They finally decided to stop because it would be too dangerous to go on. Jongin was lying on the backseat and still looked like he was about to pass out. Since they had left in a hurry, they had barely anything with them. Kyungsoo had his backpack with emergency food, water and medicine but it would not be sufficient for three people. Kyungsoo climbed to the back to check on Jongin.

“How are you?” he asked. Jongin was breathing heavy and his forehead was sweaty. “He’s got a fever”, Kyungsoo murmured. Kyungsoo searched for the pills against fever and then helped Jongin to take it. He sat on the backseat, Jongin’s upper body between his legs, leaning against his stomach. Junmyeon had tried to find a comfortable position for sleeping in the driver’s seat. “I’ve never heard of T-340”, Kyungsoo muttered. “I developed it”, Junmyeon said exhausted. “I also developed the one you’re using. But T-340 is 10 times stronger than yours”. Kyungsoo opened his mouth but didn’t ask. If it was even stronger than the one he currently had, it would definitely be fatal for an ordinary human. He leaned his head back against the dusty window and to his surprise he could actually see the stars.

He had left in such a rush, he had not even properly thought about the consequences but he did not regret his decision. He could be honest with himself, he had always just been looking for an excuse to run away. He had hated the wall that caged him in and had longed for the open and wide horizon. He had always wanted to go to places he wanted to see not to those the military send him. For years he had used his mission to enjoy the desert. He had thought he was combining two wonderful things; looking for a cure for several diseases and exploring the nature. But he had been more than wrong. Whatever the military’s true goal had been, it was not to find a cure to diseases. They had continued torturing Jongin although they no longer wanted any information on his genetics.

The sun was already rising when Kyungsoo finally fell asleep. He awoke with a start and blinked rapidly. It was so bright that the light was hurting his eyes. His mouth was dry and his lips felt chapped. Jongin was still between his legs but he was already awake and had turned around so he was now facing Kyungsoo. He had been watching Kyungsoo but he did not avert his eyes now that Kyungsoo was awake. Instead he leaned forward, coming closer and Kyungsoo slid back taken aback. Junmyeon was still sleeping in the front. “You saved me”, Jongin said quietly. His voice was hoarse and his lips were chapped too. His shirt was sweaty and his hair matted. His fingers on Kyungsoo’s face were warm but his skin was rough. “Why did you save me?” Jongin asked. “It was my fault”, Kyungsoo said and cleared his throat when he heard how hoarse he sounded. Jongin’s yellow eyes were transfixed on Kyungsoo’s brown eyes. “I caught you and brought you there. But I had no idea what they would do to you”, he said. “That’s a lame excuse and I shouldn’t –“, he whispered. There was a loud creak and Junmyeon sat up yawning.

“Guys”.

Jongin sat back and looked to the front, Kyungsoo too turned to the front. Junmyeon was looking out the front window. “There is something”, Junmyeon said. And they could see it, too. In the distance there rose mountains and something else that looked like a smaller oddly shaped hill. Junmyeon started the jeep and the drove towards the oddly shaped hill. Jongin leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. “Do you know what that is?” Kyungsoo asked. Jongin frowned. As they got closer they saw that it was not a hill but a derelict looking building with two towers left and right and a few smaller sheds and houses surrounding it. There was a wall surrounding it, but it was not very high and was crumbling in many places. The Iron Gate stood wide open and with a quick exchange of looks Junmyeon drove through the Iron Gate. Kyungsoo held his gun ready and looked nervously around. All buildings were lacking doors, instead long cloths had been hung from the top of the door frames. They were softly blowing in the desert wind, the colours had faded. Junmyeon stopped the car and Kyungsoo got out, Junmyeon shook his head.

“No, Kyungsoo! Don’t!” But Jongin followed Kyungsoo, walking like a wild cat on its hunt. Junmyeon groaned and cursed. He grabbed the supply of his tranquiliser poison and got out of the car. He had just closed the door when he gasped.

“Wow”.

