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"What time is it even..." I let out groggily, rubbing my eyes at the bright sunlight. "Minho, Jisung, why didn't you wake us up?" I asked after, leaning up slightly to see the rest of the group. As my eyes finally adjusted to the bright light, it took a double take to see them gone. "Wait. Minho? Jisung?" I called out louder, seeing the others awaken at the sudden noise as well. "Guys, have either of you seen Minho and Jisung?" I asked, already wide awake at this point. Chan and Changbin were the first to wake up at the sound of trouble, looking around as well.

"Changbin, you were the last one awake before them, any idea?" Chan asked. "What, you think I have something to do with this?" Changbin asked, annoyed at the assumption. He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "But no, I have no clue. When I woke them up they were still there, after I immediately fell asleep, so I don't know anything after that." I glanced around, seeing everyone awake at this point, either as wide awake as I was, or still trying to make sense of it all. "Anyone?" Chan asked, yet as everyone shook their heads, confusion soon turned into fear. Did something happen to them?

A video screen suddenly popped up in the sky, a reminder to all of us that this was only a building. We weren't actually out. We were still trapped in a place full of dangers. "How are my favorite people doing?" asked a masked man, the voice I recognized to be sir's. Only now, on his led mask, which was hidden away under a hood of his cloak, seemed to be a voice changing device. The bastard wouldn't show his real face or voice. The coward. We were here risking our lives, and he was hiding away in his luxurious room watching us suffer. "You know," he started, actually sounding happy, "since the comments and donations have stopped, due to personal reasons, I thought I'd give you one last gift," he stated, leaning forward to the camera.

"And that is?" Chan asked warily, all of us looking up. "The gift of saving you your precious time," sir laughed. "You don't have to bother searching for Minho or Jisung. Just go straight to the exit. I think two deaths in one zone is enough already, I want the viewers to see the other zones as well in all of their glory. Would be a shame if no one made it there." Though it took me too long for my liking to figure out what he meant, the video that popped up on the screen already made it clear. You could hear every word they said, see their every movement from the moment they woke up. their fight, leading up to Jisung getting stuck, Minho's panic, Jisung's hysteria, the way they both went under, until both their bodies were fully submerged, not to be seen again.

Tears started forming in my eyes as soon as I heard my name mentioned, a sense of guilt washing over me. Before anything else could happen, Jeongin's arms found their way around me, holding onto me tightly, while he himself too seemed to need it desperately. "It's not your fault..." He whispered quietly, rubbing my back to comfort me, as our eyes stayed glued to the screen. I knew I wasn't close to them, but after our night up, I had truly hoped for Minho to get a better life. And even though I didn't like him as much, Jisung didn't deserve this either. Nobody deserves to die a horrible death like that.

"How do we know these are not altered?" was the first thing Jeongin asked. "How do we know you're not just tricking us into leaving them behind?" Sir's head dropped lightly, a visible sigh leaving his body. "What merit would I have? You're not all together anymore anyways. I just wanted to give you a little present for your hard work, and this is how I'm treated... I'm a little hurt." Hurt? Like he was the victim here? "Go see for yourself then," was the last thing he said before the video turned off. As we finally got adjusted to our surroundings, only a few meters away was the door leading to the exit. And yet, something changed. But what was it?

Jeongin moved his hand from my back to my own hand, holding onto it to lead me with him, already following the path Minho and Jisung had followed. Whereas Changbin quickly followed without a word, Chan and Hyunjin kept still, watching us with a sigh. "There's no use," Hyunjin argued with a sigh, rolling his eyes. Jeongin whipped his head around, looking back at Hyunjin with eyes filled with hatred. "Just because you can't seem to care about humanity doesn't mean I'm leaving them behind without being sure of it," Jeongin spat back, pulling me closer to him as Hyunjin tried to reach out. "Just accept it, they're gone! There's nothing we can do about it now. You're just going to bring others in danger too if you'll leave now." Hyunjin glared back, his eyes falling on me.

Chan's cursing broke the tension, quickly pulling up his feet. "Guys, there's no time for this. The entire ground, it's..." he said, but by that time we'd all already noticed, quick to lift our feet again. If we stood still for even just a second, we'd already start sinking too. "Just because we wanted to make sure, he turned the entire ground into quicksand? Just like that?" Changbin grunted, already making his way back to the exit where Chan and Hyunjin were already waiting. "Jeongin, come on, we have to go," I urged him, holding onto his hand tightly. "But, Minho and Jisung... What if they're still out there?" Jeongin asked, his voice on the verge of breaking, breaking my heart as well. Still, I pulled him with me, making sure we too would make it to the exit safely before we too would be left to the same fate.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I can't let anyone else die."

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