W E D N E S D A Y   A F T E R N O O N

"Students, as you know, today is the test. We call for all seniors to the gymnasium; your test will begin shortly."

Chan took a hard look at Changbin as they both exited their classroom.
"Don't freak out during it, give them no reason to think you're a hybrid," he whispered to the shorter boy, a hand on his shoulder.

"With humans hating our kind, the testers won't give mercy."

They took their seats on the bleachers.
Men handling guns were placed at all corners of the large room.

Minho sat next to the two boys. "They separated Woojin and Hyunjin from me; they're over there." He pointed to the bleachers across from them.

They were both frozen in place, Woojin's hand on Hyunjin's thigh, the only reassurance he could give. The room slowly silenced as murmurs died down.

A man in a hazmat suit stepped into the middle of the room. Two men followed him, each in full uniforms, guns strapped to their side.

He pulled out a clipboard, reading from it.

"Bangchan, Woojin, Hyunjin, Lee Know, Changbin, Jisoo, Jennie, Jackson, Bam Bam, and Taeyong, please follow me."

Setting the board down, he clapped his hands together.
"Let's start this test."

Chan jumped from the sound, the sentence making him shiver in fear.

///

Y/n stared at the empty doorway. The seniors in her class left about an hour ago, and time for this period was coming to an end.
What is taking so long?

"I wonder what the test is like," a student at her table whispered, gaining Y/n's attention. "I bet it's ruthless and unforgiving."

"Why? Isn't that a bit much?"
Y/n spoke with hesitancy, not wanting to be defensive and expose herself. Her fist tightened on her pencil, hiding it under the desk.

"I don't think so; those hybrids deserve what they get. They're freaks of nature." The student spoke so fluently, the words rolling off her tongue like honey.

The pencil snapped in half, cutting the inside of Y/n's palm.
"Yeah...," she whispered, turning back to her paper.

Johnny must've heard the snap of the pencil. He turned to Y/n, watching her huff a piece of hair away from her face and grab a new writing utensil.
"Be careful," he silently warned.

Only hearing one of his words, she nodded, wiping the speck of blue blood on her dark pants. She turned, listening to the announcement flooding the class.

"Students, at this time, I want all Juniors in the gymnasium."

With a lick at her dry lips, Y/n stood up.

She followed most of the class outside, Johnny staying close to her.
Felix and Jisung shared a nervous look as they fell into the crowd.

As they walked, Y/n caught eyes with Hyunjin.
Hers filled with worry as she saw the fear and panic in a short flash of eye contact. His body completely soaked, tears adding to the droplets of water. Minho was latched onto Chan, muffling cries with his hand.

How bad was the test?

She gulped, taking Johnny to the highest seat, getting an overview of the gym. Getting sight of every man that held a gun; every man dressed in a hazmat suit; every man that glared at the scared students, like they were pieces of meat.

One man walked forward, a clipboard in hand. Two men followed behind, guns strapped in every place possible.

"Felix, Han, Seungmin, Jeongin, Y/n, Johnny, Ten, Tzuyu, Mina, and Daehyun follow me."
"Let's start this test.

He clapped his hands together, Y/n jumping from the crackle it made.

Johnny grabs Y/n's hand, giving it a tight-gripped hold before letting go.

She walks down the stairs of the bleachers, being grabbed by a pair of arms the second her foot touches the gym floor.

The man is tall, buff, and intimidating, but Y/n doesn't flinch.

She's led a small way outside then to the left. A small device is placed onto her temple, the place around her morphing. Long rows of metal doors stand before her, no handles on them. With a card in hand, the man swipes a dark panel with it, a small beep resounding. The door groaned as the man pushed it open, shoving the girl inside.

She stumbled, pulling herself to stand straight.
She scanned the room carefully.

Two men, loaded with weapons, stood in the back of the small room — a small tub between them. Taking up most of the space, was a hefty chair, sitting in the middle of the room. Restraints were at the legs and arm holds. A nurse stood behind the chair; clothes covered any exposed skin.

Isn't that a bit much? We aren't a disease.
She scoffed under her breath.

The nurse gestured to the chair. "Sit."

Y/n takes a seat, the guards tieing her legs and arms down.
She strains her mind to search theirs, but nothing.

"W-what are these for?"
"We've had aggressive subjects. They acted out, got what they deserved. These are just a warning."
Her heart drops; her stomach twists painfully; her fingers go limp.
Hybrids have done nothing to hurt humans.

We're the ones that live in fear. We're the subjects!

"All thanks to that woman...Hyuna."
Y/n bit her tongue at the familiar name of her mother.

They placed a blindfold over her eyes.

///

A spike of panic down her back, her body temperature rose.
She stared into the dark, watching it go on and on forever.

It engulfed her, surrounded her, making her vulnerable on all sides.

