160. Three Wishes

Fear was feeding into Yeon's anxiety to the point of being hysterical. He'd been high on alert, frightened by what had just transpired. Moments ago, he could barely breathe properly, having a linen bag over his head to prevent him from knowing where he was being taken.

Often times, he'd preferred to ignore tension and imminent danger, a character of his that allowed him to have a sound mind whenever he'd panicked however, unlike previous incidences, this was different.

In his first attack, Stan had saved him, his intoxication allowing him to remember only bits of what was happening while the second time, Mora had spiked his drink that he hardly had a recollection of what transpired apart from the painful need to explode between his groins yet this time, there had been none of that, neither Stan nor drugs. He was completely conscious, his main instinct pushing him to survive the ordeal.

He wanted to live... He wished to live and had a reason to so, as he pushed himself to move out of the wrecked vehicle, his hands and feet still tied together, he chanted to himself repetitively that he was going to be fine.

Falling to the ground with a loud thud, he groaned from the pain of the impact. Luckily with it, the bag on his head got trapped by something and was off him. Squinting his eyes, he felt his vision slowly adjust to the poor visibility.

'It was dark already?' He wondered to himself.

Looking behind him, he begun to perceive what had happened, seeing that the four wheeler had rammed into a tree. Looking around, he spotted two men sprawled on the floor, bleeding and panting heavily.

'Where is the other one?' He wondered, a wave of panic washing all over him. 'He couldn't have gotten away... No! I have to get out of here!'

He was aware the odds were against him; outnumbered, didn't know where they were, bound tightly by ropes that prevented him from bolting away and even if he were to do so, he doubted he could outrun his abductors. Luckily he had the advantage of using his scent as he'd done since his abduction. He'd timed himself, waiting in silence, cooperating until their inhibitors wore off and as soon as he'd detected discomfort, he'd let out as much of it as he could.

Perhaps he had been the reason for them skidding off the main road but he knew he had to get away. There is no way in hell he was going to allow himself meet up with Mora.

"Help! Somebody...! Anyone...!" He yelled as loud as his lungs could let him.

The night when Mora had tricked him into escorting him home and thus puncturing her palm, he'd fallen asleep out of fatigue however, the next morning, he'd awoken to her banging the door of the room he'd been sleeping in, demanding that he open it. She kept yelling that she'll set him free, free from all his pain, that she too had been there, suffocating from anguish.

He'd been startled from his sleep and upon getting up was when he'd remembered the incidents of the previous night, but the banging went on, louder and louder. 'Open the door Yeon let me in! I know...you must be in there! I'll save you... Don't ignore me! I'll set you free from everything and everyone so just let me in..!'

He'd reached for the knob, remembering to have locked it the previous night however, the door had been open the entire time and Mora knew for upon setting eyes on her, she smiled in a way that made his skin crawl.

In retrospect, that memory gave him chills that he'd wondered how he'd managed to meet her continuously afterwards.

"Stop....! I can't....breath..." Said a faint sound, almost wheezing.

The two men appeared to be short of breath from his scent and from how they twisted and groaned, by now, they must be experiencing a narrowing discomfort at the trachea, blocking their airway by the minute.

He too was beginning to feel breathlessness having overused his scent through increasing it's intensity gradually, hoping to keep them that way until he figured a way to get himself out of there.

Suddenly, Yeon felt someone grab onto his feet but his grip had been too weak to keep him on hold. He shoved him with his bound feet and squired further away then forced himself to fully release more of his threatening scent to keep them down. There was more wheezing sounds from them in response, their noses flaring while they twisted and turned, gripping at their chest tightly.

He looked around, calling for help repetitively at the top of his lungs.

"Please... I beg you...stop...!" One of the men struggled to crawl away from Yeon but failed, stumbling back onto the ground. He kept holding onto his chest and appeared to be in a continuous cycle between shortness of breath and a struggle to speak.

'Fuck! I'm getting dizzy... I can't hold them much longer...I need to move!' Yeon said to himself for he too began to feel a constant need to take in deep breaths. He may have appeared to be in control however, having let out scent for sometime in a continuous state, consequences of his actions were catching up with him. Soon enough, he'd run out of scent and collapse, leaving himself vulnerable thereby presenting an opportunity for his kidnappers to recover and escape, or maim him out of revenge.

He kept calling for help while pushing himself further and further away from his abductors. His body was hurting and he knew he must have succumbed to some sort of injury but he didn't care. His instinct was pushing him to survive the ordeal someway somehow. Hopefully, someone had heard him, someone that he wished wasn't Mora.

She frightened him.

