It was uncomfortable for Ryeowook to sit in front of his brother, dealing with a strange amount of suspicion from the younger male, but he couldn’t exactly blame him for it.  Not that it hadn’t hurt considerably when his brother had shoved him away in reaction when he tried to get close as soon as he practically flew back inside at utterly inhuman speeds.  Every instinct in his body told him to simply throw his arms around JR and hold him close; to protect him from the harsh reality that afflicted them both.  But… it was also not the right time with the way he was curled into the corner as far as he could be with his lips pursed and dark eyes darting everywhere.

                “It’s okay, JR,” Ryeowook soothed with both hands gesturing before him, keeping his voice low and calm.  That was definitely not what he felt either but he was doing his best too.

                “No.  No it’s not,” his brother muttered in response, pointing one finger out towards the area they were all enclosed in, glaring suspiciously at finding himself ‘trapped’ in a small, metallic space with people he didn’t really know.  In the back, Kyuhyun and Kangin shifted around after the former closed the entrance behind himself, carefully staying clear of the drying blood on the bed from where Seunghyun had been laying earlier.

                Come to think of it, it did smell rather good…  Ryeowook had to suppress the sudden desire to vomit at the thought and swallowed thickly instead, keeping his pale expression on his brother and off the irritating vampires in the back.  Couldn’t they go somewhere else while he tried to talk to his brother and explain how he was now a freak…?  “I know,” Ryeowook nodded in agreement, trying to look as pathetic as he could.  “Things are bad.”

                “Bad?” JR blinked in dumbfounded confusion.  “Bad?!”  Pressing himself harder against the wall, he visibly flailed for a moment as he tried to find the words to speak.  Abruptly, he pointed his finger at the two in the back and stumbled, “They’re not human!”  His finger swung to where Seunghyun had been earlier.  “He wasn’t either.  I don’t know what’s wrong with you!  And our parents are dead!” he panted, trembling where he sat as he finally met his brother’s eyes again, all the hurt, fear, and anger made plain to see.

                Ryeowook winced at the flow of words, each statement cutting deeper than the last, and nodded along, placing a hand on his physical wound instinctively.  It was healing up though the major part of the injury would take longer to fill back in.  His keener hearing picked up on Kyuhyun and Kangin talking quietly in the background and he looked over his shoulder with a frustrated expression.  “Can you guys step outside for a minute?!” he demanded breathily, clearly frazzled already.

                Kyuhyun and Kangin both shook their heads in tandem until the latter responded, “No can do.  Sun’s due to rise before too long.  And right now, we’re not goin anywhere,” he shrugged, rather nonplussed and bored, verging on irritated, with JR’s reaction.  Then again, he hadn’t exactly been happy or thrilled about Ryeowook’s reactions the first time either.

                “Wookie…  Why can’t they go in the sun?” JR asked in a voice that indicated he knew the answer, but that it was too crazy to actually believe, despite what he’d seen and been through last night.

                Kangin snorted at the question and just gave him a look as if he was stupid.  “Vampires burn in the sun,” he stated, though the last word was spoken as more of a question.  “Ow!” he yelped when Kyuhyun smacked him in the chest without looking up.  “What was that for?!”

                “Easy, JR,” Ryeowook shifted to calm his little brother again before he turned his attention to the vampires once more.  It was almost laughable the way Kangin subsided as Kyuhyun gave him an irritated sidelong glance for a meager couple seconds before he resumed his attention on the healing shoulder, prodding at the still shifting bone and flesh under the bloody shirt.  He really needed to change that soon…

                Muttering under his breath, the larger vampire fidgeted in place and looked towards the two brothers with a grumpy frown before he sat back down in the chair and resumed his focus on the computer screen, considerably less damaged than the rest of their group with the exception of JR.

                “Vampires?” the human blinked, curling up further while he stared at them.  The look on his face said he knew it shouldn’t be possible but there was also a degree of belief that stated he did know… and didn’t like it.

                “Ne.  But they’re friends,” Ryeowook explained reassuringly in a rapid fire response.  “They won’t hurt you.  I promise,” he went on quickly, his expression as sincere as he could make it.  He sat back on his heels and winced though when his brother looked at him with fear in his eyes.

                “If you’re with them, what does that make you?” the younger boy asked in a mere whisper as he searched his brother’s face.

                Ryeowook bit his bottom lip hard and frowned.  “Half vampire?” he offered hesitantly, waiting for the reaction with tension coiled in every part of his body.

                JR just looked around with a perplexed expression and leaned away from his brother without taking his eyes off him, sniffing once.  Both hands rose to cover his neck protectively and he asked, “How?”

                “I didn’t want to,” Ryeowook murmured plaintively as he leaned closer and then back, hurt by the defensive gesture.  “It was his fault,” he pointed back at Kyuhyun accusingly.

