The time passed by with Baekhyun talking almost by himself. Maddie often managed to reply with a yes or a no, but further than that she didn’t participate much to the conversation.

The sun had almost set when Tao and the rest appeared with the engine parts, so Jongdae rushed to fix the broken vehicle. It took him about half an hour to get the truck running again and they could finally take off.

On the way, Maddie kept staring blankly at the floor. Her mind was spinning as she thought about everything that had happened to her at that day. Her whole world, everything she’d ever known, was tearing apart. Every vampire she knew would burn under the sun and die if they ate human food, except her. Why? That was the biggest question in her mind and she needed to find an answer fast.

It was night when the truck entered the base. Maddie’s eyes immediately fell on Joonmyeon who rushed towards the injured soldier. I hope you can help me doctor. She thought and jumped off the vehicle to help carry the weapons.

That night wasn’t easy for her. She couldn’t get any sleep so she just walked up and down the room. She was scared and confused. Her heart was pounding as if it wanted to jump out of her chest and her breathing was getting harder by the minute.

“No! Another panic attack.” She said while trying to breath.

She used to suffer from panic attacks when she was a child, at the orphanage. She remembered one night when she’d heard a healer talking to her teacher, telling her that the panic attacks were probably due to some trauma Maddie had from when she was a baby. Nobody knew exactly what that trauma was, but the healer had said it probably had something to do with her parents’ death.

She didn’t remember her parents. She didn’t remember what they looked like or the sound of their voices. All her life she’d been alone. When she asked her teacher about her parents she would always say the same thing.

“You were very young when we found you outside our door. You could barely stand on your own. There was nobody with you Yoorae and nobody seemed to have seen anyone either. I’m sorry, but I don’t know who your parents are.”

During the years, Maddie grew up to believe that her parents were dead since it was the easiest option. She couldn’t bear to think that her parents might not want her and that they were somewhere alive.

She suffered from panic attacks until the age of twelve, when a new boy, whose name was Luhan, came at the orphanage and they became friends almost immediately. Luhan was also facing many psychological problems. He was born in a family of workers and from the age of ten he helped his parents at the mines.

One day, when he was almost thirteen, the mine’s roof collapsed due to an explosion that had gone wrong and the boy was lucky to be alive. A big amount of workers died that day, including the boy’s parents whom he watched dying before his eyes. After the incident every worker child under fifteen was taken to the HIVE’s orphanage. There he suffered from serious depression due to his parents’ death and didn’t talk to many people. Maddie was his only friend and they would spend hours together. Since then they’d been each other’s family.

The panic attack was now getting worse. She fell on the floor, her whole body shaking. The only person who could calm her down was Luhan and right now he was far away. She felt cold sweat dropping from her forehead as she stayed there in pure terror feeling more helpless and weak than ever. Now she was hyperventilating and her head was spinning from dizziness. She shut her eyes close and brought Luhan’s image in her mind, remembering how he used to calm her down.

Take deep breaths Yoorae. I’m here. I’m right here. She heard his voice inside her head.

She slowly managed to control her breath, but her mind was still dazed.

“I-I need air,” she stuttered in between sobs and looked around her.

The room was underground and there were no windows at all. If she wanted fresh air she had to go outside, so without thinking about it she rushed out of her room. The moment she stepped at the corridor she fell on the floor again. Her vision was blurry and the rest of her senses were weakened as well. She knew that there was no chance she’d make it to the front yard by herself in this condition and her eyes were immediately filled with tears. She stayed there crying, shaking and filling completely useless and helpless while trying to control her breathing, unsuccessfully.

“Jiann, are you ok?” Maddie felt two large arms wrap around her.

“Who-who is it?” she asked and tilted her head up.

“It’s me, Jongin. What happened?” The boy looked extremely upset.

“T-take me outside. P-please.”

Jongin obeyed without asking further questions and helped her stand on her feet. The corridors were full of patrolling guards, so going out from the front door was impossible. The latter walked carefully and passed the guards unnoticed, while holding Maddie by the hand. He opened a small door that had the sign DO NOT ENTER on it and they were at the front yard in no time.

A cold breeze caressed Maddie’s face the moment she stepped outside and that alone made her feel better. She made a few steps forward, while leaning on Jongin and observed the view. The sky was clear and the moon’s silver beams were kissing every tree and building around the destroyed city of Qingdao, making the whole scenery look like it had emerged straight from a fairytale. She had been here for about two months and she had never noticed the beauty this place had to offer. The night was peaceful and the only sound was the sea waves that crashed gently on the coast. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, isolating herself inside her mind.

Stop whining like a baby, Yoorae. What would the General say if he saw you like this? The Founders trusted you with this mission and you’re not going to prove them wrong. Don’t up. She scolded herself inside her mind and sighed deeply. I need to figure out what the hell is wrong with me.

“Are you feeling better now?” He was holding her by the shoulders, his eyes looking straight inside hers.

“Yes, thank you.”

“You looked terrified back there. What happened?” asked Jongin, who seemed to be really worried about her. Maddie lowered her head trying to find a good excuse.

“Before I came here I witnessed horrible things and sometimes I freak out a little. I’m fine now, thanks to you.” She said, hoping that Jongin would stop asking. The boy didn’t seem to be fully satisfied by her excuse, but he didn’t want to upset her more so he just accepted her sayings. A few minutes passed in silence until Maddie talked.

“What about you? Why were you awake at this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I see some bad dreams every now and then.”

“Seriously? How old are you, five?” She mocked him in an attempt to act normal. Jongin turned to face her right after she finished her sentence. His face had a dark expression and he didn’t seem amused by the girl’s joke.

“I see my parents die.” He said in a firm, but hurt tone.

There was silence after the boy’s sayings. Maddie felt like a total . Jongin was facing a problem she had been fighting her whole life and she had just mocked him about it. Yes, he was a human and he was supposed to be her enemy, but at that moment she needed a friend and so did he. She turned her face towards him. He had his muscular arms crossed and he was staring at the horizon. She kept on staring at him for a good amount of seconds and then she did something unexpected.

“I’m sorry.” She stepped closer to Jongin and nudged his arm gently. There was awkward silence again and Maddie started making creepy thoughts. I’m sorry? Why would I say this? Like I even care if I hurt him! Jongin’s arm was wrapped around her shoulders and she was snapped out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened in shock and she didn’t dare to turn her head towards him.

“Apology accepted.” His voice broke the silence and even though Maddie wasn’t looking at him, she could tell he was smiling.

“How did they die?” The words slipped out of . His face darkened again and tears appeared in his eyes as he began recounting his story…

It was a rainy morning at the Dragonflies’ base and everyone was rushing to their daily tasks, even the little children.

“What do you see hanging on the wall behind me, children?” Asked the woman while pointing at the wall. She was at her early twenties, thin but well-built. Her brown hair was tied up into a ponytail and a huge claw-like scar covered the right part of her face.

“Ray guns!” A bunch of children almost screamed. The woman smiled and crossed her arms.

“Very well. Now, who’s going to tell me why we need ray guns?”

A brown haired boy that sat on the back of the group raised his hand, eager to answer her question.

“Yes, Jongin.”

“We use guns with bullets that contain UV rays, because vampires can’t tolerate it. These bullets explode inside the rival’s body and unleash a good amount of UV light, so the vampire is burned from inside out.”

“Well done, Jongin. I see you have studied well.” Said the woman and made a step back so that she could look at all of the children. “Remember, that the ray gun is our biggest weapon against the monsters, after the silver st