Kim Seo reacted quickly, taking all of them off guard by shoving Cameron aside as he lifted a branch by his side to swing at the killer. The large man stopped, ducking down and out of the way just in time. The older boy kept his stance, moving slightly around while Cameron desperately tried to stand back up.
He didn't want to run away, to leave Kim Seo behind to try and defend himself from that monster. But he knew he had no choice, he had no other option other than to run away. Kim Seo had promised to keep him safe, and Cameron held the child in his hands, her life depended on his ability to get away.
The drilling pain in his legs threatened to knock him out on the ground. The adrenaline was almost non existent, he felt nothing but annoyance and fear while desperately trying to escape. He had to force himself not to turn around, not to be faced with the reality that sounded harsh and terrifying from behind him.
The boy managed to brush through the bush, having Kim Seo block the path for him, keeping the boy and girl behind him while the man's attention was on him. Cameron was now in the short small paths that seemed to be fumbled through and broken. The feeling of recognition came to him, they had been here before..
He was close, he knew that just a few more steps and he would be able to be free, to be able to save Marie and himself.
A loud scream stopped him in his tumbling tracks. His eyes went wide, blood running cold as the silence was stretched out through everything around them.
It was stupid, it was idiotic and nothing like him. The hesitation he made to turn around or keep going would get him killed, it would get Kim Seo killed…
He didn't want him to die, he couldn't allow him to die!
The boy didn't think, he just did. Moving down to scan his surroundings, he found large bushes hidden in the darkness near some oak trees. He didn't have enough time to find a better place, he didn't even have enough time for this. But he couldn't just bring Marie into that mess, into that horror when she was on the brink of death.
It was dangerous and stupid, he knew he was stupid and selfish to stop Marie from getting to safety to try and help Kim Seo when he believed he was no help at all. But he couldn't just allow it to happen, he was not gonna be useless. He knew he was not useless.
He set the child down, making sure she was completely covered in the darkness before he stood up. The soft glow in light that shielded the pained child's face broke the boy almost to his knees, he shook from the fear and guilt crashing down at him to leave the child like this.
Yet, he had no time to regret. No time at all since he booked it back to where he was told to run away.
Kim Seo moved out of the way just in time to dodge a flying fist to his face. He wasn't even able to check behind him and make sure the other got to safety, he could only hope that Cameron finally listened to him and actually ran to safety. As for him…
The man was much bigger than him, even if Kim Seo had some weapon to defend himself, it would mean nothing. The grown man could easily overpower him, he could easily kill him right there if he tried hard enough.
All Kim Seo could try and do was distract him, to keep his attention on him for as long as he could. Maybe he could hopefully find an opening to escape. But none of that was gonna be possible as the man took a large step forward with speed as fast as light and his hands stretched out.
The boy managed to dodge it once again. But he had fallen over when his legs crossed one another, just above him, the masked man had pulled a bone, shaped like a mini dagger out from under him.
Kim Seo watched in horror as the man threw it down hard at his legs. He tried to pull away, but the man was too quick.
The sharp end was quickly submerged in Kim Seo's leg. The boy let out a loud scream, feeling him twist the dagger in a deeper unit and it was stopped by his own bone. The large tear began to form when the killer slowly pulled up and out. His muscles tightened, his whole body and being swayed at the agonizing pain coursing through his blood. He couldn't even try to fight it off, he felt limp, slowly pushing away at the man's large arm with no result at all.
The man pulled it out, causing a sharp cry from the boy who was thrown down back onto the ground helpless. He saw the light shine from his own blood, glimmering in the moonlight as it was sprayed out on him.
The boy expected the dagger to come back down, to penetrate his chest and rip out his breath. A loud cry was heard from above him, a flying figure came in with a large branch directed at the man above. He was quickly hit away by Cameron who had come over with a large branch almost half his size. He held it out, covering the boy on the ground who was letting out hisses of shock and pain.
"Kim Seo!? What the hell are you doing-! Get up!" The boy cried out, looking at the other with a dazed expression.
The boy on the ground let out a hiss, clattering his teeth together in a desperate attempt to ignore the pounding pain. It was overwhelming, taking control of him mercilessly.
Cameron noticed his leg, his eyes going wide as a loud noise emerged from in front of them. Cameron fell to the ground, blocking the dagger like knife from his throat when he put the branch between him and the deranged man. He was strong, a lot stronger than the small boy under him.
Cameron tried to kick him, feeling the thick branch slowly bend and snap on his neck from the force of the heavy man above him. He managed to land a hard kick in the man's sensitive part that allowed him to roll out from under him when he was released.
Only, he now had nothing to defend himself against the man. That, and the kick to his lower part sent the killer into an angry frenzy. His speed quickened, using his much larger hand to grab Cameron by the neck, using his strength to lift the small boy off the ground by the throat.
