Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

110. Chapter 110

Chapter 110

"Should we start digging our graves now?" Oscar asked on their seventh, at least JJ's and his comrade's seventh, day in the North Korean holding camp. JJ still hadn't thought of anything because security in the place was air tight and there didn't seem to be any opportunities. Of course, Oscar wasn't helping.

"I don't understand what Travis sees in you," JJ mumbled in Quileute so the others didn't understand him.

"Me either, kid," Oscar said.

"JJ," Hadley said, "I'm sorry to be this guy, but please speak English."

"Sorry, Jared," JJ said. "I don't suppose any of you saw something useful thus far."

"No," Hadley said as did the others.

"They've got this place sealed up tighter than a fucking snare drum. At this point, I don't know if we'll be able to get out without some help."

"But how do we do that?" Clyde asked. "Jun can't help us. He can't even come to us."

"Hell, how do we know these fucks haven't gotten to him?" Oscar asked. "You may have too much faith in the little shit."

"Shut up, Oscar," JJ glowered. "Maybe start sweet talking our guard if you think you're so damn smart."

"Nah, he's not my type," Oscar said and JJ kicked him.

"God damn you, Barker," JJ grumbled and kept staring.

He was thinking, but he was also looking for the woman. Sasin. Something was familiar about that name, but not in a positive way. Something felt wrong about it. When he'd seen her, so many things went through his head. He'd met his imprint and now he needed to get her out of here. But then it occurred to him she might not want to. If JJ figured out anything, these people were loyal. He'd not seen such unwavering loyalty since his Uncle Embry for his Uncle Kevin and vice versa. Of course, neither of them would look to the other as a fucking God, that's for sure. It occurred to him she might fight him the whole way if he tried to take her from here. A communist through and through. He'd thought that maybe he could try to enlist her help, but that would only happen if 1) JJ was wrong about his first thought and she wasn't unwaveringly loyal to the communist cause and 2) if she spoke English. He wasn't holding his breath on either. Especially not the latter.

"I thought you said they were taking us to Pyongyang," JJ finally said to Oscar.

"I thought they were," Oscar said. "Hell, maybe they still are. They're just enjoying the countryside," he continued with sarcasm.

"My uncle should have shot you," JJ growled and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Get in line, kiddo," Oscar said.

"Stop it you two," Hadley said. "Maybe we should wait until the middle of the night and knock out our guard and just make a run for it."

"Last resort," JJ said adamantly. "If we did that, it's very likely most if not all of us won't get out of the camp alive. Unless we have a volunteer for a sitting duck." JJ looked right at Oscar.

"Not a chance," Oscar said.

"Just thought we'd get rid of some dead weight," JJ grumbled.

"Right back at you, you little shit," Oscar scowled.

"Enough," Clyde said firmly. "You two arguing isn't getting us any closer to escaping."

"No kidding," Davis said. "I have enough of a headache from not having a cigarette in over a week without you two bickering and making it worse." JJ was quiet. Another hour later of just nothing, the woman from before, Sasin, appeared again.

She wasn't surrounded by anything while she walked beside the officer that had appeared at the camp the other day. He feared she might be related to him somehow or, worse, they were lovers, but there was no affection in her eyes for the man. Only business. The two seemed to argue about something because, suddenly, Sasin appeared aggravated and she was suddenly floating. Her feet came off the ground and she floated around until she was standing in front of the man. He was taller than her, but based on the look he gave her, he may as well be an ant compared to the tiny woman. He couldn't imagine Sasin was in a position of authority, but it was appearing she was at least to some capacity. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing at the moment.

"What are you staring at?" Hadley asked.

"There's a woman that seems to have come with that officer that arrived the other day. Something's very...different about her."

"You mean the demon lady that's floating?" Hadley asked, gawking now that he was watching. The woman was indeed floating now, lifting herself up so she was looking down at the officer.

"Yeah," JJ said. "It sounds like they're calling her Sasin."

"What about her?" Hadley asked.

"I'm not sure yet," JJ said. He wasn't lying. Just because she was his imprint did not mean she'd cooperate or help them. Based on the gentle, surprised look she'd given him when their eyes met JJ hoped he was wrong and that she'd be able to help them.

"How the fuck is she doing that?" Davis asked sounding like a scared child.

"I don't care," JJ said. "She appears to be in charge. Or she at least can bend them to her will. If we can use that…"

"How? You planning to call her over and talk to her?" Oscar asked.

"I don't know yet," JJ said. Oscar groaned with irritation but said nothing otherwise.

JJ ignored him and continued to watch Sasin. The two seemed to reach an agreement because Sasin went back to her feet and a moment later appeared to be given permission to leave. Then that man who'd been speaking with her looked right at JJ, pulled aside a troop to tell him something, and then he and that troop parted ways while the officer walked away. Another hour went by with nothing happening. Then JJ heard someone approaching their cage and their guard went to attention. It was the officer from before. He said something to the guard who seemed to make an affirmation of some nature and then went to the cage. He opened it and specifically grabbed for JJ.

"Any ideas yet, JJ?" Oscar asked while the guard forcefully removed JJ from the cage.

"Fuck you, Barker!" JJ said in response while he was taken out of the cage. He complied hoping this might be helpful in the long run. He was taken to a hut further from their cage and once inside, they tied JJ's hands behind his back and tossed him on the floor. Once he was where they wanted him, the officer from before adjusted his gloves and cleared his throat.

"I'm Officer Lee Dae-Hyun of the People's Republic of North Korea," he said in a thick accent that even Jun didn't have.

"That supposed to mean something to me?" JJ said.

"Not yet," Officer Lee said. "It will." He took off his gloves and put them on a table in the corner. "You're an American are you not?"

"I suggest you get to the point," JJ said. "You'll forgive me if your little cage has me short on patience."

"And I would suggest you behave," Officer Lee said. "You seem to not know who's in charge here. I'll forgive you this time, American. You people are naturally haughty after all."

"It's earned," JJ said and Officer Lee chuckled.

"Sure it is," he said. He grabbed a knife off the table but JJ didn't let the man have the satisfaction of seeing him flinch or look scared. "What's your name, American?"

"Private Jay Jacob Dauer," JJ answered.

"Thank you, Private Dauer," Officer Lee answered. "Now, when we caught you, the allies were retreating to the 38th Parallel with their tales between their legs."

"We'll just bite you harder for the inconvenience," JJ said. Officer Lee chuckled again.

"You're certainly feisty. That's good," Officer Lee. "It means I'll enjoy making you tell me what I want to know." He came closer with the knife. "Now, what are the allies' next move? While I'm sure we can take you, I don't doubt your statement that your people will bite back."

"Can't say as I know," JJ said. He wasn't lying. "Let me and my men go and I'll gladly send you a telegram of our plans. Collect."

"How cute. A sense of humor," Officer Lee said and kneeled down pointing the knife right at JJ's throat. "What are the plans about troops and artillery? Shall more be sent? Will more of your little friends get involved? China's a vast country, so I'm sure they'd happily send more volunteer troops to defend us."

"It's a surprise," JJ mocked. "Think of it as your Christmas present from me." Officer Lee punched JJ in the nose but he managed to stay upright while Officer Lee put the knife right back at JJ's throat.

"I'm going to need you to be a little more clear, Private Dauer," Officer Lee said. "You see, you people made a big mistake, though it worked out to our advantage. China thought you were going to invade them and never again will any of us fall under imperial oppression."

"I'm sorry, but did good Mr. Kimmy nuke Japan twice? No, that was us. If anything, you owe me and my own a big fucking thank you. You're welcome," JJ said and got another punch to the face that still didn't make him fall over.

"I wouldn't expect an American to understand the greatness of General Kim," Officer Lee said. "Now, you mention nukes. Will those be used on us? If so, when?"

"If we do, you'll find out when your skin burns off your bones," JJ said. "Don't worry, it'll kill you before it hurts too much."

"I would prefer advance notice," Officer Lee said.

"We can't always get the things we want, kiddo," JJ said condescendingly and it earned him another punch to the face. He was bleeding from the nose, but like all the other times, he healed quickly enough that it wasn't so bad. "You have such a dainty punch for an officer."

This time, rather than punch JJ, he actually used the knife and sliced JJ right across the face. It went deep. He cut JJ's face enough that he'd felt the blade sting against his gums and teeth, but it was already healing and the sting was ebbing. Officer Lee didn't notice at first but it was healing.

"This can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be, Private Dauer," Officer Lee said.

"I thought you said you wanted difficult," JJ said as he felt the last of his wound heal. "I'm sorry I misunderstood you." Officer Lee finally noticed that JJ's cheek healed and appeared scared. JJ smiled at him and Officer Lee cleared his throat.

"I see you're a durable type," Officer Lee said. "Perhaps you're right. I didn't make my request very clear. Forgive me. English is not my first language. Let me say that cooperation is the only thing that will ensure you live. I realize there are things you just wouldn't know, but you tell me what you do know and I'll personally ensure you live long enough for the People's Republic to win this way and we'll send you on your merry way."

"If you're waiting to win the war, you may as well kill me now," JJ said. "You may have China helping you, but you're up against a leviathan you can't beat."

"We're beating you now," Officer Lee said.

"Things change," JJ said.

"Indeed they do," Officer Lee said and held the knife to JJ's throat. "I'll give you one more chance to tell me what I want to know before I slice your throat."

"Try me, mother fucker," JJ said. "I lived through a bullet to my throat. It'll take more than a slit throat to scare me."

"Oh really?" Officer Lee said. Then he forced JJ onto his back on the ground and the knife went right between JJ's legs. "Do I have your attention now?"

"Indeed you do," JJ said. "I'll give you two seconds to get that knife away from my cock."

"Answer me and the knife goes away," Officer Lee said.

"You have one more second," JJ said.

Rather than pull away, Officer Lee pressed the knife more firmly against him. Before he could go any further, JJ slammed his head right into Officer Lee's and once the man dropped the knife, JJ kicked the man off him and got onto his feet. Officer Lee started yelling in Korean but JJ approached him and put his boot right on the man's throat. Before JJ could do or say anything else, he felt a strong hand on his throat and that hand forced him back with enough force that it nearly ruptured his windpipe. But he couldn't see what was grabbing at him and he started panicking, not knowing what was happening. Just then, the woman he'd been watching, Sasin, stepped into the hut. She seemed alarmed to see him and then she looked down at Officer Lee as he got back on his feet. Suddenly, there was no longer a hand on his throat. Instead there were two hands at his shoulders that kept him against the wall. Officer Lee said something to Sasin before looking at JJ again and smiling.

"I should introduce our pet," Officer Lee said. "We call her Sasin. The Demon. The Grim Reaper. All I need do is give the order and she will tear you limb from limb. I always tell her to start with the arms and legs. Cause the most pain possible before she rips off your head. Or pulls your torso in half. Depends on my mood. All with her mind alone."

"How quaint," JJ said sarcastically, but he had to look at her. After the explanation, he knew why the name didn't sound right. It was a monster, not a name. He wondered what her real name was. "So what's her real name? Or have you never bothered to ask?"

"We call her Sasin because that's what she is. And she knows it. She answers to it. That's all I need," Officer Lee said. "So, American, now that you've had a small taste of her power, I suggest you cooperate with me. Because her grip is one you will not escape." JJ didn't say anything. He just looked at the woman. She was so dainty appearing and her eyes betrayed a discomfort. He wondered if Officer Lee were lying. He saw worry and sadness, but no evil. Not a shred of it. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean she didn't follow orders. "Now, what are the future plans for Allied attacks?" JJ was silent. "Nothing to say?"

