Nadir ◈ Seungjin

38 ◈ Formless

Forewarning: Same as last time. Blood, injury, wounds, some "mild" terror, knives!!! Blades!!! Drama!! Excitement!!!!!! Some humor here and there to keep things light  😭

Seungmin ran.

Thorns in his lungs and glass on his skin as he tried to lose the shadow trailing behind him.

Gravel giving way beneath his pounding footsteps.

Buildings passing by.

Structures, ruined ghosts watching his hurried escape.

He didn't slow.

He didn't slow for anything.

Every step he took on the chilled dirt shot a nauseating numb throughout the overworked nerves of his limbs begging for respite. Each uneven placement of his wobbly bearings against the sloped floor brought him farther from stable ground, toes snagging to trip him over rocks and rubble gone undetected, every misstepped beat causing his frozen muscles to turn stone along that undecided course. The stumbles causing his knees to go shaky.

There were noises, he could hear them through the pounding drums and heavy breaths screaming in his ears. Running in the distance. Someone shouting. But he couldn't tell. He couldn't tell who it was, where it was coming from, only that it was here, in the industrial complex, as his heart trembled and his hands quivered. He pressed his pace faster. And faster. Hoping to get away. Get far enough away that his breath couldn't even heard. His trembling shoulders couldn't be seen. The grip of his shoes on the leaf-covered ground beneath sliding unsteady steps. Nearly toppling him over. Palm kissing onto the dirt.

Soil coating his sweaty skin as he pressed off again.

Keep going.

His shoes pounding down.

Keep going.

He flipped a glance over his shoulder, the shadow following him now gone.

He couldn't. He couldn't stop.

With every rushed step, Seungmin breathed twice as fast to match the hurried run of his escape and of his unsettled heartbeat, the cool air stinging his dry nostrils cakef with ash and his torn throat burning metal into his mouth, gulps gasping down saliva with the attempts to breath as he ran.

His heart thundered loudly in his ears, hitting his mind.

Ducking off to a thin walkway between two of the tall buildings, he forced his pace to slow down. Unsteady hands on either of the walls. Stabilizing him as limped along the access way. Breath ragged. Coughing up the pooling bitter saliva, salty sweat, and sour bile threatening to push themselves out of his chest. Muscles aching. Throbbing. Pounding beneath his skin. His legs hurt. The arm he lifted burned. His vision gone fuzzy. Blacking out if not for the terrified reminders of his heart to stay awake.

Stay awake.

Keep going.

Stay alert.

Keep moving.

Don't let the adrenaline stop you.