T h e   I n s t i t u t e

Chapter Eighteen

‘Somebody had to die for that.’ Kangin remarked hollowly and though nobody responded, they all agreed.

‘There’s black everywhere.’ Henry then said quietly as he flickered back into view. ‘They must have killed the err donor… right here.’ Nobody replied to that either. In fact, the vast majority of the room seemed devoid of all emotion. It was as if they’d become so used to the Dark Elves’ methods that the shock factor had diminished.

Across the large windows of the café were dripping, crimson letters. The mark of the Dark Elves was beneath them. If only the words could have been brushed off as a paint job… but the stench of flesh and the bitter metallic tang in the air left little to the imagination. A body’s worth of deep red blood had been smeared into vampiric lettering and although the work was messy and still running into a gathering vermillion pool at the bottom of the windows, the message was clear:

soon you will all burn

‘I think it’s time everyone went back to their sleeping quarters.’ Master Chen declared and with a brief signal, the other masters started herding people out of the room. The special agents went solemnly and without a protest. All except one.

‘Hankyung?’ By now, the café was mostly empty. ZhouMi’s call of the other Chinaman’s name had the last of the group turning back to see their teammate stood rigidly in the centre of the room with his eyes fixated on the windows. The others exchanged apprehensive looks and then ZhouMi gently pushed Heechul forwards. The redhead stumbled and flung a horrified expression at the psychic but kept moving towards Hankyung regardless.

‘H-Hankyung?’ The tall figure was almost a statue he was that entranced. Heechul took slow tentative steps closer. ‘Hankyung?’ He repeated and began to reach out for the other boy’s shoulder. His hand was a foot away when Hankyung’s own hands shot out and blasted the windows with a ball of fire. Everyone hit the deck as the glass erupted into a million shards and spatters of blood went in all directions. Alarms started wailing overhead as people started rushing back to the café with Master Chen in the lead.

The special agents picked themselves up carefully, grabbing onto one another to check they were all accounted for. Heechul hissed as he stood, feeling a sharp twinge from his wrist where he’d fallen on it. He looked back at Hankyung who had finally turned around and the pyro actually seemed to be perturbed by what he’d done. His eyes were blown wide and he was looking at his hands as if he couldn’t believe what had just occurred. Then his gaze flicked up, he saw Heechul clutching his wrist and gulped.

‘Are you… are you alright?’ He asked shakily, stepping nearer. Heechul instinctively recoiled.

‘I’m ok.’

‘I don’t know what happened…’ Hankyung trailed off. His expression was utterly perplexed. ‘One minute I was reading it and then-’

‘What can I help you with ZhouMi?’ He asked, not looking up from his papers.

‘I want to request that you put Hankyung and Heechul in personal training together.’ ZhouMi said plainly. He felt the stress levels coming off the other man crackle around a new spark of curiosity.

‘Oh really?’ He looked up from the desk for a brief moment in which his eyebrow raised but then his attention quickly went to the computer. ‘Why is that?’

‘They work well together. Hankyung can control himself when Heechul’s around.’ ZhouMi explained. If he could get away with it, he’d rather not go into detail about all the feelings swirling around the pair; it wasn’t his place to go around spreading theories, no matter how much he believed in them.

‘Honestly, ZhouMi, I’m reluctant to put Hankyung into any kind of training at the moment and if Heechul’s so good at keeping him sane, how come the poor kid’s got a sprained wrist because of him?’ Master Lee shook his head. ‘I’m really not sure about this.’

‘Listen, every time Hankyung’s gone a bit… nuts recently, it’s been Heechul that’s brought him back and it’s not even Heechul’s presence that does it. I mention his name and Hankyung’s himself again. If they had scheduled training together, I think Heechul might be able to keep Hankyung from doing something worse than shattering windows.’ ZhouMi protested. Master Lee finally put down his reports and the cogs behind his eyes began to turn steadily.

‘In truth I’ve seen for myself what they’re like when they’re together.’ He admitted. ‘But if this is just some odd way of matchmaking then I don’t want to be a part of it.’

‘No, no it’s not.’ ZhouMi cut in. ‘Hankyung really does need Heechul’s help.’ There was a long pause as Master Lee thought about his decision. ZhouMi waited anxiously.

