Minho woke up with a groan, holding his head. His neck hurt, his back hurt, everything ing hurt. He looked around, taking in all of the whiteness. White walls, white floor, white ceiling, even white sheets and a white pillow. He trailed his fingers over the smooth fabric, watching it crinkle at his touch. In the corner was a toilet (white) and a sink which was—what a shocker—white.

"What is this place?" he whispered, looking around. There was one door, a slot on it near the ground. He was in a prison, then, with a slot for food. He could feel fear rising in his throat, but he swallowed it like a pill. He had to keep cool, calm, collected. He had to stay in control of his emotions. He reached next to him, groping for a hand, a wrist, a brush of skin.

And when he realized that there was nothing there, that was when he lost it.

"Taemin!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and looking at the empty spot next to him. No Taemin. Where was he? Where was that boy that he'd tried so hard to protect? Damn it, what had these men done to him? Enraged, Minho looked around for something to attack with. , he wasn't going to be without Taemin. He was panting, his vision sharpened by a primitive anger. Where had these people taken Taemin?

"Well, it looks like someone's awake," a voice chuckled from outside. Minho was on his feet in an instant, the blood pumping through his body and his eyes focusing on the source of the sound. No, he wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of him and Taemin. He'd rather die first, or die trying.

"Why don't you man the up and get in the room? I'll show you how ing awake I am," Minho snarled. The door slowly opened, and a hand peeked in. Strapped to the palm was a device with a red button, a man's thumb barely touching it.

"Before you make any sudden movements," the man's voice said calmly as Minho bristled, "your friend is in a room wired with three pounds of plastic explosives and set to blow if I press this button. If I were you, I'd sit down." Minho had no choice but to obey, fists clenched.

"What the have you done to Taemin?" he snarled as the man sauntered in, all freshly washed and sharply dressed. His visitor ran a few fingers through his slick hair, a smirk evident on his smug face as he dragged in a chair as well and sat, facing Minho. He leaned back, nice and comfy, as Minho refrained from killing him.

"Your little boyfriend is safe... For now. You know, we saw what you did in there with those zombies, especially so malnourished and with such an inefficient weapon," the man said, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. Minho didn't say a word. He was barely even listening.

Where was Taemin? How was Taemin? Was he scared, or hurt? Both? Where had these sons of es put him? How could they put someone like Taemin in a room strapped with ing bombs? He glared at the man, who was looking at him with an insufferably irritating expression. Judging, analyzing, picking Minho apart with his eyes.

"What the do you want from me?" Minho snarled, bristling as the man's smirk got even more irritating. Minho's whole body got rigid and glared at the man, who was twirling his shirt hem between his fingers.

"We're a small army that's fighting to eradicate those monsters from this planet, and quite frankly, we're a little short on recruits. We need guys like you, nice and strong, to go out there and whack some zombies to the ground," the man said bluntly, smirking as Minho's eyes flashed. The boy stood up, glaring at that calm, Taemin-threatening bastard.

" you! You took my friend from me and put his ing life in danger and now you want me to ing help you?" Minho snarled. The man smirked an waved the button at Minho again, leaving the boy no choice but to sit and glare. "No. I'm not going to do for you."

"Well, how about this? You train under us, you do three missions, and then we'll free your little friend," the man wagered, and Minho hated how much was at stake. He shook with rage, wanting nothing more than to punch this 's teeth in.

"... Give me time to think about it," he said finally, his eyes narrowing and filling with a flame of determination. He'd save Taemin. He knew he would. The man smirked and got up, smoothing out his shirt.

"Fine, just call for Lee Seunghyun if you make a choice. Oh yeah, and your dog's fine too, if you were wondering," the man said with a smirk. Minho got up and walked to the doorway as Seunghyun did, catching a glimpse of the outside for a brief moment. There were two armed guards, a long corridor, and then at least five different paths, all the same shiny white color. He was going to need a plan, and a good one.

"," Minho snarled as the door closed in his face. He backed away as the flap in front of the food slot opened. Unceremoniously, a tray of grilled meat and fresh bread with spinach paste was pushed in, followed by milk in a bag.

"Eat up, soldier," the man's voice sneered before there were footsteps and the flap closed. Minho snarled as he looked at the food. He wanted to protest by not eating, but he knew that he needed food. He really, really needed food. He got up and paced the room to keep his mind off of his empty stomach, counting the footsteps. Eight by eight. Small, cramped, built for a criminal.

Or a prisoner, Minho thought as he sat on the bed. He couldn't help but let his eyes drift towards the food. When was the last time he'd had a real meal? When was the last time he'd been full? Slowly, without him thinking, he moved to the tray and sat in front of it.

