Generation Y (Chapter 5)
A little after supper, once they were all well fed and rested, Junsu and Yunho divulged what they had learned, minus the part about their suspicions about how they were found. They told about the interests Plutotec had in the children born with mutations and how Generation Y was starting to live longer than the expectancy.
“Basically we just get cooler and cooler,” Junsu smirked, making everyone else roll their eyes.
Suddenly Key was standing there, his eyes wide and curious. He stared at all the adults un-wavered even though they were all staring at him. “Is Taemin coming home? Is Yoona noona?”
Natalie exchanged looks with Yunho and sighed. Gently she lifted the little boy onto her lap and squeezed him gently. “Both Taemin and Yoona noona will come home soon okay? We just have to go and save them.”
“They went to where Yoochun hyung went didn’t they?” Key whispered.
Blinking Natalie looked at the boy in shock. “No Key they didn’t go where Yoochun went, they went to the bad place that hurts people like us.”
Key shook his head and had a look of seriousness. All the adults were stunned into silence. Yunho and Junsu were tense, knowing that now wasn’t the time for Natalie to find out that her oldest child was still alive. But Key didn’t seem to agree with them.
“I saw it auntie, really with my mind. Yoochun hyung is alive and at the bad place with Taemin and noona.” He smiled. “So hyung will take care of Taemin and noona right?”
Natalie drew her hand up to her mouth. Key did have the ability to sense the future but because he was so young it wasn’t quite as definite or as strong. Something like this could very well be true but at the same time…. She glanced over at the other adults who looked just as stunned, except Junsu, Yunho, and Changmin. They all looked braced for whatever reaction she was going to show, as if they knew all along…. Silently she set Key down and told him to go play.
“Is this true?” she asked silently, “is Yoochun really alive?”
“Natalie please understand,” Yunho began, “we didn’t want to get your hopes up in case it wasn’t true. Junsu had a dream, a dream, we really couldn’t base his theory on that. Believe me as soon as we found out if it was true we were going to tell you. We couldn’t keep that from you.”
“Why did you think you couldn’t tell me sooner?” Natalie asked, “I went two years thinking my son was dead and then I had to find out from a little boy that he’s actually alive and in the hands of Plutotec! Do you even know what he’s been through, probably praying every night for us to find him?”
“We just found out ourselves,” Junsu muttered quietly, “it’s not like we didn’t know this before. I just had the dream a few nights ago and decided to do some research.”
“So all this research was because you had a dream that Yoochun was alive? And what about the other two?” Natalie didn’t realize how livid she was until she found herself standing, towering over them from across the table. Her hands were resting on the table and curled into tight fists. “Did you plan to save them too?”
“Wait, Natalie calm down,” Yunho said, his calm voice cutting through the tense atmosphere. “Listen to you what you’re saying, you’re blowing this way out of the water. At first Junsu was doing the research to find Yoochun and prove that he was alive. Now we have a new situation and we’re still researching to find ways to get into Plutotec and get all three of them out alive. Please think what you’re saying and it is true that we should have told you earlier but don’t react this way. We can’t afford any…irrational behaviour. That was another reason we didn’t tell you. We didn’t want you to go running off by yourself to save him.”
Slowly Natalie was talked into reason and she slumped into the chair, exhausted and tears streaming down her cheeks. Jessica came over and wrapped her arms around her mother, and held her comfortingly. Everyone wandered off to let them be for a while, so Yunho drifted over to where Jaejoong was lying awake on his bed.
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” Yunho asked, checking the other’s forehead. Jaejoong smirked.
“And how do you think I could sleep when there was an evidently important meeting going on over at the table,” he said snidely, “besides with all that yelling and emotion overload I don’t think the neighbours could sleep.” He chuckled and Yunho rolled his eyes, kissing Jaejoong’s forehead.
“You’re getting more and more like yourself every hour,” he whispered.
“Don’t hold your breath,” Jaejoong whispered back, kissing Yunho on the lips. “Now, go away, I’m tired.”
“Ouch…a little harsh,” Yunho pouted playfully. “Alright, fine, good night.” And he kissed Jaejoong on the forehead gently before going over to his own bed. He snuggled under his blanket and buried his face in his pillow. He could hear the sleeping breathing of the others and that eventually lulled him to sleep.
~*~*~
The next morning Junsu, Changmin, Yunho, and Tiffany got ready to leave. They didn’t want to risk bringing the children along and they decided it was best if Natalie stayed behind as well. Of course she protested, but Yunho pointed out that the kids needed someone who could protect them and she would only slow the group down. The last part sent her in a rage and Yunho walked away with bloodied ears. However, eventually she was subdued into staying once she found out that Jaejoong would be staying as well. Jaejoong was also a little pissed off.
“But I’m just fine!” he snapped, crossing his arms. “Look, I’m walking around and I feel better than ever! Why am I supposed to stay?”
