[Neo Zone] Population: 23 Kids

The Graveyard

Jaemin clung to Jaehyun's arm as they walked through the graveyard with Taeil and Haechan. The sun was just starting to set over the treetops, casting shadows that covered the ground. The sound of the leaves rustling as they walked weren't helping with the spooky atmosphere, and neither was Haechan when he kept trying to scare Jaemin.

Taeil and Jaehyun had thought going to the local cemetery would be a great way for Taeil to come up with some older names for a story he had to write for class, and Haechan tagged along dragging Jaemin. Everyone else would've most definitely come with them, but they left before anyone could realize they were leaving.

"This guy had thirteen kids, but then his wife's headstone says she had three. I bet he had a lot of explaining to do in the afterlife." Jaehyun pointed out, and Taeil wrote that down in his notebook.

"What about this one? She's got a cool name." Haechan pointed to another headstone down a different row, and Taeil crossed over to write her name down too.

"How much longer do we have to be here?" Jaemin was shaking, whether that was from the cold or how scared he was, no one could tell.

"I only need a couple more names. Shouldn't take long." Taeil wrote down another one as he read the engraved headstone. The kid had only been eight when they died, resulting in a smaller headstone so everyone could see a child was buried there.

"It's weird thinking one day we'll just be words written on a stone. When everyone who remembers us dies. And then even those words get hard to read and then we're just a stone marking something decayed in the ground." Jaehyun commented as he strained to read the eroded words on the headstone in front of him.

"Way to be depressing."

"Jaemin! Stop shaking! It's not even that dark and scary!" Haechan teased.

"I'm not scared, just cold." Jaemin huddled closer to Jaehyun, if that was even possible, and the older adjusted him arm so it was around him instead of being tugged down.

"Alright, I've got what I need, we can leave now." Taeil closed his notebook and put it in his back pocket along with his pen.

Jaemin was more than pleased to leave the cemetery, but then Haechan stopped.

"Did you hear that?"

"You're not funny." Jaemin pouted.

"No, I think I hear something too." Jaehyun strained his ears, trying to see if he was imaging the sound of someone chanting or if it was real.

"Hyungggg-"

"Someone's definitely here." And much to Jaemin's disapproval, Taeil turned around and led the group further into the cemetery.

They snuck around and tried to stay as silent as possible, Jaehyun's hand now over Jaemin's mouth so he couldn't whine and ruin their stealth mission. Haechan's ducking between headstones and rolling was probably unnecessary, though.

From their view around a tree the four of them spotted two kids sitting in the grass. One looked like he had a voodoo doll next to him and the other was watching him chant with wide eyes.

"Oh beloved spirits, we reach out to you today in peace and cooperation. I have brought you the son of two souls you have recently taken. He is a great pain to me and I wish to sacrifice him to gain the favor of Satan so that he can accept me as his apprentice." The kid opened his eyes and motioned for the other to lay down in the circle he had drawn in the grass. "Please accept my offering."

"Should we stop this?" Jaehyun whispered to Taeil.

"It's probably a game they're- he's got a match we're going in."

Taeil and Jaehyun ran forward from where they were hiding, Jaehyun picking up the kid that was about to be burned while Taeil took the match from the other and blew it out.

"Hey!"

"You were about to set the whole forest on fire! Do you see how many dry leaves are out here?" Taeil threw his hands about to motion to the whole leaf covered ground.

Haechan approached the scene with Jaemin now clinging onto him, staring at the kid who was trying to preform the ritual.

"I think I know you."

"No you don't. No one knows me. Now can I please have my sacrifice back?" The kid looked over to Jaehyun who was still checking if the other kid was okay, even brushing leaves out of his hair for him.

"We can't just let you kill him." Taeil looked like he wasn't used to bombarding in on strangers business, but he was doing good for a first-timer.

"We had a deal. He was going to see his parents, I was going to get an apprenticeship with Satan. None of that involved you."

"I do know you! You're that kid that scares all the teachers! Renjun, right?"

"Okay maybe you do know me. But why's pinky so cold?"

Jaemin attempted to straighten up and stop shaking, but that didn't work. He really should've brought a jacket with him.

"He's not cold, he's scared."

"Well, I'm taking Xiaojun back to the cafe so you can't kill him. You can come with us if you want, I guess." Jaehyun interrupted, standing up with the kid who still looked shaken.

"Xiaojun? That's your name?" Renjun asked, completely surprised.

"You didn't know his name?" Taeil questioned.

"The less I knew, the less I was involved."

"You're weird. I'm taking your voodoo doll." Haechan took it before Renjun could protest, running out of the cemetery before Renjun could stop him. The perfect excuse to get him to come back with them to the cafe.

Jaemin switched so he was clinging onto Taeil since Jaehyun had Xiaojun right by his side, and the four of them walked back at a faster than normal pace just in case Renjun was going to kill Haechan now.