Kai heard the growls before Lucas did.

He blinked when the first of the sounds reached his ears, unsure if he was just hallucinating from an abnormal mix of boredom and fear. He shined the flashlight down the corridor, but it was dark, revealing nothing that could have made the sound.

So, at first, he ignored them. He was just supposed to be on guard anyway, and nothing major had taken place yet. The building was festooned with rats—he may or may not have spotted a cockroach in one of the drilled holes—but it was strangely put-together for a construction site. Kai was no Newton, but he understood that someone had cleaned up enough to live here.

But judging by the remnants of sawdust and uneven cement, not well enough to live in for long. Whoever currently occupied this building had clearly only started using this place only recently.

He heard another low-pitched sound resonating through the corridors, breaking him out of his thoughts. Kai doused the light from his flashlight, heart thumping behind his ribs. "Did you hear that?" he called to Lucas, who was still investigating the cafeteria.

"Hear what?" Lucas frowned, only giving him a brief moment of attention before turning back to his work. Kai sighed. On one hand, he didn't want a potential threat to be disregarded, but on the other hand, he guessed that if Lucas didn't hear anything, he was probably just imagining things. Maybe his brain was just going into overdrive.

He had only been thinking this for a few seconds when he heard the sound again, almost leaping out of his skin when he did. The sound was somewhere between a hum and a groan, hoarse and animalistic and abstract, like someone was trying to say a word without parting their lips. It took another few listens for him to realize that it was a growl.

Kai went tearing back into the cafeteria, adrenaline putting on a burst of speed into his run. By the time he had reached Lucas, he was gasping for air though the distance hadn't been very much, eyes rounded and hands shaking slightly.

"There's something in the hallways," he said with a tremor in his voice, and Lucas straightened with a frown.

Kai had never appreciated Lucas's bulk so much before. The man moved past him, presumably to look into the issue, and Kai stuck behind him, hoping that he could use the ex-militant as a human shield. He copied Lucas's stealthy gait, peeking out from behind his shoulder as they went into the hallway.

It was dark and silent. Lucas shined his flashlight down both ways momentarily before Kai saw the muscles in his back untense. "There's nothing here."

Then something grabbed Kai's ankle, and he went down in mute shock, too surprised to kick out or scream. The thing—whatever it was—dragged him across the floor of the cafeteria, and Kai felt a sharp pain in his ankle, like someone had stabbed tiny knives into his skin. He yelled out in pain, and turned his body, scrabbling at the tiled floor, futilely looking for purchase with his nails.

Lucas whirled and ran up to him, something long and sharp flashing in his hand. Kai felt the thing release its hold on him, and he staggered to his feet, turning hastily and dragging his hurt leg along.

There, juxtaposed with the harshly pristine environment of the cafeteria, was a great big wolf. If one ignored the circumstances, it could have been any wolf, but circumstances had not been made to be ignored in this kind of situation. Kai knew this particular wolf. He had seen it before, in human form nonetheless, lifting him into the air and almost choking the life out of him.

"What did I ever do to you?" he whined, as the wolf's upper lip curled back into a snarl.

Lucas stepped in next to him, a wicked-looking knife held out protectively int front. The wolf reared back, preparing to spring, and its rows of needle-like teeth seemed to wink in the light. It was then that Kai realized he had been bitten. He hoped lycanthropy wasn't contagious.

"How many exits does this place have?" Lucas asked, voice low and grim.

"Uh—I don't know." Kai's mind was whirling, thinking up a thousand different ways that the scenario wouldn't end well. "Just one, I think. In through that corridor up front. The other one is sealed."

"Good," Lucas muttered. He was a big guy, Kai thought dimly, but so was the werewolf dude. And he could turn into a wolf. "When I say run, run."

"What?"

"Run!" Lucas yelled, and whirled abruptly. For a split second, Kai remained frozen in place, utterly caught off guard. Then the idea sunk in, and he turned on his heel to run after Lucas, who was headed to the door, and tried to ignore the thought of a very vicious wolf behind him in hot pursuit.

The wolf caught the leg of Kai's pants just as they reached the door, and Lucas smacked its snout with the butt of his knife so it let go. Then he slammed the door, and Kai scrambled to help keep it closed. Both of them leaned their full weight against the door, shoulder pressed against it, while the wolf threw itself bodily against it.

"I thought we were going to fight that thing," Kai panted. Even though both of them were holding the door closed together, he still felt the vibrations in the door as the wolf slammed against it.

Lucas was busy jamming a tension rod into the lock to hold it closed. Kai had absolutely no idea where he'd gotten hold of it, but boy, was he glad he had.

