There was no high-pitched animalistic screech when they landed on it, just a low, soft moan of pain that sent shivers of guilt down their spines. The shape was definitely human, but it was covered in so many dirty coats that it was impossible to tell from afar. It lay on the ground, shivering a little, making no attempts to escape. The shock of having two people land on him simultaneously must have been too harsh.

Lay located its upper arm and held it tightly, yet gently, in his hand. He reached up to his ear and turned his mike back on.

“It’s a human. Identity unconfirmed.”

There were a few static crackles and then Tao spoke. He sounded as unemotional as ever, and Lay wondered for a second if he was going to be asked to kill this thing. This…person.

“Keep it there. I’m coming over.”

Before Lay could reply, Tao came out of the murky black. His eye was the only thing that could be seen at first, just a glowing red, then the rest of his body slowly appeared, the shadows rippling over him.

“Get your guns ready.” He warned the both of them. Lay’s grip tightened around the person’s arm almost protectively. Luhan saw, out the corner of his eye, and nudged Lay with the toe of his boot. It wouldn’t be good to disobey Tao.

Tao stepped forward, pressing his own matte black gun to the person’s head. The head was also covered with thick black cloth that would normally have rendered anything underneath it dead, but he could see the slow, sometimes erratic rise and fall of its chest as it took deep, rattling breaths.

“Who are you?” Tao pushed his gun a little harder into the head. “State your name and purpose.”

The person gave a little shudder and began to jerk violently against Lay’s hold. Lay forced back a scowl directed at Tao and kept his grip firm.

“State your name and purpose.” Tao repeated, louder. “Or I will shoot.”

The person struggled, flailing, letting out grunts of pain and frustration.

“I will shoot.” Tao reinforced.

When the person didn’t reply, Tao cocked his gun and took aim, carefully. Lay looked up in alarm, looking into Tao’s eyes that betrayed no emotion, and Lay was pretty sure there was no emotion to betray.

“Stop.” He laid a hand over Tao’s gun, forcefully pushing it down. “Stop this. You can’t just kill a person.” He let go of the person and put himself between Tao and it.

“I will not let you.” He stressed, making sure to look into Tao’s eyes, something he’d never tried to do before.

If Tao was surprised, he hid it well.

“Lay, get out of the way, or I’ll shoot you too.”

There was a silence of half-a-minute, a silence that Luhan took advantage of to remove the rags from the person’s face. He knew Tao wouldn’t kill Lay. He needed Lay as much as Lay needed him. They depended on each other, Lay for sustenance, and Tao for protection. One by one, the filthy cloths came off the person’s face, but before Luhan could get a good look, it looked away from him to the two males in front.

“No.” It croaked. “No. Stop. Don’t.”

Lay and Tao looked behind in surprise to the quivering person. It was obviously a he, with long, overgrown hair and streaks of dirt that nearly covered his face in black. Two black eyes shimmered dully in the little light that shone in, eyes that pleaded for mercy.

“Please.” He spoke, his voice now desperate. “Don’t let them get me.”