Truth's Little Hero (cont.)

Aug 03, 2015 23:33


○✣○“Tell me… The worst experiment you’ve ever done.” The patient said with an oxygen mask attached to his face and metal tubes linking their way into his shoulders and torso.

“Really? There’s a list of those… And I can’t say I’m proud of any of them.”

“You have to name one.”

“Well… Gosh… There’s so many… I’ve tried genetically engineering guns into animals, and tried to create them into domesticated machines. I’ve worked on serums that brainwashed people and caused several test subjects to explode in my hands-be it their brain or head... I’ve created monsters from scra-oh… I know the one case that I consider the worst.” The room grew overly silent, the churning of machines all too loud in the growing tension.

“I had two patients once. They were twins. One male and the other female-both 13 years of age. And I took them apart… And reattached them.” The doctor gulped, his chest starting to breathe deeply with sweat forming at his temples. “I was playing with the basis of your experiment at the time. I had just discovered the substance or.. Whatever it was. And wanted to test it on the twins. And I created something… So vile.. So… Horrid.. That I still can’t sleep over it… Its knees were bent to the sides and feet flat on the ground. Overly extended arms, growing claws as the possession took over… The worst part about it was that the kids were still in there. Their heads…” His voice cracked. “Their heads were attached in a way so that one was right under the other. And the fear in their eyes was enough to make me throw up… The doctors in the room with me were all killed. That.. Thing. Killed them. It ripped open their throats and drank the blood that seeped out… Before it could get to me, soldiers had come in and killed it long before I could start comprehending anything… I told myself I’d never tamper with the stuff again… But here we are. The results of what I tried perfecting the codes of.”

“You did this before?” A sense of hurt immediately overtook the patient.

The doctor nodded in defeat.

“You knew I would.. You knew this would..?” He breathed heavily into his mask. “How could you?”

“I couldn’t stop looking over the formula! I saw the flaws in the old ones and it was a habit to perfect… I couldn’t help it!”

“I killed people! Innocent unsuspecting lives!”

“They were hardly innocent…” The doctor looked away to justify himself.

The patient began hyperventilating. His body starting to shake with anger. The doctor stood to his feet and immediately took to the patient’s side. He ran a hand down the patients face and shushed him to tranquility.
○✣○“Minseok. Wake up. We need to leave. Now.” Jongdae’s voice brought him from his dreams and to the world with a jolt.

“What? What’s the matter?” Minseok began waking in a hurry, nudging Yixing’s shoulders in the process.

“The city’s under attack. We have to leave. Now.”

Two days into traveling the city was all that it took for the unsettling feelings to finally explode. Minseok almost broke down on the spot with the look of defeat written all over his face.

Just as Minseok and Jongdae were gathering their packs and sheets, several bombs shook the building to its core. Yixing shrieked and quickly ran into Minseok’s stomach, hugging him close.

“Yixing, we have to go. Come on.”

It was late in the night. The moon was gone, no stars lined the skies. Bombs exploded left and right. Screams of innocent lives took the ears of the trio as they ran down a flight of stairs in the east wing to the bottom floor. Their trek into the city led them to the tenth floor of an apartment building, hindering their escape route in the worst way possible.

Just as they were about to reach the fourth floor, a door came crashing down as soldiers came bursting into the stairwell. Screams and gun fire from the hallways below scared Yixing to the point that he froze. Watching the soldiers pour into the stairwell made it no better as his pants became soiled.

Jongdae quickly gathered Yixing in his arms and ran back up a flight to the fifth floor and down the hall. The people on that floor had already started to barricade the door ways, leaving it harder to maneuver throughout the hall. But they made it to the other side just before the soldiers were able to gun them down. They ran down the stairwell on the west end of the building and out a door that led to an alleyway. Jongdae took an immediate left, ignoring the main road at all costs. It was bright with an overcasting orange glow and it hadn’t been the street lights. Fire was taking the city as the bombs went off.

Families and people ran in a scurry. They were all Hevin, running ramped from the soldiers that wanted them more than dead. Above their heads had been gunfire, catching Minseok’s attention away from their path. They were a special kind of militia in the country, a special group of legionnaires called The Wings. They were Hevin people, protecting the Hevin immigrants in Ethrean lands. It wasn’t possible for the Hevin military to protect all of their own people; that was why the faction known as The Wings was created, to protect those who could not protect themselves. There had been a faction stationed in this city and used their height as an advantage to shoot down the Ethrean soldiers that ran by.

