045

Chapter 45.

They were moving now. Yuta was limping right beside Taeyong, who was walking slower than usual. He was fitting his pace with Yuta, it and seemed like they were talking about a comfortable subject, because Taeyong had a small smile on his face and Yuta laughed. Mark heard them mention Hansol, and it left Mark with the memory of Yuta talking about him. Hansol had protected all of them, died to protect the True Commander. He would always be remembered.

Now look how far they had come. They were walking through the woods, onto the final mission in their journey. Soon their questions would be answered and they could settle down, letting the world become a better place.

Renjun came up to Mark’s side, leaving Jeno and Jaemin behind. Mark glanced at the other before fixing his gaze on the ground. Renjun’s hair was falling into his eyes, and he used his slim fingers to run them through it, brushing it away from his face.

“You look so gloomy without him.” He started calmly. Mark noticed how he was frowning and relaxed the muscles in his face. “Not too surprised that he would fall for you.”

Mark huffed. “People don’t ‘fall’ for me.”

Renjun laughed. “They do though. Not exactly because they’re in love, but because they respect you and look up to you.”

Hansol fell. Mark realized.

Renjun noticed the frown and how Mark’s face only looked grimmer. “You’re doing the right thing, and you don’t have a dark motive behind it. You don’t want power. You just want a safer world and… to be able to go home again.” Renjun’s voice turned soft. His heart also bled at the thought of home.

“It all started with me waking up in a box.” Mark explained Renjun. “You woke up to a free life, but I was being carried in a coffin. Thrown away by my clan.” Renjun’s eyes were on the ground, Mark sighed and fixed his gaze upon the path ahead of them. “I had just died.” Mark spoke through gritted teeth. “I wish I could tell them that I am no danger. I wish they knew and that is truly what I want from all of this. For the clans to know that we aren’t monsters.”

“You don’t have to be damned to be a monster.”

Taeyong was quick. In the darkness he pointed Mark and Jaehyun in a direction, coming in from the right, Chenle and Jisung to the left and Johnny and Taeyong from the front. Mark closed his eyes and went first, up and above the wall. Then he focused on the breaths and the heartbeats closest to him. He worked fast; kept his breath in his lungs and his feet as soundless as he could. Only a few muffled sounds escaped their lips when he attacked. There were four guards in total and each one was taken care of almost simultaneously.

“We are not here to harm you.” Jaehyun spoke in his kind voice as he wrapped fabric around the mouths of the guards. “If you stay quiet, you will be safe. We will come back to untie you, but for now, you just need to rest until dawn.” Jaehyun released a small yelp when he was pushed back. Then Chenle swooped in front of Jaehyun, grabbed two guards at a time and slammed them into the wall so they were knocked out. Jaehyun frowned. “I told them they were safe.”

Chenle moved his gaze to the commander. “We won’t be if they stay awake. They’re alive. They’re lucky.”

Mark grinned and met up with the rest by the entrance. Yuta looked at them all.

“I’ll see you at dawn.” He smiled and the rest of them nodded.

“Tomorrow will be a better day.” Jaehyun stated and reached out to cup Yuta’s cheek. “Stay safe. If any danger comes, you know where we’re all going to go.” Yuta blinked seeming a little breathless at the kind gesture.

“Sure.” He assured Jaehyun. The True Commander turned to Mark.

Mark made them all stand in their groups. Chenle and Jisung were going underground to save the children. Jeno and Renjun would free Haechan from where Johnny suspected he was imprisoned. Doyoung and Jaemin were to find Lucas and bring him to Mark. Johnny, Jaehyun, Ten, Taeyong and Mark would go into the Last Skyscraper to face the uncle. It was midnight and they only had few hours until dawn. Those who would separate went around to wish each other good luck. Mark made sure he got around to everyone. Jaemin beamed up at Mark. “It has been an honor to help you with this journey, Mark.” He smiled and Mark smiled back at him.

“You know I have always respected you, Mark.” Doyoung said after giving Mark a hug. “The Blue Eyed damned. I knew you would come, but I didn’t know you would become my friend. Let’s see this through together.” Mark assured the other that they would. Together.

Jeno and Renjun stood there together. Renjun with his crossbow in his hands and Jeno with his sword. “You came to get us in the beginning and sorry we were so rough.” Jeno said with a knowing grin. Mark laughed, but kept it quiet.

“You brought me to Haechan and now you are doing it once again. I know you will find him.”

“He’s family.” Renjun smiled. “I feel like we all are.”

Mark nodded. They were.

Chenle and Jisung were both smiling foolishly. They looked so young, but so full of spirit. Mark went in to hug them both. They had joined him to find Jaehyun and they brought him back from the darkness. “You two stay smart. Don’t let Chenle do anything stupid.” Mark pointed at them and then to Jisung. Chenle released a high pitched laugh almost in a huff.

“When we’re done we’ll come and help you.” Chenle smirked and Mark grimaced.

