Random Rambles: We are getting somewhere, guys, wheee~! Hi new subbers, hi commentors, hello awesome silent readers- thank you for your continued support of this story and for your endless patience ^^; You are incredible, warmhearted people and I'm so grateful you guys enjoy the story :D To everyone who're prepping for exams/finals or have just about finished them- FIGHTING! Good luck! READ THIS AFTER YOUR STUDIES OKAY?! ^^ <3

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It was strange seeing how abandoned the roads were, how quiet the woods were. Even when we arrived at E.T. Corp, the feeling of isolation dominated the atmosphere. Usually, cars were parked by the heaps near the building, security guards walked near the gates and employees strutted on the property- but it was silent now. There was no life to be found here, nor anywhere else on the island, I reckon. The warnings of strange weather occurrences and a dangerous fugitive on the loose must’ve been enough for the citizens of Hanwol to stay in the safety of their homes. 

I thought back to my parents one brief moment. I allowed myself that moment of weakness, since I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford it later on. I hope they were okay. I hope they didn’t worry all too much about me. I hope they understood. I frowned a little as I felt my cellphone burn in the pocket of my jeans. Dad said he understood, but what had he meant? I know I shouldn’t worry about that right now. I’m sure it’s nothing… 

“Okay, are we really sure about this?” asked Sehun as we looked at the abandoned research facility. 

“Don’t you start as well,” Suho warned, causing Sehun to shrug. 

“I’m just saying, hyung, if we do this there’s no going back,” he replied, getting hit by Chen and Baekhyun who were flanking him. 

“Yah, what’s with that attitude?! I thought Suho was the drama queen,” Baekhyun prompted. 

“Wasn’t it Tao, though?” Chen stated, chuckling as both leader and the kung fu maknae protested at the accusation. 

“There’s no one here… Are you sure Mr. Tabi said to meet him here, D.O.?” Luhan asked, though I was surprised that he was the one who asked the question. Couldn’t he hear the minds of others in the building? 

“Yeah, he told us to meet him at the entrance,” D.O. replied while scanning the perimeter. 

“What’s going to happen once we get there?” I then asked, feeling nervous. 

“Ah, no worries, Jae-noona. Once we get there, we’ll save the world with help from Mr. Tabi, then we can all go home and I’ll even treat everyone for a celebratory meal at my parents’ restaurant,” said Chanyeol with a bright smile, reassuring me. 

“Score! All the hanwoo barbecue!” Kris exclaimed in excitement. The boys all seemed to get excited at the prospect of a good meal and it occurred to me that even though they were dorks, the Tree couldn’t have picked better guardians. Even at the point of life-threatening danger, they can still laugh and joke around. I wish I had that kind of bravery. 

“Alright. Everyone ready?” Suho then asked, looking at each of us for confirmation. He sent me a reassuring smile when he looked at me and then gave the signal to move forward. I followed swiftly, though when we left the security of the forest, I turned around to see if the white wolf was still following, but there was no sign of that. I was still worried about the scent of burned wood, but then again, it may have just been my imagination. If that woman had truly been on our heels, she would’ve showed up already. But that was no reason, of course, to lower my guard. 

“Wow, it’s so quiet,” Xiumin noticed, the silence around us prompting him to whisper. 

“This place looks like a haunted house,” Chen said, though his mischievous eyes glanced over at Tao, who looked a bit nervous, the way he clung to Sehun’s arm. “Almost like a ghost-infested asylum,” he added with a low, evil laugh as he saw Tao literally shiver. 

“That’s not funny, hyung!” Tao squeaked. 

“Who says I’m joking, Taozi? Look around you…There’s no one here…and in this red light, reminiscent of blood…who knows what else is lurking in the shadows of that haunted laboratory of death?!” Chen continued his relentless teasing, even starting to prod Tao to freak him out more, causing him to whine in protest. 

“Stop it, Chen,” Suho flicked him on the head as Chen chuckled, innocent grin radiating from his face. 

