hydra | svt

CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE.

wonwoo

i must've passed out again because the only thing i can feel is the coarse ground below my skin, the tarmac scraping my hand as i force myself up. i squeeze my eyes to negate some of the pain and aimlessly patting down my jeans to brush away at least some of the dust that coats the fabric. i move myself into an upright position very gently, waiting for the black fuzziness to disappear and reveal the cafe again.

except the cafe doesn't have tarmac flooring, last time i checked, and it was never this cold either.

the realisation of this unfamiliar environment overrides any migraine pulsing through my brain and i put a hand behind me as i steady myself. except the tarmac has been replaced by a soft sweatshirt material and i recoil like i've just been burnt. next me is seokmin, who has yet to wake up. and next to him is chan, and then jeonghan and suddenly i reach the understanding that all of us are clumped together in the middle of the road in god knows where.

"hey!" i nudge seokmin, faltering as some of the panic rising in my throat spills over into my anxious hands. i get no response and i don't dare try again.

staggering to my feet, i assess the situation as best as i can: none of our belonging are here (wherever 'here' is) and we're not outside the cafe, as i had presumed. nothing but dense fog swirls around us and i can't discern whether it's protecting us or keeping us hostage as i venture closer to it, being extremely cautious of my friends still knocked out below me. the morning sun besieges us in a ferocious vermillion that is no less than threatening, tinging my skin and flooding all my senses.

making a visual map in my head, i realise that we're in the middle of a crossroad: ahead of us there seems to be somewhat of a civilisation as i make out a few miscellaneous shop fronts and faded neon signs disappearing into the fog. on one of the corners a street lamp looms above me, flickering as i approach it and touch the cold metal. other than that, there are no other signs of life.

behind us, the road is lined with a thicket of dark oak trees, their leaves swaying in the mist. did i mention how cold it is? a shiver runs laps along my spine and i don't spend too long gazing into the darkness of the foliage.

as i turn back to the others, another figure causes me to jump.

"CHRIST, JUN!"

junhui startles at my loud voice and i clutch my chest in shock.

"sorry wonwoo! i woke up and saw you staring at the trees so i thought you might know something about where we are! i don't have my watch and my phone is dead and-"

"wait a second."

the chinese boy's voice peters out and a puzzled expression replaces his apologetic one. he looks at me as if to ask 'did i say something wrong?'

"you haven't got your watch?"

he shakes his head and shows me his empty wrist for good measure.

"and your phone?"

"like i said, dead as a door."

i'm about to tell him that i don't think that's how the saying goes but clearly a more pressing issue is at hand so instead i just shake my head.

"okay, just making sure i heard right. sorry for shouting at you."

there's no chance to retort back to the look jun gives me as i notice the others finally waking up behind him. we rush over, helping everyone to their feet.

dread settles in my stomach as i realise neither of us have any way of telling the time or finding out where we are.

"guys i dunno about you but i'm feeling so much stronger!"