These soldiers that invaded the city, however, were different. They were still very much Ethrean, but the sickening white gas masks that they wore was enough to burn nightmares into anyone’s mind.

Every turn that Jongdae took behind the large buildings would lead to another. Soldiers would come down one path leaving only the other path as the next available option. Minseok ran behind Jongdae with all his might through it all, despite the asthma that burned in his chest.

They needed to get out of the city, but it seemed as if every which way they turned had been becoming more and more infested with soldiers. Buildings crumbled behind them as they ran, signaling the tanks that drew too close for comfort.

As Minseok went to turn a corner in which he thought Jongdae took, he was caught in the line of a firing squad. Jongdae had run too far ahead and it was almost impossible for Minseok to keep up. And his luck of guessing led him to the side of a firing squad. Friends and family members cowered and covered each other to hide from the guns while others, knelt with their hands behind their heads, pleading and screaming at the top of their lungs to be let go.

Minseok froze, not really processing the moment that he was about to be shot down after losing Jongdae and Yixing from his sight.

The descending words from the captain took to Minseok’s ears, the countdown to his demise just milliseconds away.

Suddenly, an arm grabbed him by the collar; without it, Minseok surely would have been murdered.

His body tumbled backwards into Jongdae’s broad chest, backing into the alleyway.

“Jongdae!” Minseok finally managed to say as he started to realize the situation.

“Stay on me!” Jongdae angrily said as he violently brought Minseok closer to his face. He let him go and started down the alley again, ignoring the gunfire and screams of the women and children just behind them.

The welling anxiety in Minseok’s stomach was at its max.  He could feel the sensation tense at the bottom of his throat as he ran just behind Jongdae and Yixing.

Yixing was quiet, his face tucked away closely to Jongdae’s neck to prevent himself from seeing anything he did not wish to see. Minseok only wished he could do the same.

But time would not stand for Minseok, a couple of soldiers had spotted the trio run across from them down the alleyway and immediately followed in suite. Jongdae had long gotten rid of his pack to ease his weight with Yixing still in his arms. But it still wasn’t enough to get away from the soldiers that followed. These soldiers were persistent. They used their firearms to slow them down, only missing by a hairs length at each body part they aimed at. Jongdae and Minseok were just glad that they weren’t carrying anything that had rapid fire.

Before either Minseok or Jongdae knew it, they were trapped in a dead end. It was their only option to turn down the alleyway that held a large brick wall on the other side. The doors, inconsequently, that led into either building were locked with no window to try from. But before Jongdae could use his legs to break any door down, the group of soldiers had already turned the corner.

Minseok panicked and followed Jongdae, once more, further down the alley, trying to keep as far as possible away from them.  Once they were pressed up against the wall, Minseok was able to clearly see Jongdae’s face, it was turning. His right eye was pitch black and the corners of his mouth were beginning to turn a sickly dark color as well.

“Jongdae! You can’t here.”

“Min, we have no choice.”

“Jongdae, please!” Just as Minseok went to reach a hand out, the sound of a firearm went off. Minseok’s hand met with the back wall and a gasp left his lips.

Before he could comprehend what had happened, he looked up at Jongdae’s face. Only to find it distraught and shaking with whatever emotion was surging through his body as he stared at Minseok’s hand. Yixing was suddenly thrown into Minseok’s body and Jongdae was long gone. Minseok’s knees buckled as he caught onto the boy that was flung into his grasp. His arm shaking violently from the impact of the bullet wound.

Yixing was crying helplessly when he realized he was in Minseok’s arms and curled himself tightly against his neck.

By the time Minseok looked back up to see where the soldiers had gone, only two bodies laid lifeless on the ground. Both were soldiers, pools of blood staining the ground.

“Oh god no…” Minseok breathed as he tried to gain strength back into his legs.

Around the corner he could hear the distant sounds of bodies being slashed and screams from others.

He finally gathered to his feet and held Yixing firmly with one arm, finding it difficult to keep him there as his left hand was completely useless to him. He tried to keep his hand away from Yixing’s body to prevent the blood from staining the boy’s clothes but found the task difficult as he walked down the alleyway.

“Yixing?”

“Yeah?” The boy’s soft voice sounded.