“Wae, hyung? I was only playing, you know, relieving the tension,” he elaborated sweetly. 

“Bringing me tension more like!” Tao grumbled, still clinging on a snickering Sehun. Guess their fatigue from earlier on had waned away- unless…

As I studied their faces, their relaxed smiles, the lack of nervousness, I came to realize that this was how they dealt with the task at hand. It’s how they kept their focus. I was honestly amazed at how easily they fell back into the guardian job. I had no problem believing that they were just that. They were gathering strength from each other, not even giving fear the chance to get to them- well, maybe that didn’t quite apply to Tao- but still. 

I chuckled softly myself as Suho was still scolding Chen like a mother would scold her child. 

“So, where is he, hyung?” Kai eventually asked, looking around. 

“He said to meet us at the entrance,” D.O. repeated once more, pointing at the main gate. “I guess that’s where he meant?” 

We walked towards the door and it felt strange to walk up to the front gate of a building we previously had to break in to. Chanyeol waved his hand over the sensor of the door, but it didn’t open. Baekhyun then tried to move the doors manually, but they wouldn’t budge. To be honest, I had expected the alarms to ring off by now. Maybe the security systems have been shut down as well. It really seemed as though there wasn’t a soul around for miles. 

“Are you sure he told you to meet us here, D.O.?” Kris inquired as he cupped his eyes whilst peering through the glass doors. “It looks pretty dark…You think Mr. Tabi set us up?” he asked what we were thinking and I was starting to become really nervous now. 

“No way, he wouldn’t do that,” D.O. stated resolutely, and it wasn’t difficult to see that he had a close bond with the biology teacher. 

“Then where is he, hyung?” Sehun started peering through the glass doors as well. 

“I don’t know, maybe he’s a little late?” D.O. answered, and through his irritation I could recognize a mild sense of panic as well. He checked his phone, but put it away again when he didn’t see any new messages. 

“Try calling him again,” Suho suggested. 

“Wait. Noona,” Kai directed himself at me. “How much does Mr. Tabi know about us exactly?” he questioned as I frowned at him. 

“About us?” I echoed like a confused little parrot. 

“Yes, noona, about us,” Kai confirmed a bit impatiently. “What did you tell him about us? Does he know what we can do?” he then clarified and the lightbulb in my head switched on. 

“Oh! Nothing- that is, I didn’t tell him about the magical wolf stuff. All he knows is that we stole the dagger because we had a hunch that his boss, Mr. Yok, is evil,” I became aware how ridiculous that sounded as I said the words out loud and shook my head. How in the world did that man manage to believe me? 

“Then I guess teleporting inside isn’t such a good idea,” Kai mumbled, kicking a few pebbles at the door. 

“Yeah, let’s not do that. We don’t need Mr. Tabi fainting on us while we need him the most,” Baekhyun quipped dryly. 

“I’ll send him a text,” D.O. then mused. 

“Tell him to hurry, hyung,” Kai added, patience obviously wearing thin. He seemed particularly on edge but it appeared that if I asked him what was eating him, it wouldn’t improve his mood much. However, it looked like I wasn’t the only one who thought Kai was behaving particularly antsy. 

“What’s eating your shorts, huh? Mr. Tabi said he’d meet us here. Relax,” tried Baekhyun though he snuck behind the taller Chanyeol, startled, when Kai glared at him with red eyes.  

“Are you serious, hyung?” he exclaimed, nearly raising his voice. I was startled by this sudden change in behavior and I stepped instinctively back. Luhan and Lay were suddenly by my side, their guards up. We watched as Kai sighed in frustration and I briefly suspected the strange light of the skies having something to do with this. Maybe it affected his mood? Or was it simply because he was stressed? He looks so tense…

“Of course you’re serious,” Kai then grunted, pacing around. “You think everything is a joke while we’re facing the end of the world as we know it - again. I won’t relax this time, hyung. I won’t allow myself to relax,” he said firmly. “I’m not going to take things easy and watch a second home burn to dust. We don’t have time, hyung,” Kai pressed and his plea sounded more desperate than annoyed. “How can all of you even stay so relaxed when there’s obviously something off? Have you let your guard down? It’s not safe out here.” 

