Knowing it wasn’t there, Kai still tried to use his left hand to pull the blankets off his face. It was the strangest sensation. Frustrating… cruel. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach, and yet none of this felt real. The shock had yet to release him.

“I can’t imagine what you’re feeling.” Monotone and deep, a voice called from the archway. It was D.O.’s voice, his face solemn and body leaning against the frame.

Kai turned his head, staring at the gray sky beyond the window. “It’s a weird feeling.” His fingers reached for the nub on his left side. “Sometimes I think it’s still there. Like I’m dreaming or something…”

Chatter from downstairs could be heard between their silence. Suddenly, Kai let out a weak laugh. “When do you think I’ll lose my other arm? Or a leg? I won’t be much use as a pile of stubs…”

“Kai…” D.O. was useless at this sort of thing. Moments like this made him so uncomfortable; he never had the words, the kind of empathy or wisdom needed. People often thought he just didn’t care, but that wasn’t the truth at all.

“I guess Taemin can look after my limbs in the afterlife, too…”

~  ~

Colors seemed so vivid in this place, pure, undiluted versions of themselves that were so rare to find. The calm the fragrances emitted was so nurturing, like being cradled in the warmth of a mother’s arms. Despite herbs being Lay’s expertise, Suho often found himself wandering through the Capitol Greenhouse. It was like a glass mansion, rainbows flashing in the mists he manipulated as he watered the flowers. He thought you could almost describe the greenhouse as like a birdcage that was no cage at all. No, it was a sanctuary, more like.

On this particular day, one of the Masters was accompanying him: Soo Man. It wasn’t a required meeting, but Suho had an unquenchable thirst for learning. Even as a child, he was obsessed with the histories of the Tree, the Forces and the Legends. It was the only life he had ever wanted.

“I actually have a question—about one of the rare Forces I read about the other day.” Suho’s voice became cautious. “Is it true that Necromancy is one of them?”

Soo Man’s face stiffened. He shook his head and sighed. “Yes, it’s true. It’s especially rare and not one to be toyed around with. Have you heard the story of Jaejoong?”

Suho shook his head, never gazing away from Soo Man’s face. “Was he a Legend?”

The Master continued. “Something like that. He had the power of Necromancy and his brothers Junsu and Yoochun could contact the dead. They were killed in a mysterious accident. Fire burned down their home while Jaejoong was away. When he discovered their remains, he lost his mind and swore the Tree had betrayed him. In his fit of rage, he began to build an army of the living dead. Naturally, we had to kill him. It’s a very unfortunate story, but it serves a purpose as a warning. Necromancy is a dangerous Force—a dark force.”

Thinking hard for a moment, Suho found another question. “What if another person was born with Necromancy? What would we do?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and took a deep breath. “I think it’s more important that we focus on the Forces we do have. Your training ends soon, Suho. Rest properly before your final examination. I’ll expect your best.” Without another word, without acknowledging Suho’s final question, Soo Man left the greenhouse.

~  ~

“Do you think someone should go back for Tao?” Lay asked, focus placed somewhere beyond his line of vision.

“It’ll take us days to get there. Kai can’t exactly take us in his condition. Doubt he’d want to, anyways,” Baekhyun replied, his voice reflecting the exhaustion in his eyes. He sighed heavily. “Besides, I don’t know if it’s worth it to go back for him…”

There was a heavy silence among them. Suffocating, even. Chanyeol was missing and possibly dead, Tao was more than likely dead, Sehun was infected and Kai was now missing an arm. This shadow of their world was ripping them apart at the seams, and they had no sense of direction.

“What’re we gonna do?” Sehun finally asked.

Kris spoke up, too. “We can’t exactly stay here forever.”

The boys looked at each other, waiting for someone to come up with some answers. They were all so lost and lifeless.

“When Kai’s had more time to heal, we can head towards Suju. See if there’s any survivors outside of the Capitol. If anything, we need more numbers before we try to fight anything else…” Luhan said, thinking aloud.

“Does Sehun have enough of that stuff you’ve been making?” Baekhyun asked Lay.

Lay nodded, leaning back in his chair. “He has enough to last him a month, thanks to Suho nearly drowning himself a few days ago. If he doesn’t become immune to it, that is. When that happens… I don’t wanna think about where he’ll be.”

“Let’s just pray that doesn’t happen,” Luhan said under his breath, uncomfortable with the train of thoughts that hit him with those words.

~  ~

He found nothing. All that risk and it was for nothing. The only information Tao was able to gather was that which he already knew; the Red Force is a dark energy, something internal—within the planet. A foreign entity, yes, but something that had wretched itself deep inside their world and it dry from the inside.