They were surrounded by about 6 people, dressed in similar brownish clothes. They were all pointing their weapons at them and Kyungsoo knew they wouldn’t stand a chance, so he raised his hands. Junmyeon followed him but Jongin growled and stared at the 6 people. “That’s… a lot of yellow eyes”, Junmyeon muttered.

All 6 people weren’t only dressed similarly, they all had the same yellow eyes as Jongin. Then suddenly someone shouted something and from the big building in front of them a hooded figure appeared. The person was wrapped in a long black cloak but the voice hinted that it was a woman. Kyungsoo did not recognise the language, it sounded harsh and rough. The woman repeated the same words and as she got closer, the six people quickly stepped aside to let her through. She was carrying a long wooden stick which she now pointed at Junmyeon. She said something in the strange language and Junmyeon looked at Kyungsoo.

“S-Sorry, I don’t understand”, Junmyeon stuttered. When the wooden stick was pointed at Kyungsoo, Jongin stepped forward as if to protect Kyungsoo. “Jongin, no. What are you doing?” Kyungsoo hissed. But the woman suddenly hesitated and then lowered the stick.

She said something and the six other people slowly lowered their weapons too. “Who are you?” she asked then. “Oh”, Junmyeon said relieved that they spoke their language.

“I’m Kyungsoo. Those two are my friends; Jongin and Junmyeon. We got lost in the desert”, Kyungsoo said. The woman huffed.

“Don’t lie”, she said sharply. Jongin let out another growl. “Two purists in a jeep with a mutated one. You surely aren’t three friends on an adventure”, she said and raised her wooden stick again. “As I said, we got lost in the desert”, Kyungsoo said firmly. But she must have seen his hands creeping into his pocket for his knife and she attacked him so quickly with her wooden stick he had no time to react. He was hit hard in the chest but before she could attack again, Jongin had jumped in between and blocked off the stick.

“He protects you? How interesting”, she said. Kyungsoo had dropped to his knees from the hard hit, he felt dizzy although he prided himself in being tough. “Why?” she asked Jongin. “Do you owe him?” she asked. But maybe she could read Jongin’s expression because she seemed satisfied. “Very well. That’s enough for me”, she said and pulled the stick back. “Bring them inside and get them food and drinks. Your name was Jongin? We shall treat you as well”, she called and two picked up Kyungsoo by his arms and pulled him onto his legs. Junmyeon was ushered forward towards the building. Jongin was about to pick another fight when the female pulled her hood back. Junmyeon could not see her face but it seemed to terrify Jongin enough to obey. She pulled the hood back on and they were shoved into the building.

It was comfortably cool inside and dimly lit. Inside there was only one big hall, but there were also cloths hanging from the ceiling and roof beams, they created tents and partition walls. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened as he looked around. There were about 20 others bustling around, they were all working on something. A few were cleaning, others were preparing food. Some were making clothes. And all had bright yellow eyes, just like Jongin. “What is this place?” Junmyeon asked. “A shelter”, the female said and she guided them to the back of the hall. They entered a large tent created from the colourful cloths and found several stretchers and mattresses on the floor. “Sean will have a look at your wounds. You will get something to eat and drink in a minute”, she said. “A shelter?” Kyungsoo asked. The female nodded.