"Not to you," JJ said to Officer Lee and looked at the woman again. Officer Lee followed JJ's gaze to the young woman who immediately averted her eyes as if to hide something and then he looked at JJ again.

"Don't bother with begging her to spare you, American. When I give the word, your life ends. Unless, of course, you tell me what the Allies are planning next."

"I don't have an answer for you," JJ said. "Even if I did, I'd tell you nothing." He looked at the young woman. He was about to take a big gamble. He looked into her eyes silently, as if pleading for her to spare him. If he was getting through to her, he'd do everything in his power to get himself, his men, and her out of here. If not, he'd die by her hand and hers only. "If that's all you have left to say, Officer, I say tell her to kill me and be done with it."

"My pleasure," Officer Lee growled and looked at the young woman he called Sasin and barked an order. To JJ's surprise and intense relieve, her answer was swift.

"아니," (Ani) she said firmly.

"뭐?" (Mwo) he spat back.

"그가 죽었다면 그는 대답 할 수 없습니다," (geuga jug-eossdamyeon geuneun daedab hal su eobs-seubnida) she continued. "그의 정신을 깬다면 그는 말할 것입니다," (geuui jeongsin-eul kkaendamyeon geuneun malhal geos-ibnida). Whatever she said seemed to make Officer Lee contemplate something until he looked at JJ and sighed.

"Luckily for you, American, Sasin has a point. You're no use to us dead. You will talk. After we beat you and make an animal of you; after we've reduced you to the lowest thing we can, you will talk." Officer Lee yelled something at the young woman before leaving the hut. She looked at JJ with a stare he couldn't quite understand as he felt himself being lowered to his feet. Whatever had been holding him released him once his feet were firmly planted on the ground.

"What is your name?" JJ asked but she didn't answer. "Do you speak English?" She continued to stare at him without any answer.

Then she said something, but it was in Korean. He felt like there was a hand behind him and that hand grabbed the rope around his wrists and started pushing him forward so he would walk. When it had pushed him right before her, he got to see just how small she was. She barely reached his chest. In all fairness he was well over six feet tall, but he'd been right about her being about Alice's height. He could finally see her up close if only for a moment. He'd been wrong about her eyes. They were dark, yes, but they were closer to brown. A very deep, rich shade of brown that most might mistake for black. She looked as though a stiff wind could get the best of her, the bulk of her winter uniform the only thing making her look of normal size. He couldn't believe she was grown and yet those eyes didn't show a girl, they showed a woman. A woman who lived a lifetime of pain and sorrow and he couldn't begin to comprehend just by looking into her eyes.

JJ could actually hear her heart rate go up, but he refused to believe it was because he scared her. There was no way. This woman had nothing to fear. She wasn't a vampire. Not a full one anyway. That much was clear to him now, but she had a power that could defend her against just about anything even if he didn't fully understand what that power even was. The phantom hand at his back stopped pushing on him while she stared at him. She appeared confused and he could even see the tiniest hue of peachy pink on her cheeks. A chink in her armor, or so he was hoping. JJ then did something he'd not done in years: he smiled. Really smiled at her. The way he used to years ago. The smile seemed to dazzle her and it made her appear even more confused.

He wanted to say something to her. Anything. Tell her his name, tell her how beautiful her eyes are, her lips, the gentle pink hue of her cheeks, her adorable rounded face with just the barest hint of a point to her chin. How her black hair looked so shiny and breathtaking or how the little hat she wore made her look adorable. But to matter what he said, he feared she'd not understand him. It took a moment, but she averted her eyes at last and the phantom hand pushed JJ forward with her following behind him out of the hut. Once we'd returned to the cage, the guard opened the tiny door and I was pushed in, my rope restraints never removed, and she said something to the guard before walking away. She sent one more look his way, the confusion still there in her eyes, before walking away and JJ's gaze followed her away.

After several days of lying in a straw bed being consistently being tended to, Jun was feeling much better though his shoulder was still unbearably sore. He'd thought himself a goner after he felt the tear through his skin of the bullet and the pain was enough at the time to make him pass out instantly. When he finally came to, he was being tended to by a woman who introduced herself as a member of the People's Republic's nurses for the army under service of The Great Leader. His heart nearly stopped when it occurred to him he was now a prisoner of the North Koreans. They treated his wounds, kept him fed as anyone else and they were pleasant to him, but the catch was stringent 'reeducation' expressing the superiority of the Communist cause and General Kim Il Sung, or The Great Leader as he was often referred to.

When Jun finally could see JJ and the others, they were kept in a tiger cage hunched over and miserable. He kept trying to look at them, but given he was so far a distance from them and given the nurse had told him, rather firmly, that they were enemies of the cause and not worth his worries, he couldn't be sure how they were or what he could do for them. There were two other South Korean troops with him, but they were in far worse condition than he. Jun suspected they weren't going to make it and his heart went out to them. But he would make it and he wanted to go home. He knew Dauer, Hadley and the others wanted to go home too. When he'd seen the woman they all called Sasin, his heart nearly stopped. She was imposing with things surrounding her like a halo with nothing appearing to hold them up.

When he'd seen the way Dauer looked at her, he was surprised he was anything less than horrified. He appeared….smitten? He certainly wasn't scared. Jun had thought it strange but didn't linger on it until Dauer was forced away to be questioned and then was returned to the cage by Sasin. She didn't have an ounce of that imposing, powerful stare in her eyes that he'd seen before. Her gaze was gentle on JJ and Jun thought it strange. Then, he realized, if they were going to get out, The Demon, The Reaper, Sasin was the answer. As soon as Jun was able to stand without issue, he was given tasks. Simple ones that didn't put too much pressure on his wounded shoulder, but tasks all the same. It allowed him a little more freedom to move around, so he tried to see if he could speak with Sasin.

He got his opportunity at their week and a half mark of being in the North Korean holding camp. Officer Lee had stopped allowing Dauer and the others to eat. He'd heard that apparently Dauer had upset Officer Lee and earned them a punishment of starvation. The story spreading around the camp was that Dauer, or Ougeo (Ogre) as he'd been nicknamed, had somehow escaped Officer Lee's clutches and had nearly killed the man and would have had Sasin not stepped in and forced the man back. Officer Lee had ordered that no troops or other service men and women go anywhere near the cage 'for fear that Ougeo will attack and eat you'. Jun nearly laughed out loud with the accusation but then, if the man ever did eat meat in his life, Jun wouldn't put it past JJ to make man his first one out of self-defense. While Jun was attending to his task, Sasin approached attending to her own task when Jun stopped her.

"Good afternoon," Jun said to her. "You are called Sasin?" She only nodded. "I'm Park Min Jun. We met briefly when I was in the infirmary."

"I remember," she said quietly. "Did you need something?"

"Only pleasant conversation," Jun said smiling pleasantly but her gaze remained the same. "You came here with Officer Lee?"

"I am with his company, yes," she answered.

"How long have you served in his company?"

"Not long," she said.

"How did you come to be part of his company? I imagine with a power like yours you would have served General Kim himself."

"My services were requested for Officer Lee. I followed orders," she said.

"I see," Jun said. "So do you know how long you'll be with his company?"

"Not at this time."

"Do you like working for Officer Lee?" She didn't answer him. "You can be honest. I won't say anything to him. I've never even spoken to the man honestly." She still didn't answer. "So were you born in Northern Korea?"

"Yes," she finally answered.

"Do you have siblings that are serving the North or South?"

"No."

"A father? Or other family?"

"No," she said.

"Really?" Jun asked and she nodded. "I'm so sorry. I guess the army is a natural step in that case." She didn't say anything. "So the stories being told about Private Dauer. Are they true?"

"Who?"

"He's being called The Ogre," Jun said.

"Oh," she said and her eyes instantly softened. "I only saw Officer Lee on the ground with his boot on his throat. I got him off the Officer in time."

"He's not so scary as Officer Lee is making him out to be. Between you and me," Jun said, planting the seeds. "He's big and intimidating, sure, but he's a really good guy. He's got a mother, brother and little sister at home that he took care of all by himself after his dad died in Europe during the war." She said nothing. "He's a bit weird too. He won't eat meat or eggs or milk or anything of the like. He only eats vegetables."

"How did he get so big?" she asked.

"Good question," Jun chuckled a little. "You should see him eat the rations. He picks around his food and won't eat anything that isn't entirely meatless."

"Strange," she said.

"He says he learned it from his mom. She has a lot of allergies evidently."

"I don't suppose you would say what Allied plans are would you?" she asked, getting to the point since he was talking.

"I'm just a Private," Jun said. "I wouldn't be privy to any of that information. Before we were captured, our only orders were to retreat."

"Worth asking," she said. She was about to walk away but Jun stopped her.

"Do you know how long Officer Lee is going to keep the prisoners hungry?" Jun asked. "I mean, Dauer may be a picky and finicky eater, but even he has limits I'm sure."

"That is the point," she said. "I can understand holding them with affection given you've been under their thumb for so long, but you're with the People's Republic now. No one will oppress us ever again."

"I was freer as a South Korean soldier with comrades that became like brothers to me than I was under Japanese oppression," Jun said.

"You have new brothers and sisters now," she said. "Be grateful for The Great Leader's efforts to give you a better world."

She ended their conversation there and walked away and Jun felt slightly disheartened. He'd hoped maybe he could reason with her, but she seemed as brainwashed as all the others. Jun didn't speak to her again for another day. Another day of being stuck in the holding camp and another day Dauer and the others were forcefully being starved. Several troops were encouraged to eat right in front of them as if too mock them and boy did they ever. Not a one of the troops could speak English, so there was no fear of negative influences from the evil Americans. Jun noticed Sasin was not eating. She cooked certainly and handed out the rations, but she wasn't eating with the others.

"Are you not hungry?" Jun asked her when she was sitting before the fire with the others.

"No," she said.

"I take it you and JJ have similar habits," Jun chuckled a little.

"Pardon?" she asked.

"Nothing. Never mind," Jun sighed and looked at them again. He decided she wasn't worth his time and kept contemplating how he could help his comrades get out. Or at minimum get them food. Of course, he wasn't allowed to leave the group with food so he couldn't sneak them food.

It was another few days of no food and Hadley and the others were getting irritable and starving. JJ was handling it better, but the pangs of hunger were starting to get to even him. Jun watched them as best he could but he felt so powerless to help them or him. After a week of starving them and their only means of water being the snow that had fallen on the ground, Officer Lee ordered all the men to his tent again, their hands tied behind their backs and lined up side by side in the hut JJ had been questioned in last time. When Officer Lee entered the hut, he didn't come alone. Sasin was with him and JJ looked right at her desperate to reach out to her the only way he could. While Officer Lee wasn't looking, JJ smiled at her again the way he had before and that little rosy hue crossed her cheeks but she was quick to avert her eyes.

"Afternoon, Americans," Officer Lee said after he grabbed a knife. "I'll bet you're all very hungry." None of them answered but their expressions betrayed the truth of the statement. "You know, Sasin is quite a gifted chef. Cooked for and defended General Kim himself before she graced my company. Just the other night, she made kimchi. Delicious. And she'd brought us some pickled radish she'd made. Doesn't that all sound delicious?"

"I don't care for Kimchi," JJ said, taking the lead and trying to get the heat off the others.

"Nonsense," Officer Lee said. "Dock shit would taste good when you're starving. Though dog meat is much more appetizing. Or cat. Sasin makes a roast cat that keeps the lot of us happy."

"Gross," JJ said.

"What would I have her prepare for you then, American? Perhaps steak and potatoes?"

"I'll take a burger and fries," Davis said. "Everything except pickles. I hate pickles."

