Downstairs in the little side room - which, if he had to guess, Luhan would say appeared to be some sort of interviewing chamber for medical residency candidates - the depressed young man once again crossed his arms and rested his chin on the table. He let out a sigh as he shifted positions, propping his head up with his hands while his elbows dug into the shiny metal. Chanyeol stood up to give him another back hug, bending his tall frame over considerably to reach Luhan’s torso. When he was done, he sauntered around to the other side of the table and sat in the chair that had been occupied by Officer Kim.

“You look upset,” he said, settling down into the low-backed chair.

“It’s kind of hard not to be,” groaned Luhan as he stretched his arms out in front of him on the table. “We’re all doomed, probably. We took a goddamn shape shifter home with us from the woods, and now we can’t even keep tabs on which one of us it’s mimicking. If it even is still pretending to be one of us. It could be anyone! It could be Officer Kim for all I know.”

Luhan’s eyes looked around rapidly as if to search for the monster in the corners of the very room he was sitting in. The rain was audible against the roof of the hospital, and a faraway roll of thunder signaled that the apex of the storm was approaching. Chanyeol considered what the older man had said for a long moment before leaning back in his chair.

“Well, let’s do something to take your mind off of all that while we’re waiting for that policeman to get back,” he suggested. “And who knows; maybe you’ll be able to convince him afterall.”

Luhan blinked languidly before raising his eyes to meet Chanyeol’s steady gaze.

“What could we possibly do in an empty room?” he questioned.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Chanyeol replied casually as he leaned forward to rest his right hand on one of Luhan’s wrists. “Why don’t we play a game, hm? I know one that you would enjoy, I think.”

Luhan looked at the fingers that were wrapping around his slender wrist before gazing back up at Chanyeol, who continued to speak.

“Perhaps a game of Hide and Seek.”

«««

Upstairs, Tao frantically pressed the “down” button on the uncooperative elevator for at least the third time in twenty seconds.

“Come on you piece of crap!” shouted Kai as he pounded against the closed doors.

“Should we take the stairs instead?” suggested Suho from behind them. “You know, like they say to do in emergencies? Isn’t this an emergency?!”

“Unless you plan on rolling down seventeen flights of stairs, the elevator is going to be much faster,” argued Tao impatiently.

Almost right after he had finished saying the words, the metal doors slid slowly open and as many men as could fit crammed into the small carriage, along with Officer Kim.

“What exactly is it that you boys are convinced of now?” asked the officer as he continued to read the passage that Tao had pointed out to him from the journal, practically using Suho’s head as a table in the horribly cramped space. His eyes widened with each sentence. “That your friend downstairs is actually this Skinwalker thing?”

“It’s either the one downstairs or the one in this elevator.” Kai nodded in the direction of Chanyeol, who was squeezed against the door of the carriage, barely able to fit in the small box.

“I promise you it’s not me,” he wheezed. “I’ve been asleep for the past three hours. I’ve had no time to shift shapes even if I could - and I most certainly cannot.”

“That’s true,” Tao gasped, taking the book from Officer Kim. “Think about it. The person in the journal said that Youngsik didn’t sleep for at least three days after he turned into one of those monsters. The one that was imitating me stayed awake with Kris by the campfire all night. I don’t think these things sleep at all.”

“Luhan said that the fake Xiumin spent all night keeping watch,” added Kai. “I think you might be right, Tao.”

Baekhyun slithered his way through the tangle of limbs to present his own piece of evidence, almost tripping over Suho’s feet at he did so.

“And earlier today, ‘Chanyeol’ was the only person not asleep when you guys got back,” he gulped. “Which means Luhan is either in terrible danger, or already dead.”

«««

Luhan’s eyes widened as it dawned on him that whatever this was that was sitting in front of him was almost certainly not his friend. His eyes trailed to where the creature was gripping his arm so tightly that faint bruises were beginning to form. He eventually ended up settling back on the fake Chanyeol’s face, which was twisted into a hideous smirk.

“Y-Youngsik?” Luhan managed to stammer out.

“Ah, it’s been quite a while since I’ve heard that name,” the creature sighed, sounding almost nostalgic. “But no. Not Youngsik anymore, although they did try to convince me of that for quite some time.”

Luhan could do nothing but swallow hard as the thing got up from its seat and circled around to stand behind him, still holding tightly to his wrist.

“One week,” it growled. “A whole week they kept me there, chained in a tent, writhing with hunger. It’s a miracle I didn’t go mad.”

It chuckled throatily, making the hairs on the back of Luhan’s neck stand up and shiver. In Luhan’s own throat, a lump began to form that he couldn’t dislodge no matter how hard he strained.

“T-they said you didn’t eat,” he whispered - trying to buy some time as he scanned the room, desperate to find anything that could help him get out of the situation he found himself in.

“Ah. I didn’t eat anything they were willing to feed me,” the creature explained, its breath sticky and hot against the back of Luhan’s neck. “Because, of course, they weren’t too keen on slaughtering themselves.”

Luhan opened his mouth to ask another question - or at the very least make some sort of sound - but nothing would come out. Luckily, however, the creature continued to talk.

“They kept me tied up so that they could do their little tests and sketch their pretty diagrams.” The beast accented every syllable with malice. “They tried to talk to me. Tried to get me to snap out of it. That was totally futile, of course. I couldn’t have listened even if I had wanted to.”

“W-why not?” Luhan choked.

The beast spun Luhan’s chair around and knelt down so that its eyes were level with the shaking man’s own glimmering irises. It’s face still held the outward appearance of Chanyeol’s features, but Luhan was all too aware of the horror that swam just below the surface. It smiled again, revealing rows of pointed teeth that hadn’t been there a minute ago.

“Call it hunger. Call it instinct,” it purred. “Whatever you call it, it can’t be stopped. I must kill. I have what you might say is a basic, primal need to turn people into monsters like me. You see, Luhan, the energy that is given off when someone is undergoing one of these… transformations… that is the only thing I consume. It doesn’t need to be done often - but when it does, it’s not a pretty sight, to say the least. And it’s been years since I’ve enjoyed someone as pure and vital as your friend.”

The creature inhaled deeply as it said this, almost as if to the aforementioned life force right out of the air.

“Normally I would be satisfied with just one victim,” it continued. “And I wouldn’t kill again for another decade or so. No need to raise any suspicions, after all. However… sometimes doing it is just too fun.”

«««

Finally, the creature brought Luhan’s arm towards its salivating mouth, which was already opening slowly in anticipation. Luhan squeezed his eyes shut, too terrified to do anything else and too forcefully pinned down under the beast’s free arm to make any attempt at escape. From behind him, there was a loud slam as the door flew open, causing Chanyeol’s doppleganger to snap its head up and away from Luhan’s wrist.

“Freeze!” commanded Officer Kim, his pistol drawn.

The monster roared with an ear-splitting shriek before springing up and pushing its way past the crowd of men gathered at the mouth of the door, most of whom were too stunned to react. The policeman immediately took off running down the hallway, but he was no match for the agility of the supernatural being, and the thing slipped unscathed through the entrance and out into the downpour.

“Luhan! Are you okay?” shouted Suho as he took a step into the room.

Luhan made no attempt to answer - instead leaping through the doorway and chasing after the already-escaped creature. He ignored the shouts and pleas that followed him as he pushed his way through the exit and was met by torrents of dark, swirling rain.