“It’s not an airborne pathogen,” Kyuhyun murmured darkly with his fingers threaded in front of his mouth as he squatted in front of the body they’d managed to keep in tact while the pack and clan leaders crowded close to hear just what the hell was going on.  Pockets of sunlight continued to filter in with the early afternoon rays of the sun but most of the ragged and exploded holes had been patched up sufficiently to keep the vampires from being endangered.

                In the case of the still whole, if discolored, disfigured, and burned, body before them, Kyuhyun assured the gathered members a timely electric shock had disrupted the microchip’s ability to receive the detonation signal and rendered it null, voiding any chance of it going off in the meantime.  That wasn’t what was bothering him though.  He was silent but his guarded expression betrayed there was more yet on his mind.

                “So what is it then and how did you cure yourself?” Yunho growled, bristling in the confines of the room.  Like many of his brethren, he bore the marks of combat, though the worst off by far was still Hongbin who had managed to join them only with the help of Sanghyuk and Daesung who hovered close by on either side of him.  His complexion was pale and he sagged where he sat on a hastily provided chair, but of the pack leaders present, he at least had avoided being bitten.

                Kyuhyun’s eyes flickered up to meet Yunho’s gaze, unflinching in his thoughts as he peered at the werewolf and those around him.  He glanced over at Ryeowook who remained flattened against the wall with JR immediately next to him and Baekho on his brother’s other side.  The only reason the half-turned had been allowed to stay was because Kyuhyun demanded it, which both pleased him and made him nervous.  At least this way he would know what was going on though.  Idly, he scratched at his neck where he only belatedly remembered being attacked in the earlier madness and listened to the forthcoming response.

                “It’s a genetically engineered anaerobic bacterium that survives in the bloodstream and attacks… abnormal cells with alarming speed,” he explained calmly, fixating his eyes back on the dead man, his facial expression turning tense for a moment.  “Half-turneds are perfect carriers for it since the negative effects take time to manifest due to the balanced nature of their partially transformed bodies countering it, but if they bite one of us, it becomes problematic,” he explained dryly, fingertips ghosting up to brush over the mostly healed bite wound on his shoulder.

                “That’s an understatement,” Seunghyun commented in an equally dry tone of voice as he glared at the vampire, though his eyes flickered to Victoria as if he couldn’t help himself.  He shifted to keep an already healing bite mark on his arm out of immediate sight, but he had other wounds on his form that included several burn marks bearing a resemblance to shrapnel pieces.  “What’s the cure?”

                Kyuhyun’s smirk was anything but reassuring.  “It’s not really a cure exactly, but I was able to find an electric voltage frequency that disrupts their cellular structure and destroys them internally.”

                “So you basically electrocuted yourself until it died off,” Yoochun stated with a disagreeable frown.  The vampire answered by raising a brow in concession and all the wolves growled in response.

                “How do you know it works?” Yunho demanded with clenched fists, glaring at the vampire before he looked at Victoria nearby.  They all knew she’d been infected as well and they’d still lost her, though none were blind to the extensive injuries to her body either.

                “You don’t see me suffering any ill effects do you?” Kyuhyun challenged evenly, daring the wolf to argue with him.

                “What’s wrong with this one though?” Daesung asked, his voice evidencing a curious dual tonal quality that indicated someone else was speaking through him.  He pointed at the downed male and gestured at what had caught his eye when he drew closer.  “You said he is a half-turned but he’s showing symptoms much more advanced than the ones on her body,” he explained professionally, though the comment earned him a scathing look from Changmin who had yet to leave Victoria’s side; or say a word in the aftermath.  Daesung missed it entirely as he focused on the infected specimen.

                “Was,” N explained with a wince as he nodded towards Kyuhyun whose bite marks were already almost gone.

                “You mean he was turning?” Sanghyuk blinked, head tilting to the side inquisitively.

