Chapter Text
Tae woke up in a forest. The first thing he registers is that it’s cold and whatever he is lying on is wet. He could hear noises in the distance, the flapping of wings or the pitter pattern of small creatures along the forest floor. His neck ached, in fact his whole body did as he tried to move. Taes groan echoed slightly through the near silent forest. Why was he here? How did he get here? There’s no forests like this near Seoul. The forest was foggy, so foggy he could barely see past the trees next to him. Tae tried to move again, the pain having disappeared from before. He slowly managed to sit up and actually take in his surroundings. It seemed endless, the forest he was in. The hoot of an owl broke the silence, making Tae jump slightly in fright.
“What in the fresh hell happened to me?” He asked the forest. No answer was given.
His neck still ached and stung, and when Tae pulled his hand away from it, it came back covered in blood. The memories flashed before his eyes before he could even blink. Club. Drinks. Handsome man. Back alleys. Red eyes. Vampire. Pain. Darkness.
The gasp ripped its way through Taes chest and his breath caught in his lungs. He struggled to breathe normally as his memories from last night seared into his brain. He was bitten, almost /killed/ by a creature that shouldn’t exist, and now he was in the middle of a very strange very scary forest with no idea how to get out. The ache in his bones increased as he tried to scramble up into standing, leaning heavily onto a nearby tree as soon as he was upright. In times of fright you’d be able to feel your heart beat hard into your ribs, but Tae felt nothing and he was so scared. He heaved his arm upwards, feeling like he was lifting weights twice his body weight, to his chest in attempt to feel his heartbeat. But there was none. Taes breathing picked up, unable to stop the panic coursing through his veins. The silent noise in the background dimmed to a quiet buzz as the panic attack took over, forcing Tae onto his knees again. Was he a vampire now too? Tae screamed into the forest, scared out of his wits and not knowing what else to do. How was he gonna handle this? How will he survive?
Once he’d stopped screaming, only his muffled sobs could be heard. He was alone and afraid, and if he was a vampire then that means he’s a monster. A monster that needs blood to survive. The denial set in as Tae shook his head. He won’t hurt anyone. He won’t.
Tae had sat alone for a long while, tears still leaking out of his eyes even now, hours later after his godawful revelation. He doesn’t know what to do, does he starve himself? Feed off animals and never return to his old life? Will he ever see his two brothers again? The questions continue to swirl around Taes mind as he stares blankly into the distance. He feels his tummy growl and it makes him smile bitterly at the irony. A vampire who still needs human sustenance? Blasphemy. He considers just laying back and letting the ground swallow him, or hopefully he’ll fall asleep and never wake up. Because right now his future seemed dismal, and hell be damned if he put his two brothers in danger because of what he is now.
There’s a humongous weight on his chest, the reality of his new life weighing him down heavily. What’s He gonna do? The questions are never ending and Tae just sits silently, letting them happen. He’s disassociating he knows, but what else is there to do? He has no one anymore. Gosh what about his brothers!? He misses Jin and Joons hugs, their soothing comfort and soft words. With a sigh so heavy you could hear the weight of the world, Tae stood up shakily. Being a vampire can’t be too bad right? He doesn’t wanna die (even though he technically is already) so he may as well make the most of it for now. He doubts he’ll last much longer alone anyhow.
Tae turns a random direction and walks, shoulders slumped and footsteps heavy. He still has no idea what he’s going to do, nor how he’d go about doing it, but he thinks about what his brothers would say. Get a hold of yourself, don’t let this bring you down. Sure, the circumstances are slightly different, but they wouldn’t want him to wallow in self pity. As he walks, he takes interest in his surroundings, notices how sharp his hearing can be and how well he sees things in the distance. The forest is silent, bar the tiny foot falls of small Creatures rubbing about looking for food. Food. Tae needed that. Looking around, he sees nothin but fog and trees and more trees and fog, but all his senses are heightened and he can /hear/ a small critter, a bunny perhaps, scampering around the forest floor. Time for his first hunt he supposed. He has to gear himself up because he’s about to eat a bunny and it’s not fair but life is life and Tae needs to grow up. Tae takes a deep breath, and when his eyes open, his irises are red and he’s ready to hunt.
Tae couldn’t recall what happened during his hunt, only that when he came too he was covered in blood and his tummy felt full. He was grateful in a way, that he wouldn’t remember what he ate and how, but it also scared him because what if he can’t control himself and kills someone and he won’t remember and he’ll be a monster and he can’t control himself he can’t control himself monster monster monster - “STOP” he yelled out. His thoughts stopped. Silence. Blissful, ignorant silence. It was so dark in this forest he had no idea if it was day time or not, or how long he’s been gone though it feels like years since he’s felt the comfort of Seokjin's hugs.
Now that he was full and rested, Tae honestly had no idea what to do. He’s all alone in the middle of nowhere. A thought crossed his mind ‘try your strength out’. A feral grin spread across his face, since he’s decided to accept his fate he may as well take full advantage of his new superhuman abilities right? He knows his eyesight and hearing have been heightened, and in all the movies vampires have superhuman speed and strength, so maybe he should try running first? With that thought in mind, he sped off. The world blurred past him as he ran, no direction in mind as he sped along; the feeling was euphoric, he wasn’t out of breath nor was he slowing down.
Tae didn’t want to think anymore and the more he ran the less he thought so he didn’t stop, changing his direction every now and then just because he could. He was alone. Tae never liked being alone, but he’s not sure if he could ever be with anyone again so he doesn’t think, he doesn’t want to think, don’t think don’t think dont think dont think.
