*****

I couldn't breathe. Darkness surrounded me and the smell of chemical sweetness assaulted my senses. I struggled, fighting against my captor but it was no use. My conscious was slowly slipping and I was outnumbered.

I didn't need my sight to confirm this since I could feel several hands holding down my body. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was a deep voice that said, "put him with the others, they're expecting him.

*****

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking several times before they adjusted to the dark. My body was stiff and I could feel the hard ground beneath me. I willed my limbs to move and I sat up, taking in my surroundings.

Surely this was a dream, not a dream but a nightmare. How could I be here? Only a few hours ago I was tucked away in bed but now all I could see was black metal bars surrounding me. I was in a jail cell.

Panic rushed through my body and instinct took over as terror penetrated my mind. Loudly, I shuffled back as far as I could until I hit a wall. The feeling of the concrete against my back rattled through my bones as I realized I needed to find a way out instead of sitting in the corner like a cowering idiot.

Pushing aside my fear, I rushed forward to the cell door but stopped short. I realized I had no real knowledge of prison escapes or what to do in this scenario. It wasn't something I was taught, like I had been about fire drills and earthquakes because this situation was entirely absurd.

How was I supposed to get out? The space between the bars were far too small to fit through and cell door wasn't budging without a key. There were no windows to be seen or even a crack in the wall behind, I was only met with darkness and silence.

I rattled the door becoming desperate, pushing and pulling with the little strength I had. The metal clanged loudly but I didn't care, in that moment I was beyond logical thought. I frantically screamed, "help! Is anyone there? Please if you can hear me, please help!"

"It's no use," a voice replied. I whipped my head around in the direction of the noise and realized I wasn't alone. In my panic, I hadn't seen the boy sitting in the next cell staring at me. "Every one of us had the exact same reaction but it's no use, you might as well save your energy."

I edged closer, crouching so I was eye level with him. As I neared him, I noticed he looked around my age—nineteen—with symmetrical features and fair skin. He was still handsome even though he looked worn and dirty, making me assume he had been here a while.

Uneasiness spiked through me, I didn't want to end up like him. It seemed as if the spark of life had been sucked out of him and there was no joy behind his dark eyes. Confused I echoed, "every one of us?"

He let out a sigh. "Look around you," he said, so I did. In every cell held a boy, similar to me, with black hair and Asian skin making me wonder if they were also Korean. They were watching me in silence with cautious gazes and I started feeling wary of the attention so I took a step back.

They all looked varying shades of worn, some worse than others but the boy who had spoken earlier looked the worst of them all. When my gaze landed back on him he explained, "I was the first one they took. Each day they've brought someone new and locked them in a cell. 8 days later, you've arrived, filling the last cell."

I was the last boy taken. 8 days later? There must be nine of us then. I looked around, counting the cells and confirmed my assumed calculation. What would they want with nine boys? Why were we taken? There were too many questions filling my brain but instead I asked, "who are you?"

"Suho," he said simply and I realized his name stood for guardian. "And you?"                 

Clearing my throat, I replied, "Chanyeol."

He assessed me and I wanted to shy away from his focus but instead I stayed put. I didn't know who he was or why he had also been taken but there must've been a reason.

There had to be a reason because I couldn't accept the possibility of this being a random choosing. I didn't want to believe that this was the hand fate had dealt me.

"Do you know why we're here?" I asked, hoping Suho would have an answer.

He opened his mouth to reply but a booming voice interrupted him, "play time is over boys."

Suho quickly stood up in attention and the other boys followed suit. Unsure what was happening, I stayed frozen in my crouched position.

"Stand up!" Suho whispered sharply to me and then added full of warning, "or else you'll get beat."

At those words, my body instantly reacted and fear propelled my movements. I had already been kidnapped, I had no idea what else these people were capable of. A man entered the room and stopped in front of my cell.

"Well, well look what we have here," he taunted with a smirk. I was surprised because he spoke Korean well even though he was Caucasian. "Finally, now that everyone is present, the real fun can begin."