“If it’s that easy, then sure.” He replied and Jisung chuckled.

“Thanks for saving me.” He said, and Mark knew which time he spoke about. In the very beginning when Jisung had gotten into a mess. Mark gave them both a nod.

“See you at dawn.”

Yuta took Mark’s hands in his own. “If Hansol were here, he would be standing guard with me. I kind of feel like he is here, watching over me. I am thankful that you let me come with you on this journey. I am so thankful for all the hope you and Jaehyun have given me. Tomorrow will be a brighter day, I am sure.”

Mark and the others moved quietly through the night. The sky above them were clearing up, a shatter of lights spread upon it, one quiet moon looking like it pitied them. Mark looked at it as it rose, or maybe it was holding its breath; afraid of what could happen in this chosen time.

They used mostly their ears, while Johnny and Ten were the ones who could pretend, the rest closed their eyes if they happened to meet a passerby. Mark was surprised that many stayed up this late, but it could only be because they felt safe within the city. It made Mark bitter, they didn’t know about the children who were going to be burned alive, if their group didn’t succeed. Music spread through the town, muffling the sounds of their steps as they ran.

Getting to the Last Skyscraper was easy, but now they had to get in. Johnny brought them into a building. Inside of it were a carpet, and by the things hanging around and taking up the spaces on the shelves, it must be some kind of store. Johnny opened the door and slipped his long fingers through to grab the bell hanging above it, stopping it from ringing. He opened the door just enough for the rest of the group to slip through. Mark noticed that it was warmer inside. Johnny spoke to the group in nothing but a whisper, signaling them off the large carpet. Jaehyun was quick to help him when the other rolled up the carpet, moving it aside to reveal a lid that led to the sewers.

“Not many know of this entrance into the sky scraper.” He said in a hushed voice as he let Jaehyun move down first. Taeyong went next. “Jaehyun, Haechan and I had a deal with the store owner about letting us through if a situation occurred. When I went in here on my own, I realized the store owner had been changed and this entrance forgotten.”

Mark dropped down as the second last, and landed on his feet, bending in his knees to steady his fall. Water splashed and when he reached out, he felt a ladder, which he had failed to use. Ten sighed. “Now my pants are wet.”

Mark glanced over at the other and noticed Jaehyun’s violet eyes glint behind Ten. “Sorry.” His voice was quiet and distracted by Taeyong’s eyes appearing further down. Their eyes were glowing brightly. Ten was squinting, trying to get used to darkness. There was a suffocating smell in there and Mark glanced down at the water pooling by his boots. He was sure it the reek came from the water.

Johnny did a swift movement with his arm and the carpet rolled back in place, then he slipped his index-fingers through the holes of the lid and closed the entrance. He used the ladder to come down and Mark waited. He didn’t know this terrain, he couldn’t be the one making choices anymore.

“There will be guards in the basement, a staircase leads down to it, but they don’t know that the basement goes deeper. A room with an elevator is connected to this sewer. We can crawl up through the elevator shaft; it is unused. The elevator is stuck somewhere on floor 14.” Johnny’s voice was very clear even if he tried to keep it low. Its deep tones seemed to move through the tunnels and Mark was glad that nobody knew of the room they were going into.

Mark was relieved when they got through the metal door into a room that smelled less of rotten water and something foul. Taeyong closed the door behind them and Mark noticed Ten take in a deep breath.

This room had some old machines scattered around. Mark couldn’t help but near one of them, it had a wide glass screen, with few buttons on the side. It was big and he wondered what it had been used for. More like it was spread around the room, a huge box connected to them, but without power, they were useless.

“Some leftovers from the last war.” Jaehyun explained when he noticed Ten and Mark gather around another machine. “Useless then and useless now.”

“It didn’t save them then.” Ten realized. “Won’t save us now.”

Johnny and Taeyong pried the doors to the elevator shaft open. The metal protested, but eventually rolled off, hiding in the walls. Mark walked over to admire the built, he didn’t know how these had worked. He thought it inconvenient if you’d had to open it by force all the time like Johnny and Taeyong.
Jaehyun stopped in front of the doors, a finger upon the wall with thought. “Running on electricity.” He said and squinted as if he was thinking hard. “Doors opened by the press of buttons.” He said and glanced around the frame before finding a little box that had one single button on it. There was an arrow pointing upwards on it. Mark put his thumb on it and pushed it in. Nothing happened.

“The elevator would come down here after you had pressed it.” Jaehyun smiled. “Know that from some books I’ve read.”

Johnny was still working as Jaehyun spoke of his past studies. Mark guessed they wanted their commander to have a vast knowledge of how the world once worked. The tallest of the group was now using his long legs to reach the other side of the shaft, a series of cords were in the corner and he used them to heave himself up to the next level. A frame of steal were lining the walls at every level and Mark looked up. Something was blocking their way at the top. They would have to go through the door and reach the staircase. It was risky, but it was the only way for them to go up. They would be climbing 13 stories.