Being blindfolded was terrifying, to almost everyone. It was a classic phobia, nothing new. But even the strongest became weak in the presence of the pitch black.

Along with the darkness came silence.

She squirmed in her seat, arms pushing against the leather straps — the material digging into her soft skin. The restraints were thin but stood their place. She let out a sigh, the sound of it painfully loud.

Her heaving breaths were the only noise audible. The room was so quiet that the girl thought the three behind her left. But they didn't; they stood behind her, still.

With both combined, it made the time pass slow: seconds felt like minutes to the girl, captivating her in prison.

Who knew it could take such an effect?

"Scared?"
Y/n jumped as the word echoed across the room.

The voice wasn't hard, but soft, almost sweet. It had a hint of humor as if it was trying to intimidate Y/n in the slyest way possible. No doubt, the person was smirking.

"No," Y/n said. "I just thought you left the room."

"No," the nurse trailed her words. "You aren't that lucky..."

She reached forward, grabbing a handful of hair and tugging the younger girl's head back. With a wince, Y/n's head hit the back of the chair. She feels a comb run through her hair, sectioning it. The nurse pulls every strand of Y/n's hair, not missing a single piece.

She looked up at the guard as he took off her blindfold and lifted his hand. Staring clueless at the pen-looking object held up to her face, she leaned away from it.

The pen produced a flash, blinding her. She yelped her head, turning away from the bright light. "Did you hear something," the nurse asks, her voice calm. The tranquilness angered Y/n. "Hear what? I can't see a fucking thing, thanks to you."

The nurse walked into the line of Y/n's blurry sight.

"Smile."

The girl gave a tight-lipped smile, clenching her jaw.
The nurse huffed, grabbing a handful of hair and tugging.

"With teeth."

Y/n smiled weirdly as the nurse slid her hands around in her mouth, grunting disgustedly. Y/n cleared her throat once the nurse's hands weren't anywhere close to her. "Thanks for letting me deep throat your hands," she coughed out.

The nurse presses her lips together, the sight of a cut catching her eye.
"What happened to your hand?"

"I got it from the wood I put up for my house. The fence I'm building is to keep hybrids out."

To the nurse, it was credible, believable.
To Y/n, it was a lie, utter bullshit.

Y/n was let from the restraints and ordered to stand up, facing the back wall where the guards stood. "Take off your pants."

"Excuse me?"
"Leave your underwear on, but take off your pants."

Shakily, Y/n reaches to unbutton her shorts, slipping them off with a deep exhale. The nurse walks forward, throwing aside her gloves.
With soft touches, she traced the girl's body, checking her lower part for any furry extremities or sticky, gooey limbs.

"You can put your pants back on, but take your shirt off."

For this, Y/n knew what they were looking for, "Can't you tell; I don't have wings."

Sternly, the nurse repeats. "Take off your shirt, or I'll think you're hiding something." Y/n glared at the floor. She pulled on her pants before taking her shirt off. Again, the woman's soft hands traced her skin, the light touches making Y/n squirm.

The nurse stepped back. "You can put your shirt back on."

Y/n jerks her shirt back on, the sound of a water spilling fills her ears.

"What's that for?"

One of the guards takes a step at her, grabbing her hair and hauling her towards the tub. He dunks her head under and holds it there. Y/n doesn't fight back; instead, she tries to take a breath. When she chokes on the water, her hand flies up to push against the man, the other one pushing against the bathtub.

The potion!

She gasps for air and swallows the water, bubbles rising from her mouth. Her chest begins to hurt the longer she's held down. The air being sucked out of her as she thrashed, water splashing around.

Her hand slides off the guard, becoming limp as she stops thrashing, slowly giving in. Her eyes begin to slowly close, her vision darkening.

Someone... help.

The nurse gives a slight nod to the guard holding Y/n.

He grabs the back of her shirt and hauls her out of the tub, throwing her across the room. Y/n gives a strangled cry, clawing at her throat that gasps for air. Her lungs scream for oxygen as she slumps to the floor, her back stinging.

"She's a strong one. Too bad she's not a hybrid, would've had fun killing her."

Through blurry vision, Y/n sees the nurse grab her hand and prick her fingers. She gives a small hiss, tucking her hand out of reach. Her eyes burned, but no tears reached her eyes.

Y/n falls back as the door behind her opens, the small beep barely reaching her clogged ears.

"We're finished here."

///

A man shoved Y/n to her feet, her sight still fuzzy. She grabbed onto the man, looking around as they walked. A girl in the room next to them was hysterically crying; her wails heard through the thick walls.

The wet hair that was plastered to her face and dripped onto her clothes was carelessly wiped away with an unsteady hand.

"Go back to the bleachers," the man ordered, shouldering the girl out of his way. She glanced at the gym; it was empty compared to before.

