Chapter-1
Kris drummed his fingers softly on the slightly cushioned grey steering wheel, restlessly, deep in thought.
They had hijacked the van from a couple of SMinions that were transporting a trunk full of large weapons which were rather impractical. It wasn't that hard to get rid of them, considering that they had eleven members.
However, they decided that they would only be staying here, in the van, for the night. Because tomorrow would be a new day, and S.M. would have gotten a step closer to catching them. They had to stay out of trouble, keeping in mind that S.M. was strangely powerful. And unless they had a solid plan, they had no chance against her.
He stopped drumming his fingers and gripped the wheel tightly, dropping his head down in defeat. How long do we have to do this? He thought. But he knew he needed to stay strong. For the other members.
A soft rustling from the crowd of trees surrounding the van broke him out of his thoughts. His head whipped towards the sound. He hoped that it was Suho, Lay and Chen. They were taking an awfully long time to get back and frightening senarios clouded his mind.
Unfortunately, it was just a little brown rabbit.
He sighed and decided to go to the back of the van to see how the other members were doing. He opened the door and shuffled himself outside; being careful not to bump his head against the car, considering his tall figure.
As he was slamming the door shut, he noticed the empty passenger seat beside the one he was seated on. That was where Suho sat, discussing and thinking up a plan with him.
He sighed. He hated splitting up.
He walked to the back slowly, keeping his eye on the trees around him, hoping to spot one of the three members in the crowd of trees.
When he didn't, he just turned to open the back door of the van, where the remaining seven members sat.
All of their heads shot upwards towards him in fear except Baekhyun, who was too busy twisting a piece of string in his hands. When the rest saw that it was just Kris, they let out a sigh of relief in unison that made him smile internally.
"When will Suho-hyung be back?" Sehun asked. His face looked tired and worn out. Kris felt sorry for the younger boy.
"I don't know," Kris said in defeat. "I was going to go and look for them." His eyes shifted towards the trees.
"But I'm hungry," Kai said leaning his head back onto the van, closing his eyes shut.
"Eat this then." Sehun threw a crisp packet at him. There were a few more in the middle of the circle they had formed between themselves. He took one for himself too.
"Pass me one too," Kris asked. Sehun slid one towards him.
"Guys... Why is there a card with Chen-hyung's face on it in here... " Kai said, confused, lifting the crisp packet. "It says 'Death by Fire'."
Kris slowly took the card from Kai's hand, feeling uneasy. It looked like a trading cards, with an animated Chen on it. The head was the same size as the body. His name was written under the picture along with a couple of stats. On the top right corner read a little 'Cards 3 out of 5'.
What did the whole card mean? Death by fire? What was all that about?
"It's probably some type of sick joke among the SMinions," Kris said, handing it back to Kai. He didn't really believe that himself. His eyes shifted around the van. He still felt uneasy about this whole incident. However, he decided to forget about it. They had more important matters to deal with.
He then proceeded to opening his own packet. A slight rumbling in his stomach reminded him of how hungry he was. He put hand in expecting to feel a bunch of crisps, but instead, his hand bumps into a plastic card. He pulled it out.
It was similar to the one that Kai had handed him earlier. His eyes scanned the card, reading what was written.
His eyes widened in shock. His mind was clouded by the stress and guilt that took over him.
Tao. Death by Kidnap and Kill.
¤☆¤
Kris was back at the centre of a clearing among the trees, with Tao and Xiumin. Seven SMinions surrounded the three of them. That may have seemed a lot against three, however, him, Tao and Xiumin could take them on.
He willed himself to transform into a dragon, ready to fight. But what he hadn't realised was the shower of bullets coming his way. His dragon form flayed as the bullets hit through his leathery red wings.
Pain shot through him and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground back to human form. An excruciating shot of pain ran through his right arm. He needed to stand up. They needed to win.
An SMinion ran towards him, blade brandished, ready to strike. Kris whipped out the dagger that resided in his belt. He ducked beneath the sword, turned around to dodge the strike, and dug the dagger into the opposed creature.
Another SMinion ran to him, his hands empty. Kris noticed a stray blade on the ground a few yards away.
He must have dropped it...
Kris just entended his dagger hand forward, skewering the Minion in the process.
Kris turned to the others, seeing how they were doing. Tao was fighting well with his wushu, and Xiumin with his frost power, both attacking the remaining SMinions off.
A gaggle of SMinions protruded randomly from the forest coming towards him. He wondered where they were all coming from. He pulled out his dagger and threw it into the SMinion's chest. There was another two circling around him. All were dressed in black, their faces disgustingly distorted.
Taking out another dagger, he slashed the other one in the neck. Hot blood splat onto the side of his face, running down to his chin. He lifted him arm, wiping it off with his wrist.
Suddenly, he heard a cry from Xiumin. His head whipped to his direction. Xiumin was on his knees, the SMinions holding his arms behind him. There were a few lying on the ground, scaterred around him.
Just then, Kris felt a blow to his face. He stumbled backwards, losing his balance. An SMionion stood above him, a blade raised high.
Kris took his knife and stuffed it deep in the creature's heart before yanking it back out.
He half stumbled, half ran ran to Xiumin's aid, glancing at Tao to see his condition. He was doing fine on his own. Kris took the already bloodied dagger and slashed at the legs of the attackers. They screamed in pain. It sounded strangled and ugly.
He dug the knife into its stomach, freeing Xiumin from their grip. Just as he pulled Xiumin up to stand, he noticed Tao.
Surrounded by four SMinions, Tao was dragged towards the spaceship that lay behind them. When did that get there?
They wrapped ropes arounds him, tying him securely. Kris' eyes widened in panic. He desperately put down a half conscious Xiumin in hopes of running to the ship. His legs screamed in pain and his arms flayed, trying to fight off the SMinions to get to Tao.
Tao.
He had been too late.
They had gotten him.
There had been too many of them.
Don't worry Tao, Kris had screamed in his head.
We'll come back for you. He promised.
Kris heard a rustle among the trees which broke him out of his thoughts. His head turned sharply towards the sound, his heart beating uncontrollably, afraid by what he saw.
¤☆¤
Chen, Lay and Suho sprinted towards the van as fast as they could, a group of ten SMinions trailing behind them.
There had originally been only three which they had first tried to lead away from the van. However, that was before they had spotted a more larger group running in the direction of the van. And that was when Suho had suggested to change direction to the van in order to warn the others.
The SMinions started to catch up with them. Chen tried to speed up his legs, using all the energy he had left to focus of getting to the van in time. Beside him, Suho stumbled slightly, causing the other two boys to run a little ahead of him.
The van came into view and Chen could see everyone sitting on the edge of the van, with Kris the only one standing.
"Everyone hold hands! Kai teleport everyone somewhere safe! Now!" he heard Suho scream desperately behind him. Leave it to Suho to have a clear mind at a time of crisis.
Kai's expression was visibly shaken, as everyone rushed to hold hands. Kris, who was standing next to the van reached his arm out to Chen in desperation to keep the team together. "Hold on!"
Chen grabbed it. Kai looked like he was ready to teleport. In that exact moment, Chen twisted around and reached for Lay's hand which was outstretched in front of him. His face was contorted in despair.
Chen grabbed Lay's fingertips. He was going to make it.
Suddenly, a small spark of lightning passed through his fingers and into Lay's. Lay snatched his hand back, his eyes and mouth open wide in shock.
Just then, everything swirled around Chen's eyes and his stomach churned. But all he felt was guilt.