Cloudbursts overhead doused their group with torrents of rain, the veritable waterfall accompanied by brilliant explosions of light and deep growls of thunder.  With Kangin in the lead, Changmin shadowed his back to keep an eye on the terrain ahead, secretly marveling at his ability to navigate in these conditions, but at least they were traveling light and fast.

                The wolves were fanned out behind them with Changjo, Niel, and Youngjae in the middle, further keeping Chaerin safe and propelling her along at their speed.  By herself, she couldn’t keep up but they needed to cover as much ground as possible without leaving her behind.  Only Yoochun and Byunghee weren’t present and that was because the Park alpha ruled themselves out.  With everyone else full – a bear, fish, and several large turtles made for very good eating – the decision was unanimous to travel with the strongest members.  If they were successful, a runner could be sent back to retrieve them.  If not, it was best if not everyone died in this mission.

                That was an actuality Changmin wanted to avoid at all costs but he knew the risks as well as any of them did.  Still… they needed to know what they were up against, what they would have to face in the months to come.  It could be instrumental to their survival.  They all knew it and he was glad they understood as much which was why no one complained when he’d urged a move as soon as the rain hit.  Technically, it was still daylight but the sun was mercifully hidden for as long as the weather would grant them.  Even better, they had the advantage in this kind of situation.  He just hoped it would hold long enough for them to get in and neutralize the base.

                “It should be just ahead,” Kangin warned as he finally started to slow down, dark hair plastered against the side of his head while he immediately looked back to locate Chaerin.  The vampires slowed with her in their midst and the wolves hovered nearby, fur soaked through and pitiful.

                “Good job,” Changmin congratulated, moving ahead to scope the area out.  He waved Niel up to help him and gestured where Kangin had indicated.

                “Are those the base lights?” the younger vampire asked, squinting into the gloom and flinching once when a lightning bolt hurt his eyes with the flash.

                “That’s it,” he confirmed, trying to determine how large it was and where they would need to focus their attack.

                Seunghyun and Yunho came padding up beside him, turning into their human forms for ease in conversing.  “Talk us through it,” the former commanded, arms folded across his chest while he sniffed at the air.

                “It’s a fort so there will be a lot of extra structures in the way,” Kangin reminded them with a focused gaze outward, eyes shielded from the continuous downpour.

                “Lots of civilians,” Changmin muttered under his breath, rapidly scanning for a promising building.  “We need to find the main base-”

                “The Network Enterprise Center,” Kangin interrupted without looking away.  “It’s their technology and communication building.  They’ll have everything we need to access the information on that disk,” he explained, finally giving them his attention.

                “And I’m guessing it’s somewhere in the middle,” Niel huffed, wiping the excess water off his arms futilely.

                “So how are we supposed to know which one it is from back here?” Yunho asked as he craned his head to try for a better view, thwarted by a lack of overly sensitive eyes.

                Changmin ignored the question and searched, using his hand to point at the structures before him.  “That one,” he finally whispered.

                “Huh?” Niel chirped, leaning over to line his sights up.  “Oh I see,” he nodded.  “They’ve got a signal tower too.”

                “We’ll need to knock it out first thing,” Seunghyun grumbled, fingers twitching in anticipation.

                “No,” Kangin intervened quickly.  “We need to be able to communicate with other bases.  Or at least send a message.”

                “You think you can get in contact with the other group?” Yunho asked, gesturing towards the reset of their members.

                “I can definitely set something up for Kyu to find if he gains access to a communication desk himself.  That’s probably what he’ll be doing now if he hasn’t already,” he shrugged with a smirk.

                “I can do that too you know,” Youngjae added in from the rear.

                “Okay.  So how are we going to do this?” Seunghyun demanded as he ignored Youngjae’s comment entirely.

                “We should get closer to see what we’re up against first,” Changmin sighed with a shake of his head as he signaled the vampires to come closer.  “I don’t even know if they’ve been deployed elsewhere or if we’re going to have to worry about an entire base full of people.”

                “My fingers are crossed for the first one,” Niel added with a nervous laugh.

                “Getting shy about a little combat?” Changjo teased as they started moving again.

                “I said people.  Not soldiers,” Changmin clarified while the ground flew by beneath their feet, the wolves struggling to keep up in the rear.  “Civilians are a pain in the we just don’t need right now.”

