Random Rambles: Okay, so I feel that the writer slump is gonna be over AFTER this chapter xD kkaebsong, I tried guys, I really did, but I'm not satisfied with this chapter....le sigh, but I want progress in the story, so hopefully the upcoming chapters will be better. Hope you can forgive me and thank you always for your support and endless patience with this scatterbrained writer ^^; mianhae, saranghae! <3

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What am I doing? What am I doing? What the heck am I doing?!

I walked through the forest on my own, the sky darkening over me. The air seemed moist somehow, which released the scent of the forest and wet earth. Usually, the scent would calm me down, but not this time. I trotted down the unkempt path, making my way to the stone plateau. 

It felt so lonely walking here in the silence, under cover of the gray skies. It made the leaves and trees look more green, but menacingly so. They loomed over me like monstrous spies and I hurried my pace. 

I sniffed and angrily wiped a tear away when I felt it roll down my cheek. 

Don’t you dare cry, Jae! You’re not a baby for goodness’ sake! Get yourself together! It’s not like I made the decision to leave forever, I just needed to get things sorted and then everything should go back to normal. 

I wasn’t stupid. I got help this time. I don’t know for the life of me why the first person that came to mind to text was Kris, but at least I’d meet up with someone soon. I just needed one person to talk to for now, at least until I calmed down to be able to think clearly when I’d tell the others what happened. 

God, all of this seemed so dramatic, but what else was there for me to do? I couldn’t give the dagger back to Dad like Mom had proposed. All the events so far lead up to this stupid piece of metal. And what I had seen with Luhan, Mr. Yok was the one behind all of this. He was the founder of E.T. Corp! How do we even begin fighting that dude- if that’s what the ghost wolf wanted us to do. 

Ugh, the ghost wolf…Don’t even get me started on the freaking ghost wolf! It hadn’t shown itself at all, right at the moment when we could use a little guidance here. Then again, it did say that it wasn’t going to be able to help us all the time. 

I don’t know. Everything seemed horribly wrong. Well, maybe that wasn’t so surprising, given that everything really is wrong in my life at this point, but still! The dagger was supposed to provide the answers, and in a way, it had, but that couldn’t have been it, right? We were supposed to do something with it, right? And what about me? 

I paused as that question rudely entered my mind. 

What about me? 

As I looked around, I noticed that I had climbed my way up to the stone plateau and I walked towards the edge, dropped my backpack and sat down. I carefully swung my legs over the side as I waited for Kris to arrive. The plateau overlooked the large part of the forest of Ookami Shinro, with the wild oceans meeting the dark skies in the horizon far in the distance. It might rain soon, and I regretted not taking a little more time to bring some essentials with me. 

Was it so bad that I wanted everything to just happen? To have whatever that needed to be done, over with? I wanted to go home and continued living my life normally. But I knew that it wasn’t that easy. I realized that as well. 

So then, what about me?

I took a deep breath as I let my eyes glide over the view, the impact of how secluded the area was, hit me hard. I wasn’t alone, I knew that just thinking about the boys- but why did it feel that way? 

Was it because I hadn’t woken up yet, like the ghost wolf wanted me to? 

I reached out to my backpack and grabbed the dagger. The green heart was still pulsating faintly, but as I inspected it, the shine of the blade and hilt seemed off. Parts of the hilt even seemed corroded. That wasn’t there before… Didn’t Luhan mention something about the dagger losing energy? Was this its way of saying that time was running out? 

“Then what am I supposed to do, huh?” I breathed. “Why won’t you just tell me?” 

The green heart shone, the silver gleamed, but there was no answer for me. I sighed deeply and lowered the weapon. I had to stay strong. At least, for now. 

I jumped a little when I heard the sound of rustling leaves behind me, and I turned around, expecting Kris to appear, but instead, my heart nearly dropped into my stomach. 

“Hm. This is not the main road, how did this happen?” someone mumbled, looking at a map as I stared with pounding heart. I quickly grabbed my backpack and put the dagger back where it was safe. I made sure to look representable, wiping my eyes and straightening myself out. 

“Mr. Tabi?” I asked, still a bit surprised to see the biology teacher at this hour in this isolated part of the forest. 

The young teacher didn’t hear me immediately, as he was still scanning the environment and twisting and turning the map in his hands as he tried to navigate himself. 

