a big shoutout to KingAviLover, MyaDee, and April_Limelight for helping give me ideas to bring this chapter to life :)
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Yoongi's POV -
"I'm telling you, it's Halloween, and it's going to be an amazing idea! The fans would love it, and it can even be something we do yearly, for a bit of fun. Come on, I don't see why you guys have to be so babyish about it!" Jungkook whines, literally stomping his foot on the floor.
Seokjin just shakes his head. "There's plenty of reasons why, Jungkook. First of all, it's not safe at all. You have no idea how long that building has been there, and you have no idea what's in there. Second of all, no one is going to know where we are, so if something does happen, then no one can come and get us."
"And, there's no signal on that side of town, so we can't even take our phones with us."
Jungkook groans loudly. "Please! We're only going to be there for a few hours! We'll have cameras with us, and we're going to be having fun!"
Jimin shrugs a little. "Y'know. He could be right. If we're not comfortable, we can always go back home. Not all of us have to go, not if we really don't want to."
"But I want all of us, hyung!"
Jimin shoots him a glare. He's trying to back Jungkook's case, but he's not realising it, and digging himself into a bigger hole. If at least one person agrees to go, then we'll probably all end up going - as much as I don't want to.
Jungkook has found an abandoned building on the other side of Hannam-Dong, and he's desperate to explore it. He wants all of us to come with him, so we can shoot a scary skit for the fans on Halloween. I think it is a good idea, and he wants all of us to do it independently, without a crew following us around.
There's one thing he's forgotten though: none of us know what's in the building. I believe it was an old factory before it shut down, and it's never been torn down or renovated into something else. It's just stood empty. It's on the poorer side of town, which is what worries me. It's probably full of squatters. I have no problem with homeless people, and I have sympathy, but there's a big drug problem, and I don't want any of us to get hurt.
"Please," Jungkook whispers, suddenly seeming to lose all of his energy. "I rarely ask for things. I always do as I'm told, and I always end up with loads more work to do. I just want this one thing."
The room is silent, stopping arguing with him. He's right. Jungkook is very complacent and well behaved. I know it's creepy, and the others don't like creepy things, but he deserves at least one treat during this break. We always say no to the things he wants to do.
I sit next to him. "I'll go with you, Jungkook."
He looks up at me in shock, before a wide smile spreads across his face. "Hyung! Really? Can we really?!"
I pat his shoulder a little, trying to calm him down. I don't like loud, and he knows it. He settles back down, but I can feel him shaking with excitement.
Jimin sits down, too. "Fine. If it's what you want, Kookie, then I'll go with you. I can see how much you want it."
Taehyung immediately sits down too, just because Jimin said yes. I know he's probably one of the most afraid, since he can get pretty claustrophobic, and he's not the biggest fan of the dark, but he'll go just because Jimin is going.
Namjoon sighs loudly, but he sits too. "I guess I have to go with you, if you really want to do it. I don't want to, but I have to keep you lot in check, unfortunately."
I look up at Hoseok and Seokjin. They are by far the most fearful of the group, and the most likely to flat out refuse. Hoseok's face is set firmly, determined not to go, but I can see Seokjin is wavering a little. As the oldest hyung, he likes to take care of us, and make sure we're all safe. He would never admit it, but I know he feels a sort of paternal feeling over us. If we go, he'll come too.
"I suppose ..." he says slowly, shutting his eyes a little. "I suppose I should go, too."
We all look up at Hoseok. He frowns down at us, still completely firm. "I'm sorry, but no. That building has been abandoned since most of us were born-" Seokjin blushes. "-and we have no idea what will be waiting for us. It's super dangerous, and we can film something scary just as well here than we can in that deathtrap!"
Well, that's not true. Obviously an abandoned building is more scary than our modern dorm, and Hoseok seems to realise that as he shakes his head a little. "Please, Hoseok," Jungkook begs quietly. "I know you don't like it, but I want all of us. We're not BTS without you. The fans will notice."
I'm reminded of how Jungkook cried when Hoseok said he was going to leave BTS. Obviously, this is nowhere near the same, but Jungkook's eyes start to tear up, and he gives Hobi his puppy eyes.
Hoseok finally wavers. "Fine. But if I don't like it, I'm going straight home, whether you lot are coming with me or not."
Jungkook gets up, hugging Hoseok so hard he nearly topples over. He doesn't quite hug Jungkook back, but he at least looks a little happy that Jungkook is happy. After nearly three days of begging, Jungkook has finally gotten what he wants. I just hope that it goes the way he wants it to ...