                “Too right,” Kangin agreed from just behind Changmin, letting the Shims see the way instead.

                Their party stopped well in advance of the base, where bright search lights didn’t even come close to touching them.  A tall wire fence separated them from the base and there were buildings in the front that did not match the network center which meant they’d have to get around the obstacles.  They couldn’t see any regular patrols but no one doubted soldiers were ready.  There were too many buildings with lights on for there not to be any at the ready.

                “We’ve got to play this safe,” Yunho murmured at Changmin’s right shoulder where he waved the other wolves to get ready.

                “I know,” Changmin agreed as he tried to come up with a plan.

                “We managed alright the last time,” Seunghyun chuckled dryly, leaving the rest to wonder if he was joking or being serious.

                “Luck is a foolish thing to trust in,” Chaerin spoke up this time, her voice a dual quality that let everyone know she wasn’t in full control anymore.

                “We should travel in pairs,” Yunho commented with his thumbnail between his teeth.

                “No one goes alone,” Seunghyun agreed reluctantly.

                Changmin mapped out a path in his head and trailed it with his finger, nodding to himself.  “If we use the buildings for cover initially, we should be able to slip by or over anyone on the ground.  All we have to do is get inside the building and we should be able to cover it indefinitely from there until we get what we need.”

                “What happens after?” Kangin inquired with a sidelong look.

                “Let’s worry about that when we get there,” Seunghyun grumbled, turning around to help pair off the wolves.

                Another flash of lightning overhead made Changmin’s eyes narrow in concern.  He was fine with rain but he rather wished they didn’t have to deal with energy from the sky too.  It was traitorous and fickle.  “Niel.  Changjo.  Stay together.  Kangin, you’re with me.”

                “No.  I’m watching Chaerin’s back,” he shook his head, earning a frown from the other vampire.

                “I don’t need your help,” came the automatic retort which had to be L. Joe speaking.

                “Yeah, well maybe I need yours,” Kangin snorted with a smirk, eyeing Chaerin for a long moment.

                “Youngjae.  Come on,” Changmin waved in irritation.  The younger vampire hurried to step up and he took a second to glance around the rest of the wolves.  Seunghyun had taken Junhong under his paw while Yunho was talking with Daehyun.  It looked like Siwon was going to shadow Sunny and Geng paired off with Kyung.  Wonsik seemed unsure of where to go…  Odd numbers.  That was not a good omen.

                “Come on wolf,” Kangin urged the white wolf.  “We could use another number here.”

                “He sticks out like a sore thumb,” L. Joe scowled, glaring between the vampire and the werewolf.

                “Thought you could handle yourself,” the vampire teased mildly.

                “Shut up,” he grumbled in response, lingering close while Changmin watched on, gaze sliding to Yunho and Seunghyun who nodded in acknowledgement.

                “Let’s do this,” he whispered, nudging Youngjae’s arm to get them moving.  He heard the others shift around the back, determining they were going in several different directions.  Smart.  At least that way they wouldn’t be caught clumped together.

                The pair drifted close to the fence in tandem, waiting for the right time when the lightning eased up enough to give them the greatest advantage.  Another bright flash made his eyes ache but then the sky fell dark and Changmin bolted, feeling Youngjae right on his heels.  Clearing the fence was easy; a strong jump took them over with no trouble and they were halfway across the field by the time lightning betrayed their position again, shadows flickering in the dark amidst the rain.

                Gunfire started near them first as overhead lights exploded, showering a rain of sparks that sputtered out in the blink of an eye.  Human voices rose in alarm to match the shots fired and a war howl pierced the air.

                “There,” Youngjae warned softly, fingers brushing Changmin’s shoulder to catch his attention.

                Soldiers were moving near them, headed across the base towards where the fighting currently was.  There were four of them, assault rifles pressed tight to their shoulders as they peered through scopes, relying on the pitiful light left to them and the illumination on their persons.  Useless flashlights.  “Go,” Changmin commanded, peeling himself off the wall with Youngjae just behind.

                His targets reacted to his approach in slow motion, starting to turn as he grabbed the first soldier behind the neck and crushed his spine.  The second he gripped by the back of the uniform and bodily threw across the yard, taking out another overhead light in the process while gunfire rattled off from the rifle.  By the time he recovered from ducking the errant ammunition, he saw Youngjae lowering two twitching bodies to the ground, a pained grimace on his face.