“I followed the crossing back at the river, and then I took a right- no, left…didn’t I?” he muttered to himself, his voice so low it sounded like a pleasant hum. 

I cleared my throat, feeling a little nervous. He must’ve been really lost to have ended up here. No one ever came here, save for the pack… 

“Mr. Tabi, are you okay?” I asked and finally, he was startled. Jumping lightly at hearing my voice and quickly pushing his thick-framed glasses back on his nose, he blinked at me in utter bewilderment. He was quiet for a while as he appraised me, almost as if he was wondering whether I was a ghost or whether I was real. 

“Jae? Is that you?” he asked, walking cautiously towards me. 

“Hi, Mr. Tabi,” I waved awkwardly, meeting him halfway, trying my best to pretend that there’s absolutely nothing suspicious about a girl being in the forest by herself. 

“Well, I’ll be damned! Fancy seeing you here,” he greeted, still surprised. “What are you doing here, kid? Are you alone?” he immediately asked and I chuckled nervously. 

“N-no, I’m waiting for someone, we were gonna meet here,” I answered as steadily as possible. “We- eh, wanted to go hike,” I cringed when I heard how that sounded and Mr. Tabi eyed me skeptically. 

“Hiking, huh? Odd time of day to hike, especially since authorities alerted us to stay at home,” he reprimanded slightly, his deep voice booming in the quiet air. 

“Well, that’s true, but what are you doing here then?” I retaliated, quickly turning the tables. This had him flustered. 

“Well, I- I was out to get some samples and there was a specific place on the island that I could get them, but well, I’m a biology teacher and a scientist, we’re not made to read off maps accurately,” he cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. 

I watched him carefully, unable to deny that I thought he looked pretty endearing- which might be a strange thing to think about one’s biology teacher, but come on! Mr. Tabi was still a very attractive young man, I wasn’t blind. 

“Are you lost, Mr. Tabi?” I asked him plainly and this had the tips of his ears burning. 

“I may have overlooked a turn or five,” he shrugged before relaxing and chuckling. “Guess it was fate that we should meet here, huh, Jae?” he winked, though I felt uneasy under his gaze, the way he observed how I looked, how he gazed at my backpack briefly. 

“I know it’s none of my business, but I must admit that I’m a little surprised your father would let you go out to hike at this hour, especially after everything that had happened today,” he suddenly said, making my stress levels rise. 

“T-today?” I stammered. So smooth as usual, Jae…

“He didn’t tell you?” he asked, surprised yet again. “There was a break in last night at the company. They haven’t apprehended the culprits yet. This island is small, so they couldn’t have gone very far. You shouldn’t be out here by yourself,” he said in concern. “Must’ve really been fate for us to meet then. Come on, I’ll try to navigate our way back into town and then I’ll take you home,” he stated resolutely, but this was exactly what I didn’t want him to do. 

“Mr. Tabi, it’s okay, really. Thank you for your concern, but I’m meeting up with a friend soon and then I won’t be alone, I promise,” I stated a bit too desperately, which had him eyeing me in suspicion once more. 

It wasn’t the first time that I regretted it somewhat that Mr. Tabi was a good teacher. Observant and smart. Good instincts. Almost scarily so. 

“Jae,” he started stepping towards me carefully. “Is everything alright?” he asked, looking me straight in the eyes. 

I was afraid to speak at this moment, so I only nodded, hoping fiercely that Kris would arrive soon. 

“You sure? Because, from where I’m standing it doesn’t look like you’re okay,” he said, his eyebrows lifted as he patiently waited for me to cave- which I didn’t. Not yet, anyway. 

“Why would you say so, sir?” I still tried, though I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. 

“Well, I wouldn’t know much about hiking, but I know there’s a time and place to do so, which isn’t late in the evening, by the way. Then there’s the small matter of you seemingly having packed lightly. You don’t seem very well prepared for a late time hike. Also, I dare say, I know you, Jae,” Mr. Tabi approached, giving me a sympathetic smile. “Or at least, know the look on your face. I recall bearing a similar expression when I ran away from home once,” he stated gently. 

I couldn’t help it. This made me chuckle, but my mood became a bit bitter. “Ah, I see. So this is the part where you try to relate to me, right?” I spoke before I realized that I had just basically told Mr. Tabi that his hunch was right and that - yes - I was in fact running away from home. Crap. I’m not really good at this, am I?