Cameron kicked at him desperately, feeling the man's thick fingers squeezing the base of his throat. All the air in his body was released at once, he was unable to gather anything in him to take in air. He began to suffocate, desperately kicking to no avail with his fingers trying to scratch and claw the man's arm holding him up.
It was suddenly becoming bright, the once dark forest with limited moonlight was being consumed in bright light. The number of sensations running through his whole body slowly made the small boy stop struggling, his fingers numbing and trying to rip at the man's arm. No matter how hard he tried, the desperate attempts to escape did nothing at all.
He was useless, hanging limp with his mouth open for any sort of air to reach him. There was nothing, he felt nothing…
Kim Seo managed to tear the deep sunken weapon in his calf out, letting out a hard, muffled cry, the boy felt his blood boil up. It felt like it was leaking from his body like a faucet, the stinging pain made his head spin and eyes wander. He heard a muffling choking sound, his vision swayed when he tried to stand from the ground.
The slight pressure he used to stand up, almost falling back over when it felt like he was stabbed over and over again in the same spot. His vision managed to stop for just a second, landing his eyes on the man who had Cameron lifted from the ground. His large hand completely covered the boy's neck, suffocating him while all the teen could do was hang limp.
The more his vision swayed, the more his head pounded, the hole in his calf was open wide, dropping everything inside him onto the ground. Even though he felt it all happen, the pain didn't stop him from forcing his body off the ground. The energy, the stupid will to both live and make sure he accomplished the promise he made for Cameron forced him up.
With the same bone, shaped like a dagger still covered in his blood, he used most of remaining energy to rush the sharp end right into the man's back. He fell on him and the grown being flinched hard at the impact, ripping the cape from his back, completely staining his skin. He felt himself shake, unable to push too deep due to the man swinging back to hit the boy away. He had dropped Cameron on his shoulder, a loud snap and cry came from his limp form.
He rolled onto the ground, his face covered in red and blue colors while he tried to desperately catch his breath. He coughed, drool and blood falling from his lips. The boy felt his skin tingle, his blood, he could feel it pump just below his skin. It was loud, consuming his senses with the same sound.
Loud. So very loud and annoying, why was his breathing so loud? Why did his blood have to pump right in his ears?
The numbing feeling was also coming from his dented shoulder, the boy tried to lift himself from the ground with no avail, falling back over with a hard whimper. His shoulder shot pain up his whole body, his senses springing back with vengeance. The boy coughed, the blood on his lips smearing up along his chin.
His eyes moved over all around him, catching sight of two tussling figures. He caught Kim Seo in his vision, desperately trying to block the fist coming towards him. The boy tripped, falling over to try and avoid the man who brought his foot down hard where he once was. The large man let out an angry gruff, pulling something from the bottom of his pants.
Kim Seo's eyes went wide, his eyes catching the glimmer from another bone that was longer and sharper. It was more clean than the other one, only slightly covered in dirt. The young boy's body began to run cold, his legs shaking from under him while the killer slowly came forward the sharp object taunting the young boy.
Cameron watched it happen, watched the grown man come forward with the knife directed at Kim Seo's heart. He shot up, falling back over with a scream at the loud pain coming out from his shoulder. The boy looked to where he felt it, seeing that he had a dislocated shoulder again, this on the same arm he had first gotten it.
The sound of Kim Seo and the grown man fumbling around with the young boy desperately breathing in the will to live made Cameron try and bite back the pain to sit up. He couldn't do it too much, all he could do was lay on the dirt useless once again. The boy did try, finding his hand too numb and limp for fighting back against the ground that held him down.
Kim Seo tried to push the man off, his hand coming forward to try and wrap itself around his neck. The young boy moved out of the way, nearly missing the knife from ripping into his chest. The grown man let out another angry huff, taking a large step forward with his hand aiming for Kim Seo's shoulder.
The younger boy didn't expect it, getting caught in the grasp and being stuck. He tried to push and kick his chest away with no avail. As soon as he was caught, the sight of the knife coming down at him made him wither wildly. All he could do was move slightly away, feeling the bone dagger sink into his shoulder, breaking through his shirt and skin until it was completely submerged in his bone.
The scalding pain was agonizing and long. The teenager couldn't even let out any noise, his legs completely failing from under him.
"NO!" Cameron screamed, his body lunging forward to the man. He watched as the knife was ripped from Kim Seo's shoulder, but just as quickly, it sank right into the boy's chest. Cameron screamed once again, his mind and body going crazy with agony.
The boy fell back over, the irritation and desperation making him go crazy, the sight of the older boy's face going white, his expression lifting into nothing but eyeless misery. Cameron clenched his teeth hard, hitting his shoulder hard on the ground, tearing up when the crushing pain was intense at the action. He forced his body up then down, taking his shoulder with him that was painfully moved back into place.
He couldn't stop to make sure it was put back right, as soon as the numbing sensation on his cramping shoulders was felt, he forced his body up. The killer had pulled the knife out once again from Kim Seo's chest, he intended to drill it back down into the limp body in his arm again.