Shivers ran through my body but I told myself not to cower from his gaze, so I met it in defiance. This man was the definition of huge. I was tall but he was at least 6ft 5 and had muscles bulging in places I didn't even think was possible. Not only was his size intimating but the mean grin on his face was even more so.

"I am Vic Archer and I'm here to keep you boys in check, so you'll be seeing my lovely face very often," he said as he slowly paced up and down the cells. "First, let's go over a few rules that will make everyone's stay here a lot easier. Rule number one: you will address me with full respect at all times and only call me Sir. Rule two: don't step out of line or do anything stupid, for example, try to escape. You won't succeed. Lastly, rule three: behave and follow orders. If you obey then I promise you won't have to feel any unnecessary pain, it's a win-win for everyone."

A win-win for everyone? Anger shimmered beneath the surface and I clenched my hands into fists trying to conceal it. I was shocked how well I was handling this situation but I realized my anger was just acting as a defense mechanism. All my other emotions were hidden behind the heat of my rage and I was grateful. I didn't want to feel fear or panic. I wanted to be strong even though on the inside, I wasn't.

I didn't know how to process any of this, everything was happening too fast. Part of my brain was still in denial and I was trying to convince myself this wasn't real. That I was still at home with my family and I hadn't been kidnapped and caged in a jail cell.

A loud bang jolted me from my thoughts, bringing me back to reality. Vic had hit a long black baton against the cell opposite me.

"Why am I not hearing an answer?" he thundered. Instantly a chorus of unsynchronized voices replied, "yes Sir."

"Louder," he demanded. We repeated the phrase, loud and clear and he nodded once, satisfied.

Suddenly men dressed in black entered the room and even though not all of them matched Vic's height, they were nearly as big in size. They proceeded to open the cell doors and forcefully drag us out. After we were restrained, they brought us to the center of the room, so we were standing in a line.

"Follow me," Vic ordered quietly and we began walking. As we moved, the men nudged us with their batons when they thought we were too slow but my focus was elsewhere. I told myself to memorize every detail of the route since it could be a way out.

We went up a staircase and walked along several hallways. I concluded that our cells had to be underground since it was all concrete and there was no light whatsoever. However, past the stairs it became more modern. It was still dark and dirty but at least there was some light coming through the rare windows we passed.

Finally, we entered a large room and I could tell we were in an old warehouse of some sort. It was bright though, too bright. The florescent lights shining off the white sterile surfaces caused my eyes to squint whilst waiting for them to adjust.

On one side of the room, there were beds lined up with an IV drip beside each one. I was smart enough to figure out we were about to be experimented on. There was no other explanation.

We were lined up in the middle of the room, facing the man named Vic. There were guards everywhere and people scattered around, dressed in white lab coats. The moment we entered, the answer I was searching for, became clear.

For the past nine days, I had raked my brain for a reason, questioning why I had been taken. With little knowledge of the situation and endless possibilities, I nearly went crazy trying to figure it out.

Now that I knew why, I felt no relief whatsoever. My attention went straight to the syringes filled with blue liquid and dread blossomed in my gut for what was to come.

A woman walked up next to Vic and he bowed low, in a respectful manner. This caught me by surprised, seeing someone as large as him acting submissive towards a petite Asian woman. With a slight wave of her hand, the room fell silent and Vic took a step back. He had been dismissed.

Her black hair was tightly slicked back into a bun and there wasn't a wrinkle to be seen on her pristine lab coat. From the proper way she dressed to the graceful movements she made, everything about her screamed composure.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Choi, head of Experiment EXO," she greeted warmly with a smile. "You may be wondering why you were chosen for this. Simply because it is your destiny. Fate and science have brought us here today and believe it or not, this is a moment that will go down in history. You boys are very special, very special indeed. Out of the 7 billion people in this world, only the nine of you carry the EXO gene, something I discovered by pure luck. You see a decade ago, I was just a doctor but one day a young boy came to my hospital and that changed everything."

