(strong language warning towards the end of this chapter)

“You left me.” Tao kicked up a fuss. He frowned, pouted, faked sobbing, and threw his adult tantrum the moment we landed on the headquarter. It was quite a sight to see a twenty-four years old with heavy dark circle under his eyes and menacing glare stood there, pouting like he was six before he turned to Kris, who stood beside him, and said almost convincingly with a very smug tone, “See? I told you she would come back.”

Kris gave out a sound similar to a choked snort and refused to reply. Sometimes he, too, wondered if he had indulged on Tao’s sadistic measures of throwing tantrum with his silence. The thought itself gave him immense headache that he simply became even more solemn than he already was. He probably thought I would never come back – his darkened eyes conveyed as they rested on me. I grinned sarcastically and said nothing at all, just to prolong Tao and Kris’ misery for a little more while. This time, he did snicker and turned to Suho, who was talking to Doctor Lee and another Lieutenant whose face I had yet to see.

“He’s being a sore loser,” Tao whispered to me in the kind of tone that suggested a secret rendezvous and scandalous meetings. I held back a smile and followed along as he tugged me by the sleeve. I leaned in and maintained a close, but civilised distance in-between. “I’ll tell you what. Your escapade spread like wildfire everywhere, and I actually managed to steal the footage from the security office before anyone else put their hands on it, so Kris and I made a bet on you. He said you would either die by the hands of the Order or you would come back a prisoner. Ha! He thought I was stupid. As if any of us would touch you after Suho’s warning. So I bet you would come back. Safe and sound.”

My heart warmed a little at Tao’s trust in me. He might seem silly and carefree at first, but the fact that he extended such genuine friendship to a stranger he met less than a month ago was touching, especially in a world of superficial kindness and loss-and-benefits. I looked at him and tried to see what it was that he wanted, but in the end, I relented and released a small smile of gratitude. When was the last time someone treated me like a friend? Too long ago to be remembered. “The Order? What is that?”

Kai came too suddenly and slung his arms around me. My face turned ashen very quickly. I could see another round of panic attack coming soon and the hyperventilating starting. I wanted to keep very low-key of what happened in the Rebel and my trauma for men so that no one could take advantage of my weakness, but it was becoming harder to control that nauseating anger that forced itself to the surface and overwhelmed my senses. I either lashed out or vomited on the spot. The choked sound coming from my mouth and I figured it was the later.

– until Suho came and smiled frostily at Kai as if he had just committed the sin of his life.

I told myself since twenty that I would hate to rely on anybody else ever again. As human, we were born complicated and unique, and each individual of the several billions population carried different traits and problems that defined them as their own person. You never knew where to trade the water until you pushed through the limits. So I always made sure to trade lightly on the line of distant recognition and coldness. I swallowed back the sticky saliva that felt so much like actual vomit, and stared at Suho with pleasant surprise. Sehun narrowed his eyes at Kai.

Suho didn’t bother acknowledging his odd behaviour to either Tao and Kris, even under the judging eyes of Doctor Lee and the new Lieutenant. Kai seemed startled and was about to say something to save the situation until Suho cut him off with a glance and replied with a voice that was neither light nor loud, “The Order is a special force under the General that ensures all rules and regulations are complied and obeyed, without question or resistance. Some of the Elites belong to the Order as well, although the arrangement changes from time to time.” He turned to Kai, finally giving the man his attention, “Bring down the prisoners from the Rebel. Doctor Lee is very eager to meet them.”

“But –“ Kai raised his voice in the midst of confusion. He didn’t understand what was happening when all conversation was fine before Suho’s interruption – and Kai felt wrongly accused when Sehun raised his eyebrows at him and stared him down, sending unwanted chills down his spine. He had always feared the younger man for obvious reasons. I bit my lips and refused to stir any more misunderstandings. Sehun seemed ignorant of his surrounding but he was surprisingly perceptive of all things happening around – but only when he wanted to. “Okay,” He threw his hands and backed off, “Going. I’m going, alright?”