Time began to slip him quickly into the present, the Minute War going by in a flash. He didn’t really care to experience it again.

When the blurry landscape settled into the lifeless wasteland he came from, the savage eyes of the Wraiths were waiting for him. They wouldn’t forget how he evaded them the first time, their hunger now fueled by a desire for revenge.

Lifting his fingers, Tao stopped them all before they might make a lunge at him. They wouldn’t stay that way forever, but he needed time to think. Had he had a knife on him, he could have easily slit their throats, though this could leave him vulnerable to infection from the bloodspill. He’d snap their necks instead

One by one, he snapped their heads back, releasing them from their frozen state and letting their bodies fall limp to the ground. He was grateful he was alone to do this, reluctant to use his abilities around others.

When the last Wraith had fallen to the dirt, Tao made his way back to the gates; closed just as Chen had left them. He couldn’t force them open. He stood staring at them, waiting for an alternative to make itself available. The only thing he could think of was the dig his way out. Hesitant, he got down on his hands and knees and started digging with his hands, dirt building up under his nails to an uncomfortable degree. As he dug, he could only hope that there weren’t more Wraiths waiting for him on the other side.

~  ~

His breath was a smoke in front of him, his surroundings a pale, greenish-blue and blinding white. Looking down at his bare arms, he could see ice building on the little hairs that stood on edge. Everywhere he looked, ice, frost and snow covered everything around him. Running to the edge of the ice cave, he could see through the cold wall all of his friends on the other side. Laughing, playing. All without him.

He beat on the icy wall. He beat on it until he felt his knuckles break, hands going numb. He kicked until his toes shattered. He screamed until his throat bled. Before the tears could drip from his chin, they froze over and stuck to his cheeks. This was his solitary confinement.

Jolting upwards, Xiumin took a deep breath in the dark. It was the same dream he’d been plagued with since childhood. By now, he’d stopped wondering when he wouldn’t be haunted by it anymore.

~  ~

Lully brushed the hair off Chen’s shoulders, letting it fall to the ground so that she could sweep it up and toss it. “There, you look much better.”

He examined her work in the mirror, looking at his newly trimmed hair from all angles, making a few faces here and there. “I’ll say.” Spinning around in his chair, he gave Lully a crooked smile. “Thanks for not botching it up.”

Rolling her eyes, she spun his chair back around and began cleaning up the mess of hair at their feet. “You’re lucky I didn’t. One time, when I was a little girl, I wanted to have a no-bangs hairstyle and I didn’t realize you had to grow them out, so I took the scissors to them and cut them to the scalp. Mom was so pissed.”

Chen cackled, handing her the broom. “What! And I let you trim my hair?”

“Hey, I did alright this time!” Lully shot back, feigning a defensive tone. They both knew he actually had to beg her to trim his hair. Lully hated taking scissors to another person’s hair due to her terrible track record.

“I guess,” he chuckled, leaning against the wall behind him.

The orange light from the setting sun outside was filling the room now, bringing a warm kind of calm over things. Tossing the last of the hairs away, Lully took a seat on her beside, her expression dropping into something melancholy. Chen raised a brow, tilting his head to try and get a better look. “Are you sad or is it just your face again?” Early into their friendship, he’d discovered she had a rather upset looking resting face, having asked her several times what was wrong only to be told she was fine and what was wrong with him.

She sighed. “I dunno. Just tired, I guess.”

“Just tired?”

She nodded, not giving him any eye contact.

“I think you’re lying.” He took a seat beside her on the bed. “What’s up?”

The room was quiet as she looked for the words. She could feel her ears heat up and an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Biting on her lips, her eyes traced the room for some kind of answer to give him. In the end, just decided on being straight-to-the-point. “I’ve had this overwhelming feeling of loneliness lately. That’s all. Nothing big.”

He leaned in, brows furrowed. “Lonely? Why?”

Lully shook her head. “I honestly don’t know why…”

Chen smiled knowingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and letting her fall into him. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll go away. These random sadnesses always go away, don’t they?”

Her expression didn’t change, but her voice became a weak smile. “Yeah, they usually do, don’t they?”

“Mmhmm. Besides,” he squeezed her shoulder. “I’m always right here. You shouldn’t feel lonely ever ‘cause I’m your friend. You’re not allowed to feel lonely around me, alright?”

She smiled weakly, nodding her head. “Okay.”

~  ~

Kai hadn’t been very talkative since Taemin’s death, but it was clear he was being more quiet than usual. And no one could blame him. Kris wouldn’t even look at Kai. He didn’t want to see the nub hanging from his shoulder, the proof of the tragedy that had just befallen him. The shifty eyes were almost audible, and for the past few days, Kai’d been growing more and more irritated by it.

