The sounds of their footsteps bounced off the marble floor as Luhan and Kris walked down the corridor and into the depths of the Edifice. Two guards tailed behind them all four of their steps in uniform.

Luhan was fidgety and anxious as he pondered upon his new job and the beast he was to tend to. The new job he had managed to receive, once losing his family, was a caretaker. The Official, Kris, had been nice enough to offer him the duty of taking care of a military beast used for battle on the outskirts of Seoul. Luhan was nervous. The job must be dangerous and scary since a lot of the previous caretakers had ran off. But Luhan wasn’t going to do such a cowardly act of running away. What he needed the most right now was this job to feed him and keep him alive. And being close to the Officials and living in the Edifice as a caretaker gave him the reassurance of safety from the deadly disease, the Toxin.

“We’re here.” Kris, an Official, announced as his the footsteps came to an abrupt halt and Luhan had to take a few steps back.

“It’s in there. Product 1102” the Official said as he swiped an ID card through the lock on the big metal door. The door swung open revealing a spacious dark room and light straying in through a window on the high ceiling above. Luhan peered inside to see an outline of a figure seated behind the light.

“Three meals a day, bathe once in a while, dosage of Toxin and wolf DNA once a week, must be chained the entire time, and your room is right across the corridor.” Kris explained quickly and all too soon the door was shut after Luhan was pushed inside.

The blonde male in his early twenties stumbled inside before surveying the room. The ceiling was extremely high, probably taking up two floors of the Edifice. The room was practically empty. Prison bars divided the room in half and also kept Luhan at a safe distance from the beast. On Luhan’s side of the room there was a cabinet supplied with everything he needed. A cracked bowl of water sat close to the metal prison bars and a tray of untouched food laid beside it.

“Hello.” Luhan attempted speaking to the beast he knew was on the other side of the room hidden and chained in the shadow. “I’m your new caretaker. You can call me Luhan.” He placed a shaking hand on one of the bars and squinted to have a better look at the legendary military beast.

“Do you not want your food and water? Are you not hungry?” Luhan asked when there was no reply and he just assumed that the beast was more beast than human like the rumors claimed. There was the clinking sound of the chains moving and dropping onto the cement floor as the beast moved forward. It came into the small ray of light and Luhan saw the striking human-like features. The beast had silver hair and wore simple rags that hung off its tall, slim figure. Its skin was as pale as the cement it stood on. The only two features that made it obvious that it was a mutant were the scraggly, black wolf ears, its black tail with silver highlights that weaved around from behind, and its piercing eyes that were as deadly as the Infected humans it fought. The eyes were its most triggering feature, pitch black pupils and dark blue  irises that would tend to swirl with what seemed like wisps of white. For sure this beast was no human.

“Hello.” Luhan greeted again out of nervous emotions. The beast walked over to the tray of food by the prison bars right in front of Luhan. In one swift motion the contents of the tray (leftovers of the Officials' dinner) were smashed in its fist and then balled up inside of the metal tray that it had managed to bend.

The silver-haired mutant watched with those piercing eyes as Luhan slowly backed away from the bars and rushed out of the room. With his heart pounding, Luhan slammed the metal door shut behind him as he slumped down against it. He said he wasn’t going to do such a cowardly thing as running away, but the monster was frightening, the beast was frightening, the mutant was frightening, the human was frightening, very frightening.

~***~

Over the course of the week, Luhan made sure to feed the beast three times a day. And that was all he made sure to do. He runs in, drops the food and water then runs out before returning when he has the guts to to gather the untouched items. The beast doesn’t eat. It doesn’t drink. Luhan begins to wonder if it’s the wolf DNA in the beast that keeps it unaffected from starvation or if the beast is protesting something.

“They’re not leftovers.” Luhan informed on the sixth day as caretaker. He nudged the tray closer to the beast that sat against the wall far away. “I had the meal specially made by the Cook. And I got a new cup to replace the bowl of water.”