                “Hey,” Kyuhyun grumbled, finally glancing up while Kangin chuckled once.  Another smack and yelp accompanied the sound which made both brothers jump.

                “It’s why I disappeared.  Why I couldn’t come home.  I was just trying to protect Henry,” Ryeowook forged on as his throat grew tight, ignoring the commotion behind him.  “I wanted to go home.  God, I wanted to,” he exhaled shakily.

                “He’s been asking to see you since I found him,” Kyuhyun added dryly, back to sitting on the floor with a pained grimace tugging at his mouth.

                Ryeowook wasn’t sure if he was trying to help or just be a know it all again, but at least JR didn’t reject the information outright.  “I wanted to make sure you were all safe,” he admitted in a broken tone, recalling the fact that they had both lost their parents recently.  “Especially after the bombing in New York.”

                JR’s face darkened and Ryeowook could see tears forming on his lashes again.  “Umma and appa aren’t,” he muttered bitterly, sniffing as he tried to keep his composure.

                “I know,” Ryeowook responded with a shaky voice while his eyes grew watery and his bottom lip trembled.

                “And it’s all because of creatures like them,” he hissed, pointing at the vampires in the back with fear and anger in his eyes.  Painfully, his gaze settled on his brother.  “Like you.”

                Kangin and Kyuhyun snorted at the same time.  The former shot back, “Yeah, well it’s because of creatures like us that you’re still alive now, human.”

                “None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for any of you!” he yelled back, uncurling just enough in his anger.

                “JR!” Ryeowook cried, lurching forward with guilt clawing at his throat, though he pulled up short so he wouldn’t touch him yet.

                “No!  It’s their fault!” the human spat, wiping hastily at his eyes.  “They’re behind the bombing!  They did this to you!  And it’s their fault our parents are dead!  I hate you all!” he sobbed, face crumpling with emotion as he simply curled up in the back and hid his face behind his knees.

                Ryeowook whimpered pitifully while he brought both hands to his mouth and fought the tears futilely.  His brother was right.  Completely and utterly right, but he couldn’t change any of it.  He couldn’t fix what had happened or reverse what he had become.  Knowing that didn’t make him feel any better though and he trembled when he had no idea how to fix this between him and his sibling.

                Looking for some sort of help, he glanced back and hiccupped softly.  “Kyu?”  There was no one else he could turn to anymore…

                The vampire finally looked up and sighed once, shaking his head.  He gave one final glare at Kangin who rolled his eyes and turned back around when the elder pointed at the computer.  Quietly, he stood up and approached the brothers in the corner, squatting just behind and next to Ryeowook while he placed a hand on the shivering half-turned’s shoulder and watched the younger male.  “I could honestly care less what happens to you, human,” he murmured at first, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

                “Kyu,” Ryeowook frowned, instantly feeling betrayed by the words.  He winced at the look he got in return and held his peace, noticing the way his brother looked up over his knees to glare at the vampire instead.

                “But you’re Wookie’s brother and, like it or not, there is really nowhere else for you to go,” he explained, holding the human’s gaze while Ryeowook looked on breathlessly.

                “You going to kidnap me too?” he spat bitterly, though he was close enough to tears to make it lose some of its effect.  “Turn me into a monster like him?” he trembled, his fear shining through in that moment.

                “Of course he’s not,” Ryeowook rushed to answer around his hands, falling silent when both males looked at him.

                Kyuhyun scoffed at the question as a familiar smirk played across his lips.  “I won’t have to,” he explained, glancing back at Ryeowook who simply seemed confused by the admission.  At JR’s disbelieving glare, he snorted and went on, “Honestly kid.  In this war, we’re the best chance you’ve got.  And he,” he paused to nod at Ryeowook.  “Is determined to make sure you survive.  In case you hadn’t noticed.”

                Ryeowook shivered at the certainty in his tone and looked back at his brother who finally glanced over to meet his gaze.  Tentatively, he reached a hand out to rest his fingertips against JR’s shin, waiting for the reaction, though he was just as glad his brother didn’t pull away at the contact.  “JR?” he asked, wishing for some sort of response.

                “Love us or hate us.  Now that push has come to shove, we will be the victors here,” Kyuhyun explained with dread promise, his tone low and expression almost feral.

                Both JR and Ryeowook shuddered at the words and the former looked at his brother.  “What war?”

                Ryeowook opened his mouth to explain and then stopped when Kyuhyun shifted to look back.  “Kangin.  What’s the word in the world?” he asked, drawing all their attention to the computer screen in the back of the trailer.

                “Eh,” Kangin grumbled, turning around in his chair to lean over the backrest.  “Why don’t you come see for yourself?  It isn’t good.  I can tell you that much.”

                Kyuhyun nodded and turned his attention back to the brothers.  “Well?” he prompted, getting up to move out of the way as he gingerly sat down on the folded out bed instead, eyeing the blood stain with a wrinkled nose.