Coming down to the kitchen, Kai could feel it just like he could any other day. Kris made himself especially distracted by D.O. and Luhan at the table, always changing his line of vision when Kai moved anywhere near.

“Look at me for s sake, Kris.” His voice was laced with such a malice that was totally foreign to the Kai that they grew up with. It was one of the most unnerving sounds Kris had ever heard.

“What?” Kris’ voice barely made a sound, his heart jumping.

The amputee rolled his eyes, snarling. “Do I look like a ing monster to you? It upsets you that much to see me like this? Think of how I ing feel, you cowardly pissant!”

Kai had moved in on Kris, his enraged expression now inches from his face. “I-I’m sorry, Kai. I never meant to make you feel—”

He lowered his voice. “You never mean a lot of things, do you?” He turned and headed back up the stairs, feet stomping on each step on the way. Kris remained frozen in his place, eyes wide and at a loss for words.

“Kai’s really not himself lately,” D.O. murmured, trying to break the silence and offer some kind of comfort for Kris.

Luhan put a hand on Kris’ shoulder. “Don’t take it too personally. None of us can begin to imagine what it’s like to be in his shoes right now. Just try to treat him like normal, though. You being awkward about the situation isn’t going to help him.”

Kris nodded, biting his lip. “I guess I’m a pretty ty friend, huh?”

“That makes two of us. I can’t even say anything to him,” D.O. added, his eyes focused on the table.

The three sat in an awkward silence until the door opened, revealing Tao, dirty with clothes ripped and hair a mess. They stood, unsure if they were seeing correctly.

“Tao?” Luhan asked, walking over to him.

Chen and Xiumin joined them in the kitchen from the den. “Tao’s back?”

The timekeeper shut the door behind himself, unresponsive to the questions that were being thrown at him relentlessly.

“Are you hurt?”

“What happened?”

“Why did you go?”

“How’d you get back?”

Suho, Lay and Baekhyun and come down the stairs now to see what all the fuss was about. Tao looked away from them all. “It was a waste of time. There was nothing there but a pack of Wraiths.”

“You aren’t bitten are you?” Lay asked, Suho already going to the cupboards to find whatever they would need to make him the same potion they were giving to Sehun.

Tao shook his head, removing his tattered cape and heading up the stairs. At the top of the staircase, he could see past the archway and in the window-light a figure sitting in the bed. He wasn’t sure, but he thought they were missing an arm.

The figure turned his head. “So, you made it back, huh? Find what you were looking for?” Tao was sure now, he was missing an arm.

“No,” he answered curtly.

Kai rolled his eyes, an ironic smile on his face. “Of course you didn’t.” Tao didn’t respond, though he could feel the hatred entwined in Kai’s words. “I guess you’re lucky,” Kai began, “We’re about to head to Suju. We all thought you were dead.” He paused. “We would’ve left without you.”

Without changing his tone, Tao said, “You probably should have.”

~  ~

“So, we’re gonna leave today, then?” Sehun asked, adjusting his cape, pulling the hood over his head. He was feeling especially unwell today, even with the help of the glow root. Lay’s words from several nights ago played through his head again.

Luhan nodded. “Yeah, now that Kai’s skin has healed over. Luckily, that was something Lay could help with.”

Baekhyun was eavesdropping. Maybe we’ll find Chanyeol. He wanted to say it out loud, but he couldn’t find his voice. He knew it was a delusional hope, and he thought saying it aloud would mean it couldn’t come true. Like revealing your wish meant only for the star. It broke the rules.

“Do you think there are any people in Suju? You know, still alive?” Sehun asked, his words muffled by the fabric of his cape that he’d pulled over his mouth.

His elder brother shrugged, gathering things from the cupboard across the room and directing them into his sack, knowing full well that it’d be a long trip. “Not sure. Hopefully. It’s the best option we have right now.”

Sehun nodded and so did Baekhyun. Luhan continued. “Go get your brother and make sure the others are ready. We need to go the second the sun’s up.”

The younger brother ran off, Baekhyun following after.

“You guys aren’t gonna ask me to take us, are you?” Kai said from the chair across the dining room, his voice a timid low. He looked like a child sitting in that chair, fear and anxiety in his eyes.

The blonde shook his head. “No, we’re not gonna ask you to take us. No one expects you to teleport any time soon, to be totally honest with you.”

Tears welled in his eyes, his lips quivering. He tried not to sob out loud, but one or two escaped against his will. For the first time that week, Kai had finally allowed himself to break down.

Author's Note: Ah, I'm so excited writing this story! Let me know what you think of the characters, the story, and what you're liking the most! Constructive criticism is always welcome, too! I'm always trying to improve my writing!

~Lully