The beast showed slight interest when his eyes turned to eye the food, its tail twitched slightly. Luhan caught him and smiled secretly to himself before leaving the room. When he returned half an hour later he gathered the tray of food and water. The tray of food was still filled with food except of the small portion of spicy kimchi that had disappeared, the traces of the red juice was even off. The water was left untouched and so was the rest of the food. Luhan felt proud of his accomplishment as he left to make sure the Cook makes more kimchi for tomorrow.

~***~

It has been a week and it’s time for the beast’s dosage of Toxin and wolf DNA with chemicals the Officials mixed as a formula for the beast’s ability in combat and survival. The caretaker is stressed when he enters the beast’s room carrying a box of the syringes and mixture. With a few twists of keys, the door of the cell swings open and Luhan nervously approaches the beast sitting in the shadows behind the light. Luhan sets his equipment down in the light so he can see better and beckons the beast over. It hesitates but abides.

The beast sits cross legged in the light as Luhan pulls out two syringes with thick needles. He takes the beast’s left arm and pushes a part of the rag away to reveal a spot on its bicep. Luhan couldn’t help but notice just how real and how human the mutant feels. Smoothing over the white skin with a swab of alcohol, Luhan takes a deep breath and grabs the syringe filled with the Toxin disease. There were no winces or any signs of pain or discomfort when it was injected into the beast, same with the syringe of wolf DNA.

Luhan sets the empty syringes back in his bag and pulls out the brewed mixture the mutant was supposed to drink. Pouring the contents of the mixture into a bowl, Luhan hands the beast the medicine-like mixture. Its silver bangs fall back to reveal its blue, abnormal eyes as it drinks the foul smelling mixture all in one gulp. Luhan marvels at the human-like creature. It looked more human than wolf unlike the rumors he heard around Seoul. If the ears and tails disappeared then it would be very human.

“You’re quite strong both internally and externally aren’t you?” Luhan chuckled as he packed his things. “You also seem more human than beast if you ask me.” he continues speaking what was on his mind. His job would become quite lonely if he didn’t have anyone to talk to even if that meant making small talk with the beast.

“Leave.” the beast rasped out. It was the first time Luhan heard it speak and he was quite shocked to hear the Korean language that he was accustomed to instead of the wolf-like roars he was expecting.

“Get the hell out of my sight!!!” the beast roared and the outbreak sent the caretaker flying out of the cell and locking the prison door behind him before scrambling out of the room.

What could've caused the beast to break out in such anger, Luhan thought. It scared him despite how he was just a bit excited about the fact that the beast had spoken. He was still scared enough to not return at all that day.

~***~

Luhan only returned the next morning with breakfast. When he entered the room and saw the beast, Luhan nearly dropped the tray. Dried blood stained the spot where the ray of light shone on. Dots of red adorned the wall alongside deep, freshly made claw marks in the walls that Luhan never noticed until then. There were always claw marks on the dirty walls. A slumped figure sat in its usual position against the back wall, its head drooped down, its face hidden from view. Chains still had it bounded tightly but they looked more deathly today.

Quickly setting down the breakfast by the bars, Luhan rushed out of the room. This time not out of fright but of worry. The beast looked lifeless. It didn’t move and he didn’t see its chest heave with any signs of breathing. It seemed like something horrible happened last night.

“Agh, watch where you’re going Luhan.” Kris remarked as he bumped heads with the blonde and stumbled back.

“Its dead! It’s not breathing. Blood, everywhere. Its dead.” the sentences couldn’t form in Luhan’s mouth and he ended up screaming nonsense to the Official. But the Official understood. He had seen quite a few caretakers freak out like this, the day after giving the beast its medication for the first time.

“Gosh you’re a slow caretaker. Have you not caught on over the thirty years of mankind suffering the Toxin disease to know what a living thing goes through when exposed to the disease?”

