*ping*

It had been only ten minutes or so since Kai and Kris left; everyone had been silent, nervously waiting for that sound that would alert them of their impending journey. Everyone turned to Suho, who was fumbling with the small device in his hands. After a few seconds of frantically trying to open the message, he finally saw the address that Kai had sent.

“Let’s go.” EXO-K got up, Sehun going over to Luhan to give the Chinese one last hug. Lay did the same, coming over to the leader and giving him a peck on the lips.

“Stay safe.”

-

“This is where Kai told us to go, on the 9^th floor,” said Suho as he looked up at the skyscraper in front of them. Even when they craned their necks back as far as they could go, they still couldn’t see the top of the building, which seemed to go straight through the sky.

“But where’s Kai?” said a worried D.O., who was shifting around nervously, his eyes darting around trying to spot his lover.

“Let’s just go inside and scout the area… Since he said 9^th floor, maybe he’s hiding inside,” suggested Baekhyun, patting the other comfortingly on the back.

“Baekhyun, Chanyeol and D.O, you take the back entrance and meet us on the 9^th floor. Sehun, you come with me and we’ll pretend to have an appointment at the front desk and see if there’s anything suspicious there.” Everyone nodded at Suho’s command, but before they could move, they heard a loud cough, drawing their attention.

“Sorry to interrupt your little meeting, but I’m here to take you to the 9^th floor that you guys keep talking about,” sneered a shadow, his voice silky but a tint of menace making the five boys wary. They kept their eyes open as the shadow stepped closer, the features on his face becoming more defined. The first thing that they could see was the glowing red eyes, staring at them sinisterly.

“Wh- Who are you?” stuttered Suho, caught off guard by the blood-red eyes looking at him.

“Just come with me, if you want to see your little transporting friend – who is horrible at hiding, may I say - unharmed that is,” drawled the man, calling them to follow him with a lazy finger. D.O.’s face was livid at the mention of Kai, and the ground started to shake, his anger threatening to take over. “Tsk tsk, now’s not the time, ground-shaker. Did I not just say we have the transporter?” the man looked back over his shoulder, an evil glint in those crimson-red eyes. Instantly, the shaking stopped and D.O. looked as if he was about to collapse. Suho and Sehun supported him on each side, Baekhyun and Chanyeol following closely behind.

They entered the building, and to their surprise, there was nobody. There wasn’t single soul behind the front desk, no businessmen waiting for their appointments in pressed suits; just the five of them and this mysterious man.

“Where is everyone?” asked Chanyeol, his voice echoing in the silence.

“That is none of your business.” The sharp reply had Chanyeol cowering behind Baekhyun, although the other was smaller than him.  After a few turns around corners, the boys felt disoriented and Suho frowned in worry as he thought about how trapped they were. The man stopped in front of gold-embellished elevators, pressing an ornately decorated button to go up. They zoomed up, stopping with a ding at the 9^th floor. The man stepped out and headed for a heavily guarded door, waving indifferently to the guards as they let them pass.

“Hyungs, I got the rest of them.”

“Well done, Dongwoon.”

In the room, Kai was bound and gagged on the floor, surrounded by five others who were joined by Dongwoon. They too had bright red eyes that sent shivers down your spine, permanently giving evil stares.

“So, you must be the new guardians of the tree,” smirked the one standing in the centre. “Coming to retrieve half of the heart?”

“Yes,” answered Suho, his voice unwavering as he tried to project confidence. His eyes flickered to Kai on the floor, and he clenched his fists that were by his sides. “Are we going to be able to get it, and our member, without a fight?” The men in front of them laughed.

“We may be called BEAST, but we are from it.”

“We refrain from getting our hands dirty with dogs’ blood.”

“Instead, we choose to use our brains.”

“This little friend of yours, he has a poison in him.” At that, everyone gasped, D.O. trying to get closer. Sehun stopped him, pulling him back with difficulty.

“What do you want from us?!” D.O.’s voice was full of desperation, his eyes flitting between the men and Kai.

“It’s not what we want… It’s what you came here for.”

“Solve our riddle and we’ll administer the antidote to this boy and give you the heart.” EXO listened to their explanation, gulping down their fear.

“Fine, let us hear the riddle,” said Baekhyun.

“Pronounced as one letter,
And written with three,
Two letters there are,
And two only in me.
I'm double, I'm single,
I'm black, blue, and grey,
I'm read from both ends,
And the same either way.
What am I?”

“Oh, and you might want to hurry… You wouldn’t want your transporter to die before you figure it out would you?” They growled at those words, but took no further notice as they tried to figure out the riddle.

~

I hope you enjoyed the chapter ^^ Did anyone figure out the riddle? Leave me your comments, but don't cheat! xD