Byun Baekhyun, day seventy 00:06

My heart's still racing in my chest. The air tickles my skin still. I almost feel like crying at the sensation of real air brushing against my face. It’s like an old friend. I wonder if the others feel the same. None of them have said much, none of us have much to say right now.
I thought I was close to losing my mind. Every inch of my body felt like it was on fire. I hadn’t had any human contact for more than two weeks. I could’ve sworn I was hearing voices when Junmyeon tried to talk to me through the door.

“Baekhyun? It’s me, Junmyeon.” He said, muffled enough for me to brush it off as my mind playing tricks on me. It wouldn’t surprise me.
“Whatever you are you better get back into my head.” I said, loudly enough for it to be carried to the other side I assumed due to Junmyeon answering me.
“I’m not in your head, Baekhyun. I’m outside and you need to get out here, quickly. I’m not sure how long we can go undetected. I figured out how Jongdae factors in.” The voice had my attention. It was surreal how closely my brain could mimic Junmyeon’s voice.
“Oh really?” I scoffed. “How does Jongdae factor in, Junmyeon?”
“He controls lightning! Lightning is just electricity!” The voice was excited, it had my attention. “If you could open the doors because your powers are related to electricity, Jongdae should be able to mess with the entire power-grid. We could get out! Baekhyun, please listen to me.” He pleaded. I was tempted but I knew it couldn’t be him, Junmyeon couldn’t have opened his own door.
“Sure thing, Junmyeon. But first, tell me how you got out.” I challenged my brain to come up with a believable story.
“I detoured on my way to the testing room. Baekhyun, please just open.” The answer came so quickly I was surprised. I decided to give it a chance. Worst case scenario, I really had gone insane.

“Alright, give me a minute.” I convinced myself that since I had done it twice before, it would be easier now. I wasn’t entirely wrong. It took a lot out of me to force the door open but when I did, I still had enough energy to be shocked as I saw Junmyeon standing outside my door. His hair was a mess and so were his clothes, a stark contrast to my own appearance. He smiled but his eyes were wide and his pupils looked blown.

“Nice to see you again.” He said, it felt genuine but then again so did everything he said.

“Right back at you, you look terrible.” He laughed at my comment, brushing it off as he grabbed my hand gently and started pulling me forward.

“Come on, we need to find Jongdae. Do you remember what number he is?” Junmyeon asked, turning his head to look at me. I shook my head in reply and he looked ahead again. “That’s fine, either it’ll come to me or we’ll feel the change in the air. I’ve noticed that the air around my room is more moist than other places. Yours is a bit warmer and brighter so his must be more electric!” Junmyeon said it all in one go. I almost didn't register his words.

“Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?” I asked when I noticed that Junmyeon had pulled me down his own hallway. I made sure to pay attention to the humidity. Junmyeon nodded in response, looking determinedly to the right as I remembered that his door was on that side.

“So this is my door, do you think Jongdae has an odd number somewhere between one and fifty one?” He asked me, it almost felt rhetorical since he didn’t press me for an answer when I didn’t give one.But the first part of his sentence made me realize that I couldn’t feel the increased humidity he talked about. I didn’t have much time to wonder as he continued on, walking along the hall with his head traveling between the sides to look at the numbers. We were already past the number 15 and suddenly it felt like the hair on the back of my head were standing straight up. With a close inspection of Junmyeon, I could see how his hair was slowly rising. He didn’t seem to notice as he kept charging forward.
“Jongdae!” I shouted, feeling like it might pay off. I kept calling his name as the numbers got higher. When we hit room 19, someone called back.

“Hello?”
“Jongdae? Are you there?” Junmyeon stopped in the middle of the hallway, I could’ve sworn I saw his ears perk up. He scrambled to press his head against door number 19.

“Myeon?” Jongdae called from inside his room. I looked at Junmyeon expectantly but he shook his head before pushing himself off.

“Jongdae?” I called, trying not to make a sound to disturb the ones coming from his room. “Which room are you in?”

“I can’t hear you!” Came his reply, still muffled by the heavy door.

“Which! Room!” Junmyeon and I called out at the same time. The sound seemed to finally reach Jongdae who called back.