*
The next day, we have a bag packed full of cameras and props that Jungkook made last night, and we're dressed in the oldest clothes we could find. We've attempted to do our own makeup, and we're all ready to go by the time the sun has started to set. There's kids milling around, dressed up as little ghosts, going door to door.
Jungkook links arms with me as we head down the streets, a happy skip in his step. "I know we don't have a script, but I want it to be funny as well as scary, so then it should end up being even better that we're doing it on command."
I nod my head a little. "Whatever you want, Jungkook. I just hope we're even able to get in there. We still don't know what's going to face us."
Hoseok nods, catching up with the conversation. "We don't want to end up doing anything illegal, or we'll lose our placement in the company. If we have to break into anything, then we can't do it, okay?"
Jungkook nods his head. "I'm ready for disappointment, hyung, don't worry. When I walked past it, I didn't see anything saying it was trespassing to go in, and there was only a fence on one side, and it was all broken up."
Hoseok just pats his shoulder gently. "Just don't get your hopes up."
We walk the rest of the way in silence. Jungkook doesn't stop being excited the whole way, and, when we reach the building, there's nothing stopping us from walking straight in. The door has been broken open a long time ago. There's a sign on the building telling us it's dangerous to go in, but it's not illegal. I can already see news outlets telling us off if they caught us, but we'll face no real consequences.
Jungkook turns on one of the torches he brought with him, and steps inside. Even with the torch, the darkness seems to envelop him. I take my own torch and the bag of equipment, and step inside behind him.
We make our way through the corridors, and come out into the main factory floor. There's no machinery left, though there's still dark stains left on the floor from where they used to stand. The ceiling is high, and there's a staircase coming up one side of the wall, up to an observatory. I think there used to be a banister, but it's either been burnt or just rotted away, as dark pieces of wood lie around the stairs.
There's graffiti everywhere, but it doesn't seem like - or sound like - anyone is in here. A lot of the graffiti is over older, more faded pieces, and, when I step closer to the walls, I can even smell the faint traces of recently-used spray paint. There's used needles and beer cans littered all over the floor, as well as an old, ripped up carpet, rolled up to make a little seat.
The main factory floor has lights coming into it from old, mouldy high-rise windows, as well as skylights, but they're so murky, and it's already so dark inside that we still have to rely on our torches. I can only see people moving if they're close to me. It smells rancid in here, and I can hear water dripping somewhere. Moss is growing in patches on the floor.
"I don't like this," Seokjin says, a whimper in his voice. "I don't have a good feeling about this at all."
Jungkook just shakes his head in front of me. I keep my torch trained on him as he heads towards the concrete stairs, his face a picture of wonder. "It's beautiful."
"Jungkook, I don't think it's safe to go up there," I call after him. I point my torch up to the landing, showing the old, wooden floor. There are supports holding up the landing, but they're clearly rotten, and one has fallen down. There used to be a metal railing up there, but it lays twisted near my feet, having been ripped out.
Jungkook just ignores me, and slowly makes his way up the stairs. At one moment, I see him slip on a moss-covered step, and he falls forward, catching his knees. The others can see him with my torch trained on him, and we all cry out, rushing over to the dilapidated stairs.
"I'm okay!" he calls down, but I'm not having any of it.
"Come down here, Jungkook!" There's only the landing up there! There's loads of doors and corridors down here for you to explore! You don't need to be up there!"
"There's two doors up here, too!" he calls back, and he's right. There's a door on each opposite wall, both shut. They're the only two doors I've seen so far in this building.
"Jungkook, watch out!" Jimin suddenly shrieks, making me jump so hard the torch slides out my hands and clatters to the floor. I gasp, picking it up. The beam is visibly dimmer, and keeps flickering. The glass cover is cracked, but not broken.
I look up, to see Jimin and Taehyung's torch beams trained on a large hole, right in the middle of the landing. Jungkook's feet are just inches away from it. Jungkook backs away quickly, and heads back to the steps, going quicker as he nears the bottom. Seokjin immediately wraps his arms around him, shushing him. I can hear Jungkook's shaky breaths.
"I don't care what you think, but that landing is completely off limits," Namjoon says authoritatively. Jungkook just nods his head in agreement.
"I think we should have a rule where we all explore together. No splitting off," Jimin says. Again, Jungkook just nods, but he pulls away from Seokjin.