“Your organs enlarge then compress. Your blood increases in large amounts especially because of the enlargement of the heart that expands more than other organs. The brain takes a slower process. It doesn’t show much change but over a period of time you will lose your sanity the more your brain expands and contracts. Eventually your body will get too overwhelmed and you have no control and that is when we have the Infected roaming about the outskirts. The Infected stage is a long stage but once it’s over the body eventually either blows up or shrivels up and shuts down.” Kris began to explain with a roll of his eyes. He felt like he was teaching a kindergarten class to a twenty five year old that should know better. All of the previous caretakers annoyed him e

“The beast is not only injected with Toxin cells that invades his body but with wolf DNA. The wolf is the only known animal that is apparently immune to the disease, no one knows why yet. So the wolf DNA counteracts the disease and doesn’t allow it to control its body but it also allows some symptoms of the disease to occur. We do this to it so its immune system can get used to the disease and become immune to it like a wolf. And that mixture he drank was just to prevent some body parts from getting affected or that would become bothersome to you. Do you understand the blood now and can you stop your trembling hand? Everything is completely alright.” Kris sighed as he waited for a reaction.

He didn’t really get one because Luhan simply turned and headed back into the beast’s room. From the cabinet he picked up a rag and mop and entered the cell room. Dropping the mop first, Luhan went over and knelt down by the unconscious beast and took it’s bloody limbs carefully and wiped the dry blood off.

“I’m so, so sorry.” Luhan whispered, blaming it on himself, once he finished and saw how the beast was still knocked out. It must have suffered a lot of pain and wanted to self destruct. To think that it goes through the same excruciating pain every week was horrifying. No being alive should ever go through such torture even if it was just sacrificing one to save the entire human race.

~***~

Luhan began to stay during meals. He would set the food and water down in the beast’s cell and then sit on the floor on the other side watching with great interest.

I heard that the beast ate the flesh of the Infected he fights each day.

A relative in the Edifice told me that the beast eats with his fangs and claws at food with his sharp claws.

Someone told me that the beast drinks human blood. Once, he even drank his own mother’s blood.

The common rumors that Luhan heard around town before losing his family echoed in his mind as he watched the so-called beast before him. None of the rumors were true at all. The beast looked like any other human. It ate using the utensils that were provided and it drank the water that Luhan had prepared.

“Eat the rest of the food.” Luhan commanded when the beast sets down his tray with just the kimchi eaten. It ignored its caretaker and turned away avoiding eye contact. It really didn’t like eye contact.

“You can’t waste that much food.” Luhan pushed the tray back towards the beast but the beast just stared at it coldly then stared back at its caretaker. Giving up, Luhan reached through the bars once more and retrieved the tray of food. Without hesitation he picked up the fork and wolfed down the leftovers. He was hungry and even he had a limited amount of food in the Edifice.

“I probably poisoned it.” the beast said. Luhan paused, surprised that it spoke again, then continued to eat. The beast was partially correct. With the Toxin disease in it, it could be able to contaminate what it touches but the disease would’ve spread all across the Edifice already if that was possible. It was safe to eat after the beast, at least it seemed so to Luhan.

“I’m going to die eventually so what’s so wrong with dying earlier?” Luhan said lightly as he reached through the bars and picked up the cup for a drink.

It was like his new caretaker wasn’t afraid of death at all. The beast stared at the spot before Luhan’s feet avoiding his eyes as he speaks.

“Is there nothing to live for? In the outside world?”

There was a tone of disappointment in its voice that made Luhan set the tray down and observe the beast’s expressions.

“Will the world end and all the killing I’ve done will be worthless? Is death around every corner? Is disease spreading so rapidly that everyone is infected already? Will everyone die!? ing answer me! Will everyone die!?” the beast panted, its chest heaving up and down from the sudden rage that was released. Ashamed, it looked away cursing at itself for losing his cool and let its worries overwhelm itself.

“What?” it growled when he saw that Luhan’s jaw had nearly dropped to the ground.

“No-nothing I just...I just still can’t believe you talk.” Luhan looked flabbergasted as he gaped at the mutant that kept its eyes trained on the ground. “I mean, yes, everyone will die.” Luhan said, answering the question. The beast’s head snapped back to see if his caretaker was joking. No one ever answered him truthfully like this. No one ever answered him at all.

