Jungkook was crying again. Somehow he hadn't been able to stop crying since they had found Yoongi and Taehyung, the only pause being when he had to comfort Taehyung for a few minutes. But when the boy had passed out, Jungkook's eyes had filled with tears once again.
"We have to turn him around, but we have to be very careful," Jin told him when Namjoon and Yoongi had just left. "His leg is likely broken and he couldn't really use his arms, so either he couldn't because of lack of energy, or they are hurting as well."
Jungkook sniffled, wiping his tears with one hand, the other holding his flashlight kind of uselessly, as Jin had his own pointed at them. He nodded at his hyung. "O-Okay."
Jin looked him in the eyes. "We got this, Jungkook-ah."
Jungkook nodded again and took a deep, shaky breath. He was scared of hurting Taehyung even more than he already was. He wished they could just teleport the boy out of there.
They carefully rolled Taehyung onto his back, with Jin guiding Jungkook softly through it. It was hard for the maknae, because even though Taehyung was unconscious, he still made soft, pained noises. Luckily it wasn't all too difficult to get him onto his back.
"Okay, here comes the tricky part," Jin mumbled. "He better not wake up and scream our ears off. This kid's voice can be loud."
Jungkook frowned, a sad pout on his face. "You're saying that when you know he will. He can't help it, he's in a lot of pain."
Jin sighed. He did know that, he didn't really mean what he said.
"How should we move him?" Jungkook asked, moving his flashlight over to Taehyung again. "Shouldn't we wake him up, so he can be prepared?"
Jin seriously doubted if that was a good idea, but he didn't have a clue what would be the best for Taehyung right now. Perhaps staying here and letting him rest on the ground was best. Then again, Yoongi had been terrified of staying in the tunnel and Jin felt like it wasn't safe to keep Taehyung here any longer either.
"What if I carry him and you support his leg so it doesn't move too much?" Jungkook suggested.
Jin looked hesitant, but he nodded. "Okay. We can try that. Ehm... let's... yeah, let's wake him up first. Maybe like this, we can get him into a sitting position so you can pick him up more easily."
Jungkook nodded, and he softly put his hand on Taehyung's shoulder. "Hyung... hyung, wake up, we need you awake."
Taehyung didn't even stir, he stayed motionless and silent on the floor, the only indication that he was alive being that his chest moved every few seconds and the soft, wheezy sound that followed. Thankfully he was still breathing, but it definitely didn't sound good.
Jungkook tried a few more times, but Taehyung wasn't waking up.
"This kid..." Jin sighed. "Yah, Taehyung-ah, you're not making it easy for us, huh?" He turned to Jungkook. "Can you try picking him up like this?"
"You overestimate my strength sometimes."
"Are you saying you can't do it?"
"Of course not. I got this."
And even though his eyes were still wet with tears, even though he wasn't sure if this would hurt or help his hyung, Jungkook's eyes turned to Taehyung with determination. He would get his hyung out of here safely.
He handed Jin his flashlight and squatted next to Taehyung's unconscious body, and with Jin's help, he got his arm under the boy's shoulders and his other arm under his thighs. He held him firmly, but not so tight that he would hurt Taehyung. Well, he hoped he wouldn't. Even if he was hurting Taehyung, it wasn't enough to wake the boy up.
Well, that changed when Jungkook started straightening his legs, and thus picking his hyung up from the ground.
Inevitably, Taehyung's legs were moved and Jin wasn't fast enough to prevent it. Taehyung's eyes snapped open and he let out a scream that sent shivers down Jungkook and Jin's spine.
"Shit, shit, shit," Jin cursed when he noticed Taehyung was trying to stop himself from screaming, but strangled screams were still being ripped from his throat by how much in pain he was. "We're so sorry, Taehyung-ah, so sorry, we're getting you out of here, okay? Okay buddy? Just keep breathing, okay? Shhh, you're okay. C'mon Jungkook-ah, let's move," he said to the maknae.
Jungkook started walking, and Jin tried supporting Taehyung's leg as well as he could. Barely a few steps further, and Taehyung was crying, shaking his head almost deliriously.
"No... no please... p-please," he sobbed.
"Hyung and Jungkookie will get you out, Taehyung-ah. It will be over soon. Hyungs have called an ambulance. You'll be okay. J-Just a little longer," Jin said, the shake in his voice audible.
"H-Hyung please... please... hurts... h-hurts, hyung," Taehyung cried.
Jungkook shook his head and stopped walking. "I can't do this. We're hurting him, Jin-hyung. We'll have to wait for the medics, okay?"
Jin looked from the spot in the tunnel where Yoongi and Taehyung had been held, to where they needed to go. There was a long way to go. It would take ages if they had to carry Taehyung like this, and the boy would be in pain constantly.
His shoulders sagged and he sighed, defeated. "You're right. We can't do this to him. But I think we should hide, we're still too close to where Yoongi was held. If the demon returns, that's where it will return to."