We leave the main factory floor, and head back the way we came. This time, we branch off into a seperate corridor, and follow it through. The further we go, the darker it seems to get, and the floorboards are getting spongier. I don't feel too safe walking down here, but, when we turn the corner, there's suddenly a strand of light. Our pace picks up as we make our way towards it.
There's only one window in this room, but it's been smashed, letting in natural moonlight. There's desk after desk lined up in the room, and oddly, they don't look like they've been moved since the factory went down, despite the graffiti on the walls, and more beer cans and needles. It feels ... creepy. A shiver runs down my spine.
Taehyung rests a finger on one of the desktops, and swipes it across the surface. His finger comes up nearly black, but the desk looks unscathed. Taehyung quickly wipes it on his shirt, shivering the same way I just did.
"Does this room feel wrong to anyone else?" Seokjin says quietly, swinging his torch onto a pile of broken machinery in the corner of the room, rusted up and sharp. His eyes can't seem to leave it.
Jungkook shakes his head. "I love it, hyung. I think we should start here."
I comply, and drop the bag onto one of the dirty desks. Jimin collects our torches, and hangs them into different areas of the room. Another shiver passes through me as a breeze flows past. I set up a camera, and point it away from the broken window.
I have no idea what we're supposed to do to be 'scary', but, when I turn the camera on, Jungkook just stares at it with a dead expression. For a moment, my heart drops, and I think something is wrong, but then I realise he's just being creepy on purpose. Jimin sidles up next to him quickly, staring in just the same way. Jungkook will edit out the transition later.
We shoot a few more funny and scary shots, before packing back up. I hoped to grab someone else's torch, but my own flickering one is handed back to me. Even though I'm sad it's not working properly, it did add a good atmosphere to the clips.
"We should head off into different rooms," Jungkook suggests, opening up the bag again and handing everyone a camera."
"But I said-" Jimin starts.
"Yeah, we'll go off in pairs. We won't be alone, it's not safe enough for that. We should get some individual shots though, right?"
Hoseok looks about ready to argue, but I grab his hand, and lead him out the room. We'll be a team together. There's too much for us all to explore together, and I know Jungkook won't leave until everything has been seen, even if not by his eyes. It will be quicker, and we'll be out faster, if we separate.
I have no idea what teams are made as we walk away, but Hoseok and I take another branching corridor, the voices of the others fading away, replaced with our footsteps.
"What if we did like a vlog thing, Hoseok, and said super creepy things just to make it better?" I ask, turning to him.
"I don't know. I really don't like any of this, hyung. I feel a bit sick. Can we not record from the outside? Oh God, hyung, I really do have the shakes."
He's not wrong. I can feel his hand trembling in mine, and his ankles keep turning as he walks. I have to admit, I'm not really sure how to get back to the open exit. We've taken too many turns now, but I won't let Hoseok know that. "Come on, Hobi. Let's just do a couple quick vlogs, and then head out. If we're quick, we can get out sooner."
Hoseok is quiet for a long time, then, "Okay, hyung."
We keep walking, the corridors starting to get narrower. Even I feel a little claustrophobic, but I think it would be better to find an empty room.
I swear I heard something. I stop in my tracks, and Hoseok squeezes my hand even tighter, obviously having just heard the same thing. "I-It'll just be bats," I whisper, laughing nervously, but I can't even convince myself.
I take another step forward. The whole building seems to make another loud, angry groan, and suddenly, the floor is no longer beneath my feet.
I let Hoseok go in panic, but he stays next to me, falling too. A loud scream erupts from my throat, before I hit the ground below hard. The dark swallows me whole, and my world becomes nothing.
Jimin's POV -
I stop, straining my ears hard. What the hell did I just hear?
"What is-"
"Shh!"
I listen again, turning my head a little to see if the noise came from any direction, but the building stays quiet, the only sound being our breathing.
"If you're trying to scare me, it's not working," Taehyung says, trying to sound disgusted, but his voice is shaking. Jungkook gives me a harsh shove.
"I'm not trying to scare you! I swear I hear someone scream."
"Haha."
I shake my head a little, but I'm unable to shake off the coldness that has now settled in me. I know I heard a scream, coming from far within the building, but it was too short for me to place. Maybe I'm just on edge ... It's probably nothing.
Taehyung snaps the camera shut with a snap. "At least we got some good footage. I think we should move onto the next room."
