Hope.
It sounds a very common yet the most anticipating word which carries the potential to change the despair to encouragement, right?
But for the eight of them, it sounded the former one; mediocre.
There was hope before. Just a tiny flicker against the wind. But it only seemed like hope didn't knock gently upon the door and wished softly for it to open, and turned its back without even ringing the doorbell.
"L-let's go!" The sour words came out of Namjoon's mouth which felt nothing less than daggers.
"What?!" Taehyung sounded confused, dry tears kissing his cheeks .
"We can't leave from here. We can't leave Jungkook alone. He's probably waiting for us. He needs us!" Jin lashed upon Namjoon.
Gulping down the lump formed in his throat, Yoongi placed his hand on the elder's shoulder. "Hyung, I think Namjoon is right. There's no point in sitting here when the reason itself is gone."
"What the hell are you talking about?! Are you in your right mind?! How can you even think about deserting Jungkook and just go away?!"
"Hyung, please get a hold of yourself. He will not come back." The salty liquid cascaded down Hoseok's cheeks as he tried to explain Jin who looked like his ears were not willing to listen to anything.
"NO! Jungkook will come back. I can feel him, I can feel his presence.
Listen! He's calling for help! He's calling for me!
Jungkook-ah!" Jin retorted like an insane who had long lost control over his senses.
The anger was nothing but a shield for pain, like a cornered soldier randomly throwing out grenades, desperate for his life.
"Hyung! Why don't you understand?! He. Is. Gone.
JUNGKOOK IS GONE FOREVER!" Namjoon growled, shaking the former up.
There was something in that shout, a pain behind the scenes. He didn't just raise his voice, his muscles tensed and he got right in close for maximum impact.
After that Jin gave in, a fresh batch of tears replaced in his eyes as he hugged Namjoon and just cried and cried until his orbs became dry. While the younger soothed him, giving his best for whatever would calm him down.
"Those we love and lose are always connected by heartstrings into infinity."
And Jungook was exactly like the one for them.
They left the place, reaching an icy cave with their trembling legs. Some still sobbing in pain, others showed no response at all due to shock and this is why empathy is so vital, to allow ourselves to feel what others are feeling rather than opting for shallow sympathies.
Their irises were void of any emotions as involuntarily, all their minds could do was counting the times how their souls smiled together just a few moments before, and then everything turned upside-down when terror walked right in, becoming the visitor that leaves in their own time.
"If all that happened was a video then I would've not pressed 'pause' but 'delete'." Taehyung roughly moved his hand through his already tousled dark brown hair.
Indeed-
"Dying is a messy and often painful process, living as we do in a world that is yet to embrace euthanasia. The soul moves on, the matter and the countless memories remain. And those memories are like bullets. Some whiz by and only spook you while others tear you open and leave you in pieces."
When they were seated next to each other like dummies, a sound startled them out of their delusion. A disturbance at the entrance of the cave was made as if someone or something was trying to break in.
All of them got alerted and lined up in defense position.
The next moment their eyes grew wide after what they saw. Here came the person, his one hand clutching onto his bleeding right arm and the other onto the equally damaged left leg, dragging it, and almost faltering in the attempt.
"Jungkook!!"
The rest clung onto him like koalas, nearly choking him.
"Yah! Where were you?!"
"You scared us to death!"
"Are you all alright?!"
"It must hurt a lot."
All the questions flooded him.
"Yes I'm f-fine...I-I guess." Jungkook managed to utter in pain.
"But what took you so long?!" Bee enquired, hitting him playfully on his chest.
"Actually, when I tumbled down, I was sure that nothing could happen now and I was going to die. That's when a miracle occurred, the collar of my t-shirt got stuck on a branch that was emerging from in between the rocks. And then somehow I was able to pull myself up and climbed all the way up here." Jungkook illustrated the whole incident in detail.
"Oh Thank God!" Jimin once again lingered the younger in his arms.
"Aah! Don't touch here, it hurts." The former kinda warned him.
"Don't worry! If I'm here then there's no fear." Moon cockily stated.
In the split second, her eyes shined ice-blue, matching with the surroundings they stood in.
She formed a ball of ice above her palm and then pressed it on Jungkook's open wounds. All the blood dried and turned into clots fabricated by platelets.
"I think it will take a little longer. You know, breaking is fast but recovery is slow." Moon notified, her hands still busy in the healing procedure.
"I wish if I could use my power to light up the dark night and create a source just like fireworks to head to our homes," Hoseok muttered to himself, staring at nowhere, his mind comparatively empty for any thoughts to butt in. The clattering of Bee's teeth distracted his attention.
He didn't hesitate in taking off his jacket and placing it on her shoulders, then covering her shivering body thoroughly, their hands didn't miss to brush against each other in the process.
They shared quite a moment, gazing at each other's eyes and forgetting all around as their hearts decided to skip the beats. This time around he draped both his arms around Bee's small frame, pulling her closer while firmly rubbing her shoulder blades. She tenderly leaned her head on his shoulder which felt the most comfortable thing ever. Then they eventually closed their eyes feeling secured in each other's embrace. In that cold, they could feel the warmth of each other's hearts all the more.
"How cute," Yoongi mumbled in himself.
"Huh?" Jungkook shifted his curiosity to the couple.
"They look so adorable together, right? One is the calmest person I've ever seen and one is known to frequently lose her temper. What an interesting combination!" Moon giggled, not forgetting to cover her mouth to not disrupt them.
Just when they were trying to relax, everything began to vibrate including the ground supporting their feet.
A translucent mist from the steaming walls encircles the air. The substance from the cold seeps down to the farthest of senses. Soon the multiple vicious ice-creatures appeared forming a semi-circle in front of them. Their forms short yet containing sharp features composed with the huge slabs of ice, their eyes fully white, lacking the pupils. They were icy beneath the cracked and broken scales, their teeth dulled and rotting.
The monsters sluggishly proceeded towards them, grunting with disgusting noises.
Everything around them again started to shake vigorously as if it was signaling an earthquake. They utilized the opportunity to escape from around the corner. Dodging the monsters in their way successfully, they came out of the cave and the next thing heard was the crashing down of the walls of the cave, followed by two screams.
Author's Note:
So guys, first of all, I want to take a moment to thank you all who have given their love and support to this story and made it reach 2k!!
Well...I saved Jungkook! Are you happy now?
Also, who can be the owners of 'two screams', any guesses?
Have a butterful day ahead!! Take care and stay safe~
I purple you all 💜💜💜