[Year 19 of Exile]

"This note frightens me to no end."

Without lifting my head up from Chanyeol's shoulder, I glanced at Baekhyun, whose face had turned ghostly pale after his fingers had pried a small sheet of paper from Jongdae's hands and his eyes proceeded to read its contents.

"What do we do, Kris-hyung?" Zitao asked, his voice shaking due to fear as his hands gripped the arm of his favourite hyung. "What should we do...?"

My eyes drifted to the boy’s direction and I was about to return them to the middle of our little circle when I felt a strong gaze on me. Gingerly lifting my eyes up, they were immediately captured by his.

An emotion that I had never felt or seen on him swam wildly in his doe-orbs, and his heart-shaped lips had been pulled into a very thin line. He kept his eyes on me, and something prickled within me.

I opened my mouth, about to whisper his name when he broke the eye contact and my eyes were foolishly left alone to look at his pointedly-avoiding eyes.

I found myself sulking and a small wave of annoyance washed over me.

"Jen, you alright?" I felt a breath of warmth on my forehead and I looked upwards to find Chanyeol gazing down at me.

I waited for his equally-strong gaze to enrapture me.

I waited for my chest to prick.

I waited for my mouth to form his name on its own.

But nothing happened.

"I'm okay." I gave him a patronising smile, not wanting to betray the confusion I'm feeling within me as my actions differed vastly from when I exchanged glances with him.

The boy whom I gave my first kiss to.

Luhan's voice snapped me out of my daze and it was no surprise to find grim and dark looks on everyone's faces as the paper lay beside Kai's feet for he was the last to have read it.

"We go find them." His voice trembled, but the message in his words were clear. The older boys nodded but the younger ones remained passive and their expressions did not turn bright or determined like their hyungs. "We'll rescue them from him."

I felt a shudder from the boy whose shoulder I was resting on as the slight breeze that blew through the small clearing we had converged in brought the name to our ears.

"Let's go get them from James Pigalle."

[Jongdae]

I have them.

Come find me if you dare.

Come rescue them if you have the ability.

Come save them, children.

My eyes flew open as an unknown voice monotonously recited the contents of the paper in my head as I was about to succumb to the sleep demon that had descended upon us.

I shivered, perhaps due to the wind that never stopped blowing through the clearing, situated in the forest that surrounded the community, that we had set up camp in; or it was the fear that had been growing within me since Chanyeol shoved the paper that he found in Jen's house at Xiumin-hyung.

I tilted my head from side to side, body relaxing as the bones in my neck cracked and the sounds resonated throughout the silent clearing.

We hadn't bought any of our belongings with us so we had to make do with what we have on us. Jackets and sweaters were used as blankets as the boys huddled together in pairs or threes under the trees, leaning against the trunks as they slept.

Unsurprisingly, Jen had requested to be paired with Chanyeol and one can only imagine the expressions of subtle hurt in the rest of us as we watched them settle down under a tree and the boy wrapped his arms around the girl nestled between his long legs.

I stood up, pushing myself off the cold, soft earth. I made my way through the forest, our clearing just a short distance away from the community, and I sat down at the edge of the green.

The lights of the houses that sat close to the forest were out, since it was well past midnight and their inhabitants should be asleep. Only the street lamps' lights brightened up the dark streets, setting the roads ablaze with their orange-yellow glows.

I visualised myself walking through the streets, reaching the destination that I had most wanted to go — my house.

Yet, the scene that I had seen in the day swam into my mind. The scene of a very empty house, its inhabitants kidnapped and very gone.

"Dad... Mum... Are you okay...?" I could feel tears welling up, as my vision blurred. "Is everyone alright...?"

"Can't sleep?"

My head snapped up to the voice and strands of my fringe obscured my vision as a hand ruffled my already-tousled hair. Slapping on a mock-glare, I turned to the intruder and crescents greeted me.

"Geez, not even an apology for frightening me."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." A head rested on my shoulder as I reverted my eyes to the community. "There, satisfied?"

I grinned and I knew she felt it for she let out a soft chuckle. "Very."

The two of us sat in silence for a few moments before Jen repeated her question and the one-sided conversation lapsed into silence once more.

"Jongdae..."

I sighed. "I got woken up."

"By...?"

At my lack of response, she prodded my cheek and I clucked my tongue in slight annoyance.

"Fine fine, I'm sorry for disturbing you." She lifted her head off my shoulder, and her long legs brushed against my arm as she stood up. "I'll head back then."

I wheeled myself around silently, my eyes fixated on her until she vanished from my sight.

It was then did I realise that I had been holding my breath as my lungs screamed for oxygen, and I inhaled deeply and loudly. Clapping my hand over my mouth, I mentally cursed myself for the preventable noise that resounded in the deathly silence of the night.

I took a last look at the community, and followed after Jen. She had already returned to Chanyeol’s side, her head resting on his shoulder as the boy’s head rolled on top of hers. With a subtle prickle in my chest as I tore my eyes away from them, I tiptoed back to the tree I shared with Baekhyun and our spirit animals. Nestling myself next to Lei and wrapping m