***

So...What now? 

I've lost track on how many times I've escaped certain death. At this point, the only thing I was concerned about was when my luck was going to run out. I had no illusions about that - it was going to run out at one given point and there won't be anyone around to save me. 

I didn't remember much about what happened after that woman crossed my path. I fell in and out of consciousness, knowing only pain and the constant feeling as if something was weighing me down. I faintly picked up on the fact that the pack was with me at one point, and I heard their voices echo in the distance. But that woman's voice was always loud and clear. She was in my head, shouting and laughing, driving me insane. When I heard what she wanted, why she did all the things she had done, I felt even sicker, and it wasn't because of the poison that was coursing through my body. 

She knew. She knew all along, and for whatever reason, it were the boys that she was interested in, not me. I was a pawn that she played with very well, using me to get to them. I got played. And you know what? I'm pissed off. She may think that her goal had been achieved, coercing the guys to do whatever she wanted them to do, using me as bait. She kept me alive because they accepted her deal, and most likely, she'd expect me to be afraid of her, to bow down to her power.

The only thing she did was make me angry. Was I scared? Sure, but not of her. I was scared because I didn't know what her plan was - still don't, which irked me even more. But what was even worse in my experience, was the fact that I was absolutely and unequivocally at her mercy. I couldn't fight back. All I did was whimper and scream as she did whatever the hell she wanted with my body. I loathed how easily she managed to break me and the audacity of that woman to use me against the guys! How dare she?! How could you allow something like that to happen, Jae?! 

Argh! Screw this ! I was furious! Yes, at her, but at myself as well! If it weren't for my stupidity and carelessness, my embarrassing weakness - none of this would have happened! Maybe I would've still been sick like a dog, lying around like a vegetable in my bed, but at least then the boys wouldn't have been put in that situation. That woman was dangerous, any doubt of that has evaporated, she was dangerous and sneaky, and the boys were made vulnerable because of her! 

Because of you. 

I took a deep, painful breath as the anger made way for the agonizing pinch of guilt and I felt like ripping my hair out of frustration. This was maddening. All this time the guys thought that it was me they were supposed to protect, but it was the other way around. All this time. What was going to happen now? 

None of this made sense! It hadn't made sense since the beginning and now... Was the white wolf wrong? Was it a ruse? A trick of the mind planted by that woman to throw me off balance? Because, damn it, she succeeded if that were the case. I'm in over my head, I know, but what else could I do? Give up now and let the chips fall where they may? Was I honestly that selfish? 

Hell no! 

That woman just unleashed all the furies of hell and beyond for messing with me, with us! You hurt one of the pack, you hurt all of us and I am not going to let that slide. That woman's stupid smirk, her hellish eyes, that creepy voice sweetly cooing and pouring honey over her venemous words...Infuriating! I demand justice, damn it! I'll smack that smug grin off her face, I'll get her one way or another, and when I do- 

"I'm going to kill her!" I heard the low rumble of a growl reverberate in the back of my throat, the anger rising like an unstoppable tidal wave. I probably would have gone wolf mode then and there, had I not reminded myself that was in the middle of a class, with my classmates staring in bewilderment at me. 

I gazed back around the room, eyes wide and cheeks flushed crimson before I let out a nervous chuckle that ended in a whimper. I sank back in my chair, attempting to make myself as small as possible. 

"Well, uh, thank you for the sudden contribution, Jae. I know that the female praying mantis isn't the most friendly of lovers in the animal kingdom, but that's nature for you. A leopard can't change its spots, a hungry female praying mantis can't stop herself from devouring her mate for nourishment. Nature is cruel, but we can comfort ourselves in thinking that the male at least died happily," Mr. Tabi explained, which got the class laughing.  

The bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson, and also, to my relief, that of the school day. As I got my stuff back in my bag, I was painfully aware of the many empty seats in the class room. 

Lili tapped my shoulder and gave me a playful nudge. "Hey, are you okay? What was that about?" she asked, giving a giggle. "You sounded really upset when Mr. Tabi told us that the praying mantis eats her mate after they made love. I didn't know you were so sensitive for that kind of stuff, Jae-yah," she grinned. 