                “I get it,” Daesung murmured with a thoughtful frown, his thumbnail caught between his teeth while he peered intently from under straight black bangs, his naturally narrow eyes nearly disappearing in his face.  “As a half-turned, the bacteria would have taken much longer to set in but because he was able to feed directly from a vampire, the second stage of his transformation began and accelerated the attacking pattern of the illness.  Didn’t it?”  He looked to Kyuhyun for confirmation but paused when someone else spoke first.

                “Donghae,” Hongbin called softly, gesturing for Daesung to step back when the news made the rest of the crowd understandably anxious.

                “But what if-?” he started to say before the injured wolf shook his head slightly, unbound, wavy hair shifting at the motion.

                Sanghyuk stepped forward and placed an understanding hand on his shoulder.  “He’s right.  You’ve seen your fill but we may need you later and if you exhaust Daesung now…” he trailed off, letting the ill possibility hang in the air.

                “Please don’t,” Baekho spoke for the first time since they’d gathered with a very worried look at his brother.  Ryeowook didn’t miss the way JR leaned towards the younger male supportively at the comment and he struggled to keep his expression neutral.  At the pained expression in Baekho’s eyes, Daesung smiled sadly and then went limp.  His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he would have hit the ground but for Sanghyuk catching him with a grunt.  “Dae!” Baekho called, lurching forward to help draw him back while all eyes returned to Kyuhyun who remained quiet in the meantime.

                Ryeowook had a hard time splitting his attention between the two parties, but he figured JR was in good hands if he was with Baekho for now.  And they were still going to be in the room after all.  His concern was this illness that affected the nonhumans which now included him.

                “If you say the bacteria affects both our species, why aren’t the wolves feeling it yet?” Junsu asked, glancing at a savage claw wound that traveled the length of his upper arm and shoulder where crusted blood still stained the skin.

                “Unless you were bitten, you probably won’t,” Kyuhyun explained, finally standing up with a sneer at the body.  “It travels in the saliva.  Or blood.  Scratches alone have a very low probability of actually transmitting it.  As for effects,” he frowned, glancing at the gathered wolves with something akin to irritation.  “Your systems are more adept at fighting it off.  Living tissue and impressive immune systems,” he conceded begrudgingly, “ensure that.  The humans haven’t made the bacteria strong enough to quickly devastate your bodies though you will start to weaken to the point that you won’t be able to transform at will and that is when you become easy prey.”

                “Is that all?” Yoochun asked softly with his arms crossed over his chest, the outer forearm sluggishly healing over where it had been brutally savaged by cruel teeth.

                Ryeowook perked up when Kyuhyun turned to look at the wolf with a small shake of his head.  “No.  If you live long enough, that starts happening,” he explained evenly, pointing at the dead body on the ground.  “The blisters and boils only start on the outside but once it weakens the external barrier of your skin enough, the infection spreads inward.  From there, it destroys you from the inside out.  If something else doesn’t kill you first.”

                All wolves present bristled at the news and N hesitantly raised his hand, drawing their attention while he remained supportively by Hyosung and Himchan’s side.  “You haven’t had a chance to cure them yet but why aren’t they starting to look like… that?” he gestured at the dead creature in their midst with obvious disdain, though his question was incredibly serious.

                Kyuhyun nodded and gave both vampires the hint of a reassuring smile.  “In a healthy or only minimally injured vampire or werewolf, the symptoms take time to manifest.  More so in a wolf but the effects are hastened by anything that compromises the body in both our species.  Extensive injuries, utter exhaustion, a lack of food…  All of it makes this thing worse,” he hissed, finally letting a measure of his ire slip through.

                Ryeowook was amazed it had taken him this long to slip up when talking about something so cruel.  Each new bit of information only served to make him more sickened by the situation and he gripped his arms tight with slender but strong fingers, edging just a hair closer towards JR.

                 Almost at the same time, Seunghyun stepped forward with Yunho at his shoulder, the pair glancing at each other briefly before letting the dominance issue go for the moment.  “And the cure for us is still…?” the former asked in his deep voice, the tone dangerously neutral.

                Kyuhyun smirked and shrugged with both hands.  “I electrocute you until it dies.”

