Kim Seo soon realized what was happening, the feeling of suffocation came quickly to his senses. He fought back from the overpowering, heavy dirt that trapped them from above. The killer had run off, but that doesn't mean he was gone forever. He knew that they shouldn't be too loud, but it was hard to remember that when they were all being suffocated by dirt and water.
The young teen panicked when every time he pushed the dirt away, it felt like only more took its place. He suddenly emerged from the top, taking in a gulp of air. The relief was soon washed away when he saw the hand of Vinh fighting for her life. The boy pushed down to her, swiping away the dirt before pulling her up next to him.
She was panting with shallow breaths, dirt was smudged in her face. Kim Seo turned from her to look for Marie and Cameron. He didn't spot them..
He didn't want to yell, to cause a commotion. He felt the fear and dread pile up on him, he kept swiping the mud away frantically. He even jumped back into the water from where the mud was, looking around for any sign of life. The boy heard Vinh cry from above, she soon joined in while calling out for Marie.
"Stop..!" The tall boy hissed at her with a warning glare. "Don't yell, just look around!"
She ignored him, but stopped yelling anyways while looking around for any signs of Marie. Kim Seo looked around as well, pushing back the mud, or throwing the water aside in hope to find them. To find any sign of them..
Just as Kim Seo pushed past the large chunks of dirt, Vinh let out a startled yelp. The tall boy looked over to catch the girl tumbling down into the water. He followed after her, staying low with deliberately quiet steps unlike his friend.
He soon realized why she was rushing into the murky water with such speed. Cameron was coming out from the water, Marie holding onto him with his hand around her small form. His whole body was drenched in mud, soaking wet all the while water fell from his hair that was once fluffy. He looked like a mess, the pair could tell he was tired.
Vinh reached for Marie, the boy let her take the child. When Vinh was handed her, Cameron tumbled forward in the water, creating ripples along with his movements. Kim Seo reached out for him, catching his fall. The shorter boy pushed away, mumbling curses under his breath, the taller boy could see that he was shaking, that something had happened. He pulled away, but didn't leave the shorter boy's side.
"I told you not to let go of me!" Vinh hissed to Marie, she held onto her hands. The small child sniffed, wiping her eyes but stayed silent. The tall girl grumbled, pulling the child with her and out of the water. They stayed close, Vinh careful to watch their surroundings while waiting for the boys to join them.
Cameron continued to grumble, his moans sounded pained. He held onto his side as he slowly walked through the thick water. He quickly caught on to the boy beside him that was following his pace. "Go on. Why wait for me?"
His whisper made Kim Seo scoff silently, he felt like he didn't need to explain himself. "We shouldn't split up. It's safer if we are together." The older boy watched Cameron roll his eyes, shifting himself forward so as to not look in the other one's direction. "I mean, we split up for only a few seconds and you come back like that."
"Its cause I almost fucking drowned…!" Cameron hissed louder than he intended to.
Vinh came forward, shuffling down to glare at the pair. "Shut it both of you."
They stayed quiet, Kim Seo stealing a few concerned glances at the boy beside him. He figured that is what happened, he would have been underwater for a long time if he and Vinh took that long to try and find him. But the teenager couldn't grasp why he was under water in the first place.
I had him. I held him to my chest, how did he get out of my grasp so quickly? Kim Seo couldn't help but wonder, he didn't understand why he cared this much. Why was he worried in the first place? Cameron out of everyone pissed him off the most.
The boy beside him tumbled, falling over onto the mud that was once where they hid. Vinh reached down, offering a hand to the struggling boy. She helped pull him up, with Kim Seo gently pushing Cameron from behind. Cameron came up with Kim Seo right behind him, to the taller boy's surprise, Cameron went to ask if Marie was okay.
The angel turned to him, giving a grateful nod as her eyes were a puffy red. Cameron nodded, sighing out in complete exhaustion. He would fall to the ground and sleep if his life wasn't in danger.