"Oh, uh, yeah, I got a little too carried away, Mr. Tabi is a good storyteller," I lied, trying not to look her in the eyes. Lili nodded and gazed at me, trying to catch my attention. 

"How are you feeling today, Jae-yah?" she then asked. "You've been quiet all day. Do you need to visit the nurse's office?" 

At this, I shook my head and puffed up my chest, smiling at her. "No, I'm good, thank you."

"You remember your promise, don't you? You said you'd take better care of yourself," she warned strictly, pointing her finger at me. 

I chuckled. "I know, don't worry, I'm fine," I assured her as the class became empty and Mr. Tabi was still left behind, cleaning up. 

"Are you concerned, too?" Lili suddenly asked and I blinked at her. 

"Huh?"

"The Majestic Twelve," she murmured a little shyly. "It's a bit suspicious and worrying that none of them are here today," she mused. "Do you think they're alright?"

I stared blankly at her for a moment, to keep my emotions under control. "Sure," I lied, feeling guilty. "Why wouldn't they be? Lay was sick the other day, right? Maybe the others caught whatever he had before," my voice cracked the last moment, but Lili was too lost in her own thoughts to have noticed. 

"You're probably right," she nodded, biting her lip. 

I readjusted the strap of my backpack and we both headed out the door. 

"Oh, Jae, would you mind staying a moment? I'd like to have a word with you," Mr. Tabi suddenly called and I froze in place. 

"Uh, oh-kay," I replied, smiling reassuringly at Lili. "I guess I'll see you later, Lili," I greeted. She nodded and reached out for a quick hug. 

"Take it easy, Jae-yah. Let me know when you get home," she greeted and left. I took a deep breath before turning around to meet Mr. Tabi. 

"Do you mind closing the door, Jae?" the biology teacher instructed and I clicked it shut before walking back inside the class room. 

"Before you start, Mr. Tabi, I am sorry for the sudden outburst," I quickly apologized, "I got too carried away," I attempted to grin, but he only smiled politely, taking off his glasses and leaning against his desk. I pursed my lips together and stared at my feet. 

"How've you been, Jae?" he suddenly asked, his deep voice soothing and calm. 

"I'm fine," came the short reply, even smiling at him to prove my point, but Mr. Tabi simply looked at me with his almond-shaped eyes and I could tell that he could easily see through me. Mr. Tabi was a good teacher that always looked out for his students, and in this case it was unfortunate, since I couldn't lie to him. 

"You look like you're fine," he agreed. "But something tells me that you're not. Not really, at least," he remarked gently, without judgement. "I've noticed that you're rather absent during classes, you're physically here, but your mind isn't, which became more evident today with your little outburst," he said, gesturing for me to take a seat in the front row opposite of him. 

I complied, tucking my hair behind my ear and putting my back down on the ground. My mind was already spinning to see how I could get out of this situation. Mr. Tabi meant well, but I can't tell him anything. I had to protect our secret, had to protect the boys. I wish I could protect the teacher from that woman, as well, but saying something bad about her might raise suspicions. 

"So," Mr. Tabi started, rubbing the back of his head, looking at me. "Talk to me. What's going on with you lately?" 

"Nothing, sir," was my automatic reply. "Everything is fine," I added. 

Mr. Tabi said nothing, only waited for me to say more. I hated this. I can't stand silence and it appears that he was aware of that. "I feel much better compared to a couple days ago," I quickly said. "I'll try to pay more attention to lessons, I promise. I guess I'm just still a little groggy." This wasn't good. I was nervous and rambling and Mr. Tabi, cool, calm Mr. Tabi caught onto that. 

"Still feeling dazed, huh? Like you still haven't woken up?" he questioned and I startled at his choice of words. 

"Uh, y-yeah, something like that," I nodded. "But, again, I'm sorry for blurting something out like that during class, and I promise I'll do better," I quickly said, wanting to leave.

"I believe you," he said quietly, scanning me up and down. "Why are you so nervous, though?" he then asked, looking a bit amused. 

"I thought I'd be in trouble," I made up, looking at the door. "I'd like to leave, if you don't mind, sir. Rest up properly, and all of that," I reached for my bag, but Mr. Tabi stopped me. 

