They picked up where they had left off, dusting themselves off and then began to head in a certain direction. Kim Seo stood off for a bit, letting Vinh lead the way, even if it was clear she was confused as of all of them. They were all confused, and knew that they were lost.
Cameron stayed behind with Loire, unintentionally keeping her pace since both of them were injured. He kept mumbling to himself, his body stiff and mind far away from the rest. Loire tried to talk with him, making some sort of conversation happen that went nowhere. She gave up, turning up front and making faces to Marie who was in Vinh's hands. Her hands held tightly onto the tall girl's shoulders, looking over at Loire who made the small girl crack a small smile.
Either then that, it was silent as the group went on.
Making their way with slow steps, it grew slightly darker as they walked on. Silence stretched along them, making the group feel slightly tense. Vinh was growing more and more concerned, she hoisted Marie up, leaning over and whispering to her as the small girl whimpered.
She groaned in annoyance, stopping slightly and the rest soon followed. She knelt down, leaning Marie back and talking to her softly and quietly. Loire buckled back onto the trunk behind her, mumbling before shifting and sitting down. Cameron looked between the two girls, feeling his stomach turn at the thought of stopping.
"What's going on?"
Vinh spoke up with a grumble. "Small break, Marie is getting a headache and Loire is having trouble walking."
"I am not-"
Vinh ignored Loire's complaints, wiping the sweat down from her own brow. She leaned down and kissed Marie, making sure the girl was comforted. Cameron let out a groan, walking back and forth, his mind was spiraling and his body ran cold. He didn't know why he was feeling so scared. He tried to convince himself that they were alone, that they were okay.
But no matter what, he still felt unnerved.
"Stop walking around like that, you're giving me a headache." Kim Seo groaned with annoyance.
"Oh shut up..!" The small body retorted back.
Kim Seo scoffed, turning his head and ignoring the boy once again. Cameron continued to walk in circles, the anxiety grew more and more until he felt like throwing up. He stopped walking, sighing out and looking over to the group, mostly to Vinh. "Is this a good idea? We should hurry up and get back to the others.."
"Stop whining," Vinh said with her eyes closed.
Cameron groaned once again. "Come on guys! This is getting annoying, it's only gonna get darker and harder to get back."
The group stayed quiet, Loire slowly murmuring to herself. Vinh growled under her breath, shifting her face away from the boy and moving closer to the small girl. It was Kim Seo who spoke back to the anxious boy. "You're the one scaring everyone. Calm the fuck down why don't you?"
"Calm down?" The boy turned, his face growing red with anger. "Don't tell me to calm down! How can I calm down when we are lost in a fucking forest!?"
"Cause freaking out wont help anyone you dumbass!" Kim Seo shouted back, sitting up from the tree and walking menacingly to the boy.
"Sitting here doing nothing isn't gonna help us get back fucker!"
"Stop it, both of you..!" Vinh whispered with clenched teeth, looking between the two with slanted eyes. The boys didn't even turn to her, continuing to bicker and glare fiercely at each other.
"Maybe stop crying for a second and grow the fuck up." The taller boy was inches from his face, showing the anger that was returned because of the boy in front.
"Your being a fucking idiot right now! All of you are!" Cameron motioned to the others, turning back to Kim Seo, "sitting here doesn't do shit for us. We need to continue going and find the way back, we could be in danger!"
Marie began to whine, curling in closer to Vinh. The taller girl glared evilly at the younger boy, looking about ready to kill. But it was Kim Seo who spoke next. "You need to shut your mouth."
Cameron glared back at him, his face was an angry irritated red and he suddenly felt very hot and agitated. "What are you gonna do if I don't? Huh?" Cameron didn't waver at the deadly glare that not only Kim Seo gave him but Vinh did as well. He scoffed, "we are lost because of you. Because you don't know where we are!"
"Your fucking stupid!" Kim Seo rolled his eyes, casting a glare back down. "You didn't do shit to help anyway, your fucking useless-"
"I didn't even ask to come. I didn't want to come for fucks sake! I was dragged here!"
"You had a chance to walk away many times!" Kim Seo shot back, leaning down to him. "Yet you didn't, you stayed. You fucking stayed and that was your choice."
"I-" Cameron stopped, feeling his throat clogged up and mind racing. He didn't know why he was choked up. He didn't want to, he was being forcefully pulled back, forced to stay by Loire and her persistent nature. But it wasn't true, it really didn't feel true. So then what was it? Why couldn't he defend himself against that.
"So it's true huh?"
"I didn't agree with that dumbass!"
"Then why?" Kim Seo asked very seriously, his voice becoming low and stern. The mood between the group shifted, the boys looking at one another with mixed emotions. Loire had an obvious look of discomfort as the awkwardness fled through them. Vinh rolled her eyes while comfortingly stroking the girl's head.
"Why then Cameron?" Kim Seo asked forcefully,
"It doesn't fucking matter." The boy growled with a forceful glare. "We are still lost because of you. It's your fault!"
"You didn't do shit to help anyone- your fucking useless here." Kim Seo kept his voice low, moving his face even close to glare deeply at him. "There was no point in you even being here."