"I'll take that steak and potatoes. Extra gravy. And roasted carrots. And a Coke," Clyde said.

"My wife's apple pie," Hadley said, joining in the mockery. "Make sure you put butter and sugar on the crust so it tastes right."

"Rattle snake soup," Oscar said. "I'll be very impressed if your little dog can make that happen." JJ glared a moment at Oscar for the insult but said nothing.

"Nothing for you?" Officer Lee looked at JJ, playing along for now.

"Nothing for me, thank you," JJ said, smiling meanly.

"Well, gentleman, I can certainly make Sasin prepare approximations of what you want at least," Officer Lee said. "All it'll cost is everything you know."

"That's fine," Davis said. "Bitch probably would forget to leave off the pickles."

"No one makes pie like my wife," Hadley said.

"To my knowledge you people doesn't even have rattle snakes, so fuck you," Oscar said.

"It's steak or nothing," Clyde said. Officer Lee chuckled.

"I should have suspected starving you wouldn't be enough," Officer Lee said and grabbed the same knife from before. "Before we proceed, I think it's only fair to warn you. I brought Sasin for a reason. Surely you've noticed her rather remarkable gift." None of them said anything, so Officer Lee continued. "Point is, she can do great and terrible things with that gift. Allow me to offer proper demonstration."

Officer Lee yelled something and people outside the hut brought in an extremely sick individual. He was nearly naked so they weren't even sure if he was from the north or the south originally. But he was severally wounded. Bullet wounds that were infected beyond repair. He'd likely be dead in days at most. JJ looked at the man and then Officer Lee and then at his imprint. She wasn't looking at any of them, her head averted from the man that had been brought in. Officer Lee barked an order to her and the instant he did, the sickly man was lifted from the ground by seemingly nothing. The man seemed to be attempting to grab something around his throat but he was too weak. Then something grabbed his arms and legs part like a Da Vinci drawing but it stopped there for now.

"I had told you about this did I not?" Officer Lee asked JJ. "I'm sure you didn't believe me." Officer Lee barked one more order and, for the briefest moment, the sickly man screamed before he was quite literally torn apart limb from limb. Dead in seconds with blood absolutely everywhere. Davis dry heaved and the rest of them went completely pale. Even Oscar was scared now. "Remarkable isn't it?"

JJ wasn't looking at Officer Lee. He was only looking at his imprint. He saw the guilt in her eyes despite trying her best to appear stone faced. She'd been managing it until she saw him staring at her. She didn't return his stare for long.

"So you see, gentleman," Officer Lee interrupted the silence, "If you want any ounce of hope to return home, you need to answer me and you need to tell me everything." None of them said a word. The frank truth isn't they didn't know anything anyway. Of course, that answer wouldn't be good enough, so they said nothing. "I'll give you one more chance, boys."

"Go fuck yourself," JJ muttered, hitting home their point. Whatever that was. Officer Lee was not pleased. From what JJ could tell, he and the others were the only prisoners this camp had which explained Officer Lee's frustration.

"So be it," Officer Lee said and then looked at the woman.

He said something to her and her eyes went right to Hadley. The man could suddenly not breath and it appeared as though strands of his grown out short hair was being pulled. JJ acted before he thought and went where he saw the lifted hair and bit into whatever was holding Hadley's hair. It felt soft as though he was biting into human flesh and he even tasted blood as hard as he could. The phantom hand that clutched Hadley loosened its grip and JJ heard a woman scream in pan as the phantom hand pulled away, leaving Hadley unharmed. JJ looked at her realizing whatever her power, she felt pain when it was harmed. He still couldn't see whatever it was, but he did see that it was bleeding profusely from his bite and she clutched empty air that looked as though it were bleeding. He'd find a way to apologize a million times over to her, but it was already healing.

After she screamed and released Hadley in pain, Officer Lee screamed at her and then reached for his gun. JJ leaped to his feet and head-butted the man in the chest causing breath to leave his lungs suddenly. JJ lost his footing but managed to land on his knees on top of the officer. While he had the upper hand, JJ managed to grab the knife and cut the rope from around his wrists. Once he had, JJ managed to land one hard punch across the Officer's face before he felt a hand around his throat that lifted him off Officer Lee. This time, she looked angry at him, but it was certainly because he bit her and not because he'd punched the Officer. He couldn't breathe while she glared into his eyes while JJ held onto what felt like a delicate wrist that he couldn't see. His toes barely touched the ground but he was no less helpless to her. Officer Lee got off the ground and straightened his uniform.

Officer Lee said something to the woman and as soon as he did, JJ felt five more hands all over his body. A hand on each wrist, on each ankle and right on his head while the first hand remained on his throat. His heart raced as he realized what she was about to do, but he didn't show fear when he looked at her. Just an apology in the only way he could offer. Apologetic eyes. He felt the phantom hands start to tug when she stared into his eyes longer. Then she stopped. The hands didn't go away, but they weren't pulling anymore. Now she was just staring at him as though she were a wounded deer in headlights. Officer Lee yelled something at her, but she didn't even acknowledge him. She focused entirely on JJ and he smiled gently at her. Officer Lee yelled at her again and this time she listened and whatever had been holding JJ let go of him and JJ fell to the ground.

"What the fuck just happened?" Hadley whispered, still shocked by what he'd just watched. Officer Lee was paying attention entirely to the woman, screaming at her in Korean and she took it. JJ stayed still until Officer Lee grabbed her hair suddenly. JJ was ready to stand, but she didn't need him. Something grabbed Officer Lee's hand and practically crushed it so it would let go of her hair braid. Then something grabbed Officer Lee by the throat and tossed him against the wall, but he didn't stay up and fell to the floor right after he slammed against the wall.

"너 나 만지지 마!" (neo na manjiji ma!) she screamed at Officer Lee and now he appeared scared of her. Everyone else, JJ included, backed away from her out of instinct as she let out that yell. Then she looked at JJ and he didn't move. He wasn't sure what she'd do if he did. He also made sure he didn't look mean or intimidating. He stayed crouched and submissive hoping it might sooth her.

She stared at JJ a moment and then looked at Officer Lee one last time with a glare before she walked out of the hut without another word. Officer Lee slowly got back to his feet after she'd walked out clutching his chest as though he might have a heart attack if he didn't.

"Looks like your 'pet' bites back," Oscar said. In frustration, Officer Lee kicked Oscar across the face and then yelled something causing two soldiers to come in and force the five of them back to their cage. "What the fuck did you do?" Oscar asked when they were in the cage.

"What?"

"No 'what'," Hadley said. "How the hell did you get her to stop? What did you do?"

"I don't know," JJ answered. All he'd done was look at her apologetically and smile gently at her and she stopped. "Whatever I did, all that matters is it worked, right?"

"What is that thing?" Davis asked, still shaking. "How does she do what she's doing?"

"All I can tell is they're hands that grab you," JJ said. "Where they're coming from or how is another matter. How or whatever they are is under her control."

"She tore a man to pieces," Davis trembled. "Like he was fucking paper."

JJ was quiet as he stared out of the cage trying to locate her again. He wanted to make sure she was okay, but he suspected he wouldn't see her for a while. Word of what happened, distorted as it may have been, spread to everyone and JJ's nickname as Ougeo persisted after it was said that he'd managed to bite Sasin and attacked Officer Lee again. The troops that had previously surrounded the cage now refused to go near it. Jun continued to watch from afar. A day after the story had spread about what happened, Jun saw Sasin walking his way with several large Ongi surrounding her that could be filled with only Lord knows what.

"I heard Dauer bit you," Jun said when Sasin stopped before him and put the Ongi on the ground. She didn't say anything. "What happened?"

"What happened is nothing you need to be informed of," Sasin said with irritation and was about to walk away, but Jun stopped her.

"Please," Jun said and she turned to look at him. Jun approached her but when he was a foot away, he felt a hand on his chest that he couldn't see that was keeping him at a distance.

"What do you want, Comrade?" she asked.

"I want to go home," Jun said.

"You are home," she said.

"No, I'm not," Jun said. He was taking a gamble, but at this point, a gamble was what they needed. "My home is over the parallel."

"Be careful who you say that to," she said. "I'll keep this to myself for your sake. You're a child. It'll take time for you to learn."

"I'm young, but I'm not stupid," Jun said. "If Dauer bit you, why didn't you kill him?"

"What?"

"If he bit you, why didn't you kill him? Rumor has it that if you wish to, you could tear a man to pieces. Is that a lie?"

"The orders that I do and do not receive are not of your concern," she said. "Now unless you had anything important, I have things to attend to."

"If you keep this up, they're going to starve to death," Jun pleaded. "If you could convince whoever you can to let them eat again-"

"And waste rations on them?" she said. "When they aren't cooperating no less."

"They won't know any more than what I've told you: our orders were to retreat. That was all we were told to do and that's all we know. You have my word."

"If that's the case, they're all the more useless to us," she said. "Better to not waste rations on something useless."

"Then let us go," Jun said. "We haven't learned anything about your plans from being here. You let the six of us go and you'll never hear from us again."

"You must be insane," she sighed heavily. "The only way any of you are getting out of here is if you run. If you try that, you'll all be dead before you reach the end of the camp. Why do you resist so much? Them I understand. You I do not."

"I'm Korean. Not a communist," Jun whispered. "I'm a boy that wants to go home. I'm a boy that wants to live long enough to start a life of his own. If I stay here, I'll never see any of that happen. Dauer and the others just want to go home too."

"Then they shouldn't have gotten shot," she said and started walking away again. Jun groaned, wondering if he made a huge mistake. If only for his own sake. In the face of all the others, he was all for communism. Going along with it was all that was keeping him alive now, but that woman was the Officer's pet. So much as a whisper from her into his ear and Jun was dead. Of course, if he couldn't go home, then perhaps being dead wasn't so bad.

That same day, it was freezing cold outside and the middle of the night. JJ and the others were huddled together trying to keep warm. All of them except JJ had fallen asleep while sitting upright against one another. He couldn't sleep. He was so hungry and shivering, but above all he kept thinking about the previous day. He wished he could speak to her and verbally tell her he was sorry. He wished he could promise it would never happen again. He wished he knew her real name. Sasin wasn't her name. He knew that beyond a reasonable doubt, especially if Sasin actually meant demon and/or Grim Reaper according to the Officer. She had frightening power, but she wasn't a monster. Not to him anyway. He wanted to know her name. He wondered when the last time had been since someone called her by her real name. Someone had to have given her a real name. That sorrowful look had to have come from somewhere.

While JJ was thinking, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder from a finger and JJ turned his head to see her outside the cage. She was holding a bowl and when she saw he was looking at her, she kneeled down. She looked around a moment. Their guard was so tired he wasn't paying attention, but they still needed to be quiet. She revealed the bowl was filled with white rice with peas mixed in and JJ gawked at it. Rice and peas had never looked so good. She got it through the bars of their cage handing it over to him and he eagerly accepted it. He got the others to wake up as quietly as possible. He made sure they only saw the rice and they all had a portion of what had been brought to them, staying as quiet as possible. Once they were done in just seconds, JJ handed the bowl back to her. He made a point to look into her eyes and smiled lovingly at her. He saw the hue in her cheeks redden from seeing him smile and she scurried away as quickly as possible.

"How did you…?" Hadley mumbled when he realized who'd brought them the food. "Wait, how do we know it's not poisoned?"

"If it were, she wouldn't have snuck here in the middle of the night to give it to us." That's what JJ was hoping, anyway. The following morning, Jun was working on a few guns he'd been ordered to when he saw Sasin approach him. She was attending to something, so he didn't try to speak to her.