“Can you walk on your own? Uncle’s having a hard time carrying you right now.”

“I can.. Yeah..” Yixing slid down from Minseok’s arm and held firmly onto his hand.

“Thanks.” Minseok smiled as he hid his left hand again. “Look at me okay.” Minseok demanded as they passed by the bodies on the ground. But Yixing knew the soldiers were there, his eyes welling with tears again as they stepped over the bodies.

“Where did Uncle Dae go?” Yixing asked immediately after they were away from the bodies.

“I don’t know. He got rid of the soldiers that were chasing us and didn’t come back.” Minseok said as a shiver went down his spine.

“Come on. We have to keep going.”

And with that, Minseok led the boy in a fast pace down a better path. The main road was free. No soldiers were lining the streets but fires from the buildings acted as blockades and prevented them from going certain ways.

A loud, inhuman, screech took the ears of Yixing and Minseok as they traveled north on the main streets again-this time, stopping them dead in their path. Minseok knew who’s scream that belonged to, and he wasn’t sure if he should go looking for it.

Gunfire and bombs had been mostly focused in the area that the screech came from, making it all too obvious where Minseok had to follow. He led Yixing by the hand to the right and down another alley; following his ears completely to the sound of gunfire and found himself upon another main road. This time, however, the road was the barrier.

To Minseok’s left was his way out of the city. The path that he and Yixing needed to take to get away from this mess, the part of the city that was still unharmed by the threat of death. To his right was the fire of buildings and destruction of the once great city. Across the street from where Minseok stayed hidden in the alley, was another alleyway.  That alleyway led to an opening where he could clearly see the other end of.

There he was. A soldier in one hand and a weapon in the other. The figure was giant and black-screeching that inhuman scream with its mouth wide and teeth showing more than fangs.

Soldiers were firing everything they could, rockets and heavy rapid fire machinery. Yet nothing was doing the trick, other than backing the creature away from Minseok’s view.

He panicked and searched the street for any sign of soldiers. All he found was a small girl instead, the one with the flower dress, holding the hand of a small boy. The boy was younger than Yixing, much too small to be the same age. She was too far from Minseok for him to call after as she ran across the street to reach the other set of buildings, but it hadn’t stopped Minseok from trying.  The little girl and boy were so small and dark against the fires to their sides, running from the roaring inferno they once called home.

Minseok stepped out from the alley and was about to yell with all his gusto when from his peripheral of the fires he started to see a line of soldiers. They were walking down the street with firearms against their chest and heavy machines a couple lines behind.

The girl had long disappeared before Minseok could call back out to her, making him shrink back into the alley-hiding from the hoard of soldiers. He and Yixing were in a tight spot-he had no idea of where to go from there.  He couldn’t run anywhere in the street, it was too risky if he didn’t want to get shot at. But he needed Jongdae. He needed to get his attention and bring him back.

Minseok’s prayers were answered when the building to the right of the alley across the way came crashing about. The bricks of the walls went in every which direction, smoke clouded the ruins as it fell and exploded in a mess of wood, brick and metal.  The building fell into the street, blocking most of the path from the soldiers.

Minseok turned his back on the explosion and hid Yixing from the rubble. Smoke engulfed the air and made a coughing fit of the two males. But when Minseok finally turned around to look at the building, he could make out the outline of a lone figure.  It was tall and wide, blacker than night and lethargic with pain. It dripped of blood, wounds covering it in all sorts of ways.  Minseok’s heart began to race, nerves exploding with anxiety.

Long arms draped down, claws sharp at the ends and fangs larger than a scythes razor. Something began curdling at the backside of the creature, bubbling with an uncanny air to it. Soldiers rounded themselves up and lined up-ready to fire on the beast. The sounds of war in the background could barely cover the sounds of growling from this beast. It roared as two very large wings sprouted from its backside and horns grew from its head.

Certain soldiers scrambled to their feet in fear and ran, only to be shot down by their leading commander for leaving the battle field.

“Jongdae…” Minseok whispered oh so softly, even Yixing could barely hear him.

But it was enough, enough for the beast to look behind with a whip of its neck.  Piercing eyes bore into Minseok’s skull, freezing everything in his body. Yixing whimpered again, soiling his pants one last time. The beast looked down at the child and tilted its head in a sickening manner. Minseok waivered and clenched his hold on Yixing, bringing the boy closer than before. The beast in response started to make its way over to the pair, stalking them in a twisted fashion.

