The Ace (Stray Kids Kim Seungmin)

2

The shed was basically their equivalent to a house. It was more of a cottage rather than a shed but the wood was rotting and some areas had to be patched up with bits of metal sheets. The windows were rusted shut with flies lining the windowsill, some dead and others dying. On one side of the room, were thin, ragged blankets that were carefully placed on the wooden floors of the shed. On the other side, was a fireplace were six girls huddled around, eating the remains of the wolf they had managed to kill less than a week prior.

Aira was stirring a watery soup in a pot over the fire, assuring the girls that it was the best she could find that day.

"I lost my lunch today," Brea confessed, gobbling down at the meat. "Hope whichever lucky wolf finds it, treasures it."

"You can't keep loosing your lunch, Brea. The only reason you even have food is because we work long hours in that scorching sun just so you can eat. Not to mention the fact we all almost killed ourselves getting this scrawny excuse of a wolf," Mia grumbled.

"Go easy on her," Aira tried. "It's only the second time it's happened."

"If you were the one that wrestled that canine to the ground and almost had your face ripped off your body, then maybe your opinion would be valuable. But no, you were in here keeping yourself safe so you didn't do anything to get that stupid wolf in front of us right now. I have a say because I actually risked my life unlike the rest of you muts. I have a right to be angry. Heck, I have a right to snap her neck right now. Y'all are just lucky I haven't yet."

"Shut it," Harri growled, eyes piercing into Mia's skin. "We all play our part around here." She paused, glancing at Melody with a scowl. "Some more than others but the point is we do things. So what if you killed one measly wolf? You only feed the livestock all day while we're out there digging and finding material all day-"

"That measly wolf has fed us for the last few days-"

"I said shut it, Mia, and unless you want me to make you quiet, I suggest you listen. No one here is going to kill anyone." She glanced at Melody again. "And no one is going to leave. Got it?"

"But-" Mia started but immediately gave up when Harri awarded her a glare.

"Object and I'll tie you down to a chair and stuff my sock in your mouth."

"Harri," Aira uttered, her soft voice contrasting Harri's husky one. "Don't you think you are taking this a bit out of proportion?"

"Same applies to you, Aira. All of you. Now, seeing that no one wants my sock in their mouth, I'm going to bed. Good night."

***

Four hours passed and the night was filled with nothing but the howling of wolves as they searched the area the girls had walked so freely on during the day. But apart from that, the night was quiet which made Rayne's shriek loud as it echoed around the shed.

"Something is wrong."

Melody and her were the only ones awake at that time and though overwhelmed with fatigue, Mel still managed to acknowledge the statement with a simple, "Dream?"

"Yeah." She stayed silent for a while before speaking once more. "Mel, you're our Ace. How come you never have any dreams?"

In comparison to others, Aces were seen as more aware of the situation presented to them. Saying she never had the chilling dreams was a lie but it was the only way to keep her from having to share what she saw. Everyone else's dreams are distorted and hard to figure out but Melody got clear flashbacks and sometimes even visions. 

Harri and Aira were the only ones that knew she also had dreams but only Harri bothered Mel about them. Harri was a King. They are basically the leaders of the group until the Ace arrives. Maybe it was the fact that her title was stripped off her so easily or she genuinely detested her, but it was clear Harri didn't like anything about Mel.

In her defense, for an Ace and therefore a leader, Melody was very secretive. No wonder Harri didn't trust her.

"I don't know, Ray," She responded with a soft sigh. "Maybe it's better that way."

"Do you think Aira was right? Are we ever going to get out of here?"

"I hope so. Look, it's late and I'm exhausted. Can we discuss this tomorrow?"

Silence filled the night. Even at that moment, the wolves seemed quiet, waiting as Rayne carefully picked out her words.

"That's the thing," her voice was soft, a whisper more to herself than Melody but the latter heard nonetheless. "I don't think there'll be a tomorrow."