Cameron swung his hand to the taller body face, smashing his cheek with his small fist. Kim Seo stumbled back, catching himself before he could fall to the ground. Silence stretched across the group, it went cold as the wistful air was the only thing that stretched through the air.
It was broken when Cameron huffed with anger, turning and swiftly walking away from them. Kim Seo watched him go, his body shook and seething with anger. He kept his fists clenched, his cheek began to sting but the tall boy ignored it and watched as he walked off with seething anger.
Loire puffed up her cheeks, a small smirk running on her lips. She stayed silent, pulling her sore body up before following him off into the trees. It left Vinh, Marie and Kim Seo alone.
Loire struggled, feeling pain as she tried to trudge along, following behind while keeping her eyes on the boy's back until he finally stopped.
Loire stopped soon after, heaving over while she voiced out some small snickers and laughter. Cameron flinched, turning behind him with shocked eyes. It soon faded, his eyes rolling in clear annoyance. Loire only laughed back, leaning her head back she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
It was silent until the girl finally spoke up. "You surprised me."
"What?" Cameron growled back to her, feeling his adrenaline suddenly dying while his body slowly relaxed.
"Well," Loire shifted her feet, her smile never fading from her face. "Let's start from the beginning huh? You start off by being a bit of an annoying push over-" she cocked her head over, seeing Cameron glare back. "Then you bite back and protect yourself from Damian, then you strike again by punching Kim Seo in the face. Kim Seo. The boy who is feared by even some of the delinquents at school!"
"Its more like a fucking prison." Cameron crossed his arms, growling under his breath.
"Yeah, yeah," Loire shook off his words, coming over as she nudged him slightly with her elbow. "But I just want you to know yourself how cool you are!" Cameron turned over, his eyebrows wide. "You take yourself for granted, Cam cam," she shook her head.
The boy felt his face turn red, the praise that he had never heard before. It came from Loire herself, the spunky girl who feared nothing. She praised the boy with true pride in her eyes. Cameron couldn't help but feel happy, to feel so liked, seen. Something he had never had before.
He smiled slightly, before shaking his head and turning his head away from Loire's view.
She nudged him one more time, smiling warmly at the small smile the boy gave. She never saw him smile, it made her heart warm up. "You're braver than you think."
"Shut up.." Cameron mumbled, his face warming up even more.
Loire just giggled, poking fun at him more with her joyous laugh. Cameron suddenly felt very nice, nicer then he had felt. It brought him back to when the group was together and actually having fun. Not worrying or arguing with one another. His fear faded for the seconds, until it came rushing back when he felt Loire stiffen.
He looked up to her, seeing her stare off in front of them, she seemed to lose all the color in her face. She was pale, mouth in a tight line. Cameron looked to where she was facing, he had a chill run up his spine as his own face turned pale and body was slowly becoming stiff at what they were staring at.
A figure. Just a silhouette of a very tall person, stiff and broad towering over in front of them next to the trees and bushes. The fading sun's light from behind the large figure blocked the light while casting a shadow over the pair. It felt like the earth stopped moving, cold sweat made its way down his back. All of his anxiety and fear came rushing back to him, all of the thoughts from seeing someone out there, the desperation he told himself that he was seeing things.
All of it was real.
The things he had been fearing were right. Here it was standing in front of them, an actual human being was following them. They had to have been..
As silent as the wind, the tall figure took steps forward, with one large step, the figure was casted in the fading light. The pair flinched, seeing as it was a man with his face covered. It wasn't dressed as a man, it wasn't even dressed as a person.
A ripped hood type of thing hung over his shoulders, covering the back of his head with small red tufts coming from behind the thing on his face. It was a skull, a wolf skull. It looked to be itched onto his face, only the black abyss of the skull's slit eyes looked back at them. The skull was large, fitting tightly to his face, the sharp razor-like teeth sinking out and gleaming light of what appeared to be a running liquid.
The pair couldn't even comprehend what the guy was wearing. When the sight of a large, machete shaped weapon came into sight. Loire saw it first, her mouth hung open as fear filled her lungs and she was unable to speak. It was long, sharp, and the man with the skull on his head held it tightly.
The silence stretched on. Loire tried to get to her feet, seeing through her fear that the man was slowly coming forward. He was taking deliberate small steps, his feet seemed to be dragging behind him, the grass rustled, the sound making the teens flinch in fear. Their bodies felt stiff, stuck in place while the man made his way closer.
It was quick, the whole atmosphere shifted when the weapon he held was suddenly up closer. He swung it at Loire, slashing the girl's arm in a second making no sound. He didn't even appear to move from being feet away, only one large step, swinging the weapon quickly and striking the girl.
Loire let out a scream, coming to her senses and falling onto the ground, quickly holding her arm close to herself. Her shoulder dripped blood, the slash was deep and long, covering up to her shoulder. The girl was frozen, her eyes blurred when the pain and fear came crashing down on her. She couldn't breathe, had she died? Her vision was blurry, tears streaming down her face that felt hot and suffocating.
