They say that there is a fine line between dream and reality. Some people experience a dream so life-like that they start to question if it really happened when they wake up, asking questions, checking their phone to see the time and date, texting friends with lame excuses just to check in and see if they were okay. Baekhyun had been there, he had witnessed first hand what it was like dreaming of realistic dreams. Dreams that contained the faces of his friends and mate as the characters used to tell him a story, a story that proved to be real. So real that the consequences of the life within the dream had actually brought him to where he was right now, or should I say where his body was right now.

In some deep part of his mind Baekhyun could feel the soft warm mattress press against his back, he supposes that his brain was still sensing things happening outside this subconscious world that his curse had brought him to. As he continued on the path shown to him by the Number One test Baekhyun couldn't help but wonder what his friends were doing back home. He wondered if Kyungsoo and Luhan were by his side, he wondered in Ms. Lee had given up, he wondered if Kris was taking shifts with the rest of the Alphas to watch over their bodies just in case there was another attack.

Versions of the man he loved came and went as he continued on this path seemingly ending to nowhere, Baekhyun managed to offer them all a smile that gradually became sadder and sadder the more he walked on. He refused their charmful words and gestures, hoping to lead him off the path. At some point along the way somewhere between the sixth and seventh Chanyeol version, Baekhyun started to see the resemblance with his nickname that he had required his first week at Millennium High.

Red Riding Hood.

The versions of Chanyeol that had come up to him on his way to his destination were the Big Bad Wolf hoping to pull his dinner off course from his grandmother's house, or, in Baekhyun's case - the end of the line.

Something he made sure to keep replaying over in his mind as he continued on the path was the conversation that he had with the first test subject, the Chanyeol who Baekhyun had resorted to naming 'Number One'. He couldn't understand the versions words, only knowing that whatever lay at the end of the path was something a lot worse than a final boss in a childhood video game. Whatever this creature or situation was it had completely destroyed one of his past lives and the Chanyeol that had shared that time-line with him, Baekhyun swore to not only himself but to Number One as well that he wouldn't allow whatever lay at the end of the trail to block him from seeing his Chanyeol.

Baekhyun hoped that he would be able to keep that promise. 
 

~*~

"I wonder if he can hear me.." Kyungsoo whispered, his fingers carding through Baekhyun's light brown hair. The dark roots were starting to return since the boy had more important matters to deal with. The warlock classed witch sighed, his legs pushing him backwards into a chair. His eyes remained glued to his best friend, having grown accustomed to the burn in his eyes from the lack of sleep.

It had been two days since Chanyeol had confessed and allowed himself to be pulled into the darkness that was his curse, it had been two days since Baekhyun had followed him with a smile on his face and determination in his heart. Kyungsoo would never admit it openingly but he hoped that they would be able to pull through this, he really hoped that they weren't going to be like their previous lives, he wanted them to return, he needed them to return.

"Kyung, please.." Jongin begged his mate, crouching down before him with worried lines etched into his forehead. His warm hands were holding on tightly to Kyungsoo's, the witch looking at him through tired narrowed eyes. He offered his werewolf a small smile, but it pained him to know that it wouldn't reach his eyes. He had been swallowing back the massive lump in his throat for hours, but seeing Jongin's worried gaze had Kyungsoo's walls crumbling down. The witch sniffled and then allowed the tears to flow, his shoulders shaking as Jongin pulled him into a tight embrace. Kyungsoo could hear him whisper sweet nothings into his ear but the words were nothing but noise, the stinging in his eyes forcing him to shut them in hopes of dulling the pain. It worked for a moment. "Sweetheart please, you need your rest."

"I can't rest until I know that he's safe." Kyungsoo winced at the hoarse tone of his own voice. He hadn't realised that such a long time had passed since he had last drank some water. He didn't have to task the Alpha with it, Jongin gently pulling himself out of the embrace in order to retrieve the liquid for his lover. When he returned with the pitcher and a glass he handed the full glass to Kyungsoo before placing the pitcher down next to Baekhyun's bed, the witch watching him the entire time.

"You won't know that for certain, at least for a while. The best thing that you can do for him is to try and eat something, he will flip if he wakes up and finds out that you haven't eaten a thing!" Jongin knew that his voice was getting a little louder, but he couldn't stop himself. He felt like he needed to scold his boyfriend for his lack of comfort towards himself, he hated the sight of the Kyungsoo before him. He didn't like the eyebags that had formed under his lover's eyes, he didn't like the ever so slight loss of weight in his face either. Jongin knew that Kyungsoo wasn't one for tough love but sometimes Jongin would have to do it for his own sake. "Kyungsoo, if you won't eat for me at least for Baekhyun, you need some food and a good nap. Nothing is going to happen if you leave their side for a moment, I can have someone else watch over them until you're ready."

The air around them stayed silent for a moment too long, Jongin was just about to get up in defeat when Kyungsoo's weakened voice pulled him back.

"Okay.." he whispered, his voice so low that the Alpha nearly missed it in his attempt to leave. Jongin couldn't stop the smile from spreading over his lips, his hands balling into fists in excitement as he used this opportunity to gently slip his hands under the boy's legs lifting him upwards so that he now rested snug in his arms. "You really didn't have to carry me Jongin."

