Ruined (A BTS fanfiction)

Chapter 12 - Escape

The dark trees whizzed past as I drove down the vaguely familiar winding road. The sun had risen long ago but the thick branches of the trees made it still feel like early morning. The boys were uncharacteristically quiet. In part because the youngest three were fast asleep, probably thinking the whole ordeal of quickly packing and rushing away a dream, and also because they were understandably upset. None of the older boys told me this, nor did I suspect they ever would, but I knew they were afraid to leave. And as we drew ever closer to our destination, I too started to doubt my decision. Was I crazy? Surely, I must've been crazy. But no matter how I looked at it there was no better option. He knew our house and could easily break in, the police had failed at protecting us, and I knew I could protect us better here. I knew without a shadow of a doubt we were not safe at our home, but this house was a gamble. A gamble I had no choice but to take.

At last the thickness of the trees faded a bit and the sun started pouring into the car windows. I heard rustling as the younger boys slowly started to wake up. After they realized their surroundings I heard a bit of confused whispering and I had to reexplained the situation. The air lightened a bit as the three of them reignited the usual chatter.

"Wow! Look at all the trees," Taehyung said pressing his face up against the window.

"How far are we from home?" Jimin asked.

"We've been driving for about three hours," I said.

"We're not going to stay there forever, right?" Jungkook asked.

"We'll just stay until things settle down back home," I said that, but if the police never caught Father, I didn't think we could ever go back.

"But Mom, is there a dog kennel there?" Hoseok spoke up suddenly. "We need somewhere to keep Tae while we're out."

Taehyung let out a somewhat offended, somewhat amused cry, and all-out war broke out in the backseat. Maybe in the past I would have told them to stop. But their giggling and yelling only soothed me. To still be able to smile, they were so much stronger than I was. Eventually, Yoongi got tired of it and hit Taehyung, Hoseok, and whoever else had been engaging in the battle over the head with a book.

"I win," He said returning to what he was doing.

It seemed the boys had chosen to look at this as an extended vacation rather than a move. And if that kept their spirits up, I wasn't going to correct them. Jin was the only one who seemed to understand the possibility of us never going back. He hadn't said anything the entire ride. Jin hadn't really gone back to being himself. How could one expect him to? He had been far more solemn, not really playing with the other boys. He wasn't bothered by them, but he didn't laugh with them like he used to. He had really been forced to grow up far too quickly. All the pleasures of childhood were now long gone. And he was still burdened by guilt and self-hatred. I had talked to him several times, and every time he told me not to worry. But I knew what that meant, I was just like him. Desperately, I wished he wouldn't turn out like I had. Guilt followed my every movement, I never let myself forget my mistakes. No matter how many times I was forgiven or told it wasn't my fault. My mind continued to torture me. I blamed myself for Jin turning out like this. All my regrets had lead me right to my biggest one of all, allowing my son to hurt like I did. I gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter. No, I wouldn't let him fall down the same path. I would stop feeling sorry for myself and living in the past. I would fix things, I would change things, the endless cycle of pain would end here.

When we finally reached the edge of town, the car once again erupted into chatter. Everyone gazed out the window as the houses and few shops went by. People who were walking in the streets were surprised to see a car coming through. They gawked at us and the boys gawked right back. It wasn't that no one could afford cars, although that was true of many, they just simply saw cars as unnecessary. I smiled a bit, nothing had changed from when I was child. The same houses and little shops sat there, just as run down. The only thing that had changed was the people. When a pack of children clambered over each other to get a look at what was probably one of the few cars they had ever seen, I recognized none of them. We turned onto another road that lead us back towards the trees.

"Huh? Where are we going?" Namjoon asked.

"The house is a bit separated from the rest of the town. A long time ago the head of this town decided to build his house on the side of this mountain so he could overlook the town," I said.

"Woah! Awesome!" Taehyung squirmed around with excitement.

We followed the winding road up the side of the small mountain. Then it finally came into view, my childhood home. The dark one-story house blended in with the scenery so well it looked as if it had been there as long as the mountain itself. The grass had become overgrown and plant life twisted around the very soul of the house. The windows were so dirty you couldn't see inside. It was all a mess. Still, I couldn't help but smile as soon as I saw it. We pulled onto the overgrown gravel driveway. I was a bit worried the drab appearance of the house had quelled their enthusiasm, but it only made them more excited.

"Woah, it's ancient!" Jimin marveled.

"It looks haunted!" Taehyung said excitedly.

"Haunted?" Hoseok's smile vanished.

"Most definitely," Yoongi said with so little gusto I almost believed him myself.

We all climbed out of the car and made our way to the front door. As we did so, I looked farther down the road at the only other house on this mountain. I smiled. It looked exactly the same. She was still here. I turned my attention back. Rows of locks stretched down the side of the door, all different types imaginable. The old head of town had not only built his house here because it had a nice view, he was also deeply suspicious of the towns people. He had built the house as securely and in as tactical a position as he could. His suspicions were correct, he was assassinated on his way back to his house. My parents had only ever locked the main lock. They were not nearly as paranoid as the old head. Crime was practically none existent in our town. And one could tell from a glance that the house no longer contained immense treasures. But I would have to lock every single one. For now, the house contained seven fiercely sought-after treasures. We all stepped inside.