Jungkook agreed to that. His whole body felt on high alert because he expected the demon to appear out of nowhere at any second. The fact that they were so out in the open in this empty tunnel didn't help. They had to hide somewhere, perhaps in another branch of the tunnel?
They moved a few more steps and Taehyung cried out again, his head lolling to the side, resting against Jungkook's shoulder. He mumbled incoherently, followed by a soft 'please'.
"I'm sorry, hyung," Jungkook whispered.
They continued a few more steps to the nearest side tunnel, but Taehyung passed out again at that point. They lowered him to the ground, carefully placing him out of sight while the two of them watched over him.
"We could just walk out of here now," Jungkook said, though it obviously pained him to. "He is out anyway..."
Jin seemed to hesitate as well. Having Taehyung pass out obviously was a horrible thing. He must've been in so much pain for his brain to shut down. But they could move him now, without having him wake up in pain. But for how long? He woke up screaming a minute ago. Wouldn't he wake up again, eventually? And wouldn't he be hurt even more?
"Maybe we should just wait for a bit. The ambulance was-"
A loud snap was heard, not exactly the sound when a branch snapped but more a snap as if the air popped.
Then, the faintest sound of footsteps reached Jin's ears. His eyes widened and he gripped Jungkook's arm.
"Did... did you hear that?" he whispered to Jungkook. The maknae made a move to look around the corner to see where the sound came from, but Jin quickly held him back. "No, no, no, stay here. Stay quiet," he whispered even more softly.
Jungkook gulped and looked at Taehyung, who was still passed out from the pain, but whose breathing was loud and squeaky. That couldn't be good.
"What do we do?" Jungkook mouthed to the elder.
Jin moved both his hands in a downward motion. Stay.
Jungkook nodded and listened as the footsteps stopped. A confused noise was heard, followed by a low growl that seemed to build.
"Those pesky little idols..."
It was Yoongi's voice, but it sounded angry. Vicious.
Jin and Jungkook looked at each other, both their eyes wide and fearful. They were glad they had decided to hide. Jin clutched the bottles of holy water and looked at them. He handed one to Jungkook with a pointed look. Use it well. Jungkook nodded solemnly. He was ready to protect Taehyung, whatever it would take.
The growling intensified and a loud bang was heard. As if someone just punched the wall. They knew it was the demon, punching the wall in rage.
A frustrated scream echoed through the tunnels and Jungkook and Jin flinched at the sound, subconsciously moving closer to Taehyung. Jungkook eyed Jin in panic. Wouldn't it be a matter of time before the demon found them here? They had to do something. Get Taehyung further down this side of the tunnel...or get ready, or... or maybe even attack.
More banging was heard and the ground seemed to shake with the anger of the demon. Roars now echoed through the tunnels and none of the sounds even resembled Yoongi anymore. That could only mean one thing.
"It transformed," Jungkook whispered, his doe eyes wide.
"We have to move," Jin whispered back while the demon kept going on a rampage in the background.
Taehyung didn't notice any of the terrifying sounds, not even when the roars grew loud enough to hurt Jungkook's ears. The boy stayed unconscious the entire time, not even moving a muscle. But when Jungkook and Jin crouched next to Taehyung and gently lifted him off the ground, his eyes shot open and a strangled whine escaped his lips.
"Shhh, shh we're getting you out," Jungkook whispered. Fuck, the demon better not have heard that. He listened and still heard the banging and roaring.
Taehyung was only barely awake and delirious from the pain, shaking his head at his friends, obviously not ready to be in more pain. Jungkook thanked the heavens that Taehyung seemed to understand he had to be quiet though, that the situation was dangerous. He was trying not to make any loud noises, panting as his hand shot to Jungkook's arm to have something to hold onto.
"You can squeeze my arm, hyung. If it helps with the pain," Jungkook whispered as they carefully moved Taehyung inch by inch further down the side tunnel, where it was becoming gradually darker the further they walked. Taehyung gladly took the offer, squeezing the living shit out of Jungkook's arm. Luckily, Jungkook could handle it. Especially when he thought about how much more Taehyung was hurting than his arm was.
They were being extra careful and extra slow, so they wouldn't hurt Taehyung as much as before, but it was getting them almost nowhere. The demon was still around the corner and it was-
Jungkook's head shot up to look at Jin.
It was turning quiet.
"Jin-hyung, quickly, we have to-"
A high, awful scraping sound was heard and Jungkook and Jin turned to it, cringing at the sound. A talon appeared on the corner of the tunnel, the sharp nails scratching at the walls. Their breaths hitched and everything turned silent, except for Taehyung's painful wheezing breaths that picked up when he noticed what was going on.
And then the head of the demon appeared, its yellow eyes focused on them at once.
It didn't grin as usual. It didn't laugh. It stared at them in pure rage as it spoke.
"Well, what do we have here?"