Cameron dashed forward, tripping over himself when his hand reached out towards the sunken dagger in the man's back. The dagger Kim Seo had ripped into him, still there, only not as deep. Cameron rammed his whole weight into the end of it, feeling the knife sink deeper, completely lost inside of the older man's body.
The man let out a yell, dropping the boy in his hands as he fell to his side. Cameron dropped onto the ground where he once was, forcing his ruined body up over to the boy on the ground in front of him. The killer desperately swished around in the open space, trying to reach behind him to pull the weapon that was dug deep inside his body.
The younger boy couldn't try and make sure the killer wasn't watching them, that he wasn't about to stab him in the back. He quickly went to the older boy's side, pulling his body up onto his shoulder, he felt himself begin to crumble to the ground at the weight. The running blood in his body that gave him energy to run a marathon helped pull him up alongside him. As soon as he had Kim Seo with him, Cameron quickly tripped forward in any direction he could go.
His legs trembled and shook under him, falling over a couple of times in the process of trying to escape. He gripped as hard as he could on Kim Seo's wrist that was hanging over his shoulder, holding him by the waist as he slowly began to fall from his arms. The boy grunted, pulling him back, hearing the older boy let out raspy breaths that sounded gurgled.
Cameron teared up at just the thought of him already suffocating, he tried to run as fast as he could, the leaves hitting his face as the speed he tried to drag his friend. The branches scratched them along the way, pulling the boy back, trying to block and cover his path. Cameron just pulled back against the current, his legs falling out from under him. He couldn't control himself, he couldn't feel anything, only the emotions in his bubbling mind.
The darkness suddenly opened up, causing Cameron to shield his eyes from the bright moon above. The trees had opened up, a new clearing from where he had run into, a lot bigger than all the other ones they ran into. The boy felt like he could keep going, that he could run them to somewhere safer.
The fingers on his back pulled him from the thoughts, Kim Seo letting out a raspy breath from under him. Cameron felt everything come back to him, who was currently dying in his arms. The boy slid to a stop, falling to his knees with less grace. He had Kim Seo in his arms, the boy hanging his head back with his gray eyes rolling all around.
The young boy and him stayed up against a tree, the large piece of wood supplying support for the dying boy. It was getting bright, the moon was becoming bigger, it seemed to be covering the dark sky above. Cameron suddenly came into his vision, the glossy brown eyes staring down at him with his lips moving incomprehensible words.
"Kim! Kim Seo stay with me!" He slightly shook the boy in his arms, causing a low groan from him. "Keep your eyes open! Okay!? Stay awake- stay awake you hear me!"
The boy wanted to say something to shut the other one up, the pain clear in his wet eyes made the last of his beating heart slow. He wished to say something, to soothe the worrying boy away, the burning from his throat tried to stop him from speaking.
"M-Marie…?"
"She- she's fine," Cameron shook his head, looking down to the body chest, his eyes widened, the expression on his face speaking of horrors. "We need to cover them up- I-I need to..! Hold -on okay? Okay, just- just hold on-"
"Cameron.." The boy closed his eyes, reaching for the hand that tried to desperately cover the large hole just below his heart. He found the hand that was ice cold, it shook with fear and pain, it did not equal the limp fingers trying to hold onto him. "Don't…"
"Don't?" Cameron shook his head, the expression playing on his features. He was shaking his head like a crazy man, denying the boy in his lap.
Kim Seo had no power to stop him, he had no power at all. The light was becoming bright, his eyes grew hot and wide. Weird, he felt oddly numb, it was like the enormous amount of pain he had just experienced was registered to him. It wasn't there, it was feeling nothing.
It was obviously a bad thing, but he couldn't help but feel thankful for it. The small amount of comfort in front of the pain he couldn't feel anymore.
"No- no Kim Seo, don't fall asleep!" Even the shaking from the young boy couldn't be felt.
Kim Seo sighed out, forcing his glossy eyes back open. Cameron was already balling his eyes out, trying hard to suck it in and put pressure on the stab wound. It did nothing, he didn't know what he was doing. What scared him even more was that there was no reaction from Kim Seo, he didn't try to shun away the pain or even make a sound, he just blinked mindlessly in the darkness.
The young boy was becoming desperate, he tried and tried again to stop the bleeding, pushing some of his shirt into the wound. "No- no- please!" He shook his head again, the tears falling down without control. "Please- please please please…!"
He sunk his head into the boy's neck, pushing harder in desperation, Kim Seo only managed to slowly move a hand onto his arm that was in his chest. He could only gently swipe his fingers along his skin, the dark blood staining the boy's bruised skin, leaving the mark to drip down from his wrist.
Soft patterns of footsteps sounded behind, someone traced the grass just behind them. Cameron flinched, quickly turning his head at the trespasser.
He expected to see the large man there, with his knife ready to finish the job and kill them.
But to his shock. It was his teacher.