I just nod my head, starting to feel spooked and speechless. I follow behind the other two, my hand around my neck as I rub it with anxiety. The beam from my torch shakes a little on the floor as I struggle to calm my body down. Thankfully, the other two don't notice, and therefore don't tease me any more.
"What did this factory used to be?" Jungkook asks, making me jump. I swallow hard. I need to get a grip. Calm down, Jimin.
"I think it made plane parts during the war, but it went bust later because there were bigger and newer factories making better parts for all sorts of planes. This place only made parts for war planes, and stuff, and it stopped being relevant," Taehyung says.
"Why hasn't it been knocked down? It's been nearly thirty years since it went down, or so I think."
"No clue." There's a few seconds of silence. "Maybe they still hold a lease, so it can't be legally knocked down. Maybe there's plans for a new factory. I don't know."
The corridor abruptly stops at a closed door. We freeze, suddenly all hesitating to open it. I quickly turn my torch around, feeling paranoid, but there's nothing but darkness. I find myself cowering into the group a little, feeling sick with nerves.
Jungkook reaches forward, and rests his hand on the door handle. He pushes it down, and it gives, cracking open. Jungkook turns to look at us two, like he's asking for consent, before widening the door further, and stepping inside.
Our torches bounce off the walls, taking everything in. The ceiling tiles have been ripped off, as well as the lights, leaving wires and small chains hanging everywhere. The walls are covered in something I can only explain as blood. It's long old, and dried brown, but I know what blood looks like. The floorboards are shattered, and there's scraps of metal everywhere.
Taehyung's torch rests on a corner of the room, and stops still. I point my own over, even though I can see exactly what Taehyung is lighting up.
It's a body.
I can't even bring myself to scream. Bile rises in my throat, and I feel lightheaded. My arm drops, my vision spinning, and I'm unable to move. Taehyung's torch won't move off the mostly decomposed body, frozen in shock. I stumble backwards, trying to stop myself from fainting, and slam back into the door.
A horrifying crack rings into the room as the door's hinges break, and the frame crumbles. The door is stuck, half closed, half bent through it's frame. Jungkook grips the handle again, pulling hard, but the door doesn't budge. He starts to panic, pulling harder, but instead of opening, the handle just breaks off, locking us in here with ... that.
My vision starts spinning again, and this time, I let myself go. Black spots enter my sight, eating away at everything. The torch slides out of my hand as I faint.
Namjoon's POV -
Seokjin and I stand in the main factory floor, looking up at the murky windows. We've filmed so many little clips the camera's space has nearly been filled up. It's been half an hour at the most since we split up, but we've kept it all short and sweet. The batteries are starting to die, too.
We hadn't arranged to meet here once we'd finished. In fact, we hadn't arranged to meet anywhere. I just thought this would be the best place.
"How long do you think they're going to be?" Seokjin finally whines, checking his watch for the tenth time. "Should we go looking for them?"
I shrug. "This building is huge. If we go looking, we'll probably get lost, and then they'll come here and wait, like we're doing now. Let's just stay put."
Seokjin nods, but he keeps fidgeting and sighing, scuffing his feet on the dirty floor. As well as all the shit left behind by other explorers, there's also glass from a broken skylight, and scrap pieces of sharp metal. I don't like Seokjin scuffing like that, when anything can rip through his soft trainers.
Something catches the corner of my eye. Something shiny in the corner of the large room. I turn in curiosity. My shoelace catches under my other foot, and I trip myself. I try to catch my balance, but I can't, and I fall hard.
Remember what I was saying about the metal? Yeah. A sharp piece rips through my arm, digging far in as my weight lands on top of it. I screech in pain, and Seokjin comes running over, helping me back up to my feet. My clothes are filthy, and blood is quickly dripping down my arm, falling to the floor. Seokjin shines his torch on it, showing the large gash full of metal and shards of glass. I start to shake, getting dizzy at the sight of blood.
"Right. Hospital," Seokjin says firmly, taking me by the shoulder and pushing me back towards the way we came. I stumble along the floor, kicking my foot oddly so I won't end up catching my shoelace again, and we head out the broken door into the moonlight.
I don't think of the others, who will probably wait for us for ages, and start to get worried. They won't know where we are. All I think about is the blood draining from my body. God knows that sort of bacteria was on that floor. I'll probably end up with all kinds of diseases and infections. I don't even know if I touched a needle.