“Twenty-one!” Junmyeon looked at me with silent request to which I nodded and carefully placed my hands on the door to room number 21.

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon called just as I closed my eyes to focus, “Baekhyun’s gonna try to open your door now!” Jongdae didn't answer, whether it was because he heard Junmyeon or not, I didn't know. Nevertheless I continued. It felt like I had hit the right frequency. I felt my energy slowly drain out into the door through my fingertips. It was so much different than before, maybe because I knew a bit more about what I was doing this time around. The door slowly nudged open, I could feel a sudden burst of energy shoot through it as it practically flew open. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and nearly collapsed onto Jongdae. The muscles in my face felt strained as I relaxed in Jongdae’s grip on my upper arms.

“Baekhyun?” His voice sounded muffled so I shook my head to clear it. I could feel Junmyeon’s palm on the back of my head, fingers weaving soothingly into my hair. I opened my eyes to give them both a smile to tell them I was okay. All former suspicion was wiped from my mind at that moment. Jongdae pulled my arm over his shoulder as Junmyeon led us out of the hallway.

Once we were back at the crossroads I could see them talking through half-lidded eyes though I couldn't seem to register their words. Junmyeon shot worried glances towards me every now and then and he finally nodded, seemingly giving Jongdae a signal because the latter quickly handed me over to Junmyeon and pressed his hands to the wall. His stance was no doubt a shadow of my own as I had pried his door open. The air suddenly felt electrified and I could see Jongdae’s hair rising upwards with little lightnings shooting between locks. Junmyeon had flinched as soon as it happened and was currently rubbing his left ear, the side that wasn't pressed against my almost limp body.

While he did so, lightning danced around Jongdae’s arms before bursting into the wall, leaving behind a singed hole as every door suddenly opened. Jongdae was breathing heavily as he turned to us with a smile, electricity still cracking in his hair.

He said something to Junmyeon and I could feel the way the latter's voice vibrated in his chest. Junmyeon the turned to me and his voice slowly broke through the high-pitched white noise that filled my ears.

“...up, are you up for it?” I’m not sure what exactly I mumbled in reply but it caused Junmyeon and Jongdae to share a look before the former turned back to me with furrowed brows.

“We need to find everyone else and I think it’d be best for us to split-up, are you up for it?” He reiterated, slower this time. I silently assessed my state. My muscles were tired and I would probably fall down if not for Junmyeon’s support. I shook my head in reply and Junmyeon gnawed on his lower lip.

“I can take care of him, if you want.” Jongdae suggested. “I’m fairly certain that I have more energy than you.” Jongdae moved over to take me from Junmyeon. The latter handed me over.

“You two should go down this hall--” he said, gesturing to the hall starting with number 2, “--and I’ll take this one.” He finished, pointing to the hall starting with number 53. Jongdae nodded and before I knew it, we were off.

“Baekhyun, can you remember anyone that’s supposed to be here?” He asked, looking carefully into every room as we passed it. I tried recalling someone but my mind was still fuzzy. “Baekhyun, you’re number four, if anyone should know who’s down this hall it should be you.” He grunted slightly as he adjusted my arm over his shoulder.

“I know, someone should be here. Not me.” I managed to say although I was fairly certain that my words slurred together. Several unmarked doors interrupted the sequence between number 8 and number 10. “Number… ten?” I knew there was something connected to that number.

“Number ten?” Jongdae asked, eyes scanning the area as he came to a halt. He seemed to notice something down the hall as he suddenly picked up the pace. “This is number ten. Nobody appears to be here though.” Jongdae said, sounding more like he was talking to himself. “Wait here.” He added, removing my arm and making me lean against the wall as he went into the room. Less than a minute later he was out of the room and shaking his head.

“I don’t… understand.” I said to myself. I knew someone was supposed to be there I just couldn’t for the life of me remember who.

“Maybe you confused it with another number. Like number eleven or twelve. I’ll go check it out again.” He said, patting my arm reassuringly before heading for number twelve. Approximately 6 seconds after entering, Jongdae let out a scream, of what, I wasn’t sure, all I knew was I was suddenly running to the room. It was a mess, bed covers and pillows thrown about, storage units open, Jongdae held in a headlock by.