"We only engage when there's no better option," Lucas answered. A sheen of sweat shone over his temple, reflecting the barest amount of light in the pitch-dark. "We don't know if we would have won a fight against him or lost, but thankfully, we didn't have to find out. Now he's trapped in there in case we need him."

"Why would we ever need a werewolf?" Kai asked. The wolf had stopped throwing itself against the door, but he could still hear low growls emanating from behind the door.

"You never know," Lucas said, before he turned and started walking down the corridor. Kai stared at his back for a few more seconds before he decided that sticking with him was his best bet, and followed.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Out," Lucas replied.

|

"Get out of there!" Mark's tinny voice spoke frantically into Baekhyun's earpiece.

"No time," Baekhyun replied. Taeyong was still standing frozen like a statue in front of the corridor, but now, Baekhyun could see the person holding him in place. Bae Irene's hands were clamped on either side of his head, her eyes glowing a luminous green in the darkness as she did, a small smile gracing her strikingly beautiful face.

Taeyong's muscles were slack. Baekhyun had no idea what Irene was doing to him, but it was clearly something bad, something Taeyong couldn't react to. He took a few careful steps forward, simultaneously getting closer to the two and covering Shao from the woman's sight. "Let go of him."

"Now, where's the fun in that?" Irene purred. But her hands came away from Taeyong's head, and he dropped to the floor—but just before he hit it, there was a flash crossing the hall, and then Taemin was next to Baekhyun, gently laying Taeyong down against the steps of the stairs.

"Taemin!" Irene exclaimed with a smile. Behind her, Baekhyun could see a figure looming in the shadows, tall and mysterious. Then he saw a flash of a pale hand, and realized who it was. "Long time, no see. I heard you didn't tell your new friends about me. It was quite upsetting."

"Irene." Taemin's tone was resigned, even sad. Baekhyun brushed past him and knelt at Taeyong's side, shaking him. He still seemed immobile, muscles loose and unmoving, but he saw his eyelids flutter and relief coursed through him.

"Yong," Baekhyun murmured, the nickname slipping out in his relief. He cradled the man's jaw, moving him so he was sitting up, and shook him gently. "Taeyong, wake up."

At the back of his mind, he was aware that Irene and Taemin were still talking, probably just Taemin stalling until he could get Taeyong back on his feet. Baekhyun could see blood crusting the lining of Taeyong's nose, and his brow creased. He shook a little harder, and Taeyong's eyes opened. Still slitted, but open.

Baekhyun sat back on his haunches. "Do you think you can get up?" he asked him gently, and Taeyong exhaled softly before nodding. There was a different air about him—not the fatigue from whatever Irene had done to him, but a change in his expression. Taeyong looked dazed, almost confused. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Taeyong replied, pushing away his hand, and got to his feet. Baekhyun blinked at the asperity in his tone, and followed getting up. Taeyong's eyes were hooded, a dark look in them, but he didn't look at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun glanced at Taemin for help, only to see that the blond was staring down at himself in utter confusion. It took only a few moments for it to sink in. "Your powers aren't working?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, and smiled wryly. "Welcome to the club."

Next to him, Shao looked pale. Probably whatever—or whoever—had been affecting their powers earlier was here now. But why were Irene and the Angel unaffected?

"I'll take her outside," Taeyong said, and Baekhyun blinked at him in a brief moment of puzzlement before realizing he meant Shao. "You two follow when it's done. I'll take the other hallway."

Baekhyun nodded, and Taeyong gestured to Shao before slipping away unnoticed. A few seconds of hesitation later, Shao followed, and Baekhyun turned to Taemin again, seeing that he was staring down Irene.

"I don't want to fight you," Taemin said.

"No one said anything about fighting," Irene replied.

"—khyun?" Mark's voice sounded in Baekhyun's earpiece again, barely coherent around the static. "You have to—out of there—didn't realize it would collapse—fast—"

"What?" Baekhyun frowned, speaking lowly into the mic. His attention was torn between Mark and Taemin, not knowing which one to focus on. "Mark, we can't leave. We found Irene."

"—don't understand!" Mark's voice came through, buzzing with alarm. "I set the sonic—parking lot—cracks in the foundation, the building—"

"What? What are you saying?"

The next few words he heard were perfectly clear, despite the static breaks. "The building," Mark said. "—about to collapse."

||

when i was writing cat boy yesterday, i realized daehyun is a lot like shao. if daehyun had a massive scar and was more grown-up and less nice and more sassy. wild.