The FIrst 72 Hours

Chapter 24: - Traumatism -

{tw: mention of blood}
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Jisung's eyes widened and ears rung following the rogue gunshot.

Oh God, oh God... I killed him... He's dead...

With great effort, he shoved the limp body off of himself and scrambled backward until his back hit the bed frame. Crimson gore smeared over his naked form during the effort of escaping beneath his abuser's seemingly lifeless body, and soon more blood began to pool beneath it as faint gurgling could be heard. Shock stunned the young man for a moment before he stood and retrieved the flat bedsheet to cloak around his slim shoulders, careful of the burns he'd received through handling the hot barrel.

He approached the door and, with an ear against the wood, heard footsteps quickly approaching. Far too frightened to find out who they belonged to, Jisung locked the door handle and instead turned to face the window. The frame stuck initially, but eventually opened out to the fire escape. Frantically glancing over his shoulder when fists sounded against the entrance, he stepped over the window frame and hugged the bloodied sheet closer to himself to defend against the chilly night breeze.

Jisung carefully made his way down the steel escape, wincing with each step as his weight dug the grating into his bare feet. Nearing the bottom, he tied a knot in the front of the sheet before popping his quivering hands out to tug the safety latch from the ladder. He heard a loud crash, followed by continued footsteps from the floor just above him. From where he stood, he could spot the mysterious man from the hall peer out of the open window through the grates.

"Come on..." he muttered, hissing at the sting of the cold metal against the scalded flesh of his palms. The metal clanked and rattled loudly as it slid down toward the ground, halting halfway. Jisung pushed on the end, but found it wouldn't budge.

"Hey! You!"

The male gasped and, in a split second decision, desperately clambered over the top rung of the ladder and lowered himself down before he could be caught. He jumped on the bottom rung as the man approached, hoping it would loosen the metal. Unfortunately it did not.

Giving up as he grasped the top rung, Jisung hastily gathered the courage to blindly hop down. His left ankle rolled inward and pain shot up his calf and knee as his feet met the concrete, but he couldn't stop now... Not when he'd made it this far. Clutching the thin fabric around his bare form, he hobbled through the alleyway, dodging glass, trash, and passed out patrons from a nearby bar.

He emerged from the alleyway to a narrow street where a bright light followed by a honk and screech had Jisung bracing for an impact that never came. The driver honked again and hollered out their window, apparently not caring about the sight of an obviously battered young man. "Are you stupid?! Get out of the road!"

"W-Wait! Wait, please!" Jisung shuffled over to the rolled down window, peering inside at the middle-aged woman who eyed him skeptically. Unfortunately for him, the surrounding area was sketchy enough to where he probably didn't look too out of place. He took a moment to catch his breath before clasping his wounded hands together in front of him as he begged. "Please. Please help me. Can I use your phone? I promise I'll give it back, I just... I need help. Please."

The woman drew in a quick breath, sighed, and looked at the seat behind her before reaching to turn off the radio. "Alright, just hang on, alright? I need to pull over, then we'll get you out of the sheet," she spoke slowly, almost as if she was contemplating everything she said as it left her mouth. Jisung flashed a timid smile of appreciation and nodded.

"Yes, yes, of course."

The small car was pulled off to the side of the road and put in park. The woman circled around to the boot and once there, she retrieved a large, folded blanket. "I keep it for emergencies," she explained, "and it seems as though you're in some trouble."