“Fire!” A commander yelled in his low raspy voice. Immediately, gunfire and rockets were opened.

The beast screeched once it was hit. It spread its wings and roared fiercely, jumping into the sky and down into the soldiers below. Minseok ran out into the street on instinct, yelling after the beast as it slashed and gnawed at the soldiers.

As the soldiers fell one by one, Minseok stood in the middle of the street holding Yixing close to keep him from watching the slaughter. Despite the hundred to one ratio, it was an unfair fight to that hundred. They fell left and right, giving all they could as fear took over their bodies, watching their comrades’ necks open and jaws dislocate without trouble.

“Jongdae! Stop!” Minseok yelled again. His face only capable of one expression of hysteria. Tears poured down his face reddening his cheeks, his lips parted slightly trying to keep air flowing through his means of life.

Minseok went to let go of Yixing and head for Jongdae when a group of soldiers started sprinting down the alleyways next to him. Both sides were being overrun with soldiers and the sight made Minseok run with Yixing hand in hand. He ran towards Jongdae, mainly to hide in the rubble of the fallen structure; only to be shot at before he could so make it.

The beast paused, after annihilating the soldiers that had all lined the street. Their bodies now decorated the ground in a coat of crimson, slick and warm to the touch. His attention was drawn to the screaming child just a few feet away from him.

Bullets sprayed at the beast, not caring who was in the way. Minseok and Yixing were caught in the middle of that fire, trying to escape a doom that seemed almost inevitable.

As Minseok quickly hid behind an overly large piece of rubble, metal sprigs sticking out in every way, a bullet grazed passed his cheek. The bullet cut through his skin, enough to need to bandage, but the pain was nothing to Minseok.

The beast had flown overhead and started its massacre on the second set of soldiers. Minseok and Yixing were, this time, blind to the view-only left to the sounds of screaming men and the casual diminish of gunfire.

Yixing was pressed up against Minseok’s chest, securely wrapped in his arms-ears covered and eyes shut tight.

It was only a couple minutes, but it was the longest couple of minutes that Minseok or Yixing had ever experienced in their lives.

Behind them, it was finally quiet. There were no more sounds of gunfire, only the distant rumble of bombs and machine guns in other parts of the city. A loud speaker had gone off at some point, distant in the city as a man’s voice shouted propaganda out at the people who used to call the city home.

The sound of rubble underneath footsteps caught Minseok off guard. His stomach began to flip with nausea, he was frightened. He wasn’t sure who he was going to meet and it made it even worse as the footsteps came closer.

The footsteps seized. Everything went completely silent before the figure got any closer. Minseok frantically looked around, trying to search for the figure before it made its appearance. However, before he could reach a hand out to grab for the nearest object to use as a weapon, two strong feet landed on the pile of rubble in front of him.

Both he and Yixing jumped in fright. Daring to look up at the figure.

Minseok took in every last image of the figure. It was different this time.  It was still covered in seeping blood, but it was the closest thing to human that it had ever been. Its pants were torn and shoes were missing. Its shirt was torn in every which way, covered in bullet holes and blood stains. The sleeves were torn off, reveling pale upper arms and pitch black forearms-claws dripping with blood, all too similar to the color of pitch black. Marks scorched up the figure’s neck, leaving its face half covered in black. Canines much too large for the human mouth left the figure to breath heavily.

The face was all too familiar, all too much like the man Minseok once loved. Horns curved out of his head, blacker than an abyss leading to nothing. His eyes were cold, and yellow-flickering between the black that so desperately wanted to come through.

Minseok was so engrossed in the figure that he nearly missed the giant black wings that followed behind it. They were almost feathery looking, dripping with the blood of his wounds.

A haze rested in his eyes as he stared at the two males hiding in the rubble.

“Jongdae?” Minseok asked in a low whisper as he tried to sit up straight. Yixing refused to look anywhere, keeping his head buried in Minseok’s chest.

“Oh my.. Ho my goodness. Jongdae..” Tears fell fast from Minseok’s eyes as he mumbled to himself.

The figure simply stood there, staring at the two, watching their every move as it held an arm.

Minseok leaned down to whisper in Yixing’s ear, and slowly removed the child from his chest. Yixing in the process got off and nuzzled under Minseok’s arm as he forced himself to stare at the frightening person before him.