"I can't do much," she said quietly and Jun looked up at her, confused. "But I will do what I can."

"What?" Jun asked.

"Just keep your mouth shut," she said firmly and stared at Jun. He looked in Dauer's direction and saw he was watching them. Jun was close enough that he could still see that look in the man's eyes as though he were staring at an angel.

"Who gave you the name Sasin?" Jun asked. "Is that your real name?"

"It became my codename when I joined the People's Republic army," she said.

"What's your real name?" Jun asked.

"Why does that matter?" she asked.

"Because I want to properly thank you," Jun said. She stared at him a moment apprehensively and then sighed heavily.

"So Eun Mi," she finally answered before walking away to do something else. JJ couldn't understand any of what Jun and the woman had been saying, but he could hear them. Jun looked in his direction and Jun smiled and he saw him mouth, "her name is Eun Mi."

Eun Mi, JJ thought the name in his head and he smiled. That was more like it. That was a name that suited her. It was sweet and beautiful. He wanted to say it out loud, but the others were listening and they wouldn't know what he was talking about. He kept thinking the name in his head over and over, loving it more and more as the hours passed. Eventually it was nightfall and JJ and the others had to huddle together again. While they were huddled, JJ noticed something in the snow. A flower. How it had survived this long JJ wasn't sure, but somehow it had. JJ reached for it: a white Gardenia. It was almost perfect and as white as the snow. He'd thought they'd all died for the winter, but this one held out. He held onto it, wanting something pleasant in his grasp. It was a few more hours before the others were asleep and JJ was well on his way when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder again. JJ turned and saw Eun Mi again.

She was holding another bowl of rice and peas that she was being careful to ensure that wasn't seen by sneaking quietly so the guard watching them wouldn't see. He was half asleep while standing, so it wasn't hard for her to tiptoe up to the cage when the whole camp save for a few patrol guards were asleep. She kneeled down before the cage and held out the bowl of rice pushing it through the bars into JJ's eager hands. He smiled at her before gently waking the others again. They split the bowl of food between the five of them and finished really quickly. When they'd finished, he glanced down at the flower he'd found. He looked over his shoulder at her, but she was keeping her attention on the guard, ready to do what she needed on a moment's notice. He looked at the flower again while his men were already falling back asleep after their tiny meal. He picked up the gardenia and put it in the empty bowl before turning and holding out the bowl to her.

"Eun Mi," JJ whispered which got her immediate attention and surprise. It felt good to say her name and to see the look of surprise that he'd learned it. He presented the bowl to her with the flower and she took it from him. Then she finally looked down to see the flower.

She stared at that flower in awe for several long seconds. He assumed at first that she was just as surprised as him to see the flower so late in the season. But then she looked at him and he saw tears in her eyes. He wondered if he'd done something wrong until she smiled at him. It was the first time he'd seen her smile and it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. She looked at the flower again and took it out of the bowl so she could smell it. He wanted to say something to her. Anything.

"그것은 아름다운," (geugeos-eun aleumdaun) she said. He didn't understand, but she was smiling longingly at the flower as though she were having a pleasant memory. Then she said something he could finally understand. "고맙습니다," (gomabseubnida/thank you). JJ smiled back at her and racked his brain for the correct response. He knew very little Korean, but he at least knew this. It just took him a moment to remember.

"천만에요," (chunmaneyo/you're welcome) JJ answered. His accent was abysmal he knew, but she understood him. She even giggled under her breath.

She glanced at the guard making sure he was still mostly sleeping while standing and then looked at JJ again with a smile before standing and walking away. The next morning, JJ was able to see Eun Mi and he saw the flower he'd given her tucked into the belt of her uniform and it made him smile. She even glanced in his direction, but she didn't dare do more than smile at him. He smiled back at her and felt a sense of victory when he saw the small pink hue in her cheeks.

"What are you staring at?" Oscar asked, but it wasn't condescending. There was an awe to it.

"I'm just thinking," JJ answered.

"About?" Oscar asked.

"Pleasant things," JJ said.

"Does it involve little miss demon lady?" Davis asked, noticing JJ's gaze going straight to the woman everyone called Sasin.

"Eun Mi," JJ said.

"What?" Clyde asked.

"Her name's Eun Mi," JJ repeated. They all looked at him strangely while he kept staring at Eun Mi. They stared at her and noticed briefly that she'd smiled at him back before she went about attending to a different task.

"Boys," Oscar said. "I think we have our key out of here."

"You think so?" Hadley asked.

"I told you all I knew JJ's relatives right? The ones that fought anyway? Well, to be to the point, I'm aware of a little something about them. I don't know how, but they're prone to a good bite from Cupid's arrow and when they get shot, the source of their affection quickly follows. So, JJ. Is that what happened with little miss demon lady?"

"Eun Mi," JJ glowered at Oscar.

"Fine, Eun Mi. Just tell me if I'm right or wrong," Oscar said.

"You're right," JJ answered.

"Good," Oscar smirked. "That means she can and will help us."

"How do you figure? I can't even talk to her," JJ said.

"Wait," Davis said, "doesn't she talk to Jun sometimes? It we could figure out a way to get her to work with Jun, we might have a shot."

"How do we communicate any of that to her or Jun?" Clyde asked.

"I'll try talking to her when she brings us food tonight," JJ said. He wasn't sure what he'd say or how he'd communicate it to her but he had to think of something.

Jun, that same day while attending to his assigned chores, noticed the flower in Eun Mi's belt and when he caught a glimpse of the smile she sent JJ's way and the way he smiled back at her, he had hope again that maybe the demon wasn't a lost cause after all. When she was walking past him, he smiled pleasantly at her.

"Good morning, Miss So," Jun said formally and she looked at him strangely. "How did you find a gardenia in this weather?"

"I happened upon it," she said ready to walk away. Jun stopped her and walked around her so he was talking to her.

"May I get straight to the point?" Jun asked.

"And what is your point?"

"It's about JJ," Jun said.

"Who?"

"Private Dauer? The one everyone calls Ougeo," Jun clarified and she stopped in her tracks. "Just for future reference, if you call him JJ, I think he would like it very much."

"You said you had a point?"

"Indeed I do," Jun said. "Firstly, thank you for your kindness. I thought perhaps that kindness could go further?"

"That depends on your definition of further," Eun Mi said.

"That all depends on how much I can trust you," Jun said but Eun Mi wasn't keen on that answer and was annoyed.

"Explain," she said firmly.

"Look, Miss So," Jun said quietly. "You know how I feel being here. You're really the only one who does. You can imagine how much worse Private Dauer and the others feel about being here. They all want to go home. They have families just like I do. Just like all of you do. Well, maybe not you, but-"

"Will that be all for today, Park?" she asked firmly and he took a deep breath.

"Yes, Miss So," Jun said.

"Good," she said. "Then I suggest you get back to work. "Your capitalist society may tolerate laziness, but here, we expect everyone to pull their weight."

"Miss So," Jun said and she stopped and looked at him. "It's not 'laziness' that makes me miss my mother. I'm all she has and if I never get out of here either because I'm killed or held captive, she will be all alone. Two men's lives will be over before they began, a man will never get to return home to meet his first child and JJ will leave a wounded mother to mourn the loss of her eldest son not even ten years after losing her husband. That isn't laziness, Miss So. It's love. Maybe you don't understand that since you're alone in this world but we are not."

"Back to work, Park," Eun Mi said firmly after a brief silence before walking away.

Jun returned to his chores and looked at the cage where JJ and the others were being kept. JJ looked at Jun pleadingly as if asking him to keep trying. Eun Mi was their only hope now and Jun was the only one that could talk to her and convince her to help them. Seeing as she'd not turned him in thus far was a good sign in itself. It gave JJ and Jun hope that perhaps that stone cold loyalty wasn't completely unshakable. It would just take time and patience. Time they had more of now that she'd started bringing them at least a tiny bit of food. It would be enough to get them through until they could get out of this camp. Assuming Jun could help make the woman crack. That went on for a few more days. Eun Mi would sneak to the cage in the middle of the night with a bowl of rice and vegetables – either peas or lotus root or buchu or pickled radish, whatever they had that day – and the five men would finish the bowl in no time, giving Eun Mi enough time to get away without being seen giving the prisoners food. Jun would make sure to talk to Eun Mi whenever he got the chance. Sometimes he'd bring up JJ, other times he'd just start a pleasant conversation. It was five days of that as well as JJ and the others being largely left alone. They wondered if the Officer was waiting for something or if he was just trying to starve them more.

"Officer Lee hasn't questioned them in a while," Jun mentioned quietly while he and Eun Mi were working on getting guns cleaned after a sparring practice.

"He's still mad at me," Eun Mi answered quietly. "If he plans to question them again, he's said nothing to me."

"So you didn't tell him what I said?"

"I did," Eun Mi said. "He's more interested in what they might know about plans of a nuclear attack. They did it to the Japanese after all. Who's to say they won't do that to us?"

"That wouldn't be up to them, though. That's up to General MacArthur. And…well, the president I guess. Truman I think is the American President."

"But they have the capabilities to do that?" Eun Mi asked.

"Well, yeah. Of course they do," Jun said. "I can't imagine that's much use to the Officer though. He should already know that."

"Yes, but when do they plan to use it?" Eun Mi asked.

"No time I'm aware of," Jun said. "Like I've said a million times: we don't have that information. Even Officer Lee can understand that they can't give answers they don't have any more than I can."

"I suppose that's true," Eun Mi sighed. They were quiet a moment before Jun spoke again.

"Have you…." Jun started but stopped and then continued again. "Have you thought about what I said. About the extra help?" Eun Mi sighed and stopped what she was doing to look at Jun critically a moment. She wasn't saying no outright. That was something. Jun wasn't sure what black magic JJ had worked to make Eun Mi more agreeable but so long as it worked.

"Let us pretend," she went on, very quiet as she returned to her task, "that I agreed to. How exactly would it work? Food in the middle of the night is one thing. Releasing prisoners is another matter entirely."

"I don't know," Jun said. "We can't make anything happen unless we plan."

"But you can't come up with a plan unless I help?" Eun Mi asked.

"Basically," Jun said. "You seem to be the only one that can move around at night except for the guards. And guards are fewer guards at night, so if you could help dispatch the guards along the way, we could sneak out with no problem."

"So you're suggesting I kill my own comrades?" Eun Mi said.

"You don't have to," Jun said. "Just incapacitate them."

"You mean ensure they're caught failing at their duties and therefore sentencing them to death," Eun Mi said. "No."

"Miss So," Jun said, but they'd reached the point where she was cutting him off.

"I admire your respect and loyalty, Park," Eun Mi said and rose. "Hopefully, it will not lead to your harm."

Eun Mi walked away with a few guns to put them away where they were supposed to be. Jun groaned a little under his breath. He was getting to her he could tell but she was taking a lot of work. But he kept trying. She would help him with his chores every now and then and he would try to bring up the possibility of escape. She always brushed him off, but Jun kept it up. All the while, all JJ and the others could do was wait.

"What's taking him so damn long?" Oscar growled. "I thought you said he had this covered."

"He does," JJ said. "I can tell. He talks to her. She's not going to do anything overnight. We aren't going completely hungry, so we have time for now." They were abundantly lucky none of their guards spoke any English, but they still have to be quiet lest the guard hear they're talking and hit the cage with his gun. First thing JJ planned to do if he ever got out of her was hit that guard with his own gun right in the God damned nose.

"Well, he'd better hurry up," Davis said. "Ol' General Lee's been rather silent. He may be planning something worse or called for reinforcement."

"They'd have arrived by now if he had," JJ said. "Besides, we're just prisoners in a North Korean camp. What the hell would he need reinforcement for?"