“I’ll be off. Take care of them, Sean. I think I’ll be back for dinner”, she said and turned around and left the tent. Sean was a young man with yellow eyes and dark skin. He was wearing bluish clothes of finer material. “Okay, then let’s have a look at your wounds”, Sean said. He looked at Jongin’s wounds first when Kyungsoo told him that he had been captured and suffered from fever. Jongin was not happy that Kyungsoo told Sean about it openly but he let Sean lift his shirt and look at his wrists and ankles. Sean carefully dabbed the angry red marks with a strong smelling tincture and then did several checks. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, almost like a doctor, Kyungsoo thought. “I was trained as a healer. My father was the village healer”, Sean said, answering Kyungsoo’s unsaid question. “How come you’re here now?” Kyungsoo asked. A girl and a boy dressed in the brownish clothes brought food and drinks for them and immediately left the tent. Sean didn’t answer directly, he finished his check up on Jongin and handed him a glass of water. “It was destroyed”, he said then. “I suggest, you lie down for a bit and sleep. You should also eat and drink something”, he said to Jongin.
“It was destroyed?” Kyungsoo asked puzzled. “My village”, Sean said. “They were after me and destroyed the entire village and killed more than half of the villagers. I managed to run away, Kyu found me in the desert, half dead”, Sean said. “Kyu?” Junmyeon asked. “The woman from before”, Sean said.
“So she is some kind of person who picks up mutated children in trouble?” Kyungsoo asked. Sean frowned. “Don’t tell me, you don’t know”, Sean said. “What?” Junmyeon asked and Kyungsoo looked at Junmyeon. “They are hunting us, those purists. Yellow eyed kids live dangerously. Kyu rescued about 10 from a camp, she picked up a few like me who were roaming the desert on their own. Most of us grew up in laboratories and camps, some were lucky like me. My parents gave me away and my adoptive parents hid me well in the desert”, Sean said. “Kyu saved all of us here, she protects us”, he continued almost as if he was defending her. Kyungsoo frowned and looked at Junmyeon. “A camp?” Kyungsoo asked. Sean’s yellow eyes pierced through Kyungsoo’s dark ones. “For a friend of a yellow eyed one, you know hardly anything”, he said. Jongin let out another growl. “Calm down, brother”, Sean said to Jongin.

“You’re better honest to Kyu about your intentions and why you’re in company of a yellow eyed one. If she finds out you mean harm to anyone here she won’t hesitate to kill you”, Sean said. Junmyeon made a suppressed sound and Kyungsoo gave him a side glance.

“I was captured. Kyungsoo and Junmyeon saved me”, Jongin said lowly. Sean’s expression changed. “You did? Sorry, we cannot be careful enough…”, he said. Kyungsoo nodded.

“No, you’re right. I can understand that. I had no idea that other – uh normal people were capturing yellow eyed people to put them in camps, I thought it was just our town”, Kyungsoo said. “In our town Jongin was the first one to be caught ever”. Sean pressed his lips into a thin line. “Kyu knows best, she will fill you in later”, Sean said then. “Get some rest”. He got up and left them alone.

Kyungsoo looked at Junmyeon. “I knew that some people killed mutated children because they were scared of them. But it’s my first time hearing about camps”, Junmyeon said. Kyungsoo sat down next to the mattress Jongin was now lying on. “Jongin?” he asked carefully. Jongin however kept his eyes down, lying on his side. “Do you know anything about those camps?” Kyungsoo asked quietly. Jongin did not reply. “Okay, that’s fine. You don’t have to tell me”, Kyungsoo said and hesitantly raised his hand. “We’re safe now. No one will hurt you anymore from now on”, he said. He touched Jongin’s cheek. Jongin shortly tensed up but then relaxed again and looked at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo’s chest felt tight as he realised that probably everyone who had touched Jongin so far had done so to hurt him. Once more he found that he was hypnotised by those yellow eyes and he could not avert his eyes. Kyungsoo only found back to reality when a loud rustling sound announced that Junmyeon had lain down on one of the mattresses and pulled the thin blanket over his shoulders. Kyungsoo realised his hand was still resting on Jongin’s cheek and he pulled back his hand.

Kyungsoo laid down on the stretcher next to Jongin’s mattress but he could not fall asleep. Thousand thoughts were whirling through his mind. So other towns were looking for yellow eyed kids, too, but not to kill them but to capture them. What were their reasons? What were their plans? And were they the same reasons as his own hometown’s ones? He did not even know their true intentions so he could not think of the intentions of other towns.

He had been so focused on finding out about the other side of the wall, the nature, the desert, the outside world that he had hardly noticed anything going on inside the walls.

Exhaustion must have gotten the better of Kyungsoo because he had drifted into a light sleep from which he was woken up abruptly as someone entered the tent. It was the female who was called Kyu. “Good evening”, she said. “How do you feel?” Kyungsoo sat up and saw that Junmyeon was already awake. “Better. Thank you very much for the food and the drinks”, he said politely. “Then let’s have a little chat before dinner, shall we?” Kyu said and sat down on the chair Sean had sat in before.

