Kim Seo let Vinh be in front, he let the girl lead the way since out of all of them, she could find some water easily. That, and it was an excuse for Kim Seo to stay in the back to make sure Cameron could keep up. The boy limped with a few hisses escaping his lips, but either than that, the boy was able to keep up and ignore the spine breaking pain.
"Keep it down..!" The older boy silently warned the shorter one.
"I wish I fucking could…" He responded, whining lightly when Kim Seo bent his arm around his neck. "Be gentle!"
"I'm trying..! It's a bit difficult."
"I can tell..!"
"Your back to being annoying I see," the older one moaned out, but he gently let his hand rest that held Cameron.
But the stubborn boy bit back with another comment. "Annoying and dying dumbass!"
"You're not gonna die."
"This pain sure feels like I will…"
"You're not, the infection will be cleaned up in the water okay?" The boy tried to sound comforting, though his voice leaked with annoyance.
Cameron turned his head away, his hand tightening on the boy's shoulder. "You're not helping."
"Well at least I'm trying-"
"Both of you. Shut. Up." Vinh warned with an eye directed towards the boys. They responded with a silent nod, making the girl grunt while she turned back in front.
She listened slightly for the sound, the familiar breeze of washed up tiles that splashed along each other before crashing into one another on a stone cold path. The girl felt the air pass by them, the cold breeze lifting to her senses since the smell of cold wet moss was becoming recognizable to the girl. She opened back up, now knowing where the group would be going.
They followed along without saying a word, letting the girl lead them to anywhere in hopes that she knew where she was going. Kim Seo had confidence in her, but he didn't feel so sure about how they could traverse the hill when they ended up there. They stooped, Vinh looking up with a narrowed brow at the hill. Cameron let out a groan, already dreading the walk up there.
But Vinh turned, making her way to the very end of the hill that was slowly opening up. If it was day, the opening of the sky that the trees let way would be beautiful, but in the night, it made it all too clear to the teens that they were alone in the dark. The moons glint past them, shining bright on the shiny rocks beside them.
Shiny?
It was moist, Vinh picked up the smell and the "feel" of the moss. Continuing forward, pushing past the few bushes that blocked their path before they all stopped together. In the wide open was a large river bank, sliding past an open and clear view of the rest of the forest. It was big, it looked to be leading into an ocean or an even bigger river. Vinh stopped when the rest of the group saw the water. It was hard to miss, the moon's bright blue glare hit the silent water, creating a tidal wave of dark blue glimmering water.
"Oh thank god.." Cameron moaned out, pushing past the older boy, only to be stopped by him and walked in the water. "Walking fucking sucks."
"Language." Vinh warned, but allowed the boy to ignore her and continue forward into the water.
He landed with Kim Seo, hoping to escape the overprotective boy, Cameron splashed to his side at him. The older boy giggled, letting it slide and instead moving so the boy was now lowered to his knees. Kim Seo followed after him, letting the shorter boy be almost fully submerged in the dark water to where his neck was. When he stood still, Kim Seo began to work on the fabric along his neck.
He took it off, bringing Cameron to the familiar pain. "You still have that ripped fabric?"
Cameron looked off to the side, feeling around in his back pocket that was under him. He pulled it out, now soaking wet. He was about to say something when the older boy pulled it away before discarding the once blue fabric into the water beside them.
"It being wet should be a good thing.." Kim Seo mumbled, kneeling lower down to be closer to the water, he made eye contact with Cameron. "This is gonna hurt so take a deep breath."
"It already hurts. Get it over with…!"
Kim Seo made a sound before he did what was told. He used his large hands to pull up water that was cupped together that was splashed on the boy's neck. Just as he was told, Cameron felt himself curl up, it stung much more now that it was getting wet. The cold water felt like ice spikes that were plunged into his skin over and over again that left a stream of smoke to rise up into the air.
It was bearable, but an agonizing feeling. He tried to pull away after the older boy began to pat the large wound to clear away dirt and dead skin. He didn't make it far, Kim Seo used his long legs to hold the young boy in place to continue pushing the fabric in to take in as much blood as he could.
