White Noise - Part 31
Notes | Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31
32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | Epilogue
Last time Minho took a shower at The Council, it had ended with a girl seeing him naked for the first time (well, apart from his mom, but everyone knows that doesn't count). So as Minho showered, he thought of Krystal, among other things, but none of those things seemed positive. Apart from, Onew still cares.
Onew had saved him before. Onew could save him now. But how much would he have to put up with until then? How much more would he hate himself before he was Onew's again?
The clothes he put on when he got out were like the ones Krystal had brought him, the same kind that all auctioned off humans apparently wore.
When he was dressed, he knocked on the bathroom's closed door, as he'd been told to. Siwon opened it. He was worried about Minho, and it definitely seemed like his stress had lessened. Somehow, that just made Minho feel more revolted with himself, though he hoped Heechul might notice the change.
Siwon held out a small white bag, "There's a toothbrush, toothpaste, comb.. whatever you need."
Minho took it, said "Good.", and planned to brush his teeth for about an hour.
"Come to bed when you're finished."
"Fine."
"You're still feeling sick." Siwon stated, rather than asked.
"I'm still bonded to you." Minho said before he could think not to.
Siwon didn't get angry. Just hurt. He frowned, and said, "Maybe you'll feel differently after you've spent some time with others like yourself. I assure you that I'm not the enemy you assume I am."
"But you force me to stay with you."
"I couldn't lose you."
Minho felt bad for a moment, knowing that it must hurt to have your bonded taken, knowing that his own emptiness where Onew used to be was bad enough, and he at least had someone to take his place... "But Onew could?" he asked.
"Onew deserved his punishment."
"Agreed." said an upsettingly familiar voice, and when Key appeared in the bathroom doorway at Siwon's side, Minho was quick to back away. "How did you get free?"
Key ignored the question, looking at Siwon. "I have something I want him to see."
"Key.." Siwon said, "What happened to you?"
Key blinked, and lifted a hand to the scar by his eye, then scowled. "A hunter. But I'm dealing with that. Anyway, from what I've heard, you'll want him to see this too."
"What is it?" Siwon asked.
"Home movie." Key answered.
***
You're not supposed to go straight up hand to hand with vampires if you can avoid it. In the end, they're stronger and faster, and unless you get lucky they're going to win. But Taemin was pretty useless with that gun. They'd shot, and Taemin's gun was empty and had proved useless. Sungmin, he thought, took out a few, but he got busy when, well, vampires came at him.
So he had made an attempt at hand to hand with a vampire.. or rather, three vampires. He'd heard Sungmin tell him to run, but he remembered what it was like to try and outrun one of them, and apart from all the panic and fear and horror that went along with it, he'd only been able to escape through luck, and the thought of doing it again didn't seem all that appealing even in this situation. So, he fell shortly, after a blow to the head. His switchblade skidded away from him. He was still very conscious as nails scraped against his head before a hand clutched his ponytail and pulled.
He kicked his feet and screamed, reached up and tried to steal the grip of his hair from the vampire, but as usual, his struggles weren't doing him any good. It was painful, naturally, to be dragged by your hair down a sidewalk. His vision was blurred with tears, and so he could barely see the vampires that walked behind him, but he thought Sungmin was over one's shoulder.
The vampires were talking, but he could hardly make out about what over his screams. The one carrying him sounded angrier and angrier, but whatever words he was saying, Taemin wouldn't know.
Then finally, the man dragging him stopped. He jerked him up to his feet, and Taemin's teary eyes met with the blurred image of a masculine face. His screaming stopped, just in time to hear the man yell for him to be quiet.
He sobbed, and tried to bite his lip so he could obey, and then the grip on his ponytail suddenly loosened and he watched the man's face grow into a shocked expression.
Taemin stepped back, just as the man fell at his feet, and he froze when he saw Jonghyun standing behind him.
"Here." Jonghyun said, holding his own bloody switchblade out to him - the motion of which made Taemin cry out and stumble backwards. Jonghyun grinned, amused, but he didn't have time to force Taemin to take it before the other vampires of the group attacked.
Taemin watched as one of the most horrifying people he knew defended him from the small group of vampires, using his silver hunter switchblade to stab into them, and using punching and kicking to fend off the rest when the blade was too busy being stuck through another.
Taemin moved forward when Jonghyun attacked the vampire that held Sungmin, and caught him before he toppled to the ground. Run. his mind told him. Just run, while he's busy.
He'd just decided upon attempting to move when he realized it had got quiet.
He looked back at Jonghyun, and the fallen vampires around him. "You helped me?" he asked, and could practically hear his own heart pounding.
"No," Jonghyun said, dropping Taemin's switchblade. "I helped me." He kicked the blade into the street, and Taemin laid Sungmin on the sidewalk, knowing he needed to run and get it.
"Probably wishing you had taken that from me, right?" Jonghyun asked, "You haven't changed much, though."
Jonghyun put a hand around Taemin's neck, and he pulled him closer. Taemin made a choking sound, but he found he didn't even have the energy to try and struggle. He laid a hand gently against Jonghyun's arm, wanting to push, but it wouldn't work, he thought. Jonghyun was going to get what he wanted.
"You can't even imagine what I went through because of you." Jonghyun said, and his fingers tightened around Taemin's throat. "So......rry." Taemin managed to reply, squeezing his hand around Jonghyun's arm. The vampire let go then, taking hold of his thin forearm instead. "Come on. Your friend can stay here for now."
Taemin walked along with Jonghyun, amazingly, not even screaming.
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