Chapter Text

Chapter 1: The Lab

Chemicals, corrosion, and a terrible stench pervaded the basement laboratory just underneath a local clinic hospital. Pulses of red were painted on the walls as dim emergency lights flashed throughout the hallway. 

Bodies. There are too many of them.

Some were still fastened to metal beds with straps. Others, their medical robes drenched in dried blood, had fallen to the ground. Syringes and broken glass vials were scattered over the floor like abandoned weapons. This site seemed weird, even for a gang like ATEEZ, who had witnessed innumerable crime scenes.

Jeong Yunho's footsteps resonated quietly as he walked ahead of the others, carefully and precisely sweeping across the bottom corridor. It was his responsibility as the group's scout to inspect each chamber before alerting the others.

A quiet crackling sound came from his earpiece. "Anything?" Through the comm, Kim Hongjoong's composed voice was enquired.

Another area containing toppled equipment was surveyed by Yunho. "Dead ends. Assuming most were unsuccessful experiments," he muttered.

He moved further down the corridor in continued quiet steps. Then he discovered a door that was slightly open, unlike the others. Beyond was a separate chamber. More cleaner…less destroyed. Inside were two containment rooms, each sealed behind thick reinforced glass panels that see into both of the rooms. 

Yunho stepped closer. The first room to his left was empty. The bed sheets were thrown around like someone had struggled there or even just woke up there recently. A small plush toy lay on the ground beside the bed, its ear torn slightly. The door to the room was left open, swaying a bit. Someone had been there…

Yunho frowned slightly before turning his head to the other room, which was locked shut. A keycard panel blinked red beside the door, however it wasn’t what made Yunho freeze in his step. It was the figure that was sitting on the bed inside. A child, too small to belong in a place like this. The boy sat quietly with a thick book resting on his lap, his fingers moving slowly across the page, brushing over raised dots. Braille…

The small boy’s hair was slightly wavy, short brown hair falling over his forehead. He wore a simple white hospital gown with shorts underneath, the sleeves being too big on him. But it was the boy’s eyes that hooked Yunho’s attention.

Grey. Not cloudy from an illness, but the unmistakable dull grey of someone who had not seen the world yet. He’s…blind…

A quiet gasp left Yunho’s mouth and echoed slightly in the room. Which made the boy’s head snap up instantly, his body stiffened. 

“Hello?” The child called out nervously, his voice soft yet cautious. “Who’s there? Is someone there?” 

The boy quickly closed his book, carefully placing it beside him like something precious. He tried to stand from his bed, but the moment his feet touched the floor, his knees buckled. He collapsed forward with a quiet gasp. 

Yunho instinctively stepped closer to the glass. “Hey! Are you okay?” Yunho blurted out. 

Inside the room, the child froze. He turned his head towards the voice, not quite facing Yunho exactly, just slightly to the left as his eyes searched emptily through the air. Slowly, carefully, the boy began crawling across the floor towards the sound, each movement hesitant. His small hand eventually touched the cold glass wall. The boy flinched at the contact before sliding his hand upwards along it, trying to find where the voice was coming from. 

“...You sound different.” The child said quietly, as his fingers pressed lightly against the glass. “...You’re not…one of the doctors.” 

Yunho’s chest tightened, his eyes drifted behind the boy’s thin sleeve, the taller could see old needle marks scattered across his arm. Too many for what he presumed, an eleven year old. 

The boy tilted his head, trying to locate Yunho’s voice by sound. “...Did they send someone new?” No accusation in his voice, rather just tired curiosity. 

Yunho swallowed. “No…” he said gently. 

His answer made the young boy’s brow furrow slightly. “...Then who are you?”

A pause filled the room, Yunho slowly crouched so he was closer to the boy’s level through the glass. “We’re here to shut this place down.”  

Silence.

The boy's fingers curled up against the glass a little. “Shut it down?” He said in a barely audible whisper. Then he uttered a question that made Yunho's heart ache.

“Does that mean that the screaming will stop?”

Yunho froze. The other members had entirely stopped talking in the communications. Everyone had heard that.

The younger went on quietly. "There used to be someone in the room next to mine, but yesterday they stopped making noise.”