Her eyes met mine and I realized she was talking about me. Even though I was shocked, I showed no reaction, trying to keep my expression neutral. I stared at her intently but I didn't recognize her at all. Was I too young to remember or had she changed entirely?

Finally, she looked away from me and continued, "the boy's mother explained that her son had been feeling faint so she thought there was a chance he had anemia like his father. I tested his blood and he didn't have anemia but to my surprise the results were outstanding, like nothing I'd ever seen before. My curiosity got the better of me and I became obsessed. I ran experiment after experiment on it and discovered unimaginable things. The nine of you are truly filled with limitless possibilities."

The look on her face was one of tremendous joy and that alone was scarier than all of the guards in the room. My instincts told me that this woman, albeit small, could inflict pain in the worst ways possible. Looking at the bigger picture, physical suffering was insignificant because no matter how many hits I took, my body would heal. But my mind wouldn't.

This entire situation was my fault, so in a way I deserved it. Everything they were going to do to us, was on me. If I hadn't gone to her hospital, she wouldn't have discovered this gene in the first place and the nine of us wouldn't be standing in this room today. We would be anywhere but here and most importantly, we would be safe. 

 Although, I was just a child, at eleven-years-old how was I supposed to know that I would be the cause of my own suffering. Also, it was my mother's decision to take me to the hospital, not mine. When you're a kid you do what your parents tell you to, so I had no choice in the matter. 

Every moment that brought us here today somehow didn't seem like a coincidence. Since if a slight change in the past were to occur, a completely different story would have been told. If I had gone to a different hospital or if another Doctor had been assigned to me, this could have been avoided entirely. 

There were too many what ifs but they were all useless. I knew one thing for sure and that was the past would never change. Right now, there was only the present and the future. However, both looked bleak. Leading up to this point, there had been too many variables that had fallen into place for the nine of us to be gathered. It made me think maybe Doctor Choi was right, maybe this was our fate. 

"I gave up my whole life for this project and you wouldn't believe the things I had to do to get here. Anyway, enough about that, it's all in the past now. Finally, I have the nine of you right where I want. So let's begin the experiment and see what you really are capable of," Doctor Choi concluded, keeping her gentle smile in place.

She was probably around thirty-five-years-old but even-so she was still very youthful. There were no wrinkles on her face and her skin was milky white. Some would even describe her as beautiful but I knew it was all a façade. Her beauty was a trick because lying underneath it I could tell was something ugly and evil.

Suddenly, someone lunged towards her whilst yelling in anger, "you have no right to do this!"

Vic stepped forward protectively and whipped out the baton from before. However, I realized it wasn't standard as electricity cackled from the weapon. He struck the attacker right in the stomach, making him crumble to the ground with a cry. Tremors ran through the boy's body and now that he was lying curled up on the ground, I could distinguish that it was Baekhyun.

After me, he had been the second taken. The two of us had spent the most time together and from what I could I tell, he was extremely bright. His personality was cheerful and funny which made him likeable. Even in this horrible situation, he had been able to make us laugh.

He wasn't always like that though. He was unexpectantly serious when he wanted to be and I could also tell that he was angry. His rage got in the way of logical thinking and it made him impulsive. I realized it the day we met, when the guards had come with food and he had rebelliously hurled it back at the cell door.

Nobody moved and the rest of us just stared as the scene unfolded. I was holding my breath waiting for reassurance that he was alright. Slowly Baekhyun tried to get up but his arms gave out from underneath him. Vic nudged his body with his foot like he was a piece of trash on the ground and I didn't want to watch anymore.

"Remember the rules? Respect and obey," he stated venomously.                                    

"Respect is earned," Baekhyun croaked. Even in his weak state he was still talking back. I didn't know whether it was admirable or just plain stupid. He added in a clearer voice, "plus why would I follow orders from a mutt like you?"