                Changmin didn’t have time to check if he was alright and the smell of blood in the air was too overpowering to make out differences at the moment, so he grabbed the shorter vampire’s arm and dragged him along.  They ducked into the new shadows left in the wake of their attack and listened to more gunfire and shouts in the nearby distance.  An anguished cry reached them and both stilled as they listened.  Youngjae shook his head and swallowed hard.

                “Keep moving,” Changmin reminded him, grip firm on the other’s arm.  Up and over the rooftop they went while lightning showed the path and the reports of rifles gave away soldier positions.  Wolves tore across the yard, absorbing ammo and dodging it with equal ability.  For a second, he watched as a pale body hurtled across his line of sight and pounded through the edge of a building, his path obviously skewed.  Chaerin’s body tumbled by next, all daggers and wiry grace, courtesy of a boost from Kangin who brought up the rear.

                “Up ahead,” Youngjae hissed through gritted teeth.  “They’re guarding the door.”

                “Not for long,” Changmin shook his head, eyes narrowing when he noticed a blur of frenzied movement bolting for the entryway.  It was Changjo, without Niel, using a vehicle door as a shield while he sprinted close under a rain of heavy fire.  He noticed their groups converging on the target zone and nodded in satisfaction, flattening himself against the roof when shots were fired their direction.  “Go!  I’ll cover the rear,” he commanded while he dragged Youngjae off the building with him and shoved the younger vampire in Changjo’s direction.

                “We can make it!” Youngjae urged, trying to drag him along as well.

                “Go!” Changmin snarled, yanking his hand free as he snatched a piece of debris up and pelted it at a couple incoming soldiers.  The concrete chunk exploded on the first one’s torso, knocking her off her feet.  He smiled at his success and bent low over the ground, a predatory light in his eyes.  Someone would need to keep the back trail clear for the moment.

                The interior of the base was fully lit, but the power was inconsistent, lights flickering in an epileptic display that did nothing to phase Changjo’s mad charge.  Kangin and Wonsik pressed close, feeling the rest of the pack on their heels, and L. Joe weaved back and forth in the domain of their protection, clearly antsy.  Changjo’s barrier finally gave and he tossed it away, recoiling under gunshots that were just as quickly silenced by L. Joe’s throwing daggers, as well as Kangin and Wonsik’s fury.

                Fangs flashed in the light and blood spattered while the determined group infiltrated the target zone.  With a guard at the front door, it didn’t take long for them to neutralize the rest of the facility, sweeping the rooms as efficiently as possible.  Some of the humans surrendered and others died fighting.  All were accounted for in the end.

                “That console,” Kangin pointed out, wiping a trail of blood from a wound on his forehead as he made sure everything was functional enough.

                “Here,” Yunho panted, limping close to hand off the case that looked pitifully small in his monstrous hand.

                When he clicked open the container, Kangin snatched the disk and held it close, ignoring the vial still nestled nearby.  He scanned the console to figure out where to insert it and set to work trying to crack into the information.  The encryption code that popped up was enough to make his head hurt preemptively, but he could have kissed Kyuhyun for insisting he learn at least a little bit of hacking during his training.

                Behind him, he could hear the rest of the group shuffling about, setting up perimeters and assessing the damages.  He’d been pinged by a couple gunshots but nothing too bad though it sounded like Junhong was pretty wounded.  So was Youngjae if he was right.  He didn’t have time to ask questions or focus on anything else, though whispers were enough to fill in the blanks.

                They’d lost Niel in the attack – unlucky gunshot wound to the head – and Changjo wasn’t taking it well.  Changmin was still unaccounted for but Youngjae seemed to think he was outside watching their backs.  The occasional gunshot beyond the walls of the building appeared to confirm his explanation.  L. Joe had switched out for Krystal and she was making the rounds already.  Someone had found a first aid kit and was trying to get the most use of out it.  They’d all suffered some sort of wounds but they had done really well and-