"W-what about t-this," she coughed out, hand feeling the smooth device on her temple.

The guard lifted a small tablet, swiping his finger on the screen.
"Keep it on."

Kids scattered in a few groups all around the room, most crying and soaking wet. Others huddled together, shaking and shivering.

The girl stumbled through the large room, her eyes trained on Seungmin. Tucking his phone away, he wiped away tears as they fell from his eyes. A shadow looms over him, cast by the young girl at his side.

"Hey... you okay," Y/n asked in a soft voice, taking a seat behind him. He scoffed, not bothering to reply.

No words were exchanged, the only sounds were those of the crying and screaming kids around them. The girl breathed in, mind running with ways to start a small conversation, but all attempts were pushed away.

"I've..." Seungmin sighed, finally speaking up. "It's been troubling me all morning," he trailed off, struggling to form words.

Y/n could feel a numb pulse in her head. No doubt from the boy sat before her. He could say anything and expose everything. She had to tread carefully.

"The test? Yeah, same here. I-"
"How did you figure out we were hybrids?"

Her body froze in place, her fidgeting fingers stopped moving. She took a slow breath to calm her racing heart.
"What," her voice held fake disbelief.

Seungmin looked at her with an expression that held too much emotion. He softly reached for her wrist, grabbing tightly when skin came in contact.

His strength was still sharp as he quickly pulled the girl to her feet and along the sides of the gymnasium. Having no choice, Y/n followed after struggling to keep her composure.

"Where are you kids going?"
Both teens faced the guard, a few feet from the exit.

The girl looked up, vision blurry from her sudden stop.
"My friend isn't feeling so well, I'm bringing her to the restroom," Seungmin said, sending Y/n a glare.

Through heavy breaths, she produced fake coughs, her free hand held over her mouth.

"Go, but don't make me bring you back."
"Yes, sir."

Once again, Seungmin was pulling Y/n along, grip tighter than before. When they stopped, she hunched over to gain her stability back, her world spinning.

"W-why did we run all that way, w-what do you want," she gasped out, her hands shaking by her side. She lifted her head, the lights clouding her sight.

"What do we want? We want to know how the hell you found us out to be hybrids." The voice spoke with malice.

"Seungmin, go make sure the others are okay, we'll deal with her."

"We?" the girl blinked several times, finally focusing on the two males ahead of her.
Woojin and Chan.

Chan sat on a nearby bench, watching Woojin stalk closer to Y/n, backing her up against a wall.

"Yes, 'we.'" Woojin's voice deepened, and he took a breath before speaking. "Now, how do you know?" Y/n stayed quiet, her focus on calming herself slowly. She had to think before she spoke, but with a headache coming on, it made it hard to be rational.

"Don't make me ask twice!"
His voice pierced her ears painfully, and she reached up to cover them.
"Please, don't yell."

Woojin took a long inhale, glaring at the girl. "Then, don't make me ask again."
Y/n sighed, shaky hands falling to her sides. "I don't even know what you're going on about."

"Stop lying!"

It was the second pair of hands that slammed at the sides of her head today. Out of reflex, she recoiled and pushed him away, falling to her knees.
"Okay! J-just don't yell, please."

"Don't give me a reason to."
"Woojin," Chan warned, standing from his seated position. "Y/n, how did you figure it out. We weren't obvious, were we?"

"If she knows, then I bet others do too." Woojin scoffed lightly. "We're so dead."

Recovering from her fall, Y/n held her arms out weakly, voice shaking. "N-no, you're not. My dad is an undercover doctor for hybrids. He helps the sick and hurt. He taught me how to spot one. I guess I learned well and spotted you guys."

She paused, letting the information soak in before continuing. "When this whole test came up, I-I told him, and h-he made these potions. They take away any evidence for a short amount of time, at least long enough to pass this test-"

In a wave of dizziness, Y/n paused, closing her eyes.
"We never had time to learn the side effects or how long it lasts."

"Thank you, I guess," Chan muttered, awkwardly scratching his neck. Y/n nodded slowly, giving a tight-lipped smile.

"Why didn't you report us? Shouldn't you be afraid of people like us?"

The stress of keeping her mouth shut while others beat her down took control momentarily as Y/n blurted out. "What! Of course not, we're not the back guys!"

"We're?"

She fumbled with a wet patch of her shirt, realizing her mistake. "I-I mean you. Hybrids are what's right with the world. Humans make it unbearable, they pollute the peace and force hybrids into hiding; it's a disgrace, really."

"Wow," Chan chuckles, " I didn't think there were any humans that thought that way. I like you."
"Yeah," Y/n breathed, not reaching his eyes. "Human."

"Testing for the seniors and juniors has been completed. Seniors who were sent back to the gym after their test was finished, please report back."

"That means us," Woojin said, pulling along the two teens.