"Think of it as an apology for raising my voice at you.." the wolf whispered, hesitant to rub his nose against Kyungsoo's neck. When the warlock classed the witch tilted his head, confirming without words that Jongin could do as he pleased. The Alpha instantly got to work, nosing at the boy's juglar. The cold skin tingling at the warmth, bringing a small smile to Kyungsoo's lips.

Skylar was on her way into the infirmary when Jongin and Kyungsoo were on their way out, Luhan was on her tail but he had stopped to talk to the other protectors just outside the door allowing her some time alone with the two unconscious mates. She gently grabbed Chanyeol's sock covered foot that was poking out from beneath the covers, a smile on her lips as she turned to Baekhyun on the next bed. She gently rubbed her hand on his leg before allowing herself to slip backwards onto the chair that Kyungsoo had been sitting in moments earlier. In this position she had a good view of both beds as well as the main door.

Skylar let out a soft sigh as she pulled out her homework and got a start on the work the professors had given in hopes of distracting the students of the unfortunate events that had happened at the weekend, as much as everyone hated to admit it the workload was actually a very good way of distracting them. She hoped that Baekhyun wouldn't mind that she used his leg as a book stand for her Potion's notebook, it was easier to have it elevated by the unconscious boy than have her waste her magic on a lavigating spell. Thankfully from her position on the chair she was able to see the information just fine, which made writing the answers down in the notebook on her leg easier to do.

"You know there are tables for that right?" Luhan chuckled, gesturing with his palm to the movable hospital tables that were usually long enough to stretch the desk over the bed for the patient. Skylar merely shook her head.

"I'm fine like this, besides I doubt he would mind." she smirked, watching with sparkling eyes as Luhan's lips turned upwards with her. "How was your day?"

"The dorm has been quiet without them.." Luhan admitted, taking the seat by Chanyeol's bed. He lifted his feet and gently rested them on top of Chanyeol's bed, away from the Alpha's body but close enough so that they wouldn't slip off. "Yours?"

"Filled with assignments," Skylar groaned, her hair covering her face as she dipped her head. "the professors think that if they give us a lot of work to do we will be distracted long enough to momentarily forget about the events of the weekend but I know that they are just as affected as we are if not more. Heck if I didn't know any better I would say that every person in this school needs therapy and not just therapy I mean that really expensive ."

"Too bad that this is just another day for the supernatural school.." Luhan sighed, his shoulders relaxing with the breath of air he had released from his lungs. "How are they doing?"

"They're both still alive so that's good, two days is a long time here but to them it will probably feel like a few hours since their concept of time will be different in their subconscious. I read about it briefly in one of Katherine's journals she said that the spell she and her sisters used would at their moment of their death link their minds together so that their subconscious would allow them to meet if they were to pass the tests, we went on to say a little while later that there is some sort of final boss like level that would be extremely hard to bypass but she thats where her journal ends."

"You mean to say that she died then?"

"No I'm saying that her work wasn't finished at least in the journals I have, she left a note. She had spelled her last and final journal so that it would only appear to her descendant when the time was right."

"Right.." Luhan growled, allowing himself to fall back against his chair. His eyes locked on the ceiling just above Skylar's head, he blinked when the pain of his stare got the better of him. But when he turned his attention back to the ceiling directly above where Skylar was sitting focused on her notes, Luhan saw the ever so faint hue of a stain.

Naturally a stain on the ceiling wasn't something to be intrigued about, Luhan was in a school that meant that there would be stains anywhere in the building, it wasn't that strange seeing one on the ceiling but this... this was something else.

Luhan had been around Kyungsoo long enough to have read his witch cookbooks, he had been around the warlock classed witch to see how different spells had different colours depending on the person who cast them. Kyungsoo who had created the vampire blood supplicant potion had a green almost earthy tone to his spells, while Skylar had a pale blue.

The vampire watched as a deep purple colour circled around the circumference of the stain on the ceiling, he tried to grab Skylar's attention by humming but the girl was too grossed in the books before her, which is how she wasn't able to see the sudden appearance of a book falling in her direction.

Luhan was always so thankful for his inhuman speed that he received after he had become a vampire, a proud smile on his lips as he stared down at Skylar who had looked up at the sight of his sudden presence. He offered her the book that had magically appeared over her head, watching as her jaw dropped at the sight of it.

"What is it?"

"Katherine's last journal.." she whispered, throwing the notebook she had been using for homework to the ground. "It can wait!" she screamed when Luhan bent down to pick up the materials. "This is important, the mere sight of this journal means that Katherine's spell worked. The book came to us when the time was right!"

"But why does it have to be when Baekhyun and Chanyeol are unconscious? I mean couldn't she have picked a better time?"

Luhan nearly felt his heart leap out of his chest when he saw the disheartened look on Skylar's face, her eyes scanning through the words written in a hand Luhan could barely decipher (which meant a lot since he was able to read Kyungsoo's monstrous handwriting no problem).

"What does it say?"

"You might want to give me about twenty minutes," Skylar advised the vampire beside her, Luhan watching her intently as she settled herself down on the chair. "I need to get all the facts first before I tell anyone anything."

"I really don't like the sound of that.."

"Neither do I." Skylar admitted, sending one last glance in Luhan's direction before she turned her attention back to the journal. The vampire sent out a glance to his friends that were both currently bedridden, he hated seeing their lifeless bodies staring back at him but he hated the look in Skylar's eyes even more.

Whatever was in that journal wasn't going to be good news. Was it?