The young Lieutenant, Bobby Kim, came forward to observe the commotion. He was a different man from the one who tortured me before. An Eurasian man with strong jawline, monolid and charming smile, Lieutenant Kim was about a decade older than the previous one. On the other hand, the last Lieutenant, Key, was considered a rare young prodigy for advancing to such rank at his age – something unheard of in the history of military succession. However, no one had seen his shadow lately since he defied the Old General’s Order. Even Doctor Lee suffered a setback as a result of her indirect participation in the white room interrogation. Hence, the appointment of a new face as the Lieutenant for the entire soldier batch in this research facility.

Soon after Kai left and teleported into the plane, he brought back the four captives with their blindfold and hands tied. Most of the Transcendentals were rendered useless and weak when their hands were tied, with exceptions of the rare few who were able to utilise their sight like me, or their entire body like Sehun. I bit my tongue when I saw the hunger in Lieutenant Kim’s eyes, like he was a wolf preying on its victims. It seemed that their days in this facility would be hell and I had to think of a way to help them. But with my recent acts and rebellious streak, I doubted they would leave me alone for anything ever again.

Doctor Lee walked over with a very young boy about fourteen by age, and started to examine them one by one. This boy could identify someone’s ability with a glance, and he started listing them by their description and capabilities. The tallest one with platinum blonde hair was a Human-Poison. The one without scratch or major injuries was a Shield. The man who was beaten red and black emitted pheromone from his body, and the girl was a Seer. Jane hummed with satisfaction and touched Suga’s face and smirked. The damage he suffered was far worse than anything she had ever seen before.

When Suho sent her the details of the captives, she had already checked with Kim Doyoung from I.T. to confirm their identities. It wasn’t that hard for the Union to get their hands on such information, even though some specifications were missing from the papers. She muttered their names slowly one by one. RM, Kim Namjoon; Min Suga; Kang Daniel; and Irene Bae. She was lucky to have four core members of the Rebel present so she could start a new round of research and experimentation on their healthy young bodies. After all, it was the first time they had ever captured someone from the Rebel, and she wasn’t about to waste the chance.

I clenched my fist and bit my lips harder when Doctor Lee ushered each of them to a different lift. I needed a plan. Three of them needed to leave to stay alive. Only death awaited in the enemy’s den.

* * *

One week passed by without anything significant. I waited. Played the good girl part and spent the time in my own room. I hung out with Tao and Kai most of the time, although Lay and Luhan occasionally showed up and dropped a few sentences to me. Luhan, especially, seemed to know what I was thinking of but didn’t care enough to interfere – which was good. I hadn’t seen Suho since we parted ways a week ago, and I reckoned he was too busy being here and there to spend time with the rest. Not even Baekhyun had seen a glimpse of him. Kris, maybe, but the tall icy block refused to say a word to disclose the younger man’s whereabouts to anyone. So despite my best attempt at persuading and manipulating Tao to find out, there was no concrete result up to this very moment.

It was frustrating. People who knew what was happening avoided me like plague. Instead, those who didn’t, persistently approached me to keep me occupied. I didn’t know how they got to this conclusion together, but it was upsetting. And yet, at the same time, I got plenty of time alone to do what I needed to do. First, I needed to figure the layout of this building. There were eight-levels, and the top floor with the mini-airport was reserved for the higher-ups and important figures. I wouldn’t be able to openly access the floor without getting found out by the security camera. Besides, they always had dozens of soldiers patrolling around the area. I needed to lay low for a while.

Next, I needed to be acquainted with more people from different background who worked in this facility. This was the hard part because I hated too much social interaction. There were the cafeteria staffs, some soldiers of the bottom ranks who had no idea who I was, the cleaners, some scientists from the higher floor who were not affiliated with Jane's main research project. To make it less suspicious, I would drag Tao along to chat with some of them – an initiative he took well because he figured it was time I ‘finally came out of my shell and into the blindingly bright world’ – all in his words. Seven days. Fifty-six hours of non-stop interaction in total. I was starting to get really sick of all the fake pleasantries. But I persisted.

On the eighth day, I gathered enough courage and sneaked into Suho’s room – which, according to Tao, was located in a separated place. It was late, and I figured I might as well spent the night waiting by the door until he came back. I could be extremely persistent when I wanted to – this time was no exception. His room was gigantic. It was two rooms combined into one – consisting of a well-equipped library with a lot of books and a very comfortable feet-massaging mini Jacuzzi. His bed was located on the inner part, and I felt that I had been intrusive enough to step into the outer layer, so I stopped where I was and observed the kind of books he read, instead.