                “Oh boy…” he gasped when the screen flickered and solidified into a readable chunk of information.  “Seunghyun.  Yunho,” he called, eyes scanning the information rapidly.  “You’re gonna want to come see this.”

~~~~~~

                The shock of the situation didn’t have time to settle in before Ryeowook found him and Kyuhyun being hustled into the interior by Zhou and Sungmin, both of whom were keeping sharp eyes on the other vampire.  “What happened?” Ryeowook asked in a shaky voice, not sure who he was speaking to directly.

                When Kyuhyun didn’t answer, the taller male merely clinging to Ryeowook’s arm, Zhou hissed back, “We got through but there’s a problem in the control center.”

                “Soldiers.  Our team got into some trouble and we’re not sure of all the details yet,” Sungmin admitted, leading the way with careful peeks around each corner to make sure the path was clear.

                “You were supposed to be safe,” Kyuhyun sighed under his breath, leaning close to Ryeowook.

                “What?” he blinked in surprise.

                “I shouldn’t have attacked you,” he explained like he was in a daze.  From the look on his face, he probably was.

                “Up here,” Sungmin urged with a wave, gesturing for them to follow.  Low growls accompanied his words and Ryeowook felt his belly tighten with nerves.

                Cautiously, they rounded the corner, wary of copious amounts of blood staining the floor.  Lights flickered overhead where gunshots had taken out several fixtures, running on emergency power, but the interior looked relatively whole, if powerless.  Clustered in the middle were a small group of humans, all the conscious ones bearing guns with several dressed in military personnel subdued on the ground, while their teammates tried to calm the situation down.

                “Easy!” Minho urged, one hand on his gun and the other motioning towards the four soldier types standing back to back defensively.  Ryeowook was confused at first, believing them to be with the base personnel.

                “Just calm down,” Minhyuk soothed nearby, shifting himself in front of the bristling wolves on the other side.  Hunkered down, Sungmin was still a sight enough to instill fear in most humans; him paired with an equally menacing Karam in monstrous form as they hovered in front of an injured Thunder was enough to make any man afraid.

                “Guys!  We need some help over here!” Dongho shouted as he tried to put pressure on Yukwon’s wounds while Baekho tried hard not to cry, attending to Ken where a bullet to the gut stained his clothes.

                Tension reigned for all of three heartbeats before one of the bodies picked itself off the ground, covered in blood but in calm control.  “Stand down!”  Junsu’s diminutive size in human form did nothing to diminish his authority in that moment and the wolves cowered back, instantly submissive.

                “Don’t come any closer!” one of the humans shouted, gun pressed to his shoulder like he knew how to use it.  Muscled arms tensed noticeably and his eyes partially disappeared with suspicion.

                “They’re friends, dammit!” Dongho snapped, glaring over his shoulder to yell at the strangers.

                “Yeah so just set the guns down,” Minho urged while he shifted his own as if that was what he was going to do too.

                “Not a chance,” the tall blonde one shook his head, shifting in place nervously.

                One of their numbers groaned, weapon shaking as his knees threatened to buckle while the focus in his eyes wavered.  “Guys.  Maybe they can help Seungho,” the third one suggested in a calmer tone of voice, though his grip was surprisingly steady.

                Ryeowook straightened just a touch and frowned, regarding the one they were talking about.  “Is he a half-turned?” he asked towards his group, frozen in place by the tension in the room.

                All eyes turned towards the back door when footsteps approached and Luna came bursting in on human feet, “The place is sec- Yah!”  She skid to a halt when guns shifted to point her direction.  Just behind her, Himchan and Hyosung pushed her down while their wings snapped open and they leapt into the air, drawing gunfire in the process.

                In the blink of an eye, Zhou and Sungmin whipped past Ryeowook to apprehend them.  He was surprised when Kyuhyun dragged him to the side, pulling them both behind cover while bullets continued to ping around the room.  “Stay down,” he urged, grip holding tight like iron bindings.

                Ryeowook flinched when muffled cries rose, punctuated by a pained scream and defiant growls, but then an even eerier silence fell.  Heavy breathing reached his ears and Junsu spoke, “Report!”

                “The back is secure.  Minimal casualties for us but Thunder got hit pretty hard,” Luna explained, crouching down to check on her sibling when Ryeowook leaned out enough to look.

                “Minzy’s hit but-”

                “I’ll be fine,” the Song interrupted Jinki.