*
Hoseok's POV -
My head feels foggy as I start to come around. I have no idea where I am, and I feel really cold. My head hurts badly, and my arm feels tingly, shooting pain into my chest. I let out an odd squeaky noise, trying to find my voice to cry, but I can't get anything out. The floor feels damp beneath me, and it smells rancid.
Where the hell am I?
The room would be pitch black, but a single stream of light shines from nearby. It takes a long time for my eyes to focus on the torch laying next to me. Why would I need a torch? Where the hell am I, and where are the others?
I sit up, feeling my body shudder with dizziness. The memories suddenly hit me all at once. Exploring the abandoned factory. Yoongi and I walking away from the other boys. The floor giving way, and Yoongi and I tumbling down down down to the hard floor I'm sitting on now.
My hands scrabble in the dark, looking for Yoongi. My hand grabs his leg, and I feel along his body. My hand rests on his chest, and I can feel him breathing. I let out a long sigh, relief flooding over me, but he doesn't react to my touch. He's still unconscious.
My hand shakily picks up the torch. The beam flickers a little as I squeeze the grip, but the light stays on. I shine it over Yoongi, looking for any injuries. There's a bad cut on his hand, but the rest of him looks fine.
I shine my torch over my own body, looking at what I can see. I look fine, but there's blood on my clothes that I can't see the origin of. I have a nasty feeling it's my head. The beam lands on my other arm, the one that's aching, and I stop, feeling shock rush through me. It's bent awkwardly just above my wrist, clearly broken. Thankfully, the bone hasn't come through my skin, and my hand is still a normal colour. I let out a little sob, my good hand beginning to shake.
I start to swing the torch around the little room we're in, but there's nothing special. The walls are blank, and the wooden floor is just dirty with general grime. There's a door on one wall, and one picture frame dropped to the floor. I can't see the picture, though.
Yoongi groans next to me, starting to come around. I rest my hand on his shoulder, watching him carefully. I make sure the beam isn't pointing directly into his eyes. He shuffles a little, before crying out, forcing himself to be still.
"Hyung?" I whisper, starting to shake again. I can't carry Yoongi away from here. Not when my arm is broken. "Hyung, what is it?"
"My head," he mumbles back, refusing to move. I shine the torch on the back of his head, but I still can't see anything wrong. There's no blood.
"Hyung, can you get up?" I look up at the hole in the ceiling. Long pieces of wood hang down, threatening to drop. We need to move, before we get hit. I can already feel the splinters all over my body. It doesn't look like anyone has come to find us.
"My head," he mumbles again. He attempts to sit, but his body is too weak, and he ends up sliding back down.
I drop the torch next to me, and grab Yoongi with my good hand. He whines a little, but I don't have the time. I pull him hard, and he sobs in pain, trying to kick me off, but I refuse to let go. I drag him again, and this time, he kicks me so hard I fall back down, winded. I landed on my bad arm, and tears start to drip down my cheeks with the pain, though I don't cry out.
The building creaks. I don't have time to look up. A large beam support lands directly on top of me, pinning me into place. It crushes into my stomach, and my vision turns black again.
Jungkook's POV -
No matter how many times I kick and shoulder the door, it just won't budge. I scream in anger, using my full force to kick it again, but it doesn't even splinter. I feel like I'm choking on the pungent smell in here, and my head is burning. I feel sick. I wish I could have fainted like Jimin, but I'm achingly awake.
Taehyung has Jimin propped up against his chest, his back to the body so he can't see it again. Although Jimin is awake, he's very still and quiet, completely traumatised. I wish I could go over and comfort him, too, but I need to get us out of here. I need to call the police.
I lean heavily against the door, starting to sob again. My knees seem to give out, and I slide down the wood, curling up on my side as I cry. We're trapped. We're well and truly trapped. How long is it going to be until someone finds us? Are we going to die like this, too?
Seokjin's POV -
Namjoon's wound is cleared out, but he has to go into surgery to remove the metal from his arm, since it's dug in so deep. They think it's cut his main artery, which is why he was bleeding so much, but the metal was stopping it from bleeding at full force. The nurses are really worried about all the infections he could possibly have; the list is endless. He's already had a couple of shots to try and stop anything forming, but it's not guaranteed.
I hold his hand as the anaesthesiologist comes in, holding a bag of equipment. He runs over the surgery outline, and let's Namjoon know of all the risks and complications. Namjoon could even possibly lose his hand if the damage is too severe. Namjoon just nods his head tiredly. The poor boy looks exhausted.
