Vagrancy

★CHAPTER TWELVE|JUST A FLESH WOUND★

"I'm not sure we're going the right way, " Changkyun grumbles in defeat.

He's no good with direction inside a void; he isn't Jooheon after all. If Minhyuk were still here, he would have led them straight to it. But no. Changkyun and Tori still have not seen hide nor hair of either of their mysteriously vanished crew-mates.

The steady drip of clear water from stalactites made of crystal is near maddening; despite all of the glowing crystals and bioluminescent waters, Changkyun cannot find the exit. They've been circling back into this cavern no matter which way they go for at least a full hour at this point. Clearly they are missing something. But what?

"Maybe we should stop and think for a moment, " Tori suggests. "It won't do us any good to go in another circle..."

"We need to search the cavern, " Changkyun replies. "There's gotta be something here."

"Alright, " Tori nods. "You take that side, I'll take this one?"

And like that, they get to work.

It is as Tori runs searching fingertips along the walls that she feels it. Something is watching them. She looks toward Changkyun, and notices his stiff posture and sagging shoulders. Somehow, she knows that he knows. He's privy to her thoughts isn't he? Even if he didn't feel it himself he'd know that she had.

Tori steps down, foot slipping a bit as she unknowingly steps right into the pool of bioluminescent water below. She cries out a little, surprised, but manages to catch herself at the last moment with hands splayed against the wall. The water is cold, she notes. She can feel it licking at her thighs, the frigidity of it seeping straight through her hardsuit.

"We need better gear, " she thinks to herself, shivering slightly.

Changkyun is inclined to agree.

"I found something, " he reveals, arms waving in the air to gather Tori's attention.

She trudges through the water, sloshing about as quietly as she possibly can and grimacing the whole time. That feeling is still there, and she feels like she is making far too much noise.

Changkyun urges her to his side, however, clearly eager to show her his discovery.

"I found some kind of button, " Changkyun reveals, "could be a door..."

"Or it could be something else, " Tori counters skeptically. "A trap, even."

She's seen enough adventure movies to realize the potential of booby traps. Tori watches through the holo display as Changkyun bites worriedly at his lip. Trying not to squeal, she realizes that the device is scanning Changkyun's heart rate. It's elevated, which is bad of course, but Tori also finds it incredibly cool that the little device is capable of monitoring that.

Resolutely, she determined to make Minhyuk a whole plate of cookies. Or something. This little device has made trudging around in the caves so much easier for her. In areas of low visibility, the visor highlights Changkyun's form, utilizing thermal cameras. And the ability to read his heart rate means that she doesn't have to rely upon his face to know how he is feeling.

Which is just so incredibly awesome.

"We don't really have another option, " Changkyun finally speaks. "Unless you found anything."

Shaking her head, Tori replies. "I didn't."

"Then this might be our only chance, " Changkyun insists. "And we need to figure it out fast."

He doesn't need to say it. Tori understands. He feels the weight of something's eyes upon them too.

The cavern shakes a bit as Changkyun presses down on the smooth piece of stone, and like a button it clicks into place. To the telepath's satisfaction, a section of wall slowly slides away nearby, and reveals a new tunnel.