14. Caught In A Crossfire

"It's from a pig," she says, raising the cup. Kyungsoo watches the girl smile down at it, "I haven't tasted human blood. Like ever." Her emphasis is strong, filled with an excitement she can't help. It's clear in her tone she wants to try the human blood. But the world she has to live in doesn't make that very accessible. They have to do with pigs, and other animals. Wendy drinks slowly from her cup, holding it dearly to herself at the dinner table. Kyungsoo looks over his shoulder to find Chanyeol staring at the sky, sitting by the cliff. Kyungsoo hopes his clumsy doesn't find itself at the bottom of the cliff. It doesn't sound all that impossible.

"So you don't know the difference," Kyungsoo mumbles, digging into the serving of cooked meat. Two days in this godforsaken place and he has had enough, he thinks. Vampires are horrible. Pointed canines, cold glares, red lips and pale faces; Kyungsoo doesn't like it here. He might sound ungrateful but he is smart enough to know that they are keeping the three of them in their base for some reason. He is suspicious but until Baekhyun wakes up, he has nothing to do about it.

Wendy follows him, scooping up a piece of her boiled meat. Her species eats meat in a range of conditions. Much like how people eat steaks but vampires have more options. Absolutely raw, boiled, cooked until dark brown, pink center, red center, and the list goes on. Wendy is subtle about the way she eats, not giving away that she absolutely loves what she gets here at the vampire base. Kyungsoo is utterly disgusted by the way the vampires of the forest eat their fill in such wild fashion around Wendy and him. Clearly, most of the vampires live in the city and the folks who reside in this base are savages. But due to the the Circle hunting all supernaturals, many returned to the base.

"Did you make the secret passage in the supermarket?" He asks the girl who helped them escape that night.

Wendy shakes her head with an amused smile. "You think so?" Kyungsoo shrugs. Wendy smiles endearingly at his silent curious nature. "You'll find passages like that one in most buildings. Supernaturals are everywhere. I heard that in the past, we all used to live harmoniously, humans included. Like animals in a forest. But this and that happened and we were forced to build those to escape in tight situation."

Kyungsoo takes the information with a nod. He must be a very ignorant supernatural because he has no idea about these. 

"You like it here, don't you?" He asks again, judging how she is so happy with the food. He sticks with her majority of the time while Chanyeol guards Baekhyun. Kyungsoo hates these people but not as much as he used to two days ago. They are getting to him and he doesn't know why he is letting them. He doesn't find drinking blood as disgusting as he used to.

Wendy smiles up at him, wiping the corner of her crimson lips with the napkin. "I do."

"Then why don't you stay here instead of working at a supermarket far away from the base?" He continues asking. 

Wendy shakes her head with a light smile, "This place is cluttered with rules, Kyungsoo. Absurd ones as well as the important ones. So the further you go, the more you can escape."

"Tell me an absurd rule," Kyungsoo lets his fork fall to his plate with a clink. He clasps his finger and fixes his gaze on the girl. She is so beautiful, he can't deny that. Sharp jaw, blue eyes slanted at the ends, red lips standing stark against the icy skin. They have to be attractive, otherwise hunting humans will be a tough job. Of course they don't do that now, but the genes have remained throughout the generations.

Wendy chuckles, "Never save a wolf."

"But you broke that now, all of you," Kyungsoo says calmly.

Wendy shrugs, "I don't know the whole thing but our races don't get along."

"Or maybe...maybe you're not really saving us," he lets his skeptical eyes fall on the creatures around him. He has endured the countless eyes on him since their arrival. Wendy chuckles, shaking her head.

"We just don't want enemies who are not humans," she says, "Or else, you think the chief would break the rules to keep you? He worships the rules," she informs him, eating her food. Kyungsoo nods at her words, only slightly. "Only pureblood vampires get refuge here--"

"You mean there are half-bloods too?"

"Yes," she nods, "It...it started with wolves. Not too long ago, twenty years maybe. A vampire fell in love with a wolf, despite having a mate and a child right here in this base. You can figure the rest out, can't you?"

Kyungsoo fell back on his chair, thinking. "And since then you started to have vampires falling in love with wolves? Not even the bonding of a mate could tie them down?"

Wendy's face grows unpleasant. "See, that's the part Mom won't tell me. I'm curious too. The puzzle is incomplete." She stops eating for two seconds, looking around as if thinking. Kyungsoo can see it in her face that she has something else to say but is contemplating on it. She looks ahead, behind him. "Is that Mom with Chanyeol?"

Kyungsoo looks over his shoulder and catches the woman conversing with Chanyeol. He grows worried. There is always the constant pang in his stomach telling him that Leah is panicking, and that she is worried about the three of them. But there's literally no way he can reach her in this damned place. The worry multiplies by three and four and five the more he stares at the two of them. What are they talking about? 

"Wendy!"

A boy pants, placing his hands on his kneecaps, trying to catch his breath. His eyes meet Kyungsoo's, who wipes his hands in the napkin, knowing something is up.

"What happened, Chuck?" Wendy asks the little boy of ten at most.

"Your friend is awake."