"Of course, Jae, it's just there's this other thing that I'd like to ask you about," he then continued, my heart racing a mile a minute. "I don't know quite how to put this, but...Well-," he mused. "I believe you, first of all, I can imagine that you're still on the mend, given what had happened. But something is still bothering me a bit." 

And this will be the part where I forget to breathe...

"You're not in trouble, are you, Jae?" he inquired out of the blue and I nearly fell out of my seat. 

"T-trouble? How- how do you mean, sir?" 

"Well, it's probably nothing, but I thought I'd ask. You're pretty close with my boys from the Science Club, aren't you?" he asked, referring to the twelve. "It's just that I'm a little worried. It happens that they get sick, I mean we're all people here, but to have all twelve of them absent is a bit suspicious," he confided, sounding genuinely concerned. "If something happened," he then continued, "and you happen to know something about it, then I hope you'll allow me to help you in anyway." 

Someone shoot me. Seriously, it enough that I was already having guilt trips towards the boys, but to see this man so concerned and willing to help out his students was driving me insane. I wanted to tell him everything, especially with those pleading, wide eyes that could melt the arctic. I mean, wouldn't it be so much easier if I had someone to confess to? But, I couldn't. I. Couldn't. Say I did spill the beans towards Mr. Tabi and say that he believed every word. What would happen then if that woman found out that he knew? What if she'd hurt him as well? I couldn't be responsible for that, too. The less any outsider knew about what was going on, the better. I had to grow stronger. 

"Jae?" Mr. Tabi called when I took too long to answer. "Is there something going on?" he asked again. 

Every fibre of my being wanted to shout 'YES', but I firmly shook my head.

"Not that I know of, sir. It's very sweet of you to be worried, though. I think the boys just caught the flu from each other. They spend an awful lot of time together, after all," I shrugged, feeling nauseous for being able to sound so casual, while in truth, I was just as concerned as he was - if not more. After waking up in my own bed without so much as a scratch on me, I texted them, but got no reply. I tried contacted each of them, but there came no response. I didn't know where they were, which was why I wanted to leave as soon as possible so I could look for them.

Those dorks better be safe, or they'll be sorry! If anything bad happened to them-, no. You're already driving yourself insane, Jae, you are not going to think negatively. 

"You're sure?" Mr. Tabi gave me another look of worry and I nodded. 

"Positive. I'm actually going to visit Suho and Lay to drop off their homework." I may sound cheerful, but God, I felt like bawling my eyes out. I spat out lie after lie and I was becoming fed up. 

"Ah, well, that's a bit of good news then! Make sure to tell them I said hi and wish they get better soon," the young teacher said, while I was more than happy to oblige as I got up from my seat and reached for my bag. 

"Yes, of course, sir! I'll let them know," I said in a hurry, swinging my bag a bit too roughly over my shoulder, causing it to hit the side of a desk and, of course, the zipper slid open due to the impact, spilling the contents to the floor. 

"Oh crap," I muttered, quickly gathering my stuff. 

"Oops, here, let me help you with that," Mr. Tabi offered, while I embarrassedly muttered a thank you, randomly shoving my belongings into the backpack. Mr. Tabi had picked up a bunch of papers, and I didn't think much of it until I noticed that he wasn't handing them back to me. Frowning, I watched him for a moment, looking at one particular piece of paper, his expression serious. 

I gasped audibly when I realized what he was looking at and I felt like smacking myself. How could I be so stupid to not have realized sooner?! Holy crap on a stick, Jae! When did you become such a careless idiot?!

In a panic, I snatched the paper away from him, wincing when I saw that it was the drawing of the dagger he'd been staring at. "S-sorry. I have to go, see you later, Mr. Tabi," I muttered, hurriedly heading towards the door, but Mr. Tabi beat me to it by holding my shoulder to prevent me from taking another step. 

"What was-, where did you get that drawing?" he questioned, unlike his usual suave self. 

"Oh, uh, nowhere. I mean, I drew it- for...art class. It's an art project, that's all," I blurted, chuckling sheepishly and turning back to the door, but Mr. Tabi wouldn't let this slide. 

"Hold on, Jae. Where did you see that dagger before?" he demanded to know, his deep voice suddenly sounding a bit angry, which startled me. He immediately relaxed upon seeing my reaction and Mr. Tabi cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to scare you, Jae. But, this is important. Why would you draw a dagger like that? It's very detailed. Have you seen it somewhere before?" 

