I got up on my feet and quickly hurried to where Chanyeol was heavily breathing while holding his chest; JongIn came after me. One by one, everybody got around the newly awaken man, waiting for him to recover by himself. Lay and RiRi were kneeling beside him, helping Chanyeol sit up while trying to calm him. After some minutes of stabilization, I sat beside him and asked what was proper.

MJ: Chanyeol, you have scared us harshly! Please tell us you’re alright (he looked at me and nodded). That’s wonderful, but still, something must have happened to you during the incident. What happened that you fainted?

The man’s stare went blank, trying to concentrate in nothing but his memory. He slowly moved he’s arms and lips, making out short sentences. Just like SuHo’s version, some things seemed to make no sense, or simply had no reason of occurrence.

MJ: Are you sure about everything Chanyeol? That  some events weren’t part of a dream? Try to remember everything (the man gestured it was all correct). So you were riding and suddenly the horse began to run randomly without making any sound. You tried to control it but couldn’t, and so you were about to scream for help when you out (he nodded). But why would you faint without a cause?

Lay suggested that Chanyeol’s recent battles had not done him any good, which could have affected him psychologically and thus making him more susceptible to faint when feeling menaced or intimidated. Chanyeol seemed to be somewhat upset about my doubtfulness or the fact that I was making him look like a wimp. I stopped the topic there and moved on to more concrete aspects.
 

MJ: Well, we’re just glad none of you got severely hurt. Too bad we can’t say the same for the horse; now we have to divide Channie and SuHo on two other animals. Time for a group re-do! XiuMin and LanFang, you two will be in charge of escorting our two incident-ees. Lay will ride with Kai, since they are both agile, in any case we were to take immediate measures. HaeRi, Lia and I will ride toge…ther… OH MA GAWD! LIA!! SHE’S BEEN ALL ALONE THIS WHOLE TIME!

I ran to where we had left the girl, accompanied by the rest of the horses. And there she was, still mounted on the animal, taking a hold of the reins like her life depended on it. I quickly got next to her to see how she was doing; Kai and HaeRi had run after me and were standing a few feet behind.

MJ: LIA!! I’m soo soo sooo soooryyy! Are you alright? It hasn’t been much time but, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! HEAVENS!! GOD! How could I forget you here!

Lia looked towards my direction with a startled expression, using sign language to ask how I could have forgotten her. I could sense she was hurt at the fact that she was “being pushed aside again”, and I really didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. It was just so many things happening at the same time, and then came the talking, followed by the interrogation… I could only keep asking for forgiveness, explaining all the events that had just occurred in the last hour, except Kai’s moment: that’s just between him and me. Slowly, young Lia forgave me, giving off a radiant smile, showing her pearly whites in between coral-pink lips. She was a smart girl, so deep inside she knew I hadn’t forgotten her, it’s just that some matters needed to be taken care of at the moment. With that misunderstanding out of the way, it was time to go into formation. The rest of the group had reached us and everyone was now helping SuHo and Chanyeol get onto their new respective horses, accompanied by their new couple-mates. Our formation had come down to this: KaiLay couple would ride in front leading the pack, while LanYeol followed behind to the right, and XiuHo rode behind to the left. Finally at the back I rode with RiRi and Lia, so in case anything happened from behind again I could alert the rest; we had formed a perfect diamond shape. And so with no resources but the black equines, our gang set their feet on track and returned to the old path, making sure to go towards the terracotta-wall’s direction.

Hours went by as we slowly galloped to our new destination, watching how it grew in size and majesty, taking my breath away with each meter we came closer. I’m neither a magician nor a witch, but I could feel that place was important. It gave off a strong vibe, as if something powerful was well hidden inside the gigantic-channeled rock. And if I knew any better, I’d say this game is little away from ending. The scenery had changed very drastically, from the original game field to this lethal dessert. And this place just keeps throwing things at us, as if “The Master” does it on purpose to make us fail at the edge of victory. But I got news for him and his unconscious little puppets, if they want to makes us loose they’ll have to kill us all! When we’re separated, everyone going their own way, we are vulnerable; but when we’re together, we are stronger than any enemy! And when you have friendship to back you up, there’s nothing we can’t face or overcome!... It’s like…like... CHEMISTRY! We’re like a benzene ring, tightly holding our electrons via conjugation, and when the density delocalizes, it becomes the most stable molecule, which can subsequently hold an infinite number of important reactions!... Sorry, I got a little excited there for a moment, but still! What I’m trying to say is that whatever comes at us, we’ll be victorious, and we will win this game! SO BRING IT ON MASTER!!! BRAAANG IIT OOOUUWWWN!