‘Fine.’ The man sighed. ‘I’ll schedule their training together but if this goes up, I’m holding you responsible and you can expect an I-told-you-so.’

‘The regular agents are doing damage control with the hotel employees and guests.’ Leeteuk told him though he already knew it.

‘Still! This is disgusting!’ Goblins were vile little monsters that liked to find accommodation in big, warm buildings where they could build nests. They left sticky, snot-coloured residue wherever they went as a result of rabbit-like breeding. The best way to get rid of them was to leave salt and bleach around the area which would burn and shrivel them up once it got in contact with their leathery skin. The team of four were trying to sneakily uncover the goblin nests dotted around the hotel so that they could take a lot of them out at once. So far they’d dealt with three.

‘Keep it down. They’re stupid but they’ve still got ears.’ Shindong hissed at Eunhyuk. The latter rolled his eyes and idly kicked another chair.

‘Where are they?’ Henry asked. ‘I’m not seeing any of their auras.’

‘In the floorboards above. We need to move up.’ Shindong replied, smoothly checking the magazine in his gun and then clicking it back into place. Shooting the bastards was a last resort because Master Chen had already warned them before they left the Institute that the area around the hotel was being stalked by Dark Elves. Eunhyuk knew it wasn’t safe to start letting off gunshots that anyone nearby could hear. He still kind of hoped some of them might show up though. He wasn’t scared of a little note left in blood.

The group began to exit the room they were in on the third floor that had already been torn apart by the goblins, the ragged floorboards creaking underfoot. The first one to reach the doorway was Leeteuk and he yelped as the ceiling in the hallway beyond caved in and through a cloud of plaster dust and showering wooden splinters, a horde of goblins came tumbling down to greet them.

The creatures were small, barely reaching the height of Eunhyuk’s knees, but they were feisty ers and biters as well. They scrambled over one another to get to the special agents, gnashing their pointed yellow teeth and making horrid wet noises with their tongues. Leeteuk blasted them with his water-gun full of bleach but the goblins just kept coming; they must have banded together in an effort to protect their nests. Henry vanished and picked off as many of them as he could with the element of surprise on his side while Shindong and Eunhyuk made good use of their own water-guns.

‘They’re everywhere!’ Leeteuk cried, dodging a piece of wood that was thrown down at him. The goblins were spreading out as they dodged the bleach, clambering up the walls and across the ceiling. The group were surrounded. Eunhyuk watched as something invisible drew a line of salt around him and the others.

‘That won’t hold them off for long Henry. They’ll jus-’ What Shindong was inevitably about to predict then came true as the goblins starting flinging themselves off the walls, right over the salt line and right in the direction of the team’s faces. It was getting difficult to aim the bleach in a way that wouldn’t harm themselves in the process.

‘.’ Leeteuk abruptly muttered and Shindong desperately tried to keep their leader covered when he must have got a vision. Eunhyuk was getting more and more frustrated trying to keep the goblins going near his face. It was like being swarmed by wasps except they were bigger, greener and smelt like rotten skunk faeces.

‘Did you see anything?’ Shindong then asked as Leeteuk filtered back into reality.

‘In twelve seconds, we need to get under that table and plug our ears. Twelve.’ It took at least two seconds for the information to process but then the team were darting across the room to the big dining room table. ‘Nine.’ Henry drew another line of salt around them. ‘Six.’ They kept their water-guns aimed at the goblins but it was worrying that the things seemed to sense something amiss. ‘Three. Plug your ears. Two…’

An explosion ricocheted all around the hotel as a wall down the corridor from where the team were cramped under a table was blasted into smithereens. Even more clouds of dust clogged the air as well as heat and smoke that sent the group into coughing fits while their ears were ringing. The sounds of demolition and destruction were the only things to be heard and in the midst of all the commotion coming through the doorway, Eunhyuk caught a glimpse of unmistakable ice coloured eyes and long hair. He grabbed his real gun.

‘Regular agents to the third floor.’ Leeteuk barked into the com link. Shots ricocheted around the room as Eunhyuk and Shindong darted forwards, guns blazing. The elves deflected the bullets with their impenetrable blades but some were not so fast and bodies dropped to the floor; especially those that had not anticipated an invisible man slicing their necks. The quicker elves wielded their swords with expertise and advanced on the team. The goblins scattered.

