Chapter 4

“You can walk today, yes?” Luhan passed by Minseok, carrying a pile of neatly-folded blankets. Not that snarky.. yet. “Yes, I am fine. Is there anything you would like me to do?”

“Since you offered.. how about you carry some of the supply bags with Kyungsoo? Since you are both very strong, and all.”

“Of course.” He mentally sighed in relief; spending time with Kyungsoo would not be bad.

“Over here!” the boy called. Minseok followed the voice. “I will help you carry some.”

“Really? I can handle it myself,” he said. Minseok shook his head. “I have to do something, or else Luhan will probably skin me alive.”

“Not true,” he paused, “he would kill you first. Skin you dead. Luhan-hyung is not a big fan of torture.”

“Is anyone?” Minseok grimaced.

“We all suspect Jongdae sometimes..” he elbowed him after seeing his expression. “Just kidding. EXO promotes peace, we try to use violence only when it is necessary.”

“Is that why Jongin knocked me out before even saying a word to me?”

Kyungsoo chuckled sheepishly. “Well, he is young. And you kind of came out of nowhere.” He picked up a few bags easily, handing them to him. “There are about six bags, here are three. Think you can handle it?”

Minseok took them easily. “Sure. How much farther do we have to go?”

“A few more miles,” Junmyeon stops beside them. “We are literally just outside the gates.”

“What will we do when we get there?”

“Well.. most likely, we will fight. The eleven of us. I mean, you are free to join, but we would not want you getting injured.”

“I would like to help, but what if I get in the way?”

“We shall see how you do,” Yifan speaks to him for the first time that day, “and from there we will decide if you can help.”

 

Luhan walked in front (as usual), Jongdae already had flown above to determine the route. Only about an hour’s walk to the city.

He had not gotten any sleep the night before, which was not unusual. He was exhausted but they had not even finished one point of the mission; sleep could come later. He yawned.

“So sleepy.” A sudden zap of electricity on his shoulder. He yelped. “Kim Jongdae!”

“Not present!” the boy cackled, his yellow eyes glinting mischievously. Luhan sighed, pretending to be upset but was secretly grateful; he was fully awake now.

Kyungsoo left Minseok with Baekhyun and Chanyeol, opting instead to spend time with his partner. ‘Make friends,’ he had said.

Judging by where his voice came from, Chanyeol was much taller than him, while Baekhyun was around his height. They were both a bit quiet when he was left with them but quickly warmed up, joking around and bickering with each other.

“Minseok-hyung- can I call you hyung?” Chanyeol spoke quickly, excitedly.

“Sure.”

“Minseok-hyung, it is nice to have you with us!”

“Strange, but nice,” Baekhyun agreed. “We have never had a human in our company before.”

“Well, I guess if you count Jonginnie and Sehunnie when they were younger.. but we could tell by their eye colors that they were like us.” Chanyeol pursed his lips, remembering.

“Yeah, and the fact that whenever Sehun did not get what he wanted he created minor tornadoes,” Baekhyun snorted.

“And Jongin ended up in the most inconvenient places.”

“Oh yeah, remember that one time we found him stranded on a rock in the ocean?” Chanyeol burst into guffaws as Baekhyun continued, “Junmyeon-hyung had to swim out and get him!”

“He could not get back himself?” Minseok found himself asking. The two talked miles-per-minute and his hearing was overwhelmed by all the words and sentences flying out of their mouths.

“Oh, no no no. He was maybe eight or nine, he had no control over his powers whatsoever.” Baekhyun explained.

“And he did not know how to swim back then.”

“You should see him now though,” Baekhyun added thoughtfully. “Especially when he shifts. He can swim miles before even panting.”

Just as Chanyeol was probably (inevitably) going to launch into a long story about the dark-skinned fourteen year-old boy, Luhan’s voice rang out.

“We have arrived. We do not know exactly where the monsters may be but be on your guard. Everyone pair up, and try not to separate.” He sounded even more serious than usual.

“He is taking this really seriously, is he not?” Chanyeol murmured.

