Twicelight

Chapter - 20

Third person's pov:

Sana could feel it was too early to woke, and she knew she was getting the schedule of her days and nights slowly reversed. She lay in her bed and listened to the quiet voices of Mina and Chaeyoung in the other room. That they were loud enough for her to hear at all was strange. Sana rolled till her feet touched the floor and then staggered to the living room. The clock on the TV said it was just after two in the morning. Mina and Chaeyoung were sitting together on the sofa, Mina sketching again while Chaeyoung looked over her shoulder. They didn't look up when Sana entered, too engrossed in Mina's work.

Sana crept to Chaeyoung's side to peek.

"Did she see something more?" Sana asked him quietly.

"Yes. Something's brought him back to the room with the VCR, but it's light now."

Sana watched as Mina drew a square room with dark beams across its low ceiling. The walls were paneled in wood, a little too dark, out of date. The floor had a dark carpet with a pattern in it. There was a large window against the south wall, and an opening through the west wall led to the living room. One side of that entrance was stone — a large tan stone fireplace that was open to both rooms. The focus of the room from this perspective, the TV and VCR, balanced on a too-small wooden stand, were in the southwest corner of the room. An aged sectional sofa curved around in front of the TV, a round coffee table in front of it.

"The phone goes there," Sana whispered, pointing.

Two pairs of eternal eyes stared at her.

"That's my mother's house."

Mina was already off the couch, phone in hand, dialing. Sana stared at the precise rendering of her mother's family room. Uncharacteristically, Chaeyoung slid closer to Sana. He lightly touched his hand to her shoulder, and the physical contact seemed to make his calming influence stronger. The panic stayed dull, unfocused.

Mina's lips were trembling with the speed of her words, the low buzzing impossible to decipher.

"Sana," Mina said. Sana looked at her numbly.

"Sana, Tzuyu is coming to get you. He and Dahyun and Jeongyeon are going to take you somewhere, to hide you for a while."

"Tzuyu is coming?" The words were like a life vest, holding her head above the flood.

"Yes, he's catching the first flight out of Jeonju-si. We'll meet him at the airport, and you'll leave with him."

"But, my mother… he came here for my mother, Mina!" Despite Chaeyoung, the hysteria bubbled up in her voice.

"Chaeyoung and I will stay till she's safe."

"I can't win, Mina. You can't guard everyone I know forever. Don't you see what he's doing? He's not tracking me at all. He'll find someone, he'll hurt someone I love… Mina, I can't —"

"We'll catch him, Sana," Mina assured her.

"And what if you get hurt, Mina? Do you think that's okay with me? Do you think it's only my human family he can hurt me with?" Mina looked meaningfully at Chaeyoung. A deep, heavy fog of lethargy washed over Sana, and her eyes closed without her permission. Her mind struggled against the fog, realizing what was happening. She forced her eyes open and stood up, stepping away from Chaeyoung's hand.

"I don't want to go back to sleep," Sana snapped.

She walked to her room and shut the door, slammed it really, so she could be free to go to pieces privately. This time Mina didn't follow her. For three and a half hours Sana stared at the wall, curled in a ball, rocking. Her mind went around in circles, trying to come up with some way out of this nightmare. There was no escape, no reprieve. She could see only one possible end looming darkly in her future. The only question was how many other people would be hurt before she reached it.