“Guilty as charged,” he joked. “Look, I was your age once, okay? I know that the last thing you need right now is to get lectured by your teacher in the middle of a forest. So, I won’t do that,” he stated simply, looking so annoyingly confident. “What I will do is tell you that whatever issues you’re going through are going to pass, so why bother running away from them? You’re a good kid, Jae, and your parents are good people. I’m sure there’s no need for drastic measures like this,” he chuckled, briefly pointing at my backpack. 

“Who says I’m running away?” I persisted, even though I could fully tell that he could see right through me. 

“Aren’t you?” he coaxed, looking straight at me. 

“I’m not,” I shrugged, bluffing my way through this. 

“I see. Well, in that case it won’t be a problem if I notify your parents about your whereabouts, right? I’m sure I have your father’s number somewhere- he’s my superior after all. Have to look out for the boss’ daughter,” Mr. Tabi said lightly, but I knew that this was how he was going to play me and I cringed. 

“Wait!” I sighed after seeing him take out his phone. Mr. Tabi lifted an eyebrow at me, a smirk on his face. I looked away then, kicking a few pebbles away, but refused to say anything. 

“Hmhm,” he mused knowingly. “Talk to me, kid.” 

Damn it… I was so tired of always having to make up excuses and I guess my brain agreed with me since I couldn’t think of anything at the moment. Should I throw caution to the wind and tell him what really happened? Chances were that he wasn’t going to believe me anyway, same like my mother, so who knows he’ll react the same way and would just tell me to stop being ridiculous and go back home. I could pretend that I was going to and just run back to the plateau, but when my parents realize I’m not at home anymore and they’d call him to ask if he’s seen me, then he’d know where I was. Then again, Kris and I could have gone by then. 

Hm, maybe that’s why I subconsciously texted Kris…He could fly me away from all of this mess. 

“Jae?” Mr. Tabi called, watching me in anticipation. “Whatever it is, you can trust me,” he soothed, and even though I appreciated the sincere concern in his eyes, I still didn’t want to tell him anything- until he placed his hand on my shoulder. There was something about feeling the warm touch of someone’s hand on your tense shoulders that just made you want to confess everything on the spot. I didn’t understand why I felt that way around Mr. Tabi, though. I looked up at him and felt the wind pick up. It was probably because it was going to rain soon, but the scent of the air was sweet. 

I noticed a bunch of lupine flowers waving and bending at the will of the wind. They were vibrant in their colors and it surprised me that I never noticed them before. 

“Jae, hey, what’s wrong? Come here,” Mr. Tabi suddenly said, reaching into his pocket to produce a tissue. He gently started dabbing at my cheeks and I realized too late that I had started crying. What is this…? Way to go, Jae! Really! Such a good way to stay strong! 

“Now, now, don’t cry, please? I can’t stand it when girls cry- you want to see me cry, too?” Mr. Tabi murmured in his soothing deep voice as he lead me towards a few boulders to sit on. “There, there, come on. What’s all this, huh? Whatever it is, Jae, this is a no-judgment-zone right here,” he gestured to himself. “Talk to me, don’t keep whatever is eating away at you inside. It’ll spill from your eyes,” he mused, still gently dabbing away the tears that escaped. 

“I’m fine,” I sniffed angrily, pulling away as I wiped the rest of my tears away with my sleeve. 

“Jae,” Mr. Tabi called again, a bit more strictly this time, and I shook my head. Why was I such a mess?!

“God, you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you!” I eventually blurted out because I was so sick of everything! Full confusion and frustration just slapped me across the face and I just didn’t care anymore. Mr. Tabi was a good guy and the fact he took the time to care was a plus too. I knew he wouldn’t understand, but I figured that none of that mattered anyway. 

Where are you, Kris?

“Try me,” Mr. Tabi said. “What could you have possibly done to make you want to leave your home, kid?” 

“I can’t tell you that,” I spoke out of frustration. “Please, Mr. Tabi, just leave me be,” I still tried. 

“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” he persisted and fell silent to pressure me to talk. When I didn’t he sighed. “Does this have anything to do with that drawing of that dagger?”

Okay. That was a strange question. When I frowned at him, he shrugged. 