A mask is placed over Namjoon's face, and, in just a few seconds, his eyes flutter shut. Due to Namjoon's apnoea, he's immediately intubated. I have to look away, unable to watch. They turn on the monitor on the ventilator, so they can keep a close eye on Namjoon's breathing. The ventilator is only going to give him breaths if he stops breathing on his own.
As soon as he's fully prepped for surgery, he's wheeled away from me, and I'm led to wait in the visitor's room. There's a couple other people there, biting their nails with worry as their own family is in surgery. My mind is on Namjoon, but I keep thinking of the others in that building. I have no idea how long Namjoon will be in surgery for, and I know a nurse will want to tell me if something goes wrong. I dither helplessly.
Eventually, I go to the help desk, and tell the lady that I need to visit someone, and I give her PDnim's number should anything go wrong. I hope to be back with the others before Namjoon comes back from the surgery, but I have no idea how long I will really be.
*
I weave my way through the corridors, straight to the main factory floor. I know I've been gone for over an hour, but I thought the boys would be waiting here by now ... how strange. I wander around the floor listlessly, unsure of what to do. I still have my torch, so I turn it off, trying to see if I can see anyone else's. There's nothing.
I turn my torch back on, and head back to the weird room with all the desks. There's nobody there either, and I still can't hear anything. I have a feeling they might have already headed back to the dorm, wondering if we left without them.
"Yoongi!" I shout, listening for any form of response. "Hoseok! Jungkook!"
I strain my ears ... and there it is .... Someone shouting back at me.
"Hoseok!" I yell, and this time, there's no response. "Jungkook!" I'm met with a shout.
Jungkook continues to shout, though I can't make out the words he's saying. I rush back out of the room, and, by ear, I trace Jungkook's voice. I thread through corridor after corridor, backtracking when I notice Jungkook's voice getting quieter. He seems to realise I must be searching, as he doesn't give up the shouting. Soon, I can make out him yelling, "Hyung!" back at me.
I make my way down a smaller corridor, and Jungkook's voice is crystal clear. I turn the corner, and come to a stop at a door. As I shine my torch over it, I can see the door has been bent out of shape, trapping the boys inside. The handle has dropped off where someone has tugged it too hard.
"Hyung!" Jungkook sobs. He's definitely behind that door.
"Jungkook! I'm here, baby!" I call back, looking at the door. "Move away, sweetheart, okay?"
I hear shuffling in the room. I step back, and kick the door hard. The shock runs up my leg, but the door stays untouched. Apart from a dirty shoe-print, there's nothing. I try kicking it again, to no avail.
"We've already tried that, hyung!"
"Are the others with you?"
"Yes! Oh, hyung, please be quick! There's a dead body in here!"
I stiffen at his words. They've managed to get themselves trapped in the worst room possible. "Is there any other way you can get out?"
"There's a window, but it just leads out to a massive drop. I thought we were on the ground floor, but there's just a massive hole out there. We can't climb out!" Taehyung replies.
"Jimin fainted when he saw the body, and now he won't talk to us, hyung!"
I scrabble at the lower part of the door, getting my nails around the tiny gap between the frame. I pull it as hard as I can. The door groans slightly, but it won't budge. It's no use. "Boys, do you know where Hoseok and Yoongi are? We're gonna have to call for help to get you two out of there!"
"Jimin said he heard screaming, but I thought he was just messing around!" Jungkook sobs back. I can hear the tears in his voice.
I shake my head a little. I didn't hear anything, but it wasn't me or Namjoon who screamed ... "Do you have any idea which direction they went?"
"No."
I sigh a little. "You three just stay calm in there, I'm going to get you help, okay? Are you at least safe in there?"
Jungkook just sniffles. I give the door a little knock, so they know I'm walking away, and I head back the way I came. It's much harder working my way back now that I don't have a sound to follow. I keep track of where I'm going, and where I've been, by remembering the graffiti on all of the walls.
Yoongi's POV -
Try as I might, I can't move the massive wooden beam off Hoseok's abdomen. There's blood leaking out, and he's honestly been crushed. I can hear him breathing, but he started to cough blood a while ago.
My head is pounding. I must have hit it on the way down, though, when I tenderly feel it, I can't find any cuts or lumps. The pain is so bad, I can't even get myself to stand. I'm going to pass out, soon. I would go if it wasn't my fear for Hoseok.