Leeteuk unsheathed his katana from the holster on his back and rushed into the fray, colliding the metal of his blade with that of the Dark Elves with a resounding clink. He engaged the vile creature in a vicious combat that allowed the others to rearm themselves with their own sharp weapons. Eunhyuk began to flit around the room at a great speed, tossing knives in the direction of elven hearts. His blurred movement made him almost as hard to predict as Henry’s stealthy attacks and with their combined efforts, Shindong felt like he might as well take a break.

But then, as Leeteuk managed to decapitate his opponent, Shindong caught sight of seemingly the last elf alive creeping up behind the psychic. With a quick flick of the wrist, he flung a shuriken across the room and struck the elf right across its right eye. He jumped across to retrieve his throwing star and found that it had not plunged as deep into the elf’s brain as he’d hoped. Shindong took out his gun once again, casually planting his foot on top of the creature’s chest to stop it from going anywhere while he reloaded.

‘Wait!’ Leeteuk’s voice halted his procedure and he turned as best he could with his foot still resting comfortably on the elf’s throat. ‘Don’t shoot it. Let’s take it back with us. I don’t know about you but I could do with a few questions answered.’ Shindong smirked.

The elf was bound and chained and deposited straight into the back of a van with an entourage of regular agents carrying big guns. Its head wound was left to ooze a steady trickle of blood down its face. While it’s fallen comrades and the gaping hole in the side of the hotel was dealt with, Eunhyuk and the others traipsed out of the building and into their own vehicle. Their pest control mission had been called to an end once they’d realised that the goblins had fled the scene to build a new nest in an explosion free environment.

‘Yuri says it was the regular agent’s fault for luring the the Dark Elves to us. They were too visible out in the street.’ Leeteuk said, clambering into the 4x4.

‘They could have just used the front door.’ Eunhyuk grumbled, provoking a ripple of laughter.

‘We’re just lucky that this was Netherworldian area.’ Shindong pointed out and as the last one to get in the back of the car, he slammed the door shut.

‘You’re right.’ Leeteuk nodded. ‘They’re getting cocky. Well, cockier than usual. It’s only a matter of time before a human dies and the mortal world’s media blows up about it.’

‘Props to all the regular agents dealing with the riots.’ Eunhyuk commended and the others agreed. Master Gong had been holed up his office for days, distributing agents and handling calls about riots caused by the Dark Elves in the pockets of Netherworldian society dotted across the country. The Institute went through waves of total chaos as regular agents were organised to be sent out and then unsettling calm after another team had gone. Their numbers back at base were depleting rapidly.

The ride back to the Institute went quicker than expected but pleasantly so; it was time to shove their prisoner in a cell and get him talking. The special agents exited their vehicle and headed out of the garage, following the procession of regular agents marching the disturbing calm elf through the building. The big guns were still pointed in its direction. As they proceeded through the hallways, the few people they met on their way either gaped or smiled.

‘Almost an hour.’

‘He probably gave up the interrogation ten minutes in.’ Kibum smirked at Sungmin while the latter sent a text to Ryeowook. ‘Wookie’s pleased and all, he-’

‘He’d just rather not be here.’ The younger finished. ‘Understandable.’ Sungmin sighed.

‘When is it my turn?!’ Donghae then demanded. Nobody answered him but they didn’t have to – all of a sudden Yesung teleported into their midst and the bloodcurdling screeches from inside the chamber came to an end. Slowly, Yesung breathed and brought a hand up to smear the blood running down his left cheek.

‘It’s all yours.’ He muttered and strode away. Donghae grinned and yanked open the cell door.

‘Remember we’re trying to get information out of it.’ Kibum reminded him but the door was already closing. He shook his head and turned back around to the others gathered in the corridor. As soon as Eunhyuk had spread the word that they’d captured an elf, the special agents had tripped over each other trying to get down to the dungeon fast enough to be the first to show it the meaning of pain. Ryeowook had been the only one to stay behind, simply stating that he’d had enough of interrogations for one month whether he was on the receiving end or not.