One of the men startled Yeon when he groaned aloud. He appeared to be in excruciating pain but that didn't stop him from letting out more scent reflexively out of panic. He'd never thought that he'd ever have to use his scent as a weapon to this extreme. Perhaps, Stan had felt the same way when he'd exhausted the power of fated mates that day to protect him. 'Oh, how many times he's put his life on the line to rescue me? I had to endure his silence for months while he lay in a coma...' Yeon thought and began to cry. It felt torturous. His eyes burned from tears that tricked from his eyes to the green grass. Still on the ground, he supported his head with his chin and looked ahead then saw a path nearby and prayed for someone, anyone to walk past.

With the weight of his body pressing onto his lungs, he was hindered from calling for help yet again and between chocking from the need to cry and the feeling of his body burning from fever after letting so much scent, he finally gave into despair.

"It can't be!" His eyes flared up when he perceived an almost familiar scent. 'Mom?'

Yeon spotted from a distance headlights from an oncoming vehicle fast approaching him. His heart raced, hoping it hadn't been the person he'd feared to encounter.

"H-Help... me!" He called out but his heart sank when the car drove meters past him, leaving behind a residual trail of dust and in that moment, Yeon stopped exuding the remainder of his scent.

'Did I imagine mother?' He wished it were her.'This can't be the day that finally I die...'

"Delirious..." Yeon whispered then shut his eyes, his strength leaving him. There was no way anyone would find him this time unless it was Mora. 'Perhaps this was what my life was to amount to. Dying in her hands.' Surrendering, Yeon gave into the darkness in his subconscious, taking shallow breaths until he felt nothing, heard nothing, perceived nothing.

"She is following Yeon's scent. They couldn't have gone far!"

"Damn it, put your mask back on and don't touch the casualty!" One of the paramedic shouted.

"I can't sense him...!"

"Stay back!" A hand grabbed onto Stan and shoved him away from Yeon just as he was about to touch him. "Don't come any closer!"

'Tear open package and remove pad. Tear open package and remove pad.' The automated instructions from the defibrillator went on repetitively while the two paramedics opened Yeon's airway and monitored the rise and fall of his chest but there had been none.

"Attach AED! I'm starting CPR!" Another paramedic shouted. They had been kneeling beside an unresponsive Yeon with a first aid kit next to them and a portable Automated Eternal Defibrillator to assist in administering shock.

"He is not breathing...?" Stan asked but the paramedics carried on as if they hadn't heard him. Both Stan and Yeon's dad watched in awe as the two men ripped open Yeon's shirt to further expose his chest.

"Yeon!" Stan called out but his fated was unresponsive. He was terrified of the thoughts that ran through his mind and with the air mixed up like this, he couldn't think straight enough to focus on the fading spiritual essence he felt from his fated.

Yeon's dad had him trapped him by the torso, holding him tightly that despite his struggles to free himself, he was completely powerless. "Let me go...!"

"Stan calm down! He is also my son and I can't balance the air and deal with you at the same time...!"

"Why is he not breathing?"

"His scent is faint and we might need your scent to boost his..." One of the paramedic said, pointing at Stan.

"He took scent inhibitors remember?" Replied the other. "All of us did otherwise we wouldn't be able to handle this situation considering how mucky the air is right now."

'Stand clear, shock advised.' The AED administered shock, prompting Yeon's body to jump in motion followed by a loud sudden intake of air.

Stan was about to rush towards him before Yeon's dad pulled him back then warned by the paramedics. "This device delivered shock and he is still attached to it..."

"Yeon...!" Stan interrupted, oblivious to the given warnings. He felt helpless and useless the same time. He wanted to help but it was clear his help wasn't needed, rather, it would become a hinderance.

One of the paramedic reached for his hand held VHF radio and gave their location to a standby team while the other kept his attention on Yeon, moving in a manner to prevent Yeon from setting his eyes on anyone but him.

"Calm down and mimic my breathing okay?" The paramedic spoke calmly as soon as Yeon set his eyes onto him. They further administered first aid, covering Yeon with a warm blanket before returning to Stan and Yeon's dad.

"Is he okay?" Stan asked.

"He is fine, but you can't see him right now until your inhibitors wear off. Without your scent you are no use to him. Shifting his gaze to Yeon's dad, the paramedic advised on. "You can stop balancing out your scent with your wive's. It's good this place is not enclosed otherwise it would have been hard to filter out air. Can you still sense your wife?"

"Yes."

"That means they are not far off. The back up team must have reached them. Good that you recommended some face masks with nose blockers, I do not think I would have endured your wife's scent long enough."

Looking back at Stan, the paramedic took off his gloves and patted Stan's shoulder. "The tracker was helpful. As per my colleague, it lead us right to the source though I don't think the culprit or mastermind behind this ruckus is far off. Do not worry though. The search party will do a fine job at finding anyone involved."

Just then, the sound of a gunfire pierced the night, then another, a third and fourth followed by dead silence.

"What was that?" Yeon's dad asked, his mind on the fate of his wife.

"All units, confirm location, now!"

"She is a civilian... You swore to protect her!"

"We must take cover sir... Our situation here is still precarious so please, we must leave right now!"