“Everyone will die eventually. It’s part of nature. You just have to learn how to accept it and move on, not too hard.” Luhan said matter-of-factly.

“You aren’t like the rest.” the beast said and brought its eyes up to look at the caretaker. “Everyone else is always sad about the loved ones that have died. Haven’t you lost your loved ones yet?”

“I have. It was my foster family. My biological one caught the disease when I was just 3 so I don’t remember enough. I guess I just haven’t loved enough.” Luhan chuckled as he stacked the empty cup on the tray. The beast saw that as a sign of the end of the conversation and stood up to retreat back to his former spot by the wall. That was when Luhan caught sight of black writing on the nape of the beast’s neck. He could make out the numbers 1102. The beast was branded with numbers, as an item. And the world just seemed so cruel at that one moment when Luhan realized that the creature before him was part of the human race. The mutant was not a monster, it was not an it but a he, and this he needed a name.

“Sehun!” Luhan screamed out when it entered his mind and the beast paused to wonder what his caretaker was screaming about now. “It means serving the world by doing praiseworthy deeds.” Delighted with himself, Luhan strolled out of the room while the silver-haired mutant with a new name just stared after his caretaker.

He concluded that the caretaker was quite different from the former ones. This one seemed unaffected by the death and hopeless atmosphere, this one enjoyed talking to the beast as an equal, and this caretaker was quite random but in the best way possible because Sehun finally has a name, a real one.

Sehun sat down by his wall dragging his chains with him. He stretched his jaw muscles a bit and tried to get used to how it feels like to talking after a long period of time by repeating his name over and over again in hushed whispers to himself.

~***~

Sehun was a name that was heard only in the cell. It was also a name that Luhan liked on his tongue. And it was a name that the mutant loved to hear. Everyday when Luhan brought food he made sure to call out Sehun’s name and the boy would immediately respond, inching up to the bars to get his food. Of course he did it with a stoic face because he didn’t want Luhan to know just how much control the caretaker has with just a name. But whenever Luhan talked to the beast he wouldn’t say Sehun’s name enough for the wolf boy to be satisfied so he would just ignore his caretaker the majority of the time.

Luhan talked about the most absurd things from a nice little sweet drink called bubble tea (that was extremely rare now) to his opinion on the deaths of animals (deers in particular). But most of all he asked questions and he asked a lot of them. Can I touch your ears? Can I touch your tail? Sehun only shook his head and ignored him. Luhan wanted so much to stick his arms through the bars and the beast’s ears but there was a certain fear that held him back. Would Sehun get angry and kill him on the spot? But it was a silly fear, it was one of those fears that was always in the hearts of the citizens.

A month passed by just like that as they got used to each other. Luhan was the caretaker that cared just a bit too much for the mutant. He fed him, bathed him (once, only because unspeakable things happened), and talked to him. And every week when Luhan had to give Sehun his medications, Luhan would stay the night in the room and tried to soothe the pain out of the wolf boy.

They grew to know each other more bit by bit. Sehun was a curious boy who wanted to know everything about the world that wanted nothing to do with him. There was no hate within him only self-hate. It was as if the Officials had brainwashed him into thinking everything -from the disease to the deaths- was his fault.

When Sehun wasn’t busy hating himself he was faced with Luhan’s lame humor. Luhan found out that Sehun had no sense of humor whatsoever so his expressions were always so stoic. The only time the mutant had ever smiled was when Luhan clumsily ran into the prison bars when leaving and Sehun had chuckled and grinned at the stupidity of a caretaker that was supposed to be caring and careful. Ever since then Luhan purposefully does clumsy things like running into walls or tripping over his feet just to see if Sehun’s cold face would shine with a smile again.