“You already know who I am, now it’s only fair if you tell me who you are”, she demanded. Kyungsoo thought of Sean’s words and decided to be as honest as possible. “I’m Kyungsoo and I have been living my entire life in a small town in the desert. I joined the army to get outside of the walls of the town, but I didn’t get to explore the desert as much as I wished I could have”, Kyungsoo said.

Kyu’s face was hidden under the large black hood but she shifted slightly when she heard the word ‘army’. “I’m Junmyeon, uh, I’m from the same town as Kyungsoo. I am a scientist”, Junmyeon introduced himself. Jongin remained silent. “You’re a scientist?” Kyu asked. “Yes”, Junmyeon confirmed. Kyu pulled out the syringe like weapon Junmyeon had carried with him when they had flown the town. “So this is yours?” she asked. Junmyeon nodded. “The poison inside, what is that?” she asked. “It is a tranquiliser which attacks your muscles directly and immobilises you, it is not deadly. In theory”, Junmyeon added. “In theory?” Kyu asked. “I confess I developed a similar poison for the army and police. It was just a tranquiliser but this is something I have worked on for – emergencies. I’ve only ever used it once and that was last night when we rescued Jongin”, Junmyeon said. Kyu leaned forward a little. “This tranquiliser is ten times stronger than the one the military uses”, Junmyeon said slowly. He looked down to the ground. “If it is ten times stronger than the original one… is this one deadly?” Kyu asked. “Your heart is only a muscle, too. If the poison is strong enough to stop it from beating…”, Junmyeon murmured. “So, yes”, Kyu said and eyed the syringe.

“Interesting. How come a soldier and a scientist, who are both purists and obviously work for those who are responsible for capturing this young man here, suddenly decided to free him and run away? Was the salary not good enough? Were you looking for a little adventure?” she asked. Her voice was calm and it was hard to guess her mood. “No!” Junmyeon called and jumped to his feet. “Junmyeon”, Kyungsoo said and raised his hand. “I had not signed up for this. I became a scientist because I was fascinated by the human body and the way it functions. I wanted to know how it worked. I did not become a scientist to support a system that captures other humans to do experiments on them and tortures them!” he called heated. Kyu looked up. “Wait, they did experiments on him?” she asked.
“What kind of experiments?”

Kyungsoo looked at Jongin who had pulled his legs up to his chest and was sitting in the corner of his mattress as if he wanted to hide. “At first it was just a body examination. They took some blood and hair and scanned his brain”, Junmyeon started. Kyungsoo turned to look at Junmyeon who turned his back on them.
“And then they asked him all kind of questions, and when he did not answer… they would – hurt him. They did check-ups to see how fast his body would recover from those – things. They got worse and worse everytime”, Junmyeon said. Kyu got up and walked over to Jongin. “You are safe here, Jongin. We all have been hurt and went through similar things. But we all stand together and protect each other so it cannot happen again”. She pulled her hood back and Jongin tensed up. Kyungsoo frowned and stepped around her to see what was scaring Jongin. Kyu’s face was halfway covered by a black mask that hid her nose and mouth. Her right eye was the same yellow as Jongin’s but her left eye was a darker shade, almost as if someone had mixed a bit of brown into the yellow. A long scar ran from her left temple down, right by her eye over her cheek. It was hard to tell her age but Kyungsoo guessed that she would be the same age as him, in her mid-twenties.
“I promise”, she said and reached out her hand. She touched Jongin’s shoulder lightly and although was covered one could tell that she was smiling. Jongin relaxed a bit but he was still seated in the corner with his legs pulled up. Kyu did look a bit intimidating with the hard look in her yellow eyes and the long scar but Kyungsoo could not understand what about her had intimidated Jongin so much. He sat down next to Jongin but shoved himself slightly in front of him. Kyu had already pulled her hand back but her eyes quickly flinted between Jongin and Kyungsoo. “I guess you have a few questions”, she said then. “Sean told us something about camps”, Kyungsoo said. “We know from our town that the army was trying to capture people with yellow eyes but I have not heard about other towns doing the same. I have only heard about killings”, Kyungsoo continued. Kyu nodded. “What do you know about people like us? People with yellow eyes?” she asked.
“Your eye colour is the proof of mutated genes”, Junmyeon said. “You’re immune to most illnesses and diseases”, he continued. “It is guessed your genes were mutated through radiation and chemicals that polluted most of the globe”, he said. Kyu chuckled. “That’s one of the nice myths they like to tell. You’re a scientist, did you really believe that?” she asked. Junmyeon’s cheeks flushed. “You asked what we knew –“, he started but she shook her head.