A cold, spine tingling feeling crept over my body, leaving goosebumps in its wake upon registering Kai’s words. 

“Hey. What’s gotten into you, man?” D.O. looked at his brother in concern while Kai shook his head. 

“Do none of you sense it?” he then asked in utter disbelief. “I want all of us to be inside of this building,” he demanded, but gave no explanation. 

“Kai,” Suho started, but Kai wouldn’t let him finish his sentence. 

“Are you telling that none of you realized that we were being followed?” he announced as the world fell silent. A quick twinge of fear rippled through me and I looked behind me in response, expecting to see signs of someone following us. 

“Are you talking about that woman?” Sehun nearly hissed at the mention of that particular person, but his question was met by another grunt of frustration, courtesy of Kai. 

“If it was her I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you, Hun-ah. I would’ve long gone and fight her if she was the one following us,” he growled softly, the guttural sound reverberated through his chest. “This is something else,” he elaborated, but didn’t speak further. 

“Something else?” I repeated, suddenly thinking about the ghost wolf. Should I tell them that I saw it again? But if that was truly what Kai had sensed, wouldn’t that mean that the ghost wolf wasn’t on our side after all? Cold sweat formed on my brow and my clammy hands trembled when I wiped them discretely on my jeans. It was in that moment that it felt like something shifted in the air and I felt incredibly uneasy. I had moved closer to the door as I looked around the property. The reddish light wasn’t helping in calming me down. I saw shades flash through the trees, dark entities appearing and disappearing in the corner of my eyes. Was my mind playing tricks on me now? 

The boys seemed more alert as well, the way they carefully stood in formation. It was beyond me how they managed to secure me in the middle though. 

“Did you guys hear that?” Chanyeol asked, looking towards the forest. “I thought I heard something.” 

“What did you hear, hyung?” asked Tao in a whisper. 

“The dragging of chains, maybe? Or the tortured wail of a soul in unrest, perhaps?” Chen replied, still able to joke around at a time like this. He was immediately punched in the arm by Tao. 

“Stop it, Chen-hyung, it’s not funny! What if it really is a ghost?!” he freaked out. 

“Both of you stop it!” Suho warned as he stepped forward to look around properly. “There’s nothing here, Kai. Are you sure?” he looked at the stoic youth, but Kai only arched his eyebrow skeptically. He was known as having the strongest instincts in the pack, so there was no reason not to believe him. We jumped nearly simultaneously when there was a distinct rustle of something rushing by coming from the woods on the other side of the building. 

“What the heck was that?” Chen called out, light bolts of lightning buzzing between his fingers. 

“Chen-hyung it stopped being funny ages ago,” Tao accused him, but Chen firmly shook his head. 

“I’m not kidding, Tao, I saw something in the forest just now, I swear!” 

“No, it’s there by the fence!” Chanyeol called out and the wind blew and picked up. I had never felt the breeze so cold before. 

“Stay close, Jae,” said Xiumin, protectively standing in front of me. I startled when I saw the clouds form in the air as I breathed. The temperature had dropped out of the blue, but I still felt extremely warm. What the hell is going on? 

“Is it just me, or has it become darker?” Baekhyun remarked quietly while he looked up at the sky. 

“The moon turned a darker shade of red,” Luhan murmured, his head snapping towards the forest when a strange pitched noise echoed from it. This wasn’t the ghost wolf that was lurking from those trees. Kai was right. There had been something following us. 

“So, did Mr. Tabi tell you when he’d come to get us, D.O.?” Kris then asked, his voice breaking when he caught sight at a strange entity forming amongst the trees. 

“He’d be down in a sec,” D.O. replied, his eyes fixed on the strange, black masses moving along the shadows. I held in my breath when I first caught sight of it. I thought they were just that; shadows, but now I saw that they moved, saw that they had distinct shapes and sizes, saw that they were watching us back. 