“I’m not supposed to talk about this, but your dad might tell you anyway- I can lose my job over this, you know,” he muttered before sighing deeply, taking off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You know that there was a break in at E.T. Corp, I take it?” he questioned in all seriousness, and I carefully nodded my head. 

“Police say that nothing’s missing, but that’s not entirely true…” Mr. Tabi ran his hand through his hair and sighed again, like what he was about to say weighed heavily on him. “There is something missing from the company’s private collection,” he then confessed. “A dagger,” he added more soberly now, glancing at me. His gaze wasn’t intense, but I still felt like it was. 

“I recall you having drawn a dagger once, or am I mixing things up?” he asked quietly and I felt the tears well up again. I lowered my head, anything to prevent from looking at him. “Jae,” he started again, repositioning himself so he could easily face me. “Do you know who took the dagger?” 

Scary good instincts…

When I still hadn’t answered him, he carefully placed his hand on my shoulder again. “If you do, it’s okay. I can understand now why you seem so scared. You don’t have to be. We’ll go to your father and explain everything. Boss is a good man, he’ll understand,” he urged me with a gentle smile, but I shook my head. 

“He won’t understand this. Neither will you,” I muttered, watching how a bunch of lupine flowers swayed in the wind. 

“Then try to explain it to me,” Mr. Tabi still persisted patiently. 

“You won’t believe me!” I nearly shouted, and looked at him in surprise when he chuckled. 

“Then what would it matter if you told me or not? At least give me a chance to try to understand your story,” he urged and I swallowed, feeling a sigh of defeat escape my lips. I’m so tired of fighting this…

Rubbing my eyes, I caved. “I know what happened last night,” I spoke in a whisper, while Mr. Tabi was all ears. “I was responsible,” I swallowed. “Just me. No one else,” I added for emphasis, just in case. “I also know that the dagger is missing, because-,” I heaved a sigh. “Because I’m the one that took it.” I didn’t wait to for Mr. Tabi’s reaction and just spilled the beans on the matter. “There’s something strange about the dagger that I can’t place, but I know that it’s valuable, important. For this world, that is. I don’t know exactly how, but you can tell that there’s something wrong with all the storms and strange weather conditions, living plants dying, animals being so quiet and antsy- it’s like nature’s a mess. This dagger- it plays a role in it, somehow. I know it belongs to Mr. Yok, but that man can’t be trusted. I think he’s responsible for the mess, that’s why I can’t return the dagger to my father because he’ll just give it back to him,” I inhaled for breath, waiting for Mr. Tabi to scold me, to laugh at me- but he didn’t. He just sat there, looking at me, wide-eyed, face, thoughtful. 

“Wait,” he breathed. “The dagger is evil?” he inquired, frowning at me. 

I felt like I had lost my mind. “I think Mr. Yok is evil,” I corrected him, which made the teacher nod his head slowly, processing the information. 

“Oh my,” he muttered, taking off his glasses again to rub his eyes before placing them back on his nose. 

“And you’re the only one who knows about this?” he asked in disbelief, though I was surprised he was still taking this seriously at all. 

I nodded, but he called my bluff. 

“Jae,” he warned, “who else knows?” 

“Your science club,” I felt like a traitor the moment the answer escaped my lips, but Mr. Tabi only nodded. He got up to his feet and started pacing around. 

“Mr. Yok,” I heard him mutter underneath his breath as I straightened myself. “The experiments- no wonder the results with the dagger…” he trailed off, mumbling to himself in alarm before shaking his head. “Could it- damn it…” 

I frowned at him as I watched him, my heart pounding a little hard, beating a little faster. Why was he reacting this way? 

I startled when Mr. Tabi turned around sharply, approaching me steadily. “Jae, this is important; where is the dagger now?” he asked, but I was still processing all the information myself. Here stood an adult who actually listened to what I said and seemed to believe me? What?!

“You…you believe me, sir?” I asked for good measure. 

“Hard to believe, huh?” he managed to quip, before regaining himself. “Look, I’m not gonna lie. I highly disapprove of your actions if this is what you have really done. However, I’ll be the first to admit that things seemed a bit iffy when I first joined the project your father set up. Not that I distrusted him, mind you, but this whole dagger thing-,” Mr. Tabi gestured with his hands. “Rubbed me the wrong way,” he said it as though he was relieved, but I was still stuck on the fact that he seemed to believe me. 

