The trio sat on the marshy floor; the three on edge as the thick fog rolled over them. DongHae observed Henry’s nervous fidgeting; the younger man would remove his hat, twirl it on one hand and then return it to his head. SungMin sat cross-legged, his chin cradled in his right palm as his elbow rested on his knee. The eldest out of the three’s eyes darted back and forth between his companions.

“Umm…SungMin-hyung, are you sure we can rest here? I mean all this fog…” Henry mumbled hesitantly.

                SungMin sighed and leaned back, stretching as he went; he placed his palms down flat behind him and popped his back.

“Would you rather be wandering around aimlessly in this?” SungMin said as the gestured to the fog surrounding them.

“Maybe it’s better than waiting for something to eat us…” DongHae muttered.

“If we try walking through this fog its committing suicide; the visibility is too low and if we get did separated…” SungMin reasoned.

“So…what do we do?” DongHae asked.

“Aish…why do you two keep asking me so many question? Figure it out yourself.” SungMin grumbled.

“We could learn more about each other…” Henry suggested.

                SungMin snorted.

“DongHae-hyung what did you use to do?” Henry asked.

“I was a grad student, was workin’ my way through college as a dance instructor.” DongHae answered calmly.

“Really? I had just gotten into college I got a full ride because of my violin playing.” Henry said.

                SungMin rolled his eyes as the younger two stared at him with hopeful eyes; the dual brown puppy eyes broke SungMin’s annoyed attitude.

“I was a hospital nurse.” SungMin answered succinctly.

                The other two smiled at the elder cheekily; SungMin sighed and opened his mouth to speak, a long howl cut him off before he could speak. The trio jumped to their feet, DongHae drew his swords and SungMin got into a fighting stance. Henry stood there; awkwardly glancing from one man to the other nervously.

“Let’s got moving, Henry do you have a weapon?” SungMin asked.

“Yeah…” Henry muttered.

"Well then draw it." 

“I….can’t.”

“Why not?” DongHae yelled.

“I kinda…lost it in the quick sand…” Henry said sheepishly.

                SungMin and DongHae stared at him in disbelief; in the viewing room HeeChul laughed out right. Another howl echoed around them.

“Let’s just get moving, probably safer that way.” DongHae suggested.

                SungMin nodded.

“Agreed; head that way. Henry, stay close.” SungMin said.

                Henry nodded violently and latched onto DongHae, who in turn pushed SungMin to the front. The eldest rolled his eyes and began walking; they wandered aimlessly through the fog; as they progressed the sound of howls increased in volume, becoming clearer as they went. The fog slowly dispersed and the trio found themselves in a clearing; thick fray plants surrounded them. The shrubs resembled rose bushes; the thickets had royal purple thorns, with cyan flowers. Weeping Willow-like trees towered over them, the dark outlines of the trees making the group restless. DongHae broke away from SungMin and Henry, sheathing his swords as he went, to examine the multicolored plant life.

“DongHae! What are you doing? Get back here!” SungMin hissed venomously.

                As DongHae approached he noticed the bushes were swaying in an unknown wind; moving from side to side. SungMin reached out and grabbed the back of DongHae’s pants and yanked him back to the other two. DongHae flailed as he was thrown off balance.

“What part of ‘stay together’ did your childish brain NOT understand?!” SungMin growled.

“But…but…it’s shiny….and pretty….” DongHae whined.

“I swear to God he’s like a four year old.” SungMin sighed.

                Henry laughed lightly as SungMin began muttering about “pabo Fishies who think they’re cuter than bunnies.” Henry looked up into the trees over head, pink flowers covered the leaves. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed movement, a dark blur moved through the flora. Henry tugged on SungMin’s shirt nervously as the elder began scolding DongHae like a mother would his child.

“DongHae, you can’t just go up to things and touch them because they attract your interest! For all you know it could come to life and kill you!” SungMin chided. 

                DongHae pouted and Henry pulled at SungMin’s shirt again; this time more frantically; the older man swatted his hands away and continued to scold DongHae. Henry pulled at the eldest’s shirt, rapidly jerking the fabric as fear took over his senses; his eyes widened as a pair of jade green eyes stared back at him.

