[WARNING] This chapter contains three character deaths, one being a suicide. Reader discretion is advised. 

He couldn’t help but notice how weird it was that Chanyeol was unrecognizable; the bags under his eyes, his flesh sickly pale, his whole body hunched over walking with a face that looked as if it were being pulled from his skull. The fire that used to be in his eyes had simmered down into white ash, devoid of life with nothing left to burn.

Baekhyun watched as the redhead stared into the bonfire, hand still protecting the wound on his belly as he replayed his last two months over and over again in his head. He knew that Chanyeol was feeling lost, alone, and afraid. More than anything, he hoped that there was relief and comfort floating around there, too.

“You doin’ alright?” Baekhyun asked, his voice softer than even he realized. It was as if there was some strange wall between the two of them, something he never imagined he’d ever face with Chanyeol. But now, everything was different. Chanyeol was different.

Hardly looking up, he replied, “Yeah, I’m fine. I just don’t really know what to say or do, you know.”

“Right…”

There was silence between them again, Baekhyun shuffling in his seat and wracking his brain to find some words of comfort for his friend. He wanted to say something profound, but only simple replies came.

“You don’t really have to say anything or do anything. We’ll all take care of you so you can rest and get better, alright, man? Don’t worry about anything.”

Chanyeol’s attention was taken to the far end of the clearing where Kris was antagonizing Jessica, her lighthearted cries of frustration echoing between the trees. Not far from them, Xiumin and Sulli were holding hands and smiling at each other as if it were the only thing they knew how to do. Then, Suho, Amber and Ryeowook were laughing and gathering more debris from the streets. Only a moment later, Minho and Lay walked past him by the fire, making their way back to the old building where Chen, Kai, Sehun and Luhan were, surely about to tend to the broken bodies and minds.

Everything was moving so fast, peoples’ faces looked blurry. He gathered his fingers around his cloak, turning his head back down to his knees. Everyone felt like characters in a play to him, and he’d missed all of Act I.

He chuckled weakly. “I kinda feel like I’m just in the way.”

Baekhyun turned to him, brows furrowed. “Why?”

But Chanyeol didn’t answer.

Krystal had kept her gaze on Chen for a while, who was still shaking even in sleep. He would probably wake up soon, and she’d have to urge him to take more of the tonic she and her sister had found in bulk for him. Lucky for him, there was a pharmacy very near their location.

Bringing life into the room, Lay and Minho walked inside, still carrying their conversation from outside. Krystal stood up, Kai still staring at nothing, though he was listening to everything going on around him. She walked up to them, interrupting their conversation only with her presence.

“How’s he lookin’?” Minho asked, setting a box of medicine and herbs down on one of the old crates.

“About the same. I think he’ll need more of that Moon Flower, he’s shaking again, having nightmares,” she answered, turning to look at him as she explained, Lay looking over as well.

The Healer nodded. “Yeah, probably. I’ll take care of him for a bit, why don’t you go out?”

Before Krystal could even reply, Minho interjected. “Actually, you remember that old cabin a little ways up north?”

“The one where that doctor lived? Who had all the books and stuff?”

Minho nodded.

“Yeah, I know it. Why, you want me to go get something from there?” she asked, getting ready to grab a bag for her trip.

“Look through some of his old books, see if there’s anything useful, and then look for anything else that we could use around here. I’m sure he had some good stuff, and considering how many sick people we have around here, more medicine hardly seems like a bad thing,” he instructed, walking her out the door.

Hardly three steps out the door, her eyes fell on Chanyeol, body slumped in his chair by the fire as though the heat were melting him down. He’d hardly moved or spoken the past few days since Minho, Lay and the others had brought him back to camp, and she hated to see him look so lonely and small.

Making her way over to him, she knelt down by his chair. “Why don’t you come with me?” He nearly jumped just at the sound of her voice, nobody but Baekhyun having really spoken to him much.

“Go where?” His voice was still as raspy and broken as it was before.

“I’m headed north to collect some things, and I’d like the company. Which reminds me,” She raised her voice, turning Xiumin and Sulli’s direction, “Sulli! You’re coming with me, I wanna talk to you!” It’d be good for him to get to know the kids from Suju. Maybe he wouldn’t feel so alone or left behind anymore.

Sulli reluctantly let go of Xiumin’s hand, making her way to Krystal and Chanyeol.  Krystal helped the Fire Force out of his chair, still feeling weak from his injuries and the infection. “Where are we going?” Sulli asked, voice perkier than it had been in a long time.

