Inside Park Manor • SKZ horror au

Chapter 17

As Chan left the warehouse in search of a fuse, he noticed that the wounds on his chest were beginning to heal. Something black shimmered under the surface of his skin as the wounds slowly stitched themselves together.   

    Minho and Hyunjin stayed behind in the warehouse. They were too injured or too disoriented to be of any help. He retraced his steps, going back to where he and Minho had fought just a few minutes prior. That seemed like the most logical place for the fuse to be.

    He searched through the tools that scattered the floor for any sign of the fuse. A worry began to nag at the back of his mind as he was running out of places to look without success. What if blood had gotten into the fuse, or a tool had fallen onto it and made it useless? What would they do then?
    
     They could go back through the crawl space, but they would have to wait for Minho to heal first. He had a feeling that something would happen if they stayed longer than necessary.

    He pushed the last of the tools aside, having checked every area of the small room. There was nothing there besides tools, insects, and blood. A shiver went up his spine as he considered going back into the crawl space just in case it was hidden there. Maybe he and Minho had crawled past it without knowing the purpose it served.

    He got on his knees, entering the claustrophobic crawl space once again. It smelled musty from the dirt and dust that had accumulated from years of being ignored. He tried his best not to flinch as a spider fell from its web onto his face.

    His hand searched blindly for the fuse, the dim light doing nothing to help him see a tiny fuse. Continuing forward, he had no success, finding nothing more than dust and spider nests. Hopefully there weren't rats. He reached the opening in the side, peering into the warehouse. Minho was sitting on the floor by the entrance, Hyunjin standing on high alert.

    As he looked away from the opening, he caught sight of the cylinder-shaped fuse lodged in between the opening and crawl space wall. He grabbed it and began to head back when he heard a low growl similar to Hyunjin's coming from the entrance to the crawl space.  But if  that isn't Hyunjin then who...?

    The creature began shuffling through the crawl space at him. It moved only slightly faster than a human would, possessing none of Hyunjin's speed as it struggled to reach him. Chan quickly retreated, trying to keep as quiet as possible just in case it would move faster if it heard him.

    The creature looked nearly identical to how Hyunjin looked with only a few minor differences. This one walked on two legs, eerily like a human and showed no signs of injury. Also, this one had an aura about it that made it all the more terrifying.

    It snarled as it reached for Chan. He dodged just in time, nearly human-like fingers narrowly missing his neck. He sprinted down the hallway into the warehouse, shutting the door tightly behind him. There was a loud, painful bang as the creature rammed into the door.

    "No time to explain, we have to go!" Chan cried, handing Hyunjin the fuse and helping Minho onto his back.

    The warehouse door began caving in with each hit, the outline of the creature beginning to break itself into the door. Bangs and crashes echoed through the warehouse as they rushed to the elevator.

    Hyunjin inserted the fuse into its rightful place, sighing in relief as the elevator kicked into gear, the buttons lighting up a faint yellow. The warehouse door gave way just as the elevator doors were beginning to close.

    The creature ran up to the door at a terrifying speed, holding the door open with it's body as it reached for them with elongated limbs. Chan fired his gun, the creature's head exploding on impact, falling lifelessly to the ground, allowing the elevator doors to close.

    Hyunjin looked appalled, well aware that he had been like that creature only days before. Minho held on tighter to Chan's back, a little shaken up by the sudden recoil of the gun. The elevator dinged as it began it's shaky ascension to the second floor.

    "Minho, do you forgive me?" Chan asked, turning his head to face him.

    "Of course. It's not something you could control," Minho said. His exhaustion made his words slur together. "Also, if this were a normal circumstance, I wouldn't be alive to forgive you."

    Minho's words pulled them into an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before the elevator lurched to a stop, stuck between two floors.

    "Care to find out what your other friends are up to?"