“For god’s sake Henry! WHAT?!” SungMin yelled, annoyed by the pulling on his shirt.

                Henry spluttered and pointed at the eyes, a pair of fangs appeared just under the eyes. SungMin stopped glaring at his dongsaeng to staring at the gleaming twin fangs and snake-like predatory eyes. A forked tongue emerged and a low threatening hiss followed suit. DongHae stared at the eyes; mouth hanging open at the sight.

“P-p-please tell me that’s not a snake.” SungMin stuttered.

“I uhh….think it…is…” Henry mumbled.

“Umm…guys?” DongHae spoke up.

                The other two managed to break their horrified stares away from the pair of eyes to DongHae. The brunette was turned towards the shrub he had tried to go near pointing at it; an expression of sheer horror on his face. The other two’s expressions quickly did the same; all around them toxic green eyes and glistening pearly white fangs appeared.

“I vote we…RUN!” Henry yelled.

                The trio broke out into a frantic run; the three ran faster than they ever had, sprinting away from the area blindly into the fog. As they ran a loud clap of thunder echoed over head, Henry stumbled at the sudden sound; DongHae caught Henry’s arm before he could fall, pulling the younger man up and dragging him along. Another clap of thunder echoed as they ran; the fog had dissipated somewhat giving them slightly better visibility. SungMin rounded a corner; however just as he turned a bolt of blue lightning struck the ground in front of him. The smallest man yelped and jumped back as the electricity struck the muddy ground. The bolt seared the ground and DongHae and Henry stopped running; the pair looked around at their new surroundings. The group was no longer in the marsh; they found themselves in front of a gate; that towered over them, the iron melding into the rock face behind them. The gates itself seem to be forming from the rock face; growing out of the structure like metal vines. The metal appeared to be moving; like a living creature, pulsing, a small light coursing through it whenever it moved. Within the gates were elaborate designs; the iron twisting and twirling around itself to form intricate patterns vaguely resembling flames. The top of the dark iron gates were spiked, a wave of fear washed over the trio. Behind the gates was a tunnel, only barely illuminated behind the dark gates.

                The uneasiness increased with the sound of rumbling from underneath them. The ground shook lightly, before giving way near Henry’s foot. The aforementioned man jumped, latching on to DongHae as the ground crumbled away a bit. The gate pulsed once more before opening slowly, creaking as it did; the trio exchanged questioning looks.

“Should we…?” Henry trailed off.

                                A loud “crack” echoed out from behind them, the men turned and stared as a large crag formed in the ground, the crack of separated rock rapidly approaching them. Sensing impending death the three ran through the gate into the dark tunnel. As soon as they passed through, the gate slammed closed; DongHae stopped and looked back at the gates. The iron twisted and morphed, reminiscent of the snakes they encountered earlier as it morphed; the gate formed a thick iron wall, preventing them from returning from whence they came. The sudden formation of the wall plunged the tunnel into complete darkness; disorienting the three men with the inky abyss. Henry squeaked and SungMin swore as they began fumbling about for some source of light and each other. They were blind in the darkness, with their eyesight gone they had to rely purely on their weaker senses.

“DongHae-hyung?” Henry called out, reaching out in front of him as he wandered blindly.

“I’m over here!” DongHae yelled.

“That doesn’t help! We can’t see you Pabo!” SungMin shouted.

“Aish…we need some lights.” Henry swore.

“Ow!” DongHae yelled as he ran into a wall, face first.

                DongHae rubbed his now very sore face with one hand, supporting himself on the wall with the other. The cave wall was oddly smooth, having very few rough patches. He fumbled blindly as he tried to hold himself up; the hit to his head combined with the darkness to disorient him completely. The young man was only vaguely aware of the other two’s presence as he fought with his throbbing head to process what was going on around him. As the three swore, grumbled, and in DongHae’s case moaned, a flame appeared on the wall across from DongHae. The flame hovered in midair, next to Henry’s head; the small fire providing some light to the occupants of the cave. The youngest blinked twice and spotted DongHae facing the wall across from him, holding his head. SungMin was standing diagonal from the two, in the middle of the passageway staring straight ahead with a confused expression on his face. Henry rubbed at his eyes and then looked up at the flame hovering next to his head; it was an unnatural onyx color, yet despite its black flame it shone brightly. Another flame appeared a foot in front of DongHae, illuminating further down the passageway. DongHae groaned and turned towards the other men, eyes widening at the sight of the hovering, brilliant onyx flames.