Taeyong insisted on being the last to go and Jaehyun was in the middle with Mark right behind Johnny. Johnny was several floors above Mark, who started climbing soundless, jump by jump only making minor noise. It put less weight on the cords that carried Johnny’s weight. Johnny frowned at Mark who passed him and Jaehyun chuckled below them. Ten and Taeyong stood waiting at the bottom.

When Johnny was up, Ten started crawling, making sure they didn’t have any cords breaking and anyone dying from the fall. They couldn’t reveal themselves already.

Mark stood at the very top, right below what would be the elevator. It was stuck on floor 14. Mark eyed the glass bottom they had created, it didn’t have a single crack. It must be strong glass, Mark wondered and took seat by the door.

“Sometimes,” Johnny huffed as he neared Mark. “I wouldn’t call you guys Damned, but lucky.” He finally reached the 13^th floor and slid his feet across the metal bar to get to Mark. Mark chuckled, but tried to keep it in. He got up to make space for Johnny. “Let’s check the coast, see if the floor is clear.” He muttered to Mark and the other nodded. Jaehyun was almost there and Taeyong was on his way too.

Johnny and Mark slipped their fingers into the crack between the metal doors and they rolled them aside just to give them a good view. Both of them leaned their heads together to peek out. Mark’s heart stopped.

A pair of wide grey eyes locked with their gazes and Mark noticed the mouth of the guard open. Mark released a startled sound that seemed to echo through the elevator shaft and he reached out for the guard, through the narrow opening.

There was a snap and scream.

Mark’s palm closed around the jaw of the guard and then he heard Ten cry out as the cord he used to climb broke loose from where it was fastened. Johnny spun around, while Mark stared straight into the man’s eyes, pleading the other to be quiet.

Ten fell only two floors before he caught onto one of the metal frames and Taeyong was quick to move up and help Ten up.

“What the hell happened?” Johnny called down and Jaehyun who had sat himself on the metal bar of the 13^th floor shrugged. Mark felt the man tremble under his grasp. No sound had escaped him. “Get up!” Johnny ordered the two, before reaching out a hand for Jaehyun.

Jaehyun smiled at Johnny and reached out his hand before he noticed Mark. “Is that a gua-” A warning creaking silenced the True Commander and Mark’s eyes grew as wide as the guard in front of him. Johnny’s fingers tightened around Jaehyun’s hand, and both of them looked up.

“Get out!” Johnny yelled and pulled Jaehyun towards him and Jaehyun crashed into Johnny and Mark sending them tumbling into the hall. The guard slipped out of Mark’s hands and Mark scrambled forwards as the elevator seemed to drop a tad lower, a machine was struggling to move and it was a rusty and old sound it amde as it dropped down a level. Jaehyun would’ve been crushed or sent falling if he hadn’t been pulled to safety. The guard released a scared cry as the Blue Eyed Damned jumped him and Mark covered the man’s mouth, holding in his scream before he raised a fist and sent the man into the darkness of unconsciousness.

The elevator seemed to be stuck once again, but the sound would’ve alerted anyone on the floors near them. Johnny helped Jaehyun up before he went over to look through the glass. “They have gone out on the floor they were at.” He told the others and then tried to close the doors.

Mark stood up. The level they were on had a large open space down the hall. Mark wondered what it looked like, he could see moonlight come in and bathe the floor in its pale light. Right in front of him was a hallway with walls on each side and doors lining them. To his left was another hallway with more doors leading into different rooms.

Mark looked down at the man below him. He had blond short hair and he was wearing a leather armor. He even had a sword attached to his hip.

“Does guards have weapons?” He asked Johnny and Jaehyun. The two of them came over to look down upon the man.

Jaehyun shook his head. “It has never been needed. Especially on the 13^th floor, the Commander lives at the very top, only there would they need any weapons or armor. This means they are expecting something.”

Mark exhaled through his nose, taking in the sight of the guard. “Expecting us?” He wondered aloud just as they could heard steps coming their way. A warm light bathed the hall they stood in and Johnny and Mark were quick at deciding what to do. They grabbed onto the man’s feet and dragged him with them. Jaehyun looked down the hall with wide eyes before he moved ahead, trying to find the staircase. They turned to the right by the elevator, away from the moonlight, and Jaehyun sped up to run ahead and get the door open for them. Mark glanced behind himself to check on Jaehyun, but to his shock the True Commander’s hair danced as he was knocked into the wall and onto the ground. Another guard had come from a room and Jaehyun had been too caught up with getting to the door, he hadn’t heard the danger. Mark let go of the man’s ankle, alarming Johnny as they heard the loud noise of Jaehyun knocking into the wall first and then landing on the ground. Jaehyun was quick to pull out his weapon, but he froze at the sight of the weapon that was pointed at him. It was a tiny black thing, but Mark knew that it was dangerous.