Switchblade - 7
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"No one wanted to keep you."
It's the first words Taemin hears when he wakes up again. For the moment, he ignores them. First, he realizes that he's cold. The air around him is warm, hot even. He can feel it especially on one side of his face, but his body all over feels like there's a layer of ice which is failing to melt away fast enough.
Tired would be an understatement. Taemin feels entirely drained, as if lifting a finger would take entirely too much effort. It's enough work just to breathe, which he seems to have to do in deep slow breaths.
When he cracks his eyes open, he sees a fire place burning hot. He lies on a hard wood floor just a few feet away.
"Everybody was pretty gungho about you at first. Then they realized that after they bit, you might bite back."
The sentences slowly begins to register with Taemin. More than that, he realizes the voice he's hearing is familiar. With some effort, he turns his head. His eyes get big when they find the person sitting on the floor in the middle of the room.
Sungmin is cross legged in what appears to be an empty room, expression blank as he watches Taemin. His voice was so deadpan that Taemin wouldn't have placed it without looking. It does get softer when their eyes meet, and Sungmin says, "I convinced them to let me take you."
"You're alive," Taemin doesn't fully understand it until he says it. Energy nearly returns to him, his heart swelling with emotion. I'm not alone any more I'm not alone I'm not alone I'm not alone
"It's only us," Sungmin tells Taemin. "Just you and I...." his voice sounds a bit sad, "All that's left."
...'THE VAMPIRE GOVERNMENT' BUILDING IN ASHES...
"Jay is...?"
... human remains identified...
"He's dead, Taemin."
...Jay Kim, Lee Sungmin...
"At The Council?"
... described as vampire hunters...
"No, it was later, after we escaped. He was murdered.."
...article by IU...
Taemin shoved the newspaper down on the office's desk. The woman that sat behind it was tiny, almost more like a little girl. She had big, round eyes full of innocence to add to the look, staring up at Taemin in horror.
Taemin was undeterred by her appearance. A man, a little girl, Bugs Bunny, he didn't care. "Is this article misprinted?" he didn't ask for an answer, but demanded one.
"What...?" Her voice was as small as she was.
If anything, Taemin was angered more by her demeanor. He pointed down to the article on the front page, "Are these names misprinted!?"
When the girl looked down, hesitance made Taemin speak again, urging for a faster answer. "You're IU, aren't you?"
She gave a small nod, "I wrote this.."
"Tell me if those names are misprinted."
He gave her a moment to check her documents, but it didn't even take her long to confirm that the names were correct. "They're common names," she told him quickly, "So if you know someone..."
Taemin had said not another word.
"It said you were dead," Taemin mutters under his breath, but still Sungmin hears it.
"The Council wants everyone to lose hope. They tell lies," Sungmin takes a breath, but his voice doesn't get any stronger when he speaks again. He continues to sound deadpan. Taemin thinks, he sounds broken. "All vampires lie, can't be trusted, but.. I know they're lying now for our benefit. In the end, we can't pick which side is better. All we can pick is which side lies better."
"What are you saying?" Taemin doesn't have the strength for emotion himself. He can't speak with his full voice. He feels warmer now, but still unimaginably weak.
"I'm not sure why you are the way you are... I'm not sure how you've survived this long, but it's not going to last. The best chance that we'll ever have is serving."
"I'd rather die."
"I said the same thing," Sungmin gives the slightest smile, but it's lifeless. "We don't even control that, not at first. We might want to die, but they wouldn't let us simply die. When you adjust, Taemin, it's not as bad as you think.. just serve them..."
"You do what they tell you to."
"I have some freedom," Sungmin says slowly, "which is more than I'm worth. Nothing can be the way it used to be."
"No," These words were like punches, or worse. The pain makes his heart feel like it's being squeezed, and it pumps harder trying to get free. Energy starts to flow through Taemin once again. There is no hope? "Stop it."
Sungmin gets to his feet, suddenly walking quickly towards Taemin. "Listen, it's the only way."
"My switchblade," Taemin gasps, spotting the familiar dinged metal peeking out of Sungmin's pocket.
"Taemin," Sungmin sounds urgent when he kneels down right next to him, and he moves his hand towards the switchblade.
