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We interrupt this scheduled programming to bring you a series of special reports. 

The recent earthquakes have left thousands of people homeless in many parts of Asia and North America. Search parties continue to locate missing people in the rubble, though with the current death toll set at 3241, that number is expected to increase in well over the ten thousand. Scientists are still unable to explain the sudden eruption of these earthquakes, though the possibility of severe aftershocks are to be expected and closely monitored. 

Meteorologists have further researched into the additional unpredictable weather occurrences surrounding the devastating earthquakes, though it remains unclear whether the natural phenomena are correlated. 

Several volcanoes thought to be inactive, have suddenly erupted in several islands in the Indonesian archipelago. No reports have been confirmed regarding casualties. 

Further up north, greater parts of China and Russia are camping with massive snow and thunderstorms. Many people have been driven out of their homes and have sought shelter in government-issued bunkers for safety. People are in need of provisions due to the severity of the storms, however, vehicles have immense trouble reaching the affected areas. A no-fly zone has been set up over both continents. 

In further news, Europe is battling with rainstorms and severe flooding, while northern parts of Africa and the Middle East are dealing with what has been dubbed the worst heatwave ever recorded in the last thousand years. The massive drought has ruined farmers’ crops everywhere and massive fear for shortage of food and water supplies have been reported. In addition, animals kept in zoos and safaris have been acting strange since the natural mayhem started. One incident reports two zookeepers being attacked out of the blue by a den of lions in Brazil. The men have unfortunately passed away due to their injuries. 

In other news- here’s a headline I’d never thought I’d say out loud - the sun appears to be missing. Experts and officials are left dumbfounded to wake up to the light of the moon beaming down in large parts of the Pacific, as the warm rays of the sun remain hidden. Officials state, however, that there appears to be no reason for alarm. Scientists have explained that the strange phenomena could be the result of a rare eclipse, occurring only every 1200 years, allowing the moon to not only completely block out the sun, but absorbs most of its light entirely, resulting in a ‘morning moon’. Could this lunar madness truly be the cause of the recent weather phenomena? Or has Armageddon finally caught up with us? More updates on this in later news. 

In local news, inhabitants of Ookami Shinro are requested to stay in their homes due to the unpredictable and wild weather. Government officials have politely and urgently requested for inhabitants of the island to stay home for their own safety. 

In addition, an amber alert has been placed for a certain Miss Kumiho, first name unknown. Miss Kumiho was arrested last night for assault and trespassing. The fugitive escaped the confines of Hanwol PD, injuring six officers who are currently in critical condition. Suspect is deemed dangerous. Police have asked for the vigilance from the citizens of Hanwol. If suspect has been spotted, please notify the police department immediately. Do not engage as suspect is possibly armed. 

We will now continue the scheduled programming. To stay updated check our channel’s website or tune in every hour for more news. Stay safe, everyone. Thank you. 

It was silent in the room. Even when the broadcast turned back to the initial programming with Spongebob laughing loudly through the speakers, the rest of the room remained quiet. 

I was standing behind the sofa, holding the leaning for support. I was still trembling when I saw the images of the news flash in front of my eyes. Mass destruction, people panicking and desperate, nature going completely out of wonk- and behind it all, evil eyes shone, a black tail rattled. Even now, the grim light outside seemed to have already dimmed more, as if to emphasize to us that we didn’t have much time left.  

On top of that, Miss Kumiho is on the loose… Would she come after me? What if she came back for my parents? No, I shouldn’t think that way. She had been determined when she chased after me. She wanted the dagger, needed it as much as we did. She’d come after it for sure. 

I balled my fist and walked away. 

“Whoa, where are you going, Jae?” asked D.O. gripping my wrist when I walked past him. 

“I need to get the dagger. I’d feel better if it’s in my hand,” I explained, feeling particularly antsy and almost without it. “I’ll be right back.” I moved out of the room, but I guess my wolf senses were on high alert as well as I could hear the boys talking after I left. I think they purposely waited until I did, so I wouldn’t get worried. Bit too late, though…

I rushed towards the bedroom and flipped the contents of my backpack on the bed. A wave of comfort washed over me when I saw the dagger and quickly took hold of it. The weapon had looked better, to be honest, but the fact that it was in my hand felt like a relief. 

I remembered how painful it was to even be near this thing, in fact, my heart still thumped uneasily with the dagger so close to me, but I didn’t want it out of my sight. 

“I know, I know,” I whispered to it, seeing that the corrosion had spread and it lost a bit of its original shine. “We’re working on it, okay?” 

The green heart on the hilt glowed briefly before it was snuffed out again. I held the weapon to my chest, using my free hand to put my stuff back. I halted when I saw my phone and saved that one to put back into my bag last. 