“To that doctor’s cabin to get some things. Chanyeol’s coming with us,” Krystal explained, Sulli looking almost surprised, but not disappointed.

“Oh, really, Chanyeol’s coming? Well good, we can get to know each other!” She adjusted herself so she was standing by his side and facing north, and the three of them started walking.

Krystal turned to look at Sulli. “Someone’s a little more extroverted than normal.”

“I’m just really happy,” Sulli replied.

And the girls seemed to have a conversation through his own body.

In only a short while, the three of them finally made their way far ahead North until they could see the old cabin, left barren just on the outskirts of the forest, only the tip of the North lighthouse peeking over the canopy in the distance. Chanyeol let his gaze glide over the logs holding it in place, following the lines where each one of them met up into the frame of a window and then up to the roof where he saw a chimney standing tall. Even though it had been a long time since a fire had burned there, he could swear he still smelled fresh ash and heard crackling in his ears.

“Hopefully he left the door unlocked,” Krystal mumbled, making her way to the front door with Sulli following not far behind. Chanyeol still stood a few feet away from the girls, surveying the clearing around them. He couldn’t explain why he felt eyes on them or the looming feeling of doom.

Krystal fought with the lock before she and Sulli were now shoving their weight into the entire door, ramming it open and nearly flinging themselves inside onto the floor. “Knock knock,” Sulli laughed, fixing her hair so it was out of her face.

The three of them made their way inside, shelves lining the walls with books and vials, everything coated with a thick layer of dust. It was almost impossible to breathe without sneezing or coughing. “Oh, wow,” Krystal muttered, following the height of one of the bookcases up towards the loft that hung over the kitchen area, making her way to the stack of the chimney and back down to the main floor again. “This place looks so much bigger inside.”

Chanyeol saw all the herbs, dead, hanging over their pots in the window, leaves shriveled and scattered on the floor. The air in this place was dry, his throat seeming to close up with every breath. His eyes still glimpsed out the windows; this cabin was full of them. Why did his stomach feel so tight? And his knees wouldn’t stop shaking, like this overwhelming feeling like something awful was approaching.

“Look at this!” Sulli called, Krystal making her way over to see what she was pointing to in the open text in her hands. The book was thick and heavy, pulling down on her little arm. The girls became so engulfed in the book, but Chanyeol was still looking around at the vials on the shelves.

His eyes became fixed on a particular glass vial that fit in his hands, corked shut with the strangest looking herb he’d ever seen. It shined, almost like it was somehow alive in this natureless environment. There was even a warmth coming from it, tingling on the tips of his fingers.

“What’s that?” Krystal asked, having noticed Chanyeol investigating something in her peripheral vision. The girls made their way over to his side, watching him continue to inspect it.

He took it from the shelf, gaze still stuck on that strange looking herb inside. The tingling became stronger, and in almost an instant, the glass became to crack and shattered in his hands. Being on edge, his heart stopped and a flame shot from his fingertips. It reached out and caught Sulli’s hair, startling the three of them.

“Oh my god, Sulli!” Krystal exclaimed, trying to stop the flames.

But Chanyeol was shaking, and without him knowing, more flames began to stretch out from his body and catch everything around him. Like his own fear, burning deep inside him, had become impossible to cage.

And the air was so dry.

Luhan looked up over the canopy of trees not far from their camp, a distant smoke catching his attention. “What’s that?” Sehun asked, Luhan shaking his head, eyes still focused and squinting as he tried to make sense of it. As it billowed upward, it became darker and darker.

Amber took notice of Sehun and Luhan, matching their gaze. “What the ,” she mumbled, not entirely sure what she was seeing. “Is someone burning somethin’?”

The clouds became blacker and thicker.

Standing in the doorway of the old building, Minho looked up at the smoke, instantly aware of what horror he was probably looking at. “, that’s that old cabin I just sent Krystal up to!”

“Wait, Krystal’s up there?” Jessica overheard, anxiety suddenly overcoming her as she saw the panic in Minho’s eyes.

“It looks like there’s a fire, are they okay?” Suho tried to ask, but Minho didn’t respond, already getting ready to make his way in the direction of the cabin.

“Sulli and Chanyeol went with them!” Xiumin added, getting ready to follow the group that had gathered to head North.

And at the mention of Chanyeol’s name, Baekhyun already knew, and his heart sank into the pits of Hell.

