25^th November. 1143 hours

 

The scenery before him was certainly not a foreign sight for Sehun. He’d done this countless of times and yet he was still nervous to face the judging panel of scientists, or ‘doctors’ as they like to be called. As if the special part inside his brain was a tumor or a disease and needed to be cured. He stopped himself before any signs of annoyance could appear on his face.

The cool metal chair brought goose bumps to his clothed skin and the panic inside him began to rise as the initial repulse disappeared. The wires strapped all over his body weren’t helping his panic issues. Zillions of questions ran through his mind as the familiar feel of the cold metal around his head returned. He held himself from looking up to the doctors on the other side of the room, in fear that they could read the different kind of terror in his eyes this time around. What if they can hear his thoughts? What if they know?

Sehun forced himself to remain calm. He had to or the micro-sized chip from the wristband won’t work and everything they’ve done would all be futile. He relaxed every muscle in his body and tried to concentrate on the blinding white wall following Luhan’s instructions from the night before. The guy was prepared for everything, he praised him silently, grateful that Luhan was less cold since Sulli’s incident.

There was a short burst of pain when the jolts of electricity shot through his brain. Sehun welcomed it for it led him away from worrying over Sulli and her first time with the threat level follow-up procedure, hoping the chip would work for her sake. The stinging sensation gradually decreased as it often did with these procedures. Unfortunately, the pain didn’t leave as quickly as it came. It never does.

He shut his eyes tight as the seconds slowly ticked by, wanting more than anything for this mandatory monthly procedure to end and for him and all of his friends to come out unscathed.

Not too long after the room was bright again and the doctors gave a little nod, Sehun smiled discreetly in victory despite being shoved out of the room by the guard in charge.  He hoped his friends would share the same fate too, especially Sulli.

 

~*~

 

Sehun left for the cafeteria right after his procedure ended. It was a routine of theirs to eat together for lunch and Luhan just recently joined them. Nobody said anything the first time he plopped his tray beside them. It was quiet for awhile until Chanyeol spoke something about how Luhan could eat the garbage they served. Since then, Luhan ate with them at lunch and never missed.

He sighed as he neared block B’s hallway when Chanyeol’s name slipped into his mind. Their mutual rivalry seemed to have simply vanished after the incident. Chanyeol would still joke around with Sulli but his flirting attempt has stopped entirely although the longing look in his eyes was not something to dismiss easily.

The cafeteria was busier than normal this time around as patients were forced to spend the day at block A where they handled all the treatments and procedures. The cafeteria was conveniently situated between block A and their dormitory so a lot of time was spent at the cafeteria while waiting for their turn. The inedible food was certainly much better than the dreadful atmosphere in block A.

“It is not!”

“Is too.”

“Is not!”

“Is too.”

Sehun smiled a little when he heard the familiar voices of Soojung and Jongin bickering for the hundredth time today. He was nearing their table and he could see all his friends, a little pale but who wouldn't be after all the drugs the doctors gave them.

He could see Chanyeol and Luna laughing at their own jokes while Soojung and Jongin continued to fight over the silliest of things. Luhan was sitting there, his head clearly not in the room as he played with the little pebbles they called peas on his plate.

Sehun took a seat in front of Luhan. It didn’t take him long to notice that someone was missing from their little group.

“You are delusional! Luhan, tell him I’m right and he’s wrong,” Soojung turned to Luhan, wanting him to take her side.

“You’re right and he’s wrong,” Luhan said, absent-mindedly.

“See, even Luhan agrees.” Soojung poked her tongue out at Jongin while he scoffed at her childish actions. He refused to think it was cute.

Sehun barely registered Soojung and Jongin’s unique display of affection. All his thoughts were focused on Sulli’s absence. He found it strange as Sulli would never miss their luncheons no matter how badly the drugs affect her. 

“Agreement from others does not mean you are right. Fact does. And you clearly don’t know anything about it,” Jongin retorted, still refusing to admit defeat.

Sehun convinced himself Sulli was still in the middle of her procedure but it doesn’t feel right. Soojung was there…

“What you fail to see, my dear Jongin, is that-,”

“Where’s Sulli?” Sehun asked bluntly.

“What?”

“Sulli! You came here after her so she should be done if you are.” His frustrations grew as Soojung looked at him in utter confusion.

“The order of patients for the procedure is determined by the date you first came here. And Soojung, you came a few hours after Sulli so her turn should be over by now,” explained Luna when Sehun was too wrapped in his mind and Luhan was too far away to explain in a more coherent way. Jongin was hopeless with words and Chanyeol was… complicated. Boys.

“Oh…,” said Soojung as she finally understood the situation. She turned to Sehun and said, “I haven’t seen her all day. She wasn’t even in queue and I was there from the start.”