Yunho cast a quick glance into the vacant room containing the stuffed animal. His jaw clenched. Abruptly, the child spoke once more. "Will you also be leaving?" Now his voice was a little shaky. "Everyone eventually departs..." 

“No,” Yunho said firmly, making the boy’s head lift. “We’re not leaving you here.”

For the first time, the boy looked genuinely surprised. “…You’re not?”

Yunho stood up slowly, already turning toward the hallway. “I’m getting the keycard to get you out of here.”

In the comms, Yunho’s voice turned deadly calm. “Captain.” A pause. “We’ve got a survivor.”

Silence filled the channel for a moment. Then Hongjoong’s voice came through—low and dangerous. “Understood.”

Another pause. “Bring the kid out.” His tone darkened. “And burn the rest of this place to the ground.”

Inside the room, the boy still had his hand pressed against the glass. “…Are you still there?” he asked softly.

Yunho glanced back at him. “…Yeah, I will be back soon, just wait for a bit.” Yunho replied.

The boy relaxed slightly. “…Okay.”

He sat quietly on the floor again, fingers resting on the glass where Yunho had been standing in front of. “…I’ll wait.”

~ ~ ~

The hallway felt longer on the way back. Dim red lights blinked overhead as Yunho moved quickly through the underground corridors, stepping over shattered glass and lifeless bodies. Somewhere in the lab, alarms were already beginning to flicker faintly.

But Yunho focused on one thing. Finding a keycard. 

He checked through everything that he could get his hands on. 

Drawers. 

Cabinets. 

Fallen clipboards that had slip pockets. 

Even the pockets of dead staff members.

The smell of chemicals clung to the air, sharp enough to sting the nose. His patience was starting to thin.

“Anything?” Hongjoong’s voice asked quietly through the comm.

“Still searching,” Yunho muttered. He crouched beside another fallen scientist, carefully checking the lab coat pockets. Nothing. He moved to the next body.

Then the next. Finally—

His fingers brushed against plastic. Yunho pulled out a small white keycard. “Got it,” he breathed.

Just as he began to stand and head back to where the child was. A sound echoed down the hallway. A wet, rattling cough that made Yunho freeze in his spot. Slowly turning his head toward the sound. Further down the corridor, one of the lab room doors creaked open. A figure stumbled out. The body moved wrong. Jerky, unbalanced. Its hospital gown was soaked in dried blood, head twitching unnaturally, then the head snapped toward Yunho. Its jaw hung open as a guttural snarl ripped from its throat.

And it ran. Yunho’s instincts fired instantly. His gun was already raised before the creature reached him.

BANG.

The shot echoed through the corridor, and the figure collapsed instantly, sliding across the cold floor before going still. Silence returned.

Yunho exhaled slowly. “…Yeah,” he muttered under his breath. “Definitely burning this place down.” He didn’t waste another second. Turning sharply, he sprinted back toward the containment room.

~ ~ ~

Inside the glass room, the child was still waiting, now sitting on the bed again, the thick braille book clutched gently in his arms. His head lifted the moment he heard footsteps approaching but he didn’t say anything to confirm. The door panel beeped. Yunho quickly swiped the keycard, and a green light blinked, and the lock clicked. For the first time in who knew how long— the door opened. Yunho paused at the doorway for a second, the room felt strangely quiet, smaller than he expected.

Then he stepped inside slowly. “Hey…” Yunho said gently.

The child’s head turned immediately toward his voice. “…You came back,” the boy said softly.

Yunho crouched slightly so he wouldn’t tower over him. “Yeah. I told you I would. I'm not going to leave you.”

A small silence followed between the two. Then Yunho asked softly, “What’s your name?”

The boy hugged the book a little closer. “…Jongho.” His voice was quiet, careful. Like he wasn’t used to introducing himself, Yunho smiled faintly.

“That’s a good name.” He placed a hand over his chest. “I’m Yunho, you can call me Hyung though, if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

Jongho repeated it quietly. “…Yunho…hyung.”

Another pause filled the room.

Then Yunho spoke again. “I’m here to rescue you.” The words hung in the air and for a long moment, Jongho didn’t respond. The boy’s fingers slowly traced the edge of the braille book.

