Tao could see Chen’s fingers shaking even from the other side of the bonfire. The Lightning Force always had this distant look in his eyes, fighting for calm, constantly turning his head as though his name were being called. He was so bad now, so unlike the carefree, laid-back Chen they had all been so fond of. He was barely recognizable.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Tao saw someone he knew. Someone he should not have seen. She was standing, wide-eyed and terrified in the woods, her gaze on Chen whom had frozen in his seat, tears building up. Fear and confusion.

~  ~

The same dark, billowing clouds Chanyeol had seen earlier had finally galloped their way to him, as if nature itself preferred to see him powerless. Not that it mattered to him, however. He was nearly ready to welcome death, even if it came with red eyes and fangs. There wasn’t much hope or drive to live left in Chanyeol.

Besides, he was sure he’d started hallucinating. There were figures watching him. So many horrified, dark eyes. He thought they hated him, and maybe they did.  Or maybe he was already in Hell. Maybe Chanyeol had been dead all along?

A howling wind threatened to knock him to the ground, a thin, dark fog building up around his feat. The rain hadn’t begun to fall yet, but he knew this must be its warning. He was already froze to the bone, and despite his lack of desire to remain with the living, Chanyeol couldn’t help but wish that the rain would hold off for a while longer.

“You’re a lost fool.”

He couldn’t be sure if he was hearing things, if it was another hallucination. Was it his father’s voice? Chanyeol didn’t see anyone around.

“You tell yourself you want to die and yet you keep crawling to your friends. I pity you, Legend.”

Chanyeol stopped, shaking and a little frightened. He wanted to call out to the voice, but his voice failed him. It had been days since his last drink, and only just now did he realize how dry his mouth was.

Even without being called, the disembodied voice continued on, and the dark figure of a man suddenly appeared with it. “You don’t really want to die. Otherwise you would have already,” the man looked over Chanyeol’s body from a distance, his movements so subtle Chanyeol could hardly tell that he was moving. He seemed a lot like Tao. “Your body is only holding on because you won’t let go.”

Finally, Chanyeol coughed something out. “Who are you?”

His lips turned to a crooked smile, almost smug. But there was something else in his expression. Something almost annoyed. “I’m sure you’ve been told about me and my brothers. We’re a little… infamous in the Capitol. A cautionary tale, more like.”

Chanyeol’s brows furrowed, needing no more than the hint of the man’s brothers to know who he claimed to be. “Jaejoong’s supposed to be dead.”

He turned, nearly glaring at the redhead. “I am. I’ve been dead longer than you’ve been alive. That’s about the only part of the story they ever got right.”

It didn’t make any sense, but there was a sudden thought and a flash of anger that overtook Chanyeol. If the Red Force is a harbinger of death, surely someone like Jaejoong could persuade it. “You called on the Red Force, didn’t you? This was all you!”

Jaejoong chuckled, waving a hand. “No, it wasn’t me. I’m not as sadistic as you may think. I don’t really want the Tree to die. If the Tree dies, I and every other soul go with it.”

“Then why are you here? How are you even talking to me?” Chanyeol chose each question a little more carefully, just speaking taking a toll on him.

“It’s surprising, isn’t it? It’s something the Red Force is up to. Your friend Tao has caught on, he’s rather smart. You know how it all works, don’t you? We’re born, we live, we die and our souls return to the Tree. The Tree is the caregiver of all life on Exo. But now that the Tree is infected by this… virus of destruction, everything on the planet is dying.” Jaejoong slowly started to circle Chanyeol as he spoke.

He continued. “With the Tree infected, even in our realm, there has been horror. Because the Red Force only knows destruction and death, the souls have been affected, and accordingly, they only know fear, sadness, anger. You have been seeing people, Chanyeol, you have. But they are not the people you know. They are only the darkest parts of themselves.”

~  ~

Chen jolted up from his chair, stumbling his way to the clearing of the wood to where he saw her. She was too clear to be another hallucination. He knew he saw her.

“Chen, wait,” Tao started, standing. Even his catlike eyes were wide, fixed on the dark figure of a girl.

But the Lightning Force refused to listen. He had to know or he might never sleep again. There was this horrible tugging on his chest, almost a ringing in his ears. And that look in her eyes. Like she would cry, like she were feeling the greatest horror and heartbreak she had ever faced. He felt so sorry, so guilty. Of course she would think this way of him. Of course she must hate him.

The nearer he got, the more distressed she looked. A shaking little flower in the shadows, fragile.

He went to call out her name, but there was nothing but a pleading cry. “Lully!”

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!”

~  ~

“They will only feel pain. They can never understand anything other than loss and fear. Even your familiar faces won’t calm their fragile little souls.”

Chanyeol thought for a moment. “Then… what about you?”

Jaejoong looked off in the distance, thinking of something that seemed more real to him than the dried up lands of the planet. “I’ve always been quite connected to the dead. I suppose you could say the Red Force has trouble affecting me. My brothers… they aren’t quite as lucky.”

~  ~

He stood there, heart beating so fiercely against his chest. “What?”

She shook and cried and begged. “Please! Please, just stay away from me!” Her arms were out in front of her, yet she would draw them back like she was afraid he might try to touch her. And she was right.

Chen reached out to place his hands on her shoulders, and at his very touch she screamed and cried, pulling herself away as though it was the greatest pain she’d ever felt. He drew his arms back, horrified. And a panic attack started to overcome him, his worst nightmare suddenly staring him back in the face.

~  ~

“Why are you warning me about this?” Chanyeol asked, his hands still clutching to his wounded belly.

Jaejoong smiled sadly at him. “Your friend… Chen, I think his name was. He’s calling on your old friends without knowing, and it’s going to be Hell. If someone tries to touch them it will hurt, and it will hurt in ways you can’t understand as a being of flesh. If you look at them or talk to them, they will be put in fear and heartbreak. Especially so any of those that ever gave them strong feelings of sadness in life.”

“What exactly do you mean?”

“The Red Force will play on any dark feeling or thought your friends have ever had. If any of your old friends have horrible memories, have ever felt sadness because of one of you… they will only be able to feel those things now, remember those things. And they will feel and remember them tenfold.”

There was a howling in the wind.

Jaejoong began again. “If I were you, I’d keep Chen away from Lully. And I hope you don’t run into your friend Nana. Don’t call to her. It’s better if you don’t.”

“How do you know all this about us?” Chanyeol asked, trying to ignore the memories Jaejoong had suddenly stirred within him.

The Necromancer smiled, his eyes piercing even from behind the dark circles under his eyes. “The Tree knows everything.”

~  ~

“I’m so sorry! I’m so, so sorry, Lully,” he cried, on his knees now. He could barely breathe. He didn’t know what to say.

“Stay away from me!” she cried, whole body shaking. “I hate you… I hate you, Chen, please leave me alone!”

Tao had made his way to Chen, eyes still on Lully who screamed as though she were dying again. He meant to drag the Force away, but when Lully met Tao’s eyes, she began to scream even harder yet again, and he froze.

~  ~

Minho was still driving westward, Baekhyun and D.O. in the back looking for any signs of harvestable vegetation.

“I have a really weird feeling,” Baekhyun said out of the silence.

D.O. looked over at him, waiting for an explanation.

“It’s probably nothing but… I dunno. I feel like we’re… we’re definitely gonna find something out here.”

D.O. chuckled. “I hope so.”

Baekhyun looked over the horizon at the end of the road ahead. He saw great, billowing clouds making their way south not too far from where they were. “No… I mean something else.”