“You know where the dagger is, Jae?” Mr. Tabi asked me again, waking me from my daze. 

“I- uh,” I stopped myself. This was where I drew the line, though it worried me how easily I went over it to begin with. 

“If you do, you should tell me. This isn’t something a teenager has to deal with it-, no offense,” he spoke again, gently, soothing. “Do you have it?” he then asked and I startled before I could mask my reaction. 

“Wait,” I breathed. “Wait.” This was going too fast. Too fast. I blinked at Mr. Tabi and shook my head. “What kind of experimentations were you doing with the dagger?” I asked because I wanted to see if he was playing me or being sincere. 

“It’ll sound crazy, but we figured out that the dagger is comprised of living organisms, except its DNA is unstable. It’s losing energy,” he explained while I my dry lips as it dawned on me that he was speaking the truth. “Miss Kumiho then suggested that we drill into the earth for the natural energy of leylines…” Mr. Tabi trailed off as if his brain was one step ahead of his speech and his eyes went wide as though he was hit by an epiphany. “Miss Kumiho works directly underneath Mr. Yok,” he elaborated. “If what you’re saying is true, Jae, and that dagger belonged to him, he may have planned everything, but I fail to see the why of it all,” Mr. Tabi was in his ‘scientist’ mode. The mode that was often switched on during the classes he taught when he got excited about something. 

“Jae,” Mr. Tabi grabbed me by the shoulders. “This is important. Do you have the dagger?” he repeated once more, the graveness in his voice obvious. “Do one of the boys have it?” he then asked. “I want to help you, Jae. Your secrets are safe with me, but you need to trust me. If that dagger is somehow connected to all of nature going out of whack then I think I know how to fix it- Yes! That has to be it!” he ranted on while I stood there, stupefied, mute. 

What’s happening here? 

Mr. Tabi turned around and pointed at me. “That has to be it!” he repeated. “Don’t you see? If that dagger is responsible for bringing the very balance of nature as we know it, out of order, the natural resources of energy will become unstable. What better for a company like E.T. Corp to step in at this time to provide stable, clean energy in a world of chaos? Ah, it’s disappointing,” he ranted. “It always ends up being about money.”

To be honest, I doubted that was what Mr. Yok’s true goal was, after having seen the memories of the dagger with Luhan, but it was rather amazing how Mr. Tabi was able to reason his way through all of this madness and chaos. I needed to get my head on straight as well. 

“You think you know how to fix this, sir?” I asked tentatively and Mr. Tabi focused his full attention on me, becoming serious again. 

“I think I have an idea, yes. But I’ll need the dagger, of course, and the rest of the things I need are back at the laboratory,” he said, but I wasn’t entirely convinced. 

“I don’t get it,” I said, looking at him. “Why are you so willing to believe and help me?” 

Mr. Tabi fell silent before he stood in front of me and shrugged. “Why would you lie about something like that?” he replied casually, his body signaling relaxation and trust. 

I bit my cheek to prevent from crying and knew I was losing my mind when I slowly opened my backpack. Mr. Tabi said nothing as he watched me grab the dagger and hold it in my hand. I wanted to see what he would do next. I flinched when he reached towards the weapon, but suddenly grabbed my other hand and folded it over the dagger. 

“You and the boys are in too deep, aren’t you?” he asked with a smirk, though there was concern in his eyes. “May I take a quick look?” he then asked, motioning at the dagger. I nodded, keeping a close eye on him. Mr. Tabi didn’t even touch the dagger. He inspected it while I was still holding onto it. 

“I think I know how to fix this,” he muttered when he saw the corrosion. “It’s losing energy fast, isn’t it?”

“You think it needs to be reloaded?” I questioned.

“Possibly. I’ll need to run some tests first to be sure…” Mr. Tabi scratched his head. “My responsible adult side is telling me to take you home and the dagger back with me to the facility,” he suddenly announced. “But given the current circumstances and my own gut shouting at me, I might have to reconsider,” he said with a small smile. 

“You’re…you’re really going to help me?” I asked, still in disbelief myself. 