He didn’t come back even at midnight. I was starting to wonder if he was pulling an all-nighter or if he ever slept at all since he came back. No man could withstand that kind of torture. Two hours later, I was dazing off on the floor, my knees in front of my chest as I nodded off to dreamland. He still wasn’t back then. I woke up to the warmth of blanket and bed well-made. Suho was nowhere to be found. I rubbed my eyes and sprang out from the bed. It was six thirty in the morning, and I could not even catch the sight of him at all. The thought devastated me as I prepared to run out of his room and find Doctor Lee.

But Suho was there in his own private library. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open, completely vulnerable and innocent-looking even though he was anything but that. There was a book on his lap, his white T-shirt extremely messy and his black pants crinkled in places. He sat there, sleeping on his couch with exhaustion written on the knits of his brows – so fair-looking, and yet so troubled. I felt the words slowly leaving me when my heart silently, subconsciously ached a little at how tired he was. It was cold in early spring but he was wearing such a thin clothing without turning on the heater at all. So I turned around and grabbed onto the thick blanket to drape it over his body.

“You’re awake,” His voice was very thick in the morning. I stopped in my track and stare as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Why are you awake?” I blurted out the question without thinking much and almost slapped myself. Was that appropriate for someone who broke through the locks and entered a man’s room sneakily without prior permission? Obviously not, I snorted in my head. His eyes were half-opened and he was still snoring lightly even with half of his consciousness. I didn’t want to sound too suspicious and added on, “Erm… I mean, sorry for sneaking in when you’re not around. I just had to see you, you know?”

“Hm,” his hum lingered. He wasn’t taking me seriously at the moment. “I came back at four and found you sleeping on the floor. It’s not everyday you get to see anyone breaking into my room.” His reply was dripping with sarcasm, but I was shameless enough not to feel too guilty about it. His lips had the ghost of a smile as he continued, “Next time you’re here and I’m not around, you should take the bed for yourself if you’re tired. I’m rarely ever here anyway so you don’t need to worry about anything at all. I’ll give you the key as well, so I won’t have to fix the lock every time you come in.”

I was stunned. This wasn’t what I came here for. But Suho was Suho. He was sweet without trying too hard to show his concern. It was a different experience altogether when I compared him to all the boys I knew in the past. He was just charming in a very subtle and mature way. I didn’t know whether I should accept his kindness, so I kept quiet again, not knowing which reply would be the best at this moment. He didn’t seem to mind and got up quickly but groaned as he flexed his tired legs to work, “So? What are you here for?”

It was very straightforward, so I replied in a nonchalant manner and got to my point without dilly-dallying, “I want to know what’s going on with my friends. Where are they, and how are they holding on?”

He was frustrated – I could tell. His cheekbones were showing when he smiled, but the cheerfulness didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You just have to break out of the norm every single time, don’t you?” He chuckled in amusement and went on to grab two bottles of water from his refrigerator. “They’re not doing good, that I can tell you honestly. The platinum blonde man is doing the worst, he’s probably lost his voice yesterday from the torture. It’s only temporary, don’t worry. Your other male friend is… holding it together. He’s tough, and like I told you, tough don’t do well here. The female is unconscious. She’s… close to dying.” Then he paused for a while to observe my reaction, “I have asked Lay to heal their internal injuries, but it’s the skin-depth wounds that do them most damage. Can’t do more else we’ll be discovered.”

I swallowed back the salty taste in my mouth and forced myself to be more rational. “Thank you,” I bit my lips after the reply. In and out, I had to reign my temper before that damned man got inside my head and screwed with me again. Tears threatened to break out as I fought for every bit of my sanity to stay intact. “Suho,” I tried to sound as civil as possible, “I need to interrogate them personally. I want to take part in the torture.” When I realised what I had just spoken, I continued, “I can get you information about the Rebel from them. They move from time to time, so it’s hard to keep track of their recent whereabouts. But I can use my ability to extract that information in exchange for what I want.”

“Sera, I told you before, the Union…” He started, but I shook my head, “No. Help me this time. Don’t force me to compel you to submission, Suho. You’re my friend and I don’t want to do that.” He quietly looked on as I softened my blow and added on, “It’s just this once. I need to talk to them. I won’t do anything else. Please?”

