BYUN BAEKHYUN: BEYOND DETECTIVE ▷ EXO GAMEBOOK

6

6

 

LOOK, A SQUIRREL!

 

“I’m sure,” declared Chen, “the noise we’d heard was from the northeast.”

So, as Fate had dictated, the two space goofs headed towards the source of the mysterious noise. Model student Chen was the one leading the search with Baekhyun following close—a mother duck and his ugly duckling. Baekhyun paced slower than his EXO-M counterpart. He was half-filled with mistrust about Chen’s sudden change of plans. But deep inside him, the sudden change was exciting in a strange way. Chen was right: the noise was compellingly violent. What happened? Who was screaming?

The creature they were chasing?

Or had it attacked someone?

So far, Baekhyun saw nothing else but the dark green of cone-shaped trees (we call them pine trees), the coarse grass blades, evil-looking ferns and small winged animals (flies? mosquitoes?). Some of these winged nuisances settled on the button-like peak of Baekhyun’s nose and caused unbearable itchiness. Throughout the journey, he scratched his nose like crazy, an act that Chen mistook for nose-picking. That wasn’t his job, to be honest. That was Chanyeol’s. Nevermind—that’s a different story altogether.

Baekhyun ran a finger over his nose. It had swollen badly. If he was Luhan, I would call him a red-nosed reindeer. But he was only Baekhyun, so I’ll just call him a funny clown. A blood-sucking vampire silverbird had attacked him. The silverbird (read: mosquito) dropped lifeless to the ground after indulging in his alien blood. EXO-L blood wasn’t a healthy cocktail for the poor bug.

The constant buzzing, chirping, cawing and hushed chattering that once captivated him later caused him to lose his sanity slowly. A while ago, landing on the fabled land of Earth felt like a religious experience. Not now. He waved his hand in front of his face, trying to chase any ambitious silverbird away. Silverbirds and red-eyed, green-bodied noisy bugs. Baekhyun wanted to get away from the Earth forest as soon as possible.

He wished that this first mission would end shortly… or the iFrost prototype was equipped with insecticide spray. Or both.

Baekhyun continued to walk until he knocked against Chen’s back. “Ow, Chen Chen! Why did you stop?” Baekhyun asked. His question fell into oblivious ears. Chen was standing still with his index finger pointed towards a stationary direction, though wavering, like the red needle of a compass. His face blanched and he was very quiet.

“What’s the matter?” Baekhyun’s voice trailed into silence as his eyes fell upon a sprawling marble-white figure lying in the middle of the clearing. The figure’s face betrayed no calmness. His turquoise eyes were kept open by shock. Death was a rude surprise for him. A handle-less knife stuck out of the man’s stomach. Torn, thick white fabric clung to his wound. The figure was a corpse of a man who looked around sixty or seventy. His stern face was already riddled with fine creases. His colourless upper lip was hidden under his stiff handlebar moustache. A black bowtie perched on his collar. A conservative kind of man?

What had killed him?

To top it all, a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed orange creature was standing on the dead man’s bruised left arm. Some of the torn thick white fabric stuck in its tail. Its strong twin buckteeth were busy cracking a nut. When the nut was cracked, the miniature orange beast feasted on it. Baekhyun gulped. Those pair of bright eyes darted here and there, suggesting hidden genius. The creature threw the empty nut—shell?—in the dead man’s open eyes. Thwack! It went bouncing off the man’s cloudy whites, rolled a little downwards and stayed by the edge of his tear duct.

Sneaking up the dead man’s collarbones, neck, open mouth (it nearly got its leg stuck between his teeth), and finally his nose, the creature pushed its tiny face towards the man’s and tapped his forehead with its solid knuckles. Tap, tap, tap. Knock, knock, who’s inside?—uh, oh, no one! The owner is dead! Ha-ha!

Then and there, the creature pulled out a nut from its cheeks and bashed one against his head!

The hollow knocking sound gave the creature a sinister aura. It looked satisfied. That dead man was a rotten nut. The forest has better ones in store. Knowing this, the squirrel (come on!) darted its bright eyes at the two nutcases.

Baekhyun felt his skin tingle.

Automatically, scared space goofs became space derps.

The squirrel dashed up Chen’s trousers and began to pop in and out of his uniform. Chen yelped and struggled. Its little limbs were all over him. Later, it made a cute shuffle dance behind his neck. Chen squirmed and hopped like a camelosaurus. “Omooo—save me! That thing is attacking me!” he screamed. His scream was bloodcurdling, eardrum-puncturing, ship-sinking, asteroid-blasting…

“What’s all the noise?”

A young man emerged from the pine trees. He was tall and athletic. He had a familiar face the two knew so well, but this time he was healthier, bursting with colours. Sun-kissed skin, full red lips, regular breathing, short black hair. Brooding eyes under bushy eyebrows stared at the half-alive Chen and relieved Baekhyun.

The squirrel scampered away, grabbing an acorn stuck in Chen’s left collar. It didn’t want Chen’s dear soul, it just wanted that acorn all along! Chen picked a stray torn white fabric from his shoulder. The squirrel might had brought it.

“Kris?” Baekhyun gawked at the newcomer. It was clear that this man wasn’t the Kris from their universe. This version of Kris was more robust and strong. No tubes attached. He’s a lookalike from an alternate universe. The minor difference aside, the two Krises looked remarkably identical. Like two peas in a pod. Like twins separated by universes. Like clones.

“I heard some noise from here.” Earth-Kris said. His voice wasn’t as hoarse. “I thought some bear had come for lunch.”

Chen kept the fabric in his pocket and looked at the Kris from head to toe. A menacing face? Check. Sturdy, tall and strong? Check. WHITE LAB COAT? Check.

Yes, Kris was clad in a thick white lab coat with a black shield-like emblem over his left chest.

A gentle nudge in the arm made Baekhyun glance sideways.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Baekhyun?” whispered Chen.

“I think I am, Chen Chen.” answered Baekhyun.

 

If you choose to approach Kris in a friendly way, go to 12. If you choose an all-and-out interrogation—please don’t! *puppy eyes*—go to 13. 

p.s dedicated to @jiyaynne for the rad awesome cover!