Harmless || Stray Kids ✔️

18

Their eyes were closed. Their phones had fallen to the floor. Minho and Chan were sitting at the dining table, their heads resting on it. Chan's arms were uselessly hanging by his side while Minho's were sprawled on the table.

My fingers tremble by my thighs.

"Guys..."

I take a step forward. That's when I notice the last two bodies on the floor by the coffee table. Felix and Changbin.

"Please, no..." I whisper, taking a sharp gasp before tears spill over. Dread hung heavy in my chest followed by my heart beating in my ears.

Their lips were purple. Their eyes looked sunken in; deep shades of brown painted their faces as if they had died years ago. It made me sick to my stomach.

I close my eyes. This isn't real. My knees give out below me, but I catch myself on my hands. Breathing became hard. I can't lose them. Whatever this is, stop.

"Stop it," I whimper, trying to hold myself together. "Stop doing this. Stop hurting my family! Give me my family back!" I scream, sobs pouring from my soul. It's like the floor is shaking beneath me, but I know it's my body feeling the fear in waves.

I cough out, hiccuping. "Give them back to me!" I scream again, my throat scratching from the intensity of my words.

My legs drag against the floor as I pull myself up. Their corpse images are burned into my brain as I look at them again.

"You're not dead," I say sternly, almost limping over to Chan. I touch his arm. It was ice. "Wake up," I growl through my teeth. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

My feet stomp against the floor. With no context, it would look like I was throwing a fit like a child. Tears redden my cheeks, painting them until they shined.

"Please come back to me!"

There was nothing but silence, even as I looked up. I try thinking back to what Minho had said. He told Seungmin to go back to sleep and his voice would be back. What if I just went back to sleep? This is nothing but a dream. It's not real. Go back to bed. They're not gone.

My eyesight is directed downward as I pass through. My bed never looked so inviting.

-

When I wake for the second time, I throw my covers off of me. Seungmin's room was closest. My heart jumps to my throat. He's going to be okay. They all are. They're back.

"Hyung-!"

He's in the same place as before. My heart breaks at the sight. No. No, no, no. I walk to the living room. They're all still there.

"No, please. Stop it. Stop it. You're not dead," I bawl, falling into the wall beside me. My thoughts repeat from earlier. My words crumble together, coming out as nonsense.

I heave, despair washing over me. My cries are loud and heavy as they echo off of the walls. I know this isn't real. I know I'm going to get them back. But they're not alive right now, and that's what scares me. Because I know it'll happen. I know it will.

I don't want to accept it. I don't want to. Death will always cause me fear. Death will always be right around the corner. It's looking at us right now and laughing. A scream belches out of me. Please come back.