The snow had stopped but the wind was strong, blowing at our backs. It was beginning to storm and thunder, and once we made it to the coast, the ocean was churning with white-crusted waves.

I skidded to a stop on the beach, squinting yonder. I could see the other side, distant and green against the horizon. My insides were all atwitter.

Changbin came up beside me. "That's where we're going?"

"It's destiny, hyung." I winked. "C'mon, haul ass." I bounded down the beach and into the water. My shoes immediately flooded and I couldn't have cared less. I dove below the surface, twirled, flapping my arms, and came up to shake my hair out of my face. I looked around but Changbin wasnt there.

He was still on the beach, water only up to his ankles.

"Hurry up!" I shouted.

He harrumphed and trudged toward me. I swam out farther, clawing the water out of the way.

"This is happening, hyung!" I whooped. "I will show you I'm not full of shit, you just wait!"

I didn't hear anything except a muffled gargling. I turned around — two disembodied arms were flailing in the air, frantically paddling back toward land. Changbin's face breached the water — he gasped a breath and descended into a coughing fit.

"What the hell are you doing?" I called.

He stood where the water only reached his neck. He looked... embarrassed? He finished coughing before he spoke.

"I... can't swim."

"You're telling me this now?!"

"I'm sorry! I thought I could force myself to learn on the spot."

I pressed my hands into my eyes. What were we supposed to do now? Steal a fishing boat? Stow away on a cargo ship? Build a raft? The English coastline was so close I could taste it, I could feel the sand between my fingers.

I sighed a massive breath and waded toward him. "I'll teach you."

He gulped. "That's not necessary — er, yet — lemme try a few more times."

I backed up to give him space. He stepped in deeper, took his feet off the ground. And immediately went under, arms and legs thrashing, bubbles full of screams popping at the surface. I grabbed his hands, and he flung his arms around me, panting obscenities.

"Fine," he practically shouted, "you can coach me."

"You're gonna have to let go a bit." Or he could hold me tighter, and we could float in circles for a while. Even mid-cling-for-dear-life, his arms were bearish and comfortable.

But he gripped my shoulders and pushed himself away. I held him up with my hands on either side of his waist.

"You know how I'm kicking my legs?" I said.

"I think."

"Do that."

He tried paddling under the water.

"Do the same with your arms — what I was doing before. Pretend you're flying or something. If you go under, you just have to use the water to propel yourself up. Or I'll save you if that doesn't work. Wanna try?"

"Oh god — fine."

I took my hands off his waist. He kicked his legs and flapped his arms in a frenzy. It was a bit pathetic. At least he wasn't going under.

"Good." I coughed to hide a laugh. "You know what, maybe doggy paddling would be a better fit. Hyung, look at me, do this." I waggled my hands in the water. He tried to copy me — it worked a bit better, he even started to move.

"Holy shit," he gasped, black bangs smothering his eyes. "Am I doing it?"

"You're doing it! Plan back on track. You're going the right way, too."

"Jesus, I'm in too deep — Felix, don't let me go under."

"Hold up, hold up." I stopped him — he clung onto my shoulders again. I brushed his hair out of his face and looked into his eyes. "'Course I won't."

His lips turned up into a little smile. He cleared his throat and let go of me, started paddling again. I swam along with him. On occasion I looked back to make sure we were making headway. The French shore got smaller and smaller behind us but the English coastline never seemed to get any closer.

It started to rain, big drops splashing in the water all around us. Sometimes I would swim ahead, torpedoing thirty feet in a couple seconds, and look back to see Changbin still inching along.

"I can go faster," he called.

"You don't have to."

"I can do it, I can do it." He sucked in a breath and pitched into the water. He resurfaced a few feet closer and dove in again. Once he caught up to me, we swam together, not at top speed but fast enough. The shoreline waggled its finger, luring me forward.

When I ducked into the water, something orangey hovering in the depths caught my eye. I got curious. I dove down and waded toward it. A voice in my head told me not to be so easily distracted, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this.

Something caught my ankle. I shrieked a gush of bubbles and craned around. Changbin was there, a panicked look on his face. I pointed at the orange thing. He waved his arms toward the surface. I gestured for him to play along, pleading with my eyes, and headed down farther. He stalled for a second before following me, grabbing for my hand. Oh now you want to hold hands.

Slowly the orange shape came into view. It was a squishy round bulb, fluctuating, propelling itself forward, with long tentacles and soft-looking plumes coming out the bottom. I didn't know what to call it. My human life had been sheltered, landlocked, and Fei hadn't bothered to teach me 'unimportant' things like sea creatures.

