name again, his tone tinged with panic, fear, worry, and affection, putting a hand to your cheek.

You lean into his hand and put your hand over his, desperate for warmth.

“I’m so scared,”