"Ah!", your yell echoes and pounds inside your head.
Unit Enhypen halt their rush to your side at the sight.
Whatever pain you were in before explodes through you and your lungs tighten, and your breath suffocates in your throat. Deep red blood pools, seeping over your shoulder from the bitten tears in your neck. Dr. Kim laps up every drop.
In a weak, instinctual move, you draw up your arm and snap your elbow back into his stomach. Amazingly, he stumbles away at the blow.
You drop to your knees, clutching a hand to the searing wound on your neck. Blood seeps through your fingers.
Unit Enhypen suddenly close in around you and all of you watch as Dr. Kim gives a loud retch…and then begins to laugh.
His laughter echoes like a haunting melody around the shadowed room, and even Unit Enhypen seem to shift under the eerie weight of it. Dr. Kim's body shakes. His grin is so wide it almost splits his face.
"Shall we try this again?", he asks.
Sunghoon frowns and doesn't even wait a moment before rushing towards him.
Dr. Kim simply holds out a palm, and Sunghoon crashes into it like a concrete barrier. He flies back, crashing into the wall twenty feet away with an impact so hard a crater forms where he's smashed into it. Pieces of concrete crumble around him as he slumps to the ground.
You stare wide-eyed as Sunghoon manages to crawl onto all fours, a line of blood pooling over his bottom lip. He takes a strangled, gasping breath.
"Holy crap…", Jake mutters.
But Sunghoon clambers up again and heads for Dr. Kim. This time he's joined by the rest of the team.
They're all pummelled back with ease, landing in a spread of heaped, moaning bodies.
Dr. Kim smiles again, raising his hands in front of his face and flexing his fingers, "Oh, this is even better than I could have imagined!"
The team force themselves up and try again.
And again.
Then again.
Each time, they suffer a set of new injuries. Soon they look as bloodied as you do.
Dr. Kim's laugh continues to add a tormenting soundtrack to the painfully one-sided fight. Your mind is beginning to spin at the amount of blood oozing from your wound.
When the vampires go down the next time, Jake rolls onto his side and looks to Jay with a pained wince.
"We've got to do something", he says through a crackled voice, "Just running and hoping to land a hit isn't exactly working!"
You stare at the defeated team and realise he's right. Dr. Kim is stronger and faster…but there has to be a way to beat him.
Your mind pinches at the thought, blood loss making your breath light. Your head feels like it's drifting to the ceiling. But you do yoir best to focus, clamping your fingers tighter around your neck.
"What exactly were you planning on doing to defeat him?", you ask.
Jay rolls his exhausted attention in your direction and hesitates. Then he tugs something from the lower pocket of his combat trousers. A small syringe sits on his palm.
You have no idea what's inside, but it's obviously your only option.
"All right", you reply with a nod, then glance about the room with a flashing gaze. Dizziness plagues the edges of your vision, making it near impossible to see into the deep, damp shadows.
Rain cascades like a waterfall from a hole in the roof, and you swipe the splashing water from your face. Still, you can see nothing until your eyes land on a piece of wire coiled on the ground, just behind where Dr. Kim is standing inspecting us.
If you could trip him, maybe it would give Jay enough time. It's not exactly the best plan, but it's at least something.
"I have a plan", you say.
"What?", Jay hisses in a sharp whisper.
You look to him, "Trust me"
It's a few long seconds before Jay's expression softens, and he nods.
And before you can change your mind or Jay changes his, you barrel forwards, straight towards Dr. Kim.
Obviously not expecting a final effort from such a battered opponent, he actually looks shocked and somewhat impressed.
But the expression is swiped away as quickly as his hand shoots out. He swings his arm out, and you were sent skipping over the floor like a stone over water.
"Agh!", you cry out, not thinking your pain could get any worse but suddenly proved very wrong. You clasp your arms to your chest, trying to breathe through the pain scratching at every nerve in your body.
Dr. Kim clicks his tongue, "You should be more careful, Detective. I don't want to damage my vessel"
He barely has time to chuckle before the team are once more on their feet and glaring at him.