“Well, technically, we’ll be helping each other. I think you just provided us the answer to the mystery of this dagger, and okay, I have to admit that Mr. Yok having an evil master-plan is a bit of a stretch, but still. I see no reason why you, or my boys would lie about this,” Mr. Tabi answered. “I like to think I know you all, and I know that stealing a dagger like this from a secure facility is not typical of you.” 

I squinted my eyes at him. “You’re going to rat me out, aren’t you?” 

Mr. Tabi laughed at this and shook his head. “Surprisingly I am not. I don’t see how doing so will benefit anyone,” he said honestly. “You have to promise me one thing, though, Jae. Keep that dagger safe and close to you at all times. Once I’ve done some recalculating I’ll give you a heads up. See if you can meet me at E.T. Corp, discretely, of course,” he winked. 

“You’re serious,” I stated, rather than asked this time. 

“Of course. Weren’t you?” he replied, gesturing at the dagger in my hand. “Who are you meeting?” he asked me then. “I still don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone here, and you should at least tell your parents that you’re alright.” 

“I left a note,” I mumbled. “And I’m meeting with Kris.” 

“I see. Well, that’s good, good…” Mr. Tabi nodded. “I’d like to get started on this, and if it’s Kris you’re waiting for, you should be good,” he pressed his lips together. “I don’t suppose you know which way I’m supposed to take to get back into town, do you?” he chuckled a little embarrassedly. 

I nodded and pointed which way he was supposed to go.

“Marvelous! Alright, I’ll trust in you to inform the boys, and I’ll let you know when I know more,” he said. “You sure Kris is coming?” 

“Yes, he should be here any minute,” I nodded, though I couldn’t help but still feel a bit uneasy. This seemed so easy, and yet, seeing that it was Mr. Tabi, there was no real reason for me to doubt him. 

“Mr. Tabi,” I called out as he prepared himself to leave. The sweet scent of lupines wafted towards me when the wind picked up again. 

“Thank you- I guess,” I shrugged, smiling a little when I looked at the teacher. 

“Don’t thank me just yet, Jae,” he replied. “I don’t know if I can actually help you, but I’ve high hopes. You just make sure not to lose that dagger, you hear me?” 

“I won’t. I’ll keep it on my person at all times,” I promised solemnly. 

Mr. Tabi nodded. “Good. Try and stay out of trouble for the time being. If your parents happen to ask me, I won’t lie about having seen you,” he warned me in all honesty. 

“I understand.” Do you really, Jae? Don’t you think that Mr. Tabi is a bit too chilled out about this? Then again, he was a laid back person in general, and he did know more about the dagger than I did… 

“I’ll let you hear from me when I’ve more knowledge on the matter,” he said. “Don’t leave the island until then, huh?” Mr. Tabi joked. 

I allowed myself to relax just a bit and chuckled. “We’ll be around,” I confirmed. He patted me on the shoulder again before he turned around to walk away. 

“Oh, and Jae?” he asked. “One final thing,” he continued. “Don’t cry anymore, okay? You kids aren’t alone,” he assured in his soothing voice. 

Mr. Tabi smiled one more time before he disappeared into the woods. I felt empty when he left. Which was strange. Heck, everything about what just happened was strange. My mind was spinning, reeling, but I felt so calm at the same time. I took a deep, cleansing breath to process what just happened, and ended up shaking my head as if that would help get me out my daze. 

By the time Kris finally arrived, I felt clear of mind again. Like I could put things into perspective. 

“Have no fear! Galaxy is here!” Kris had bouldered the moment he arrived. 

“What took you so long to get here?” I scolded him in response, seeing him take a step back as I approached him. 

“Hey, I got here as quickly as I could, okay? Wasn’t sure what happened a long the way, but I kept tripping over roots and vines and stuff…slowed me down,” he pouted. 

“Then why didn’t you just fly, you dork?” I asked, making sure my tone was gentle, since, honestly, I was just happy he was here. 

“Oh yeah, and risk getting seen?” he retaliated and, of course, he had a point. Kris suddenly started sniffing the air and wiggled his nose before sneezing. “Was there someone here?” he asked. 

I rubbed the back of my neck and heaved a sigh. “Yeah…There’s something I should tell you…” I told the story from the beginning until the end as Kris listened to my every word. 

The winds picked up again, but I didn’t see that the lupines shriveled when it touched them this time and became dust in the air.