He Who Strikes First: REBELLION | Original Version

Chapter X

"He's traumatized, what was he dreaming about?" Boa asked, trying to get Byung Ho to snap out of it. Tao and Muta shrugged. "What is going on in here?!" Someone shouted from the mouth of the cave. They all turned around. It was Shang. Byung Ho screamed, and back to the corner more. "H-He's hurt, sir." Muta said. It was the best reasoning for Byung Ho's behaviour. Shang rushed over, surprisingly. Tao moved forward to try and stop Shang, but was pushed out of the way. "Byung Ho...?" He said, softly. Byung Ho stopped shivering. "W-Who...?" He questioned. Tao was afraid. He remembered what happened to his mother, and little siblings, but unexpectedly Shang put his hand on the boy's shoulder. For some reason he cared, and he needed Byung Ho to stay alive. He was the only family Shang had. "Byung Ho. It's me, Shang." He said, quietly. Tao snickered and rolled his eyes. "Dude that is not going to work. We've been yelling at him for the past twenty minutes and he hasn't responded." He exclaimed, to Shang's way of talking to him. Byung Ho stopped crying. "S-Shang...?" Byung Ho muttered. Tao, Muta and Boa gasped. "Wow... how did he do that...?" Tao questioned, because Byung Ho hated Shang. After all, Shang killed his brother. Shang smiled. "What is going on?" Shang asked, quietly. It was a weird moment for all of them, especially Tao. Why was Byung Ho being so kind and friendly to Shang? Shouldn't he want to kill Shang, after what he did to Jun? Byung Ho was shivering, and stayed in the corner. "T-The... g-green... it was surrounding me..." He muttered, then for a second time, screamed. This time, instead of backing away from Shang, he grasped his hair. He held it tightly, as if something had entered his mind. "Byung Ho." Shang quietly said, with a sharp tone. Byung Ho was crying, and the tears were forever lasting. Shang knew what he meant. The green. Shang had seen 'green' smoke in his nightmares as a kid, and it was a bad thing. Then, Shang remembered there was a bright light. The one that gave good advice. It was taken by the green smoke. And Shang had nightmares ever since, and the green gave him bad ideas. "The green... what type of green?" Shang quietly asked, reaching for Byung Ho again. The kid was terrified. "G-green... g-green s-smoke..." Byung Ho cried. "And it won't leave me alone!!" He yelled, falling forward a little. Shang grabbed the boy's shoulders. Tao quickly ran forward. "The green smoke," Shang said "I used to have nightmares about it. It is a terrible mist, of which will do anything to possess you, and take over your mind. Don't listen to it, Byung Ho." As he finished, Byung Ho looked up, and reached his arm out toward Shang. Then for some reason, Shang didn't notice that he was crying. "Shang...?" Muta moved forward. He'd never in his life seen Shang like this. Only when his mother was dying. And that was a long time ago. That was a reason for Shang being kind of rejected, and being like an outcast. "A-are you crying?"

Byung Ho looked up. The green smoke had gone out of his eyes, and he stopped listening to its horrible voice. He saw a person. He didn't know who it was until he said "The green smoke, I used to have nightmares about it. It is a terrible mist, of which will do anything to possess you, and take over your mind. Don't listen to it, Byung Ho." He reached his arm out. The person had a voice that he recognised, a calm voice. He was sure he could hear it before over the laughing of the green smoke, but he wasn't sure. Was the person in front of him his father? He tried to focus his vision on the figure. "W-Who...?" He asked, again. Suddenly, his vision came back slightly. The person's eyes were green. He gasped, and pulled his arm back. Green. "G-green... y-you're the green... the voice..." He stuttered. The green smoke... was a person.

He looked at Byung Ho. "W-Who...?" The boy asked again. Shang was about to tell him for the second time, then Byung Ho gasped, and his arm had pulled back. He looked at Shang with fear painted across his face like a mask. "G-Green... y-you're the green... the voice..." Byung Ho started to mumbled. Tao looked at Byung Ho, then to Shang. "I think we know who his nightmare was about, huh?" He grunted looking at Shang with a mad face. Shang looked at Byung Ho. "Byung Ho... Please!! I am not the green!! You also have green!!" Shang exclaimed, frightened. He grabbed Byung Ho's shoulders again, and shook him lightly. Byung Ho was shocked. "You have green eyes!!" Byung Ho yelled. All Shang needed right now was for him to be hated even more than he already was. "Byung Ho!! You have green eyes too!!" Shang shouted back at Byung Ho. The boy was surprised. Shang looked at Muta and Tao. "I suggest you two not talk, or else." He threatened, then turned and looked at the boy again. "Byung Ho... Please, snap out of it!" He said, and he meant it. The green smoke was a bad thing, and for some reason Shang cared about Byung Ho and, wanted the boy to not dream about it. Shang was telling the truth, when he said that he had nightmares similar to Byung Ho's. He even remembers his mother telling him about a time when Shang actually acted just like Byung Ho. Shang had a similar nightmare. Just, the green smoke had destroyed the pack's home and killed thousands. Back then, Shang cared and the reason why he was this way, was because the green smoke threatened him with the pack's lives. "Byung Ho..." He mumbled. He cared about the pack. He even cared about this silly kid, whom the green smoke wanted him to kill. "Shang... Is that you?" Byung Ho asked, quietly. "Shang... You're..." He continued. Shang was surprised. "I'm what?" He was confused and shocked. Had the boy come out of the trance? "You're... my father...?" Byung Ho questioned, quietly. Tao, Muta and Boa gasped. "W-What...?" Boa exclaimed. She was furious, and stormed out of the cave. Shang hadn't noticed, and smiled as Byung Ho had become to believe the lie. "Y-yes!! Yes I am!!" Shang lied. Tao quickly ran over to Thunder, hoping Shang hadn't seen the wolf, and covered the animal's head with a small fabric. He was scared. "I know the wolf is there." Shang said, turning to face Tao.

He looked around the room. "I know the wolf is there." He heard a voice say. He looked to the voice, to see Shang. Byung Ho looked around, and saw Tao, trying to hide his wolf friend. "P-please..." Byung Ho started, but grasped his head in pain, groaning. Shang reached toward Byung Ho. "You need to lay down, Byung Ho." Shang said, trying to sound kind. Byung Ho lay back a bit. When he did so, Shang stood up and walked toward Tao and the wolf. "P-please, Sha- I mean... f-father, don't hurt Thunder. He is a friend. We're helping him." Byung Ho pleaded. He realised who he was talking to. Not his father, but a monster. Shang was a monster in Byung Ho's eyes. There was nothing to stop his thoughts from thinking it. "I am not the monster you think I am, Byung Ho." Shang said, looking in the boy's direction. Byung Ho was confused. "W-what..?" He questioned this statement. That man murdered Jun and Tao's family!! How could he possibly not be a monster to them? "I... I know you must all hate me... I wouldn't be surprised if you held a rebellion against me. I deserve it. Although, if you all manage to kill me... then... I won't have to listen to the green smoke anymore to keep the pack safe..." He trailed off. Byung Ho looked at Shang. The green smoke had told him to do bad things? "T-the green smoke... told you to kill Jun?" Byung Ho sobbed. "For... the pack?" He put his hands to his face, and cried. Now the green smoke was after him. Shang nodded. Although Byung Ho believed him, he still hated him- even though they were related.