Taehyun rushed through the dark forest, unable to make out any form of shapes. He had snapped out of his previous trance, the voice seemed to have gone for another scapegoat. Taehyun rushed through the forest, trying to turn back where he initially had come from.
However, no matter how far he seemed to run, the trees seemed to be endless. Every turn was more trees, and nothing but the pale trees staring behind him. The black notches in the birch trees appeared like eyes, staring him down and watching his every move.
Taehyun breathed sharply, his chest rising up and down from the running. The lantern was with Yeonjun, and the boy was enveloped in darkness unable to see a thing.
Taehyun slowed his running to a walk, resting his hand against the tree bark. It seemed as if the silence was only waiting to be disrupted from a sudden noise or whispering in the ear.
The boy stopped, cautiously waiting for any sounds that could jump out at him. He was silent, making sure to tread carefully and listened for the other crewmates.
Even in the dead silence, Taehyun couldn't shake off the undaunting feelings of fear and sources of sounds he couldn't see. Taehyun closed his eyes, focusing intently on navigating his way through the forest and steadying his breathing.
Taehyun paused, when he heard a sudden scream erupt from the forest. He perked up, debating on whether it was simply his imagination or someone had been hurt.
There was the snap of tree branches, and a body hitting the soil. Taehyun's eyes widened with shock, slowly reaching for his sword. He walked slowly towards where he had heard the noise, his hand trembled and his fingertips brushed against the metal handle of the sword.
———————
"Captain!" Yeonjun exclaimed, gripping the lantern tightly. He wandered alone in the forest, Taehyun who had previously walked next to him had also disappeared.
"Taehyun!" Yeonjun called again, uneasy sickness settling into his gut. The alluring voice from before had stopped a while ago, a silent ringing returning to his ears.
Yeonjun ran through the forest, glancing around nervously as he could hear the sound of birds chirping but no sign of them anywhere. The birds' songs sounded alarmed, crying for him to flee from the danger that seemed to lurk around him.
Cautiously, Yeonjun walked carefully around the tall arrangement of trees, getting himself more and more lost. He couldn't hear anything now, silence seemed to buzz in and out of his ears. He rested a hand on the dark, rough tree bark, holding up the lantern and shining it around.
Yeonjun walked until the trees had begin to slowly transition to an odd arrangement of colors. They were no longer pale and white, but blue and red. They tangled around each other, intertwining and seeming to form a clearing up ahead.
Yeonjun lowered his hand, tilting his head slightly in curiosity. He glanced over his shoulder, slowly walking forward and seeing the dirt road slowly turn into a sandy road.
The boy cautiously glanced around, feeling a slight presence towered behind him. It sent a chill down his spine, his blood almost running cold. Yeonjun held his arms unfortunately, slowly turning around shakily. The forest behind him had disappeared, covered by a large and black silhouette. Yeonjun shakily looked up, holding the lantern behind him and taking a few steps back.
Yeonjun felt his throat tighten with fear, falling backwards and nearly dropping the lantern. His mouth agape, backing away as the shadow crept towards him more. He felt his back press against the deep, blood red tree trunk.
Words were unable to form in his mouth, unable to be uttered out. He tried to scream for help, but only was silenced as if a hand were put over his mouth. Yeonjun's eyes trailed up the tall shadow which seemed to surround him, making out two triangular ears and two eyes staring deep into his soul.
Two eyes of blue and green.
Yeonjun's eyes widened with shock, his hands unable to move as they were frozen still. His hands trembled, a lump in his throat forming that was hard to swallow.
The cat crept closer to the boy, the blue and green eyes looking down at him with malice. Yeonjun could hear nothing but static, only out of tune static that sounded distorted.
Yeonjun squeezed his eyes shut, covering his ears. He crumpled up, curling up into a ball. He could hear himself scream something, but there was not a single sound heard.
His own speech became unintelligible, he couldn't tell if he was talking or if he was screaming for help. Yeonjun could feel tears well up in his eyes, as the shadow towered over him.
Yeonjun suddenly felt a sharp blade cutting into his shoulder, the boy shivered a sharp slit cut into his shoulder and blood soaking into his shirt. Yeonjun hissed, wanting to call out for help but no one else seemed to be around.
He could feel the green and blue eyes staring down at him like two colored spotlights, closing in on him slowly.
"YEONJUN!" He snapped out of his static daze, quickly looking up and clutching his shoulder.
Taehyun charged through the twisted arrangement of trees, his sword in his hand. Swiftly, Taehyun leapt at the shadow, twirling the sword in his hand.
In one quick slash, he swiped past the figure of the cat. There was a silent wind which blew past them, not a single yowl or hiss of pain. The shadow retracted itself, the blue and green eyes disappearing.
Taehyun, sweat dripping from his forehead, turned around. The cat was gone now, off to find other measly prey. The boy turned around, extending a hand. "Are you alright?"
Yeonjun groaned, staggering to his feet. He clutched his shoulder tightly, giving Taehyun a reassuring nod. "I'm... I'm fine, what about you? Are you hurt?"
Taehyun shook his head, noticing the other's shoulder. "What happened there? Did someone attack—?"
Yeonjun dismissed his shoulder, clutching it tightly. "We should find Captain and the others, then get the heck off this island."
Taehyun nodded, slinging Yeonjun's arm over his shoulder as the two stumbled to find the other crewmates.