RIPPLE | P.JM

7

SEVEN

I wake up during the night, sweat pouring down my back. It's just four in the morning, and my eyes snap open to see the white ceiling in the dark.

An instinct.

I quickly shake Jimin. Because whatever it might be, my instincts were never wrong. Almost never. And right now it was sparking so bad right now that it had even woken me up.

He groans. I shake him again, the feeling in my stomach tightening.

"What's wrong with you...?"

"I have a—"

Then I hear it. A loud knock downstairs. Then whoever's outside begins pounding on the front door, yelling loudly to open up.

Jimin's eyes snap open in an instant.

"No— stay down." I say, pushing him back on the bed. Honestly he can't even get up, having only slept a few hours and he still had all that blood loss affecting him.

I peek outside Jimin's door, when a pair of large hands grip my shoulders.

I nearly scream in shock.

"T-Taehyung?"

"I think he's searching all the buildings in the area for you, Seven." He says seriously, shadows under his wide eyes. "Come follow me. Is Jimin still asleep?"

"He— He's..."

Taehyung sighs and runs a hand through his blue hair. "We need to get you hidden. Don't be afraid, though. Namjoon hyung will take care of it."

Master?!

Holy crap.

"Quick." He rushes me through the hall, opening a small door so nicely hidden I'd barely seen it. Before he pushes me in, he suddenly pulls out something and sprays it all over my body.

"W-What..."

"They have bloodhounds." He explains, and my face pales even more. "Don't worry. This'll cover your scent, Seven."

I curl myself up into a tight ball inside, slightly shaking. If I got caught, I'd be sent back. And everyone would pay the price with their lives for taking me in.

Gruff voices come from downstairs, and I stare at my hands as Taehyung pats the top of my head.

"It'll be fine. Just don't make any noise, okay?"

And then he closes the door, and everything plunges into darkness in the small, cramped space. I quietly lean against the door, listening.

"Then you won't mind if we search the house real quick, hm? With my little dog?"

"Be my guest." I hear Yoongi growl lowly as I strain to listen. "You won't find anything though. Except Jimin upstairs. That little rat is somehow still sleeping."

"We'll see."

I swallow when I recognize the voice. He was one of the men who used to laugh at me when I came out of the punishment room crying.

I hug myself tighter when I hear sounds of footsteps coming up, and low growls of a dog.

The sound of doors swinging open and closing shut echoes against my ear, and I'm so on edge that I can literally hear the bloodhounds' paws hit against the wooden floor.

It feels like an eternity until they finally give up, unable to find me.

"I guess you were right." The man scowls, probably unhappy he had to keep searching more buildings. My Master— he was still looking for me?