‘I think Chullie should go next.’ Siwon said, partly to combat the noise of the shrieking that had begun once again. Heechul smirked and lifted up his left wrist that was strapped into a splint. Everyone noticed Hankyung wince.

‘Can’t really do a lot right now.’ He said jokily. ‘I just came down here for the sake of it. Kyuhyun should go next.’ The attention unanimously shifted to the other side of the corridor.

‘This is going to be fun.’ The demon sniggered, flashing his teeth like a trickster. The group waited for Donghae to re-join them and talked amongst each other to avoid directly listening to the sounds inside the chamber. When Donghae finally did reappear, he was soaking wet and breathing heavily.

‘Nothing.’ The boy muttered in disappointment and slumped against the wall.

‘That’s eight of us that have been in there now.’ Leeteuk remarked. ‘How long can this thing hold out?!’

‘It’s a Dark Elf. They’re trained from birth to serve and obey whatever the cost. We knew this wouldn’t be easy.’ Kibum rebutted.

‘Let me at the thing.’ Kyuhyun’s eyes grew dark and he marched to the door, yanking it open with more force than necessary. The team fell silent. Remaining so even when they heard a stomach-turning scream and then retching. The silence was only broken when Kangin’s phone starting singing and he pulled it out of his back pocket to answer.

‘’lo?’

‘Kangin, I need you, Sungmin, Kyuhyun and Siwon suited up and at the meeting place. The alarms are about t-’ Inevitably that’s when the alarms starting wailing and Master Chen’s voice got cut off. Kangin shoved his phone back in his pocket and nodded at Sungmin who then started banging on the cell door until Kyuhyun returned.

‘Let us know what’s happening.’ Leeteuk called after the group of four that were now beginning to vacate the area. There was a detectable conflict in his voice and anyone invested enough to read into it – like Kibum was – would discern that for some reason or another, Leeteuk was angry with Kangin yet unable to stop worrying about him. Whatever tiff the two had had was not over. Kibum filed the information away for further exploration later on. Right now he was too busy watching Hankyung advancing on the door.

‘Hankyung?’ Heechul questioned.

‘We still need answers.’ Hankyung pulled open the door and stepped inside, letting it slam shut behind him. Kangin, Sungmin, Kyuhyun and Siwon didn’t hang about any longer after that and ran off up the corridor to the steady droning of the alarm. The others looked around at one another hesitantly and then some of them chased after the group. Heechul moved closer to where Kibum stood and peered through the barred window at the top of the door.

‘There’s been a terrorist attack on the Troll Market led by the Dark Elves. We already have some teams of regular agents covering evacuation of the survivors but we need more of you out there to assist and to provide backup for the special agents.’ A buzz of panicked chatter had arisen but Master Chen turned to the special agents and addressed them over the top of the noise. ‘You lot are in charge of tracking down any Dark Elves or vampires that are still lurking around the area.’

‘Vampires?!’ Sungmin cried indignantly.

‘We knew it wouldn’t be long before they joined forces.’ Siwon pointed out.

‘Why aren’t more of us going?’ Kangin asked.

‘Too risky.’ Master Chen shook his head with finality. ‘With all the regular agents we’ve had to deploy across the country, our defences here at base are weakening. I can only afford to send out a small team of special agents.’

They would be stupid to disagree and so, after Master Gong had gone over a few technical details, they headed down to the garage. Sungmin looked around at the three beside him and didn’t need ZhouMi to tell him how nervous they were. He felt it himself. It had made them feel powerful to have an elf captured and chained up, helpless to defend itself against their constant onslaughts. But it was a whole other ball-game when they weren’t the ones in charge and were probably going to find themselves outnumbered.

It was all too tempting to seek comfort in Kyuhyun but Sungmin resisted. Now, more than ever throughout their tiff, Sungmin was totally unsure of where they were with each other. After he’d stood up to his mother, there had definitely been a moment between them. But the silence had continued and now they were awkwardly manoeuvring around each other. Sungmin knew one of them would cave soon and speak to the other; it just didn’t help that they were both so ferociously stubborn.

They piled into a car and were driven out of the garage following a truck filled with regular agents. The tunnel through the cliff and out onto the road gradually filled with sunlight as they left giving Sungmin enough of a visual picture to understand why the Institute had been given the affectionate name ‘the underworld’ by many Netherworldians.  Every time the agents departed to rid the mortal world of evil, they had to rise out of their dark fortress and it often made them feel like they were just as much monsters as the evil they faced.