Cameron began to cry again, his body shaking wildly from all the stinging sensations, he just hoped that the boy was almost done.
The boys were in the water, Kim Seo cleaning the youngest's wound only a few feet away from the girls. Vinh walked in no problem, she stopped when she felt a tug on her connected hand. She turned to see Marie look at the water in fear, her pupils dilated and sweat fell from the small girl's face.
Vinh sighed, kneeling down to drop her exposed cut up knees in the shallow water. "It's fine, come on Marie, we have to clean your dress. It's all bloody." She tugged once again, hoping the child would follow, but it was no use.
Marie squeezed her hand harder, staying rooted in the rocks that were slightly splashed with the water beyond. Vinh made a face, feeling her face go cold. She was scared of the water, probably what she had been through in the past. She almost drowned in mud in the first one, and almost got hypothermia in the second.
Not to mention a killer chasing after them.
It made sense to the older girl, but they didn't have the time to wait this out and try and coax her in. Vinh didn't want to force the girl in, she just needed a way to get the girl in the water some way without making her more scared then she already was.
The tall girl splashed the water towards the girl, letting their hands release so she could use both hands to cup more of the water. Marie made a small noise, stepping slightly back and away from the water, she soon stopped only taking one step away. She looked up to the girl, seeing a gentle smile greet her.
Marie's body slowly relaxed, the small look from the older girl made her body ease up, her mind caught up before she quickly shook her head to the girl. Vinh let out a sigh, "come on Marie…"
"What's going on?" Kim Seo made it beside her, watching the child shake on the rocks.
"She's scared of the water, won't come in…" Vinh let out a defeated sigh, turning away and giving Kim Seo a pat on his shoulder. "Watch her please, I need to clean my eyes."
"Got ya," the boy responded, making his way out of the water to be beside the child.
Vinh began to wipe her bloody eye, feeling the water moving around in front of her. Cameron came beside her, his eyes red from crying. She didn't mention it, continuing to wipe away the blood. Her wincing from the stinging made the boy stop, he looked over to the girl, watching her struggle to clean up her face.
He said nothing, but used the end of his sweater that hung over his fingers to help wipe the painful cut. Vinh allowed him to, moaning softly from the pain while the boy tried to be as gentle as possible.
Kim Seo kneeled beside Marie, facing the water where the two stayed to clean themself up. The boy was not confident with himself when it comes to children, Marie already had something against him, but he wasn't the type to give up.
"Hey, everyone is having fun in the water. Come join us okay?" He looked over to her, seeing that the child turned away. Her face was red, the small hands held tightly onto her ruined dress as she squeezed it anxiously. "You're dirty, angel. Don't want to stink up the forest all right?"
"Hmhp." Marie shook her head, making a small pouting face. Kim Seo let out a sigh, already feeling annoyed by the stubborn child, it made him feel like he was dealing with Cameron, not the angel.
"Alright," the boy stood back up. "You leave me no choice."
Marie cracked an eye open, looking to the boy's side. She saw nothing, the older boy had disappeared. She looked around hesitantly, a bitter fear rising in her stomach. It jolted when she was suddenly picked up from behind.
"You're getting all that blood off you one way or another," Kim Seo's voice laughed from behind her. She quickly realized what the tall boy was doing when he began to walk in the water.
She squirmed around in his hands, but no matter how hard she fought, the boy refused to let her go. It seemed like she made a small effort, though she was fighting like her life depended on it. The boy didn't try and hurt her, slowly leading them deep into the water. It got to the point where Marie began to grip him tightly, she turned herself to wrap her arms around his neck in fear of the water.
Her small feet suddenly felt cold, the water reaching up to her ankles that soaked the small girl's socks and shoes. The feeling was washed away when the gentle stroking from her back forced her eyes open. She stayed hooked on the boy, though her face was feeling warm in front of the gentle tone from the normally scary boy.
"See, it's all right." Kim Seo swayed around, his lower half feeling cold, though the girl in his hands brought a sense of warmth he didn't want to let go. For a few seconds, it stayed like that. The girl made a hesitant move, looking back at the boy with trembling fingers.