“Kyungsoo.” I sighed in relief. He looked up, a fierceness in his eyes I was sure I only saw once before, when we had caused the death of those two guards. His eyes slowly softened and a smile spread across his lips as he recognized me. He didn’t say anything, he only released Jongdae and before I knew it, he lunged at me. Jongdae shouted something about watching out but it died as Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

“You left me, I thought you left me.” He clung to me, hands into the back of my shirt. Over his shoulder I could see Jongdae’s confused look. I slowly returned the hug, allowing it to last for a few seconds before motioning for Kyungsoo to let go. He did, reluctantly, and looked into my eyes. Though they were softer, they looked almost glazed over.

“It’s okay Kyungsoo, I’m here.” I offered him a smile which he returned. “This is Jongdae, he’s gonna break out with us.” Kyungsoo turned around and gave Jongdae a once over.

“So he’s not one of them? He’s not gonna try to hurt me, right?” He asked, a certain harshness in his voice that didn’t fit him.

“No, he’s with me.” Kyungsoo only nodded before walking out. Jongdae gave me a questioning look, I didn’t know how to reply so I only followed Kyungsoo. He was walking back to the crossroads. “Kyungsoo!” I called after him. He turned around with a raised eyebrow, his eyes still looked glazed over. “Where are you going? There are probably more people down the hall.” Kyungsoo shook his head just as Jongdae exited, he was stuffing something into his pocket but I decided to ask him about it later.

“There aren’t any more, you’ll just get lost down there.” His words sent chills down my spine and it felt like the atmosphere changed as Kyungsoo held his stare.

“Well, in that case, let’s go find Junmyeon.” Jongdae said, charging ahead of me to catch up with Kyungsoo. I practically ran to catch up as well and as soon as I did, I noticed my racing heart and electrified muscles.

Nothing could be heard aside from our shoes hitting the floor as the sound reverberated off the walls. I could tell Jongdae felt uncomfortable as he walked in the middle. It wouldn’t last for too long as we saw Junmyeon heading our way with two familiar --and larger-- figures behind him.

Kyungsoo stopped so suddenly, I barely noticed him falling behind. A smile had spread across my lips unknowingly while a frown set on Junmyeon's. He wasn’t looking at me or Jongdae but something behind us. I followed his gaze and landed on Kyungsoo who stood frozen save for a slight shiver. I stopped in my tracks and so did Jongdae. I felt Jongdae’s questioning look on the side of my face as I made up my mind and walked back to Kyungsoo. His wide eyes were unfocused and his shivers were turning violent. Hesitantly, my hand brushed against his arm. He seemed ripped from whatever was holding him in place and his accusing glare landed on my hand before traveling up to my face. I gave him a reassuring smile.

“Are you okay?” I asked quietly, well aware that the other four were watching us intently. I absentmindedly registered that they were all standing next to each other. Kyungsoo wetted his lips quickly before answering.

“Who are they? I don’t trust them, Baekhyun.” His voice was quiet but the tone was unmistakably laced with anger, maybe even betrayal. I looked over to them before letting my hand rest on Kyungsoo’s arm fully.

“They’re safe, Kyungsoo. They aren’t trying to hurt you any more than I am.” He looked unconvinced. I could feel his fist clenching and unclenching by way of his muscles. Slowly, he nodded his approval but didn’t relent with his reflexive clenching. I tugged on his arm lightly, beckoning him towards our company.

“Everything okay?” Junmyeon asked, eyeing Kyungsoo curiously. I nodded in reply and let go of Kyungsoo.

“Kyungsoo, meet Junmyeon, the mastermind behind our escape.” Junmyeon didn’t blush like I thought he would. Of course, some people didn’t recognize flattery. Maybe he was used to compliments, it wouldn’t surprise me. “These two are Sehun and Jongin.” They nodded their heads at the mention of their names. Kyungsoo quickly looked between Jongin and Jongdae before settling on Junmyeon again.

“So, what’s the plan?” Jongdae asked. His question hung in the air as no one seemed to have a proper answer.

“Not all of us are here.” Sehun mumbled. All eyes focused on him and the attention made him visibly squirm. “We’re missing at least one person.”

“Who?” Junmyeon asked, the tone was curious but his expression was serious.