"You?" Hadley said and they all chuckled a little. "You knocked him on his ass twice now."

"Well, if he tries anything again, we'll make that a third time," JJ said. They all grinned a little, but it didn't last. While they'd agreed that Eun Mi may be able to help them escape, none of them could shake the memory of her ripping that sick man apart refusing to look at him.

Another two days passed. They were well into December by now creeping up into January. JJ's mind frequently wandered to home. They'd spent so many months being promised by the General himself they would be home by now, confident they'd have won by now. JJ wondered if his family had believed it as much as he'd wanted to. He imagined his mom and siblings and the rest of the family surrounding the tree while opening presents and enjoying coffee and virgin eggnog with Christmas music playing on the radio in the background. He'd wanted to at least send some things back for his mom, brother and sister. Little souvenirs of Korea that only showed its best. He kept glancing at Jun and Eun Mi who were attending to a chore and seeing them renewed his hope that, at least, he may be home for Christmas next year. Or sooner. Sooner is better. And he'd make sure Eun Mi was with him. He'd get his brain around Korean if he fucking had to. He'd made the briefest attempt to learn Korean when they'd met Jun and he'd tried for all of four days before saying 'fuck it!' because he couldn't pronounce it properly to save his life. He'd make himself pronounce it properly, damn it.

The snow was falling that afternoon in a gentle decent that made JJ long all the more for home. The men kept huddled together to keep warm with their hands in their gloves under their arms so they wouldn't get frost bitten. It was just a good thing their uniforms were so warm or the elements alone would have killed them. While they were huddled together, they heard more guards approaching their cage. They spoke to the man assigned to watch them, he moved aside, and the cage was opened. It was hesitant for a moment, especially after JJ gave the man a death stare, but the guard did eventually grab JJ and drag him out of the cage. The others watched helplessly and, in the distance, Eun Mi saw them drag him away and she stood.

"What will they do to him?" Jun asked her quietly.

"I don't know," she answered hesitantly.

JJ was eventually lifted to his feet and they walked him the rest of the way to the same hut from before. There was still the giant blood stain in the corner of the room from Eun Mi's 'demonstration' and it smelled. Really smelled. And it had dried mostly brown. JJ waited alone in that hut for a few minutes until Officer Lee finally stepped inside. This time, Eun Mi wasn't with him. Instead there were two recruits with him that appeared no older than their late teens though JJ wasn't sure that was an accurate assessment. What was an accurate assessment, however, is that one of them was holding a torch in one hand, a lighter in the other.

"Afternoon, American," Officer Lee smirked.

"We roasting marshmallows or something? I should warn you, I don't eat things with gelatin in them."

"I am not familiar with what gelatin is," Officer Lee said. "However, we'll definitely be roasting something."

"How exciting," JJ said sarcastically.

"For us certainly," Officer Lee said. "So to your knowledge, what plans do the allies have for a nuclear attack on Korea?"

"Well, Officer Lee, to my knowledge, how it works it the bomb is dropped, it goes off and it incinerates everyone within a 2 or so mile radius. I would imagine it's over quickly at least, so that should comfort you."

"Always eager to tell jokes," Officer Lee said. "Perhaps you could tell me another thing. You got a little surprise on us at Inchon. Perhaps you could tell us where they might attack next so we're not caught off guard?"

"Now where's the fun in that?" JJ said. "It ruins the surprise."

"Okay," Officer Lee sighed heavily and started mumbling something to himself. "Truly, American, you test my patience."

"Did you need me to head butt you again? That always seems to make you feel better," JJ said. Officer Lee wasn't amused in the least.

"I'm afraid I'm not in the mood, American," Officer Lee said. "Of course, I'd love to start roasting." Officer Lee said something to the man holding the torch who then lit the lighter and held it to the torch until the head of it ignited. JJ froze, but he made a point to appear unfazed.

"We should tell campfire stories," JJ smirked, hoping his lack of fear might be intimidating regardless of how scared he actually was.

"I'll start," Officer Lee said. Then he said something to the other recruit who went to JJ and started taking off the top of his uniform.

"I'm flattered, Officer Lee, but I'm not the type of girl that kisses without dinner and a movie first," JJ said.

"You will be," Officer Lee said, not really making sense. Likely due to being frustrated. The recruit pulled JJ's uniform jacket and shirt off his shoulders until it was hanging off his bound hands and the recruit just cut a slit down his bloodied wife beater so his back was bare. It was freezing but only for an instant as the torch came closer. "Now, American," Officer Lee began while the fire hovered. "As to my questions."

"I thought you were going to tell me a campfire story? Don't leave me hanging here, Lee," JJ said.

Officer Lee, unamused, looked at the troop standing behind JJ with the torch. He felt the fire get closer and closer to his skin and it stung long before the flames actually touched him. When they did, JJ gritted his teeth and took the pain against his back and arms, kicking against the ground but not yelling or making much sound. He'd not give Officer Lee the satisfaction. The troop kept moving the flame around over his back until Officer Lee told him to stop and the troop lifted the flame away from JJ's back.

"Are there plans to push through the Parallel again? If so, when? After you've received reinforcements?"

"Fine, I'll start," JJ said. "This is called the tale of Dask'iya. Long ago, in the mountains of my home once lived an evil ogress named Dask'iya. She had a magical basket that she carried on her back and she'd use that basket to kidnap naughty children and eat them after roasting them on the fire. One day she kidnapped several Quileute, that's my tribe's name by the way, children and one brave Quileute girl got the gum from her eyes and pushed Dask'iya into the fire and took the children home safe and sound. Now tell me a story."

"Very well," Officer Lee said. "There was once an American that was evasive and thought he was very funny. We burned him alive. The end."

"That's not a very good story," JJ said.

"It's my favorite," Officer Lee said and then looked at the recruit who lowered the fire to JJ's skin again.

JJ growled a feral growl clutching his hands together as the flames burned his arms and back. It made the recruit flinch just a moment before he returned to his task. He kept the flame on JJ's skin longer this time and if he kept it up, he'd burn much more than JJ's skin. Then Officer Lee said something and the fire was taken away. He could already feel his skin healing, but it was still extremely painful. He shuddered to think what it must look like.

"Did you need me to repeat my question, American?"

"I heard your question," JJ said, trying to breathe evenly. "I just didn't answer."

"I'm giving you another chance to answer me," Officer Lee said. "I can and will do this until you scream otherwise."

"Just until I scream? That's boring," JJ said.

"How long should I wait, then? Until you're dead?"

"That would take even less time," JJ chuckled, but not because it was funny. "I'll tell the next story. The Pharaoh Cleopatra once made a bet with Marc Antoni that she could throw the most expensive dinner party costing 100,000 cesterci or whatever their currency was. For reference, in today's money, that's well into the millions. Anyway, Marc Antoni took that bet and after he did, Cleopatra ordered a slave to bring her a cup of vinegar in which she dissolved one of her pearl earrings that she drank down, therefore winning the bet."

"How about you and I make a bet, American?" Officer Lee said. "If I win, you get to live another day. If you win, I kill you here."

"You need to work on your betting," JJ said. "What's the bet?"

"I bet that within the hour, I will get you to answer all my questions without so much as a snide remark. If you don't, you die."

"Let's adjust that a bit," JJ said. "I assume that you plan to do terrible things to me in order to get me to talk. If at the end of that hour, I don't talk, I get the opportunity to beat the ever living fuck out of you. No one to run in and help you. I'd like your little goons to watch too. Let them see how a real man fights."

"Our original bet stands," Officer Lee grumbled and pulled out a watch to check the time. "If I don't have you talking by 3:30, you die. Now, let's begin. What can we expect in reinforcements for the Allies?"

"Not sure," JJ said. "Give me a phone and I'll call General MacArthur and ask." A moment later the fire lowered to his back again earning another growl from JJ. When Officer Lee was satisfied, the troop lifted the fire leaving a vicious burn on JJ's back and arms.

"Try again, American," Officer Lee said.

"You're right," JJ said. "I really should call President Truman. He can never keep quiet with a bottle of scotch in his hand."

"I really didn't want to waste salt on you," Officer Lee said and then said something to the other recruit who grabbed a little pot, stuck his hand in and then shoved an open palm full of salt into JJ's burns. It wasn't as bad as actually being burned but that stung like a mother fucker and he was scared his teeth would crack from pressing them so hard against one another and growling like a beast. "That's our coarse salt we use for kimchi. You understand why I didn't want to waste it on you," Officer Lee said.

"I hope it's kosher," JJ hissed.

"Stubborn to the bone," Officer Lee said. "Perhaps you might not be able to advise an exact number, but surely you can estimate. Are men being drafted to fight against The Great Leader?"

"I'll tell you what: I'll give you my honest estimation if you can shove your head right up your own asshole." Officer Lee, with that answer, looked at the same recruit from before and more salt was rubbed into JJ's arms where he'd been burned. His muscled bunched from the pain, but he kept his utterances behind gritted teeth.

"We can move on," Officer Lee said and checked his watch. It had been about 10 minutes. "You have fifty minutes left to answer me. Are there plans for another ambush? If so, where?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, Officer," JJ smirked through the pain. "Has no one ever told you patience is a virtue?"

"I see fire and salt don't work on you," Officer Lee said and said something to the recruits. They grabbed a hold off JJ by his arms, not bothering to mind his healing burns, and got his hands unbound but only to forcefully slam them onto the table in the corner. His shirt and jacket were forced back up his arms covering his slowly healing burned back. "How much to you like your fingers, American?" Officer Lee asked, retrieving his knife.

"Very much," JJ said and then flipped him off from the table. "This one's my favorite."

"I bet it is," Officer Lee smirked, swinging the large knife gently from side to side. "You now have 45 minutes to start answering me. Fair warning. Let me ask another question. Are there plans on the part of the Allies to try to attack China as well?"

"Wouldn't take much if we did. We could just stand in front of you all, head butt each and every one of you and you'll drop like flies."

"So there are plans to invade China?"

"I'm not aware, but when I get that call to the president, I'll be sure to ask," JJ said. Officer Lee said something to his recruit who forced JJ's fingers to be spread apart. He pointed the tip of his knife right over JJ's middle finger.

"You said this is your favorite finger, no?" Officer Lee asked.

"Why, yes," JJ said. When Officer Lee was about to slam the knife down, JJ used that single opening to force the recruits off him and narrowly escaped losing his finger. He punched both recruits square in the nose making both of them scream and fall over just before JJ grabbed Officer Lee by the throat and slammed him onto the ground. "You want to play a game, Officer?" Officer Lee tried fighting JJ off, but JJ was able to turn the man over with his boot on his neck while forcing the man's right hand on the ground. "It's called the knife game. I actually got really good at it during basic training."

"Sasin," he attempted to yell, but JJ's boot made it nearly impossible to speak. JJ ground his boot onto his neck for just a moment.

"Don't interrupt me. So anyway, the object of the game is you sing a little song while you stab the knife between your fingers. The goal is to get through the song without ever cutting your finger. Or cutting it off." Officer Lee tried yelling something in Korean, but one recruit had passed out while the other was crying. JJ had been right about these recruits being teenagers at best it seemed. "Now spread your fingers, Officer," JJ said. When Officer Lee didn't comply, JJ forced them apart himself and cleared his throat. "I'm not the best singer, so I apologize in advance." Once JJ started, with each word of the song, he stabbed between each finger.

