Protectors

This one is for Roi-ah and Linn-ah! As they are the ones who demand the most. ;P I think this is the best I have written.

Once upon a time in a land far far away, there lived a two girls. They both were living together in a foreign city. They had been visited by a tall man once a month since they moved. With every visit he had taken a lump sum of money with him. Payment for protection he had said. There were people after them, they had a rare pigment in their skin and their was some companies out there after it. The tall man seemed to run his own company. A protection for those who really needed it when nobody else would believe it. He was in charge of assigning people to "look out" for the girls. These people would live in the apartment next to theirs. Every few months the people would change. He said it was as the situations changed, different people were suited to different jobs. And so this was how they lived, in hiding, constantly being watched. They were allowed out of the house but were always followed and had to keep looking behind them. Forever in fear...

It was a regular occurrence by this point. A blue envelope was slotted under the door and the new "guests" had arrived, their protectors had changed. The last people weren't very inconspicuous. There was two large men who seemed to eat steroids for each meal, another man who could leap up and snap your neck before you could say "Hey" and a small woman who escorted them everywhere, muttering under her breath. In the letter it explained how their new protectors would live amongst them more than the others. Something must have happened, they must be more at risk. A knock sounded from the dark wooden door. This was highly unusual so the girls cautiously edged over to the door and whispered a demand to know the knocker's identity. There was a faint reply of the code they had been informed of many months previous, when all this mess started. "K.Y.H.D"

They opened the door and stared suspiciously at the four men standing calmly in the doorway. They all bowed and the tallest of all four introduced them. "We are your new protectors. My name is Minho. I will do my best at what is asked of me. They are Taemin, Kiseop and Dongho," he said pointing to the other three around him as each bowed low to them. The girls were confused, never before had this happened. The taller of the two cleared her throat, pushed back her short blond hair and said "Eh..Hello. My name is Linn and this is Roi." Taemin smirked as Dongho informed the two they were aware of that. "Well then. We shall be seeing you on a regular basis from now on. Goodbye," Minho smiled as they began to retreat from the door. "Wait!" Roi piped up, "Why are you doing this? No one before arrived at our door to introduce themselves." "We are not like the rest," Taemin replied and they turned and left.

A loud bang at the window woke Linn. It was three thirty in the morning and she was in the middle of a strange dream that had a dark van screech to a stop and men with large guns running from it. Running in the direction of their home. She sleepily dragged the bed covers off her as she went to investigate what had just hit her window. Throwing the curtains back she saw a hand stretched across the glass. The figure that possessed the hand was balancing perfectly on the tiny ledge that connected this apartment with the next. She looked closely at the figure as it knocked again. There was something familiar about it. She opened the window and the figure darted quickly in. He stood up from where he had landed and Linn realised it was Minho. "Quick," he whispered, "there's not much time. Follow me." He stretched out his hand. "What are you talking about? Has something happened?" Linn exclaimed. "No time. They're here. It's why we're here, now come on!" "What about Roi-ah?!" "Another protector is getting her. Now let's leave!" "B-but I'm not dressed!" Linn cried out. "Ok, but quickly! I'll look out the window." Linn was going to object but the seriousness in his tone made her feel she wasn't safe if he left the room. Quickly she threw on some clothes and turned to find him just as he had said, looking out the window. He had kept his word, she smiled to herself. She cleared her throat to let him know she was ready. "Ok, now let's get out of here FAST!" he said as he grabbed her hand and they ran from the room.

Roi shrieked as she woke to hear loud tapping at her window. The rushed knocks had woken her from a strange dream where a van had set off from a industrial park with a group of armed men who had a dark mission to fulfill. She crept slowly to her window, taking deep breaths with each step to steady her heart beat. She peeked out through the curtains to see a figure standing on the small ledge under her window. She felt calm at the sight of the figure. It didn't look harmful. She slid back the curtains and opened the window as the figure climbed in. He stood up tall beside her and smiled sadly. "The time has finally arrived. We must leave now," Taemin informed her. "N-no. This c-an't be r-r-right!" Roi stuttered. "I'm afraid so. Now, we have to get out. The others are waiting out in the hall. Change quickly" he replied turning around and putting both hands over his eyes. Roi looked around at her room, lost. She dived for a pile of clothes in the corner and changed, keeping one eye on Taemin but he never dared look. "Ok, let's leave," Roi announced as she finished changing. Taemin spun around and smiled down at her. He gripped her hand as he apologised "I'm sorry this has had to happen so soon." Then they bolted from the room.

In the hall they all met. Minho, Linn, Taemin and Roi. "Where are the others?" Roi inquired. Minho and Taemin exchanged looks as Taemin mumbled "They're already out in the front line." "The 'front line'?" Linn exclaimed, "What exactly is going on?" "They are here," Minho explained, "The people who want to use you as..." His voice was droned out by an earsplitting explosion. The men nodded at each other and they dragged them off to the closet beside the bathroom. "The doors are of no use to us now," Taemin shouted out. They entered the small space and Minho reached up and turned the light bulb clockwise once and anticlockwise four times. Suddenly the coat hanger pulled apart to reveal a slight dent in the wall. "Push!" he shouted. They all pressed themselves against the wall where the dent had appeared. After a moment the wall swung open to reveal a long staircase. They walked one by one down it, Taemin in front, Minho at the back. At the end of the dark staircase they found they were in the basement. Taemin ushered them to a manhole behind the bins as Minho looked carefully around for any sign of another person. "Go down this and you will find Kiseop and Dongho, they will lead you away." The two girls looked worried as Taemin spoke those words. "Why do you have to go?" Roi whispered. "Just. Just do as I say, ok?" he sighed as he smoothed Roi's hair softly. Minho ran over and called "They're coming!" They pulled of the cover of the manhole and helped Roi down first. "No! Why is this happening? We did nothing!" Linn said fighting back tears. "Don't worry. We will take care of these people. Neither of you will be hurt," Minho replied as he stroked her arm before she climbed down after her friend. The men placed the cover back on as they turned to confront the enemy.