“…Rescue,” he murmured. The word sounded unfamiliar on his tongue. Then he whispered something so softly it almost broke Yunho’s heart.

“…No one’s ever said that before.”

Yunho swallowed, almost biting the inside of his cheek to not break his calm composure.

Jongho slowly set the book down on the bed. Then carefully pushed himself to his feet. His legs trembled slightly, but this time they held. 

Step. 

Step. 

Small, uncertain steps as he followed the direction of Yunho’s voice.

Yunho instinctively stepped closer. “You don’t have to walk,” Yunho said gently. “I can carry you instead, there's lots of sharp items on the floor before your room.”

Jongho hesitated, though just for a second. Then he nodded slightly, raising his small arms up. Yunho carefully lifted him under his shoulders and into his arms. The moment Jongho felt Yunho’s warmth and steady hold. The child instinctively clung to him. Small fingers gripping Yunho’s jacket. Like he was afraid Yunho might disappear. Yunho adjusted his hold protectively.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”

For the first time, Jongho relaxed against him. “…You’re warm,” the boy whispered sleepily. 

Suddenly.

ALARMS SCREAMED.

Red emergency lights exploded to life across the hallway.

A mechanical voice echoed through the facility.

“Containment breach detected.”

“Emergency release activated.”

Yunho’s eyes widened. “…What the?” His arms slightly tightened around Jongho.

From deeper within the facility— Doors began unlocking automatically. Metal locks disengaging. Cells opening.

Then came the sounds.

Coughing.

Snarling.

Heavy breathing.

Growling.

Bones cracking.

Bodies dragging themselves across floors. Yunho stepped into the hallway just as several figures slowly rose from where they had collapsed earlier.

Their heads twisted unnaturally, eyes wild, their limps and movements feral and twitchy. The chemicals inside their bodies had ‘reactivated.’

Jongho flinched slightly in Yunho’s arms. “What the hell is that?” Yunho whispered under his breath while adjusting Jongho in his arms more securely. 

One of the creatures turned to stop dead stares at the taller male, before suddenly lunging toward them. Yunho’s instincts screamed.

Run.

Fucking run.

He turned and bolted down the hallway, tightening his hold on Jongho. Gunshots echoed as he fired behind him while sprinting.

“Captain!” Yunho barked into the comm. “We’ve got a containment breach!”

Static crackled for a bit. Then Hongjoong’s voice returned immediately. “How bad?”

Yunho glanced back while still running for his life.

Dozens of figures were now stumbling out of open rooms. Some sprinting, some crawling. All heading straight for him and Jongho.

“…Bad! ” Yunho said grimly. “Really bad! F- It's crazy!”

Jongho tightened his grip on Yunho’s jacket. “…Yunho-hyung?”

Yunho kept running but he still replied. “Yeah?”

The boy’s voice trembled slightly. “…Are those the screaming people?”

Yunho’s jaw tightened, at the realisation of the 'screaming' people now. “…Yeah.”

Jongho buried his face against Yunho’s shoulder. “…Please don’t let them touch me.”

Yunho’s voice was firm as he kept running. “They won’t. Not with me here.”

Through the comm, another voice suddenly cut in. Sharp and excited.

“Yunho-ya, hold your position. We have you right in our sight.” It was the group's assassin, Jung Wooyoung.

Gunfire suddenly erupted from the other end of the corridor where Yunho sharply dropped down. Several of the feral experiments dropped instantly behind him as he crawled forward carefully but still with some pace. Then a familiar deep voice followed.

“About time you showed up,” Song Mingi stepped around the corner, rifle already raised.

Behind him, their spy, Kang Yeosang calmly reloaded another magazine.

Wooyoung grinned dangerously. “Woww~,” he said, eyeing the swarm. “Yunho-ya really brought the whole party with him.”

More feral figures rushed forward. Mingi cracked his neck slightly. “Let’s clean this place out.”

And somewhere within all of their comms, the calm but deadly voice of Park Seonghwa spoke through the comm.

“Bring the child to the exit.”

A pause. Then Seonghwa added coldly, “Wooyoung-ya, Mingi-ya, Yeosangie, make sure nothing follows after.”