                The solution was hardly perfect and with only two Chos in the area, it was even more difficult but neither vampire was comfortable with the idea of using outside power sources.  It was hard enough regulating their own internal systems, much less an exterior one, never mind it was supposedly able to be adjusted manually.  Kyuhyun at least didn’t trust it and he would not be swayed, but if they were going to manage it, they had to start now.

                Not surprisingly, the vampires were the first to be ‘cured’, acting as guinea pigs for the wolves’ benefit since none had seen the positive effects of it yet.  Granted, the process was exhausting for both parties and Kangin immediately required feeding from one of the wolves before he could assist Kyuhyun.  As it was, Hyosung and Himchan were both woozy and light headed upon first recovering before N guided them out to allow them a moment to rest.

                Once the vampires were taken care of, additional, healthy wolves agreed to assist the Chos by providing much needed strength when their own reserves ran low so they could finish taking care of the rest of the endangered pack.  The process was slow and could only be administered to one individual at a time, leaving the wolves in a similar state of exhaustion when they shuffled or were guided away.

                For as long as he was allowed, Ryeowook watched Kyuhyun and Kangin treating the sick, wincing at the way the sparks jumped over their bodies as they convulsed with the wolves.  He couldn’t imagine enduring what they did time and time again, and watching the Chos put themselves through such a trial only served to make him more heartsick overall.  Ryeowook couldn’t help but hurt to see Changmin finally leave with Victoria’s body in his arms, his expression intimidatingly dark.  It wasn’t more than a moment after that he was ushered out by Junsu who hauled the body of the half-turned become vampire outside.

                At a slatted window, Ryeowook watched the body begin to burn in the light, threads of cloth flaking away first before layers of skin curled up and peeled away in flakes of ash and orange embers.  Even the musculature crumbled under the continued exposure until all that remained was a charred skeleton glaring at the ersely clear sky.  His keen eyes picked out a handful of recovered wolves pacing the perimeter in their wolf forms, making sure to keep an eye on the area so they might be as safe as possible under the circumstances.

                Another look inside the confines of the building showed the humans, wolf-kin, and more severely injured wolves resting on various surfaces.  Even more puzzling was the presence of the Hunters in their midst.  He might have thought them more useful on the outside but he wasn’t surprised the wolves and vampires didn’t trust them completely, even if they had helped them out.  That in an of itself was still a mystery and he didn’t know when he might figure out they why but Ryeowook wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Luna hovering near Yongguk and Mir as they tended to Minsoo.  The wounded Hunter appeared to have escaped any severe harm but he still looked decidedly pale and… weak.

                Taking a deep breath, he finally pushed away and moved to find his brother who hadn’t gone very far from the back.  “You doing alright?” Ryeowook asked JR while he huddled near Baekho and Daesung who was still unconscious.

                “Ne,” JR nodded once, taking a nervous look around and a steady, slow breath.  “It’s just a lot, you know?” he asked, considerably calmer than he’d been earlier, though Ryeowook could hear a slight tremor in his tone.

                “I know,” Ryeowook urged, kneeling beside him while he smiled at Baekho who looked up with a slightly sheepish expression.  “It’s good to see you too,” he nodded sincerely.

                Baekho laughed once and shrugged, rubbing the back of his shaved blonde hair nervously, still looking boyishly young despite being JR’s age.  “When mom and dad sent us to the states for our happiness, I don’t think they really had this in mind,” he admitted nervously, eyeing the gathered survivors and refugees.

                Ryeowook had to dredge his memory but he recalled that Daesung and Baekho lived together in an apartment but their parents sent them regular installments of funds to live on.  He’d never understood the relationship before but he was starting to get an idea now.  “I guess you guys weren’t supposed to be working with the wolves so much?” he asked, briefly looking for Chaerin and Ken whose lives seemed intimately woven in with the creatures.