The two girls shuddered as they were left in total darkness. Slowly, they climbed down the long ladder which seemed to go on forever. They both cried out as they heard the first shot from above. It had started. They wished they could stop and climb up the ladder to help them but they knew that they wouldn't be able to do anything, just be in the way. Eventually a small light could be seen from below them, they were near the bottom. Slowly they clambered off the ladder and into the dim light of the tunnel. Kiseop and Dongho were standing holding torches, their faces composed but their worry was betrayed by their voices. "F-follow us p-please." Kiseop stammered. They all looked up at the ceiling before filing out, the sound of the gunshots still audible. The dark tunnel stretched on and the girls began to get worried as the noise of the battle disappeared behind them. "At least when you could hear it, you knew they were still..still.." Roi broke off in tears, the only sound echoed in the tunnel. Kiseop put his arm around her, "Don't worry," he said soothingly, "They are our best agents. They will never be caught." Linn began to sniff behind them. "It's only because we are moving away that we can't hear anything anymore. That's all!" Dongho reassured Linn as he patted her shoulder. A few minutes later a sound could be heard again, this time it was an engine they could hear.

Finally they saw some natural light. It was already dawn. Kiseop lead them all out of the tunnel and greeted a large figure standing just beyond the exit. Their eyes focused and they saw who Kiseop was addressing as "Sir". It was the man in charge of the company, the tall man who had visited them a long time ago to inform them of their situation. "Sir, what has happen?" Dongho inquired. "Not now, later" the tall man replied looking at Roi and Linn with a slight concern in his eyes. "We want to know too!" Linn shouted out. "Yeah! We deserve to know what has happen!" Roi screamed at him. He looked calmly down at them. After pausing for a moment he then said "Get in the van. And you'll get to know everything." They did as he said, wanting to know what had happened as quickly as possible. They all climbed into the white van as the driver drove them off along the rising sun peeking out from behind buildings that surrounded the industrial area the tunnel had lead them to. "Where to begin..?" the tall man pondered, "Well I suppose you should know what really happened tonight." He rearranged himself in his seat and the girls noticed he winced as his left leg hit off the inside of the car door. "What happened to your leg?" Linn asked. "Ah, yes. Well did you you think there was only two fighting against those who wished to use you? I guess no matter how much you train you can't miss every bullet." He gave a weak smile as he said this and his hand slid up to a necklace he was wearing. "Even the great aren't invincible." At this he slightly stroked the little silver object that was hanging from the chain. He cleared his throat and lowered his hand. "They had finally gotten all the resources they needed to attack us and capture you." he continued, "Luckily we knew the attack was coming soon and sent some of our best to you. Unfortunately we didn't know it would be this soon." "B-but what about Taemin and Minho?" Roi stammered. "Yeah! Where are they? Did they..?" Linn asked quietly. The car slowed down and stopped. "Here we are, Sir" the driver announced.

The van was parked outside the entrance to a large white building, many storeys high. The door was quickly opened by a uniformed man bowing low as the tall man got out. They all followed him. He lead them through the building and up to the top floor. The place looked like an office building from the outside but on the inside it was much more full of life. It seemed to be more relaxed than your average company headquarters. They entered his office, a large room with paintings covering the walls, comfy sofas and shelves of books. It looked more like a living room or a cosy library than an office. He sat down behind an oak desk and gestured at them to sit. Kiseop and Dongho who had followed them up, bowed and left the room. He sighed deeply as a woman entered. She was a doctor. She quietly asked him a few questions, then handed him some painkillers and left. He took them all quietly and the turned to face the worried expressions that had been fixed on Linn and Roi's faces since this whole situation kicked off. "They're ok. In the next room in fact. We are not allowed to go into them yet though, they're being seen to." The girls breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes," he continued, "We had very few casualties in fact." As he said this his hand clasped the silver object again and a light drained from his eyes. "The enemy has been taken care of. You don't need to hide anymore." "We would like to thank you for everything you've done for us. You and your company have saved our lives!" Roi said as Linn nodded. "It's why this company was set up in the first place. To protect those truly in need of it." he smiled weakly at them.

There was another knock at the door. This time a man was there. "They're finished now. You're able to speak to them, Sir." They all jumped up at this news and went straight into the next room. Two hospital beds had been set up in the middle of the room. Tubes and machines were all around the two patients. Linn ran to Minho's side and grabbed his hand. "I told you we'd take care of those people, didn't I?" At these words Linn burst into tears of relief. On the other side of the room Taemin and Roi were both in tears as they held each others hand tightly. "It's all over now." Taemin whispered to her, "We're safe now." The tall man stood in the doorway, smiling slightly at the scenes of joy before him. A hand tapped his shoulder. "Just heard what happened." the man by his side whispered, "So sorry for your loss, Mr. Shim." Mr. Shim held close the necklace, pressing it hard against his skin as he tried to hold back his emotions. Tightening his grip on the little silver flower that hung from his neck, right over his heart. The little silver lily.