That wasn’t the only thing that Luhan did to get closer to the mutant he was so interested in. The cell door would open more often as one month dragged into two and the cell would contain more than one person. And whenever the cell contained two people, Sehun’s jaw would move more, awakening from its long slumber. But the relationship between the wolf boy and his caretaker wasn’t always so comfortable. They had their moments when both weren’t cooperating. At times Sehun would sulk in a corner and scream for Luhan to leave him alone. When the caretaker would try to comfort him the violence was hard to suppress and Sehun eventually would tear at his chains to relieve anger. It was the aftereffects of the medications. Luhan also noticed it was post traumatic stress disorder because the boy’s outbursts were always the day after he returned from fighting the Infected. There was nothing that could be done.

~***~

“Tell me what the outside world is like.” Sehun asked one day as he stared at the ground, still unable to rid the discomfort of eye contact. Luhan sat right next to him and rested his soft blonde head against the wall where Sehun was chained to.

“Do you want the sugarcoated version of it or the dead truth?” Luhan questioned as he played with the rusty chains, swinging a loop around.

“The dead truth.”

The caretaker looks at Sehun doubtfully but continues. “The outside world is hell. Populations have dropped 50% in just ten years. Everyone shuts themselves in their homes or wherever they can hide from safety. But the disease finds everyone. Whenever people are Infected the Officials toss them over the North Korean border. But the Infected have been getting better at hiding and most roam in the depths of Seoul. Everyone’s dying. No one cares. The Officials are only focused on fighting off the Infected and keeping foreigners out of Seoul. And humanity will be completely wiped out.”

There was a long silence as Sehun stared at the ground with great concentration. Luhan saw his hand shake out of fear and dread.

“What’s the sugarcoated version?”

“The sugarcoated version is that everyone dies anyways. The Toxin is just speeding things up for everyone.” Luhan answered with a cheerful face that didn’t fit the situation at all. Sehun made a disgusted face and muttered ‘sick person’ before moving away from his caretaker.

“I don’t get how you don’t even care. Are you not scared of death?”

“Why should I be? Why do you care about the world that’s dying? You’re the one that’s being mutated and forced into fighting.” Luhan asked as he scooted over to Sehun who debated on whether he should move again or not.

“I’m not being forced. I’m doing this so everyone will thank me and forgive me. I did something horrible before that’s why everyone hates me. I’m saving humanity from the disease.” Sehun said with determination.

“What was the horrible thing you did?”

The silver bangs blocked Sehun’s eyesight as he lowered his gaze to the ground again and stared at an interesting speck in a weird blob shape. “I don’t know.”

That was the day Luhan witnessed the child beneath the wolf boy, beneath the Toxin, beneath the scars and pain that a child should not bear, beneath the quietness, and beneath the coldness. Sehun was nothing but a child trapped within an 18 year old body that attempted to balance the world on his shoulders. And this child wanted nothing more than to be accepted.

~***~

The cell was empty when Luhan entered with breakfast. Panic struck him as he rushed into the cell and searched the shadows. Sehun was gone. The chains grasped only air and added onto the cold empty air of the cell.

Then Luhan remembered that Sehun had gone off into battle yesterday. The Officials took him at night but he would always return the next day and that made it easier for Luhan to push out the image of the wolf boy fighting, blood that belonged to the Infected dripping down his limbs, and a fiery rage about him. The image of what seemed like just a mutated kid to Luhan fighting and killing on a battlefield entered the caretaker’s mind the first day Sehun was taken away into battle since Luhan started his job. But Sehun was in battle and apparently something had stalled his return.

So Luhan sat in the cell room and waited. Cleaning kept him busy and his mind off the topic of fighting and the possibility of Sehun dying in battle. Instead, while Luhan was cleaning he discovered a lot of interesting things. On the wall where Sehun’s chains hung a large portion of the paint peeled back and underneath were tick marks. There were millions of tick marks that were then scratched over and replaced with numbers by the side. The numbers ranged from 54 to 67 and the carved numerals were extremely difficult to decipher. The handwriting was similar to that of an eight year old. Luhan scowled as he tried to understand what the numbers meant. They most likely were created by Sehun keeping track of the years, 2054-2067.

Just as Luhan was about to place the peeled paint back there were heavy footsteps and shuffling coming through the door. Two guards tossed a battered mutant into his cage and left without a word. Sehun’s right arm was bandaged and there was a sense of insanity hidden behind his disheveled hair that blocked his eyes.

