EXO: "EXOPLANETS"

1

I can't breathe. Darkness surrounded me and the sweet smell of chemistry invaded my senses. I fought, fought against my captors but there was no point. My consciousness slowly slipped and I was outnumbered.

I didn't need my vision to confirm this because I could feel some hands holding onto my body. The last thing I heard before I fainted was a heavy voice saying, "bet him with the others, they were looking forward to it.

*****

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times before adjusting to the dark. My body was stiff and I could feel the hard ground beneath me. I wanted my limbs to move and I sat down, watching my surroundings.

This is a dream, not a dream, but a nightmare. How can I be here? Just a few hours ago I was tucked away in bed, but now all I could see were black metal rods all around me. I was in a prison cell.

Panic invaded my body and instinct took over as terror penetrated my mind. Hardly, I retreated as far as I could until I hit the wall. The feeling of concrete on my back shook my bones when I realized that I needed to find a way out instead of sitting in a corner like a cowering idiot.

Get rid of my fear, I rushed to the cell door but stopped short. I realized that I had no real knowledge of prison escape or what to do in this scenario. It was not something that was taught to me, like about fire and earthquake drills because this situation was completely absurd.

How can I get out? The space between the bars is too small to pass through and the cell door does not move without a key. There were no windows to look at or even a crack in the wall behind, I was only met with darkness and silence.

I shook the door to despair, pushing and pulling with the little force I had. The metal was clanging loudly but I didn't care, at that moment I was outside of logical thinking. I frantically shouted, "please! Is anyone there? Please, if you can hear me, please help!"

I approached, crouching down so I aligned with him. When I approached her, I noticed she saw my age — nineteen years — with symmetrical features and white skin. He's still good-looking even though he looks worn out and dirty, making me assume he's been here a long time.

The discomfort extends through me, I don't want to end up like him. It seemed like the spark of life had been sucked out of him and there was no joy behind his dark eyes. Confused I echoed, "we each?"

He sighed. "Look around you" he said, so I did. In each cell held a boy, similar to me, with black hair and Asian skin making me wonder if they were Korean too. They watched me in silence with cautious gazes and I began to feel so wary of the attention that I took a step back.

They all looked different in worn shades, some worse than others, but the boy who spoke earlier looked the worst of them all. When my gaze returned to her, she explained, "I was the first one they took. Every day they bring someone new and lock them in the cell. 8 days later, you've arrived, filled the last cell."

I was the last child taken. 8 days later? There must be nine of us. I looked around, counting the cells and confirming my assumption calculation. What do they want with nine boys? Why were we taken? There were too many questions that filled my brain but I instead asked, "who are you?"

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

Clearing my throat, I replied, "Chanyeol."