“Do…Do you guys see what I see?” I whispered, feeling the tension in the air as the pack prepared themselves. The silence was pressing and filled with dreadful anticipation. 

“Stay behind us, Jae,” Luhan told me.

“What are we looking at?” I nearly squeaked as I saw the black entities moving towards us. 

“What the hell is keeping Mr. Tabi?” Kai grunted in annoyance, though he looked like he was about ready to start a fight. “If he doesn’t show up soon, I’m teleporting everyone inside,” he announced. 

“And risk him seeing us?” Suho argued. “I don’t think so!” 

“Why not? If he believes Jae-noona about the dagger, why wouldn’t he believe that magic is possible?!” 

“Are you two seriously going to fight while we’re facing- whatever those things are?!” Kris then interrupted them. 

“Those things look familiar,” Chanyeol then mentioned as he glanced at Baekhyun, who nodded soberly. 

“Very familiar,” he nearly sneered as a ball of light illuminated his hand and he threw it at the black creatures near the forest, while I stood there, frozen, watching what they would do. The shadows scattered when the light approached them, save for one. It stood behind a tree, standing its ground when Baekhyun’s attack soared past it. I gasped softly out of terror when the light briefly showed its facial features- or rather, the lack there of. 

It had been a matter of seconds, but it was enough for me to see a pair of pale eyes and rows of sharp, jagged teeth, all etched in a face that seemed to have been made from tar and was still slowly melting. I had never seen something so hideous and frightening before, but as my one memory flashed back into my mind, I knew that wasn’t entirely true. 

Exo planet had been attacked by creatures from the dark. Creatures that were loyal to him, the Black Imoogi. My breath was raspy at the realization, the wisps of small clouds escaping my lips. How did those things manage to come to Earth?!

“G-guys,” I started, feeling myself physically shake in fear. I was utterly pathetic compared to how calm and composed the boys were. 

“We know, Jae,” Suho said softly, though determinedly. “Don’t be afraid. They’re not worth the fear.” 

I nodded as I anxiously awaited what would happen next. My heart accelerated when I noticed that the creepy creature had widened and curved its mouth upwards, almost as if it was trying to smile. CREEPY! I shrieked in terror inside my mind, but I couldn’t move. Courage, Jae. Find your courage. I thought that if I repeated that sentence over and over again, I might actually start believing that I had a shred of courage left in my body. Courage, Jae. Damn it woman, find your courage! I startled when the creature made a sudden movement, and I nearly ducked behind D.O., who stood closest to me. Nope! Forget it, you can’t find your courage since it just left through your pants! What the hell is that thing?!

“Maybe Kai should teleport us inside,” I suggested, but I don’t think anyone heard me. They were too focused on keeping an eye on those things. The boys stood at the ready, making sure that they had each other’s backs while the shadows had started moving. I could see their eyes glowing red, their canines elongated and the air vibrating with power.

“How did these things get here?” Baekhyun wondered out loud, obviously disgusted. 

“The Black Imoogi must’ve summoned them,” Suho muttered. “Be on your guard. Protect Jae.” 

“Protect yourselves! If you protect yourselves, then Jae is protected too!” I exclaimed in mild protest since I did not want either of them risking their lives for me when they should be worried about themselves first. I trusted them enough to know that if they managed to stay safe, I would, as a consequence, be alright too. 

“Just leave it to us, noona,” Tao said confidently, the anxious teenage boy from before nowhere to be found. This was Tao the guardian, the young master of Whoop Yo Wushu, not the baby panda that was afraid of ghost stories - and I was thankful for that. 

I rolled my shoulders lightly since it felt like something was tugging at my backpack, but when I quickly looked behind me there was nothing there that could’ve been pulling it. I looked up when the wind had died down all too suddenly and the silence that ensued was deafening. I could tell now that there were distinct shadow figures surrounding us at various points. There were at least a dozen of them, if not more, standing frozen, watching us through pale eyes, set deep and asymmetrically in black, melting faces. 

