As they walked back, Kibum could detect a sort of faint whispering in the air. Assuming this was the victim’s soul that was trying to communicate with him, he knelt down, holding his head.

“I’m so sorry...what have I done? I’m sorry…”, were the words that were repeated. Though it was a message from the victim’s soul, it seemed to be the last thing that was said to him by the murderer.

“Jinki, this was an accident. He didn’t mean to do it”

“How can you say that, Kibum? You saw the state of the body if we can even call it that”

“All the same, I’m sure this wasn’t done on purpose”

Rolling his eyes disbelievingly, Jinki ignored everything Kibum had told him and made a mental note to find his perpetrator and teach him the lesson of a lifetime. It made no sense for Kibum to keep trying to change his mind about the perp. There was just one word to describe him. Guilty. It was rather obvious that the killer would feel regret. He had just murdered someone in the most brutal manner one could think of. What puzzled Jinki was who had been responsible for this. Was it possible for someone to have so much power and energy naturally? Or was this the result of their training? It could have been the work of more than one rogue magician.

***************************************************************************

Jonghyun couldn’t help a nagging feeling in his mind that something had gone terribly wrong. Once again, he’d woken up with blood on his clothes, and couldn’t recollect how it had come there. All he could do was to wash the blood out with cold water, before his roommate, Minho saw his clothes. They had known each other for eleven years and had been best friends since high school. Though Jonghyun knew he could trust Minho enough to tell him about his predicament, he chose not to shatter the walls of their friendship. Even so, they were planning to join their friends for a moonlight swim that night, and Jonghyun knew how much Minho was looking forward to it. The least he could do was to keep his mouth firmly shut, and not ruin things for the others.

They set off in the evening, before sunset and reached just in time to see the soft pastel shades of pink and purple streaking the canvas called the sky. Setting up the barbecue stand, Minho and Jonghyun started to chargrill some steaks. It seemed rather odd to have steaks for a picnic, but no one seemed to mind, as Minho was a whiz at the grill. Off late, Jonghyun who had always preferred his steaks medium rare had started to eat them blue and almost bloody. After their scrumptious dinner, Jonghyun decided to stay behind and watch out for the things whilst everyone else took a dip in the lake. Looking up at the sky, filled with twinkling stars, Jonghyun felt a sense of calmness that he hadn’t felt in a long time. As he continued looking at the sky, the full moon came out from behind the clouds, causing him to spasm as he sank to his knees, struggling to control the pain he felt. At that moment, all he could feel was someone slicing up his insides, along with a sharp, shooting pain in his head.

Minho was the first to return after a swim, wrapped in a towel with his wet hair sticking to his head. Looking around, he couldn’t find Jonghyun anywhere. Laughing to himself as he imagined Jonghyun hiding behind a tree, ready to jump out at him, he started addressing the tree nearest to him,

“I know you’re here, Jonghyun. You can’t always keep playing this game”

Expecting to hear a giggle, Minho waited intently but soon was alarmed since there really wasn’t any sign of his best friend. Pulling on a pair of jeans, and foregoing his shirt, Minho set out into the forest to find Jonghyun before he came to any harm. Following the trail of crushed twigs and at this time of night. Frantically calling out Jonghyun’s name, Minho continued to wander around in the forest, trying hard not to get lost.

leaves, Minho hoped to find his best friend soon. He definitely didn’t want to be left in the forest

Jonghyun was struggling to control himself, and all of a sudden, everything went black and he could no longer figure out what was happening around him. Forcing his eyes open, Jonghyun felt as though he was watching a movie. His hands seemed to have changed in a massive way. They were as hairy as that of a bear, and he also seemed to have claws, that were dripping with blood. Lying on the ground in front of him was a mass of flesh and blood, which filled him with panic. He couldn’t remember how he had even reached that place, and why his hands seemed to have changed. His heart beating faster and faster as the shock set in, Jonghyun felt his legs buckle under him as he fell to the ground.

As he kept searching, Minho finally decided to go back to where they had set up camp, in case Jonghyun went there. After asking the others to leave, Minho sat and waited for either Jonghyun to return, or the sun to rise. Once the sun was up, he would be able to see what was around him. Sitting with his back against a tree, Minho soon dozed off and woke up to someone shaking him frantically, shouting his name in a state of panic.

When Jonghyun woke up, he could taste blood in his mouth, which scared him the most. As he spat it out, there were chunks of meat. Hoping and praying that this was merely a result of a prank, he looked around him to figure out where he was. Instead, what surrounded him made him want to curl up into a ball, and stay that way. All around him was blood and dismembered flesh. There were even flecks of blood on the grass near him. Scooting backwards in fear, somehow he managed to stand upright and run like his life depended on it. As Jonghyun entered the clearing, he saw Minho, fast asleep, leaning against a tree. Feeling a wave of relief, he rushed towards Minho and started shaking him. Minho had always been able to calm him down, no matter what the situation was. At this moment, that was exactly what Jonghyun needed. Someone who could get him out of his current state of complete and utter panic.

Minho awoke and stared at Jonghyun, who looked as though he’d just stepped out of a nightmare. Covered in blood, and in a state of shock, Jonghyun really made him worry. Though he didn’t know what had happened to him, Minho knew that he had to get Jonghyun back home and cleaned up. As they drove back, Minho couldn’t help but notice how pale Jonghyun seemed to have become.

As he stared at the clouds in the sky, and the trees they passed, Jonghyun saw quick flashes in his mind. He had dragged a person, kicking and screaming and had bitten his jugular, which sent blood gushing everywhere around them. He could see himself carrying the corpse by its neck and tossing it around like a ragdoll. Whimpering, he looked at Minho with fearful eyes.