“We will meet on the other end of the city in one hour.” He swallowed. “Two of us must be left behind to hold off future attackers.”

They looked at him expectantly. Luhan was not sure what to do. “We will discuss it after we secure the city. Find a partner, then get moving.” He turned around and walked through the gates.

Sehun shrugged before shifting into a large, emerald-green serpent and following.

“Partner with me, hyung!” Baekhyun demands brightly. Chanyeol whined. “Go with Jongdae ,” he snorted in response. “Minseok-hyung needs a partner. And for once, nobody will complain when I use my light attacks.”

Minseok smiled, glad that Baekhyun treated his blindness indifferently. “Alright. Thank you, Baekhyun-ssi.”

“Yeah, no big deal. No need to use formalities with me,” he brushed it off casually.

As everyone else began pairing up, they filed into the city.

“So, what’s your animal Baekhyun?” Minseok trailed after him, following the sound of his footsteps.

“Me? Fox,” Baekhyun replied. “I guess it is because we have similar eyes. When I shift, I kind of.. emit light.”

“Really? I wonder how that looks.”

“It comes in handy at night, especially when I am hunting,” he laughed. “Scares everyone when I do it randomly in the dark.”

Minseok laughed. “I would be scared too.”

They walked in silence for a while. “Shh,” Minseok said suddenly. “Something is there.”

Baekhyun immediately shifted. His pointed ears shifted around, detecting the noise. He shifted back. “Indeed. You heard that even before I did,” he said admiringly.

Minseok shrugged. “That is probably all I am useful for now.”

“Make yourself useful again by standing back then,” Baekhyun said quietly. “I cannot have you injured or dead.”’

An inhuman shriek ripped through the air, and heavy footsteps staggered around.

Five- no, at least eight creatures, he thought, quickly moving out of the way to the side of a building. He was angry at himself for not being able to help, but it was better than just getting in the way.

He is not sure who has or has not shifted- he does not even know all of their forms. He hears yells and grunts and the sounds of blows landing and heavy footsteps thudding. Above all of the noise, Luhan’s voice is the loudest, his commands carrying over all of the commotion.

“Yifan, assist Yixing, Tao will be fine!”

“Jongdae, shock him while he is down!”

“Hurry Jongin, over to Yixing!”

Every once in a while he swore in his mother tongue as well.

Suddenly, he called out to the last person he would have expected- Minseok himself.

“Aish! Get out of the way, pay attention!”

Minseok heard the pounding footsteps running full-speed in his direction, the sound getting louder as the creature neared. He leapt to the side, hoping it would not change direction, but it had an advantage over him. He scrambled up and ran in a different direction, going around the fighting happening right in the middle of the city. He could hear the monster charging after him. His foot slammed into a wall; he was trapped.

Hot, putrid breath fanned his face when he turned around. The adrenaline was still rushing but he had no idea how to get out of the situation. The creature roared and thoughtlessly Minseok threw his forearms up in front of his face just as it pushed head-first with tremendous force.

He screamed in agony; there was no way he would escape without broken bones. He slammed his knee into its neck, whimpering when his arms finally were relieved of the force. But they were useless now. Minseok ran instead of fighting, and the monster was still right behind. He was becoming tired, exhausted.

There, Luhan, he could not help but think, I relieve you of your burden.

He stumbled and screamed again as he landed on his arms.

The creature shrieked too; this time in pain. The screaming continued as a tussle ensued for a few moments, the monster stomping and hitting the ground, then it was silent. Minseok’s ears rang; his arms were on fire.

“Here, he is here!” The guttural voice of Yifan rang out, and soon the other ten boys were gathered around.

“Alive,” Junmyeon breathed, sounding as relieved as if they were brothers.

“Alive, and he would have been unharmed too, if he just stayed out of the way!” Luhan yelled angrily. “What were you doing?! Did you want to die? I only see the trouble of bringing you with us!” He carelessly threw a kick to vent his anger. Minseok cried out when it met his side.