                Ken was worriedly shadowing his sister as she continued to make the rounds on the inside with Henry assisting them as best he could.  All of them looked exhausted and Chaerin appeared almost fit to fall where she stood, but her hands tended to the wounds of the next injured wolf or human and went on to the one after.  He recognized the wolf she was tending to as the one he’d seen injured the first time in Yoochun and Henry’s cottage.  Eerily, he still remembered hearing Yunho saying his name at the time: Taekwoon.  His face was pinched in what appeared to be a perpetual frown while dark, shoulder length hair framed his features, but the half-turned couldn’t blame him his irritation.  He’d be rather disgruntled as well if he was missing a hand.

                Taekwoon bore her attention with admirable aplomb and then relaxed when she left to address one of the other wolves whose names Ryeowook didn’t know yet, though he figured they were one of the Lees or Hans.  He grimaced at the wrappings around the young man’s head that covered an eye which meant it was probably ruined or swollen shut.  If Ryeowook didn’t know better though, he’d say Henry and Ken were just waiting for Chaerin to keel over so they could catch her in the meantime.  He wondered what the repercussions would be for her if and when that happened.  His thoughts on the matter were forestalled though when he heard his brother talking again.

                “Have you known about them all this time?” JR asked, his eyes wide and not exactly enamored but he was definitely excited whereas he’d been creeped out when it was Ryeowook telling him about being a half-turned.  “The wolves and the vampires I mean,” JR clarified.  Ryeowook tried not to let the excitement get under his skin and just focus on the response, though it did irk him.

                Baekho nodded with a little smile and turned to face them better, though one hand remained on Daesung’s arm in constant contact.  “Mom and dad earned enough favor with the Lee brothers and the Lee pack so that hopefully, we wouldn’t have to be used like she was with my aunt.  Donghae and Hyukjae would take us out and get into trouble occasionally but it was nothing serious,” he admitted with an apologetic grin at JR.

                “Is that why you were so tired in school some days and wouldn’t tell me why?” JR grumbled with a frown.  Baekho just shrugged and nodded, not even bothering to deny it.

                Even if it was just for a moment, Ryeowook was glad that his brother might forget the horror they’d experienced so far and simply reminisce with a friend.  He felt both privileged and out of place in listening in actually, though he paid close attention when Baekho spoke again.

                “Not too much longer after the bombing – really it was right after your call – Hongbin got in touch with us and asked for our help,” he explained with a nod towards the injured wolf who was talking quietly with Sanghyuk.  “We talked to mom and dad of course, and they recommended we do so.”

                “So what kind of spirits are they?” JR asked curiously, settling in place better with his arms wrapped around his knees loosely.

                Ryeowook paused long enough to hear that Donghae was another healer, though a bit more advanced than Krystal, and Hyukjae had been more of a bard.  Of course they knew about the other spirits, but they usually tried not to mingle very much any more since they tended to have differing views on their host bodies: Donghae and Hyukjae tried not to run theirs into the ground while their peers apparently did.  As fascinated as Ryeowook was about the rest of the potential information, the scratch on his neck did give him cause to worry again and he excused himself from their company, glad for his brother to be okay for the moment.

                Quickly, he scanned the area for the Chas and found them huddled together near the communication desk that they were all trying to fix rather determinedly.  It had been busted up pretty good in the attack earlier and Ryeowook hadn’t found much chance to find out what really happened.

                “Hey,” he called softly when he got close enough, drawing the attention of all three of them as they looked his direction and then got up, dusting their hands off.  Hyosung and Himchan still looked a bit woozy from the shock treatment but they were at least smiling.

                “Hey Wookie,” N greeted, still looking wan but he was well enough now.  Multiple scratches and a nasty concussion weren’t nice to anybody but a bit of time and a bite of food helped put him well on the path to recovery.

                Ryeowook knew they would devolve into pleasantries and probably far too many evasive niceties before they would actually get anywhere so he braced himself to be rude for a moment and rushed on, “What happened before I got here?”  All three of them looked discomfited by the question and the half-turned couldn’t exactly blame them.  Given their condition when he arrived, it probably wasn’t a good scenario.

