The Last Ones

3 ~ Soobin's Warning

Hoseok, who had been out of breath for over a mile, ran through the deserted path. He tried to force himself to remember the warning Soobin had issued earlier that day. He needed to know it all. One wrong detail could have him screwed.

"Come on, think. You're a fucking leader; you shouldn't forget things like this." He angrily whispered, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his shirt sleeve. With every ounce of magic he could access, he conjured a small spell to help him remember.

Unfortunately, due to his weakened state, he fell to the ground, his head pounding.

It hit him all at once. "For fuck's sake."

-Earlier that day-

Soobin jogged into the camp, his cape flowing behind him. He needed to find Hoseok and Seokjin, his brother. He had to let them know of the king's plan.

He asked the recruits around if they had seen the other two, but none had a confident answer. Only one said they were last seen with a supplier in the main conference room.

Perfect. It had to be Jake with the monthly goods.

Thanking the recruit with a pat on the back, Soobin took off toward the conference room. Thankfully Seokjin and Hoseok were still there. Jake, however, seemed to have left. Whatever. His presence had not been needed. 

Soobin knocked on the door before stepping in, closing the door behind him. "I have news for both of you, and you're not going to like it."

Seokjin and Hoseok dropped what they were conversing about and turned to look at him.

"Soobin? Nice to see you again. What news is there this time? Has that stupid king of yours finally fallen ill? That'd make our jobs a lot easier." Hoseok greeted. 

Soobin shook his head no. "It does, however, have to do with the king."

"Well, go on and tell us."

Soobin, suddenly feeling overly insecure due to the pair's stern gazes, cleared his throat and quickly spoke. "The king is planning to take half-bloods hostage."

Hoseok and Seokjin remained silent for a few moments, the information taking them a second to process. Hoseok was the first one to break the silence. He stood up from where he was seated and advanced toward Soobin, the fire of anger visibly burning in his dark irises. 

"You have to be joking. No.. the king wouldn't do that. There is no need for us to be taken as hostages! Why now? Out of nowhere too? Is he out of his damn mind?! Was the imprisonment and death of my father not enough for his greedy hands?!" Hoseok exclaimed, clearly upset.

Seokjin got up as well and stood beside Hoseok. He gently placed his hand on the shorter male's shoulder. "Hoseok, calm yourself." He glanced over at his brother. "Soobin explain."

"I'm not sure if this is true, but I heard whispers from the servants that there are no more non-related royals. The king has resorted to half-bloods to keep their bloodline pure of elementals, which is stupid, in my opinion. As his army commander, he ordered me to gather a group of trusted soldiers to go around later in the evening and retrieve unsuspecting half-bloods from their homes." He explained.

Hoseok felt the world collapse around him. He steadied himself using Seokjin's arm. "I have to warn my mother. She and Hyun are home alone. I'm not letting anything happen to them."

Seokjin looked down at Hoseok. "Of course. Go as soon as possible. They're allowed to refuge here if needed."

The shorter male smiled. "Thank you. I best be on my way." He turned to look at Soobin. "Stay safe. We can't lose our main inside man."

- Back to the present -

It was almost time. The sun had started to set below the horizon. Hoseok scrambled to get back up on his feet. He was a short distance away from home. Possibly a ten-minute journey if he sprinted.

"Fuck it." Ignoring the horrendous burn of pain in both his legs, Hoseok sprinted. He'd heal in a few days.

After many minutes of shoving branches out of his path and avoiding tripping over rocks, he arrived at the outskirts of the village, where he barged into his house entirely out of breath. His legs were killing him, but that didn't matter. Many thoughts were running through his mind, the main one being the warning from Soobin. He had to inform his mother. He sped into the kitchen, where he had sensed his mother and son's presence.

"Mom!" He exclaimed. "Please grab Hyun and get him out of here. The royal guards are coming to get us, and I can't risk having you or him taken from me, not as they did with dad. I need you both to get to our base. I promise I'll be right behind you." Hoseok walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a map that led to the base.

He passed the map to his mother as he got down on his knee to grab the emergency bags that had been stored underneath the sink.

"Hoseok, honey, what will happen to you?" His mother asked, clearly worried about her son.

Hoseok shook his head, waving off his mother's concern. "It doesn't matter. What does is you two getting to safety. When you arrive at the camp, tell them that commander Sun vouches for you. Give them this if they don't believe you, then ask for commander Moon. Seokjin will take care of you." He passed his mother his spare pair of goggles.

She took them and put them away in one of the bags. "You'll be alright, right?"

"No promises, but you know me; I'm always okay. If anything happens to me, Jin will know what to do. Now go. There's no time left." Hoseok stepped over to his son and crouched down beside him. "Take care of grandma, okay? I'll be there soon." He kissed the top of his son's head and hugged him.

Hoseok quickly pulled away and patted his son on the back. "I love you both."

His mother grabbed Hyun's hand and ushered him to follow her, the two waving bye at Hoseok before disappearing out the back door.

Less than five minutes later, the front door was slammed open. Hoseok hid behind the wall and peeked around the corner to see four guards enter his house.

'Shit. I didn't get to warn the others.' He thought to himself.

"Search the house! There's one of them in here!" One of the guards shouted, holding a bright device in their hand. The other three split up, two going up the stairs and the other into the living room.

Hoseok decided to make a run for it. He sprinted toward the back door.

"We have a runner! First floor! Heading out the back!" The main guard, he assumed, shouted.

He ran out the back, thinking he had a short lead but was immediately knocked down to the ground, pain erupting from every part of his body. One of the guards had jumped out the second-story window and landed on him, their grip tight around his arms.

"Got them!"

The pain was excruciating. The ringing in his ears was deafening. It was too much for him to handle, his body having been weak from the journey there.

'At least they're safe.' Hoseok thought, blacking out moments later underneath the guard's grasp.

=============

Published: 2/25/21

Edited: 11/3/22