"you're delusional if you think we're leaving you behind. too much craziness has happened up here. splitting up would be the dumbest idea to ever come out of your mouth."
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johnny slapped him across the bicep before grunting at the pain that shot up his wounded arm. "that's what you deserve, bastard." taeil grumbled as he rubbed the stinging spot on his bicep.
with a roll to her eyes haru motioned for them to continue on. after a minute or so of walking haru comes to a locked door, claiming taeyong must have locked it behind him to prevent them from following him. "gosh damnit tae."
"let's just go down there. it has to lead somewhere." johnny said, pointing towards a manhole. haru looked down at it with hesitation. "if we want to get to taeyong it's our closet bet."
"fine. i'm going down first to make sure it's safe." with the help of taeil, he and haru removed the covering. she peeked into the darkness before slipping down the latter.
"my hero." johnny joked. his pride was hurt. he hated having haru be the one protecting and helping him when it should be the other way around. he was useless without his arm. he couldn't do much without suffering from excruciating pain.
with haru and johnny already at the bottom of the latter taeil groaned at the pressure he applied to his hurt ankle. the slower he went the more anxious and impatient haru got.
"honestly just go on without me! finding taeyong is more important than waiting for me. this is an order as the oldest member here!"
"he pulled the oldest card." johnny snickered. "did you forget splitting up is a dumb idea?"
"no! just go before i have a bitch fit." if the situation wasn't so dire haru would have choked from laughing but instead she muttered an okay and took off on a light jog with johnny following close behind.
taeil sighed to himself as he looked up at the iron manhole covering. he contemplated on closing it or leaving it open. he chose the latter and left it open. if they needed a quick escape having it open was the best bet. although he didn't know just how quick his escape would be with his ankle in such bad shape.
the sewer like tunnel was cold and had a foul stench to it. as if something was left down here to rot. without having a flashlight he traveled blindly in the darkness, relying on his senses to guide him. the only other sound accompanying his breathing and footsteps was the faint sound of water droplets hitting the ground.
"when i return to seoul i'm suing the fuck out of ten and his family. they're going to pay for my hospital bills, therapy sessions, college tuition. shit, he better even buy me a dog after all this fuckery—"
taeil... help me!
a chill ran down his spine. "minjin?" he moved closer to where a small cave entrance was. the voice steadily grew louder the closer he got. "minjin are you there?"
taeil help me!
he shook his head and slapped his cheek a bit to snap himself out of it. "it's not her. she died hours ago..." taeil debunked the voice as it being in his head. he remembers what he saw clearly. minjin was too hurt to survive. plus the fall.
if she did manage to survive the fall the blood loss surely would have killed her. possibly even the cold could have gotten to her before everything else.
regardless, minjin was gone. "taeil what are you doing?" johnny questioned as he saw taeil halfway through the caves hole. "don't go in there."
"i wasn't." he cleared his throat and removed himself from the entrance. "where's haru?"
"she went to catch up with taeyong on her own. she said it's best we just stay back, too much strain on the body."
"well what the hell johnny!? we walked all this way just to be turned away? i can't deal anymore. i'm so over this vacation."
"tell me about it..." johnny linked his good arm with taeil's. "come on gramps. i'll get you back safely."
"fuck off." taeil grumbled, shoving johnny away from him. "i'm not that old."
✦ PERSEVERANCE 5:39 am
jaehyun cursed under his breath as he pulled minjin behind the wall. he held his breath and clamped a hand over minjin's mouth to muffle her whimpers. from out the corner of his eye he saw the wendigo looking in through the cracks of the wood.
it remained looking in for a few more seconds before scurrying down the cavern. jaehyun released his hold on minjin. "we can't stay here minnie." she let out a breathy cry as her legs gave out from under her.
jae acted quickly; easily lifting her up. "i can't run."
"i'm not just gonna leave you. taeil would kill me. plus, i'm not going to let someone else die because of me..." jae peeked his head out to ensure it was clear. "we're gonna go okay?"
she nodded. continuing on, the duo made it a few steps before coming into light with an opening covered by wooden boards and the wendigo. jaehyun ran forward, busting through the old boards with ease.
he turned, yelling for minjin to hurry up. the wendigo screeched one last time and scattered to catch up with minjin. jaehyun took her into his arms, securing her tightly against him as he shuffled out onto the cliff's ledge.
"shh.. don't move." he whispered as the wendigo looked around blindly, trying to find them. when it sensed no movement it retreated back into the cavern. jaehyun let out the breath he was holding. "we made it... we freaking made it."
"thank you jae." minjin sobbed into his chest. he shushed her, running his fingers through her tangled hair as soothingly as possible.
"it's nothing minnie. i'd do it again in a heartbeat." he continued to try and sooth her as he looked off into the distance towards the lodge, wondering who else survived this night of terror.
✦
U G H this chapter was terrible it makes me want to
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but good news. there's only three more chapters left before this is finally finished! expect the final updates to happen this week~