“Chanyeol.” He said, looking into my eyes. I could hear Kyungsoo’s breath hitch and his gaze towards Sehun softened.

“You know him?” He asked in a quiet voice. Sehun nodded in reply. “Where is he, do you know where he is?” Tones of desperation slipped into his voice.

“Yes and no, I know where he should be.”

“Where?” Kyungsoo asked again, this time with more of a demand. Sehun pointed down one of the halls.

“There, number sixty one.” Before we had all turned our heads to look, Kyungsoo was walking into the hall.

“Kyungsoo!” I called before starting after him. He ignored me but it didn’t matter, we quickly caught up to him. He continued his pace down the hall and I could hear the four behind us sharing muffled thoughts, no doubt about Kyungsoo’s behavior. I couldn’t blame them, I was tempted to join the discussion myself.

We closed in on the desired door, numbers 55 and 57 passing by us, when a head poked out. I was too slow to realize who it was unlike Kyungsoo who took off. He ran to the head I identified as Chanyeol. The rest of us jogged behind, watching the scene before us play out in silence.

I had expected Kyungsoo to wrap his arms around Chanyeol, much like he had done to me, but his first instinct appeared to be tackling the taller. We looked on with apprehension, trying to see what Kyungsoo was doing. The smaller of the two seemed to be clinging onto Chanyeol, he had probably just not had enough time to prepare to catch Kyungsoo.

“Kyungsoo, you need to let go.” Chanyeol groaned, arms curling around the man on top of him. He looked at Jongdae in a silent plea for help though none of the others seemed too keen on prying Kyungsoo off. I took it upon myself to help. I bent down and lightly tapped Kyungsoo’s shoulder. He didn't budge.

“Kyungsoo, you need to let Chanyeol get up.” I tried. Kyungsoo didn’t move or say anything but soon enough he got up, making sure to not hurt Chanyeol in the process.

“Thanks.” Chanyeol said as he grabbed Jongdae’s outreached hand. There was a moment when no words were shared before Sehun stepped forward and brought Chanyeol into a quick hug. It was one of those classic “bro-hugs” where they pulled each other in by one hand and patted their backs with their free hand. Sehun said something but it was obviously for Chanyeol's ears only, who smiled and shook his head, whispering a quick “fine,”, when they pulled back.

Remembering Chanyeol’s powers brought back a memory of cold hands and cat-like eyes. My head hurt from the strain of trying to fit the features to a name and a number.

“Minseok.” I gasped at last. “We need to get Minseok.” I said, staring directly at Junmyeon. I expected him to ask who that was but he didn't.

“Is that everyone? We only have time to get one more person.” I tried to remember someone else. I knew there had to be someone. Quickly counting heads led to a discovery that we were short two heads.

“No, there’s one more but…” my head drifted to a pained scream, “we might be too late.”

“Do you know where they both are?” Jongdae asked. I shook my head, a feeling told me to head deeper down the hallway but my memory told me to visit the exam room.

“We should split up. Chanyeol needs to go find Minseok. In case he lost control of his powers.” Chanyeol nodded. There was a silent question hanging in the air, what are his powers? I didn't see it fit to answer at this moment. “Jongdae, go with Chanyeol. Minseok might be locked inside.”

“What about the other person?” Sehun asked, eyes turned to him. “What if they’re locked inside as well?” I opened my mouth but Junmyeon was too quick.

“We’ll have Baekhyun.” I nodded my approval and Sehun seemed to accept it. I pointed the pair down the hall, telling them Minseok was probably down there, and Junmyeon made plans to meet back up at the crossroads.

The separate groups headed their own ways, myself leading only 3 people. I turned back and saw Kyungsoo's wide eyes shifting between where we stood and where Jongdae and Chanyeol headed their own way. I asked him who he was following but got no reply. He turned away without words and followed the others. I shrugged at Junmyeon’s wordless question and we started again for another rescue.

The destination seemed far away but I was familiar enough with the path to get there relatively easily. The hall was silent save for our steps and breaths. No one spoke, a looming sense of foreboding washed over me. Something was wrong.

Ignoring my gut had never worked out well before so I listened to it, pausing for a moment and raising my hand to tell the others they should do the same. They followed my instructions and looked around, searching for whatever might’ve caused me to halt. I shook my head before they could ask and we continued in the standard silence.