“Because we need someone to protect everyone,” Yunho whispered, “Natalie can take care of everything but even she’ll need some protection. Plus you’re still weak, and don’t deny it. You’re shaking.” Jaejoong pursed his lips and straightened his back as if to argue that he was fine. But Yunho had seen the look of compliance and left quickly before anything would start up again. He hurried back to the little group and crossed his arms.
“Are we all ready to go?” he asked, and he got nods of confirmation from all of them. “Alright, let’s go.”
“Wait!” Jessica said suddenly, coming up to the group. She wasn’t coming for the reason that she was kind of stuck in the middle (at age 17) of the younger children and the adults. She was simply too young to go on such a dangerous task.
Jessica stopped in front of Changmin and her eyes looked pleading. “Please, save my brothers and Yoona. Bring them home.”
Changmin smiled gently and nodded, patting her on the head. “We’ll bring them back alive I swear on my life.” And he leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek. Natalie cleared her throat and Jessica walked away, her face red and hot. Changmin’s face was red too and he kept his eyes on the floor as Junsu patted him on the back in a congratulation kind of way. Then they were off.
Junsu was lost in own world, thinking of Yoochun. He wanted to see Yoochun more than anything else, and the fact that they were so close he couldn’t help but feel slightly excited and scared. The first Plutotec institution was about three hours away give or take. He hoped that they didn’t have to go to any other institution. The sooner he had Yoochun in his arms the better it’d be.
The safe was where most of their emergency money, food and clothes were stored so they weren’t completely at a loss. They had dug up some backpacks and filled it with some food, and enough money to get to their destination. They were on their way to the place they all vowed to avoid for as long as they lived. That just meant their lifespan just shortened even more.
~*~*~
Yoochun had asked a lot about Junsu especially. He told Yoona that he missed him more than anything and that he wanted nothing more than to hold him tightly and smother him with kisses. A little too much, but she knew he did it to make the atmosphere a little more light-hearted.
Taemin was still curled in a ball but he was sleeping now, and Yoona leaned back, exhausted. She could see that after their long catching up, Yoochun was pretty tired too and he nodded off. Neither he or she had been taken to the labs that day, it had just been Taemin. She knew it was only a matter of time but she really hoped it wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Both Yoochun and Yoona had to be in workable shape if they wanted to escape. If they could escape. They had no idea on how to escape, and if they did they didn’t know where they were. They’d either be caught again or they’d die. Either option didn’t favour the mutants.
Yoona’s eyes drooped closed and her body felt so heavy with sleep. Slowly she curled up on the floor-as the pod didn’t provide her with much sleeping space-and she fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
And it only felt like minutes since she had fallen asleep. Dimly she was aware of something unlocking, and she could feel someone beside her shaking his head and pounding on the thick glass. Not that it did much good, because it was barely audible and easy to ignore. Groggily Yoona lifted her head and could see a gigantic man looming over her and she couldn’t help the shudder that ran through her. She felt strong arms hoist her up over the giant man’s shoulder, but she was still so tired from the uncomfortable sleep.
Suddenly, she found strength to squirm and kick, her adrenaline waking her up. She was out of her pod, she could fight back. She had had lessons on self defence and could use that instead of her mutant abilities. Kicking and punching with all her might she even went as far as to biting into the man’s neck. That seemed to be the trick. Howling he dropped her to the ground and she scrambled up, hurriedly collecting herself. Her legs still felt like jelly from sitting for too long, and she was panting heavily. However she was out and she wasn’t going back into the pod.
They hadn’t gotten far from her pod and she stumbled across Yoochun and Taemin quickly. Taemin was sitting on his knees, hands on the glass, and eyes so wide and excited he looked like himself. Yoochun was standing and gesturing to his right as she scanned the pod for any kind of locking mechanism. She had heard the door unlocking she was sure…. Her attention turned to Yoochun, and saw he was gesturing wildly in sign language.
“Control…panel…guarded…need…to…unlock…that…way,” she murmured, and suddenly felt iron arms grab her and yanked her off her feet.
She screamed and fought but he was a fast leaner and held her in such a way so she couldn’t do any damage.
“My, my, such a feisty girl,” a familiar woman’s voice said, “well we can quench that fire quickly can’t we?”
Taemin shrank back, his eyes filled with fear as he stared up at the woman. Even Yoochun seemed to fall short and his eyes flickered to the floor. Yoona paused and glared at the woman. “So, you’re the bitch who’s doing all this. Well I hope you’re happy because you’ve just damaged a little kid’s innocence! And who knows how many people you’ve killed!”
The woman stormed up to Yoona and smacked her in face. It stung and Yoona’s eyes watered. “You watch who you’re talking to girl. You’re an abomination, a mistake, and you have no right talking to me like you’re better than me. You’re just making your time in the lab worse, now take her upstairs and get her ready. I’ll be up in a moment.”
The man dragged her away, still squirming and fighting. Yoochun watched them and then was aware of the woman in front of his pod. She smiled and tapped the glass lightly. Then she gestured to the control panel to open an opening for talking. Yoochun glared at her despite her icy look.
