Heavy.

Everything felt heavy.

Her body, her eyelids, everything. Using every ounce of strength she could muster Bom pried her eyes open. She blinked a few times, her gaze struggling to focus on a cream-colored ceiling. The smell of disinfectants and something else, something earthy permeated her nose.

"Good morning sleeping beauty."

Bom placed her palms at her waist and braced herself up into a sitting position. Through her fuzzy vision she partially recognized the cleanliness of the infirmary.

"Don't push yourself Bom-ah." A woman dressed in a pristine white lab coat approached the girl and took a seat at the edge of the bed she lay on. She brought her hands around and revealed the cup of steaming hot tea she held and offered it to the newly awoken girl. Bom bowed her head and accepted it.

"Thank you Miss Yoon." She took a small sip of the piping hot liquid. "...again."

School nurse Miss Yoon
29, Water Nymph/Naiad, a mature woman that is admired by
many of the students for her beautiful looks and kindness,
watches out for Bom and her “condition”

The woman brushed the hair from Bom's face, pausing to admire her eyes, the eyes that rarely anyone had a chance to see. “Here, you might need these." She pulled out Bom's glasses from her coat pocket and held them out to her. Bom panicked slightly as she brought a hand to her face, realizing she hadn't been wearing them but it did explain her lack of vision. Sensing her worry, the nurse spoke.

"Don't worry, I took them off you after I laid you down in bed. Nobody saw." Bom visibly relaxed as she continued to sip her tea. Miss Yoon sighed as she stared at the adjacent wall.

"This is the second time in the last few weeks Bom." She turned and faced the young girl who at this point had put her glasses back on, shielding her face once more. "They're becoming more frequent."

Bom lowered the cup of tea into her lap and stared absentmindedly at the white bed sheets.

"I don't know what's going on... Well I mean I do, but I don't know what to do to control it... I've been searching for so long but I haven't found anything yet." She looked up. "I'm so glad you're here to help me out."

The woman sighed, "But I can't always be there for you Bom-ah... You got extremely lucky. This time it seems like you were helped by someone else before it got too far."

"Helped?"

"Yes. By some miracle a student managed to bring you here. You can't imagine how worried I was to see him carry you in that state to my door. I was also confused because he seemed to be fine. He was really concerned about you collapsing and after I convinced him that you'd be okay he finally left."

Bom sat there contemplating. "So... nothing bad happened this time?"

"It seems so."

"I guess that explains why I feel so exhausted right now. Normally I don't struggle to get up like this... I suppose I wasn't successful this time." She sighed in relief.

"Not successful? You could have been caught, Bom!" The girl flinched at the seriousness in the nurse's tone.

“I know... but you know that I have no control over any of this. I didn't want any of this! If I did I would stop doing it immediately!” Bom tightened her grip on the empty teacup.

“I know, I know.” The nurse smiled at the young girl and pulled her into her arms. She rubbed her back, hoping to sooth the frustrated girl. “I'm just worried about you. You need to be a lot more careful from now on. It's getting to the point where I'm not sure if you can handle this on your own. You might need help.”

“I don't trust anyone enough besides you to help me.”

“Well you're going to have to learn to trust someone else because I won't always be around to save your .” Bom pouted.

“...I wish I hadn't been born this way...”

“Now don't say that, you'll hurt your parents' feelings.”

“What do they care? They won't help me.”

“Bom, it's not that they won't help you but it's that they can't. It's against the rules and you know that.”

Bom grunted in annoyance and fell back onto the bed, covering her face with a pillow and groaning into it. Why couldn't she have been born as something easier? Like a fairy? Or a even a lizard-demon? A giant arachnid? Anything but what she was now. It was just too troublesome. As much as she wanted to curse her genes Miss Yoon was right, there was no reason to be mad at her parents. They were loving and supportive and wanted only what was best for her. But that is also why she couldn't understand why they could only stand back and watch as she suffered alone.

“You know your uncle is also worried about you. You should probably pay him a visit soon.” Nurse Yoon said as she stood up from the bed.

Bom sat back up at the mention of her uncle, mulling over what the nurse suggested. “I suppose you're right. I guess I'll stop by his office tomorrow.” Feeling her strength return to her, the girl swung her legs over the edge of the bed and carefully stood on her feet.

“Anyways, it's getting late I should probably get going.”

“Are you sure you've recovered enough?”

She nodded, “I'm fine. Don't worry about me.”

“That's easier said than done.” The nurse chuckled. Bom just smiled at her and grabbed her backpack, slinging it over one arm.

“Thank you again! And also for your magic tea. It always has me back on my feet in no time!” She waved and then exited the infirmary. Nurse Yoon watch the young woman as she closed the door behind her.