He was silent, stalking his way forward with the now bloody weapon trailing behind him. Cameron came over to Loire, quickly grabbing onto her before he dragged themselves back to the others. His hand shook in own fear, screaming for the others while Loire held onto her deep wound with tears lining her eyes.
. . .
The silence continued to stretch, Kim Seo groaned loudly with his anger bursting and slowly piling up. He looked up to the darkening sky, his eyes closed tightly with his fist clenching with white knuckles. Vinh only responded with a huff.
Kim Seo looked over to her, shaking his head. The boy turned his back and slowly fell to the tree behind him. Sliding down, he stretched his long legs out in front of him and let out a long sigh with his head tilted back. Vinh continued to let the silence go by, she only focused her attention on Marie who was slowly moving herself closer to the girl and further from Kim Seo who sat next to them.
Kim Seo let the silence sink in, it made him bristle with uneasiness. Before he could say anything though, Vinh finally decided to speak up. She didn't look over to him, "that was too harsh. Even for you."
"Pf-" Kim Seo scoffed, bringing his knee up holding onto his leg that was up. "Harsh? That little balls for brains knows how to fight back and keep his stubbornness up."
"Yet telling him something that was not true was unnecessary." Vinh noted harshly.
"How was it not true?"
Vinh closed her eyes, taking a very deep breath to compose herself. She looked up to him, her eyebrows low and lips in a tight line. "You told him he was useless. He is not, no one that is here is." She shook her head, pulling herself closer to Kim Seo, making Marie whine silently. "We keep eachother company, keeping one another safe like with Damian and the other guys. That is what we all did. None of us are useless."
"Whatever…" The tall boy whispered silently to himself, hoping Vinh wouldn't have caught it, but the girl did in an instant.
"You hate being wrong huh.." She spoke slowly, slurring her words with amusement.
Kim Seo laughed to himself, only nodding his head to silently agree with her. He couldn't try and deny it, Vinh saw right through him, reading his expressions along with his emotions.
The peaceful silence was interrupted by a loud scream off in the distance not so far away. The two sat up almost immediately, they quickly realized that it was Loire who had let out the scream. It had jostled Marie awake, she groaned, her fingers tightly closing around Vinh who held back just as tightly.
Kim Seo quickly made his way in the direction of the pair, only to be met with Cameron dragging Loire from behind him. He was running, trying to make the girl keep up, she was holding onto her upper hand that was covered in blood. Their eyes spoke of a terror that made Kim Seo's blood run cold.
"Run! RUN!" Cameron yelled out, continuing to pull Loire along, she tripped over herself but ran away as fast as Cameron.
Kim Seo followed behind Loire, helping keep her up while looking behind him at whoever seemed to be following them. Vinh was quickly picking Marie up before following along with them, running behind Cameron who forced the whole group to hold the same fast pace.
They ran, dodging past huddled trees and stumbling over longs and some large stones. Loire had fallen more than once, letting out cries of pain. It got so bad that they realized they needed to stop and help the wounded girl. Kim Seo quickened up, pulling the girl onto him all the while running to keep pace with the others. Loire felt faint, crying for Cameron and the others to stop for a moment.
Vinh was sweating down her back, feeling the girl in her hands cry as well, holding tightly onto her shoulders. She was becoming heavy, that or Vinh's strength was dying at both her running and holding the child close finally caught up to her.
They finally had to stop when Loire fell and couldn't get back up. The others soon followed, only Cameron took a few seconds to notice that they had stopped. He turned, his eyes wide and adrenaline pumping through his veins. "What are you guys doing? A fucking guy with a knife thing is chasing us!"
"Loire is losing too much blood, dumbass!" Kim Seo yelled back to him, kneeling in front of Loire and taking the terribly wounded arm. Loire hissed, sobbing in pain, letting out moans of protest. Kim Seo tried to cover it up with his hands, but it seeped through, inking his fingers in dark red liquid.
Cameron quickly pushed Kim Seo away before shouting out to him, "watch from where we came! If a big guy comes we need to go!" He finished while using his teeth to tear off the bottom of the dirty sweater. It ripped with his harsh tug, a large piece coming off with jagged edges.
Kim Seo had to listen, moving away before he went in the direction they had run from. He stayed behind the dense trees, keeping his eyes open and quick breaths quiet. Vinh had set Marie down in front of her, keeping her eyes away from Loire, only focusing on herself. She was whispering something to the girl, keeping it low while explaining the situation.
Loire continued to cry with hot wet tears all the while Cameron shakily wrapped the large cut. She winced away, but refrained from pulling back since it would only cause her pain. Cameron had his own eyes foggy with tears, he kept that at bay, his breathing shaking and rapidly coming out. Still, he managed to tightly wrap up the wound, seeing the blood already starting to seep through. He tightened it as much as he could before tying it off, Loire cried, holding onto her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
Kim Seo came running back, "no ones there.."
"It doesn't matter!" Cameron half-whispered, pulling Loire up with him. "We have to keep going. We have to get back to the others!"
His fearful eyes along with Loire's large wound, the others didn't try to question what they had seen. Instead, Kim Seo came forward, keeping Loire up to hold onto him while Vinh held Marie's hand tightly as they began to jog away, Cameron in front.