Showing up in front of the exam room brought a sinking feeling to my stomach. It was the same yet somehow different. Hard to explain so I won’t attempt. I couldn’t tell which one was the one we needed to open which was unfortunate. We stood outside for less than a minute when I asked if they knew of a way to see into the room. They stayed silent, moving closer to the doors deep in thought. It wasn't comforting in the least.

“I want to try something.” Jongin mumbled. Instead of replying we simply stepped back and allowed him to do his thing. It felt like nothing happened for hours though it couldn't have been more than 2 minutes. Slowly, Jongin’s body seemed to fade. We watched on with bated breath as he sunk into the door. Instead of saying anything, he shook his head and turned to the next. It went on like that until the 4th door where he pulled back abruptly, materializing again with a heavy gasp. “There.” His body was shaking, it no doubt cost him as much power to manipulate his powers as it cost me. Most likely more as he had kept it up for a while longer. I nodded to Junmyeon before placing my hands on the door. He prepared to dash in as Sehun tended to Jongin.

The process was as difficult as ever. Light in its rawest form was energy but the processed energy for electricity was not the same as for light. It drained me quickly but the sound of the lock clicking and the door dragging slowly motivated me to keep going. As soon as Junmyeon darted in, there were hands on the door. Sehun held it open, prepared to keep it that way until Junmyeon and whoever was inside were out in case my powers failed. Thankfully, they didn’t. Junmyeon and the person, who I now recognized as Yixing, were out and Sehun just managed to let go before I released the door.

We now had a total of 2 men with full strength, 2 almost collapsed, and 1 unconscious man. How we were ever going to get out was beyond me. I didn't get time to think over our options as footsteps approached. Junmyeon and Sehun looked ready for a fight. I turned my head to the new arrivals, wondering if another adrenaline shock might be bad for my health.

The first thing I noticed was a single person leading the pack. I barely managed to register it as Kyungsoo before he was kneeling down and fussing over me.

“Are you okay? Who did this? Does anything hurt?” I waved him off, grabbing one of his hands in both of mine. I shook my head, giving him the best smile I could muster before turning to the ones who followed Kyungsoo. Chanyeol was carrying someone, his frame hunched slightly to accommodate the small stature he carried. It could’ve been my imagination but I could’ve sworn there was steam coming up from where their bodies were connected.

Jongdae looked like he was in good shape, a bit winded but it didn’t come as much of a surprise. He smiled at me with a closed mouth and I reciprocated. Junmyeon was speaking to the pair in a hushed voice while Sehun turned back to Jongin and Kyungsoo and I watched in silence, his hand clutching my shoulder. A quick nod from all parties was shared before Junmyeon told us to come on. He instructed Sehun to support Jongin and Kyungsoo to support myself. They followed his instructions as he himself picked up Yixing who looked like he was slowly coming to. Jongdae walked behind all of us which was smart, it meant he could fight back if anyone ambushed us what with half of us barely here.

The walk was easy, a bit too easy. Jongin and I managed to regain energy despite burning it steadily. It made me wonder how exactly all of the powers worked.

Several of us had energy based powers. Jongdae controlled electricity, I controlled light, all I knew about Kyungsoo so far was that he had immense strength, Chanyeol had fire, and Jongin could teleport which, granted, had more to do with space but I still classify it as energy. It’s the only way to explain his powers.

The others, they were more natural elements. It didn’t make their powers any less terrifying but it did limit their abilities.

Junmyeon surveyed the group, assessing that 7 of us were able to support ourselves. Yixing was coming to, disoriented but making progress. Minseok limped, his right leg managing to look stiff as it hung limp, and he practically clung to Chanyeol.

I could almost hear the gears turning in Junmyeon's head as he tried to figure out a way to get us all out in one piece.

“There’s a way out through the vents but I don't,” he paused slightly, looking at Yixing who hung from his own shoulders, “I don’t think all of us can go through.” The group nodded in acceptance. It was clear that we needed to find a new way out.

No one had moved for slightly less than a minute and a half when Kyungsoo suddenly took charge. His steps weren’t determined but we followed behind. I could hear Jongin and Sehun whispering about what was going on but there were no objections. It appeared that Kyungsoo would be our best choice to finding a way out.