“Enough, Luhan!” Yixing, who from what Minseok knew, was a relatively calm person, sounded furious. “It is not his fault!”

Luhan’s breath hitched. Then he promptly shifted and sprinted away, out of everyone’s view in merely seconds.

Yifan and Yixing exchanged foreign words as Minseok’s mind began to fade in and out.

“Carry him, Junmyeon-ah.”

“Where will we go?”

“We will be well out of the city by sunset.”

He was floating.

 

 

“Luhan has returned.”

“Did he say anything?”

“No. He went into his tent and refuses to speak to anyone.”

 

 

“He is quite strong for an ordinary human.”

“Indeed. Only fractures on both arms; I am surprised that his bones did not break clean into pieces.”

“Must be the muscle.”

 

 

“Has he eaten?”

“No, he only drinks.”

“When will he wake up?”

“If I am not mistaken, he is awake now.”

Minseok blearily sat up, his head heavy. “How long has it been?”

“Only a few hours,” Yixing says cheerily. “You are becoming better at this return-to-consciousness thing.”

Minseok groaned. “I pray that I will not have to practice it much longer.” He felt his arms. “Are they still broken?”

“No, but do not be surprised if they are sore. I do not know how much magic a human can take, I would not want to go overboard on you.”

“Hyung, we were all surprised that you survived that,” Sehun chattered. “Once you ran out of our sight we figured you were a goner-“

“Sehunnie!” Yixing scolded. Minseok laughed. “Me too, maknae.”

“He is awake!” All at once, Junmyeon, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun entered.

“How you feeling, hyung?”

“Cannot believe you held that thing off!”

“I was so afraid!”

“Whoa,” Minseok’s head swarmed, “I am alright. But if all of you talk it gets.. confusing.”

“Sorry,” they apologized bashfully.

“I made porridge, want me to get you a bowl?” Kyungsoo offered kindly.

“Sure, thank you.” He left the tent, Junmyeon and a hyper Sehun trailing behind.

“You sure are strong for a human!” Chanyeol exclaimed.

“If that were me I think my arms would have broken in half!” Baekhyun agreed. Minseok chuckled awkwardly.

“I guess. I just wanted to survive.”

“And you did,” Yixing applied more bandaging to his arms. “Good thing too. Luhan would never let it go if you were killed.”

“Me?” He was in disbelief. “Luhan hates me.”

“I cannot say that is false,” Baekhyun said, “but at the same time I can. Luhan-hyung does not seem to like you very much, or at all, but he hates being responsible for deaths.”

Upon seeing Minseok’s expression Chanyeol quickly added, “Luhan-hyung is very rough on the outside but on the inside, he cares about saving lives and peace and happiness more than anything.”

“Baekhyun! Chanyeol!” The three jumped, Yixing calm as usual. “Looks like role call. We will be back, hyung!” They raced off.

“Not going anywhere,” he replied weakly. Yixing chuckled. Kyungsoo returned, followed by Junmyeon.

“Here is the porridge hyung, we will be back. Luhan-hyung is doing role call.” With that, they were off too.

“How come you are staying?” He turned to ask Yixing, who bound the bandages tightly with some kind of adhesive.

“My duty is to tend to the injured,” he responded easily. Minseok lay flat on his back, his face towards the ceiling. “Was Luhan upset?”

“Yes.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes."

 

"But he was not angry at you, as much as himself.”

“Where did he go?”

Yixing shrugged before thinking better of it. “We do not know. But he returned. And when he came back-“

The tent flap was abruptly opened, warm wind breezing inside.

“You. Training begins tomorrow. Meet Jongdae at sunrise. Do not be late.” Luhan, whose voiced betrayed no emotions. As quickly as he had arrived, he left.

The two sat in silence for a moment. Sensing his question, Yixing finished his interrupted sentence.

“When he came back, he cried.”

 

 

 

 

 

sorry for the late update everybody, i am in my final weeks of school which is really having an impact on my freetime.

hopefully the next chapter won't take as long^^

thanks to all for reading.