“Minho, I think I killed someone”

“We’re almost home, Jonghyun. Try to stay calm, we’ll talk once we get back”

Though this explained all the blood, Minho couldn’t believe what Jonghyun had said. Not wanting to draw out any memories, he concentrated on the road. Once they reached home, Minho gently led Jonghyun inside, holding his hand and pushed him into the bathroom, for a shower.

Though the warm water was supposed to help him feel relaxed, all Jonghyun could see, was red. It seemed as though the water had been replaced with blood. Screaming in fear, Jonghyun wrapped himself in a towel and rushed outside.

“Minho, help!. The bathroom is covered in blood”

“Jonghyun, you’re just imagining things”

“I’m scared. I’m just really scared. I killed someone and now they’re here to haunt me”

*********************************************************************

It had happened yet again. Someone had been slaughtered in the same brutal manner as the previous corpse Jinki had seen, and he was slowly beginning to get rather frustrated. He had been given this job due to his skill and abilities and his superiors had started to doubt whether the perp would ever be caught. One thing he was able to notice was that these murders only happened during full moon nights, which unfortunately didn’t narrow the list down, as magicians also had their powers increased tenfold during that time. The few things in common between the murders were the fact that both murders had been committed on a night with a full moon, and at a forest. Based on the amount of blood, the victim hadn’t been dragged anywhere and had been murdered at the same spot where they found what was left of him. One of the ways they could trap this perp was by guessing where he would go next and catching him in the act. This wasn’t as easy as other plans, but Jinki was quite sure that it would work. If he assembled enough guards and magicians at certain parts of the nearby forests during the next full moon night, it was almost certain that at least one of these teams would be able to spot him.

Jinki spent the next few days just strategizing, and forming groups of his best men.. It wouldn’t be safe for any of them to encounter the rogue magicians on their own. Among all of them, only Jinki and Kibum had enough experience in dealing with culprits with this level of strength. It was essential to protect Taemin, and hence Jinki had assigned Kibum to be Taemin’s partner. Since they all knew how to work well with each other, Jinki wasn’t too worried about the situation.

They had all been briefed on what they were supposed to do. If anyone spotted the culprit, they would contact Jinki and Kibum instantly and not engage with the perp until they both reached the spot. Safety always came first, even at the risk of the culprit getting away. Jinki prided himself on the fact that he hadn’t lost even one member of his team.

Soon, it was the night of the full moon and Jinki’s team was ready for their mission. Accompanied by their group members, they all moved to their respective positions in the dense forest to keep watch. Though he was by himself, Jinki wasn’t fazed by any of the sounds he could hear. Using his powers to make a fire to stay warm, Jinki lay in wait for the feeling in his gut to come true. The cold wind blowing around, made his teeth chatter and long for the warmth and comfort of his bed, but he knew he had to endure and stay awake. All of a sudden, Jinki heard a familiar scream, which made his blood grow cold. Rushing towards the spot where Taemin was, Jinki just prayed that he wouldn’t be too late. Had Kibum left him alone? No, that couldn’t have happened; Kibum would protect Taemin with his life if needed. If something had happened to both of them, Jinki would never ever forgive himself. As soon as Jinki reached the spot, all of his terror was replaced by annoyance when he saw that Kibum and Taemin had been fooling around. Knowing that Taemin was afraid of bugs, Kibum was currently holding a stick with a centipede on it, right next to Taemin’s face. Seeing red for the first time that day, Jinki lost it,

“Taemin! Kibum! What the hell do you think you’re playing at? Do you have any idea how serious this mission is?”

“I’m sorry, Jinki. We got really bored and I was just trying to make the night more entertaining by scaring Taemin”

“Taemin, can’t you stop screaming like a child? You’re old enough to know better. Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought something had happened to you both”

“We’re sorry, Jinki. It won’t happen again. Kibum, throw away that bug before I scream again”

“Behave yourselves, please. I’m heading back to my post now”

Shaking his head in frustration, Jinki walked back to his post and sat with his back against a tree. It was quite strange that nothing had happened. Wondering if his hunch was wrong, but still stubborn enough to fight with his logical thoughts, Jinki continued to wait. Feeling a wave of fatigue nearly overcome him, Jinki started to doze off again, when he heard another scream.

Expecting it to be Taemin again, Jinki returned to their spot, with his irritation building up. Surprisingly, Taemin and Kibum were totally fine, albeit asleep and snoring. Though they were supposed to be on high alert, it was pretty late and even Jinki felt exhausted. Following the sound of the feral scream, Jinki was absolutely sure that he would catch his perp this time, and definitely right in the act. As he ran almost across the forest, the sounds of screaming slowly died down, only to be replaced with an anguished wailing. By the time he reached the spot, Jinki was greeted by a sight similar to the ones he had seen before. Whatever was left of the corpse just made his stomach turn. Angry with himself that he had missed his target, Jinki followed his ears to the sound of the wailing he had heard on the way to this spot, expecting to find another victim. He found a blonde man, around the same age as him, covered in blood and in a state of shock. Noticing the horror in the mystery man’s face, Jinki wasn’t sure how to approach him. This man had either been attacked by the perp, which would explain the blood, or he had witnessed the attack and escaped before he had been killed. In any case, this person would prove to be an invaluable resource for their investigation.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you”

As Jinki extended his hand towards the man, he saw the person curling himself into a ball, and ignoring everything he said. Speaking in a very gentle tone so as not to scare this man, Jinki hoped for the best.

“I’ll protect you, I promise. What’s your name?”

“Jonghyun”

“I’m Jinki. Come with me”

“No, I’ll hurt you”