None of us dared to speak. None of us dared to even breathe too loudly. Just as I thought that this was the closest thing those creatures would do to intimidate us, the shadow, which I thought had tried to smile, widened its mouth and let out a screeching, terrifying shriek that had me beyond startled. In that moment, the shadows moved. They moved fast. Towards us. 

“I don’t think so!” Lay reacted first, setting up a barrier around us and successfully stopping the first shadow that attempted to attack. The creature bounced back, seemingly burned, and hissed angrily at us. 

“Chanyeol!” I warned, when I noticed one of those things jumping from a tree, over where Chanyeol stood. He looked up in time and a wave of flames incinerated the shadow. Everything moved so quickly. Tao was suddenly fighting two of those things at the same time, being one of the few that didn’t use his magic to fend them off. Blasts of ice shot through the air, freezing hissing shadows- Xiumin never missed one. Bits and pieces of their frozen, misshapen bodies then exploded with a wave of the hand from Luhan. The wind swept the creatures off their feet as lightning and water struck them - a lethal combination that caused a certain kind of fireworks that I really didn’t necessarily needed to see. The earth rumbled, swallowing any approaching shadow whole, before mercilessly closing again, squishing them like bugs.

I watched breathlessly and frozen in fear as shadows were swept from the ground in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear again at great heights, their terrible screeching screams silenced, the moment they splattered onto the concrete. Over towards my left, a large wolf was in combat with a shadow, viciously attacking as it was attacking him. Kris leapt towards the creature, bit into it and soared up into the sky, only to release it again, adopting the same method as Kai. However, amongst the chaos, I somehow managed to notice that these things were mostly afraid of the light. Baekhyun’s pulses of light, his lasers, had the shadows cowering and hissing most evilly. Yet, at the same time, his light attracted the darkness and they swarmed him, hoping to take the greatest threat out. Lay’s secure barrier wouldn’t hold long, as for some reason, the boys’ energy was quickly depleting. 

“Baekhyun!” I called out, but felt so helpless. I wish I could say that everything had slowed down in slow-motion for me, so that I could think clearly and gather my wits about me, but this wasn’t a movie. There was no slowing of time. No second chances. No time for me to just stop and stare. The only thing I could do was watch or react. Not think. Not now. 

I moved forward towards him on instinct, without properly knowing how I could help in any way. I nearly reached him when all of a sudden, there was that tug on my backpack again. I was pulled back and I stumbled, startled at the sheer force of it. Not only did I think my backpack had become heavier, there was something there that was still holding onto it. When I turned around, I was met by a horrid face that had only one eye and a dislocated jaw, causing me to stare into a gaping mouth, filled with rows of razor sharp teeth. 

I screamed. In response, the creature screamed back, but had its filthy claws still around my backpack. “No! Get away!” I shrieked, struggling to get out of its grasp. “Let go, you ugly freak!” I kicked and tried to tear away from it, but it had its claws latched onto my backpack. I could hear the straps tearing. 

“Get off!” I yelled, but as I swung my arm to hit the creature, the straps of my bag tore and it slid over the ground, the contents spilling out. I stood frozen when I heard the clang of the dagger on the concrete and noticed the shadow hissing loudly before moving to grasp it. 

I gasped and quickly reacted, running towards the dagger before this thing could get to it. But who am I, a girl, to catch up with a shadow that slid across the ground like a snake? Wait. I watched as I saw how the shadow reached a bony hand towards the dagger and I could feel myself changing. I let out a growl so vicious I nearly startled myself, biting the creature’s hand, trapping it in my clenched jaws. I heard the shadow shrieking when I bit its hand clean off. I jumped towards the dagger, changing back as I held the weapon in my hands. 

I was still growling while the shadow was screaming in pain over the loss of its hand, but as I bore my teeth towards it, my face cringed. As I smacked my lips together I could faintly taste the rotten ooze that leaked out of the hand I had bitten off and my stomach coiled. 