The entire cabin was in a blaze of fire, the windows shattered out and flames stretching from out of the paneless frames. It was a loud roaring, deafening.

Jessica stood, eyes wide as the fire reflected in her eyes. And then a screeching from inside the house from distressed wood shattered something within her and she tried to make a mad dash into the cabin. “Krystal!”

Kris grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. “No, Jessica, you can’t!”

But she fought with him the entire time, lips and limbs shaking. “My ing sister’s in there, let me go! Let me ing go!” She screamed, her voice shrill. Jessica couldn’t take her eyes off that burning house.

Slowly, she stopped fighting with him, and he pulled her face into his chest, letting her scream everything into him as he held her tight. Letting her scream Krystal’s name over and over again, the sound of it haunting them all. As much strength that he had in his voice, his insides were hollow as he stared at that tragedy, his ears ringing from Jessica’s shrill cries and the sound of the roaring fire.

“Suho… can’t you pull water from the air or something?” Luhan asked, scouring his mind for solutions.

“There’s no moisture in this air, I can’t do anything,” Suho’s voice was weak, head shaking slightly as he fought with the horrors in his head.

Xiumin stood behind the entire group, blank. Empty.

But Baekhyun suddenly sprinted off into the woods, so sure he would find Chanyeol out there. Chanyeol was good at running away, and in a tragedy like this, Baekhyun knew he would run until his legs gave way.

His hands were shaking, the sound of the girls screaming still echoing through his head. He wanted to scream, too, but his voice denied him. He had run so hard and so fast, and he had no idea where he’d ended up. His throat felt like it was burning and bleeding, eyes red and voice hoarse. He still felt the heat of the flames on the tips of his fingers.

“Chanyeol!”

The redhead turned and saw Baekhyun standing at the other side of the clearing, his gaze already pleading with him.

“Don’t come near me!” Chanyeol called back, falling into a coughing fit as his voice irritated an itch in his throat.

“Chanyeol, please! I know it was an accident, please don’t run away!”

“I killed them! I killed them, Baekhyun, where do you want me to go?” Chanyeol bit on his bottom lip, his abdomen tightening and his fists clenched.

Baekhyun tried to inch closer, but Chanyeol took another step back.

“Just come back with me, alright? You’re just really sick right now and you can get better. It’s just because you’re sick, that’s all, I know it,” the Light Force reassured, but it almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Chanyeol took a deep breath, wiping a hand over his face, an ironic smile spreading across his lips. “I can’t go back there. I killed two of their friends. Krystal’s sister is over there and she knows I was the one that took her from her.” The corners of his lips were quivering again. “How’m I supposed to face her, Baek? Huh?”

Baekhyun had become so desperate, inhales sharp as he fought sobs, his head shaking. “It’ll be alright, Chanyeol, I promise. We’ll figure everything out. We will, please.”

“And even if it were just because I’m sick,” he sobbed, pulling his hands over his face. “Even if it’s because I’m sick, there’s no cure for this , Baek. I could be sick forever until I die. You guys gotta keep each other alive, you don’t need me to threaten that.”

The raven haired boy shook his head more now. “No. Don’t ing say that, Chanyeol. We’re looking, we’re gonna find a cure.” Now Baekhyun was sobbing. “Don’t ing run away from us–from me! I told you, you weren’t gonna have to face anything else alone, right?”

There was silence, and it was as though the sound of the roaring fire in the distance was gone. Chanyeol took another deep breath, catching his wits about him. He was suddenly way too serene. Too calm, and it shook Baekhyun deep inside.

“I won’t be alone where I’m going.”

His heart stopped. “Chanyeol,” his voice was distressed, and the only thing he could see ahead of him was Chanyeol’s figure only ten feet away.

“It’s fine, Baekhyun. Don’t move.”

“Chanyeol!”

“I’m a phoenix, right?”

“Chanyeol!”

He couldn’t even step forward before a tower of flame rushed over Chanyeol’s body, engulfing him until Baekhyun couldn’t even distinguish that he’d ever been standing there. Baekhyun screamed, trying to fight the flames but only burning the ends of his cloak and his fingers. The flames seemed to push him away, urging him to let them consume Chanyeol’s body.

Falling to his knees, he couldn’t take his eyes off the tower of fire. He watched as it seemed to carry his friend off someplace different, burning ferociously. It was like looking into the gates of Hell.