                “Joon’s dead,” a pained voice announced from the other entryway, right where Ryeowook and Kyuhyun had been a moment ago.  Kiseop hobbled in with a severely battered N on his back, tattered wings a bloody wreck.  “And N’s out but alive,” he continued, hissing with hurt when Himchan came over immediately to help them.

                “There are still soldiers moving around outside but I think we’ve got them scared for the moment,” Hyosung explained, taking a moment to help tend to Ken with Baekho working as Hyukjae, the spirit evidencing a calm control none of the others held at the moment.  He wasn’t a healer by trade but he’d been around Daesung and Donghae long enough to have learned a trick or two.

                Junsu groaned and finally sank down to the ground with a glance at the captive prisoners they’d recently relieved their guns from.  “Sungmin.  Karam.  Go stand watch at the main doors,” he commanded with a wave.  They hesitated briefly with a glance around the room, but Luna whined in the back of and they nodded, drifting off in opposite directions quickly.  “Jinki.  Zhou.  See if you can get some sort of power back on so we can get this place working again,” he panted, digging in his shoulder for a bullet he flicked onto the ground a second later.  His gaze fell on the relatively unwounded Minho and Minhyuk, waving them over with a quick gesture.  “I think you better fill us in on the details.”

                With Kyuhyun pressed close against him, Ryeowook tried to calm himself, the tension in the room still palpable.  “Alright, Kyu,” he murmured with his lips pressed against the dark hair, slightly concerned by the unnatural stillness in his companion.  “What the hell happened back there?” he demanded, fingers tightening when Kyuhyun seemed to shrink against him.  His back and shoulder hurt where teeth and claws had torn flesh, but he was more concerned about what was wrong with the other vampire.

                “I lost control,” he admitted after a pause, during which time Ryeowook caught snippets of conversation from Minho and Minhyuk.  They’d helped the strangers free from the holding cell but Ken was shot when he stole the key to get in and all hell broke loose from there.

                “I know that-”

                “You don’t understand,” Kyuhyun huffed in a voice that sounded ancient, pushing away to look straight ahead, staring at nothing.  “You are the one person I should recognize beyond anything,” he whispered, the words barely audible.  “I didn’t even see you, not really, until I tasted your blood.  Until it was impossible to ignore.”  He closed his eyes and covered his face with his palm, swallowing hard.

                That honestly didn’t make any sense to Ryeowook and he let the silence lengthen between them, more confused than ever.  He reached over to grab Kyuhyun’s free hand in his and held tight, listening to the group talking in the room.  The strangers were supposedly deserters who promised to help disarm the station from the inside in exchange for assistance for their friend.  Seungho had volunteered to try the change but they’d overheard the real intent for it, with the results of the death row prisoners, and bailed in search of a cure.  Border bases were well equipped for the supernaturals when they heard several were making runs to try and escape, which was why they’d hit a large snag here with the silver bullets.

                Ryeowook shivered at the news and took a shallow breath to steady himself.  “I wasn’t able to knock you out.”

                Kyuhyun’s head nodded in understanding.  “I know.  Not that it would have done anything.”

                “I couldn’t… focus.  I was so scared,” he admitted, biting his lip until Kyuhyun gripped his hand harder.

                “It wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

                “Why not?” Ryeowook questioned, shifting closer.

                “I…”  Kyuhyun trailed off, unable to finish the sentence at first.  He dropped his hand away and turned to look at Ryeowook with flat eyes, the exhaustion plain to see.  “I overestimated my strength.  I can’t…  My mind shut down when I channeled the power of the base, but…”

                “Your body didn’t?”

                “No,” Kyuhyun confirmed.  “And when the mind is gone, all that is left is instinct.”

                Both jumped when Himchan returned with his arms loaded full of medical supplies.  Containers and gauze, jars of antiseptics and cleaning solutions, sutures and other such supplies jostled together before he set them near Hyukjae who was tirelessly working to do what he could, though tension in his mouth told them the spirit was worried all the same.

                “We can help you,” one of the bound soldiers explained.  “We already told your friends that.  Just let us go and we can get the base up and running.”

                “Shut up, Soohyun,” the short one urged with a nervous glare.

                “He’s right,” the half-turned coughed, paler than the other three.  “We just need to know if there’s a cure,” he added roughly, voice tight while he tried to remain in control.