Rage flashed across Vic's face and he kicked him in the stomach so hard I was surprised I didn't hear the sound of bone cracking. An ear-piercing scream came out of Baekhyun but a moment later it was cut off by the current running through him. Vic had delivered another blow with the baton.

The look of pain on his face was too much to bare and I couldn't stand it. I had a strong urge to protect him because just standing by and watching was completely against my principles. Also, guilt weighed down on me, trying to swallow me whole as I thought: this was my doing.

On impulse I lunged forward just as Vic was about to strike again but he paused when saw me. I covered Baekhyun with my body in a defensive stance, not worrying about the consequences. An ache pierced my chest when I felt the electric vibrations from his trembling body. I shouted, "STOP! Just stop. Please, I beg of you."

I was ripped away from him by two guards, each holding me up on either side. I struggled against them, yelling at them to let me go, but it was no use. They were both nearly twice my size and since I've not had a proper meal in days, I was too weak.

Vic raised his hands and slowly clapped. Once. Twice. Three times.                                   

The sound was deafening to my ears and I prepared myself for pain.             

"How courageous of you. Now this is what I call real friendship," Vic mocked. He raised the baton towards me and I started fighting harder trying to escape the grip of the guards. "Well since you're offering to take the bullet for him, I'll make it count."

The pain was instant. I couldn't do anything but feel. My mind went blank and my body became limp as uncontrollable spasms rocked through me. I wanted to throw up but there was nothing in me, my stomach was empty. I could hear someone screaming in the background but as I became more alert, I realized it was me.

"Enough," a female voice ordered and I assumed it was Doctor Choi. The guards finally let go of me and I dropped to the ground with a thud. I stayed there unable to move, waiting for the pain to subside.                                                                                                   

At the snap of her fingers, I was being lifted from the floor. There was no fight left in me. I couldn't even feel the pain anymore as numbness spread through me. I was set down on something soft and I knew it had to be the hospital bed. The experiment was about to start.

They strapped me in with thick belts that were attached to bed, making sure all movement was restricted. I turned my head to the side to see the same was happening to all nine of us.

I knew there would be no point in resisting. There was no way I could break free from the restraints, especially in my exhausted state. I just laid there staring up at the ceiling, hoping for a miracle, hoping that someone would burst through the door and save us all. I prayed and begged, if there was a God or an Almighty being out there, now was the time to show up. 

But in the end, no one came to save us. We were on our own. It wasn't like in the books and movies where the good guys win, this was real life. This was our reality.

I had never felt pain like that before. The experiment hadn't even begun and I had already experienced the worst of it.

I knew it was stupid of me to insult him and I knew I would only get hurt but I didn't regret talking back. I needed these people to realize I wasn't just a weak boy that would easily submit to their every order. I wouldn't go down without a fight and I would do everything in my power to escape this place, even if it killed me.

Although, as I laid on the hospital bed, the pain was still ever-present and I didn't want to hurt anymore. I said I was willing to risk my life but deep down I was a coward because I wasn't willing to go through the pain that came with death. However, between torture and death, the latter was always the better option.

If by some miracle, I survived, I knew after today I would never be the same again. I wouldn't be this innocent and cheerful boy anymore. This would change me, in more ways than I could imagine. I just didn't know how and if it would be for better or for worse.

I wasn't hopeful though because I knew the odds weren't in my favour. I couldn't even think of an outcome that would beneficial. If this experiment actually succeeded, that only meant I wouldn't be human anymore. I would be an abnormality, alienated from the only species I've ever known to be.

One by one, images assaulted my brain: claws, wings, fur, fangs. Suddenly I was hit with an absurd thought. They weren't going to turn me into a werewolf or some mystical woodland creature, were they? That couldn't be their grand plan.

As my imagination ran wild, I sent a prayer out asking for luck, hoping they wouldn't turn me into something lame. Anything but a vampire, I begged. Those types of characters were fictional for a reason and they should stay that way. Also, surely that wasn't even possible? At this point I had no idea.