The other boy saw the interaction between the two, sensing an idea of what Cameron did to get himself in that shape. It made him feel strange, his chest tightened and he felt a smile tug on his lips. What a weird time to feel like this, such bad timing..
"We have to keep going." Vinh suddenly spoke up, catching the group's attention.
"We don't know where he went off to..." Cameron looked around, feeling the fear pile up all over again.
Kim Seo looked around, trying to remember where he heard the killer run off too. "We can't stay here though," he looked over to the others, his eyebrows knitted close together. "We will just have to go and find our way back. But stay quiet."
The others nodded, but neither of them began to move. The tall boy smirked, sending a questioning eye their way. Vinh nodded forward, "go on.."
The boy let out a chuckle, but led the way for the others anyway. He began to trudge along, keeping a close eye on the others that slowly followed from behind, he also made sure to watch every little movement in the dark trees outside of his vision.
The silent air sent chills down their spines, all the little sounds of owls, or critters crawling up trees made them flinch at the harmless sounds. Yet nothing seemed harmless, the group was on edge the whole time they made noise through the forest. Where had the killer gone? Why had he run off like that?
Everything scared them, all the things around were screaming danger.
Kim Seo, who was in front, trying to keep a straight face, he was the oldest, he had to lead them with no fear. He may seem more chill then he actually was, but he was just as scared as them. Seeing Loire drop dead within a second sent something down him that felt stuck. He felt different.. Not only that, but losing sight of Cameron and Marie.
They almost drowned, disappearing within seconds. They could have died that quickly…
And Kim Seo could do nothing but watch by. Just like he did with Loire.
The guilt felt suffocating, even if he knew he didn't kill her, he felt as if he had caused it. He was the one that made them all go off, he was the one that got them lost. He allowed them to go off alone even after Loire was already attacked. He was stupid and careless.
He was in way over his head.
Thanks to that, he had gotten Loire killed, Cameron and Marie had almost drowned. All because of his stupidity. The boy was ignorant, he believed that he was fearless, able to adventure on into the forest without a care. They believed they would be safe, Kim Seo believed he could keep them safe if something had happened.
Something did happen, and one of them died…
The boy quickly shook off the thoughts. He felt the tears sting his eyes, threatening to burst at any moment. But he wouldn't let them out, he refused to shed a tear, he hadn't cried at all. It wont start now..
"Get down..!" The boy pushed Cameron who was following behind him. He pushed on the girl that was right behind them, making the whole group fall back behind the trees.
The large trunks hid them from view on the other side, just as they all stopped moving, the sudden rustles of bushes from where they once stood became apparent. Vinh looked down, falling to the ground while cradling Marie in her arms. The boys were behind the other trunks not so far away. They all stopped moving, realizing the deep steps of the killer not so far away from them became louder.
He was right behind them, behind the trees they tried desperately to use as some sort of support from the evil. It went still, only the sound of a thumping, deep breath echoing within all of their bodies. The killer walked by, his bare feet thumped from behind him along with the sliding of the bone weapon that hung off his hand.
The short boy gulped, feeling the cold sweat run down his back. His soaked sweater stuck to his skin, feeling tight and suffocating. The boy couldn't breath, he couldn't think. He was being suffocated once again. The water was drowning him, pulling him under constantly while he fought for his life.
The girl clung to him, desperate for air. Her small hands pulled at him, the fear going through the small body that barely had the chance to live yet. Cameron felt like he was drowning once again, but this time, he had nothing to grapple onto.
To fight for so desperately, to have a reason to fight..
The footsteps stooped. It was sudden, making the sound of flying air stop the whole group. He was silent.
Why was he silent??
Cameron held back a hiccup, his body cold and mind a mess. He felt the urge to run, to hide, escape. The killer was right there. He could hear them.. he could see them, they weren't safe.
"Uk-" A hand suddenly closed around his mouth, stopping any sound from escaping.
