Just how much longer would we have to stay under? It felt suffocating, being unable to have any form of control. Even if I wanted to swim up, I was still held on tightly, unable to break loose out of the strong grip. I kept my eyes closed tight, sincerely hoping this wasn't the end of it. This feeling felt too familiar for me to be comfortable with, being scared that you would never see the life outside of the water, and yet being powerless against it. My breath was stocking, and yet I tried my best not to let any air out yet. I couldn't die now. Not when there was still hope for me.
Just when I let out the air, unable to keep it in any longer, I was pulled upwards, together with whoever was holding me. As the water barrier broke, the first thing I did was take a deep breath, scared of being pulled back down again. And just like I predicted, the waves pushed us back under, still crashing wildly against each other at the surface. Just for how long would this continue? And how far even? Given how I barely swam after being forced to learn so on my own, I soon realized that my best bet to stay alive was to hold onto the person behind. Whoever it was, he must have had more training than me, with how quickly he got us back to the surface as soon as I had lost my air.
Another strong wave came through, making me close to falling out of his grip. With a struggle, desperately trying to reconnect to the other, our hands found their way back to one another, only barely holding on as the waves came crashing into us, even though we'd been completely submerged into the water. Though it was obvious a machine was behind this, as it was impossible to actually get storms in a building with walls and a roof, no matter how well disguised, it was as if it was purposely turned up, making it even harder for us to get up to the surface for more air. Had it not been for him swiftly bringing us up occasionally, I would have stayed under without a doubt. I would not have been able to get up myself, with how little I'd ever swam. Had it not been for him, I would have died.
I managed to pull myself towards him, ensuring that in a case of another close call, we wouldn't get separated. I wrapped my arms around his middle for extra support, hoping for the best. I couldn't give up just yet. Though there were a few close calls of us being pulled apart, we kept holding on, maybe even closer than we did before. Whoever it was that was holding onto me, had it not been for him I would have been struggling way more to survive out here. And yet, I couldn't help but wonder who it was? Would it be Changbin? He'd been there for me since the beginning. Maybe Minho? Maybe we didn't know each other that well yet, but it felt like we had truly gotten closer since the last zone. Or maybe Jeongin, who seemed to try to take care of me more rather than being taken care of.
And so, when I finally was able to open my eyes as the storm seemed to calm down, I could only be surprised, seeing Chan with his arms still wrapped around me, desperately searching for a confirmation that I was okay. Since our argument in the dessert, besides our little moment in the jungle, we'd barely actually spoke to each other. Mostly because of me, I think. I don't think I was ready to face it yet. Part of me had always blamed him for letting me live back then. I wasn't proud of it, but the thought of having all of the suffering end in that moment brought me more peace than my life so far had ever given me. Maybe it wasn't fair to blame him, after all, he had only tried to help. And yet, I couldn't help it. But seeing his eyes filled with the same fear he held as he saved me back then, instead saving me yet again, I could only be thankful this time.
"I- I didn't know if you could swim," Chan spat out, frantically trying to excuse himself, as if he truly needed one. Whether it was his savior complex or not that had lead him to save me again right now, that had been all he'd been trying to do. Back then, when I was young, he'd tried to save me, unknowingly making it worse. Same with the tribe, he tried, even though it came to the cost of losing sight of everything around us. And yet here he was, finally actually having saved me. "Thank you," was all I was able to get out. I'd always disliked him, maybe even as much as hated him, so why did it suddenly feel so different?
Maybe because one thing was sure; no matter what the situation was, no matter what was happening to our surroundings, or anyone else around us, he'd always come right over to save me first.
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The funhouse of murder • Stray Kids X reader
Fanfiction*trigger warnings at the end* -updated every wednesday- Funhouses, they should be fun right, like the name suggests? well, this one can be, it just depends on how you look at it. If being tortured to death is your thing, go for it! Many have tried...