“Ew! Ew, ew, ew, ew!” I yelped, spitting out the disgusting goo and throwing out my cool image in the process. “God, that is disgusting! Yuck!” I spat out, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. The shadow had stopped to stare at me a moment, seemingly bewildered before it shrieked furiously again and leapt for the attack. 

“Whoa!” I was knocked back as I tried to fend the shadow off. The creature wasn’t necessarily interested in me, though. It wanted the dagger. 

“Gah!” I struggled, doing my best to use my legs to kick it off me. I was met by more screaming, the shadow using the one hand it had left to try and pry the dagger from my hands. 

“You’re not getting this!” I yelled at it. “You’re not getting this!” I repeated. 

“Noona!” I heard Baekhyun call out, but he was still dealing with a handful of these things by himself. The shadow was grasping for the dagger, wouldn’t even let it out of its sight. As I fought hard to protect it, I saw the blade gleam. 

“Alright,” I breathed, still putting up a fight. “You want this?” I asked, the shadow shrieking horribly in response. “Fine! You can have it!” I firmly grabbed the hilt and shoved the blade into the shadow. 

I crushed my eyes shut as the creature wailed in agony. I peeked only to see the shadow bathe in light while its black body shriveled and it was gone. The heart on the hilt of the dagger pulsated and stilled once more. The brightness of the attack had momentarily paused the ongoing fight around me, but as I was still trying to put the pieces together, the shadows caught sight of the dagger and I saw them approach me in a herd. 

“Jae!” D.O. yelled in alarm, stopping as many as he could, while the boys quickly reacted to help me. 

“Hold on, noona!” Sehun’s tornadoes knocked most shadows out, but they rose as swiftly, still approaching me. 

“Noona, I’m coming!” Baekhyun called out as he was closest to me. 

“Stay back!” I screamed at the shadows as they swarmed me, their eyes on the dagger. I’d be lying if I said that it hadn’t crossed my mind to just throw the weapon away so that they would go after it and leave me alone. However, I wouldn’t allow that to happen. I was the keeper of the dagger, as Chanyeol mentioned before. They weren’t getting this thing without a fight. 

“I said, stay away!” I swung the dagger at them as I was met by more hissing. It became dark in front of my eyes as I was slowly being surrounded by more shadows, more darkness, more grabby, bony hands reaching out towards me. I was scared. I was in panic, but the grip on the hilt of the dagger never weakened. 

“Baekhyun!” I called out, though I doubted that he could hear me over the shadows. As I looked above me, the sky was so red. I wanted to scream as the shadows closed in over me as I hugged the dagger tighter to my chest. “You’re not getting this,” I said, breathing heavily. “Over my dead body!” I yelled, feeling multiple claws scratch my clothing, my skin. 

Jae-noona, I’m here, I heard Baekhyun’s voice in my head. Don’t be afraid of the dark. I could feel him then, his presence. I saw the world bathing in a beautiful light, and I wasn’t afraid anymore. Rather, I was angry. What was I doing so helpless on the ground? The moment I saw specks of light coming from my fingertips I knew to whom I was connected to. 

Thank you, Baekhyunnie, I mused. Opening my eyes to look at the shadows. The light floated and grew, and even though it obviously brought fear to them, the shadows relentlessly tried to get the dagger. I panted, feeling overwhelmed by emotions as they stubbornly continued the attack. I felt a sense of power well within me and I think my patience with these horrid things had worn thin. 

The world around me became quiet as I focused on the creatures that were hurting us. “I said…” my voice trembled. “Stay back.” 

A gulf of brilliant light had appeared and swept across the area, going as far as the forest on the other side of the road. The air filled with horrid shrieking that lasted for a good few moments until everything died down. Once my eyes adjusted again after the light waned, the shadows had all gone. 

I panted heavily, looking at my own hands before looking at an out of breath Baekhyun. 