Each mouthful was agonizingly delicious. Each bite of the tender meat and sweet spinach had his taste buds singing with guilty delight. He hated how much he ate, how he gave into these people and ate their food like a dog, but he couldn't control his body anymore. He tore open the bag of milk with his teeth and spat out the plastic corner, up all of the sweet liquid. How could he? How could he?

Finally, everything was gone. He'd eaten with his hands like an animal, and he felt like a savage. Taemin was somewhere starving, cold and alone, an he'd eaten these bastards' food. How could he? How could he betray Taemin? Suddenly, he felt sick and got up. He raced to the toilet.

He retched and puked out every last chewed up bit of food, and he'd never felt cleaner. Even as his throat burned with bile and his eyes filler with squeezed-out tears that burned like lemon juice, he felt better once the food was out of his stomach. He spat into the toilet bowl, trying to get rid of the last few drops of bile.

" you all," he snarled as he flushed and washed his mouth out in the sink. He felt a sort of euphoria that he hadn't digested that food, no matter how hungry he'd be later. He ran to the bed and flopped onto it, feeling strengthened despite how weak his body really was.

He looked at the wall sleepily, smiling as he ran his hand over it. Curiously, he wondered if he could touch the ceiling. He stood up, walking his hands over the plastered walls. He could feel the smoothness of the hard surface beneath his fingertips as he stood on his toes in the bed. He was almost to the top...

Wait, what was that?

"A ridge?" he murmured, touching the raised indentation in the wall. Gently, he knocked on it, hearing a half-hollow sound. A way out, he thought immediately. He looked around and saw the chair that Seunghyun had been sitting in. Metal legs. Excellent.

Minho's heart was pounding out of his chest. Slowly, he got down from his bed and picked up the chair. He took careful aim, and then he threw it at the wall. It hit the hard surface with a sound like a gunshot before it fell heavily on the bed, unharmed.

The plaster over the raised area in the wall didn't seem to be affected at first. Minho swore until he saw a little crack appear. He eagerly hopped back onto the bed and tore at the crack, digging his fingers in to find whatever was beneath it.

"A vent?" he murmured as the slotted metal covering came into view. He gently cupped his hands to it and spoke through the shaft to see who was on the other end. "Hello?"

An answer came immediately.

"M-Minho?!" a scared voice replied, and there was the sound of shuffling as the person on the other end crawled closer to their vent. The voice seized Minho by the heart immediately.

"Taemin! Taemin, are you okay? Are you hurt? What have they done to you?" he demanded, his heart racing in his chest. He was only stopped from tearing out the wall by the sheer need for secrecy. He waited for Taemin's answer, each second like a millennium.

"Th-they cuffed me and I... I don't know where I am, Minho! Please get me! I'm scared!" he heard Taemin sob out. Minho's blood was boiling, but he had to stay calm. First, he had to establish where Taemin was.

"Taemin, are you in a room with white walls?" he asked softly, as if Taemin were right next to him. His hands were dying to hold Taemin's fingers between his own, but he'd have to wait until he busted out of here.

"I-it's dark... But I think the walls are blue. And... And this is a vent... I can't see anything, Minho," Taemin whimpered in fear. Minho cursed softly before Taemin spoke up again. "Oh! I think there are bricks in the corner! That's good, right?"

Bricks. Bricks could be used as weapons, or as tools. Bricks were hard, and they were rough. Bricks were—

"... your friend is in a room wired with three pounds of plastic explosives and set to blow if I press this button..."

"No! Taemin, those aren't bricks! Those are explosives! Taemin, whatever you do, don't touch them, okay?" Minho shouted frantically. He heard Taemin's whimper of fear, and his own heart was pounding out of his chest. He couldn't let Taemin die. He just couldn't.

"Minho, please help me... I'll do whatever you want! I'll s-stop eating all of your food! I won't b-bug you anymore! I'll get stronger! P-please, just come back to me," Taemin begged, and Minho could hear the tears in his warbling voice. Minho's fists clenched against the wall.

"Taemin, I swear that I'll get you. I won't abandon you, okay? You're m—I mean, I'll be with you forever," Minho swore. He heard Taemin's whimper and sighed. "You're perfect, okay? I don't want you to change. I promise, I'm going to save you and get you out of here and then we'll run away together, okay? I... I'll have to go for now, but I'll come back and get you, okay?"

"Be safe," Taemin whispered, and then there was no more sound from the other end. Immediately, Minho leapt from bed and pounded on the door, his veins pulsing with fury and his fists squeezed tightly over white knuckles.

"Get Seunghyun, you ers! Tell him that we have a ing deal!"