But who else was supposed to get the job done?

Seoul hadn’t changed. It was still buzzing with life like always. Hopefully it would stay that way for a long time afterwards, the Dark Elves couldn’t possibly be entertaining thoughts of world domination… surely? No. It was personal. Sungmin could recognise that much. It crossed his mind that leaving the Institute was in itself dangerous but also relieving. Outside of those cavernous walls, Sungmin could breathe the fresh air and taste the freedom despite the threat of Dark Elves on the loose. The Institute was a target and although it provided safety and security, it had started to feel like a cage. A cage of mice ready for the snakes.

Sungmin shuddered. He wasn’t a mouse. He was a demon. It was about time he acted like one. When the car pulled up beside the river, Sungmin put on his game face and jumped out of the vehicle, ready for action. He ran his fingers along the textured coil of his bullwhip that was strapped to his side then grabbed the handle to feel it’s comforting presence. He followed Kangin along the uneven concrete that separated the two brick buildings on either side of them, disturbing the surface of a puddle. They went through to the loading bay in the warehouse on their left and joined the rest of their entourage at the portal to the Troll Market.

‘It’s already been broken through, that’s why you can already see it.’ The leader of the team of regular agents was Junho who seemed a little out of his depth. He was used to following Taecyeon’s orders but the Captain was somewhere near Daegu, delegating troops to Netherworldian areas of the south were rioting had been caused by the Dark Elves.

‘It’s still sealed by magic, though, isn’t it?’ Kyuhyun guessed and Junho nodded. The demon took up a stance in line with the runic door and the group stepped back slightly. ‘Redintegro via ut est non infractus!’ Kyuhyun exclaimed. The runes carved into the stone glowed blue and the mechanisms of the masonry churned until a click was heard and the portal became a whirling blue vortex.

No imp or malcontent creature stepped through to guard the entryway. The special agents went through first and were faced with the reason why. The troll market was decimated. Where once had been a thriving hub of supernatural life was now a desolate graveyard. The fractured remains of stalls, shops and tents stuck out of the ashes like bones. The place was desecrated with the mark of the Dark Elves; spray painted onto columns, edged into the uncharred wood and hung in the air over lifeless bodies by magical smoke. It was eerily quiet.

‘The death count must be…’ Siwon breathed.

‘You know me?’ Hankyung continued to pace the outline of the white circle on the floor, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the figure in the middle of the devil’s trap.  

‘Your reputation precedes you.’ It spat out a glob of bloodied saliva. The spatter blended in with the rest of the red painting on the floor.

‘I didn’t know I had a reputation amongst the likes of you.’ Hankyung idly rolled his hands in the wrist sockets as he strolled.

‘Oh yes.’ It flashed a row of unusually pointed teeth that were discoloured from blood. ‘My King speaks so very highly of you. So highly of your powers. That you must be the most dangerous of all the specials to enter this… Institute.’ It ground the word ‘institute’ through those yellowed canines like it was the sour rind of a grapefruit.

‘Dangerous?’ Hankyung raised a quizzical eyebrow. ‘We have demons and shapeshifters and werewolves. All I can do is light your cigarette.’ He flicked a flame onto the tip of his index finger for dramatic effect but then returned to wafting his hands through the air.

‘Demons.’ It spat again. ‘They are not true children of the fallen. They inherit the gifts of the Underworld and squander them while they play at being heroes.’

‘You’d rather the Netherworlds be filled with evil demons?’ Through the slashed material and between the angry red lacerations from Sungmin’s whip, sweat began to mingle with blood down the elf’s back.

‘Where are the others?’ He asked Siwon.

‘Kyuhyun’s up there.’ Siwon lazily pointed up on top of the buildings in front of them where corrugated iron roofs wobbled and splintered as Kyuhyun bounded after a snarling elf. ‘And Kangin is down there.’ Siwon then gestured along the alleyway and Sungmin caught the flick of a wolf’s tail before it disappeared inside a dilapidated marquee. They both heard a growl, the sound of tearing flesh and then Kangin emerged from under the tent fabric.

