SKYE’S POV

"Stay safe." I mumbled, hugging Tao. He nodded, pulling back and ruffling my hair slightly. I waved goodbye to the rest of the wolves, watching them turn and start walking away. Kris and Suho were going to meet with the mayor of the border town we had stayed in before, trying to cement the peace between the pack and the humans. They had taken all the wolves except for Chanyeol with them, in case they were caught in a trap and needed to fight their way out. Chanyeol and I were left behind to watch over the camp and its supplies.

There were still some hunters in the woods, not yet dispersed from the battles, and Suho wanted to make sure they didn’t destroy our supplies. I stepped backwards, leaning into Chanyeol’s warm side, and he wrapped his arm around me. We would be alone, just the two of us, for two or three days and the thought made me happy.

"Come on." Chanyeol mumbled, kissing the top of my head and turning both of us away when the wolves and Eunkwang’s friends had disappeared from sight.

"Where are we going?" I asked, smiling as he took my hand and led me through the forest. He didn’t answer, pulling me through the snow, and I shivered slightly. We finally reached a small area on the edge of the trees with a deep pool of water frozen solid in front of us. There was a small stream that fed the pool, but it was frozen too.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a smile, shaking my head. Chanyeol flashed me a white smile and stepped forward, kneeling down on the edge of the pool.

Chanyeol stretched his hand out, placing it against the hard ice and pressing down, melting the ice. I watched as he slowly unfroze the pool and then heated it until it was steaming in the snow. Chanyeol gave me another smile and pulled off his shirt.

"Whoa, what?!" I exclaimed, trying not to look at the lean muscles that curved down his torso. Chanyeol chuckled, pulling off his jeans, and then he lowered himself into the water. He sighed and I smiled, catching on and pulling off my jacket.

I stepped into the pool in my underwear and a tank top, gasping as the hot water swirled around my feet. I got all the way in, the water going up to my shoulders, and stood on the rocky bottom.

"Surprised?" Chanyeol asked. I hummed in response, trailing my hands through the water and watching the bubbles that formed.

"Thank you." I smiled, finally looking up at him. Chanyeol nodded, reaching out and curling his arm around my waist. He pulled me closer, resting his other hand on my cheek and tipping my face up. His fingers were warm from the water and he my scars carefully. I flinched, but Chanyeol followed the silvery lines down to circles on my neck.

"Beautiful." Chanyeol mumbled. I blushed and he pressed his warm lips to mine, closing his eyes a second before. I did the same, resting my hand on his warm chest and leaning into him.

When we had kissed long enough to gasp for air, we finally broke apart. Chanyeol smiled at me, tucking a wet piece of hair behind my ear and tapping my nose gently.

"Come on, pretty girl. Let’s go." Chanyeol said. I had also noticed the water was getting colder, and hopped into the snowy air reluctantly. I immediately gasped, frozen wind biting into my wet skin.

"Come here." Chanyeol laughed, pulling me close and drying my clothes and skin. When we were both warm and dry, Chanyeol turned and shimmied into his jeans.

"Let’s get back to camp and I’ll make us something hot to eat." I smiled, pulling on my own jeans and jacket. Chanyeol nodded, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and holding his shirt in his hand. We started walking back, but Chanyeol paused after only a few steps, swiveling his gaze towards the trees.

"What is it?" I whispered, eyeing the tense way he straightened his back and flexed his hands. Chanyeol held up a hand for quiet, trotting over to the treeline and peering into the pine trees.

Chanyeol stepped back quickly, a glittering cloud enveloping his face, shoulders and chest, and raised his arms in front of his face. He screamed, dropping to the ground and writhing in pain.

"Chanyeol!" I yelled, running over to where he was on the ground. A black shape stepped forward, the hunter throwing a slender knife towards Chanyeol and I. I threw myself in front of Chanyeol, hissing in pain when the dagger buried itself in my bicep. The hunter smiled slightly, drawing another dagger quickly and sending it flying towards us. I dodged it, diving forward to pick it up off the snow and throw it back left-handed towards the hunter. It stuck in his neck with brutal accuracy, the man dropping like a stone and sprawling forward on the ground.

"Chanyeol!" I dropped on my knees by his side, looking down at him. His screaming had died out to small whimpers, and I covered my mouth when I saw him.

Silver dust coated his skin, burning him more even as I watched. The skin of his hands and wrists was bright red, blood already coming to the surface, and his shoulders and chest were the same. More burns covered his neck and cheeks, tears tracking down from his closed eyes.

I looked around, realizing we couldn’t stay here safely, and leaned forward. I draped Chanyeol’s arm around my shoulders as gently as I could, wincing when he cried out.

"I’m sorry, we have to get back to the camp." I said. Chanyeol nodded softly, keeping his eyes closed and letting me guide him as we stumbled through the forest. He was half-conscious when we reached the ring of trucks, and I dragged him inside the largest one.

I laid Chanyeol down on his back, stepping back and trying to figure out what to do. I looked down at my hands, trying to get them to stop shaking. Yixing was gone. Baekhyun was gone. They weren’t here to help me heal him, and I needed to get my together if I wanted to save Chanyeol.

I took a deep breath, twisting my hands in my lap, and looked over Chanyeol. His eyes fluttered open and shut, the skin of his cheeks trickling blood, and I looked down at the dust still burning him. I grabbed my extra shirt, tearing off a large chunk and leaning forward.