The sudden silence surrounding the group was startling. There was only one room used by the newcomers for their first monthly procedure so Soojung couldn’t have missed Sulli’s presence as there weren’t many new patients this time around. There was definitely something very wrong about all this.

“You don’t think…” Chanyeol began, the concern in his eyes mirrored into Sehun’s. Sehun didn’t wait to hear his speculations on what could have happened.

“I’ll go to my room and see if she’s there,” said Sehun as he prepared himself to sprint his way to his room. But before he could, Chanyeol stopped him.

“I’m coming with you,” he said, determination burning in his eyes apart from the obvious anxiousness. He was about to nod and say he could come but Luhan spoke before he could.

“No, let him do this on his own. If we all go there, the guards will be suspicious.”

Sehun didn’t stay for the impending argument between Luhan and Chanyeol. All he could think about was Sulli and the reason she wasn’t there for lunch. Her treatments were harsher these days and she was often pale than not. During practices, she’d either sleep in the corner or lifelessly watching them as they train.

Sehun forced himself to stay calm and not let rage fuel his head or the wind would suddenly pick up speed and increase his acceleration. As much as he wanted it to happen, there were just too many people around.

When he finally arrived at his room, there were two guards, a stocky-built woman and a man who was pretty much the same size as the female guard, standing in front of his door. Panic rose again inside him. What was happening? Why were there guards inside his room? Could it possibly relate to Sulli?

He didn’t wait for the guards to leave when he hastily entered the room, fearing the worst.

 

~*~

 

“Sulli?”

Her tears stopped when she heard the familiar soothing voice of Sehun’s. She wiped them off her face and turned to see Sehun standing in front of the door, looking at her questioningly. She could feel her heart slowly breaking apart when she looked into his eyes.

Sulli stood up from her bed and began to approach him. The chains and binds she put on her heart broke with each step she took. She welcomed the vulnerability and the rawness of her actions. This might be her only chance to say it before the guards came and took her away.

“I have to go,” she said timidly. Sehun’s brows furrowed at her words.

“Go where?”

“They know what I am so I have to go.” Sulli bit her lip, trying to swallow the sobs caught at the back of .

She saw the way his eyes widened when he finally understood what she meant. Sulli knew she didn’t have to say much for Sehun to get the whole picture. It was a part of him that she loved.

“B-b-but that’s not possible!” Sehun sat on the bed with his hands gripping his head, his knuckles white. “It should have worked. The chip should have worked…” His voice was a low whisper but it wasn’t a challenge for her to hear the dejection in his tone.

Sulli sat beside him as he continued to rock back and forth, trying to wrap his mind around her abrupt execution. She took his hands inside hers and Sehun finally stopped and turned to face her. He bit his lip and his eyes were wild as that of someone losing his mind. Sulli rest a hand on his face and lightly caressed his cheeks. The panic in his eyes was slowly dying when their gazes interlocked.

“They’re taking you to the isolation chamber.” It was more of a statement than a question. Sulli nodded.

She knew what the isolation chamber was from one of her conversations with Chanyeol. Sulli knew from his stories that it was not where happiness was made. She also knew that no one was ever seen again once they were taken into isolation.

“Sehun…” she lightly called. He closed his eyes and covered the hand on his cheeks, as if trying to remember the feel of her skin against his for the last time. Tears pooled in her eyes knowing this could be the last time she could ever see his handsome face or be this close with him ever again. She didn’t know if she could go on without him by her side. She couldn’t trust herself to be alone and isolated. The other side would surely win and take over.

Sehun suddenly pulled Sulli into a tight embrace, whispering words of comfort even though he was having it worse than her.

“Be calm. Remember what Luhan said,” he whispered into her ears and Sulli nodded as her eyes closed shut and the tears streamed down her face once again.

He was in love with her and she could feel it every time he looked at her or held her at nights when the nightmares were too overbearing. There was no use denying she saw him as nothing more than a friend because she knew this feeling was too strong for her to hold back.

Sulli was in love with Sehun and the revelation became clearer when she held him as tight as he was holding her.

There was a harsh knock on the door, a sign from the guards that their patience was running thin. Their time was almost up.

 “Please don’t go... I need you,” he pleaded against her clothed skin.

I need you too…

She had to say it before it’s too late, before the small ounce of courage inside her vanished as quickly as it had appeared. She pecked him briefly on the cheek, leaving tears as a residue.