“What is that?” Henry asked, as he sped away from the flame closest to him.

“Uhh….fire I think….” SungMin said, doing the same as the younger man.

                The two congregated on either side of DongHae, who was now leaning against the wall behind him; the man was still reeling from the strong hit to the head. SungMin glanced around, noticing that the walls of the cave were crystalline. The walls were as smooth as glass, reflective and sparkling like a diamond would; seeing their own dirtied and bruised appearance shocked the trio. SungMin had smears of mud down the side of his face, almost like war paint; DongHae had bruises decorating his arms and a cut on his cheek, whereas the back of Henry’s head was covered in mud and sticks from SungMin tripping over his head. Another flame appeared further down the tunnel, lighting up yet another portion of the tunnel. The trio exchanged looks and Henry gazed back at the gate turned wall.

“I guess we go forward.” SungMin sighed.

                Henry nodded and DongHae muttered incoherently; SungMin tapped DongHae’s forehead and led him over to the closest flame.

“Hey, Pabo Hae look at me.” SungMin instructed.

                DongHae did as commanded and looked at his hyung; SungMin held his index finger up to DongHae’s face, parallel to his nose.

“Follow the finger.” He stated.

                SungMin moved his finger from right to left and back again; then up and down, he kept his gaze focused in DongHae’s eyes. Once he had returned his finger to the starting point, he sighed.

“C’mon Pabo Fishy, you don’t appear to have a concussion. I know it hurts but we’ve got to keep moving.” SungMin said calmly.

“…ugh….okay…” DongHae groaned.

                The trio started walking, following the tunnel; as they walked more flames appeared, lining the walls on either side of them. DongHae’s eyes wandered from one line of hovering flames to the other, eying the mysterious flames warily. A loud hum echoed throughout the tunnel, the sound vibrations bouncing off the smooth, crystal walls. The trio kept moving and Henry felt himself getting more and more agitated as they walked. The tunnel opened to a cavernous room, the clear walls surrounding them, more flames appeared. The newest set of black fire hovered in front of six entrances in the walls. Each of the six tunnels had a flame in front of them.

“Umm…what do we choose?” Henry asked.

“…” SungMin swore.

“…AIDS…” DongHae grumbled.

                Henry and SungMin stared at DongHae; identical “what the ” expressions plastered on their faces. DongHae continued to mutter incoherently under his breath and SungMin separated himself from the other two. He walked over to the other tunnel openings, peering into the various openings. DongHae brought a hand up to his head; his ears had started ringing, making his headache worse. Henry fidgeted nervously, carefully watching SungMin as he did. The sound of the once low hum increased in volume and pitch; the sound turned into a high pitched screech that resonated throughout the massive room. SungMin and DongHae fell to their knees; crying out in pain and clutching their heads. SungMin swore as he felt a warm liquid begin to drip out of his ears, blood. The pain was unfathomable; soon the pair were writhing on the floor in pain. DongHae cried out; his head felt as if it was about to explode, the pain increased with every passing moment. His vision began to blur as the pain increased with the frequency of the screech that echoed through his ears. 

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Hey guys,

short chappie I know. I got this chap finished earlier today (in Chem with Dobu) and since I got a good grade on my frist math exam of the year I thought I'd put it up for you all! So here I am uploading this lol. It occured to me earlier that there is a lot going on in this story and I have hinted at some future events in previous chapters as well as in this one. So, if any of you want to take a guess as to what is happening or will happen feel free. :) Even with this chapter if any of you want to guess as to what is going on in the end of the chapter feel free to lemme know what you think in the comments below (Triple C don't say anything till the next chappie is posted Kay? Well, at least not about what is happening in the end) other than that as usual comments are GREATLY appreciated. I also wanna say thank you to you guys for subscribing, we're up to 24 subscribers on here and over 300 views so I'm very happy right now. I love you all, more comments could potentially mean faster updates so comment away lol. Anyways, much love.

~Key