“Oh no, noona,” he shook his head, breathing hard. “Don’t blame me. This was all you,” he remarked with a cheeky grin before giving me a wink. 

“What happened?” I asked, still holding the dagger close. 

“Well,” Baekhyun started. “I’m awesome, so when you connect to me, noona, by default, you become awesome, too. Hence the…poof,” he gestured, obviously exhausted, but still managed to smile. Knowing that the danger had momentarily passed, I returned the smile. 

“Is everyone alright?” Suho called out, looking tired as well. Seeing the others still standing had me relieved, but before any of us could answer, a loud beep sounded behind us and a pair of doors slid open. 

“Hey, kids! What the hell was that just now? Did you see that light?!” a deep voice exclaimed and I leaned on my knees when I saw Mr. Tabi walking out of the building, a shocked look on his face. Did he only see the light? Didn’t he notice the shadows? 

“Are you guys alright? What- what the heck happened?” he continued, which answered my questions. He walked towards D.O. to check the scratches on his arm before turning his attention to the rest of us. 

“You’ve a weird sense of timing, sir,” D.O. deadpanned though he was smiling out of relief. 

“Did you guys get into a fight, or something?” Mr. Tabi asked, holding Lay by the shoulder as he was obviously exhausted. “Don’t tell me you ran into the police, or anything?”

“That would’ve been a lot easier to deal with,” Chen huffed, sitting on the ground, but immediately put up an innocent smile when Mr. Tabi heard the comment. 

“Can we get inside, please, sir?” Suho then asked politely while Sehun and Tao were helping me put my stuff back in my bag. 

“Uh- y-yeah, okay, of course, come on,” Mr. Tabi muttered, shaking his head a little. He waited for all of us to go inside whilst looking around, just to be sure. I tried to smile as casually as possible when I passed him, but Mr. Tabi must’ve noticed my wounds as well. His eyes then found the dagger in my hands. 

“Ah, you brought it, good, Jae,” he sounded a bit flustered which was odd, but then I imagined that this wasn’t a regular sight to see to begin with, so the poor dude was probably still trying to make sense of it all. 

“You’re gonna have to explain this, I hope all of you realize this,” he then stated, pursing his lips. I then noticed him squinting his eyes at something in the distance, which alarmed me. When I turned around, I felt the shock hit me in the face again. Not all shadows had been vanquished. 

“What the hell is that?” Mr. Tabi mused, intrigued and startled at the same time. I pulled the teacher by the arm. 

“We should go, sir,” I told him, but his curiosity took hold of him as he stepped forward to inspect the creature. 

“You’re seeing this, aren’t you?” he asked. 

“Mr. Tabi, let’s go,” Kai added. 

“In a bit,” Mr. Tabi muttered absently, though I couldn’t imagine what he was thinking. “What is that thing?” 

“Don’t get too close, sir,” Luhan warned him, while I still tugged on his arm so that he wouldn’t actually approach it. For whatever reason the shadow was keeping its distance, but something told me that that wouldn’t last long. The moment the creature hissed, and moved, it was suddenly Mr. Tabi grabbing me to pull me inside the building. 

“Inside, kids, inside!” he ordered. Once we had gathered in the building, the glass doors slid shut while Mr. Tabi inserted a code to keep it that way. I thought for sure that a set of glass doors wouldn’t be able to stop that thing from getting to us, but once it had banged against the glass once, it shrieked again, making us jump back. 

The shadow hissed and looked at us, stopped at Mr. Tabi, hissed once more and suddenly, just like that- it left. 

“So,” Mr. Tabi started slowly, looking at us. “Who’s the one that’s going to explain?” he waited as we exchanged glances. We kept quiet as he watched us, though right now all I could think about was that last shadow. 

Why did it leave? No…what made it leave? I quietly looked at Mr. Tabi as Suho was the one that decided to try and come up with an explanation and I looked down at the dagger in my hands. The air smelled faintly of lupines as I held the weapon closer.