Mom. Dad… Would they understand? 

I startled myself when I thought about Miss Kumiho, saw how her green eyes lit up before her face shape shifted into something monstrous. 

Oh my God… she escaped! I had already turned my phone on, wanting to check on my parents, but I nearly dropped my phone when it started to vibrate as though it was possessed by the devil. 

48 messages… That wasn’t so bad considering everything that had happened so far, I guess. Still, my thumb hovered hesitatingly over the red dot that was attached to the messenger app. I shouldn’t try to contact them. I shouldn’t read what they sent me. Not because I wanted to torture them or anything, but I knew that I was too weak to resist sending something back or even going back home to see them, endangering them further- especially if that woman was on the loose. 

I swallowed. I could perhaps just click on it, so that they would see that I read the messages even though I hadn’t, but then they would know that I received them, which could tell them that I was alright. It was perhaps the only comfort I could give them at the moment. 

I closed my eyes. Don’t read the messages, Jae. Just click and close the app again. It’s for their own safety. You have a job to do. I reminded myself and clicked. The moment I saw the flood of messages rolling in, I quickly shut the app down, but not before I saw the last message my father sent me: 

I understand. Please, call me, baby. 

Putting my phone back into my bag I walked out of the room without looking back. Still, holding the dagger with both hands I couldn’t help but wonder what my dad meant. Understand? What? The note I left him? Or was it a trick on his part to lure me back to the house? 

I couldn’t think too long about it. I didn’t have the luxury to do so right now. This thing in my hand was what was important, as terrible as that may sound. I just had to have faith that my parents will remain safe, and that I can go back home to them once this madness is over. 

When I got back to the living room, the boys had been talking together and looked up as I entered with the dagger. The fact that none of them were eating or drinking anymore added to the grave expressions on their faces. 

“How’s the dagger?” asked Suho, motioning towards the weapon. 

“I think it’s not doing all too well,” I replied, showing them its condition. “As weird as it sounds, I think this thing might actually be sick, or something.” 

“Sick?” Lay asked, approaching me. “Do you think it will work if I try to heal it a bit, Jae-yah?” he then asked, and I had to admit I hadn’t even thought of that before. 

“If you think it might work,” I told him, extending the dagger towards him. Lay wriggled his slender fingers before placing them over the dagger. A soft light appeared from his hands as he continued waving his fingers about. The light was obviously being absorbed by the weapon, but it didn’t seem to do much else. 

Lay clacked his tongue, humming in disappointment. “It seems like dagger-nim can’t be healed by me,” he said. 

“Is that surprising? If it were that easy, we’d never have to go through all of this trouble, hyung,” answered D.O.. 

“So, what are we going to do now?” Sehun questioned, looking around the group. “I mean, if that woman really did escape prison and is now out there somewhere, I don’t think we should stay in one place.” 

“Right. She’ll be after the dagger, so it’s our job to protect it,” Suho muttered, looking at the weapon in my hands. 

“So, we run? Is that the plan?” Kai asked, the skepticism obvious in his voice.

“I don’t see what else we could do,” Suho sighed gravely, turning off the TV. As silence filled the room, I saw the boys’ faces. I exchanged a look with Luhan, who then gazed outside where the light of the supposed moon had dimmed. The light seemed different now, the air heavier. 

“We have to recreate another Tree of Life to restore this world’s balance, right?” I asked then, wondering whether it was just my imagination, or whether the light really did seem redder somehow…

“Maybe we should go to Mr. Tabi. Maybe we could help him to speed things up,” I suggested, I couldn’t think of anything else to do. Waiting around or running away seemed like poor options. What else could we do?

“She has a point, Suho,” Kris started. “Mr. Tabi is a smart guy, he’ll probably know what to do,” he said. “I mean, we can try and run if you want, but that Kumiho lady is going to come after us for sure.”

“She’s on the hunt,” Kai muttered, and I startled to see that his eyes were red. “An animal never gives up on their prey.” 

I tightened the grip around the dagger’s hilt, holding it closer to my body. Just as I wanted to suggest that we call Mr. Tabi, thunder clapped out of nowhere, and the earth shook beneath our feet. 

“Whoa!” I lost my balance and fell, the dagger clattering on the floor beside me. 

“Jae! Are you alright?” Xiumin squatted beside me, as the others were doing their best to keep their balance. 

“D.O.?” asked Kris, but he was met with a clack of the tongue and a scoff. 

“You honestly think this is me?” the youth replied with a loud voice as the thunder rumbled outside. “Right! And that storm is Chen!” D.O.’s sarcasm was obvious as we watched how the grey clouds darkened and split open. I expected to see the white light of the moon spill through the cracks, but the color was definitely red this time. 