This was so ridiculous and surreal, to the point I started to find it funny. I was strapped to a bed waiting to be experimented on and wishing that I wouldn't turn into a blood sucking monster. A chuckle bubbled out of me and then I couldn't stop the hysterical laughter that followed. Was I going crazy? I think I had finally lost the plot. God, this was really bad.

A Caucasian man in a white lab coat approached me holding a tray with one single syringe. Fear assaulted my senses and I sobered instantly seeing the large needle. I tried to ignore the heavy feeling settling into my chest and I put on a brave face. The man didn't speak to me and hardly acknowledged my presence as he flittered around me.

"Every day you will be injected with a substance I developed called DD. Since I only had a small amount of blood samples to work with, we don't know the full extent of its effectiveness yet. Hopefully for your sake though, it will quickly activate the genes. If it doesn't, we will just have to keep trying every day, until success is achieved," Doctor Choi explained.

Even though I couldn't see her, anger coursed through my body at the sound of her voice. This was all her doing, we were being treated like guinea pigs in a lab, for the sake of her curiosity.

The man pulled up my sleeve and I looked away while he injected the blue serum into my body. I was surprised at how easy and painless it was, the only sting came from the needle. Once he was done, he left my side and I let out a breath of relief. However, that was when the first scream sounded.

My attention was pulled towards the noise and I stared in shock. I recognized him instantly from his cat like eyes and cute features, he was Xiumin. He had been lying still next to me but now his body was arching off the bed he occupied, twisting in ways I've never seen before.

His muscles bulged from battling the restraints securing him and every tendon in his body was rigidly stretched. I saw red and noticed his fingers were curled so tightly that his palms had started to bleed.

What really caught my eye though, was the vivid color of his veins. They were an unnatural shade of blue and it was even more prominent against his pale skin. It was as if the serum was dying his blood. Pain had possessed his body and his features were no longer pleasant as his face became distorted into an expression of pure agony.

Chaos broke loose and screams filled the room. It was like a chain reaction had been set off and every boy had become cursed with the torment DD inflicted.

It started with a tingling feeling as the serum slowly spread through my body. Something abnormal and unnatural had entered, moving and infusing into my blood. As the foreign particles hugged my cells, I could feel a slight shift in my anatomy.

Abruptly, pain exploded everywhere. I was naive to think I had already experienced the worst of it because what I had felt before was nothing compared to this. I couldn't even describe it.

It wasn't like a kick or punch, where the pain only affected one area. Instead every single fragment of my make-up hurt. My pulse was rapidly increasing and all I could hear was the thumping of my heartbeat. I could feel my blood pressure rising while my heart was trying to pump blood around my body, at a rate that was too fast. It was overworking and I was afraid it would stop functioning all together.

The pain was excruciating and I could feel my temperature rising. I was burning up, fast. It wasn't a heat like fire though, it was blinding, like light.

I felt as though every piece of me was being torn apart and rebuilt. Something was definitely changing from within and I couldn't bare the pain anymore. I wanted to crawl out of my body and rip my skin from the inside out but I couldn't even think to move. My mind was adamant, convincing me that I was paralyzed but at the same time I could feel my limbs thrashing uncontrollably. I just wanted it to stop but it didn't and I was afraid it never would.

In that moment, I hoped death would come soon because it would be a blessing. I begged for mercy, to be freed from the suffering. Although luckily for me, I didn't think I would survive this.

Out of nowhere, a image came to my mind, illuminating the darkness from within. Light surrounded me and I looked up to see the brightest star in the universe shining down on me. It was immense and undoubtedly the most exquisite thing I've ever seen. 

It felt so close, too close and I reached towards the star, enchanted. As I bathed in the brilliance and beauty of it, I experienced the true feeling of glory but it didn't last long. Suddenly, the light expanded, becoming too intense, burning straight through me and turning my bones to ash and dust.

With one last scream, I heard the sound of glass shattering and electricity humming.

And then there was nothing.