"I’m sorry." I whispered, reaching forward and wiping the powder off the burns. Chanyeol screamed, arching his back off the ground, and I tried to hold him down. I finally succeeded in wiping the silver off, Chanyeol’s skin weeping red and broken open even though I went as gently as I could.

When I had finished that, I looked down and distractedly noticed the giant wound in my bicep. I had yanked the dagger out a while ago, and I just wrapped the rest of my shirt around it to stop the bleeding. Looking back at Chanyeol, I frowned as he shivered uncontrollably. I touched his forehead, yanking my hand back from his burning skin and biting my lip.

"Chanyeol, wake up." I shook him gently, trying to keep him conscious. He ignored me, curling up as best he could and shivering, his teeth chattering.

I needed to get him by the fire outside, and I needed to get some food in him. Without food for energy, his body would weaken and he would die. I sighed, standing up and picking up a large crate. It was empty thankfully, and I dragged it outside into the snow.

I placed the crate down next to the fire, adding more wood until the fire blazed up. I took off my jacket, shivering in just my tank top, and started piling any extra clothes I could in the bottom of the crate. I went back, hauling up Chanyeol as firmly as I could and setting him down in the crate. I grabbed pine boughs, spreading them over him, and turned back to the fire. Rice was the only food we had left, and I was frantically cooking a pot.

When I was finally done, I scraped some into a bowl and got a cup of water. I gently helped Chanyeol sit up, spooning rice into his mouth. He turned his head, trying to push me away, but I kept trying. He needed to eat something! I trickled the water down his throat, making sure he drank it all. I turned back towards the fire, taking an empty bowl and filling it with snow.

I grabbed some extra cloths I found laying around, and packed one side with snow. I went over to where Chanyeol was, gently lying the ice cold cloths on the worst burns. I didn’t want to make him too cold, but the burns needed to be cooled off.

Chanyeol sat up suddenly, turning to the side and vomiting up the rice and water. He coughed afterwards, his whole body shaking, sagging back into the crate after a few minutes. I frowned, trying to think of another way to feed him. I made sure he was covered thoroughly by the pine boughs, watching him shiver.

I sighed, turning, and froze when four more hunters stepped out from the tree line. They eyed Chanyeol in his crate, me, and the fire. Two men, two women...teenagers. One of the young men stepped forward, raising a gun, and I unsheathed my knife with a hiss that surprised even me.

"Why don’t you just move along, save yourself the trouble?" I said in a low voice, moving to stand in front of Chanyeol. I would protect him with everything I had, even if it meant I died.

"Hmmmm, no. You killed our friend; you and your friend are going to die." he said, shrugging and stepping forward.

I shrieked, jumping forward and launching myself at his neck, latching on and kicking his gun away. It slid away over the snow as he yelled, punching my ribs. I ignored him, slicing my knife across his throat and ignoring the screaming pain in my bicep. He fell and I leapt off him, landing with one knee bent and one straight out.

I ducked, dodging a large shuriken flying towards my head, and sprung on the girl who had thrown it. She fell under my weight, not moving when I landed a punch to . I spun, barely deflecting another knife cut from the other boy. My injured arm wavered and the knife tip carved down, slicing along my forearm. I curled back in pain, the last girl landing a harsh kick to my back.

I sprawled forward, watching as the boy approached Chanyeol with his gun drawn. He cocked it and aimed, seconds away from pulling the trigger, and I shoved myself up. I stumbled forward, raising my arm to protect my face as the fire suddenly blazed forward, engulfing the hunter. He screamed and I lunged forward, spinning out a back kick into his chest and knocking him into the blaze.

Someone punched my cheek hard, and I turned to face the last girl. Her eyes were narrowed in anger, and I raised my fists to match her. We circled around each other warily in the snow, waiting to see who would throw the first punch. It was her, landing a solid hit to my cheek. I popped one back in return, feeling my head snap back at the strong hit to my mouth. I reached up to touch the blood trickling down, and she kicked my chest. I fell back in the snow, wincing when I landed on my hurt arm.

I tried to get up again, but pain and blood loss made the world spin around me. The whole fight had lasted maybe 20 seconds, but I was done. I slipped wearily to my feet, feeling my heart sink when she pulled out a hand gun. She smiled suddenly, blood trickling down from the side of ghoulishly, and shrugged at me.

I took a deep breath, flinching at the loud pop and looking down. A circle of red spread steadily on the white material of my tank top, my hands automatically going to my stomach. I looked up at her, falling to my knees and watching her turn and walk away. She disappeared from sight as I fell sideways, my hair fanning out behind me and the snow ice cold on my neck. My stomach felt numb, ice spreading through my veins as my world faded to black.

So, I know this is not the fluffy chapter I promised you. But that will come later (I hope. Both of them have to live...? I don’t know, I really like the idea of a ghost Skye. Like, she could see what Baekhyun went through and he can help her because she taught him how to love again? I don’t know, I’m actually really starting to like that idea...)

Anyway, I’m so sorry this update is so late. I seriously had absolutely no access to my computer for two days and it drove me up the walls while I waited to update. Please, leave me a comment on what you guys think of the update?

Kamsamnida, saranghamnida~

-Sujin

<3