“You're having a hard time Bom-ah... trust me, I know.”

After having shut the door behind her, Bom cautiously peered around the seemingly empty hallway as she tightened her hood more securely over her head. Sensing that there wasn't anyone around she relaxed and straightened herself out.

“Miss Yoon may have a point... if these start becoming more frequent I'm going to have to study those books faster.” She spoke softly to herself. Intent on swinging by the library on her way out of the school, Bom started making her way down the hall.

Luhan tossed the soccer ball he held from one hand to another and spun it on his finger as he walked down the hall. Clad in his soccer training wear, he had just come from the school's locker rooms and was heading out to the soccer field for the team's practice. Nothing relieved the stress of school for him like physical activity and getting his cleats dirty out on the grass. Not even the embrace of a woman could compare to the fresh mountain air around the academy that did wonders for his health.

He looked up momentarily from the ball he held and paused when he spotted a certain mysterious girl cautiously peek around as she exited a room. Was that Bom? He quickly hid behind a corner and raised a brow her actions. The werewolf wondered why she was acting so sneakily during the school's after hours. It was especially weird that she was coming out of the infirmary. Had she gotten ill? Why did she seem so determined to not let anyone know she had been there? He narrowed his eyes. There was definitely something up with this girl. He knew it didn't end at her strange behavior a couple of days ago when his soccer team member showed up to class in his unusual state.

Luhan watched her relax, thinking that no one had seen her and continued on her way. He thought he faintly heard her mention something about books. Was it the books she always brought to homeroom? When she was gone he found himself approaching the infirmary door without realizing it. He slowly reached a hand out to touch the handle of the door. It hovered above the metal as he hesitated to open it. What was he expecting to achieve from opening that door? Would he ask the nurse if she knew anything about Bom? He wasn't even sure if she would disclose that sort of information to him. He furrowed his brows, torn at what he should do.

Suddenly a voice called out to him, causing him to jerk away from the door, pretending like nothing had happened.

"There you are Luhan! The team has been waiting forever for you. They sent me to go hunt you down." A shorter, chubby-cheeked male jogged up to him sporting similar athletic wear.

Kim "Xiumin" Minseok
17, Snow Man, one of the seniors of the soccer team, the "cute" hyung,
but don't let it fool you because he can freeze you
in an instant with no mercy
 

"Are you feeling unwell?" The boy looked at the infirmary entrance and then at the nervous-looking Luhan.

"Huh?--oh ah... No. I just.... I just wanting to visit the nurse to see if she had any hot-cold patches. My muscles have been aching a lot more lately. Must be training a little too intensely hahaha..." Luhan chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh."

"Well let's go shall we? You said the team has been waiting right?" Luhan quickly turned the smaller male around.

"Wait, but what about your pat--"

"I changed my mind! Hurry we can't kept them waiting any longer!" The wolf boy roughly began ushering Xiumin away from the nurse's office.

***

It was lunch time once again. The cafeteria was filled with the loud bustling of all the various types of demons and creatures of Illyria Academy. Winged students flew above others, cutting each other in the lunch line, garnering several loud, grumbling complaints from some of the more beastly students. Near the center of the cafeteria the entirety of the popular EXO clique sat conversing amongst themselves.

"Have you heard the news?" A boy with dark kohl lining his eyes said.

Byun Baekhyun
16, Sun Diety/Son of great goddess Amaterasu, he fancies gossip, drama and high-end
eyeliners, as a user of light he hates dark and creepy things
(Park Bom of course is no exception, he is quite afraid of her)
 

“Hm? Whash ah you chalking abou Baek?” Chanyeol inquired in the midst of shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth. The rest of EXO leaned in, curious to know what the 'news' Baekhyun spoke of was.

"There are rumors going around that more victims have appeared."

"Victims? Victims of what?" The youngest, Sehun, questioned. He played at a vine that had curled up from within his sleeves around his fingers.

Oh Sehun
15, Flower Child, the young and naive one, despite having little emotional reaction
to anything he is quite popular, still learning to control his powers so
flowers tend to sprout randomly across his body--which he hates but girls find it adorable
 

"What do you meant what? That zombie curse of course! My friend told me that someone in his class showed up in a similar state to how Minho did in Luhan-hyung's class. There have also been mentions of other people in a few other classes having appeared the same way as well. And get this... all the victims so far have been only males." All the eyes at the table visibly widened.

"Do you think someone is trying to terrorize all the men at this school?" The concerned Suho asked. He hadn't realized that in his state of panic he was accidentally sloshing around the water that sat in Kris's water bottle, nearly knocking it over and splashing it onto the Dragon.

Kim "Suho" Joonmyeon
17, Merman, a caring and motherly type for the boys, he has pretty good control of his
water powers but it goes slightly out of control when he becomes emotional...
..which unfortunately for the rest of the boys happens often...
 

