"We need to go to school," Wonsik mumbled, wiping the moisture off his face.

Sanghyuk raised his head and looked at him. "School? In this situation?" 

Wonsik looked at him. "Did you think we could just skip?"

"He has a point," Hongbin cut in, prompting Wonsik to whip around and look at him. "I don't want to move from this place."

"I seriously don't want to move either," Taekwoon mumbled. 

Silence fell upon the four as the morning rays of the sun peeked out from between the trees, warming their cold hearts even just a little. But, it also lit up the battleground, the blood soaked soil and the glistening of the damp blood on the bodies of the wolves. 

"What do we do now?" Sanghyuk wearily asked.

"Hm?" Taekwoon hummed.

"The bodies," Sanghyuk said, his eyes still damp and tearful. "We need to bury them."

"If you want to bury your parents then go ahead," Hongbin said. "But small word of advice, in this town, we burn the corpses."

Sanghyuk looked up at him. "You burn them?" he asked.

"It's a fail-safe," Wonsik explained. "Corpses that stay buried for long in the ground can lead to necromancers coming our way due to the free grub."

"Necromancers?" Sanghyuk asked, bewildered.

"My mom had to take care of quite a few back in the day," Hongbin said. "They're bad news, really bad news."

"So if I have to do anything, I have to burn them?" Sanghyuk slowly asked.

"I'll help you, so you won't be alone," Wonsik offered. 

"We may also need to leave," Taekwoon directed the statement to Hongbin while casting his eyes to the sky. "The crows are gathering."

"Are you just going to leave your family's bodies there?" Sanghyuk asked.

"They won't be alone," Hongbin said, his gaze on a black crow near his parents, looking at him in anticipation. "The scavengers always pick them clean."

"That is...horrible," Sanghyuk said.

"If you don't have anything to contribute, then don't say anything," Hongbin growled softly.

Wonsik placed a hand on Sanghyuk's shoulder, giving him a look. Sanghyuk then pulled himself to his feet and Wonsik led him away, possibly to set his parents' souls free. Taekwoon sat down the ground beside Hongbin, not saying a word as the crows flew overhead.

"We need to go," he softly said.

Hongbin didn't reply, so Taekwoon shifted slightly before leaning forward and placing a hand on his arm. "We need to go," he repeated.

Hongbin turned around to lock eyes with Taekwoon, and the two shared a knowing look. Neither of them wanted to be alive at that moment, they just wanted to sleep and wake up and realize it was a bad dream. Neither of them wanted to move from the cold ground or go inside; they'd rather waste away where they were. 

It was then as the crows began descending that Hongbin finally, finally tore himself away from the bodies of his parents and walked away with Taekwoon at his side.

Wonsik stood silently at Sanghyuk's side, his eyes following the red flames as they rose to the sky. He spotted a tear slide down the side of Sanghyuk's face as the flames up the bodies of his parents.

His parents. His family. His world.

Wonsik sighed. "What are you going to do now?" he asked.

Sanghyuk shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Do you have anywhere to go?"

"I'm not leaving," Sanghyuk said. 

Wonsik raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Sanghyuk clenched his fists tightly at his sides. "I'm not going anywhere," he said, his jaw trembling as more tears threatened to fall. "I'm not going anywhere until I get the things that did this."

Wonsik stayed quiet for a moment. "You're talking about going up against demonic energies from another dimension..." he slowly pointed out.

"I don't care," Sanghyuk said. "I won't rest until I see them dead with bullets in their heads."

He choked on the last couple of words and finally broke down, sobbing with his hands over his mouth. 

Wonsik turned back, staring into the heart of the fire. As he watched the fire move, he found himself picturing their entire town swallowed by that fire.

It weighed on his heart.

"We should get some rest," Taekwoon suggested as Hongbin removed his shoes at his door.

Hongbin nodded, as the exhaustion from the entire night, the chase after the stag, the sighting of the hellhound and the return, seeped into his bones, making him feel like he was tied to large rocks.

"You can sleep in my room for now," Taekwoon said. "I'll bring out the futon." 

He left to go upstairs and Hongbin was left in the living room by himself. He took the time to walk around and look at the condition.

Compared to his house, which looked like a tornado had gone through it, Taekwoon's house was spic and span, newly clean. Everything was in place, a scented candle making the house smell like marshmallows.

Like home.

On top of a chest of drawers on the side of the room, Hongbin found a framed photograph. He slowly picked it up and looked at it.

It was an older photograph, taken nearly five years ago. His parents were younger, Taejin was much younger, and Wonsik's parents were together. 

His eyes washed over the three of them, young, happy, carefree. They were laughing, arms over each other's shoulders, bright smiles on their faces. Behind them, their parents stood, proud and happy.

Taekwoon came down to see Hongbin staring at the photograph, an incomprehensible expression on his face. 

"You saw that?" he slowly asked.

Hongbin nodded. "How long was this?" he softly asked. "How long was it that our pack was together?"

Taekwoon gave a light chuckle. "I don't remember anymore," he said.

"Neither can I," Hongbin said.

Taekwoon waited for a moment that honestly felt like hours to him. After a while, he sighed. "I've laid the futon," he told Hongbin. "Come up and sleep."

Hongbin nodded, following Taekwoon up the stairs.

Taekwoon exhaled. "I only hope we can wake up and find that it was all a bad dream," he muttered to himself as his eyes caught the open door of his sister's room, catching a peek at the pastel wallpaper and small bed filled with stuffed toys.