We went down and down and down till we were at the bottom, rock covered in colourful plants and squirming organisms. I went up to a spiky thing and looked closely, wondering if its pokers were sharp. I didn't try to answer that question — maybe it had never been touched before, maybe a random boink would scare it.

Changbin was nearby, paddling stiffly as he stared at a white thing draped over a rock. I ribbed him and smiled. He smiled back, rueful. I kept exploring, watching stoic-looking fish prowl through the water, making aimless circles around the seaweed.

Then Changbin poked my arm. He pointed up toward a shadow — a school of fish, weaving nimbly through the water. We swam closer. The fish suddenly pivoted, raced around us — Changbin bumped into me, a startled bubble of laughter escaping his lips.

The fish were playing with us. They led us toward the surface, wheeled around and circled us. We twirled with them, moving our arms in broad strokes. I somersaulted and twisted around, and when I looked up, the fish were coming straight for us. They split down the middle at the last second and reunited once they were past.

Changbin suddenly took my hand and spun me around, like we were dancing. I ducked under his arm, and when I came back around, he put his other hand lightly on my waist.

The school of fish whizzed by again, startled us apart. A couple stragglers clipped me. Why were they in such a hurry?

Changbin's hand shot out and grabbed my shirt. I spun around.

A massive ship was plowing silently through the water, straight toward us.

Shit.

I raked my arms through the water but I couldn't move fast enough. Changbin yanked me out of the way just as it hit us. The momentum slammed us into the side of the ship, down its massive body, caught in its wake.

Grasping for something to hold on to, trying to see through the chaos around me, only a portion of my brain noticed the crazy hurricane of bubbles at the end of the hull.

The propeller.

Bigger shit.

I scraped at the side of the ship, grabbing at anything I could reach — it all broke off. The vortex only got closer and closer, hulking, sucking water, us, everything into its spinning blades.

Finally, my hand caught onto something — a bed of barnacles. I grabbed desperately for Changbin, caught his wrist. He reached for me with his other hand but another surge of water sent him whirling. The force of it ripped the barnacles off the ship's body, sent us both into the undertow. I couldn't see anything; I couldn't tell which way was up — the violent water was blinding and the motor blocked out all sound.

Something big, sharp, moving fast, rammed into my gut, ripped our hands apart. The blade flung me around, sent me wheeling through the water. I flapped my arms, craned around, searching for Changbin. I couldn't see him, I couldn't see anything but darkness, I was in so deep.

I paddled, frantic, toward the surface, shot up through the water and gasped. It was storming even harder than before, rain pouring down on my head, water rolling in huge waves. I couldn't make out where the ship had gone — everything was grey and wet, crashing down around me.

"Hyung! Changbin! Changbin!"

No answer. I saw a light out of the corner of my eye — a lighthouse. I called his name into the distance again. Still no answer.

I turned back toward the lighthouse. Would he see it, too? Would he know to go to it? I had to trust him, even if he was practically blind out there, no idea whether I was running to meet him or waiting in the channel.

I dove into the water, swam toward the light, until the pebbled ground crept up under my feet. I crawled onto the beach, breathing hard, adjusting to the surface world. My clothes were heavy on my body.

I concentrated on the future, sifting through the possibilities. Maybe I could suss out where Changbin was if I knew where we were going to meet. It was all in scattered pieces, random flashes of what was to come. Thankfully the ultimate future was still on track. Our family, our destiny, waited for us.

But when Changbin appeared in my vision, it wasn't on the beach. It was on the ship.

I spun around and scanned the channel, hoping I could see better from land. It was useless. The ship was gone.

I sighed, hauled myself to my feet and started north. Even though the ship could have been going the opposite direction, Changbin had to remember where we were supposed to meet our family. Maybe he would know to meet me there.

So I was back where I started. A desperate sprint across a landmass to find Changbin. It was easy to get frustrated — I was going hundreds of miles per hour but it wasn't fucking fast enough. It was moot to worry, of course — one way or another, we would find each other in the future. I clung to the blurry picture in my head like it was his gentle, veiny hand.

I thought about him to pass the time, the way we were touching before that stupid ship separated us. If I hadn't insisted on exploring, maybe we would still be together. Maybe we would already be on our way to meet our family.

That got me thinking about the family. There was so much the vision hadn't told me about them. How old were they — thousands of years or a couple decades? Was there a leader? Did they have gifts? Were they created for a specific purpose?