                N waved Hyosung and Himchan back towards the dash so they could continue working while he stepped forward to fill in the blanks for him.  There weren’t very many attackers to begin with.  Just a small group that had been sent against their hideout but ten half-turneds in broad daylight was no laughing matter.  They’d broken into the warehouse at various points, all on the first floor of the two story structure, spilling sunlight in and making combat difficult from the very beginning.  The first three had been easy enough to kill off, but then they started exploding, catching the vampires by surprise.

                Changmin got off lightly because he’d been able to read it just that much quicker than they did, but Victoria had taken the full brunt of the attacks.  “You should have seen her,” N smiled sadly, eyes filled with sad pride.  “They couldn’t hurt her but for the explosions.  And the biting,” he scowled darkly, still infuriated by the results.  “Songs are remarkably resilient and she proved that many times over today.  Kyu and Kangin were watching your brother, as you told them to, but a couple of those bastards got thrown into the room from the top when one of those cretins exploded,” he sneered disdainfully with a nod towards the broken wall near the ceiling.  “Kyu took care of the one and Vic got the other, but by then the sickness was starting to take hold and her injuries…” he trailed off, closing his eyes heavily.

                A queasy feeling settled into his stomach at N’s hesitation and Ryeowook distinctly remembered the way she’d looked at him before she died.  “Did she…?”

                “JR never saw her,” N assured him with a quick shake of his head.  “Kyuhyun made sure to get him out before he could and Kangin stayed to…  Stayed with her while we took care of the rest,” he finished quietly leaving it at that.

                Ryeowook took a shaky breath and swallowed hard, unnerved by how far gone she must have been.  “Is that why Kyu… couldn’t fix her?” he asked uncertainly, looking N right in the eyes.

                N shook his head and grimaced.  “Her injuries were too severe.  Maybe if she’d been able to feed beforehand but time was running out and anyone she got her hands on was likely to die,” N explained, seeing the question in his eyes.

                The knowledge hurt.  Ryeowook wasn’t even sure if he felt better for knowing or just more sick of everything.  Unconsciously, he reached up to scratch at his neck again and sighed.  N noticed and touched the back of his hand with a concerned frown.

                “Are you injured?” he inquired uncertainly, brow furrowed.

                “Um…” Ryeowook murmured, planting his hand firmer against his neck as worry blossomed anew in his gut.  “I think I might have been sort of bitten.  Maybe,” he explained with a nervous of his lips.

                “Wookie,” N exhaled as he grabbed his free wrist and held tight.  “You should have said something,” he explained, glancing around quickly.

                “I was scared to,” he admitted, chewing on his bottom lip.  After all the talk of infection and the half-turneds being carriers, he didn’t know what it meant for him.  Or what to do about it.  Especially since he wasn’t feeling symptoms yet.  And yes.  He was nervous about Kyuhyun’s… solution.

                “Come on,” N urged, pulling the slender male after him as he waved Himchan and Hyosung off again, shaking his head as he did so.  They both noticed the concerned glances the pair exchanged at their departure but neither vampire tried to follow.

                Ryeowook stuck unaccountably close to N as they headed for the back room where Kyuhyun and Kangin were still playing doctor, though they were almost finished.  He couldn’t help but feel bad when they stepped through the doors and saw how very exhausted the pair looked.  Granted, they were pale to begin with but overexerting themselves only exacerbated that condition and made their eyes and cheeks look sunken in.  He didn’t fail to see how Kyuhyun immediately noticed his presence though, eyes looking between the pair uncertainly.

                He waved at Kangin who nodded and turned to address the next wolf, one of the last if the number of people was any indication, while Kyuhyun wandered to the side where the pair could meet him.  “Are you alright?” he asked of Ryeowook without checking with N first.

                “Kyu!” N snapped, waving him closer so he could whisper into his ear instead.

                At the comment, Kyuhyun’s eyes widened and focused on Ryeowook before his hand rose to brush against the fading mark.  Half-turned people didn’t heal as quickly as vampires but neither had his injury been that bad.  “You said you were okay,” he murmured with a pained expression, the words carrying the hurt of betrayal.