                “There is no cure,” Ryeowook murmured to himself while Jinki echoed his words.

                “But we can still help you,” the Shim added uncertainly.  “He’s part Song,” he went on thoughtfully, obviously disturbed by that fact.

                “What does that mean?” Seungho rasped, shifting in place.

                “Nothing yet,” Jinki commented, waiting for a response from Junsu or someone in turn.

                “Just do it,” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes from where they were still hiding behind one of the desks.  “Unless you want to put him down, he’ll just be more dangerous if you don’t.”

                “No!” all three of his companions denied vehemently, outraged by the mere mention of it.

                Kyuhyun’s hand tightened on Ryeowook’s again and they listened to the decision to go along with it.  The four were finally released, but remained weaponless.  Zico, the tall blonde, played it off with a falsely cocky display of confidence while Taeyang, the short dark haired male grumbled under his breath.  Soohyun stayed close to Seungho while Jinki kept a sharp eye on them, providing enough of a dose of blood and an explanation to help steady the half-turned.

                “Wookie.”

                Ryeowook turned to look at Kyuhyun again, seeing a glimmer in his eyes he was unfamiliar with.  “I can’t do everything anymore,” he finally whispered, as if afraid to speak the words aloud and make them truth.

                “Then stop trying,” Ryeowook responded firmly, giving a determined look in return.

                “I can’t even trust myself anymore,” he added, eyes falling to their interlocked hands.

                “Then trust in us,” the younger vampire urged, wrapping his other hand around both of theirs.  “I can help too you know.”

                “I need you to be safe,” Kyuhyun stated simply, looking up to meet Ryeowook’s eyes.

                “Why, Kyu?  Why am I different from everyone else here?” he whispered back in confusion.

                Kyuhyun leaned close to cup Ryeowook’s cheek with his free hand, caressing the skin with his thumb.  “Because right now, you’re the only thing keeping me sane.”

                “That’s not fair,” Ryeowook swallowed, filled with a variety of conflicting emotions in that moment.

                “No.  It’s not.  To either of us,” Kyuhyun agreed with a minimal nod.  “But I don’t know what I would do if I lost you right now.”  His tone was slightly bitter, as if he resented the need, the knowledge of a weakness he couldn’t change, though not the weakness itself.  “I need you, Wookie.”

                The words made Ryeowook feel good and bad in equal measure.  He didn’t need Kyuhyun.  Not the way the vampire seemed to need him, but neither could he just abandon him.  It wasn’t in his nature.  And if he was being truly honest with himself, he did have a soft spot for the damnably irritating vampire, as stupid as that sounded.  Gathering his internal courage, he nodded once and looked straight in Kyuhyun’s eyes.  “What do you need me to do?”

                “Stay with me.”

                There was no hesitation in his words.  No deception or trickery.  It was finally one of the most honest answers Ryeowook thought he’d heard from him and it was more than enough to prompt a reaction.  He leaned forward and wrapped his other arm around the more fragile than usual shoulders, hugging tight.  “I will then,” he promised, wondering what the hell he was getting himself into, both nervous and strangely excited by the prospect.

                “Guys,” they were interrupted several seconds later when Hyosung wandered into view, hands covered in blood and clothes mildly shredded from their previous combat.  “We can’t get full power back on but it’s enough to start,” she conceded with a glance at Kyuhyun in particular, though their predicament did not seem to phase her in the least.

                “We’ll be right there,” Ryeowook confirmed when Kyuhyun didn’t answer, pulling back enough to get a glimpse at Hyosung himself.  Her lavender hair had started to fade and it was anything but kempt, but it still held a semblance of curls and waves.

                “I’ve got nothing left,” Kyuhyun admitted when she stepped away, peering into Ryeowook’s eyes like a lost child.

                “You have to try,” the young man persuaded, squeezing Kyuhyun’s hand tightly.  “I can’t do something I’ve never been taught.”

                “I…”

                Ryeowook felt his heart twinge at the reality of the situation.  “Come on,” he urged, pulling Kyuhyun to his feet with relative ease.  When they were both standing, he reached up to cup Kyuhyun’s cheek in his hand this time and conjured a smile from somewhere.  “I’ve seen you do so many impossible things already, Kyu.  I know you can do one more,” he encouraged, rising on his tiptoes to place a very gentle kiss on his lips.

                Kyuhyun’s eyes widened in surprise but some of the worry around the edges softened.  He simply looked at Ryeowook in befuddled wonderment until a tiny smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth.  “Maybe I can,” he conceded, pulling Ryeowook into his arms, relaxing further in the shorter male’s presence.