"It's mine!" Taemin grabs his switchblade from Sungmin's pocket first. He knows it well, and his thumb hits the familiar switch. The blade has just shot out when Taemin drives it in through Sungmin's side. He doesn't look at Sungmin's face. He doesn't see the shock. He just stares at where he's torn Sungmin's shirt and where blood is gushing out.
"You're not even him," Taemin says, trembling, "You're broken. He wouldn't want..."
"Shit," a new voice, a man's voice, an unfamiliar voice draws Taemin's attention to the back of the room. Three men wander in, all of them visually tense. "Sungmin got the switchblade."
"How the fuck did he do that?" another of them asks.
"You gave it to him," Taemin speaks his thought out loud, while other realizations scratch across his mind. He was trying to help you. He was only pretending. You're a murderer.
"He's not dead." Taemin looks to Sungmin's face. As he gets onto his knees, pulls his blade out of Sungmin - Sungmin falls, his expression lifeless. Taemin's familiarity with death tells him the truth.
Murderer.
"NO!!!"
A man says, "Grab him," and as they move nearer, Taemin rushes to his feet. He holds a bloodied blade in two hands. The moment one of the men is near enough he pushes it through his stomach, yelling as loud as his dry throat allows him, "STAY AWAY!"
The other men stay back, while one is still on Taemin's blade with an expression familiar to Taemin. It's almost sick looking, but mostly shocked. Like Sungmin..
With a scream, Taemin suddenly jerks the blade from the man's stomach. He strikes again, this time slashing the blade across the man's throat. Just as the man loses balance, Taemin catches him, attaching his mouth to the bleeding wound and drinking from it hungrily. It seems like the familiar sensation of drinking vampire blood is intensified now that he's been deprived. He feels strong, invincible. Dangerous, Murderer.
Another scream and Taemin tosses a bloodless vampire away from himself. He runs to the next nearest. They both set their shock aside and finally move, grabbing at Taemin. Their arms are cut, but they get a grip on him for just a second. Taemin uses all of his strength to push his blade far into one vampire's wrist, and he uses his foot to kick at the other. When they back away from him, one screaming, he laughs.
Powerful..
If blood hadn't somehow splashed onto Taemin's cheek, his laughing face would look normal, as though he's genuinely happy. It's an unsettling fearlessness, and the vampires, no matter how much naturally stronger they may be, are easily horrified by it. "Fuck this," one says with a voice full of fear, turning and running for the door.
The other curses, facing Taemin on his own. While Taemin's still laughing, the vampire moves in to punch him. It hits, as easy as that, and Taemin falls back on the floor. His switchblade is still in hand, and he still laughs.
The vampire tries stomping on him, again and again. Taemin's laugh cracks, but he struggles on the floor more like a child who's being tickled. The vampire looks down at him uncertainly, and in his pause, Taemin grabs onto his ankle and jerks it out from under him.
"You can not kill me," Taemin says, sounding tired from all the laughing. He stabs his switchblade into the vampire's chest, leaving it in there as he rises to his feet. "You can't.." he presses his foot down on the hilt of his switchblade, shoving it further into the vampire, who's face drains of expression.
When Taemin looks up, the other vampire is gone. Taemin sinks to sit on the floor, finally facing Sungmin. "Wake up," he whispers. "Oh Sungmin, wake up."
You killed him.
"Sungmin, wake up.. Sungmin.." Taemin moves over to him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking him, "wake up, wake up, wake up.."
It's over.
Taemin's smile disappears in an instant. "I am a murderer."
It was destined.
Taemin shakes his head, lifting his switchblade up to his neck. As easy as it's been to kill others..
No, you're destined. You have to save Minho. You have to redeem yourself.
"YOU KILLED SUNGMIN!!!" Taemin screams, but the switchblade falls out of his hands. Tears pour out of his eyes, streak down, mix with blood on his cheeks, "You killed Sungmin.. you killed..."
He looks once at Sungmin's face. It's strange. Taemin was sure he saw his face earlier, but now, his eyes have closed, and though his face is pale, he looks peaceful.
"Forgive me, Sungmin, oh please.." Taemin curls up on the floor next to him, continuing to plead, "Please forgive me.."
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NOTE!!!! I feel physically ill after writing this, oh my. It's thanks to lefty_215 that I had the courage to post this one.
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