“Sehun are y-”

“Go away! Get out now!” the beast roared brushing Luhan off and pointed towards the exit. The caretaker understood and scrambled off only to hear the cell fill with inhumane roars.

Sehun was having one of his moments again apart from the after effects of his medication the beast would have a few breakdowns once in a while. He would want to be left alone in solitude and Luhan knew better than to pressure him. But they’ve been occurring more often. There were breakdowns after the dosage of the Toxin disease. There were breakdowns after Sehun went into battle. There were breakdowns at random times and Luhan would be immediately rushed out before hell would break loose. And every time Luhan goes to check on Sehun the next day there would be the mutant’s blood splattered across the walls, dents in the bars, and claw marks on the floors just like the first breakdown he had witnessed as a caretaker a few months back. Just like back then, Luhan couldn’t do anything about it.

~***~

Things began to change. Sehun began to change, morphing into the ‘it’ everyone called him. Luhan had managed to get Sehun to eat a full meal in months of caring but Sehun began to reject the food maybe only taking a few bites of kimchi. Those were the good days. The bad days, Sehun would fling the tray across the room and his meal would stain the wall. They used to always talk too. Luhan used to frequently visit the mutant and they would talk about anything that was on their mind, from life to death and from pizza to cartoons (Luhan had difficulty explaining that to him since cartoon productions ended twenty years ago, the idea of cute moving figures on a screen seemed unrealistic). Now, it was too difficult to ensure Luhan’s safety if he stayed in the room for too long.

Whatever left of him that was human probably hung from a thread if not already gone, buried beneath the immense amount of wolf DNA. He became an entirely different person. A stranger in Luhan’s eyes. On the rare occasions Luhan went to visit Sehun the beast would growl, a low and deadly rumble, which was a signal for Luhan to quickly leave. The beast has taken over.

~***~

“You’re afraid aren’t you?” Sehun whispered when Luhan rubbed alcohol over a patch of Sehun’s smooth skin. The caretaker was shocked that the beast had spoken to him again like a proper human being after such a long while. Luhan looked up and peered through his disheveled blonde hair to see Sehun’s dark blue orbs staring at him with piercing cold wisps of white.

“No.” Luhan said as he readied the syringe of Toxin on Sehun’s skin.

“Don’t ing lie to me.” a hint of a nasty snarl hid behind Sehun’s words. The syringe’s needle snapped in half the moment Luhan pressed it down on the mutant’s skin thinking it would pierce the skin like it was supposed to.

Sehun balled his fists up in frustration as he watched Luhan replace the syringe.

“I don’t need it.” he declared once the needle neared his arm. He brushed it away but it only smashed in Luhan’s hand, the glass turning into shards that cut into the caretaker’s skin. Sehun didn’t notice and stood up, moving away.

“Come back here, you need to get these shots.” Luhan said calmly as he plucked the shards of glass out of his hand, wincing slightly at the pain.

“I don’t need poison and DNA in my blood! I don’t need to be turned into some sick monster anymore! I don’t need it anymore! I never needed it!” the snarls came out followed by the menacing growls. Luhan swallowed down the sympathy and grabbed another syringe before trying to approach Sehun who stormed around the cell with his chains clinking against the cemented floor. With one swift move Luhan was pushed to the ground and was now looking up at an enraged beast. Sehun’s silver hair was disheveled and fangs had begun to form from his canines. His ears grew slightly larger along with his dark gray tail. His normally blue eyes turned an ice cold white with very faint blue markings. Madness. He reeked of madness as his sentences morphed into a series of snarls and roars.

I’m terrible

Sehun’s eyes widened as he felt himself get trapped within the body he no longer had control over.

It’s like I’m diseased. I am diseased.

He never intended for any of this to happen. Sehun roared as he pounded on the walls with his fists. His body was in no control let alone his mind that was torn between the beast and the human states.

What’s doing this to me? It’s the poison that runs wild in my screams. Poison that I’m already used to.