He starts to come around. Groaning softly. He starts coughing up more blood, and he quickly turns his head to the side to spit it out. He cries as his back jarrs, and starts to come around fully. He pushes the bar with one hand, the other too broken to help, but there's no way he can move it off himself.
"Hobi," I soothe, my own voice hurting my head. "Hobi, shh."
He whimpers. "W-Where am I? Hyung? What's happening? Oh my God, it really hurts! Hyung, help me!"
I shush him softly. I wish I had just moved when he asked me to. He wouldn't have been trapped like this otherwise. I look up at the hole in the ceiling. "We fell, baby, okay? You're stuck under a wooden beam, and I can't get it off you. Hobi, can you move your feet?"
He winces hard in pain, but his feet twitch a little. He lets out a long sob, in too much pain to keep moving. I shush him, lying down slowly next to him, my vision starting to blur. I hate to leave Hoseok like this, but I can't stay conscious. My head hurts too much.
Hoseok's POV -
I sob harder, shaking Yoongi, but there's no response from him. I turn my head a little, coughing up more blood, trying to see his face. Yoongi's torch gave up when we fell, so it was mine that I found. Yoongi is still holding it, but I can't reach far enough to grab it out of his hands. I stay pinned into place, sobbing hard.
"Hoseok?" I hear someone shout. So far away I start to wonder if I'm hallucinating. I know my body is giving up, and I'm bleeding quite a lot, so it's not out of the question. I calm my crying, listening. "Hoseok? Yoongi?"
I scream as loud as I can muster. Yoongi doesn't stir next to me, but hearing Seokjin's voice is enough to give me hope. I scream again.
"Hoseok, I'm coming!" Seokjin yells back. He sounds closer this time. I need to warn him, before he falls too.
"Seokjin, stop!" I yell so hard my voice hurts. I have no idea if he has stopped, but I need to tell him. "Seokjin! Yoongi and I fell through the floor! It's not safe for you to come any further, or you'll fall too!"
"Are you hurt?" he calls. He still sounds pretty far away, but, since the building is so quiet, his voice is travelling far. "How far have you fallen?"
"I think we're in the basement, hyung!" I stop to cough, spitting up so much blood I start to choke. I need to be on my side, and I need urgent treatment, but I can't move. I don't know if he can hear me coughing, but it's getting worse, and I can't make myself stop. My vision is starting to spin, and I have no idea if I'm going to wake up again. I cough one more time, before giving up.
Seokjin's POV -
Hoseok stops responding to me. No matter how many times I shout to him, there's nothing. I step forward a little, unsure of what to do with Hoseok's warning. I know he's right. The floor is spongy under my feet, and it groans when I walk. I back away quickly, heading back the way I came.
I found Hoseok by accident. I was trying to make my way back from where I heard Jungkook and the others, when I heard him crying. I managed to trace his sobs to an opposite corridor, and started making my way through. I called for him just to make sure I was going the right way. I'm glad I did now.
I'm in two minds. I can either find the door to the basement, and go and find Yoongi and Hoseok, or I can leave the building, and call for help. I hate leaving them here, when they're trapped and scared, but it can't be helped. They need to get out of here. I make my way back to the open door, and run out into the breeze.
There's no way I'm going back to the dorm, all the way on the other side of town. It's really late now, but, on the second street I run though, there's a hotel, and the foyer lights are still on. I pull the door open, and rush up to the young receptionist.
"You need to help me!" I cry, tears starting to overwhelm me.
"Sir?" the boy says, clearly shocked and uncomfortable. "What's the matter? Have you been hurt?"
I shake my head a little, trying to catch my breath. "M-My friends, they've been trapped in the old factory just down the road. They've been really hurt, and I don't have my phone on me! Please, call the police, or an ambulance, something!"
The boy nods his head, his eyes round with fear. I would say he's only around 18, and clearly overwhelmed by this, but it can't be helped. He picks up the phone behind his desk and calls 119. I bend over the desk in relief, sobbing.
Another attendant comes out, alerted by the noise, and, when he hears his colleague calling for help, and the state I'm in, he slowly leads me over to the seating area, and helps me sit. He leaves again, and comes back with a glass of water. I'm shaking so much I can barely drink it, and the glass clinks against my teeth. He leaves, and when he comes back again, he has a blanket. He wraps it around my shoulders, seeing that I'm in shock.
"Can you tell me what happened?" he asks when I calm a little.
