Super

31. single-shoulder shrug

It took the three some time to find the others, but when they did, they found them relatively unharmed—that is to say, alive.

Baekhyun was supporting a staggering Lucas when Taeyong came across them. He was bleeding badly, but there wasn't enough blood loss that he needed to be rushed to a medic immediately. Shao and Mark were in the parking lot, both knocked out and tied together, but it didn't take long to rouse them from their slumber.

"I can't believe I fainted," Mark said miserably, rubbing the bump on his forehead as he sat on the sidewalk, his other hand dangling lifelessly between his knees. "Before the fight even started!"

"It's not your fault, kiddo, someone attacked you," Taeyong reminded him with the gentleness of a mother hen, ruffling his hair as he finished tying a tourniquet to Lucas's arm. "Did you see who it was?"

"No, they were really fast," Mark said, a pout still resting on his lips, seemingly without permission. "And they came from, like, behind me, so it was a sneak attack more than anything. So I can't even say it was cool."

"It was very cool," Shao said. She had a cut on her temple from when the same person smashed a hard object over her head. "I mean, being hit over the head and tied together with someone? That's like, my childhood dream."

"It wasn't cool," Mark said, sounding upset but not convinced by his own conviction.

"Are you kidding? It was totally cool." She grinned. "They always take out the coolest people first because they're the hardest to defeat."

"I'm not a kid, you can't convince me with that logic," he said, but he sounded significantly brighter.

"I think I have a concussion, though," she said, frowning. She brought a hand up to the wound on her head, not quite touching it, but letting her fingers hover just in front of it. "I've never had a concussion before, though, so I can't be sure."

"Feeling disorientated isn't the same thing as having a concussion," Taeyong replied dryly. "Sit down, Shao."

"I am sitting down," she said with a scrunch of her nose, then got to her feet unsteadily. "I think I'm gonna fall if I take even a single step."

"Too bad, because you're going to have to," Baekhyun said as he entered the parking lot again, this time holding a piece of paper in his hands. "Ten borrowed the van, left a note saying that Chan was bleeding all over the place and needed to be taken to a hospital immediately."

"What?" Shao exclaimed.

"Who's Chan?" Mark mumbled.

"We could just take a cab," Taeyong said, shrugging.

"I think even a cab driver would be reluctant to carry six bloody adults around the city," Lucas said, then shook his head. His face had lost its color, but it had more to do with the amount of injuries on his face than emotion. "We'll have to walk."

"No need," Taemin said, looking up from his phone. He had a gash on his leg, too, but no one was attending to it, probably because he didn't exactly look approachable. The only acceptable candidate was Baekhyun, and he had been out van scouting. "I called Doyoung. He said he can pick us up, but that he'll be calling the police about this area soon and it's better if we get to a safe distance for the pick-up."

"Great. That's great," Shao said, but her sour tone didn't match her words. She threw up her hands in the air for a dramatic effect, then leaned against Taeyong. "Taeyong, carry me."

"No."

"Baekhyun, carry me."

Mark widened his eyes at Taeyong, trying to gesture to him in some cryptic sign language, but Taeyong wasn't looking. Baekhyun, not having the heart to say no, let Shao lean against him as the seven set out into the shadowy streets.