Were they anything like Fei? Like Ganzorig's coven, for that matter? Did they operate as an ecosystem or a tyranny? I couldn't imagine myself in a hierarchy, aware of my status as less or more important. Or maybe there was a comfort to it. I'd have to ask Changbin.

I was replaying our underwater waltz in my head when my vision clouded and my feet stumbled. I'd been running nonstop. The city was near, the dock was somewhere in the city, and the ship was at the dock — Changbin was at the dock.

I shook my head. I was facedown in a bush. I climbed out and kept going the way I had been, following the faint sound of motors, smoke billowing out of factory chimneys.

The forest became farmland and farmland became city. I snuck through alleyways, staying out of sight. It was bustling on the road and sidewalk, constables on horses directing automobiles and bicycles through a deathtrap of an intersection. According to a clocktower opposite my hiding spot, it was the end of the workday.

I approached the mouth of the alley, looked out onto the sidewalk. People dressed in frilly jackets and towering top hats walked by, unwitting. They smelled delectable.

I dropped into a crouch and waited. This could take a while. I couldn't strike until all eyes were turned, until someone got close enough to snatch.

It didn't take as long as I'd expected. A human wearing a fur coat and a fedora ducked into the alley, rummaging around in his pocket. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and popped one between his lips.

I pounced, dragged him silently into the shadows, covering his mouth with my hand. He was a squirmy one, but he slackened as I drained him. Gah. Smoker's blood.

I clawed the evidence out of his neck, laid the body at the very end of the alley, the dankest corner, and pulled off his fur coat. Poor little critter, I thought, killed and skinned only to hang off a human's shoulders. I took his shoes and socks, too, and his hat as a final touch. Wasn't like he'd be needing them.

I slipped out onto the street, inserted myself into the foot traffic. The sky was cloudy, dark, no sun — thank god. Fedora tipped down over my face, coat covering my wet clothes, I wasn't the most conspicuous person on the block. I scanned the folks standing outside the storefronts and played a game of eeny-meeny-miny-moe.

I went up to a lady, made sure to keep a safe distance, and smiled with my lips closed, squinting to hide my red eyes.

"G'day, I'm looking for the dockyards — any idea where I could find them?"

She looked confused. She opened her mouth and replied in a language I didn't understand. Right. I suppose it was time for a game of charades.

I tried to gesticulate water, and then a boat. She watched, eyebrows pinched together, and mimicked me, not getting it at all.

"Ah ah ah!" she finally exclaimed. She mimed a sidestroke and cast off a fishing rod. Close enough. I tapped my nose, nodded my head. She pointed down the street, gestured to make a right turn. I thanked her profusely and hurried down the sidewalk, swinging my arms. I didn't care if I was being conspicuous — Changbin was down the street and to the right, I knew it.

But when I reached the corner, all I found was more roads, more city. No dockyards, no ships, no Changbin — but there did happen to be a bait and tackle shop. In hindsight, the lady and I had been barrelling toward a misunderstanding. I checked up on the futures — all were still intact, unchanged. Jesus Christ, what was I supposed to do next? How was I supposed to make the leap from now to our fate?

I shut my eyes and rubbed my nose. Desperate times and desperate measures and all that. I walked up to a building with a column, rounded it and scaled toward the overhang. I hauled myself onto the roof, checking over my shoulder for onlookers. All clear.

I scanned the cityscape. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The buildings were tall and painted with dull colours, the sidewalks were like rivers unto themselves, the current of walkers moving in navy and peach and mauve waves. There were so many people, so much to look at, businesses and signs and—

Holy shit. There it was. A long, snaking river leading into the distance. There had to be a dock somewhere along the inlet, Changbin had to be there, waiting for me.

But that wasn't all I saw. A building to the northwest, brick walls, a yard in the shape of a crescent, a sign that said...

Windgrove Hospital.

In a split second, I knew the truth. This was exactly where we needed to be.

─────────

so yeah this chapter is a bit weird lol. the book used to be like 28 chapters before but i whittled it down to 20 so it wouldn't take too long to post. you could say i have i have commitment issues ,,, and you'd be right

on an unrelated note, i'm just so frickin proud of skz rn, between their amazing performances and hyunjin's cover of psycho (and minho's general existence in the blueprint mv), they're kings and they deserve all the happiness in the world. i'm feeling pretty proud to be a stay too - we might be dumbass clowns but i love us <333

oki see you next week