                “JR?” Ryeowook asked, turning his hand to hold his palm up so that he wasn’t touching his brother but was waiting for him to accept the gesture patiently with hope and worry in his eyes.

                Swallowing roughly, the younger male stared at the hand before him.  It still looked human and nothing else about his brother had obviously changed.  That much, anybody could see.  Very slowly, he placed his hand in Ryeowook’s and nodded once, calling a tentative truce for the time being.

                It was hardly something Ryeowook was agreeable to and it hurt more than he ever imagined it would that his brother didn’t wholly trust him anymore, but it was enough.  Protectively, he kept himself between his brother and the vampires as they drew closer to the back, his eyes narrowing when he read the headlines before they even got there.  He pursed his lips to make sure he didn’t say anything as he drew JR close enough to see for himself what was going on.

                When Kyuhyun cleared his throat from the side, Kangin frowned at him but got up and wandered over to the bed as well, giving the brothers a semblance of privacy.  Ryeowook cast a strained but grateful smile at him and then focused on his brother’s face, watching the surprise and horror run across his visage at each new line.  God it hurt to see the pain there…  As much as it hurt to know the rest of the world was suffering too.

                Simultaneous attacks had been launched all across North and South America at approximately the same time, causing massive damage and claiming tens of thousands of lives already.  Even now, like a waterfall effect, additional bombings and attacks on other nuclear power plants were being reported across the globe where darkness still reigned before the sunrise.  Hospitals, military bases, and cities with particularly dense populations were primary targets so far, though no other patterns had yet been established.  Death tolls were uncertain but rising and the number of injured people so far was astounding.  Estimates of damage costs were in the hundreds of millions and across the globe, the loss of life was as yet unconfirmed, but they all knew it would be terrible.

                “Oh my god,” JR breathed, staring in open mouthed horror at the screen as he clicked through the open links reflexively, oblivious to everything else.  It was bad enough that their home city had been virtually destroyed before their very eyes.  Seeing that the same thing was happening to various places worldwide was like a kick in the teeth.

                Honestly, Ryeowook wasn’t too much better.  At least he’d had an inkling of what was going on but this…  This was something else entirely and he felt nauseous even thinking about it.  Report after report gave more bad news and relayed sightings of terrible monsters.  All manner of pictures appeared on the screen, portraying the werewolves in all their terrifying glory, some alive and a few dead, though the vampires appeared as nothing more than ghostly outlines on screen, if they appeared at all.

                “This is really happening,” JR whispered, prying his eyes from the screen to finally stare at Ryeowook, completely unable to gather words in that moment.

                His older brother simply nodded with a pained expression and rested his hand on the back of the chair.  He was close enough to touch him but he refrained, letting his brother choose what contact he wanted, though all Ryeowook wished was to hold onto him and never let go.  Truly, the half-turned was torn as he found himself stuck invariably between the two worlds in as literal a sense as possible.  Without his brother around, it was easier to accept what he’d become and not question the monstrous nature of his change.  But now…  Seeing JR react to such things, he struggled with what he was.

                Simultaneously, his newfound strength was what had allowed him to rescue JR in the first place, but it was now what set them apart and made his sibling fear him…  Ryeowook hated that.  When JR finally looked away to focus on the news again, obviously fighting shock, Ryeowook looked back at Kyuhyun.  By the look in his eyes, it was almost as if the vampire could see what thoughts were running through his head.  Briefly, he wondered if the vampire was a mind reader too, but then the moment they’d shared outside the van told him that was a lie.  He was just as imperfect as the rest of them, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t highly perceptive.

                “So, Kyu,” he whispered, holding the vampire’s gaze perfectly.  All he wanted to do was go hide in a corner somewhere and keep JR safe from the rest of the horrors of the world but that was as impractical as it was stupid.  “What happens now?”  He felt more than saw JR’s attention shift from the screen and his peripheral vision noticed Kangin honing in as he listened for the answer, but his gaze never wavered from Kyuhyun.

                “Now?” Kyuhyun smirked, allowing his eyes to travel around the room as he looked at the other three occupants, making sure to return to Ryeowook evenly.  “We survive by any means necessary.”

(a/n: So it's a bit shorter than my norm but the next update will make up for it.  I really just didn't want something close to 6 and 7 words.  lol  Plus, it made sense to split them after the fact.  ;)  So we've got JR's initial reaction now that the immediate shock of being rescued and all that has worn off.  We'll look into a bit more shortly but it's a start!  And we have a glimmer of an idea of what's going on with the rest of the world.  Don't worry.  I promise the next update will be at least slightly more enlightening.  I didn't lie about the turning point, but things don't often change and happen overnight.  heh  We're getting there!  I just need to make sure a couple things happen in the meantime.  And I'm trying to introduce a handful more characters.  Yay!  Thanks for reading and I hope you look forward to the next update.

Yes.  There will be a KyuWook moment.  ^_^)