Chapter 9
The Great Escape“Didn’t think he’d take it that well.”
Baekhyun laughs, and nuzzles closer to Jongdae. “Yeah, well, it’s a good thing he did, then.”
They’re lying on Jongdae’s bed, not doing anything in particular, just cuddling, and it’s horribly sweet and Jongdae loves it, loves when they just get to lie down together and tangle their limbs together and press their heads together and just talk.
He shifts slightly, draping his foot over Baekhyun’s right ankle, and he asks, “How are your parents with this? This whole thing?”
Baekhyun tilts his head, catching the edge of Jongdae’s jaw with his nose. “Surprisingly alright too.”
“The easy summer romance that a lot of people wish they had,” murmurs Jongdae, “but I hope this won’t just be some fling.”
“Of course it won’t!” Baekhyun flips himself onto his side, leaning on his elbow as he looks at Jongdae, and the gaze he holds is steely determination, but it softens as Jongdae glances back at him. “Jongdae.”
“Yeah,” replies Jongdae quietly, and there’s something inside him that stirs even as he takes in Baekhyun’s open, trusting look, and he knows the very same look is echoed on his own features. “Baekhyun.”
There’s a soft press of lips between them, and breaths exchange in the small space between their faces. Jongdae thumbs across Baekhyun’s cheek, the softest of gestures, and he murmurs, “I’m glad I met you.”
Baekhyun smiles.
And there are no other words required.
“Breaking news!” The announcer on the television is visibly shaken, even as she clutches at her papers. “There is a new supervillain on the rise, and already the city is terrified, with the recent attack ending in a deathtoll of nearly three hundred, and many more injured.”
“Jongdae,” says his mother urgently, “Jongdae, I need you to go follow Mrs. Park for a little while, okay? Just until all of this is over.”
“You’re going?” Jongdae stares at her. “No! Mum, you can’t—you’re not—don’t they know you’re not fully able—“
“I won’t be directly involved, Jongdae, hush, now listen to me.” She cups his face with her hands, and says quietly, “I need you to take care of your friends, okay.” Jongdae blinks, how is he going to do that? He opens his mouth to say so, but she gives him a look, and cuts him off. “I know you probably think that you can’t, but there are things in motion right now that are too confidential to let you know of at the moment, and all I need you to do right now is stay with your friends, and keep them safe.”
Jongdae can’t think of a reply to that, so he just asks weakly, “What about—what about Jongdeok?”
His mother shuts her eyes for a second. “He’s been recruited early, as part of one of the mission teams.”
Jongdae’s throat goes dry. His brother is going to fight.
“I want you to go as quickly as you can. Pack light, bring the emergency kit, and make sure they’re all safe,” she stresses, and Jongdae doesn’t know what she means by that, but he nods anyway, and the question is already on his lips, but she’s his mother, and he’s predictable, and she says, “It’s a safe-house for students. Both super and ordinary. Most of your friends will be there. Including Baekhyun.”
“Okay,” whispers Jongdae, and he hugs her once, before dashing off to get his things. “Stay safe!” he yells, even as his mother leaves for the headquarters of the city’s National Supers Association, and the thump of his soles against the stairs match the rhythm of his increasingly worrying heart-beat.
“Chanyeol!” he calls loudly from his window, and his best friend pushes his window open, looking just as hurried as he is. “Wait for me, yeah?”
“When haven’t I?” answers Chanyeol, and there’s a grin on his face, but the lines on his forehead are evidence enough that his dad’s been called out again, and Jongdae nods grimly before quickly packing his stuff, grabbing the emergency first aid kit as well, before heading out to meet Chanyeol and his mother outside.
“Is Kyungsoo coming?” asks Jongdae, glancing around. It seems that it’s only the two of them on this street, and Chanyeol shakes his head. “Meeting us there, then?”
“Yeah,” and Chanyeol swallows. “Jongdae—be careful with him.”
“Why—what’s… what’s happened?” Chanyeol won’t meet his eyes. “Chanyeol. What’s happened to Kyungsoo? Tell me!”
“Not him,” whispers Chanyeol, “her, Jongdae, oh god.”
There’s a sharp pang that runs through Jongdae’s entire body, and the running mantra in his mind is no no no no no ing no! as he thinks about the adorable, giggling child who clung to Kyungsoo like glue, who barely came out of her room due to her shyness, whom Kyungsoo doted on dearly, even though he rarely let others know of her.