The team have their backs to you as you lay spread on the ground, once again forming a protective barrier. You know you have to get back up….
You have to get up….
But you can't.
Shadow crawls from the edges of the room and begins to engulf you. You choke against the weight of it, unconsciousness clawing and gripping at your mind.
The warm flow of blood from your neck is stemming, and you realise it's not because you're not healing.
Is this really how I'm going to go…?
The thought almost makes you shudder with a laugh.
You gasp at the air, and your eyes close to the sight of a shard of night sky through a jagged hole in the roof.
✒
The warehouse fills with silence, enough to drown everyone in it. Heeseung takes a step forward from the group, his expression soft and pitying, "You have to stop this, Dr. Kim"
He laughs in reply. "Are you serious? I have everything I want, and I'm about to defeat all of you with a flick of my wrist—"
His monologue halts at the distant sounds of distinctive sirens. It's the Agency. They're still a while off, but just the sound of them elicits a sigh from Heeseung.
"You may defeat us, but will Y/N's blood last long enough to help you defeat all of the agents who are on their way?", he asks, risking another step forward.
Dr. Kim sneers. His gaze falls behind the team to where the detective had ended up after the hit, "Another bite, and I could"
This time it's Jay who steps forward, shoulders drawn back. "The Agency would kill her before letting that happen"
Dr. Kim's sneer cracks into an amused smirk, "You'd kill her? You'd really do it, just to stop me from getting her?"
Heeseung's head jerks to face Jay, and a sudden intense fear tugs in his chest.
Jay doesn't reply. He doesn't need to.
The sirens echo closer. Dr. Kim shuffles back a wary step, fatigue beginning to make his hands shake. It won't be long until Y/N's blood is burnt from his system.
Even him realises it, "Then I suppose we'll have to meet again at a future time", he trips back a step, "Won't that be a delightful prospect"
The team stiffens and Dr. Kim dashes away into the gloom. No one follows.
Jake fills the void with a sudden sharp sigh, "Jeez, I'm glad your bluff worked!" he says, keeping his voice low enough so the detective can't hear. He then swings around to face Jay, his grin faltering at the corners, "It…was a bluff, right?"
Once again, Jay doesn't reply, and the feeling within Heeseung makes his stomach knot.
"What does it matter now?", Sunghoon mutters, gritting his teeth as he presses his hand to a deep gash on his leg.
"I suppose it doesn't", Jake replies, stretching out aching limbs, "Did you see what Y/N tried to do? We haven't had a human risk themself like that for us since, well, since Agent L/N"
Heeseung can't help but nod in agreement.
"You did well, Detective!", Jake calls more loudly, so she can now hear their conversation. he turns to face her, "But don't—Y/N!"
Heeseung spins on the spot at Jake's shock.
The detective lays spread on the ground with no sound or movement, only a trail of blood pooling around her in a macabre frame.
His heart seems to strangle in his chest, the emotion so powerful it makes him sway, "No…."
The team runs to the detective, the blood pooling deeper around her body.
As they reach Y/N, they all immediately recoil. Heeseung covers his nose with his arm, the sudden sting of hunger burning through his veins.
"Her blood is too strong", Jay manages to stammer, also struggling to draw back from the intoxicating scent of it.
Heeseung's head swims with the temptation of Y/N's blood, a primal instinct trying to claw its way up from the deep part of him. He has to turn fully away.
They'd all been overcome with adrenaline before, which had masked it. But now…nothing is stemming the draw of it.
A heavy drop of rain lands on his shoulder. It dribbles through his shirt, helping to snap some of his senses out of the blood haze.
He looks up at the half-dilapidated ceiling, the downpour leaking through it.
"The rain", Heeseung mutters, an idea pounding in his head. He swings back around, "The rain will wash away the blood and the scent!"
Sunghoon's gaze flashes over the room and then he bolts to one side, grabbing up a hunk of crumpled metal. He launches it up at the roof above the detective with the speed of a missile. It crashes through the warped, eroded metal with a thundering smash.
