Area One

16

They didn't answer his questions, but he hadn't expected them to. Provoking them would be considered unwise, but nothing that they could do to him would be worse than the things he had already been through. Besides, it was important to keep making use of his voice aside from answering questions. He had also tried to keep himself physically fit in the beginning, but the never-ending cycle of torture and exhausted sleep had prevented him from exercising more than one or two times. Now, everything that required the least bit of effort seemed terribly hard to accomplish.

Even walking was hard. The soldiers needed to support him and he could clearly hear them cursing. He didn't know whether they were cursing him or their superior for giving them this task, and he didn't care. He hadn't seen the Patrol since... since the day it had happened. Where were they bringing him?

Their trip felt endlessly long. Finally, they arrived at what looked like the prison. Where there had been dark rooms, laboratories with walls of glass and machines he didn't understand, there were now small cells, separated by walls or metallic bars.

They stopped in front of one of the cells. It was bigger than most of the ones he had seen, and there were a few undefinable piles of clothing laying around.

One of the soldiers pulled out a small, plain white card which he held in front of the lock. With a clicking sound, the door opened.

They tossed Junmyeon into the cell without any comment, not caring when he stumbled and fell down. They pulled the door back again, and it closed with another click. Talking among themselves, their steps became more and more faint, until the sound disappeared.

Feeling slightly lightheaded, limbs still aching, he looked around the cell. It was only lighted by a small, faint bulb in the corridor which made it hard for him to take in his surroundings.

When one of the piles moved, Junmyeon screamed.

"Hyung? Is that you?" the pile next to him asked hopefully. He knew this voice.

"Sehun?" Junmyeon couldn't believe it.

"It's you!" His best friend threw himself at Junmyeon, hugging him tightly.

Junmyeon flinched away. No, this was Sehun, his best friend. He wouldn't hurt him. Slowly, he raised his arms and hugged him back.

"How can you tell it's him when all he did was scream?" That was undoubtedly Luhan's voice. It came from a place at the end of the cell. Junmyeon could only make out a dark figure, pressed tightly against the wall.

"How easily can you startle him then?" Jongin's curious voice joined them.

Junmyeon was so happy to hear their voices again that he nearly started crying. He had been convinced he would never see them again.

He grabbed Sehun's shoulders tighter and never wanted to let him go again, fearing the soldiers might come and take him back again.

"How many of us are here?" he asked when he finally let go of his best friend.

"Chanyeol, Yifan, Jongdae, Yixing and Baekhyun are still missing," Minseok reported. "Luhan was brought here only... well, a few hours ago, I guess, and I was the first one here."

Junmyeon nearly didn't dare to ask the next question. "Your powers..."

Minseok held out his wrist. Junmyeon could only make out a faint, metallic shimmer, but it was undoubtedly the same thing he had around his own arm.

His gaze wandered towards Luhan. Losing their powers was terrible for everyone, but for this guy... He had been using his powers constantly to make daily life easier. While he had been able to live without them for most of his life, of course, he had gotten used to them. His powers had enabled him to sense far more than anyone else ever could. He didn't want to imagine how it felt to have something like that taken away from him.