And as if the little devil was listening to my very thoughts, I heard a somewhat familiar sound; and not a pleasant one as a fact. I perked up my senses and tried to make out what it was; at least I picked up the direction it was coming from, and it was from behind us. I turned around, still steering my animal forward; trying to ignore Lia and HaeRi sitting behind me, I finally saw what it was…

MJ: EVERYONE!!! RUUUN!!!! HURRYY!!!

The gang all turned their heads in unison, and found out what the reason behind the big alert had been… COYOTES! A pack of 8 wild, copper-ish coyotes was rapidly gaining on us, and their growling didn’t sound any more welcoming than the wolves back at the woods. After some gasps here and there, all 4 equines throttled forward, but the results weren’t exactly what we needed at the moment. After so many hours continuously strolling, without water or food, these animals were far from good health. As much as everyone tried to ease the weight on the animals, they could only vaguely trot. But to top it all up, my horse was the slowest, since it had more people on it… did I mention I was the last one in the formation? Well because, if you sum up all those factors, you get that…THE COYOTES WERE ONLY 5 METERS AWAY FROM ME! In a matter of seconds they would either jump on us or attack the poor, feeble beast. No time could be spared, and so I stretched an arm towards my sword. Just before I could reach it, the enemy creature came flying at HaeRi, who was the one sitting at the horse’s rear. The pale girl became an albino at the very moment when she saw her near end. A series of options passed through my mind in a millisecond, some of them involving me throwing myself off the steed and attacking my friend’s attacker; even if it meant being torn apart by the rest of the pack. But another millisecond later, the same flying lupine was shrieking and bleeding on the cold dessert sands, falling behind as we continued to move forward.

MJ: OH MY GOD! LAN EONNIE!! THANK YOU! … EVERYONE, LISTEN! WE CAN’T OUT RUN THEM; WE HAVE TO FIGHT!

Just then, LanFang shot another arrow, piercing a 2^nd coyote; these wild beasts don’t seem to give up even when their comrades are being killed. Still, in less than a minute the remaining 6 will be all over us, and Lan’s single arrows won’t be enough.

MJ: KAI! LAY! USE YOUR SPEARS! XIUMIN! TAKE OUT THE HAMMER! LAN! TAKE OVER KAI’S HORSE! HAERI! KEEP STEERING OURS!... GUYS, NOW!

The members quickly executed their missions, with extreme precision and stealth. It all looked like a perfectly rehearsed scene from a Kung Fu movie, only this was the real thing. Kai slowed his galloping pace, while LanFang fastened hers, making possible the proximity between the two equines. When they were trotting side to side, Lan jumped from her’s to the boy’s, leaving Chanyeol in charge of her’s. Just then Kai and Lay jumped off of the beast as it continued forward. XiuMin and I did the same, as SuHo and HaeRi steered their respective horses away from the battle area.

It’s about time, and time’s up! Seconds after touching sanded-land and regaining balance, the coyotes had reached us. Six of them versus the four of us; once again outnumbered… But that wasn’t going to frighten us; after multiple battles and being so near death, our combat skills have improved, but even more important, our bravery has become our best lucky amulet. And so, with God’s blessing, we begin this encounter in an attempt to continue to the finish line.