"I have all my fingers," JJ sang, "the knife goes chop, chop, chop. If I miss the spaces in between, my fingers will come off. And if I lose my fingers, the blood will soon come out. But all the same, I play this game, 'cause that's what it's all about." After the first verse and successfully not stabbing any of his fingers, he moved on to the second verse in which he tripled his speed. "Oh, chop, chop, chop, chop, I'm picking up the speed. And if I hit my fingers, then my hand will start to bleed!" After that last word, JJ stabbed the knife right into Officer Lee's middle finger, completely dismembering it and earning a scream from the man's lips as blood gushed from the wound. "Oh, fuck me, I'm sorry. I'm usually much better at this game."

"Sasin!" the crying recruit finally screamed. He only had a moment before Eun Mi would get here and he wasn't sure what she'd do.

"Please let me try again, Officer," JJ said and grabbed Officer Lee's other hand. "I promise this time I'll do a better job."

JJ didn't get the chance when he felt the phantom hands from before go right around his neck and force him against the wall of the hut. The coarse grass hit his skin through his clothes and it was almost as painful as the salt on his open wound and he grunted. Eun Mi stepped in shortly after he was hit against the wall and she looked around to assess what happened. JJ was still holding the knife in one hand while the other was holding an invisible wrist. She looked at the knife and the next thing JJ knew, the knife was forced from his hand by yet another phantom hand. It floated to her and she took it in the hand JJ could see. Once she had the knife, JJ felt two hands on his shoulders keeping him up while the hands around his neck went away, but he grunted from the pain of hands on his burns through his clothes. Eun Mi gasped and JJ was dropped to his feet only to feel a hand against his chest. It was gentle. Almost a warning. Officer Lee got to his feet holding his hand yelling at the two kids on the floor.

"I've had it with you, American," Officer Lee said.

"Calm down, Lee," JJ said. "I should have at least another half hour left to our bet." Officer Lee kept yelling in Korean and then grabbed his knife from Eun Mi's hand.

JJ saw the alarm in her eyes as Officer Lee approached but JJ's hands were free unbeknownst to the officer. JJ took advantage and when Officer Lee lifted the knife, JJ grabbed his hand and twisted it so the knife fell from his hand. Eun Mi came closer and a phantom hand grabbed JJ's hand and held on tightly enough to force him to let go of the Officer. She let go of him after JJ lost his grip on the Officer and he was looking at her. His attention was taken from her when the knife Officer Lee had dropped now found its way into JJ's chest. Eun Mi only squeaked but it was because she'd apparently realized in time she shouldn't scream. JJ fell to his knees from the pain. He wasn't certain if the Officer had or had not hit him in the heart, but it was no less painful regardless. JJ felt the tooth around his neck release a beat and it started to hurt even worse. Then Officer Lee tore the knife out of JJ's chest and JJ fell onto his back. He saw Eun Mi approach, but Officer Lee was hovering above him first while his vision was fading.

"My apologies, American," he said. "I'm usually much better at this game."

JJ kept feeling the light beat from the tooth and he saw the faded outline of a wolf again. He didn't lose consciousness completely this time, but his vision kept going in and out and it hurt so much to stay awake. He felt hands under him and he felt himself being carried away. He thought he smelled something salty that wasn't his blood. It smelled like tears but he couldn't figure out where they were coming from. He was so dizzy and the movement of being carried wasn't helping. Finally, he was placed down on the cold ground and he closed his eyes for just a moment as the pain in his back and chest finally started receding. He was even starting to feel peaceful as a pleasant, feminine smell filled his nose. Then he felt something warm and soft on his cheek and he brought his own hand up to reciprocate the touch.

When he did, though, the hand touching his cheek immediately pulled away and a gasp sounded beside him. JJ finally forced himself to open his eyes to see Eun Mi kneeling beside him. He finally realized he was outside and atop a bunch of wood. Firewood. Eun Mi looked so shocked when he opened his eyes to her and he realized she'd been crying. JJ smiled at her and reached his hand out to her to touch her. His gloves were gone, so he was able to touch his bare skin to her own. He brought his hand to her cheek and the warmth of it instantly made the last of his pain seem to go away. She cried a little more and JJ wiped one tear away with his thumb. He wished more than ever he could speak to her. Reassure her verbally, but a smile and his touch was all he could offer. She brought her hands, the two he could see, to his hand that touched her cheek and she smiled back at him.

"JJ," she said his name with relief in her voice. He'd never thought he'd love the sound of his name but at that moment he did. He loved hearing her say it and it made his heart swell. Then JJ felt a hand on his chest touching around to assess his would, but he couldn't see the hand. He could only feel and see the loose fabric of his wife beater move around with the movement of the phantom hand.

Brought his right hand up and touched the ghostly hand on his chest. He could feel it as though her were touching someone's actual hand, but it wasn't there to see. Yet it was warm and soft to the touch just like her two hands on his that covered her cheek. She then took his hand away from her cheek so she could lift JJ off the pile of firewood and went around to partially pull down his coat and shirt of his uniform so she could see his back. It wasn't completely healed yet, but it was close and she was stunned by it. JJ turned so he was looking at her and she stared at him, stunned.

"너 나 같은 사람이야?" (neo na gat-eun salam-iya?) she said, but he didn't understand her.

"I don't understand," JJ responded. She looked into his eyes and she appeared to be contemplating something. Then he felt four hands gently lift him to his feet so he was standing before her. She reached midway up his chest. That was about it. A teeny tiny thing. He wondered if it hurt her neck to stare up at him. Evidently it did, because she was suddenly floating upward with nothing holding her up until they were eye to eye.

"너를 피할 수 있도록 도와 줄께," (neoleul pihal su issdolog dowa julkke) she said while looking right into his eyes. He didn't know what she'd said, but there was determination in her eyes. For just a moment, he wondered how she would react if he kissed her, but before he could even consider it, she was back on her feet and those four hands that had lifted him off the ground were now pushing him forward back towards camp.

Evidently, word had spread that Officer Lee had stabbed and killed JJ mere moments ago because the whole camp was gawking at him as if they saw a ghost while Eun Mi led him through the camp back to the tiger cage. The guard watching his men went deathly pale when he saw JJ. Eun Mi said something to the guard while she nabbed the keys to the cage with one of her countless phantom hands – JJ wondered just how many she actually had or if there was even a limit to how many she could produce – and opened the door of the cage so JJ could get in.

"Dauer?" Oscar asked, going pale himself.

"That asshole came over and said he'd killed you!" Hadley said and approached. "What happened?"

"He tried forcing information out of me," JJ said as he tucked his hands under the pits of his arm under his clothes desperate to warm said hands he just realized were freezing. "I cut off his middle finger, he stabbed me and I lost consciousness for a bit, when I came to, the shock had worn off and she brought me back."

"You-" Hadley started, appearing as though he might cry and hugged JJ suddenly. "Thank God! I thought you were dead."

"I'm alright, Jared," JJ said and patted the man's back. It was about then that Officer Lee, having heard the commotion, came to the cage and he froze when he saw JJ. His hand was bandaged to stop the bleeding from his dismembered finger but his heart stopping would do the trick just fine.

"Hello, baby. Did you miss me?" JJ mocked and Officer Lee appeared as though he might throw up.

"How did you survive that? I stabbed you in the chest!"

"You missed," JJ said. He wasn't even sure if that was true, but it didn't really matter. "Calm yourself, Officer. You're not looking at a ghost. Or are you?" he taunted.

Officer Lee didn't answer. He was just too stunned. Eventually he started yelling at Eun Mi, but she stood her ground and seemed to answer whatever he asked her. He began to approach her as he yelled, but JJ saw the slightest crumpling of the Officer's uniform from a ghostly hand pressing against him. Her warning that if he came any closer, there would be consequences. That seemed to be all the more she needed to do and the Officer cut his losses and left it alone but not before throwing a glare right at JJ before walking away.

"You the one who cut off his finger?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah," JJ said.

"Good boy," Oscar chuckled. "Not quite torturing a man to death, but hell, that's not something he'll forget." JJ leered at Oscar a moment before he looked at Eun Mi, but she didn't spare him a look. She said something to the guard and then walked away to attend to some chores.

Within the hour, JJ's reputation as Ougeo had only inflamed itself. The story of what happened spread but with a little elaboration to make JJ seem more gruesome. The story became that JJ overpowered the recruits and had bitten off and eaten Officer Lee's finger in an animalistic rage. Now, even those assigned to guard the cage would never once take their eyes off JJ lest he turn into a monster and eat them all. The fact that there was no denying, at least from what it had appeared, that JJ had come back from the dead had only further encouraged the terror those in the camp had for him. The tales were exaggerated of course, but that was fine. JJ only knew that these people were scared of him and that was good enough.

A few hours went by and Jun had long since heard the rumors of what happened. He'd seen Officer Lee cradling his injured right hand so he knew that at least part of the story was true. He was more concerned about what happened next. Officer Lee would not take this lying down. He was just weighing his options trying to think of what he could do to get back at JJ and be done with the man for good and that's what concerned Jun. He wasn't sure how long it would take for Officer Lee to make his next move. They were running out of time. He needed to speak to Eun Mi. It was more imperative than ever that he get her to help them.

"Park," his name was said just as that last thought crossed his mind and he looked up to see Eun Mi standing there.

"Miss So," Jun said. She sat down and started helping him with the uniforms he was ordered to clean. There was a moment of silence where Jun was trying to think the best way to broach the subject, but Eun Mi did it for him.

"I cannot guarantee that any of you will make it out alive," she said, "but I will do what I can to help." Jun stared at her a moment in shock before finally saying something.

"Really?" he said.

"Yes, really," Eun Mi answered. Jun was quiet again for a moment and then smiled kindly.

"You're doing us all a great kindness," Jun said.

"It's not for you," Eun Mi said and finally dared to look in the direction of JJ and the others. Her gaze focused on JJ before she took her gaze away to continue working. Jun noticed the look and smiled again.

"I told you JJ was a good guy," Jun said. Eun Mi said nothing. "Don't believe the rumors about him. He's not a monster."

"Keep yourself quiet," Eun Mi said. "Just get some sleep as soon as you're sent to bed."

"What are you doing to do?" Jun asked.

"You let me worry about that," Eun Mi said. "You just need to follow my lead and keep quiet."

Jun was apprehensive without having a plan, but he did as Eun Mi said and kept quiet without asking any further questions about the plan. He did his best that night to fall right to sleep as Eun Mi had told him to but falling asleep was impossible. He was too nervous about what she was planning. When he could finally close his eyes, he started feeling a hand on his shoulder gently shaking him. When he opened his eyes, Eun Mi was standing before him while looking around making sure no one had seen her. She kneeled down and started lifting him from his spot on the ground.

"Get up," she whispered. Once he was on his feet, she handed him a tiny ongi that he could immediately smell had kimchi. Then she handed him one more small ongi that was filled with cooked rice and peas. "You six will need to make that last. Now keep quiet and follow me."

She stood and took a moment to look around before walking forward and Jun hurried to follow after her while looking around as well. JJ and the others were asleep in the cage. JJ woke when he smelled Eun Mi in the distance. He was eager for something to eat that night. But no one approached their cage. Instead, he heard their guard beginning to gasp. That grabbed JJ's attention immediately and he watched as the guard dropped his gun and reached up to his neck where something JJ couldn't see was choking him. His feet even came slightly above the ground. He tried to kick for just a moment, but indentations appeared at the guard's ankles in his clothes that kept his feet still. Eventually the man stopped trying to fight and his arms dropped. He was kept there another few seconds before he was placed onto the ground gently. Jun came around the cage with the two ongi in his arms while Eun Mi walked to the guard and her phantom hands rummaged for the keys to the cage.

"Dauer," Jun whispered. "Get the others awake. Miss So is helping us escape."

