Her head ached, and her blood pounded so loudly she could hear nothing but the pulse that flooded her veins. She groaned. Then heard voices in the dimness of her mind. 

 

“Why the hell is she awake?” growled one male. “I gave her enough to knock out a damn horse.” 

 

“Whaaat?” 

 

“Shut the up.” 

 

A strange sound whispered through her consciousness. What was that? It was a low level hum dragging across her skin. The sound aching deep inside as it grated inside her ears. It was like a rubbing sound. And it wouldn’t stop. 

 

What the heck was it? She tried to roll over. But couldn’t. She tried again. And the drag sounds were worse. Her head responded with a heavy ache. Why couldn’t she figure out the noise in her head? And what was it going to take to make it stop. She moved her arms. And cried out. 

 

“.” 

 

Someone was talking to her? “Who’s there?” she turned to ask, yet only a broken whimper made it past her lips. 

 

And of course there was no answer. 

 

She tried to move her arms again. Pain ripped through her–again. Groaning, she rolled over and immediately dust filled starting her coughing. She spat and struggled to sit up. Her arms were yanked hard. 

 

She cried out as her body was pulled backward. 

 

And she realized she was being dragged. She was hearing her body scraping along the ground. 

 

She tried to pull back. 

 

“Like hell you’re getting away.” He jerked hard and she went flying forward. “Stop struggling, you’re not going anywhere.” 

 

“And she’s not going with you,” a strange voice snapped. 

 

A male jumped over her and suddenly her arms were free. She groaned as they fell to her side. The pain was excruciating. She struggled to pull them free of the ropes. Groggy, she stood up and watched Chanyeol in an all out fight against a stranger in front of her. With a hand on the wall, she managed to stand up. She was so damn shaky it was hard to stay on her feet once she was vertical. 

 

She gasped, trying to regain her senses. And suddenly Chanyeol was at her side. She tried to see behind him, but he blocked her view. “Don’t move. I don’t know what happened, but I think you were given something to knock you out.” 

 

Outraged, she tried to take a step but listed to the side. He snagged a hold of her and held her close. “Take it easy.” 

 

“I’m trying to. Did you kill him?” She peered over her shoulder but couldn’t see the man. 

 

“No, I just knocked him out.” His breath was warm against her forehead. 

 

“I don’t think you did a very good job then, he’s gone.” 

 

Chanyeol spun around. And she had a clear view confirming the man’s escape. 

 

“.” Chanyeol glared into the darkness where the man disappeared. 

 

She tried to push him away. “Go after him. I’ll be fine.” 

 

His snort was anything but pleasant. “I left you alone last time and look what good that did.” 

 

“It wasn’t your fault. I was hiding in the dark. I should have been safe.” 

 

“But you weren’t. We were following the group ahead of us but missed someone hiding in the shadows. Kyungsoo will be pissed when he realizes that.” 

 

“Why?”

 

“He prides himself on those.” 

 

“Shadows or men hiding in the shadows?” 

 

“Both.” 

 

She tried to step back and stand on her own two feet but couldn’t quite make it. She slumped against him again, loving the strength that held her so easily. He was a man’s man. And of course that made him a ladies’ man. 

 

“You’re not quite ready to throw this off just yet.” 

 

A weird echoing birdcall whistled through the cavern. 

 

“Good, that’s Sehun,” he said. 

 

“Sending a bird call, isn’t that a little melodramatic.” 

 

“Efficient. We send different messages back and forth using the calls. Each one means something di