‘There can’t be that many left.’ Sungmin mused.

‘Probably.’ Siwon nodded. ‘But Kyuhyun says we need to move over to the northern quarter because the entry to the Skeletrain is still standing and he wants to check it out.’ As if he’d heard his name, Kyuhyun then leapt down from the rooftops and came to join the two by the signpost just as Kangin trotted over as well.

‘I looked ahead while I was up there,’ the demon waved in the general direction of where he’d just come from. ‘The station looks practically untouched.’

‘Remember it’s made of marble though.’ Siwon pointed out. ‘The stalls would have up fire from an explosion like it was sugar but they’d have to set off a hefty amount of explosives to take that structure down.’

Kyuhyun shrugged, ‘It just seems odd. We’re going to have to give it the all clear anyway so we might as well head over there now.’

‘Let’s go.’ Sungmin declared so that there wouldn’t be any milling about. He wound up his whip back into a coil and replaced it on his belt as he shifted after the wolf leading the way. Kangin kept his nose pressed to the ground as he went, picking up scents and tracking potentials threats.

Their journey up to the northern quarter was quiet. No elves or vampires jumped out to surprise them, the only signs of life were two very brief regular agent encounters. It looked like they had evacuated the majority of survivors now and were retreating back to a base point. Sungmin didn’t like that it was quiet. It made the amount of death around them more poignant. His senses were heightened for the slightest flash of movement and his hold on the handle of his whip tightened at every turn.

When they reached their destination, Sungmin understood why Kyuhyun had been perturbed. The Skeletrain was an underground railway line reaching to all corners of the worlds both mortal and nether. The station in the Troll Market wasn’t exactly Grand Central but it was certainly a sight to behold. It reached up to the high ceiling of the market in great pillars of marble that twisted into the shape of a ribcage so that it seemed like the skeleton of a dragon had been fixed into the side of an underground cavern. The whole structure was a suitable bone colour which contrasted dramatically to the blackened wasteland surrounding it.

‘I thought it looked weird in the first place because they haven’t painted their mark all over it.’ Kyuhyun said. The others murmured an agreement. Suddenly the com-link bleeped and Siwon clicked the side of his watch.

‘What’s up, Junho?’ He called.

‘Place is empty guys. We’re heading out.’ Sungmin frowned at the message.

‘Even the station?’ He questioned.

‘Yeah, we checked all over there and nothing.’ Junho replied. The special agents exchanged bemused looks. ‘I’m leaving a team just outside the portal for when you come back.’

‘Alright. Meet you back at base.’ Siwon said and switched off the communication. There was a pause as they all looked back at the station in confusion then frowned at each other again.

‘The nightmarish teleporter.’ The elf hissed. ‘It had a Grigori blade.’ Hankyung rose back up, impressed with Yesung’s handiwork. Or at least his cool toy. He went back to treading the line of the trap and rippling his hands over the air currents in the dungeon. The elf was twitching and sweating with increasing agitation.

‘I’m trying to think of what to ask you first.’ Hankyung stated aloud, casting a side-along glance at the creature to gage its response. It gave small smile.

‘They certainly knew what they wanted to say.’ It shifted its weight onto the other foot making the chains rattle and grind, the wolf bite in its side oozed blood.

‘Oh?’

‘I was posed all kinds of questions concerning my King and my kin. Do they really believe I would value my life over the secrets I am sworn to keep?’

‘They weren’t trying to kill you. If they killed you, we would have learned nothing.’

‘We? But you already know.’ Hankyung stopped pacing. He knew it would give away his shock even if he was behind the elf at that point. But he was stunned. The elf was clearly under the impression that Hankyung was some kind of agent for the dark king. Why? It made no sense. Hankyung schooled his features back into a neutral expression and resumed his slow tread.

‘Of course.’ He said. ‘Though some details were left out. The King never did explain to me how he’s been getting messages inside of the Institute.’

‘They were simply revenants of agents that were snatched.’ The elf shrugged but it was stomach turning sight while its left arm was still fully dislocated.

‘Revenants?’ Hankyung repeated, racking his brains for what they were.

‘There’s a train coming.’ He called out to the others that had started peering around the area.

‘Big shocker there.’ Sungmin quipped.