Something snagged his foot and he tripped, falling into a tree with a force and strength he had no idea he possessed because the tree broke in half. Wide eyed Tae cleared his throat and stood up. It didn’t hurt to propel into the tree and there was barely a scratch on him. The power he seemed to possess brought a manic the grin to his face once again. Was he going insane? Probably. Hell, he’s talking to himself, of course he’s going insane. Talking to oneself is the first sign of insanity. God he’s been alone for probably what a day or two? And he’s already going insane? He won’t survive this.
Tae continued running at a slower pace, trying to take everything in. The smell of wood and earth filled his nose with every inhale, the sound of small critters and birds filled his ears with every tilt of his head and the taste of damp air laying on his tongue with every exhale through his mouth. It was nice, peaceful, excluding the circumstances in which he’s in this never ending forest, that is.
The sky wasn’t visible from the ground, and desperation spread through his chest; he misses the sun. He felt weak with the emotions running through his body, but it only spurred him on - he planned to climb a tree in the hopes of reaching the surface of the canopy covering the ground. First Tae had to find a tree big enough to climb which, with the help of his improved eyesight, only took seconds to spot. Second, he had to actually climb the tree.
“C’mon Tae, you’re literally a vampire now, no need to be scared of heights. If you fall you’re more likely to break the ground than you are to break yourself” Tae muttered to himself. He shook himself out. He took a deep breath. He jumped.
Turns out Tae can jump pretty darn high, and he reached the thickest branch sprouting from the tree with ease. He was already halfway there.
“Don’t look down, don’t look down Tae don’t look down.” Tae looked down. “FUCK” he cursed. It’s fine, it’s fine, he’s fine. Ignoring his fear, he knew the only way for his chest to feel light again he had to see the sky, he climbed up further. It didn’t take long for him to reach the canopy. The tree thinned out, along with Taes breath, but he had to do this. He had to. A few more steps upward and he broke through the canopy of leaves.
The night sky was beautiful. It was a full moon and Tae felt whatever air he had leave his lungs. The sight was breathtaking. Wherever he was was overlooking Seoul and from this distance, the lights and tall buildings were amazing. Tears slipped down his face as reality hit him full force again. Seoul, the city he’d never see again. His home, where his brothers were, probably giving up hope on finding him alive. A sob wracked through his body and he felt weak. His poor brothers. They’ll never know. The crushing loneliness constricted his chest again and he could no longer keep a grip on the branch he was on. Down Tae fell, but he didn’t care. His body felt relaxed as he cried, as he fell so far. He met the ground with open arms and closed eyes.
It didn’t hurt much, but the impact made his body ache slightly. His sobbing had stopped, but tears still flowed freely as he lay on his back, eyes still closed. Time passed slowly, birds waking up and going back to sleep as Tae lay there. When he opened his eyes again, it was to see three pairs of eyes staring back at him.
He blinked owlishly at the three floating heads above him. This is it, he thinks. I’m truly going insane, im even seeing floating heads.
“We’re not floating heads you idiot, you’re not going insane” the brunet floating head said.
“Oh god the floating heads can hear my thoughts, not good” he mumbled to himself. An insufferable sigh falls from the ginger haired floating head.
“We’re not floating heads! You’re speaking out loud of course we can hear you!” The brunet was getting angry. There was a kick to his shoulder and he rolled away from it, onto his stomach. From this angle he could see that yes, these floating heads weren’t quite ‘floating’ and they were probably the culprits of the kick he felt. Tae pushed himself into a crouch.
“Okay, you’re not floating heads, but how do I know you’re not figments of my imagination? I’ve been alone for long enough it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to conjure up imaginary people” Tae fired back. His thought process was completely reasonable in his opinion.
“For godsake no! We’re real people” the short one with ginger hair exploded. Tae made a mental note not to piss him off.
“That wasn’t a mental note. You said that out loud” cocky mister brunet said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Tae huffed.
“You know what, I’ve been alone in the woods for god knows how long, I’m lost, scared and lonely. I’ve been turned into a goddamn vampire for petes sake, there’s no need to be rude to me” Tae snapped. His hands were on his hips and he was breathing hard, limbs trembling slightly.
The three men looked slightly surprised at the outburst but Tae didn’t care, he huffed childishly and turned around, ready to storm away. He made it about three steps before one of the men was suddenly in front of him and he fell backwards in shock.
“Wow first you’re being mean to me and now you’re trying to give me a heart attack! This isn’t nice! We’ve just met and I don’t even know your names!” Tae whined. He huffed again and sat up, crossing his arms and legs and pouting angrily.
There’s a startled laugh from behind him and his head whips around so fast he got whiplash. His wide eyes narrowed and his pout intensified.
“What are you laughing at” he growled. He felt his eyes burn for a second before a haze of red fell over his vision and he could barely control his anger. In his haze, he didn’t realise the zaps of electricity tickling his fingers and caressing his cheeks, but the three surrounding vampires did and their eyes widened. How the fuck are they supposed to take care of an uncontrollable vampire who could use electricity?!
“Hey kid, calm down. We ain’t gonna hurt ya, Ggukie say sorry for laughing” the boy in front said. His voice was deep, soothing; it washed over Tae and made his insides feel warm and his anger dissipated, he was never one to get angry anyway.
“But hyung! This is-“ ‘ggukie started but was immediately cut off by a look from his hyung. A pout formed on his face and he looked away, embarrassed.
“Sorry” he mumbled. The whole thing just made Taehyung giggle, a blush staining his cheeks as he sat on the floor.