Fate of the Dreamers

Chapter One - Defeat

Lusi grasped Lee Know's werewolf arm as he leapt from JYP's stage, a malice-filled audience gnashing their teeth and clambering over each other in the seats below. JYP had vanished, but he couldn't have gone far. The rest of the Stray Kids chased after his scent, their werewolf senses far stronger than that of a human's...possibly even a vampire's.

Lusi focused her own mind. What can I do to help them? She shyly glanced up at Lee Know, his almond eyes still recognisable despite the werewolf features and fur. What can vampires even do? Lusi closed her eyes. The thought of using her abilities had never occurred to her. She had always been too afraid to be seen, to be known as a blood-sucking monster.

JYP's words replayed within Lusi's mind: Do you really think you can protect her now? This whole thing has been broadcast from here to New York to even itty-bitty Papua New Guinea...Everyone knows she's a vampire.

Her heart pounded within her chest. How could she live in a society where she's hated and feared?

Still following the rest of Stray Kids, Lee Know entered another room in the theatre. It was practically identical to the room before: hundreds of seats, a large stage, and a spotlight illuminating a man.

Lee Know continued forward, rejoining Stray Kids as they stood in the centre aisle, watching as JYP glared, unmoving, back at them. Lusi thought she could hear Lee Know's heartbeat in the silence. Maybe she actually could...

JYP was the first to speak after minutes of nothing. "What are we doing here, boys? Why bother to fight me? If you just accept my rules, as you said you would when you started your cute little dance troupe, we can all walk away from here in peace."

Bang Chan jumped onto the stage, his werewolf body heads taller than JYP. He growled. "Never. You've shown us just how wicked you are, and we will always, always, be there to—"

"You." JYP's dark eyes snapped to Lusi in Lee Know's arms. "You filled their minds with hatred. How can you live with yourself?"

Lee Know joined Bang Chan on the stage, gently placing Lusi on her feet behind him. "Don't you dare talk to her like that."

Lusi, peeking around Lee Know, saw the animosity in JYP's eyes. A hole formed in her stomach. It was all directed towards her. All his hatred, his anger, everything, was because of her. A shiver traced its way up her neck. Spots filled her vision. What's going on? Another glance at JYP answered her question.

He was in her mind. "It's begun, you sillies," He scoffed. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

The spots grew until all she saw was a deep, dark void. JYP stood in the middle of her vision, cackling, glowing brighter until a flash of light consumed everything.

She was on a train with her friend, Zoe, sitting beside her. She watched as trees rushed by outside the windows. In her hand she held an iced coffee.

Zoe tapped her knee. "I'm so thankful to have a friend like you, Lucy!"

"Um, me too..." She replied. I know her, but I don't.

"I probably wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you. You got me through the hard times!" Zoe chuckled as she playfully nudged Lucy with her elbow, her red hair bobbing with the movement of the train. "Maybe there'll be some new people we can meet when we get there!"

New people? "Zoe, where exactly are we going?"

Her eyes became suddenly as lifeless as a statue's. Lucy thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but it dawned on her that Zoe was glitching, as if she was a broken hologram.

"Z-Zoe?"

A shadow filled the train carriage. Lucy looked outside again. The trees started to blend together, forming a muddled mess of greens and browns. The sky faded from a bright blue to black. Like wet ink crawling down a page, Zoe, the train, the trees, everything, was being pulled towards the void.

Lucy's eyes darted from one thing to another, her brain hardly being able to keep up. "What did I say? What did I do?!" She screamed as the world disappeared. She floated, once again in the empty waters of nothing.

Lusi.

She opened her eyes to see Lee Know's own, full of fear and concern, looking down on her. He was human again. "What...happened?"

Lee Know lifted her into a sombre embrace. "We got hit hard, Lusi."

Over his shoulder she could see Han, Felix, and Hyunjin all staring into space as they lay on their backs. She turned her head and saw Bang Chan sitting on one of the seats in the front row, emotionless, holding his phone to his ear.

"Where's JYP?"

"I don't know. After you collapsed, he knocked us all to the ground, laughed, then vanished again. We were helpless." He shook his head. "It was like he got into our heads or something." He nodded towards the door at the back of the auditorium. "I think the crowd of people in the other room left, too."

Lusi crossed her legs and put her hands in her red hoodie's pocket. "I had a weird dream. I was with someone on a train. I'd seen her before, but I can't remember where. Then something happened and the world just disappeared. I-I was in an abyss." She caught movement in the corner of her eye. Bang Chan stood, looking at her with worry.

"Did you say you had a dream?" He said, stepping toward her.

Lusi nodded.

"My girlfriend just called me, and excuse me for eavesdropping, but she described the exact same thing."

Lusi shuddered. "What's her name?"

"Zoëy."