The boy looked over to see Kim Seo standing above him, his hand covering his mouth once again. He did this before, while the killer stalked them, he stopped the boy from getting himself killed. He was doing it once again, yet he was looking at him. He had his head up in the direction where the killer was last heard.
He listened silently, he got the boy to quiet down, now he listened in the silent forest for any sound of the man.
Cameron calmed down, having the older boy's body pressed so closely to him, his heat cooled on the body's cold skin. The soaking clothes that soaked him with freezing water were washed away by the boy's warm body. He let the calmness come to him, forgetting the confused questions as to why the boy was now behind the same tree.
-Last time he saw him, he was by the other tree. How did he get to him without being seen?
Why had he come to him..?
The silence stretched on like the calming of waves on a sun-stricken day. It was cut off by a loud gruff from the man behind them, he let out a loud sigh that almost sounded like a growl. His loud steps came back once again, sending a quiet sigh of relief through the teens.
He walked off, his steps fading back into the darkness before disappearing. When it did so, Kim Seo did not waste any time. He stood up silently, making contact with Vinh who wasn't too far away to follow him.
Her legs shook from under her and Marie's weight, but she managed to hold on before running with small steps over to the boys. The small group came together for one silent second before the older boy made a move with his head. Cameron looked up to him, seeing the anxiety run through his eyes.
He didn't speak, but the motioning he made with his head made Vinh understand. The small body looked between the two in confusion, not understanding what was happening. They ended the silent conversation with a nod, Vinh put Marie down before making sure the small child knew to be quiet.
They then went off in the direction they saw the killer walk away from. The group went back to the formation they once were in, Kim Seo leading, Cameron in the middle with Vinh at the end holding tightly onto Marie's hand.
Cameron could see the girl's legs quicken up at being in the back. It made the boy's body stiffen when he was in the back. Being behind someone made him anxious. Seeing Marie almost fusing into the older girl's body made the short boy's heart skip.
Kim Seo suddenly stopped, he was looking at something far ahead with narrowed eyes. The others followed, seeing what the boy's attention was on. To their shock, it was lights.
Small, but noticeable far off, it seems to be a hill with small flickers of light. It was faint, you could miss it if you weren't looking down.
The group was by a hill looking over a ledge that had a bunch of stumps and stops that were steeped with large trees, paired with more bushes. They could make it down there, a long walk and they would be near the light. The hill was steep, they had to take it short and quietly so as to not cause any attention to them.
But they had to try and get there, it was the only source of life in this whole forest. Light could mean people, other things besides them and the killer just behind them.
"So.. what's the plan?" Vinh looked over to him, her eyes narrowed with frustration and fear.
The boy gulped, feeling all eyes on him to make a decision. He didn't know what the right one would be, what to do.. what to do to make sure everyone survived.
"We go down there, slowly," he turned to them, looking between Vinh and Marie who slowly pulled her eyes back to him with a hesitant look. The tall boy gave a gentle smile, "and quietly."
"Then what are we waiting for..!?" The short boy butted into the sentimental looking, feeling frustrated all over again. Kim Seo turned back, making sure they didn't walk off in the dark where the ledge ended off onto the steep hill.
He cocked his head, signing for them to follow him. They kept their steps slow and deliberately quiet as much as they could. The boy in the front made sure he had them in his sight, watching as Cameron kept his head up, not watching his steps as he went. Vinh still held Marie by the hand, making sure the girl was shielded as they passed the dangerous spot.
Kim Seo landed on the other side safely, watching back for the others to follow his lead. Cameron, who was right behind him, jumped beside the boy, shaking with his feet before landing on his knees. He took in breaths of air, feeling his adrenaline die from the rising anxiety.
Vinh and Marie were right behind him, the tall girl hesitated when they came near the end where they had to jump. The older boy watched the girl's expression spiral through all different thoughts. She gulped, ignoring his eyes while Marie moved over to where they had to jump to be near the boys. She huffed, looking at Vinh for directions.