That was all JJ needed and he gently got the others awake. Eun Mi continued to rummage but there was no key on the guard's person. Eun Mi muttered something that Jun whispered back in response about what she'd said. Jun looked worried and stared at the lock.

"What's the matter?" JJ whispered while the others were forcing themselves awake.

"This guard doesn't have the keys," Jun whispered and then said something to Eun Mi. She turned to face them and before the others could ask what was next, the lock appeared to be ripped in half with the hook being torn from the base. Jun's hold loosened on the ongi and they nearly fell to the ground, but something caught them and forced them into Jun's arms again.

She scolded him briefly before the door opened completely on its own and it caused the others to jump a little. JJ was the first to crawl out and his comrades followed shortly after him. They all stayed low to the ground and followed Eun Mi. They kept under the cover of huts to keep out of sight of the guards patrolling the area. When they came across a guard, Eun Mi would lead the guard out of sight and force the guard unconscious so they could progress through the camp. All the while, they collected the guns that the guards dropped as they went along. She couldn't bring down too many, though. Only enough for them to sneak around carefully.

They didn't talk to each other at all the whole time they traveled around the camp. Eun Mi headed them through without a word only taking out the guards she absolutely had to and never doing more than forcing them into unconsciousness so they could pass. Eventually they reached the perimeters of the camp where there were a lot more guards t contend with. Eun Mi stared at the two guards that were patrolling the spot where they were aiming to leave. She contemplated whether or not to incapacitate the guards or find a way to distract them and tell Jun to tell the others to just make a run for it.

"What are we waiting for?" Oscar whispered to Jun, but Eun Mi shushed him and kept watching the guards.

Eun Mi continued watching the guards contemplating until she appeared to come to a decision after which she looked at Jun and started talking to him in a very quiet voice. The two of them seemed to argue a moment, but whatever Jun had said in protest was forcefully shot down by Eun Mi. When Eun Mi told him what they needed to do, Jun was quiet a moment before he turned to look at the other men.

"She said she's going to distract the two guards that are patrolling this section of the camp and once she does, we need to make a run for it as fast as we can," Jun said.

"How long will we have?" JJ asked.

"Not much the way she's saying it," Jun said. "She said she'll tell us once they're distracted and we need to make a run for it."

"If it's what we have to do," JJ said and waited. Jun replied to Eun Mi and she returned her full attention to the guards waiting for the opportune time to distract the guards.

She waited until they were on the very end of each of their trails and used those phantom hands of hers, or so JJ was assuming, to make a loud noise to the right and to the left of them. The guards ran to the noise to investigate and Eun Mi was about to tell them to run, but they were interrupted.

"죄수들은 도망 쳤다!" (joesudeul-eun domang chyeossda!) came a thundering voice from in the distance.

"They know you escaped! We have to run!" Jun said as quietly as he could and then started running. JJ and the others followed after with no other recourse and they kept running until they reached the trees. Once they'd reached the trees, JJ turned to check on Eun Mi, but she'd not followed them. She remained beside the hut. JJ panicked and kept his eyes on her, waiving his hand directing her to come.

"Eun Mi, come with us," JJ mouthed as he waived his hand, but she didn't come. "Jun, how do you say 'come with us' in Korean?"

"What?" Jun asked. "Dauer, we have to run!"

"Just tell me what to fucking say!" JJ said.

"우리와 함께," (uliwa hamkke) Jun finally answered.

"Shit," JJ grumbled, barely able to hear Jun over the noises from the guards and just not being familiar. "Um," JJ trembled and looked in Eun Mi's direction. He just had to repeat what Jun had said to the best of his ability. "Uviwa Hahmkeh," JJ said, mispronouncing it to be sure, but she seemed to finally understand what he was saying. She shook her head and took one step back. "Eun Mi," JJ called her name and repeated himself, likely butchering his pronunciation even more.

"Dauer, what the fuck are you doing? We have to go!" Clyde barked but in the best whisper the situation would allow. JJ didn't listen and he kept his eyes on Eun Mi.

"Eun Mi," he said again and repeated the request. "Uviwa Hahmkeh!"

She shook her head gently and took another step back. JJ felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. He could see the indecisiveness in her eyes as she refused, but the others were making their last pleas with JJ to run but would likely just start running without him if he didn't start hauling ass. But he couldn't leave her. He just couldn't leave her. He kept waiving his hand asking her to come, but she just wouldn't come forward. He was about ready to just sprint for her when a guard happened upon them. JJ saw the man and even aimed the gun he held ready to shoot just as the guard was preparing to do but the guard's gun was ripped from his hands and something was grabbing the man's hair, covering his mouth and JJ could see the phantom hands' dirty work. The man's head was slowly tearing from his neck until it finally did. His body went limp and blood was everywhere. JJ saw that Eun Mi looked shocked with what she'd done and visibly upset.

JJ was about to say her name again when he saw a guard running up behind Eun Mi. JJ called to her, she turned to see the guard and used her ghostly hands to force the man back, but he still managed to pull the trigger of his gun and it hit Eun Mi right in the hip. She cried and fell over and JJ called to her and threw all concern out the window. She was trying to get herself up from the ground as JJ ran back into the camp after her. The guard that had shot Eun Mi was starting to get off the ground as JJ ran for her and the other guards were starting to close in and he wouldn't have long before they'd be able to aim. JJ took Eun Mi in his arms and took the gun from the guard so he couldn't shoot them and once he had Eun Mi, he ran back for the woods narrowly avoiding flying bullets as he ran by.

He wasn't sure if she'd done so consciously or unconsciously, but her arm that wasn't hurt wrapped around JJ's neck, but she seemed to be losing consciousness. JJ glanced at her arm and saw blood staining her coat until it was dripping down her arm. JJ kept running and finally caught up with the others.

"Are you fucking serious?" Davis said when he saw that JJ was finally behind them but was holding Eun Mi.

"Just keep running!" JJ said. "Jun, please tell me you know where to go."

"I've never been to this part of the country before the war!" Jun said. JJ groaned and looked up at the moon. It was clearly one or two in the morning as the moon was positioned outside the center of the sky.

"As soon as we get far enough away, we'll need to turn right and just keep going," JJ said. "According to the moon's position, that'll be south."

"Hope you're right about this, kid," Oscar said and they kept running.

While they ran, JJ kept looking down at Eun Mi. She was warm and he could still hear her heart, so he knew she was alive, but he still worked. Eventually, when he was confident they were a good enough distance away, JJ insisted that they stop for a moment so he could attend to Eun Mi's wound. They finally agreed but remained apprehensive and on guard while JJ worked.

He pulled away her coat and under that was a uniform that he also tore away until her shoulders and chest were bare. He didn't even look at her chest as his full attention was on the bullet wound on her right shoulder. It appeared the wound had healed enough thus far on its own that JJ could see the bullet protruding, so he used his fingers and just pulled it out. She didn't wake, so she was clearly completely out. He hoped that wasn't a bad sign. He tossed the bullet aside and redressed Eun Mi so she wasn't exposed to the elements and picked her back up into his arms so they could keep going.

Davis, Clyde, Hadley and Jun quickly got tired and they needed to slow down, but they never stopped traveling. When they absolutely had no choice but to rest, they found some secluded area in the woods as they traveled and took turns staying awake on guard before getting up again bright and early to keep moving. They started approaching a city they immediately recognized as being Pyongyang. When they saw Pyongyang, they made a hard left and kept walking until they were able to actively avoid the city altogether. Their best option was to travel at night, especially the further south they got. All the while, Eun Mi wasn't waking up and it scared the shit out of JJ. Her bullet wound had long since healed but the shock of the situation may have been too much for her. He hated to think this, but he hoped she would stay asleep until they got over the parallel. He didn't know how she would react and they just couldn't risk finding out.

"I still can't believe you brought her," Clyde said while they were hiding away during the day in a cave they were lucky enough to find. "What in all holy hell possessed you to take her?"

"She's the reason we were able to escape," JJ said. "We owe her a great deal of gratitude."

"So we have an obligation to take her with us?" Davis asked.

"It was my decision and you can shit on me for it all you want, but save it for when we get back and we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

"Dauer, she never made any mention of coming with us," Jun said. "What happens when she wakes up and realizes we took her with them? She could have at least tried to claim she had nothing to do with us all escaping. She could have blamed me. Now? She couldn't even escape us and return. They'd assume she helped us."

"They already knew," JJ said. "The guard that shot her lived and he'll tell everyone what happened. I know this will be a shock for her, but she'll be happier for it."

"How do you know?" Oscar asked. JJ didn't answer. He wasn't even positive it was true. He wanted to believe that she would be happier even if only for the fact that she was with him but there was no way to be certain of that and he damn well knew it.

As he looked down at her, he noticed a white little protrusion coming from her coat pocket that he'd not seen before. Curiosity overtook him and he gently tugged at the white protrusion. He pulled out a photograph easily from several years ago and it felt as though it had been folded and unfolded numerous times. JJ opened it and saw a small family picture. It was a little girl and young woman standing together in little Korean style dresses, but even from the picture in black and white he could tell it wasn't silk they wore. It would have likely been far too expensive. The little girl came up to the woman's midsection and JJ knew instantly it was Eun Mi. She'd not changed a bit, as beautiful then as she was now. The woman was a mystery to him. Eun Mi looked nothing like her but their smile in the picture portrayed a happy mother and her child. It made JJ smile to look at the picture and he quickly tucked it back into her coat's inner pocket.

"What was that?" Hadley asked.

"I think it's a picture of her with her mother," JJ said.

"I thought she didn't have any family," Jun said.

"Maybe not anymore," JJ said and kept looking at Eun Mi.

JJ resisted the urge to touch her cheek, not wanting to risk waking her so he instead just looked at her. He wanted to believe he'd done the right thing taking her from the North Korean holding camp but he'd only know when he saw her reaction. After they'd rested and they had the cover of night they continued on, going south per the moon's and sun's movements. They knew once they'd reached the parallel when the number of troops began increasing drastically. They tried walking a great distance away along the parallel but the guard duty didn't seem to let up at all and they weren't sure what they were going to do.

"We sure as shit can't make a run for it through there," Hadley said nervously. "The lines are too heavily guarded. Even if they didn't catch us, they'd almost certainly shoot us down."

"Jun," JJ said. "How much of the food do we have left?"

"I think we have enough for two more nights if we're really careful. But I don't think it would be enough for us to get to the sea, steal a small boat to take into South Korea and then run."

"There goes my plan," JJ sighed, but then looked up at the sky and then at the others. "It's really early in the morning, so that's likely the reason for the high congestion of troops. Since there's only the six of us and Eun Mi, we can wait until it's the middle of the night when the guards are tired and there aren't as many and we can sneak past."

"How would we even sneak past them?" Davis asked.

"We use camouflage," Oscar said and felt the ground. It was snowy and cold, but if they could get themselves really dirty and put a layer of snow on their backs they might be able to crawl past. It would just be slow. Extremely slow. Oscar relayed his plan the everyone and they all looked at one another thoughtfully.

"What happens if one of them steps on us?" Davis asks.

"We have to make sure they don't," JJ said. "And besides, if we're doing this in the middle of the night, they aren't likely to see us. Like Barker said, it'll take forever, but we can't let it take to after morning. We need to make sure we get over the border before the first set of morning patrol."

"And what about our little captive?" Clyde asked. "She can't exactly crawl with us."

"You let me worry about her," JJ said. "We'll finish the rest of the rice and kimchi we have and leave the ongi here. They'll just be a cumbersome liability. That way, we'll at least have something in our bellies before we start. Are we all agreed?"