All of a sudden the caretaker was back on his feet and pressing lips against lips. Luhan stood on tiptoes to match the lanky mutant’s height. His bloody hands gripped Sehun’s face in place as he initiated the kiss, the pair of lips moving against the other filled with wildness. He did it to calm Sehun down even though that couldn’t explain the fiery emotions within him as his fingers continued to dance through the tousled silver hair.

This was right. It felt so right. Neither of them could deny it as their kiss was directed to a wall. A pain shot through Luhan’s lip as Sehun’s fang pierced the soft skin causing blood to drip out. Their tongues were having problems weaving past Sehun’s fangs too. But none of that was a concern to them.

Sweet. Sweet pleasure is so sweet.

They pulled away from each other, Luhan’s hands still clutching Sehun’s pale face. Their breathes ceased to inhales and exhales that were in sync. They were on the ground again, Luhan kneeling before Sehun who was sprawled against the wall their bodies pressed together.

Dark blue. Sehun’s eyes were dark blue and warm. The chaoticness from before was gone, the roars were gone, the growls were gone, the beast was gone and it left a human behind.

“Why?” Sehun muttered. He repeated his question again with increased volume that was followed by a snarl. Worried that Sehun was going to snap again Luhan leaned closer to press his lips against Sehun’s. The move didn’t make sense at all in the situation but Luhan was driven by emotion. At the moment all he wanted was to get the Sehun he knew back, the Sehun he spent nights of talk with, the Sehun he grew to care so much about, the Sehun he grew to love.

“Go away!” Sehun cried and pushed his caretaker to the ground. “I don’t understand.” he added in a whimper after a long silence. The child broke into silent sobs as he crouched onto the ground. Luhan scowled and scooted over to wrap an arm around him.

“What do they want from me? Why is the world so scary? Luhan, I ran away from the Officials today. I left the outskirts and went into Seoul. I went in the c-city.” his voice cracked as he recalled the streets of death and famine. A world of black and white yet empty. It was worse than the outskirts of Seoul, it was worse than what Luhan had described.

“I don’t understand why you lied to me. I don’t understand what I’m fighting for.”

“I don’t understand what’s happening to me.”

“I don’t understand why I feel shut off from my body at times.”

“I don’t understand what you just did. I don’t understand why it felt so good and how it calmed me down so much. I don’t understand-” The caretaker silenced the mutant pressing a finger to his lips. No words were needed as Luhan pulled Sehun into his embrace soothing the boy from his anxiety. Maybe, just maybe, Sehun will stay sane for a longer time now. Luhan now knows how to control him.

~***~

Months passed by quickly. The white in Sehun’s eyes were less seen. Everytime the beast went out of control Luhan would always be there to calm his wrath with just a pair of lips, two strong arms, and a smile. At first Sehun would run away both mentally and physically. He was scared of the emotions he would get whenever Luhan showed such affection. The caretaker merely did it as an act of caring for a child but Sehun thought otherwise. But Sehun got used to it, and grew to crave it.

“That thing you do when your lips are on mine.” Sehun would say from time to time. “Do it more often.” It would make Luhan feel bad for taking advantage of such a naive person but he couldn’t help it when being with Sehun felt like a drug. A caretaker was merely just a job of caring for the beast’s needs but it became so much more. It was so much better.

But things weren’t always nice and dainty. Sehun was able to control his inner monster but his appearance changed greatly. The wolf ears shrank till they were barely noticeable. His tail lost it’s silver color and was a dull gray. At first Luhan thought it was an aftereffect from the medications. It wasn’t until the Officials began to notice and frown did the caretaker start to fret.

Rumors of the monster dying spread throughout the Edifice. Sehun was taken away more frequently to fight the Infected but he always returned looking worse every time. His body would remain tired and strained for long periods of time as he rested in his cell, receiving frequent visits from his caretaker. Luhan’s and Sehun’s talks grew shorter and more one-sided. The Officials could sense it. Luhan could sense it. Sehun was slowly fading away.