* * *

It was a wonder how Suho could negotiate the terms with Doctor Lee and Lieutenant Kim, but for someone who could possibly talk his way into selling ice to the Eskimos, I had no doubt of him. My feet were cold as I waited in the room, sitting in one chair, facing the empty one in front of me. On my back, there was Lieutenant Kim and Doctor Lee. On the other side, there was a Transcendental with crooked nose and bulky figure, whose face was unfamiliar to me. Chaos in my blood, chaos in my vein, I chanted in my head and calmed down. Suho, Luhan, and Kris were probably still outside, watching the entire thing as the Head Guard of the facility’s Prison brought in the first captive. Min Suga. I almost shouted my gratitude to Suho when I saw him. He must have wanted me to convince the rest with this session.

“Knife,” I held out my palm and raised the question to anyone in the vicinity. No one moved, so I repeated it one more time, inserting the power to the word, “Knife.”

The Lieutenant quickly handed me a medium-sized pocket knife, unsure of what to say after. I received it and looked straight at Suga. He cowered under my gaze and dared not look anywhere else but his feet. “Good boy,” I whispered, “You’ve finally known fear.” I dived deep into his mind which was left defenceless after the series of torture prior to this. Even a grown-, trained man like him would be scared. I handed him the pocket knife and folded it inside his palm as I leaned close, “Tell me, where is the headquarter of the Rebel located now?”

He showed me images of Canada and turned it to Florida. I smirked as he spat at my face. That was when the blood lust came out. That was when this giddiness and fearlessness surfaced, supressing all rational thoughts when I let out a low, long chuckle. “Two can play this game, Suga,” I emphasised his name and wiped off the disgusting mix of saliva and blood with my sleeve. Then I squeezed his hands tightly and told him, “For every question you leave unanswered, I will have you cut off one of your finger and pluck out one tooth from your mouth.” He widened his swollen eyes as his hands reached out to his mouth and forcefully pulled out a fang and proceeded to cut off his finger slowly and arduously with the dulled pocket knife. He growled like an animal. Blood splattered all over my face and my cloth. “Now Suga, let’s start again. Where is the headquarter?”

As much as Jane hated the Rebel, she could not continue to stomach such scene and spoke up, “Sera, he’s… mute now. Someone snap off his vocal cords recently and it’s… his voice is gone.”

“Oops,” I said without a hint of sympathy. When I was provoked, I lost all sense of reasoning. Tears came out of his eyes, begging, pleading. But he spat at me. I smiled coldly. He spat at me, and he should pay the right price for the insult. Outside, Kris flinched a little at the sight, feeling more uncomfortable as he watched on. Doctor Lee paled and glanced the other way. “That’s a no-reply from you again. Too bad, Sweetheart. Another finger and tooth gone. Chop, chop. Cut them all off is the way to go, right? Or maybe we should cut off something else?”

Kill me, please just kill me, Suga’s mind cried out to me. No doubt his lost of voice was either Sehun or Luhan’s contribution, judging from their personal vengeance against the man. “Tell me where the headquarter is,” I whispered to him viciously. He looked at me with despair. Flashes of images started appearing randomly. Russia, the sea near Japan, a small island in Australia, Egypt. I finally caught a place and grinned. It was Africa, after all. As Suga was struggling to cut off his third finger, I turned around and faced the Doctor and the Lieutenant, lying with ease guiltlessly, “It’s in Singapore.”

“You… must have quite the vendetta against this man,” Jane wanted to be angry but couldn’t. For one as young and fair, I could be one hell of a sadist. I nodded at her and stopped Suga before he cut his finger off completely. The half that was still intact was now dangling. I finally let his consciousness faded away as he could not take any more pain. He insulted me twice, so it was only fair that he lost two fingers in the process. “Or maybe, Doctor Lee, I just enjoy torturing people like a hobby.” When I saw her knitted eyebrows and disgusted expression, I knew I had implanted fear without compelling her to, so I said, “Bring the other ones in, and I’ll give you more information that you need.”

A/N: Sera is probably the second anti-heroine I created after Sora in the Forsaken. Just a headstart if you haven't noticed, Sera's biggest flaw are her sadistic tendency and lack of moral code. It's not really badass anymore because she's just pure evil sometimes. And this will probably be her downfall if she doesn't change soon.