"Come on…" Kim Seo urged silently, looking up to the girl. Marie looked back to him, her expression suddenly softened up before it went back into a glare. The boy smiled innocently, putting his arms up for the girl to jump at him. "Come on.."
Marie let go of Vinh's hand, startling the girl just as she made the leap over in Kim Seo's arms. She landed into him, the boy pulling her away from the steep edge and over to Cameron who was off the floor with muddy knees. The tall boy patted the girl's head, his eyes soft, "good job, brave angel."
She huffed, her face red from the praise. When Cameron had made his way over to them, she ditched the tall boy to run over into the shorter body pants. Kim Seo let her, brushing off the hurt while looking back at Vinh, she watched with a questioning eye. The tall boy nodded to the pair while Cameron whispered to the girl by his side.
Vinh closed her eyes before jumping over, the tall boy grabbed her to help steady her shaking feet while they all got through their surroundings together. Vinh shook herself off from the boy, being reunited with the girl who looked slightly scared to go back over to her. She did, holding on tightly to the girl's hand.
They continued down the hill, taking steps slowly down with ease. It became less scary with each jump they had to make, the closer they got to the bottom the more hope they gained that they would get help. They could go back, and get out of this hell like forest that they couldn't seem to escape.
Marie slipped slightly, clutching onto Vinh who grabbed onto her before she could fall. Cameron jumped down, stopping himself from falling flat on his face while Kim Seo got their bearings. He turned back up to them, seeing Cameron by his side while the girls got ready to take the jump.
He turned back in front where he noticed there were no other ledges they could jump onto. There was only one long way down, all the way down into the mash of trees and bushes with no supports to help make it easy to go down. He looked from left to right, trying to find how they could get down the rest of the way. The only way he could see was all the way on the side were small ledges they could hop from.
It was too dangerous, they were still too far down. They couldn't jump from this height, even half way down, they couldn't go back up either.
The boy let out a frustrated sigh, his mind hurting with all the thoughts. He turned back to the rest, seeing Cameron make his way over to him from the ledge the girls were on. Out of the corner of his eyes, Kim Seo could make out a large black figure coming up fast.
His eyes widened in shock, he ran over to them with his hand out. "Vinh! BEHIND YOU!"
The tall girl could only make out a flashing dark push before she was blinded by a sudden burst of pain. The killer had slashed the bone weapon on the girl's face. He was on a small ledge just above them, long enough to make contact with the girl's face. She fell back, tumbling along with Marie who had jumped on her when she released her hand.
Vinh turned away, yelling out in surprise while holding onto her bleeding eye. The man made another swipe, but she had moved her face away, making her hair get caught in the fire. He slashed it at her, cutting off a large chunk just as the girls tumbled down the edge of the hill opposite of where the boys were.
"VINH!" Kim Seo yelled at her, watching the girls fall down. Marie had latched tightly onto her as they fell from the dangerous height and away from the killer.
The man turned to them, making contact with the boys who watched helplessly as the girls fell. The man slid down the last of the hill with ease. He was now on the same ledge as the teens, his large movements caused the boys to catch onto his movements. He moved dangerously closer as they moved back from him.
Kim Seo held out his hand to the shorter boy standing behind him as the man stalked forward. Cameron grabbed onto the taller boy just when he felt his feet slip from the surface that had collapsed behind them.
"Kim-" Cameron tried to grab onto him, just when the killer was now only a foot away from them.
The taller boy had no choice, he didn't know what to do. He watched fearfully as Vinh and the angel fell just a few feet in front of him. He felt Cameron's helpless grip on his sleeves tightened before being ripped away. The teenager closed his eyes when the man in front of them swung at them with the dangerous spear.
He felt nothing under him, leaning back to grab onto Cameron tightly who let out a shriek before falling off the hill.