Minseok held his hand out, reaching for the man he loved dearly.

“Jongdae… Please… Come back to me. Come back to us.”

The half human stared at the bloodied hand, not making a move to grab it.

Off in the near distance, soldiers began yelling once more. They were coming from down the street of the inner city, ready to start a new wave of attacks.

“Jongdae please, you must come quickly. We have to leave now!”

The figure looked back at Minseok, the haze still prominent in his eyes.

He shook his head slowly.

Minseok’s heart dropped.

Any emotion that neared with anxiety, fear, hate, love or pain had vanished from his being. Everything was void from his face. He felt nothing, not even the disappointment that should have been surging through his body.

He knew what that meant.

This was the end.

This was the last time that the two would see each other.

Jongdae was so far gone that it was near impossible to bring him back this time.

He was poison. There was no way he would ever be the same.

Just as soon as all emotion left Minseok’s body, had one come flying back in.

Jongdae reached a hand out; trying to hold onto Minseok one last time.

But the soldiers were coming fast, relentless in their pursuit.

Minseok gathered Yixing quickly. He stood to his feet and held Yixing firmly by the hand. He knew what he had to do. He had to continue the journey alone. To look after Yixing on his own.

“Yixing baby, we have to go now.”

“But Uncle Da-”

“Come on.” Minseok pulled Yixing away from the broken building and ran down the street toward the part of the city that had been untouched.

Before Minseok decided he could never look back, he turned one last time.

Muttering three words against the breeze and ember filled air.

I love you
○✣○“What if I wasn’t perfect? What if I was just an average man? Would you use me then?”

“Most likely not. We had several people in line who offered themselves for our experiments and several Hevs who fit the criteria. But what better use than to have one of our own to use?” His words were honeyed, laced with a trace deceit.

“Then what if I was female?”

“We would not choose you. There were no records of female bodies strong enough to withstand the estimated incubation we conducted. And we need all the females to stay and produce soldiers for the future.”

“Ah doctor. It never seizes to amaze me how good you are with your patients.” An elderly doctor, with clipboard in hand, said as he began his exit.

“Positive reinforcement with our patients is most important Doctor Seo!” The man smiled. “If they have healthy mental states of mind, then I think they’ll overcome anything.”

“Of course.” Doctor Seo agreed with a chuckle. “Then, as you were doctor. Have a good evening.”

“The same to you, doctor.”

Once all the other doctors left the chamber, the one left sat in a wheeled chair next to his patient.

“You so sit on a throne of lies.” The patient smiled playfully.

“Quiet you. Only partially. What I said to you is mostly true.”

“Then why do you always look so drained after you’re done talking to everyone besides me?”

“Because… You’re one of the last hopes in the world I have.”
○✣○“Uncle Min… It’s really cold.” Yixing’s soft voice whimpered as he nuzzled his chin into his coat.

“You’re what?” Minseok stopped in his tracks and knelt down to Yixing’s level.

“I-I’m cold.”

“Baby, why didn’t you tell me?” Minseok’s eyebrows furrowed, he immediately started to take his own coat off.

“I just did.” Yixing’s teeth were chattering, his lips slightly purple from the below freezing temperatures.

“I know sweetie, you should have taken the extra thermals in the last town we were in.” Minseok said as he eased his own sweater off, and quickly started to remove Yixing’s jacket off, carefully avoiding his sore hand.

He started to help Yixing redress in the below freezing temperatures and gave him an extra pair of pants he had stowed in his pack.

“But what about you?”

“What? Oh I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Minseok smiled as he finished zipping the puffy gray coat on Yixing. “Now come on, we have to hurry up. I think it’s gonna snow later.”

The two took to their path again, still heading west in large fields of dying grass.  Yixing was now covered head to toe in warmth-only his big almond eyes and red nose poking out between his hat and scarf. He was like a walking ball of puff in comparison to Minseok, who was wearing a coat and pair of jeans with thermals, nothing else but a hat and pair of gloves. The only scarf they could find was given to Yixing along with his sweater to the small boy. It was the only way he could feel safe knowing Yixing was warm.

“Are you okay in there? Are you too warm?”

“No, I’m okay.” Yixing’s muffled voice earned a giggle from Minseok who was holding firmly onto his hand.