~

"I'm so glad you decided to join us," Seunghyun said with a smirk as two guards dragged Minho down the halls. The ing bastard, Seunghyun, was walking by them with his fingertips pressed together, his eyes on Minho as if examining some sort of product at a shop.

" you, tell me where Taemin is!" Minho shouted. He struggled until he felt the muzzle of a third guard's rifle against his back. The guards were dressed in bulletproof vests and helmets and dark canvas pants. It was like a nightmare.

"Tut tut, so impatient," Seunghyun scolded mockingly, an arrogant smirk on his face that made Minho want to kill him. "Now now, young man, we're going to put you into training, but first, nom noms!"

"I already ate!" Minho spat out. "Just train me already!" He was impatient, dying to get Taemin back. He would have torn apart the building, but he needed energy for that, and he was running on empty.

"We heard you puke all of that up, young man, and we also heard your touching little reunion with your friend. What did he call you? Minho, I believe," Seunghyun ruminated cruelly as the guards snickered. Minho snarled and lunged, only to be held in his place.

"Give him back to me!" Minho demanded. Seunghyun clicked his tongue as they walked through the blindingly white halls. It was surreal, this place. It was all white, all blazingly white. Minho could see his own scraggly reflection in the walls.

"Now now, you're about to eat. You must use your best table manners," Seunghyun sneered as he stopped in front of a set of double doors and flung them open. A whole room of men and woman, all grimy and dirty against the pristine walls and floors and tables and chairs, turned to look at him. Minho could feel a shiver run down his spine as the crowd of eyes pierced through him.

" you all," Minho spat, struggling to get free from the guards' grips. Seunghyun smirked and grabbed Minho's hair. The hands that had been crushing his arms released him, and Minho felt himself being flung into the cafeteria. He hit the ground with his feet and hands, quickly getting up and whipping his head around to glare at everyone.

"Boys and girls, this is our new friend, Choi Minho. Play nicely with him, now," Seunghyun teased before leaving. That left one thin, weak, angry boy against a room of soldiers who had just had their meal rudely interrupted. Minho crouched low to the ground, ready to take any of them on. He clenched his fists and tried to focus on a face, a goal, something worth fighting for.

Taemin.

"Bring it on," he snarled, his eyes slitted with fury. He could feel his last reserves of energy coursing through him, but it, Taemin was worth the risk. The crowd of angry eyes and bulging muscles closed in, and Minho flew into an attack.

", this guy's insane!" someone shouted as Minho left scratches and bruises in his wake. He grabbed a fistful of blonde hair, yanked it out by the roots, saw the blood pour from someone's scalp. A pair of arms wrapped around him, but he slammed his elbow back and felt a nose shatter.

"Hold him down!" somebody screamed, but Minho wriggles free of his captor and turned, his knee crushing someone's . He grabbed someone else's shoulder and slammed their gut down onto his waiting fist. He wasn't even thinking anymore, his rage grabbing him by the throat and shaking him and making him crazy. Someone tried to put him in a chokehold, but Minho lifted his hips and displaced their weight. He threw the mystery opponent over his shoulder and sent him crashing into someone else.

"Bring it on! Fight me! I dare you!" Minho roared, spinning around to see faces, furious and frightened, in a rig around him. There must have been a hundred of them. Minho was prepared to take them all on. His bloody fists clenched again, and he let out a snarl.

"Sedate him," someone said calmly, and Minho felt a needle in his neck. He let out a roar and turned, ripping the needle from his body. He grabbed some cat-eyed bastard by the throat, but an arm closed around his shoulder, and he was dragged away. He flailed and tried to grip his attacker's hair or shoulder, but there was no power in his blows.

"He's blacking out," a soft voice said from behind him, gliding past his ear. Cat-boy nodded and stepped closer, cautiously, putting a hand on Minho's forehead. As he slipped away, Minho fought to listen to their voices.

"He's severely mal-nourished, and yet he gave everyone in this room a fair -kicking. What is this kid made of?" Cat-boy asked as his hands trailed to Minho's throat, checking his pulse.

"Maybe he's just fighting for something," the soothing voice said again. Cat-boy smiled softly as he leaned closer, kissing Minho's forehead gently like a mother.

"Alright, kid. You can sleep now. You can relax," Cat-boy murmured. Minho gave a small grunt as he tried to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle. The arm restraining him loosened, and he felt his eyelids slide shut.

I'm sorry... Taemin...

A/N—Keke... Cat-boy...

And don't worry, Pluffy is fine ^_^ And Minho is now soldier Minho to you! Atten-hut!

More to come! Comments are love!