“That’s alright, you were educated by those people who spread those lies. It is not your fault. We have to go back in time to the 2030s. A new gene technique made it possible to design your own children, it was a big trend then”, Kyu said. “Design your own children?” Junmyeon asked, looking a bit scandalised.
“Yeah, they had been working on that for a long time. Originally it was for a good cause, it was meant to prevent disabilities in an early stage. Basically it promised a cure or prevention for physical diseases. But with that the possibilities for changing anything opened up. You could do simple things like choosing your child’s eye colour but also influence their intelligence or talents. Parents could pick qualities they wished their child to have. Most went with intelligent, beautiful or athletic. But before this method was made open for public, they obviously did a lot of experiments”, Kyu said.

“Wait, they made those methods open for public?” Kyungsoo asked. “Yes, but not many got the chance to actually do it. In 2048 the war broke out, so most people could not afford those method and hardly anyone really thought of it anyways. No one wants to put a child into a world of war, right? So most of those designer children were from those experiments. They tried changing only a few things in the genes, like the eye colour. But there were also bigger experiments. They tried creating superhumans and so they mashed up all the qualities they thought would create the best of humans. Intelligent, beautiful, athletic, resilient to diseases. But there were many side effects”, Kyu continued, her face darkening. “Side effects?” Junmyeon asked.

“Yes, most of the children were infertile. Many developed mental health issues and showed a strong tendency for violence. They were all lacking empathy which increased their violent side. They were not fit for society, especially not one in a war-state. They grew up knowing nothing but violence but after the war, a few scientists got together to continue their studies. They looked for the remaining designer children and matched those designer children still alive and fertile which were not many”, Kyu said. Kyungsoo frowned. “They matched -?” he started. “They bred them like animals”, she growled.

 “And then?” Kyungsoo asked when she did not continue. “Well”, she said cynically, her eyes hardening. “The results are right in front of you. Young people with yellow eyes, resilient to most diseases and very violent allegedly. To keep a closer eye on us, they build a village at first, where the children grew up and as soon as they were old enough, they were brought to the said camps. But when some of those children ran away, they of course had to be brought back. They were dangerous after all”, Kyu said coolly. Junmyeon looked at her intensely. “What were those camps for then? They did not kill them, did they?” he asked.

“No. No, these camps were training camps. They trained us in whatever talents they showed and of course, we had to be trained in being a proper human being. But it didn’t work because we have a tendency to lack obedience”, she said and tilted her head slightly. “But some actually managed to get through training and were appointed the task of capturing their own brothers and sisters or protecting the trainers and bosses of those camps”, she said. “So they’re trying to capture them to build – what an army? I don’t know, why? Are they expecting another war? I can hardly believe that. There is not much communication between the few cities and towns or villages that are left on this planet. We have enough to live our life, but it is not nearly enough to start another war”, Kyungsoo said shaking his head.

“There is a large city, you would have to cross the desert and the mountains to get there. It lies at the sea and is one of those few that have more than enough. But people who have enough always crave more, especially power hungry men. Why be satisfied with what you have when you can take more?” Kyu said sharply.
“They are searching for us, not only to train us. Not all of us are of violent nature, that’s rubbish. They want our genes”, she said and straightened her shoulders.
“For what? They want to create more of you? Or create new designer children?” Junmyeon asked. Kyu looked at him. “No, they believe the key for immortality lies in our genes”. It was hard to read Kyu’s expression but Kyungsoo thought that she believed in immortality as much as he did: not at all.