“Sehun, I-“

The guards burst in and separated them harshly before she had a chance to finish her words. They dragged her out of the room mercilessly. She would have fought for a few extra seconds but their brute strength was no match for her frail body. Fear was threatening to take her over as she was dragged away from the only person who truly loved her. There was a flicker of light inside her and she knew if she didn’t calm down soon, her dark side will take over and then…

Be calm. Sehun’s voice suddenly resonated through the walls of her ear. She looked back to see him watching her, his lips formed and 'o' as another phrase was heard in his voice. You’ll be fine. We’ll help you.

The guards didn’t seem to hear what she did and she smiled to herself, realizing what Sehun did just to calm her down, as risky as it was. The spark inside her died down and she regained control over herself again.

Sulli didn’t let the thoughts of her impending doom dominate her mind as she was blindfolded and dragged the whole way to the isolation chamber. Instead, she reminded herself the times she spent with her friends, the way they never failed to brighten her day despite being worked to the bone.

She let the thoughts of Sehun – the way he smiles every time she did, the times he protected her and held her and made her feel safe from the monster inside her – fill her head. It was hard to believe that he could still love her despite knowing her monstrous nature. But the warmth inside his eyes and his affectionate smiles were proof that he was still in love with her and really that was all she could ask for.  

But he may never know that she was in love with him too.

 

 

 

26^thNovember. 0106 hours.

 

The room was quiet when Sehun finished telling them of Sulli’s sudden death sentence.

Soojung was crying inside Jongin’s arms as he her back, feeling numb himself. Luna was silent for awhile until reality finally sank in. Her cries became louder and louder until a strange warmth enveloped her.

It was not Chanyeol, she‘d knew if it was him. Her wails stopped abruptly when she looked up to see Luhan with melancholy in his eyes. He mumbled something about her being too loud and potentially collapsing the roof, but she didn’t let his words bother her and enjoyed the strange comfort he offered.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, stomped towards Sehun in anger and frustration. He yanked his shirt by the neck and glared at him, his other hand curled into a tight fist. He was inches away from giving him a hard blow to the face.

“Why didn’t you protect her, you bastard? You could’ve done something with that stupid wind power of yours and and-“

“And what, Chanyeol? Exposed ourselves to what we’ve been planning the entire time?”

Luhan separated them before things could get worse. Sehun was in no mood to fight. Chanyeol gave Sehun one last stab with his eyes before walking off to the corner. Sparks were coming out of his feet. Luna followed Chanyeol before he could set the room on fire.

Sehun was feeling worse than he did when Sulli was taken away. Chanyeol was right. He could’ve at least done something to stop her from going. If not with his powers, then he should’ve at least put up a fight and punched the guard once or twice even if it would cause his own suffering. At least he could feel a bit of Sulli’s pain instead of sending words of comfort that couldn’t have helped her.

It took awhile for everyone to settle with this newfound change in their team. Once they did, Luhan wasted no time taking control and every attention was directed to him.

“I believe it’s time I tell you my plan…”

 

 

~*~

 

 

The room was dark and cold. There was only one light bulb dangling from the ceiling and its dim flickering light was of no help to fight the darkness. There was one small window located very close to the ceiling but it made no difference to the darkness as the night sky itself was void of stars and the cloud must have covered the moon.

Sulli sat on the bed that took over half of the space despite being the only furniture inside the small room. She was not claustrophobic but the narrow walls seemed to be closing in on her and she was struggling to stay sane.

There was a flicker, a very dim glow that began to blaze brighter as the night went on. Her dark side was having her second try at dominating her. The nightmares returned with a new menace as the voices and screams of terror molded into voices she knew well.

Sulli saw her friends screamed as they burned in the bright fire. She heard them cursing her with spite and contempt as everything began to fall apart. She closed her eyes shut, trying to rid of the images burning in her mind.

It’s an illusion. Get a hold of yourself!

Then she heard malicious laughter, the voice sounded so much like hers. She opened her eyes and came face to face with a girl, her orbs red and glowing. The eerie thing was she looked just like her.

Don’t fight me. I am who you really are.

NO! I am not you and I will never be. I won’t hurt the ones I love.

Is that so? Then how would you explain the town you’ve destroyed, the innocent lives of children you took, the-

STOP! Please stop.

She was shaking with tears as the evil her kept whispering words intended to make her lose control. Just when she was about to give her what she wanted, the door slammed open and someone stabbed her with a syringe.

A dull sensation overcame her as the whispers and the images died down. Her eyes began to close as she laid down on the bed. Traces of dawn seeping from the tiny window was the last thing she saw when the darkness finally took over. The last thought she had was of Sehun and the comfort his presence could offer her.

She fell into the sinister hole of her mind, the word 'nuisance' bouncing off the walls of the bottomless pit. The girl with her face and red glowing orbs smirked. Her victory didn’t seem too far now.