~Chapter 19~

Coffin

Thunder’s POV~

            I open my eyes and sign as my head throbs. That Kibum sure hit me hard. I try to rub my neck, but my hands are bound to a pole. I huff and look around, trying to find a way to escape. “You’re awake.” Jonghyun sniffs, walking toward me. He unties my hands and looks at me with red, puffy eyes. “Go.” I massage my wrists and as he turns around, I slip my gloves off. I teach toward him, ready to poison the fool.

            “Watch out!” I hear Kibum yell as he dashes toward me and wraps my hands with a thick cloth, tying them together.

            “Well that’s not nice~” I whine.

            “You’re not nice.” Key scoffs and shoves me toward the pole and ties me up again. He sits Jonghyun down and rubs his back.

            “What’s wrong with that kid?” I ask.

            “Shut it Thunder,” Key warns, glaring at me.

            “Oh, did he not get to save the person that got poisoned?” I ask, smirking.

            “I said shut it.” Key growls as he places a blade on my neck within a blink of an eye.

            “No, let him talk. Let’s see what he has to say,” A familiar voice says. My smirk drops as the owner of the voice steps into the room.

            “Joon hyung.”

Gun Tae’s POV~

            They turned me into a wolf. I don’t know how they did it, but when I woke up, I was a beast. I whimper as I look around the room, seeing a few more wolves chained up like I am. What’s your name? the wolf in front of me howls.

            Did you just talk? I try to say, but howl instead.

            Don’t freak out, buddy. You’ll get used to it eventually. The Peacekeepers don’t know that we can communicate with each other. The wolf across the room howls.

            So you’re saying that when we howl, it’s like we are talking in human language? I ask.

            Exactly, another wolf says. We all were turned into wolves by the Peacekeepers. Since they are monster hunters, they turn people into monsters to use them to do the dirty work for them.

            Can’t we leave? I ask.

            We can, but we were waiting for you to fully form. The chains around us require all of our strengths combined to tear it off the wall.

            “Thunder has been captured.” I hear a slam.

            “You idiot! I told you to protect our poison user well! How can you let him get captured?!”

            “I’m sorry to have failed you. Please spare me.”

            “Now with the poison user, they can cure all of the poisoned people from our enemy clans!”

            “Don’t worry sir. The antidote is activated after the person dies. If the person does not die, it would be no use. If the poison user does not speak, all of the poisoned people would die and get buried before they can wake up. By then, they would be buried alive.”

No One's POV~

            Taemin's eyes fly open as his heart starts beating again. His body shudders as the surge of energy rushes back into his body. He mutters a light “Help,” as his throat tries to work properly again. His voice is weak and shaky, no longer smooth and melodic. He looks around with his dry eyes and places his slim hands in front of him, touching the cold, wooden coffin lid. They thought I died. They buried me, he figures in his head. He pushes against the coffin but the lid doesn't budge. I need to get out of here. I can't die like this! “Please, someone help me,” he tries to scream, but his voice is nothing but a light whisper. His throat burns with the attempt of speaking and his hands ache as he tries to push against the lid. His hands fall down in defeat.

            His eyes tear up as he looks at the darkness in front of him. He roams around his clothes and notices a flute in his interior pocket. He smiles as the tears drip off his face. On his first encounter with Minho hyung, he left behind a flute. He was planning to return the flute to Minho hyung, but he never got the chance to. Now, it is in his pocket. Did Minho hyung put it here? At least I am not alone right now, Taemin thinks.

            Above the ground, Gun Tae the wolf is sniffing the ground, trying to catch Taemin's scent under the dirt. “Please, someone help me,” he hears. He leaps toward the source of the noise and concentrate. Thump thump thump thump thump. A heartbeat.  He perks up and uses his paws to dig the soil. The more he digs, the more eager he gets. Taemin hyung is under there, I can save him, he thinks. Even under the coat of a beast, he is still the loving dongsaeng that views Taemin as his own family. After hearing the Peacekeepers and the people from the Lunar Shadow talk about the antidote and its curing process, he knew he had to find Taemin.

            Unfortunately, he was an animal so no one understood him and he had to dig his way into the clan. He then found out that Taemin was already buried. With hope still in mind, he found out where the clan graves were and looked for Taemin. The other people who were turned into wolves followed him to help. Luckily, he found Taemin before his heart stopped due to lack of oxygen. His paws keep on moving. With the help of the other wolves, they dig deep enough to reach the coffin. He and a few other wolves use their strength to push the coffin lid to the side.

            The clawing on the coffin lid startles Taemin. He uses his last bit of strength and help push the lid to the side. He takes a deep breath as oxygen enters the coffin, making him no longer lightheaded. He nearly gasps as sees many pairs of glowing eyes. The Gun Tae moves closer to him and bends his head down, close to Taemin’s hand. Taemin slowly reaches forward and wraps his arm around Gun Tae’s neck. With all of his strength, the wolf pulls back, helping Taemin sit up and get out of the coffin.

Joon’s POV~

            “Well? Are you going to talk or not? You were pretty chatty a few minutes ago,” I click my tongue and step closer to Thunder.

            “Joon hyung,” he mutters.

            “You dare to call me your hyung? Since when have you ever treated me like a hyung, huh?” I step closer, my face centimeters away from his face. “Ever since you faked your death and joined the Lunar Shadow clan, you forgot about this hyung. Ever since that day, I acted like you actually died. I didn’t want to remember you as the traitor. Do not disgust me by calling me hyung.”

            “I didn’t have a choice! I was going to die hyung! The Peacekeepers poisoned me and I was going to die. The only way for me to survive was to channel all of the poison into my hands and become a poison user. The dark clans helped me survive hyung!”

            “You idiot!” I slap him across the face. “Do you not see that the Peacekeepers have teamed up with the Lunar Shadow clan!? That means that they planned it! They were using you. Do you not get it!? You didn’t need to go to them. They wanted you on their side! You became their servant, poisoning people at their will!”

            “And how different is that from before?! His majesty sent us to fight his wars while he was at the palace partying with his family! He doesn’t care about us! We are his pawns!” I slap him once again.

            “No. We fight for the citizens. We fight to save our people. We fight for our land. I can care less what His Majesty does. As long as the citizens are safe, I don’t mind fighting his wars. By being part of the dark clans, you are hurting people who don’t need to be hurt. Don’t you dare try to justify your stupidity.” I turn around and sigh. “There’s nothing you can do to justify your actions.”

            “How long has the person been buried hyung?” I turn around and look at his suspiciously.

            “A day.” I bite my tongue and hold back the truth. It is far too late to save the person now. He must have suffocated in the coffin already.

            “Is there a way for me to repay for my sins?” I ask him hopefully.

            With a heartless glare, Joon hyung replies, “No.”