"I don't know about that but I get the feeling that whoever is behind all this is a woman." Kris stated as he grabbed his bottle, eyeing the merman angrily before downing the rest of the bottle. Suho merely 'hmph'ed but snickered evilly when some of the water shot back out and sprayed onto Kris' face. The blonde sputtered as he examined his slightly damp uniform, his dragon temper fuming as the others broke out into bouts of laughter.

" Suho! Grow up will you?!" Suho merely shrugged him off and ignored his cries.

"Both of you need to chill out." D.O spoke up. He turned nervously to face Baekhyun. "Do you think that possibly... One of us could be another victim?"

Do "D.O" Kyungsoo
16, Warlock, very studious and probably the most intelligent of the boys,
despite his small stature no one dares to mess with him because
of his vast knowledge of spells and curses
 

"No way! We're all much too strong to let some crazy woman successfully drain us of all of our energy. As long as we all stick close to each other, nothing can touch us!" Chen announced as he confidently punched a fist into the air.

Kim "Chen" Jongdae
16, Thunder Deity/Son of Raijin, much is expected of him being the only son of the thunder god
but he only likes to fool around and play jokes on others, whenever he is down
or upset it tends to stir up storms in the sky

“You know, I heard that this isn't the first time it has happened.” The shorter, magic-user stated. “I overheard some of the faculty whispering amongst each other and apparently these 'incidents' have been going on for quite some time. Like maybe at least a little over a year or so. They say they suspect it being a student.”

“Are you serious?” Kris leaned in further. The whole ordeal was piquing his curiosity more and more.

“Yeah. The news hadn't really spread around because supposedly the school chairman did everything he could to keep it on the down low. He had been trying to cover it up, I guess not to scare any of the students. But since there has been a sudden influx of more victims in such a short amount of time, it became hard for him to control and now everyone is talking about it.”

“Why hadn't the previous victims said anything or why haven't we noticed that there's been a gradual increase in zombie-like people on campus?”

“See, here's the weird part! Those people who became 'zombies' after a while they—”

Just then the cafeteria doors swung open, revealing a familiar face. Everyone in the room shared the same shocked expressions, but none were as baffled as Luhan was.

"Minho?!" Luhan exclaimed as he quickly got up and approached his soccer team member. "Are...are you alright?"

Standing before the student body was not the drained, exhausted and zombiefied Choi Minho that appeared in Luhan's class a week ago. Instead, in his place was a beaming, energetic, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Choi Minho, a stark contrast from the former. He smiled at Luhan.

"I appreciate your concern and I'm happy to say that I feel great! Fantastic actually. I don't think I've ever felt so good in my life. It's almost as if I've been reborn. It's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I feel like I could dribble a soccer ball up and down the field a thousand times. As a matter of fact, I think I will!" The enthusiastic boy turned to leave but Luhan grabbed him by the shoulder and flipped him back around.

"But you just got here? And...what happened to you? I just saw you yesterday and you still looked pretty beaten down." The wavy-haired boy eyed the other. Something just wasn't adding up. How can he have bounced back so quickly like that when he'd been so lifeless for the past week? Minho shrugged.

“It's the weirdest thing. Yeah, yesterday I still felt terrible but suddenly this morning I awoke with an energy I never have before!” The boy did a high-knee jog in place to prove his point. “Well, I'm gonna go do some training over the rest of lunch. See you at practice!” And with that Minho continued jogging his way out of the cafeteria, leaving behind the stumped Luhan along with everyone else in the room who were completely confused at the boy's change. He walked back over to the lunch table at a loss for words. D.O continued where he'd left off.

“That's what I was trying to tell you... none of the victims made any complaints because after a certain amount of time they ended up like that. Their moods completely flipped 180 degrees. They were happier, became much more active, they were no longer upset at having been turned into what some are calling temporary undead. I tried doing some research on it but it's unlike any sort of curse or spell I've come across... maybe I'm not looking in the right place.” The boy chewed at his thumb. Everyone at the table knew that D.O wasn't fond of not knowing everything.

Kris turned his head to look at Luhan. As his best friend he was very skilled at being able to read the other boy's face and he knew that look very well. It was a mix of wonder and determination. He knew that Luhan was interested in this mystery and it wouldn't come to a surprise to the taller male if he was set on solving it.

***

Here's the next chapter! So many brief character descriptions in this one, mixing a lot of different types of mythology and folklore here. Hopefully I can get the rest of the EXO members introduced soon enough.  I didn't want to fit all of them in a single chapter because then this would have been WAY too long on just pictures alone lol. Please let me know what you think and I'll see you guys for the next chapter~