Treasures of The Damned

22. Creeping Around

Briar couldn't do anything but stare in horror at the body of San in front of her. She didn't move, not like she could, but just stared. Within half an hour, she'd seen two of her Uncles destroyed by Hongjoong. This wasn't fair at all.

And Father is under Hongjoong's control...there's no way to get through to him... She thought to herself as she looked around before stepping into a building without even looking at the name. She paused for a moment when she realized it was Yeosang's building.

She didn't say anything as she stepped inside. She didn't want to hide again. She was tired of hiding. She just wanted this day to be over. If it could be over, she would be happy. She needed to save herself. If she could save her Uncles, that would just be a plus.

AS she walked around, she found the room with the TV that was playing different Yeosang fan cams, and she set down one of the couches in the corner.

She didn't say anything, just stared at the TV that was still on. "They must not turn it off because of the coding they use to run it..." She whispered, staring at it for a few moments, thinking.

"Coding...things run on codes..." She paused before pulling out her phone. Looking at it, she paused for a moment before standing and throwing it to the ground as hard as she could.

The phone shattered, and she was successfully able to get to the back of the phone, where the motherboard was. She paused for a few moments before shifting through the parts, hissing when glass slashed at her hand until she was able to find the chip in her phone.

She pressed her lips together as she looked through it before touching her head, where she could just barely feel the bump of the chip that kept her alive. "They're just like this...their chips...that's what I could use to save them...if I can get their chips out of their bodies...I should be able to save them..." She muttered to herself, staring at the chip in her hand.

"Except, that's not where our souls reside in these metal prisons." A voice spoke up, causing Briar to startle and turn around.

Sitting there, on the other couch, was Yeosang, watching her with vague interest. "Uncle Yeo? Why do you say that...?" She whispered, realizing his eyes were red, but they flicked on and off. "Aren't you evil?"

He chuckles softly. "Briar. I've always been the mean member. I can make it look like I'm still evil, but I'm not. Don't stress." He whispered, watching as she sat back down on the couch, still holding the chip in her hands.

She slowly nodded her head and pressed her lips together, still examining the chip in her hand.

Yeosang let out a dry little chuckle. "Aren't phones like-...super expensive nowadays?" He asked after a few moments, looking at the wreckage of her phone on the ground.

She glanced up at him from where she was holding the chip, examining each part of it with great care and tenacity. "I mean-...I guess? I've never really had to worry about money- I usually keep most of it in a Savings Account so I don't touch it. I got money from almost all of you so-..."

"Ah. Yeah. You were one of the only nieces, so we all chipped in to help you, especially since you weren't named in Logan's will."

"I wasn't?"

"Nope. It was Mingi. And Logan was in Mingi's. But because you're the only surviving family member either of them had, it all automatically went to you." He hummed softly.

Briar slowly nodded her head. She'd never known that. She thought to herself for a few more moments before glancing back down at the chip. Finally, Yeosang spoke up about it.

"What are you doing with that, Briar?" He asked softly, standing and walking over to her, sitting on a bench and facing her.

She glanced up at him before showing him the chip. "It's the chip from my phone. If I can find out how it works...maybe I'll be able to find a way to safely deactivate Hongjoong before he hurts anyone else..." She muttered to herself.

"Why are you so interested in technology?"

"I have a literal chip in my brain keeping me alive 24/7. I wanted to learn more about it, so I also learned more in technology." She beamed, as if proud of herself.

Yeosang smiles softly and reached forward, ruffling her hair as he watched her. "That's great, Briar. Do you think you'll be able to find a way to deactivate Hongjoong?" He asked her gently.

"That's the tricky part...I might deactivate his animatronic body, but if I can't find out what part his soul is in, he could just move to another endoskeleton and all my efforts would have been for nothing." She explained softly as she glanced at Yeosang.

Yeosang gave her a small little smile as he nodded his head and thought to himself. "Are you going to destroy his soul?" He asked after a few moments, shifting a little bit. "I know that he's bad, but he's still our leader more than anything..."

"Your leader who killed two of his members just because I helped free them from their Eodums..." Briar muttered under her breath, but the animatronic caught that and froze, eyes wide.

"Wait...what...?" he whispered, looking confused and scared. What was happening?

Briar paused and looked up at him. "What? Did you not feel it...?" She asked softly, and Yeosang shook his head.

"No, I only came back online a few minutes ago after having to recharge after your father hit me with the electromagnetic device." He said teasingly, an amused look on his face.

Briar just let out a small little chuckle before slowly nodding her head. "He...destroyed Wooyoung...because Wooyoung hadn't found me...and then he took control of my Dad and used him to trap me, but San found me and tried to attack Hongjoong but Hongjoong was able to trick him or something...all I know is San super jumped one moment and the next he was laying Mangled in front of me..." she hummed.

Yeosang blinked, his eyes wide. "He...he did that to Wooyoung and San? What did he do to Wooyoung...?"

Briar paused, remembering that Yeosang and Wooyoung had been best friends for years. "He...used his claws to slice open his chest and ripped out a bunch of wires that helped him to control his limbs...and then he ripped Wooyoung's spine out...but I didn't see if he did anything else. Yunho pushed me out of the building before I could." She explained softly.

Yeosang listened to everything with sad eyes, which soon looked murderous. "Take me to Wooyoungs body, please. I want to see him...one last time."