The boy smiled in return, moving only slightly deeper so the girl's lower half was in the water. Marie stopped shaking, her eyes only focused on the boy who made the moves as slow and careful as he could. He didn't want to scare the girl too much, but the deeper they got, the more she wasn't looking terrified for her life.
"It's alright," he motioned to in front of them, it made Marie turn up to when he was pointing at.
It was the moon. The bright glare from the close planet gave light to the pair and the water, the waves passed them with blue light comforting their cold skin. Marie watched the moon, her eyes wide at the passing wind. It felt unreal, it felt nice.
The boy let the girl watch the beautiful scenery in front of them, using her distractions to start and lower her from his arms. He held tightly onto her, only dropping her up to her chest and began to wipe away the blood from her hair. Unknown to him, Marie had closed her eyes, the cool feeling of water dripping down from her head and along her neck.
Kim Seo kept a genuine smile on his lips, feeling the tense child become relaxed in his arms. Her warmth and complete trust for the boy made him relax along with her, she let him wipe away the bloody mess, even leaning into the touch like a child would. She was finally letting her childish side show, it was small, but there. The boy noticed it, and he loved it.
Her calmness lasted as long as it took for the boy to wash her up. The girl finally snapped out of it when the water around them swished around their forms at an incoming pair. Vinh, along with Cameron came over to them, the boy staying lightly back and waiting for the others to join him.
"Let's get going," she pulled the girl out of her thoughts along with the boy holding her. Vinh reached out for Marie, the small child ripping herself from Kim Seo with an embarrassed red face.
Kim Seo giggled at the child, allowing her to move away from him and out of the water. Vinh picked the girl up, helping to drain the water from her dress as the group came out of the water to join Cameron. The boy waited for them, looking behind him nervously towards the tree's.
"Alright, let's go," Kim Seo spoke out loud, beginning to lead the group back into the forest. The group followed, although a little hesitantly, into the forest since the only thing they get out of it was death and misery.
Cameron's injury was still stinging, with it being covered with a cold cloth that made it bearable where he could walk by himself. He had to stop himself from limping, drawing himself forward with his wrist still broken and body all cut up. Vinh stayed in the back along with him, Marie hung by her side tightly with their hands connected.
The younger boy couldn't help but notice that with her face being washed from all the blood, the cut was more audible. He was surprised at how big it was, it went along her lip and up to her forehead. It looked painful, there was no longer blood coming out, though the pinkish skin poking out from the cut was making his skin crawl.
He had seen worse today. Just wondered how she could hide the pain so well. He was in tears just with his neck being out in the open, but the girl sat through the pain of it so well in the water.
Up in the front with Kim Seo, he kept his legs moving slow so that the girl behind him could catch up, once by her side he looked around before letting out a quick whisper. "Where do we start?"
"Anywhere." She let out in the same tone.
He made a face, seeing that it doesn't get them anywhere. Vinh may be the smartest one there, but she had no idea what to do. She knew that the plan was to keep on walking straight and hope to make it to a road or anything where people can help them. They started that by walking straight away from the house the killer was in, the farther they are from that hell, the more likely they are to survive.
Kim Seo thought for a moment, he watched Vinh's mind spiral from anxiety. She didn't know what to do, but didn't want to show it. The boy saw it, he felt like it was him who should be doing this, not her. He got them lost in the first place.
"I remember seeing the hill when we were in the river." He spoke out, causing the girl to turn back towards him. "If we head towards that hill where we fell off we could find our way back to where we started."
Vinh took a second to think, she gave a shallow nod before they continued to walk forward with their mouths shut. The clear anxiety running through the group made the atmosphere in the dark change slightly. They felt that every brush of each leaf went through their bones, each sound caused the group to shiver at the unknown danger that they knew was actually there.
The boy in front made sure to keep his face straight, to keep his actions clean and quiet. He wanted to make sure that they were quiet, he had no idea where the killer was, if he was after them again.
He wanted to be sure, and most of all.
He wanted them to be safe.