The roof cracks and collapses, piling all around them in rusted, shattered heaps.
A flood of rain bursts through the new hole, pouring down onto Y/N. The halo of blood begins to dilute and wash away.
Heeseung dares a breath. The scent of Y/N's altered blood is still there - he can almost taste it on the air, staining the cold damp and sweetening the rain but it's not as strong as before.
It had been terrifyingly tempting.
With the team now able to focus, their gazes drop back to the detective.
Heeseung rushes forwards, not noticing Jay is about to do the same.
Sirens still play at the distant edges of Jay's hearing, but it doesn't matter. Everything suddenly drowns away except the battered, unmoving sight of Y/N.
Jay takes a rushed step forwards, attention trained on the detective. But his panicked focus is broken by Heeseung,bwho sprints to Y/N's side and drops to his knees beside her.
Blinking out of his daze, Jay manages to stumble a step back, wondering just why he'd been so desperate to get to the detective. The answer is something he refuses to think about in that moment.
Instead, he focuses back on Heeseung, who has curled his arms around Y/N to half pull the detective into his lap.
"Y/N?", Heeseung whispers, words as soft as the way he caresses Y/N's cheek. There's no response, and fear forces Jay to crouch down beside them.
"I can hear a heartbeat", Jay says, and then he frowns, "But it's weak. Unsteady"
The news has Heeseung hugging the detective even closer, the caring action causing a knot to twist in Jay's stomach.
A groan murmurs from Y/N's lips, making them both snap their attention back on her.
"Y/N?", Jay and Heeseung ask at the same time. Desperation hangs heavily on their voices.
The detective's brow shifts into a pained frown, but her eyes eventually open. Jay's body freezes for a moment when Y/N's gaze moves directly to him, "Jay?"
"Yes", he replies, the word tumbling from his mouth with hurried speed, "I'm here", he tenses further, lips pursing, "We're here"
Y/N's focus drifts to the other side, where Heeseung is still holding her, "You're going to be all right." he smiles, "I'll make sure of it"
A ripple of something uneasy passes through Jay as Heeseung says those words.
The detective's dark brown eyes dance between Jay and Heeseung, both crouched next to her.
A shiver erupts through Jay when Y/N's eyes finally drift to meet his.
"I'm glad you're here," Y/N says, words muffled through bloodied lips.
Any words Jay could have replied seem to choke in his throat, the emotion behind the detective's words seeming to steal his thoughts.
"Where else would we be?", Heeseung asks, catching Y/N's attention once again, "We'll never leave you behind"
Jay swallows down the heavy realisation of how true that statement is becoming, the longer he's around the detective.
Returning his focus to Y/N, Jay's jaw tenses with sudden panic when the detective's eyes blink shut. It takes all his willpower not reach out to her.
"Y/N?", Heeseung calls, hands grasping the detective tighter, uncaring about showing his true emotion.
"They're here!", Jake calls.
Bright blue lights flash like ghosts in the shadows of the warehouse, signalling the Agency's arrival. Cars rev loudly, tyres screeching in the mud outside.
"I'll go find them", Heeseung says, voice heavy with emotion, "Look after Y/N", Jay gives a tense nod.
With every bit of care, Heeseung lays Y/N on the ground and takes one last glance before sprinting off.
Jay shuffles closer to the detective. This time he does reach out, fingers gently drawing over her cheek and cupping it.
"You have to live through this", Jay whispers, leaning closer, his lips almost against Y/N's ear, "Please"
It's barely two minutes before a team of grey-uniformed agents storm into the factory following Heeseung, some with medical bags gripped in hand. Jay snaps his hand back and quickly stands up, expression neutral and worry pushed deep down.
The agents don't hesitate in sprinting forward; they set to work reviving the detective. The team linger nearby, everyone keeping half an eye on the medics' progress.
Heeseung barely moves, his hands twisting together. Jay stays beside him, silent but not shifting from his friend's side, and doing all he can to focus on Heeseung and not on his gnawing fear for Y/N.