‘Oh har har. I mean there’s a train coming. Just one. None of the other lines are running.’ Siwon frowned at Sungmin and they moved closer to Kyuhyun. Kangin didn’t pause in his quest to sniff everything.

‘That’s weird.’ Siwon muttered.

‘It means the elves have probably taken control of the skeletrain for their own use. The Netherworld wouldn’t just shut down its main transport like this.’ Kyuhyun went on with wide eyes that kept flicking back up to the arrivals board.

‘So there’s going to be elves on that train.’ Sungmin deciphered. ‘We’re going to have to wait around to see if they get off.’

‘Or stop the train.’ Siwon added.

‘Do you know how to stop a ing train?’ Sungmin snapped at him.

‘Alright, alright!’ Kyuhyun stepped between them. ‘It’s stopping at platform 2. We should set up positions around the perimeter and see what gets off. We’ll be ready to strike if necessary but stopping the train is pointless – it’s more for us to deal with and all it will achieve is one blocked railway line.’

‘How long do we have before it gets here?’ Sungmin asked.

‘Necromancy is forbidden in the Netherworldian realms.’ He said slowly and darkly.

‘We were banished to Lemuria for eighteen years and believe me, there is no realm more lawless.’ Hankyung took one final look up and down the elf’s defiled and bloodied body. From the cut across its eyebrow, the already bruising skin around its throat, its dislocated shoulder, teeth marks, scratch marks, whipped flesh, torn flesh… right down to the holes made by the Grigori blade. It was covered in sweat.

‘My friends have done a pretty good job on you.’

‘Friends? Hah!’ The elf laughed as it had done when Hankyung first walked into the chamber.

‘Well I’m definitely no friend of yours… or your king.’

‘What?’

Blood frothed at its mouth and splattered down its front and on the floor as it retched and shook violently. What had started as twitching had now become a fit and the elf staggered, crashing down to its knees and then over onto its back. Its limbs writhed up and down, making slapping noises on the stone floor. Its eyes bulged, blood leaking from the tear ducts like it was from those pointed elven ears. When Hankyung couldn’t stand the stench of boiling blood any longer, he sighed and collected a ball of fire in his hand that he sent cascading down to the worthless beast on the floor.

59… 58… 57…

The rumbling had already begun along the track so it was undeniably about to appear through the mouth of the tunnel at the far end of the platform. All announcements of the comings and goings of the trains had obviously been shut down since they had heard no toll of a bell or voices over a speaker.

34… 33… 32…

Sungmin instinctively grabbed his knife when the train whistle caught him off guard. He was lucky his position in the metal frame was secure otherwise he would have toppled down onto the track to be run straight over. Smoke was billowing out of the tunnel. It was almost there.

20… 19…

The train rushed into the station. Carriage after carriage slid out of the tunnel like water running out of a tap. Sungmin readied himself. But then Kyuhyun ran out of his hiding spot before the train had even stopped.

‘It’s a bomb!!! RUN!!!!’ He yelled and sprinted up the platform. Siwon darted around the stairs and leaped up them two at a time while Kangin raced on all fours, his paws skidding on the tiled marble floor.

Sungmin didn’t have time to panic. He started climbing across the frame as quickly as he could and then flung out his whip to wrap around a bar at the edge of the marble. It held fast and he put his faith in it as he swung around to deftly launch himself through the air and backflip on top of the mezzanine. He pulled the whip back and hurried after the other two.

Kyuhyun was the last one to make it up the stairs, having been the furthest away but he was catching up. Then he flung a glance back at the train and saw that it was standing still. The doors were about to open.

‘SUNGMIN RUN!!!’

Sungmin remembered Kyuhyun’s desperate face then a bright white light…

until it all went dark. 

I wonder if Kyuhyun will make it to chapter 19....

*insert evil winky face emoji*

I have one note I wanted to put down here and that is I know trains don't make smoke these days BUT if they're from the Netherworlds and they are of steampunk design and I say they make smoke then gosh darnit they're making smoke

I'll try not to keep Kyuhyun's life in the balance for too long

~JC

p.s I mentioned after the last chapter that there would be Hanchul moments in this one.... they have been shunted to the next chapter due to word count reasons on this one