Minseok lost count, he stopped keeping track of the days as soon as they left Saeford. But he knew they had been traveling for far too long. The days were so cold at night that Minseok often worried they would never find a sheltered place to stay every night. It was worse when there wasn’t an extra body to lay up against and hope for best of three warm bodies.

That night Minseok and Yixing were lucky, they had come across an old abandoned safe house.  It looked as if it had been void of human life for a couple weeks, something recent. But it was perfect for the two to stay in, it had plenty of canned foods, a wood stove and fireplace to live off of; there wasn’t any electricity, but a functioning bathroom still able to use.

A medical kit was stowed away in the bathroom closet, letting a surge of anxious relief wash over Minseok’s body. He wasn’t able to come across any medical supplies in the last town he was in, so this was a much needed visit. All he had to keep the bullet wound in his hand free of infection was a wrapped cloth and running ice cold river water.

Once Yixing’s belly was full of canned cabbage and beef and put to sleep, he took to the bathroom to bear with a long night of pain.

His hand bubbled to a grotesque yellow with the peroxide poured on top of it. The pain was almost too unbearable for him, causing him to huff and silently scream.  The kit that had been placed on the top of the sink was scattered all over the floor along with Minseok’s body. He had fallen to the floor to better ground himself up against the wall and let the pain pass; it surged all the way up his arm, leaving him gasping for air.

But he was fine, after five minutes of waiting for the pain to settle down, he went to work. He put ointment over the wound and wrapped it tightly in a new set of gauze. The cut on his face however, was healing over. It didn’t need the excessive attention that it once needed.

Just before Minseok went to join the small male for sleep, he noticed a couple lights just outside the window. They were bright orange and much too far off in the distance to be considered anything threatening. Minseok hoped it was the train station, he thought he heard the faint holler of a train horn earlier that day and severally hoped that the train station was not over run with Ethrean soldiers.

But those thoughts were for tomorrow, Minseok instead focused on the small boy sleeping below him. He stood over Yixing, fawning over the serene face he possessed under the warm sheets. Minseok knelt in front of him and let a hand roam the boy’s golden hair.

He’d do just about anything for Yixing. Everything he had been doing up to now was all for this kid; and in just a couple days they’d have to separate. He wasn’t sure he was ready for that. He knew he could never follow Yixing to wherever the trains led, but he did know one thing…That he didn’t want to be alone.

Minseok laid down next to the small thing and brought him close to his chest.

He had no idea where the trains would take Yixing. He had no idea if the boy would even find his family. Could Yixing even make it on his own?

It was all so heartbreaking for Minseok, but the decision was yet before either of them. He’d wait for the moment to make the final choice.
○✣○“Why do you hate them?”

“Who?”

“Hevs, why do you hate them?” The patient asked through his chamber, oxygen mask covering his face and braised in a special green, bubbling water.

“I-I…” The doctor stuttered and found a loss of words. It was the first time anyone had ever asked him that, he wasn’t’ exactly sure how to answer it.

“I-I… Just do what I’m told…” Deep in his heart he knew the real answer, even if his physical answer wasn’t that far off. He really did do what he was told-a soldier taking orders from his superiors. He was just afraid of being different, of being the outlier in a world of consistency.

“Why do you hate them?” He asked after taking a good long while thinking to himself.

“They killed… My family.” He breathed, trying to gain words in his mouth. “Took everything from me… Started.. This war… Burned cities… They killed your mother..”

“Well… I can’t deny that you’ve been hurt. But have you ever thought that they’re people too? And not just controlled by their ethnicity? And maybe they didn’t start the war. Maybe it was us looking for reasons to start a mass genocide… If you really think about it, we both take away innocent lives… There’s so much to this that we don’t understand..” His voice was low and desperate. “And we just do what we’re told.”

○✣○“Stay close to me.” Minseok whispered to Yixing as they stood in a queue of broken people. They had finally reached their destination-the long awaited train station.

Hevin people stood in the line, suitcases close in hand and families closer. They were all dressed warmly as small white flakes fell silently on top of them. The low murmur of people made the experience less awkward, but with everyone so bunched together in line, it made the air suffocating.

There were Hevins that moderated the line, holding guns strict in their hands. These Hevins were different though; they didn’t carry the uniform of the Hevin military. Their clothes were modern and worn down to the last color, they looked like the Hevin militia, The Wings.