Kyungsoo’s little sister.
“We have to go, boys,” says Mrs. Park, and Jongdae almost trips over his feet as he grabs onto Chanyeol’s arm, letting his feet lead him.
“But,” he finds himself saying, tongue heavy in his mouth and words thick, “how?”
“Targeted,” says Chanyeol, and anger is a pushing force behind the words, “they made his family a ing target, and they killed her, Jongdae. They killed her.”
“They’re targeting families? Families with supers?”
Chanyeol apparently can’t say anymore, as he just shakes his head numbly, and Jongdae curls his arm around Chanyeol’s shoulders, and holds him tight, even as they make their way to the safe-house.
They get there by car, and it’s a short walk further, but it isn’t long till they arrive at an old farm-house, and Mrs. Park throws open a door leading into the ground, and tells them to go ahead, even as she goes to fetch more students.
It’s dimly-lit, but isn’t as bad as Jongdae’d expected, a large room with metal walls, and there are about thirty other students already there. He sees some familiar faces, and they all rush together immediately on spotting him and Chanyeol.
“Soojung,” breathes Chanyeol, and the girl in question embraces him, wrapping him in a tight hug that doesn’t seem to end, and she’s trembling, “are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m alright,” she chokes out, and she tightens her hold on Chanyeol’s jacket, “I’m fine.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here,” he says, and she buries her face in his shoulder, her whole body shaking, “shh, it’s alright, I’m here, okay.”
“Joonmyun, Lu Han,” says Jongdae in relief, and they find themselves hugging too. “I’m glad you guys are here.”
“I’m glad too,” says Joonmyun, and he’s fidgeting, the anxiety etched in his motions. “Most of the others have been placed in different safe-houses. Minseok, Amber, Yixing,” his voice shakes on the third name, “Jongin, Zitao. I haven’t seen the rest yet, though.”
Jongdae glances around, but there’s no sign of Baekhyun either, and Kyungsoo still hasn’t arrived.
“Are we allowed to use our powers in front of the civilians?” asks Chanyeol in a low voice, still holding onto Soojung. “Do they know?”
“They’ve all been briefed on the way, so it’s safe to do so.” Joonmyun smiles a bit. “I’ve been conjuring up drinking water for the past hour.”
“Jongdae!”
He spins around, and Baekhyun nearly knocks him over, arms already around his shoulders, and Jongdae nearly cries in relief, “Oh god, Baekhyun, you’re safe.”
“Our ride almost got caught in an attack,” whispers Baekhyun, and Jongdae kisses him, several times, and it’s full of desperation and breathlessness and he’s just so glad that Baekhyun is here, with him, and not somewhere else without him. “Is everyone here?”
“Not all,” says Jongdae, and he laces their fingers together, pulling Baekhyun over to where the rest of them have gone off to. “Come on, we’ll all be here together, for now.”
They wait anxiously, and on one side of the room, a radio has been turned up loud enough for everyone to hear.
The amount of casualties keeps rising, and Jongdae keeps wondering, what kind of person is doing all this? For what purpose? And how? Since they’re all underground, he has no idea what’s going on, and what the threat even is, but even as they all listen, huddled together, he’s scared. He’s truly terrified. And to think, his brother is in that melee, even as they speak.
“… and the latest report, the supervillain in question has been quoted as saying, that there—are you sure this is correct? No, that cannot be—my god, what kind of human being—excuse me, good people, but I have just come into very disturbing news.” The radio announcer exhales sharply. “The supervillain in question has just been quoted as saying, that he has intends to take over not just the city, but the country, and will destroy every single last person if he has to…”
“… and just in, another superhero has fallen. We pay tribute to the brave woman, Solaris, who has defended her homeland of Manchuria for many years, until this moment in battle…”
“.. dear God! It seems that several buildings have just collapsed in the city centre, and casualties are numbering in the thousands…”
“… and there’s a slight victory on our side, as the heroes have secured part of the city, and the evacuation is three-quarters completed. We can observe several heroes with the gift of flight, carrying people to safety…”
“… nobody knows how it is happening, but it seems that the weather is churning into a huge storm, and many are speculating that there is more than one supervillain behind this, possibly a team with a Weather Manipulator, much like our own superheroes have formed, and this will prove to be a challenge…”
The ground above shakes, and a few people cry out.
