16. Lost and Found

  The wind is continuously slapping at his face while he runs in the opposite direction, clutching the sling bag on his shoulder. He had stuffed inside whatever he could in the little time he had. With the help of Haechan, it did not take all that long. The concrete of the sidewalk seems endless while he battles with the wind at the break of dawn. A sleepless night has been spent with adrenaline pumping throughout his body. Sehun does not deem it possible to stop and take a breath. The green bold letters on top of the high gates of the station bring peace to his racing mind. He crosses the empty street hastily. Not a lot of people are out at this time of night. Only some cars, the minimum noise, the minimum light.

  Sehun adjusts the straps of his bag around both his shoulders, pushing the hood off his head. His chest aches again, this familiar sting not disappearing as it should already. He wonders at times if the crossbow was more than what it looked like when they pulled it out of his body, if it was soaked in some toxin that is weakening him now bit by bit.

  He entered the air-conditioned premise and felt a chill in his bones. His hand fished out the card from his pocket he had not forgotten to grab at the last minute from the cupboard beside the shoe-rack. Swiping the card through the slot, he makes his way through the doors that have flapped open for him. His feet drums on the tiled floor, the almost-empty station wakes up at the noise, people shoot him curious looks as he passes by them. To his greatest dismay, he cannot find Leah like he had expected to. They are not done yet? He thinks. The determined look drops off his face. A confused frown takes over. With knitted brows, he searches for the familiar figure, the pink cardigan that she had worn one too many times to the university.

  His hand flies to his phone in the pocket of his hoodie. Sehun contemplates to call her or not to call her. He is afraid his call will give away her position in case she is hiding. Standing there beside the rail tracks, he regrets. He should not have left her side. Bad conclusions form in his exhausted brain. Sehun takes two deep breaths. Biting his lips, he looks around just once more. There is no sign of her.

   He drags his feet towards the gates again, not disturbing anyone this time. The spark in his heart dies at the sight of the empty counters. Swallowing the tense balls of anxiety down his throat, he leans against a pillar, intently staring at the entrance. He does not like this at all. Every second of this unfortunate week, he has hoped Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were here with him. WIthout them, he feels empty, like he has lost all his strength and there is nothing he can do about it.

  He misses them so much but none of them pick up his calls. Wondering what they are going through makes his chest ache more. They are missing so many lectures at the university but that’s the least of his worries. It is unfair how he was left alone while the three of them remained together. He might be wrong, but he might be correct too. His shoulders are heavy, as though he is carrying the worries of the whole world on them. He has four people to worry about as of the moment and what is eating at him is the fact that Leah hasn’t walked through those security doors at the gates. 

  His back begins to slip against the pillar. Sehun gives in, resting his body against the cold pillar, until he is crouching low against it. Tired, he closes his eyes just for a little while. All he can do is wait. The time ticks away painfully. The mechanical voice booms throughout the station, calling for passengers who are to board the train to Gosang. He doesn’t even know where their stop is but he is hoping Mark will have the right information on where his fellow mates are. Sehun hopes the three are together at least.

  Only minutes later, he hears thunderous strides near the entrance of the cold station. His eyes almost pop out at the pressure he opens them at. He jumps to his feet while Mark makes his way towards him, a terrified look on his face. Sehun searches around him, confused why he is alone. He starts running towards Mark too with his brows knitted together.

  “Leah?”

  Mark doesn’t speak the first second. Sehun’s eyes widen and he aggressively shoves Mark against the cylindrical pillar. “Where is she?”

  “Here me out--”

  “Don’t tell me…” Sehun’s heart fell to the pit of his stomach. Anxiety wrapped him like a cold blanket. “What happened to her? Why are you alone?!”

  “Sehun, I can still take you to her,” Mark tries to speak, his cold finger wrapped around Sehun’s wrists and trying to push the guy off himself.

  “You...I trusted you,” Sehun speaks through his gritted teeth. “Where is she?!”

  “They took her.”

  A punch lands square on Mark’s face. Patience is slipping through Sehun’s fingers. He is tired already. Mark’s fingers shake as he takes a hold of both of Sehun’s hands. Realizing there is no use in fighting Mark, Sehun heaves a sigh. All blood drained out of his face, he looks like one of those vampires too. Weakly pushing himself off Mark, he hides his face in his hands. “I just met her,” he whispered to himself. “This can’t be. I just met her.”

  “Look, I have a plan,” Mark touches his shoulder, turning the taller guy to himself. With sullen eyes Sehun meets his gaze. “But, first of all, I’m so sorry. Leah was covering me and I was a coward. There was too much to lose if I showed up and I work for the greater good--”

  “How dare you speak like that?!” Sehun interrupted, the hostility returning in his tone. “Like she doesn’t matter at all. Leah saved your and you dare speak like that about her? your plan. I’m not going with you. ”

 “You have to come with me,” Mark insists.

 “I have to go find her.” The weak voice Sehun speaks in, cracks. He falls against the concrete pillar, hiding his face because he is regretting, because he is ashamed.

 “See, they were vampires,” Mark touches his arms and gazes into his eyes. “And...we’re friends. Vampires and wolves...at least, we’re trying to be. We’ll find her together...I promise.”

 “I don’t want to go with you!” Sehun pushes the other wolf off, glaring at him, “Y-You...you do your and let me go find her. She was counting on you, so ing much. Every time we spoke on the phone all she had to say was Mark will save us…but look at what you’ve done. And now I’ve lost everyone…”

 Mark bears the words, head hanging low. Right then, the voice of the attendant reaches their ears. Mark meets Sehun’s red eyes, almost teary. “Please, come with me,” he begs, touching the taller guy’s hand. “I can’t lose you...you’re our only hope now.”

 “Are you nuts?” Sehun groans, “I have to find Leah.”

 “We’ll do it together. There are tracers at the base. Leah will be fine,” Mark tries to convince him. Sehun shakes his head but Mark’s words give him the littlest hope. His resolve weakens and as much as he hates Mark at the moment, the more his head clears, he realizes there is no use wandering around alone in search of his mate.