“What do you want Sun?” he demanded, his voice cracked and ill-used. “Are you having fun abusing kids and helpless people?”
“Helpless people?” Sun asked, shaking her head as if patronizing a child. “You’re not people Park Yoochun, no matter how hard you want to be. You’re freaks and can never be human, but I’m doing my best to find a solution. Maybe, just maybe you can be human and then we won’t have to worry about Generation Y going overboard and using their powers to take over the world or something like that.”
Yoochun sniffed. “Oh you really think we’re plotting to take over the world? We barely see any of our own kind as it is, and I think it’s all thanks to you. Generation Y is pretty much a group of nomads. I doubt we’d have any time planning a way to get everyone to follow us.” He leaned close to the glass, staring intently at her. “You’re just hurting innocent people, and they are human no matter what you say. They all have emotions and feel pain and you treat them like garbage!”
“And I suppose you’re the exception?” Sun snapped then glanced over at the little boy two pods away. “How much do you feel Yoochun? Do you feel emotions and pain as well? Should we answer this question together?” She crossed over to where Taemin was cowering, and he stared at her with a scared defiance. She crouched down so she was level with him and tapped the glass tauntingly. “You see I know exactly how much this boy means to you and believe me when I say, if you ever think about escaping or doing something daring, it will cost you this boy.”
“Don’t you touch him,” Yoochun snarled, his animalistic instincts coming out. Sun knew not to be afraid because his mutant powers had been subdued, but for a moment she felt fear grip her. Hurriedly she pushed that fear away and straightened her back.
“Then that’s for you to decide,” she said as a final warning, “and pass on this warning to your fierce little friend. If she’s alive when she comes back.”
Yoochun waited until she was gone before slumping against the wall and running a hand through his hair. Then he noticed Taemin gesturing to him and smiled slightly at him. He wasn’t sure if his little brother knew sign language or not-he had forgotten to ask Yoona. He did it anyway and Taemin cocked his head curiously to the side, and he resembled a small kitten. Yoochun did remember Yoona mentioning that Taemin was like Yoochun, feline. The only difference was that Yoochun was more predatorial like a wild cat and he could actually change into a panther, while Taemin couldn’t transform and he was more like a domesticated kitten.
Suddenly Taemin gestured with his hands and made small gestures that resembled broken sign language. Yoochun perked up and smiled encouragingly, knowing that Taemin’s symbols weren’t making any sense but it didn’t matter. He knew what Yoochun was doing so Yoochun could do his best to communicate with his little brother until Yoona returned.
‘I don’t know if you understand this, but we’re planning to escape,’ Yoochun said silently, and Taemin looked at him interestingly. At first, Yoochun didn’t think he was going to get an answer, but surprisingly he did. And it was rather comprehensible.
‘I…will…out,’ Taemin said proudly, and Yoochun decided he was saying “I want out.” Yoochun gave one solid nod and then turned to sit back down, but then he looked up again.
‘Do you remember who I am?’ he asked, and he could see the wheels in Taemin’s head moving.
‘You’re…my…fat…sister,’ Taemin replied, smiling. At that Yoochun burst out laughing despite everything and shook his head.
‘No, not fat sister, I’m your older brother.’ Yoochun couldn’t help laughing and soon he had Taemin laughing as well. Then Taemin said something else.
‘I missed you big brother,’ he said, his eyes saddened, ‘mommy was so sad that you were gone.’
Yoochun sighed and hung his head. His mother. His sister. His little brother. He missed them all and thought of them every day. Almost as much as he thought of holding Junsu again. He picture hugging them and having a big, happy reunion, only he was certain that would never happen. Now he knew that they thought he was dead, and they would never know that he had been stuck in Plutotec for two years. He would die there and they would never know. He could actually feel his body weaken from the lack of movement and food. He hadn’t had a decent night’s rest in forever and his body went through so much exertion almost on a daily basis. Even though he didn’t really show it, he felt like he couldn’t carry on much longer.
His thoughts drifted over to Junsu. He thought about hugging him, kissing him on those soft, plump lips. He imagined Junsu’s dolphin-like laugh and his child-like behaviour. He pictured holding him and never letting go, whispering over and over into his ear about how much he loved him. If he ever saw Junsu again he would never let go of him no matter what the reason. Hell, he’d even go in the shower with him if that’s what it took. Yoochun’s love for Junsu was so strong he didn’t think that anyone could love anyone as strong as that. That was what kept him living he realized. Yoochun kept thinking that maybe Junsu would know that he was alive and come and save him. It seemed kind of cheesy thinking like that, but when you’re stuck in a pod that seems to get smaller and smaller with each passing day, it didn’t matter how cheesy or lame something sounded as long as it occupied your thoughts.
“I hope your coming,” Yoochun whispered, “I hope that I get to see your face one more time before I die.” Which, if he didn’t escape could be very soon.