                “I thought I was,” Ryeowook admitted, unable to meet the vampire’s eyes as he looked down and bit his lip, staring at his feet instead.  Kyuhyun’s hand appeared in his vision and touched the bottom of his chin gently before guiding his face back up so he could look into his eyes again.

                “This morning?” the vampire murmured and Ryeowook nodded.  Kyuhyun rubbed his head like he had a headache coming on and grimaced, frustrated by the situation.

                “Can’t you fix it?” N asked for both of them, a perplexed expression on his face.

                Kyuhyun sighed and frowned.  “Maybe.”

                “But I thought-”

                “With wolves and vampires, it’s not such a problem,” Kyuhyun interrupted before he could get very far.  “Our bodies are strong enough to endure the shock.  You know how resilient we are.  But I can’t guarantee the safety of a half-turned.”  He didn’t say it but the unspoken thought was there that he couldn’t risk Ryeowook that way either.

                “Oh…” N mouthed awkwardly, clearly not expecting that response.

                “You might have to try anyway,” Ryeowook murmured with a tight voice, the hand of fear working its way into his chest to grab hold.  Especially since he didn’t know if there was any other cure.

                “Wookie,” Kyuhyun murmured, grabbing the shorter male’s head in both hands as he pressed their foreheads together tenderly.  “There is still some time left,” he whispered, opening his eyes to meet Ryeowook’s gaze.  “The ones we fought against had been infected for at least several hours already before coming into contact with us and none of them evidenced any outward symptoms.”

                “Is there any other way?” N asked nervously, shifting from foot to foot as he worried his top lip with a frown.  “What if he became a vampire?  Then you could-”

                “That’s not what he wants!” Kyuhyun hissed at N at the same time that Ryeowook started to tense up at the idea.  N blinked with wide eyes and gulped audibly.

                The tension between them was broken quickly when the door hastily opened and Hyosung and Himchan stumbled through.  “N!” they called at the same time while they rushed up to the Cha clan leader.

                “What?” he asked, completely confused by their entrance, as were Kyuhyun and Ryeowook.

                “It’s Changminnie,” Hyosung frowned worriedly as she tugged on a loose strand of lavender hair before pointing back the way they’d come.

                “He’s out of his mind,” Himchan grimaced while he wrung his hands.

                “Eh?” all three blinked at the statements.

                “Kyu!” a recovering Junsu called from the doorway, gesturing back the way he’d come.  “The Shim is on the warpath,” he explained in a dire tone before he turned around and disappeared, as quickly as he’d arrived.

                “Ah ,” Kyuhyun exhaled gustily, face darkening at the news.  “We’re not through yet,” he explained, pointing at Ryeowook with his finger.  “But it’ll have to wait for a moment.  Kangin!” he called sharply, jerking his head towards the main room as the vampire struggled to focus his attention after another successful treatment session.

                “Go help him,” N urged towards Himchan and Hyosung while he pulled Ryeowook along with Kyuhyun immediately behind them.

                “Does that mean what I think it means?” Ryeowook asked with a glance back at Kyuhyun who lingered very close.

                “If you thought a regular Song was bad, they’ve got very little on a vengeful Shim,” Kyuhyun murmured softly, his eyes holding a world of unspoken pain.

                “Oh dear,” Ryeowook breathed as a new wave of nervousness slipped in to take up residence in his gut.  That was not good at all…

(a/n:  Yes!  I love having time to write.  XD  Anyway...  A better description of the infection; more insight on our newest set of possessed with a difference of opinion on hosts; and a problematic complication for Ryeowook.  Not to mention the forthcoming vengeance of Changmin.  We've got plenty brewing and more to come shortly.

No additional deaths to report but we did see some maiming and disfigurement.  Yes, we saw Taekwoon (aka Leo) for a very short period of time in Chapter 4 way back when.  The other wolf you'll meet shortly so don't worry too much about not knowing him yet.  I do anticipate a shift occuring soon.  In terms of story though I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it yet.  I've been trying to follow Ryeowook thus far, but we may come to a branching point shortly.  Like I said, still thinking on it, but I've got a little bit of time.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you look forward to the next update!)