~***~

“Luhan?”

“Yes.” the blonde caretaker answers as he slides over to Sehun’s side. The silver-haired mutant sits on the back wall with his head resting against it. His head then slides down to meet his caretaker’s shoulder.

“Why are you not scared of death?”

“We live in a world of death.” Luhan answers matter-of-factly.

“I’m fighting. I’m fighting the Infected and I’m fighting the Toxin. I’m going to save the world. Isn’t that why I was made into this?” Luhan didn’t know how to answer. He couldn’t even find a lie to tell Sehun. Instead, he stayed silent with his fingers gently tapping the mutant’s hands.

“So, please be scared of death. It’ll keep you alive to see me save the world.” Sehun grinned when Luhan brushed his silver bangs out of his face.

“Why are you being so nice to the world?”

The smile faded from the boy’s face and silence resided in the cell. Only their soft breathes were heard. Luhan thought Sehun had fallen asleep until he spoke up.

“Because if I save the world then people will like me. The kids of the Officials that run around the Edifice and occasionally into my cell will want to play with me. The Officials won’t have to keep me locked in this cell. My parents will come back to find me. It would be better to save the world, right?” Sehun turned his head to give his caretaker a small grin that ended up stabbing Luhan in the heart.

“Right.” Luhan whispered and did the thing where his lips are on Sehun’s.

~***~

Sehun’s tray of breakfast nearly fell out of Luhan’s hands when he bumped into the Official, Kris. The tall man grunted in annoyance before fixing his attire. Luhan rolled his eyes and scrambled off having no time for the Official, he was in a hurry to see Sehun.

“Wait, I’ll go with you.” Kris called out taking two long strides to catch up with the caretaker. Luhan didn’t question him and opened the door to Sehun’s cell.

The metal door shut behind the two of them as they entered the dimly lit room. The single ray of light from the window on the ceiling lit up the cell like always, the light bouncing off the walls. Luhan contentedly opened the cell door with a jingle of keys. Just when he was about to walk up to the figure that was resting against the wall, the tray of food clattered to the ground. The figure stepped out of the shadows of the cell and made its way into the light.

He wasn’t Sehun.

He was nothing like Sehun.

He looked about Sehun’s age, around 18, but his hair was a dark black. His skin was slightly tan, very tan compared to Sehun’s. His eyes weren’t blue, they weren’t the dark, warm blue that Luhan was accustomed to. They were a dark green with the irises tainted with all-too-familiar wisps of white.

“Luhan meet Kai. Kai meet Luhan, he’s your caretaker.” Kris explained from the other side of the room. Luhan turned around with fear and confusion dancing in his eyes. He didn’t need to ask any questions, Kris knew.

“Product 1102 was terminated.” Kris stated, his words bringing Luhan to the ground. He remembered seeing the numbers embedded into Sehun’s skin. “He was different from the other products that were terminated because they went out of control from the amount of wolf DNA within their bodies. Product 1102 was brought to an end by the disease, maybe the wolf DNA didn’t affect him enough. The scientists are still trying to figure that out so just take care of Kai for a while. He’s special, we even gave him a name.” after explaining the tall Official left the cell hoping the caretaker would understand quickly.

Luhan ran his fingers through his blonde hair before standing back up to take a look at Kai. He had wolf ears and a wolf tail just like how Sehun did. When Luhan told him to wait while he goes to get his breakfast Kai replied with a not-very-surprising answer.

“I’m not going to eat.”

“You have to eat, you can’t let food go to waste.” The mutant didn’t answer and turned around to return to the shadows of the cell. Luhan squinted, catching the numbers 1103 embedded on the back of Kai’s neck. He was marked like an item. Even if he had a name he was still a beast, a monster, a product. Luhan knew already. This product was going to fight the Infected on the outskirts of Seoul. This product was going to get injected with the Toxin and wolf DNA every week. And at that moment, Luhan became very frightened of death.

“Why are you special?” Luhan asks when Kai subsided into the shadows and was barely seen. The mutant answered in a very confident voice.