“Everyone stay as they are!” calls out Joonmyun immediately, and his commanding presence takes over the room. “Do not move unless told to. Those with powers, be ready to handle whatever threat may appear. Do not panic. We must be ready.”
“How can we be ready?” says a young girl, scared out of her mind, and Jongdae recalls seeing her as one of the freshman Hero Support kids. “We can’t do anything to help!”
“Yes, you can!” And this time, it’s Soojung who stands up. “You can do much more than your power defines you as. So don’t lose hope just yet.”
The ground shakes again.
Jongdae grips Baekhyun’s hands tight, and waits, all his nerves on fire.
The door bursts open, and several people stumble in, before it shuts again, and Lu Han shouts, “They’re injured!”
“Are there any Healers here?” calls one of the people, gripping at his side, and everyone can see the blood that trickles slowly.
“No, oh god, they’re bleeding, someone help them!”
“It hurts, please,” says the small boy who’s come along with them, and he’s grasping his hand tight, eyes teary and red.
“Let me,” says Jongdae, and now he realises what his mother meant by taking care of them. She’s been training him to take care of injuries for the most part of his life, and she must have been preparing him for something like this the entire time, ever since he was old enough to pronounce the word ‘plaster.’
Even as the ground continues shaking, and there’s a loud yell from outside, Jongdae tells himself to stay calm, and he turns to Joonmyun. “I’m battle med-trained,” he says, and Joonmyun’s eyes widen in surprise, “I need you and some others to help me.”
“Fire away.”
“I need Ice Manipulators, Water Manipulators, and Fire Manipulators,” he states, voice strong and calm, “we need to treat these people now, and it’ll be faster if there’s help.”
Joonmyun steps over, and so do a few others from across the room, and Jongdae sets them off, washing wounds and cauterizing where they can, and he works himself as fast as he can, bandaging and stitching and tying tourniquets where needed.
“Let me see,” he coaxes the young boy, who holds out his hand, and it’s a ghastly mess of broken fingers, and Jongdae calls Joonmyun over, tells him to steady the lightest flow of water he can around the boy’s fingers, and sets about applying splints. “That’s a good boy.”
Over on the other side, Baekhyun is unable to sit still, and he goes to calm the panicked civilians, who are still unused to seeing all of this, and he sings a soft song, so soft that it gets some of them to quieten down, and huddle together.
It takes a long time, but soon, Jongdae’s got everyone stable, and he again thanks his mother for preparing him for the worst.
The trapdoor above the stairs slams open again, and a figure falls in, slamming the door shut again, and Jongdae all but screams, “Kyungsoo!” when he sees who it is.
“Oh my god,” whispers Chanyeol, and they all rush to get Kyungsoo, who’s got blood trickling down his head, and a pained look on his face, and even as they carefully bring him over, minding his sprained ankle, they’re all so glad to see him.
“What happened?”
“They thought they had me,” whispers Kyungsoo, and he winces when Jongdae presses an alcohol swab to his forehead. “I managed to get away, and an adult found me and brought me here. But someone followed us, so we had to fight our way through. I had to fight my way through.”
“The other person…” starts Soojung slowly, but Kyungsoo shakes his head, expression hard.
“Kyungsoo,” says Chanyeol, and he waits for Kyungsoo to look at him before he continues, “is it—is it just you, now?”
“Yeah.” Kyungsoo hiccups, and their worst fears have been confirmed. His entire family is gone. “Oh god. Oh god, no. No, no, no, no, please, this can’t be real, Chanyeol, please, Jongdae, where are they? Why aren’t they here with me? Where’s Kyungri? Where is she?”
“Kyungsoo,” says Jongdae, already hurting just to see one of his best friends like this, and Kyungsoo just breaks, choking back a sob, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes, “I’m sorry, Kyungsoo, I’m so sorry, oh god.”
“She’s gone, no, she’s gone, she’s gone, oh my god.” Kyungsoo’s cries echo through the room, and even as both Jongdae and Chanyeol reach over to pull him into a tangled embrace, not letting him go for a second, he doesn’t stop crying, he doesn’t stop. “They’re all gone.”
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