Yixing’s legs thrashed as his feet lifted off the ground. His hands clawed desperately at his throat, trying to rid of the rapidly tightening force there, a black shadow choking him. Very quickly, despite my ear piercing shrieks and attempts to muster up my power, his eyes turned red and his fighting force began to dissipate, his movements becoming slower. Soon, his pupils started to roll back into his head and all I could think to do was scream at the other two as though it was their fault.

Jongdae was sobbing silently, his body trembling like he had been dumped into a bath of chilling ice. On unsteady limbs, he crawled closer to the scene, one hand outstretched and shaking. With each pace that diminished the distance, a greater spark flickered from his palm, until finally, bolts zapped out from his skin to strike the eerie monstrosity.

It screeched cacophonously and its extension dropped Yixing, who inhaled deeply the moment his body thumped harshly against the solid ground. The cavernous space was illuminated a vibrant yellow as the creature’s body was set alight, and Jongin and I pounced out of the way, gripping one another fearfully at it swung around, wailing madly. Jongdae kept his hand out, groaning as he exhausted himself and kept the shadow busy so that Yixing could scurry out of harms’ way. Though he had found a reason to control his abilities, a purpose to protect the man he cared for, he was left without enough energy to shield himself from what was to come.

With an exhausted grunt, Jongdae fell to his knees, thinking that the threat was distracted and that he had time to recuperate. Admittedly, from my cowardly position on the sideline, I believed that he had plenty time to rest too. However, I couldn’t have been more horribly wrong, because his figure was thrown across the room only seconds later.

Yixing, gasping for air and aching all over, shot forward. He scurried to his feet and dodged past the creature as it whirled around the room, still emitting visible lines of static. Breathing heavily and wincing, he skidded onto his side and sidled up next to Jongdae, gently shaking him by the shoulders and whispering against his ear. Jongdae was dreadfully bruised, most exposed skin scraped and bleeding, red pooling out onto the rocks, but he was responsive. As Yixing’s lips pressed against his earlobe, he reached out to grasp the other man’s dirtied shirt, fingers clenching whenever the pain became unbearable. Yixing his hair and as the seconds passed and the monster crept closer, Jongdae’s wounds began to seal.

It was on the verge of reaching them, so I refused to sit back and watch it attack them once again. Quivering with fright, I pushed away from Jongin and planted my feet firmly in one place, letting my arms hover out in front of me. My hands started to form circles in the air and all fingers wriggled rhythmically, matching the hum vibrating in my throat. Slowly, droplets of water were drawn to me, taken from the depths of this nightmare scape. A blue orb materialised in front of my palms and speedily grew, getting brighter and heavier. Its presence easily stole the monster’s attention and as it enlarged, casting dancing shadows over the cave walls, I lessened the proximity between my vulnerable figure and the hideous threat.

With a nasty cry the creature jolted forward, and out of shock I let my hold on the conjured water go. The blue crashed over the darkness, forcing it towards the ground as though it was melting, its bird-like sounds drowning under the wave. For a moment I could vaguely detect the outline of a human as it bucked and kicked under the layer of water, but my vision did not remain clear for long, as my knees buckled and I toppled to the side. My head struck a jagged stone. The last thing I witnessed before the blackness swallowed me, were the smiles and cheers of the three I had managed to keep safe.

When I awoke, the situation was as it had been earlier, only with one extra member aware of the horror captured within our separate metaphysical states. Jongdae and Yixing clung to one another more than they had previously and though they attempted to remain subtle, I often caught Yixing’s lips against Jongdae’s skin, savouring it. Jongin wanted to glue himself to my side, but I managed to identify the expression on Kyungsoo’s face as jealousy and disappointment. He protested against my suggestion for them to stick together at first. One look at Kyungsoo’s beautifully glistening eyes seemed to convince him otherwise though, and he moseyed over to the shorter man, slipping their fingers together immediately. Kyungsoo was surprised, but his widened eyes and agape mouth were swiftly replaced by crinkled crescents and a genuine smile. I only hoped that Jongin could reciprocate such a smile sometime soon. The monstrous incidents had stolen his soul, and now the thing he needed most was to discover it once more.

Kris asked me questions, too many questions, so many that his desire for knowledge clearly outweighed his desire to protect me from the unknown. He had always been greedy, wanting to know more about everything, but he usually put me before his journey to build up intelligence. Sometimes he caressed my body or directed a concerned expression at me, just to persuade me that his questions were asked for the sake of my own safety. It was obvious that this was not the case though, because his frustration was far too prominent when I refused to provide him with answers. He pressed and pressed for them, but I knew that no form of description could possibly convey the experience. If I could not understand it, why would he be able to?

Eventually, he became too much for me to handle and I sauntered over to Luhan, who stomped along like a zombie. His hands dangled lifelessly by his sides, his shoulders slumped considerably, he never blinked and a light stream of drool seeped out from the corner of his lips. I spoke softly to him, but there was no reply. His eyes didn’t even move to focus on me, just staying trained on the uninterestingly dull cavern floor beneath him. I poked his arm and his mouth parted just a little more, spit dripping out. A moan sounded, but that was the greatest extent of speech he could reach. I wanted to yell at him. Instead, I embraced his shrinking body, letting shameless tears trickle onto his shirt. And this was what he reacted to.

‘Bro, get off me. This is getting weird.’

I sprung backwards cautiously, staring at Luhan who frowned at my defensive stance. My eyes observed every inch of him, noticing the way he had pulled his shoulders back and wiped the wetness from his mouth. The colour had returned to his irises and his pupils were actually wavering, moving of his own accountability.

Looking up at him, I was so close to allowing myself this ounce of happiness, but the shout echoing about alerted me to the collapsed body behind Luhan’s freshly rejuvenated figure.

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I do have to apologise, because this chapter isn't very impressive and it took too long to be updated.
I'll work harder and try to conjure up a more interesting update for next time.

Thank you for reading.