The light shone through the windows like something from another world, and my eye caught the shine of the dagger, the beam of the sky giving it an otherworldly glow- an eerie glow. For a brief moment the silver was a fiery red, the heart had turned black and call me crazy, but that really freaked me out. 

I snatched the dagger from the floor to hold it close, relieved to see that it was normal in my hands, but I kept it from the light. We waited until the earthquakes were over, and I waited for the rain to start pouring down, following the thunder- except it never fell. The earthquake and the thunder stopped as abruptly as they started.

“Is everyone alright?” Suho called out, looking around the room. 

“I think so,” Chanyeol was rubbing his head, a painful expression on his face. He was standing near the bookcase, so chances were that he probably got hit on the head by one of the books that lay strewn on the floor. 

“Um, guys? You should see this…” Chen said as he opened the window and looked outside. I tensed up and felt the blood drain from my veins at seeing the moon actually cast a red glow over the dark skies. The clouds from before had thinned and slowly dispersed, as if they had purposely waited until this moment to reveal what they kept hidden from the world all this time. 

“That looks unsettlingly familiar,” Kris murmured, his eyes, even though not the wolf-kind of red, still gleamed a bit crimson, due to looking up at the skies. 

“The sky would be the first to crumble,” Luhan mused in worry. 

I took a step back from the window, but since I was so preoccupied, I got careless while handling the dagger. “Ow!” 

The cut wasn’t deep, luckily, but the blood started streaming before I could even blink. D.O. was the first to hear me yelp and he clacked his tongue at seeing my wound. He held up my hand as gently as possible, partially to prevent the blood dripping everywhere. 

“You have to be more careful, Jae,” he told me and I nodded. 

“Sorry,” I mumbled. 

“Lay-hyung,” D.O. called out, and I smiled apologetically when the healer widened his eyes at seeing the blood and rushed to my side. I watched how he easily healed the wound as D.O. handed me a tissue to wipe the blood. I moved to get rid of the blood on the dagger as well, but there was none there. Not so much as a splatter. The thing must’ve been so sharp and quick it couldn’t even be smeared by my blood. 

My hand still tingled after Lay healed me. There was no pain anymore of course, but I could still vaguely sense the sting of the blade when it cut me. I still felt the cold steel press too tightly against my palm. I checked the dagger again in case it was tainted, but there was nothing there. 

“We’re out of time,” Suho huffed and made a decision. “We need Mr. Tabi. Let’s go find him before Miss Kumiho finds us.”

“We may be a bit too late, hyung,” Tao suddenly said, sticking his nose out the window while taking a deep whiff. “There’s the scent of burned wood in the air. I think she’s close,” his eyes shot towards me in worry and I nearly cut myself on the dagger again. I really should loosen up a bit, but hello?! World is ending and there’s a crazy woman hunting us! 

“Then all the more reason to hurry it up. We leave- now!” Suho commanded and I truly hoped that Mr. Tabi knew the answer. 

Running beneath the light of a blood red moon was unsettling. Unnatural. We ran as fast as our human feet allowed us, but I was frightened. While I ran, all I seemed to think about was the fact that we were running away from a beautiful face with hellish green eyes, hoping to keep her behind us. All the while we were running forwards, to the unknown, and even though I really couldn’t afford being pessimistic at this point, all I seemed to see was a pair of evil amber eyes waiting for us on the other side, ready to strangle the life out of us- or maybe just me, considering that Mr. Yok only needed the boys alive somehow to recreate his version of the Tree of Life. 

But I had to have faith that we could stop that. I had to have faith that we could find the answer and create a Tree of our own before the black snake even realizes that we’ve beaten him to the punch. That was the result I hoped for. That was the goal and task the boys had in mind as well. 

It felt like the dagger was burning in my backpack. The idea of it being there probably gave off the sensation that it was becoming warmer and heavier. The dagger may have been affecting nature’s balance but it was obviously being affected itself as well. Even running through the woods like this, like fugitives, like the devil was chasing us - which is sort of true considering that woman is probably a well known acquaintance of his - the waning and unbalance energy was pressing unto our shoulders like an anvil. It was present all around us, the ground we touched, the branches and plants we accidentally brushed against- heck, even in the air we breathed. 

But, we’ll fix this… I have to believe that we can. I glanced at the palm where my hand was cut open by the dagger before, saw how it was unscathed thanks to Lay’s healing, and balled it into a fist. 

We were going to succeed. I’m going home after this. My biggest problem was going to be me, having to figure out who I was going to take to that dreadful Homecoming Dance, and I wouldn’t have to worry about the world exploding, or crazy green-eyed monster chicks who want my head on a stick. I’d have my normal, mundane life back. 

And that’s worth fighting for. Come what may. The real trials start now.