Kyungsoo rushes from the table to the canvas tent, Wendy on his toes. The pebbles crack under his sneakers, the grass crunch, the squelching sound of the dews reaching his ears. That night, the injection that almost emptied out the neon green liquid in the veins of Baekhyun's neck made him unconscious. He had let go of the iron ladder and landed at the bottom of the dark pit with an incredibly loud thud. Wendy got to him first and pulled the injection out of his skin. There was a pool of blood forming beneath Baekhyun's head. Chanyeol carried him to the exit in his back while Kyungsoo kept Baekhyun's glasses and the balled up shopping list in the pocket of his jacket. He kept both of them safe.

His heart falls every time he watches Baekhyun lying lifelessly like that on that uncomfortable bed, head wrapped in bloody bandages. Unless he wakes up, his quick healing won't be all that active. Kyungsoo fears the serum in his body will change him from the Baekhyun he knows.

Chanyeol is two seconds late. Baekhyun has a terrified expression on his face, his fangs weirdly showing, body half . Kyungsoo stumbles on his steps at the sight of the two canines peaking from beneath his upper lip. Sweating, Baekhyun glances at him and a wave of relief washes over him. He calms down and his fangs disappear. Perhaps he thought he was kidnapped and was getting ready to attack by shifting.

"Kyungsoo," his voice is groggy, his whisper deep and filled with recognition.

"Baek, are you..." Chanyeol stands at the edge of his bed, looking concerned. Wendy takes a seat by Baekhyun's legs and offers him a childish smile. She's just eighteen and it shows. Baekhyun sighs, looking at each of them for over five seconds. "You okay?" Chanyeol asks nervously.

"I thought...I was alone," he says. "Water?"

Wendy clumsily passes him a cup of water. Baekhyun gulps it down, groaning at the pain of his head. The spot in his belly has a little hole, the spot where the injection's needle had been. It hasn't closed and it worries Kyungsoo. Baekhyun crosses his legs with a sigh. "Where are we?"

None of them speak for a second. Baekhyun will not like it if he hears it, Kyungsoo can guess that. Perhaps he will be disappointed that they have led themselves straight into the tiger's mouth thoughtlessly. Baekhyun looks at both of them with a question in his face.

"Uh," Wendy breaks the thick silence. "We're at the vampire base."

Baekhyun's jaw slackens. Kyungsoo grows a little tensed. "Where is Leah?" The silence wraps at them again. Kyungsoo places a comforting hand on Baekhyun's shoulder but the guy surprisingly yanks it off himself. "We were supposed to protect her," he mutters to himself.

"Baek, it's not easy. You were bleeding the out of your head. okay?" Chanyeol tells him, an angry fire igniting in his eyes. "We couldn't get to her at that moment. Circle was hogging the roads looking for us."

"Then, what about her?" Baekhyun asks in his weak yet accusing voice. "We left her there with a kid, Chanyeol! She'll get in trouble because of Haechan."

"Sehun will get to her," Kyungsoo calmly intervenes. "Just trust him, okay? I bet he healed already and is with her at the moment."

Baekhyun winces in pain when he tries to stand up. Giving up, he just sits there on the hard bed with a sigh. "Can't you feel it? She's worried, Kyungsoo. I don't think she is with Sehun yet. How is Sehun supposed to get to her even? I bet Circle is turning every stone for us."

That's one good question. With Sehun in Seoul, things become complicated ten more folds. Baekhyun looks disappointed but Kyungsoo wants him to understand that as much as they care for Leah, they care for Baekhyun too. He was the priority at that moment. How could they go back to Leah right then? He sits with Baekhyun and places a hand on his. Baekhyun looks to the other side, at the wall, ignoring Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol takes his seat on the chair beside Baekhyun's bed. The silence takes them. It's clear they are thinking about the same person. Chanyeol watches a lone star twinkle in the sky. Sighing out of the queer hopelessness in his heart, he says, "We have to trust Leah, Baekhyun. There's no other way."  

Taking a deep breath, Sehun traces the lump of swollen meat under his armpit. Not sure if he has healed completely or not, he wonders why he still has to question this recovery. He is a wolf. Quick healing is a part of him. So why is this one taking more than three days? Also, his senses have been dimmed. He can't smell as good as he used to. The person he sees on the mirror is definitely not him. He brushes his hair to place, knowing they'll spring up some time later again. Purple bags accompany his eyes. He can't sleep these days. How is he supposed to?

The plan is to somehow trespass the building he had been observing for almost two weeks now, near the place he was shot. All he needs is some information about Mark and the record files should have his data if he is a staff at the Circle. He just needs to find a way in and another out. Mark will know about Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. Surely if the Circle has his fellow mates, he will not find them in Seoul. Unless, the Circle is up to something big. He doesn't have time, it's a limited three hours in his hand.

Getting dressed, he pours the pocket knife and torch into the pockets of his jacket. He doesn't mean to use the former but he can never be sure if there won't be any predicament. He gives his room one last look before closing the door behind himself.

But there is a little bundle of happiness waiting for him at the door. Gasping at the tiny figure right in front of himself, he makes Freya laugh. Freya opens her arms for him but Sehun unfortunately doesn't have time for this. Yet he picks her up in his arms and closes his eyes at the affection s