                Hand in hand, they approached the communication desk that Hyosung and the new guy Zico were hovering over, trying to make something happen.  “I’m not a techie,” Zico shrugged while he appraised the newcomers, taking in the blood soaked clothes and stains on their persons.  “Can’t say you look like one either,” he added in an almost jaunty manner.

                “Looks can be deceiving,” Kyuhyun retorted, a ghost of his usual self but a far cry from what he’d been a moment ago.

                Zico shrugged and stepped back while Hyosung lingered nearby in case they needed assistance.  Ryeowook stationed himself beside Kyuhyun and watched like a hawk, determined to memorize what he was doing.  They had to let go for him to do his work, but Ryeowook placed his hands on Kyuhyun’s shoulders for quiet support.

                His fingers flew over the console, seamless one moment, but erratic and jerky the next while sparks jumped at irregular intervals.  Kyuhyun’s face twitched several times and Ryeowook could feel tension growing steadily in his shoulders but even with limited power, the vampire was able to work some kind of magic.

                “I can get into their database here, but I can’t hack the corporate one right now,” he admitted through gritted teeth.

                “That’s alright.  Just find out what you can.  They’ve got to know something,” Ryeowook encouraged, conscious of Junsu drifting close behind him to watch the proceedings.

                “Borders have been closed down.  There’s a general warning of ‘monsters’,” his tone was mocking, “trying to escape.  Smaller cities have been evacuated.  The humans are pulling into larger cities for protection but they’re keeping clear of…” his voice trailed off and a frown creased his brow.

                “What?” Junsu prompted, leaning closer still, the smell of fresh blood nearly enough to overwhelm Ryeowook’s senses.

                “Look,” he pointed out on the screen, their main focus on Texas.  Large pools of a sickly red color blotted over several parts of the state and he explained, “Massive traces of nuclear radiation have sunk into the surrounding area, contaminating ground water and food sources everywhere.  It looks like they’re setting up strike zones to start bombing us into oblivion for sure,” he frowned, sitting back to rub his eyes with his fingers, tenser than usual.

                “That’s not all,” Zico added from the side, arms crossed over his chest.  “Rumor has it they’re trying to come up with some genetically engineered virus that’s meant to target you guys.”

                “How do you know that?” Hyosung him, grabbing his shirt in her hand tightly.

                He held up both hands in surrender and blinked in surprise.  “Word gets around!  I don’t know if it’s true or not,” he admitted with a look at his companions who seemed about ready to jump on her for the suspected attack.

                “And I can’t find out for sure right now,” Kyuhyun slumped in mild defeat, fingers quiet over the keyboard while he stared at the screen.

                “It’s alright,” Junsu soothed, patting the vampire on the back gently.  “You’ve given us more to go on than we had before.  That’s enough for now.  Any chance we can get in touch with the other group at all?” he asked hopefully.

                The question sparked something in Kyuhyun and tension returned to his shoulders when he sat up again, a thoughtful frown on his face.  “Maybe,” he admitted, redoubling his efforts in a different direction.  Again, Ryeowook paid especially close attention and blinked when Kyuhyun appeared to find what had to be a glitch in the system.  “Oh Kangin, you tricky bastard,” Kyuhyun chuckled, the first sound of delight Ryeowook had heard in several days.

                “It’s a message?” he asked in confusion, hardly daring to blink when Kyuhyun opened it, revealing a lengthy chunk of text and an attached file.

                Kyuhyun downloaded the attached file and placed them side by side on the screen to review both at the same time.  “Well… that’s not good.”

(a/n: Sorry/Not sorry for the cliffhangers.  I'm getting everything lined up for the next sequence of events to the best of my ability.  We'll be getting an answer very soon and things should be moving along in the next chapter or two.  We did have some deaths and more maiming, which was to be expected, but I also hope to get back to our injured group as soon as possible.  Plus, we have some new faces!  ^_^  We'll see how they work out before long as well.  Otherwise, thank you for being patient and if you see any loopholes or have any particular questions, please feel free to point them out/send them my way!  In the meantime, thank you for reading and I hope you look forward to the next update.

Also, KyuWook moment!  Huzzah!  Stupid, stubborn vampire.  He's not good at sharing is he?  lol  They've hit a bit of a turning point though, me thinks.  ;)  More to come soon!)