There was no reason for me to be suspicious of Mr. Tabi making a big deal out of this, was there? Then, how come I hesitated when I looked at him this time? That dagger was a piece of the puzzle to unlocking the answers that the pack and I have been looking for. I knew that E.T. Corp possessed the dagger I drew, but with Mr. Tabi working there part-time as well, and seeming alarmed at me knowing of its existence, made me a little wary. 

Would it mean that this dagger was somehow important after all? But why? What made it important? And why would E.T. Corp have it?

"It's just a dagger, Mr. Tabi. Nothing important," I dismissed. "Why? Does it look familiar to you?" Oh, looky here, my nose is bleeding...

"Jae," Mr. Tabi started, sounding strict. "Where did you see that dagger?"

I swallowed as I looked at him. Why does it matter to you? 

"Did your father show it to you? He can get into trouble if you show that drawing around, Jae. It's company property," he then elaborated.

My breath was a bit shaky when I replied. "I-I understand. I'm sorry, I'll get rid of it." It sounded better to admit to this than to deny it all over again. What did Mr. Tabi know, after all? Of course I wasn't going to get rid of it, but he didn't have to know that. "I'll think of something else for art class," I added to make it more believable, meanwhile feeling despicable as well. Things were going great!

"Okay. Take care of yourself, Jae. Get some proper rest, huh?" he patted me supportively on the shoulder and gave me a wink. I nodded and quickly bolted out of the door, taking a deep breath of relief. It seemed as though my entire body had tensed up and there was no way for me to relax until everything was resolved. But man, where was I supposed to start? 

Another gasp escaped my lips when thunder clapped loudly outside and the rain poured mercilessly from the clouds as though it was trying to compete with Niagara Falls for best waterfall. 

"You're kidding me," I heaved a sigh. "Of course. Why not? It's not like I didn't bring an umbrella with me," I grunted sarcastically. How was I supposed to go look for the guys in the pouring rain? What was even up with the weather lately? It seemed so much more erratic, and I don't remember the weather forecast saying that it was going to storm again today. 

Clacking my tongue, I grabbed my cell phone and opened the group chat. I had sent messages earlier today, but no one had responded to them, not even to the messages I sent to them privately. 

You guys don't honestly think that I actually believe you all to be sick at the same time, right? I typed, feeling peeved. This . You guys told me that a pack is there for one another, no one is alone. Did you lie? I bit my lip as my thumbs tapped the glass screen of my phone as though they were possessed. If you're angry or upset about what happened the other night, at least have the balls to confront me about it, don't you dare give me the silent treatment! I made a mistake. This was my fault, but I'm owning up to it. Have the decency to come out of your hiding places - please, I added, so they know that even though I was scolding the living daylights out of them, I didn't mean it to sound crude. I'm tired of playing games. I want answers, and I think I might get them, but I can't get to them alone... I sighed. 

At least say something so I'll know you're all safe. I swear to cow if something happened to any of you, I'll hunt you down, patch you up and kick your butts all over again, you know that! ... Guys...where are you? 

I hoped that the message would provoke enough to get at least one or two people to respond, but it remained annoyingly quiet. 

A flash of lightning outside was followed by an earth shattering blast of thunder, that resounded in my chest and drew the attention of the other students in the hallway as well. 

"What the hell was that?"

"I've never heard thunder this loud before..."

"That sounded close, do you think it hit a tree or something?"

"What the heck is going on? Is it the end of the world? Did we miss a memo?"

"It's been like this for a couple of days now, sudden storms, earthquakes and now this downpour of rain, too..."

"Damn, how am I supposed to get home in this weather?" 

All of the voices filled the hallways as people looked outside of the windows and I was no different. I thought back to the conversation I had with the white wolf, thoughts of the black snake entering my mind. End of the world...no way... 

Screams and startled outcries then filled the air as the lights suddenly went out, showing how dark the day had become. The sound of the clattering rain outside paled in comparison to the roaring thunder and whipping winds. 

I checked my phone again, but there were still zero notifications. Fine then. I'll go look for them myself. 

After a quick visit to my locker, I braced myself and took deep, steady breaths before forcing my feet to move, right into the rainstorm.