The devilish beasts approached us with great agility and speed, dividing themselves among us. Maybe my witchy senses were coming back, but I guessed the one that decided to confront me must have been the alpha male, because it was bigger and obviously more vicious. With my newly acquired sword tightly grasped on both my hands, I swung forth towards the enemy leader. Human pants and beastly shrieks could be heard all around, including my own. The alpha male was dodging my attacks, followed by fast approaches, which I couldn’t evade at times and ended up being scratched. Still, I managed to develop an attack strategy by watching how its movements were arithmetically calculated by instinct, making it seem like a pattern. Soon after, I it various times, until I came out victorious in the battle; but happiness didn’t last more than a second. Seeing their leader killed, the remaining lupine jumped on my shoulders, throwing me face-first into the cold-night sand. I knew getting unharmed out of this event would be impossible, and so I screamed out of fright while waiting for the animal to chew off a part of me. Instead, I felt as the weight on my back had disappeared and so I quickly rolled on it and got up, bloody sword ready to be swung in any direction. I found a screaming JongIn fighting the coyote with his bare hands, holding its muzzle with one hand, while trying to stop its clawing paws with the other. MinSeok reacted faster than YiXing or me, and so quickly ran towards JongIn and heavily hit the animal by its side, throwing it rolling onto the sands, leaving it without subsequent movements. I finally regained myself and kneeled next to the pale Kai. I pulled him here and there, seeing if he had been injured, but he only had some cuts on his hands and cheeks.

MJ: …Good Gravy! JongIn-ah! Speak to Me! JongIn-ah!! Are you alright? WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?! You could have been chewed up! If it wasn’t for XiuMin-oppa, you’d be coyo-chow by now!... But still, that was very brave of you… Thank you Kai-sshi! (I said between pants, looking straight to his frightened eyes) And thank you Mr. Bunny for such a heroic move!

He was already pulling me up on my feet, while Lay did the same with Kai. After making sure none of us was lethally injured, besides some scratches and cuts, we started to make our way towards the rest of the group, who had been waiting for us less than half a mile away. Upon seeing us they steered the herd our way, finally reaching us. LanFang dismounted in a flash, making her way towards XiuMin, lifting his arms, turning him around, and even lifting his pants’ legs. He simply smiled while shaking his hands and head from side to side… I’m guessing she was worried about her mate. We all got on our old formations once more, in order to continue our journey.

Due to the recent event, I hadn’t noticed how near we were to the wall. It had grown both in horizontal and vertical length. The entrance was a sort of alley; irregular, narrow rocky walls with no cover but the sky itself. And scrutinizing the area I found a small strange structure in front of the wall. It looked grayish, like a floating spaceship… I’ll take aliens out of the possible options though. Whatever it was, we would soon reach it, since we had to go past it in order to enter the canyon.

My thoughts were interrupted by Lia’s small, soft hand, which tapped me on the right shoulder. She placed her right hand in front of me, gving out a message with a peculiar content.

MJ: Really Lia? You smell water? I thought it was only your hearing that was acute, but your nose has some dandy tricks as well. So, can you say where or how far?

The girl said we must be going in the right direction since the scent of water was getting stronger. I thanked Lia and told her to keep me up with anything abnormal she heard or smelled. This girl we had planned on leaving behind had come in handy quite well! So it was more than important to make sure she felt she’s being helpful through the journey, and not an obstacle, like she sometimes thinks. And well, I was more than happy knowing that there was a water source some place near us; I could just see myself drinking a whole pool! So thirsty….and hungry as well… I feel like I’ve lost ohh to many pounds; I can say the same for my friends. But these physical needs are nothing compared to our emotional ones…

LuHan…

K-Kai…

Being dragged once again into my subconscious, I didn’t notice when we finally came up close to our next stage. We were only a few meters away from the wall, and the grayish structure was now very distinguishable. It was actually a sort of limestone-based platform, with a flat, round stone roof, being held by a series of columns that emerged from the sands, producing arches as a result… It was a safe point!

MJ: Guys…GUYS! It’s a safe point!! HOLY LORD!!! IT’S A SAFE POINT! Finally, were going to get some shelter!! Some time to rest!!!

Everyone began to share smiles with one another, thinking about the grand opportunity they had finally found in this peril full place. And so, we fastened our galloping, and in a matter of minutes we had arrived at our refuge, not sparing a moment to dismount and place foot under the 5-meter-radiuscircular arena. Warmth emanated from the welcoming structure, filling us all with joy. And nothing was more comforting than finding the long awaited oasis in the center of the platform, looking like a peaceful pond. But tranquility didn’t last long.... A figure emerged from behind one of the pillars…

??: Hey there sweetheart… It was about time you showed up… I see you’re having fun…

A hypocrite smirk was launched at us by the abhorred man…

MJ: What do you want this time… Kris…