Though there was a brief moment in which they all glanced at Eun Mi, they ultimately nodded their heads and agreed to the plan. It was really the only plan they had. They located a spot where they would be well hidden during the day where they could rest and then get properly dirtied up and covered in snow before they pushed through. JJ's only option with Eun Mi was to put her on his back so he could crawl. He tore off a section of his wife beater that was already ruined anyway so he could tie her hands around his neck to ensure she'd stay to him. They rubbed the fabric of their uniforms into the dirt so they were completely caked and dark. JJ did so to his uniform jacket as well as Eun Mi's seeing as she'd be the one on top of him.

When it was reaching the evening, they received the greatest bit of luck they could ask for when it started to snow. Hard no less. This would make their subterfuge much easier. When the sun had finally gone down, they got into the grass – in JJ's case he got Eun Mi tied around his neck so she was secure atop him – and they slowly started making their way to the parallel, giving the snow a chance to stick to their backs. It was going to take a perfect mix of caution to not being caught combined with enough speed to ensure they crossed the parallel before the early morning patrol began their routes.

The number of guards present were still greater than they'd anticipated it would be. JJ couldn't help but wonder if that was due to them taking Eun Mi with them. He couldn't imagine that she'd worked for Officer Lee but he would have been the one to notify whomever was her employer that she'd run off. JJ knew better than to think they'd let her slip through their fingers so easily given the power she offered them. They could potentially make it known to the higher ups in North Korea that Eun Mi was with the Allied forces and use it as leverage, but JJ wouldn't do that to her. He couldn't imagine that the army had done anything except use her for their own gain. He'd make sure she never went through that again, even if it meant demanding the others to never say a word about what they'd seen. But they'd worry about that once they were safe.

"We'll stay as close to one another as well can, but we should spread out. Make it harder to notice us," JJ said and the others agreed as they continued.

They all separated just enough so that their slow crawl toward the parallel was all the more subtle and hard to see in the dark night. They all had to keep their eyes peeled ensuring they avoided any encounter whatsoever with the North Korean troops. If they got caught, they all died. No ifs ands or buts about it. They were vastly outnumbered and out armed. They could not risk being caught. Period. JJ very nearly had an encounter, but when he saw the guard, he kept his head down with Eun Mi's head tucked right beside his and stayed completely still. Jun very nearly got caught. While they were crawling, a North Korean troop tripped over Jun's hand while he crawled. Jun kept completely still and listened intently as the troop he'd tripped stepped closer to investigate. He held his breath so his body was completely and totally still desperately hoping that the grass and dirt and snow ensured he just looked like a little bump not worth bothering with.

It was getting harder and harder to hold his breath as the as the troop inspected the spot where his foot had caught on something. Jun had to fight his hardest to ensure he wasn't trembling. That was harder than holding his breath. All the harder when he felt the barrel of the North Korean's gun touching his back. All the same, he forced himself to stay completely and totally still. They snow was coming down enough that what trail they were making was easily covered since the snow wasn't tall off the ground and grass. The North Korean soldier grabbed Jun's shoulder and turned him over. His next thought was to play dead, desperate to not be caught. He kept his eyes closed and stayed as still as possible, continuing to not breath even if it was the most painful thing he'd ever done save for the gunshot to his shoulder. There was a brief silence before the soldier said something.

"You will be missed, Comrade," the soldier whispered mournfully. The soldier turned Jun back over on his face and proceeded to walk away.

It took everything in him not to start dancing for joy. Now wasn't the time to celebrate. He wasn't out of the snake pit yet. When he was confident, Jun started moving again. Perhaps faster than he should, but he was desperate to get away from the spot where he'd been seen. There was the final obstacle to their crossing besides the guards: landmines. Both sides had landmines. They briefed one another reminding them to be very caution of ANY elevation of land along the parallel no matter how seemingly insignificant. If they landed on a landmine, this would all be for nothing. They didn't know exactly where each landmine was on their side of the border, but they did know where it stopped and once they'd gotten to that part, they'd know they were home free more or less.

JJ kept glancing at Hadley and the others to make sure no one was being left behind. He wasn't sure what he'd even do if someone were. When JJ noticed Jun being inspected, he nearly vomited, but was relieved when the soldier lost interest it seemed and walked away and they were able to keep going. The hours of them dragging themselves across the ground was excruciating. The closer they came, the less grass there was to cover them and there were several hills where roads were constructed. JJ decided the bridge may be the best spot to cross. It would be void of any landmines since it was a heavy traffic area, but there was the risk of being seen. He weighed his options until, finally, he decided it was worth the risk. He whispered to the man closes to him, Clyde, and told him the plan asking him to relay it to the others. Then JJ relayed the plan to Jun in as quiet a voice as possible and he nodded to confirm he'd heard and understood.

With the adjusted plan in mind, they started to slowly crawl closer together as they approached the bridge. They had to go slower than ever while still making sure to avoid any troops which was made all the harder without the cover of the grass and the snow their only means of tricking the eye. They could see other troops in the distance, but they were allied troops. English, Americans and South Korean troops patrolling their half of the border. It took everything not to make a run for it. They couldn't risk it yet. As they approached the bridge, they were close enough that they could see one another. Everyone was there much to JJ's intense relief. Jun to his right all the others to his left as they crawled to the bridge. Then they came across their final hiccup. There were two North Korean troops stationed right at the bridge on either side.

Shit, JJ and certainly all the others thought to themselves. They were far enough away from those guards that if they kept their voices very, very, quiet, they could come up with a new plan or decide how to follow through with their current one. JJ looked at the others to make sure they were all listening to him.

"Can you all hear me?" JJ whispered and they all released gentle grunts to acknowledge that they'd heard him. "Good," JJ continued to whisper. "I didn't want to do this, but we may have no choice. I have a gun. Who else does?"

"Me," Clyde and Oscar said.

"Okay, that'll be plenty," JJ whispered. "Here's what I'm suggesting. If we try to sneak past these guys, they'll see us for sure. So what we do is get our guns into position as quietly as possible, wait for the right time, shoot them dead, and just run. If we hurry, we'll have time to get over the border and we'll have the assistance of the other Allies."

"That'll be really risky, Dauer," Clyde said.

"It is, but do you have any other ideas?" JJ asked.

They all looked at one another trying to think if there was a better option. They took in their surroundings and, at this point, there really was no other option. They were too late into the morning to try another plan and as JJ had pointed out with proceeding to the bridge in the first place, any other routes would almost certainly be wrought with landmines. While this was absolutely risky, there was no denying the latter option would be riskier. A death sentence as a matter of fact. Eventually, they all nodded.

"We'll go with your plan," Davis said.

"Okay," JJ said. "Barker, Clyde, get your guns aimed as gently and slowly as possible. Once you're guns are positioned, I want you to aim. I'll take the guy to the right. When I give the signal, you shoot, stand, and then make a fucking run for it."

"What's the signal?" Oscar asked.

"I'll whistle like a bird," JJ said. And then he made the noise. It was a noise his Uncle Embry showed him how to do that sounded like a tweet from a falcon. Oscar was a little stunned to hear the sound but they only nodded, confirming they understood the order.

JJ took a moment to get his gun positioned and then tightened Eun Mi's ties around his neck. She weight about as much as a feather to him, but he'd still need to make sure she was secure as he'd be limited in how he could carry her. He'd take a moment, but a moment was all he'd be able to spare so he had to act fast, to arrange Eun Mi so he could carry her to his front so she wasn't exposed to gunfire. If anyone would take any hits, it would be him. He'd run through the pain of a gunshot wound if he fucking had to. Once their guns were all aimed, JJ took a moment to make sure and then kept his eyes on his own target. Then, at last, JJ took a deep breath before making the whistling noise he'd mentioned and they all open fired on the guards. They'd not had a chance to reach the ground before they all got to their feet as fast as they could and made a run for it. The North Korean troops saw them, but so did the allies that saw JJ and the others running towards them as fast as they could.

"We're Americans! Let us by!" JJ yelled to the others on the other side who took cover but also shot fires at anyone that was aiming at them. JJ and his comrades ran over the bridge as fast as they could and went straight to cover right beside the other soldiers waiting for the gunfire to stop.

"Who are you, solider!?" an officer asked JJ.

"I'm Private Jay Jacob Dauer, sir! My men and I were caught by the North Koreans when we were fleeing and we were able to escape their camp! Private Park Min Jun is with us as well! He is a South Korean troop!"

"Is it just you and Private Park?!"

"No, sir! It's myself, Private Park, Corporal Clyde, Private Davis and Sergeant Barker, sir!"

"Who the fuck is this?!" the officer asked, pointing at Eun Mi.

"She is So Eun Mi, sir! She helped us escape from the camps! I will take full responsibility for her, sir!"

"She's a North Korean?!"

"Just geographically, sir!" JJ partially lied. "She is the reason we were able to escape from the camps and I would see her efforts appreciated, sir!" The gunfire finally ceased after higher ups on either side gave orders to stop and await a next move. Since it was quiet again, the officer looked at JJ.

"How do we know she's not a spy?"

"They shot her when they found out she'd helped us. That's why she's still not conscious, sir. I'd bet my life that we can trust her and I meant it that I'll take full responsibility." The officer looked at JJ strangely a moment and then at Eun Mi before looking at JJ again.

"Do not fool yourself into love, soldier. As far as you should be concerned, until she proves herself otherwise, she's to be seen as untrustworthy."

"I won't ask you to understand, sir. I will only ask that you give me a chance to repay her for what she's done for us. Let me take her to the nearest M.A.S.H so she can receive help." While the officer was apprehensive at first, he finally nodded.

"You will all be sent to a medical location further from here. Once we're certain things have adequately calm down for now, you'll all be sent off."

"Thank you, sir," JJ said.

It was another several hours before they were finally gathered and put in a car to be taken to the nearest M.A.S.H further from the parallel. There was a joy among them that was infectious. They'd done it. They'd actually done it. They'd escaped a holding camp and traversed through the countryside together until they'd gotten to the border and by some miracle they were able to sneak up to the parallel and make a run for it once they'd reached the bridge.

"First thing I'm doing when we get to the M.A.S.H," Hadley smiled, "I'm going to call my wife and tell her I'm alright."

"I'll bet she'll tell you it's a boy," JJ smiled.

"I'll bet a girl," Oscar said.

"I don't care, so long as the baby's okay," Hadley smiled. "You don't think they told our families we were dead do you?"

"We still have our dog tags," JJ said. "They would've had us labeled as M.I.A and now that we're back, we'll likely be put back to service unless they determine we need to go home."

"I hope so," Hadley said. JJ took a moment to look at the guys driving them to make sure he could speak privately with the others. He asked them to come in a little closer but not conspicuously so lest their drivers notice them in the rear view mirror.

"I need to ask all of you not to say anything about the things you saw Eun Mi do," JJ said.

"Pardon?" Davis asked.

"Everyone deserves fair warning about her, Dauer," Clyde said. "She's dangerous. Frankly, you shouldn't have brought her."

"She's the reason we escaped in the first place," JJ said. "In light of that, I would appreciate that you not let it spread what she's able to do. Jun, I'll need you to help me make sure that she doesn't do the things she'd done when we were in the camps. The less everyone knows the better."

"How do we know I'll even get a chance to tell her to do so?" Jun asked. "She might go crazy the moment she wakes up and I don't believe for a second she won't do anything if that happens."

"Maybe she'll stay calm so long as I'm with her," JJ said. "I'll make sure I'm with her when she wakes up."

"You positive that'll work?" Oscar asked.

"It'll have to," JJ said. "Just promise you'll keep quiet?"

"Fine, we'll keep quiet," they all finally agreed.