The Clan Part 1: Lost (Monsta X / Reader)

Chapter 18

Explosions. They were all you heard. All you felt. All you saw.

They made your head pulse, the constant overwhelming noise pouring into your ears like a tidal wave. Your brain throbbed painfully. Your hands flew to your ears to try to block out the cacophony surrounding you from all sides, pressing in. Suffocating.

Your body shook. No... The world shook. Everything around you seemed to rise up in a fiery mass, leaving behind nothing but a tragic downpour of debris. Debris that connected with the pavement harshly and stung your skin if you were unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. As soon as any of it hit the ground, a plume of dust and other matter rose, coating the air until your mind had almost convinced you a layer of fog hung in the atmosphere. Then the dust was breathed in none too gently. Around you, several of your comrades had either gagged on the vicious taste, or impulsively launched into a violent coughing fit once the unnatural form of oxygen smothered their lungs.

Your skin burned. The pain was almost unbearable yet your feet kept pushing you further and further ahead, desperate to outrun the chaos. Learning fast, you buried your nose and mouth in the scarf you had acquired from Minhyuk. He had pulled you aside just as the group was distributing supplies before leaving. Everyone had dressed for the worse, layering on anything that could potentially help them in the long run, but Minhyuk insisted on giving you the scarf that had been draped haphazardly around his neck. You obliged with a smile. At the time, you never would have expected such a simple piece of clothing to be useful. Right now, it was the most precious item you owned as it was the only thing keeping you alive.

Your eyes watered. It was damn near impossible to see anything around you. All your senses had dulled considerably from the commotion ensuing on all sides. The waterworks were threatening to dampen your cheeks, but you had no idea if they were caused by the billowing dust or an overload of emotions. Probably both.

How did we get here? Your mind screamed at you. Heavy breaths were getting caught in your throat. What happened? What went wrong?

It was foolish to even ask, especially since the answer came in a blaze of smoke and fire and destruction that erupted sporadically from all sides.

They were prepared.

Without warning, a hand grabbed your arm roughly and yanked you backwards. Panic instantly flared across your senses and you swung your arm around blindly as you prayed your fist would connect with something solid so you could escape. You wouldn't allow yourself to lose this early in the game. You couldn't.

But then the ground that you were about to run over moments before exploded in a tsunami of fire and smoke. The dirt and dust flying into the air stung your eyes and caused your vision to blur while both you and the person still holding your arm were thrown back from the force. Sharp pain coursed through your shoulder as you connected with the pavement several feet away.

You hardly had time to process anything—not even the growing agony enveloping your side—before you were being pulled to your feet once again. Instinctively, you started struggling wildly to break out of your captor's strong grip.

"Hey, hey, hey," a hoarse voice choked out. You froze, your eyes widening as your head whipped around to finally catch a glimpse of their face. Wonho. He noticed the fearful, almost malicious glint in your eye that reminded him too much of a cornered animal ready to kill. Then your eyes softened upon recognizing Wonho's kind expression, worry etched into his features.

Your breathing came out heavy, partially from running and partially from the panic that sent your senses into overdrive. You had almost died. You had almost died and Wonho saved you. Just three or four more steps and you would have been blown into pieces. The idea made your head spin and your legs weak. You could feel the sting of bile rising in your throat.