The hopes of freedom came crashing down as he stopped in front of a wall. A dead end.

Somehow Jongdae had taken Yixing from Junmyeon, our leader-by-default taking time to catch his breath. No one said anything, Chanyeol fixed Minseok’s position and Yixing mumbled something unintelligible. We were all focused on Kyungsoo as he stood in front of the wall.

The building started to rumble and shake, causing most of us to lose our footing and Junmyeon even fell. The rest of us, excluding Kyungsoo, leaned against walls that sent vibrations through our bodies. The wall started to open, chunks of it flying out and crumbling against the floor and the walls. I tore my eyes from where they stared at Kyungsoo in slight fear to cover my face with my hands, trying to shield it from the flying concrete.

The shaking subsided and so did the rumbling and as I removed my hands I could see the night sky. I took a careful step towards the hole Kyungsoo had created and already passed through. He looked back at me from where he stood in the grass. His eyes seemed to beckon me forward and as I stepped through I turned around to find the rest of the group looking like they were holding their breath. When nothing happened they slowly followed, passing Yixing and Minseok over first. One by one they made it through and when only Jongdae was left, an alarm fired off. Kyungsoo was startled and so the hole, which he had apparently been holding open, was closed off as the wall came crashing down.

The last I saw of Jongdae before that was a look of pure panic as a piece of concrete hit him. I didn't even realize I was screaming.

The others had their hands full, Kyungsoo had curled in on himself and the earth around him looked as if it had a mind of its own. Junmyeon was trying to keep everyone calm, trying to keep himself calm.

“...you should teleport inside and see if he can be saved.” I heard him say, no doubt to Jongin. There was a loud pop after a few more words and it caused a shaky scream to leave Kyungsoo’s mouth. Several voices appeared to be trying to calm him down and I could feel someone wrapping their arms around me, encouraging me to get up. Sehun was a comforting presence, a steady presence.

Nothing happened for minutes, closer to 10 than 15. Kyungsoo was calming down, Chanyeol having taken it upon himself to talk the panic down. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. Looking around I noticed how messed up this group was. Junmyeon was trying to see if Yixing was fully conscious, Sehun had to keep me from falling, Chanyeol was slowly moving closer to someone I could only describe as mentally distressed, Jongin and Jongdae were lost somewhere, either together or separately, and Minseok had a blue leg. I slipped from Sehun’s grip and sat with Minseok.

“What happened?” I asked, my voice raspy from what Sehun would later describe as a chilling scream. Minseok inspected his leg closer, pressing into the flesh and I could’ve sworn there were cracking noises similar to that of ice.

“I lost control, managed to freeze my entire room when my door suddenly opened. Lucky Chanyeol was there.” I could see the tips of his fingers slowly regaining color as the blue hue I just registered started giving in.

“But that doesn't explain your leg.” Minseok sighed and then winced as he let go of the limb in question.

“I think,” he said through gritted teeth, “I must’ve pointed my powers at my leg without realizing. I’m not sure if it will ever heal.” His stated it matter-of-factly but there was a slight shake to his voice. I looked around the group again and registered Yixing crying silently. Choked sobs shaking his frame as Junmyeon tried to hold his hand. It was almost silent, Chanyeol wasn’t speaking anymore. It didn’t last for long as another pop broke it and Jongin appeared, collapsing under the effort of bringing Jongdae with him.

“... under…” He managed to squeeze out before passing out. Suddenly, everyone who could was at their side. Jongdae was bleeding in several places but the worst were the gashes on his forehead and chest. Where the concrete hit him.

“We need to get out of here.” Junmyeon said, looking at the building which hung half open and empty. It was bigger than I had thought.

Another rush of adrenaline pulsed through me as I ripped the bottom of my shirt off to bind Jongdae’s head. Sehun did the same, his larger stature fitting the chest wound better.

Junmyeon looked on apprehensively as Kyungsoo offered to carry Yixing. He looked calmer but he refused to look at Jongdae and Jongin.

Chanyeol carried Jongin and Sehun took Jongdae, I was left supporting Minseok as Junmyeon guided us away from the facility, hopefully forever.