Minseok took note and made sure to keep a careful eye them. They are slightly more dangerous than the actual Hevin military; they take no professional orders from the military, have no sense of remorse and fight passionately for their people.

Minseok was sure he’d be recognized by someone amongst them, though. He understood why he wasn’t recognized by anyone in Saeford, he hardly made any contact with anyone there. That, and Jongdae drew away any attention from him during the Ethrean attack as well.

Minseok’s heart constricted at the thought of Jongdae. It’d been too long since they were separated. He spent almost the last two years focusing all his life to Jongdae, and to have him suddenly gone without so much a goodbye, was.. To put it blatantly, hard. Not knowing if Jongdae was alive made the situation worse. If he was captured by the Ethrean military, then he was sure to have experiments conducted on him and Minseok knew how unforgiving Ethrean testing could go. But Minseok was strong. Strong for the kid with him; sure to never show his faltering heart at the thought of Jongdae. Even if Yixing already knew that Jongdae wasn’t going to come back, it was still important for Minseok to carry the weight of the two older figures in the boy’s life. He would make sure Yixing would be content in the last moments they would share together.

The line was moving slowly. Both were just a couple hundred feet from the actual entrance of the train station; there, Minseok knew, they’d be evaluated before boarding. There he was sure to be discovered, but that was okay. As long as he could convince them to take Yixing, that would be all he needed.

Minseok brought his collar high to his cheeks, covering anything that could be seen.  The men were speaking amongst each other, running back and forth between each manned position. The fear of being discovered started to spread his being, making him become all too aware of his surroundings. Minseok kept a keen watch on The Wings, making eye contact with a couple in the process.  They whispered in each other’s ears, glancing over at the two. It was only a matter of time before they’d walk over and address Minseok’s purpose in line.

Minseok looked down to Yixing who could see nothing through the tall backs of everyone in front of him. He was glad for that, but upset to have to part with the child.

“Yixing.” He called out softly as he knelt to the kid’s level. “I need you to stay here in line for me. Can you do that?” He pressed his hands onto Yixing’s shoulders.

“Y-Yeah, I can. But why? Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving for a bit. But I’ll be right back, I promise.” Minseok left a kiss on top of Yixing’s head. “I’m not exactly liked by most people in the Hevin population, so I’m just going to draw attention away and talk to someone. It shouldn’t take long.”

“I don’t want you to leave!” Yixing started to get teary eyed. Minseok could only imagine what separation anxiety welled inside the small thing. The desperation of always wanting to be with someone, who makes them feel safe. Minseok could feel his throat tense at the thought of Yixing feeling suffocated with trepidation. It was the very last thing he wanted to do, cause stress and unnecessary pain on the small boy.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going far. I promise. I need you to stay here and hold our place in line. Can I count on you to be strong and do that?” Yixing, although reluctant, nodded and kept his tears inside. “That’s my little fighter.” Minseok patted the top of Yixing’s head and left without another word.

He needed to separate himself from Yixing. It was dangerous enough for him to be around the militia, but to have Yixing there was fatal. Minseok was afraid they would mistake Yixing for the enemy and hurt him in the process; that was why he needed to put distance between the two of them.

He went backwards in line; keeping his face covered to the best of his ability as he shuffled through the hoard of people.  But The Wings were catching on. They started becoming frantic and shouting words to each other. Minseok started to pick up his pace, trying to outrun the men that raced down either side of him. The moment was stacking tension-the pushing and shoving through people, and not knowing if the armed men would shoot or not.  He was creating a worse situation by running, but it was the only thing he could stick to, there was no turning back for him now.

Minseok started to sprint as the men chasing him started to pick up on the situation. As he picked up speed, he ran into a small child and knocked her down to the ground. His heart fell when he turned and immediately helped the girl back up, wiping her skirt off and giving her a broken smile.

Before Minseok could stand back up, his body was tackled to the ground. His struggles and screams went discounted by the men that forcefully tried to arrest him. They kicked at his side and hit his back with ends of their guns, keeping him grounded and unable to fight back. Just as Minseok tried to keep the dirt infused snow out of his mouth, a hard smash knocked him unconscious. The horrified face of the small girl he crashed into, forever burned into his memory.

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!fanfic, rating: r, genre: sci-fi, genre: action/adventure, length: one-shot, genre: established relationship, genre: angst, pairing: chen/xiumin

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