"M-My friends wanted to explore that abandoned factory, and we got all split up and muddled up in the different rooms. One of them i-is in hospital, because he fell and hurt himself. Three of them are trapped in a room because the door broke. Th-They said there's a d-dead body i-in there!" I start to shake and cry again. The attendant pats me softly, trying to calm me, but I haven't finished yet. "T-Two of them f-fell th-through the f-floor and th-they're really h-hurt!"
The attendant nods. The receptionist must have been listening, as he starts to relay it all back to the operator. I shake so much the attendant has to take the glass out of my hand.
Flashing lights suddenly come past the windows, heading to the building. I stand up, trying to go too, but the attendant keeps hold of me. "Sir, you need to stay here. They know what they're coming for. They know all of the details. Let them do their job."
I shake my head no, but I don't have the energy to fight. I sink back down as more and more lights come past, all heading to that damn factory.
Jimin's POV -
"Everyone stay calm! Help is coming!"
I jolt at the sound of the voice on the megaphone, and Taehyung grips me tighter. The voice is from outside, but it's loud enough to hear from here. I start to sob in relief, as does Jungkook and Taehyung. We're safe. We're going to be okay.
It takes a very long time before someone comes. The door is pulled hard off its hinges, and moved away from the frame. I stare at our rescuers: Three firemen, and a police officer, and a paramedic. I lean heavily into Taehyung as he gets me to stand, sobbing so much I can't see. A silver blanket is wrapped around us, and another is given to Jungkook. The paramedic and a firefighter lead us out, leaving the policeman and the other firefighters to look at the body. I shake with relief.
The outside air has never felt so good. I collapse down, sliding out of Taehyung's grip. The paramedic gives me a little shake, but I don't want to get up. I don't want to do anything. I just need to be away from here. I need space.
"Jimin, you're hyperventilating," Taehyung says, kneeling down next to me. "You need to breathe, sweetheart."
I sob, letting Taehyung stroke my face. More paramedics come over, and we're taken away into separate ambulances to be treated.
---
The paramedics make their way down to the basement. Each door is opened and checked, and finally, Hoseok and Yoongi are found. Yoongi is strapped up, and taken away by a set of paramedics, being given oxygen, whilst the firefighters make their way down, and slowly lift the beam off of Hoseok.
There's a lot of blood, and he's been badly severed on his tummy. A lot of his ribs are broken, and he's got a lot of internal damage. He's strapped into place, and taken upstairs. He's the last to leave the building, and is taken away in the final ambulance, being sedated and ventilated so his body can relax. The police and firefighters are left to secure the building.
*
Seokjin's POV -
Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook end up in a ward together, and the last bed is empty. I sit in the room with them, going from bed to bed. Despite what they've been through, they share jokes, and play around. They won't sleep tonight, and I know they're traumatised from finding a dead body, but physically, they're just fine. They'll get to come home with me tomorrow.
Namjoon is out of surgery, so I go to visit him next. He's fighting off an infection, despite the medicines, so he's in a private room, on very strong antibiotics. They don't think he's contracted anything life-long, like HIV, but he's got a long battle with the infection ahead of him. He's not sedated, but he sleeps as I enter his room, his cheeks red with fever. I give his hair one small stroke, before leaving him be. He needs to sleep so he can fight. He'll be okay, once his body clears up.
Yoongi has a bleed on his brain, but, so far, he hasn't gone into surgery. It's not causing him any damage, and they're hoping it'll go away by itself. His hand has been stitched, and thankfully, it's not infected. He's going in for another scan soon, to see if the bleeding has stopped, or getting worse. If it's worse, he'll go for surgery. I give his forehead a quick kiss, wishing him luck, before heading to Hoseok's room.
His surgery ended up being pretty quick. His wound was washed out properly, and stitched shut. The internal bleeding wasn't as bad as they thought, and they managed to get it stopped quickly. He's had his spleen taken out, and part of his left kidney, to help stop the bleeding. His arm is wound in a cast, and his chest is covered in thick bandages. Thankfully, he only has a minor concussion.
Although lots of injuries were sustained, I know the boys will be okay. They're fighters, like always. Hoseok will take a long time to heal, but he will heal, and that's what's important. Yoongi might end up with complications from a head injury, but we'll deal with them, and make sure he takes medication. Namjoon will fight off his infection, and, apart from a nasty scar, he'll be unscathed. All of us will talk about it in our therapy classes, and we'll move on.
Let's move on.
-----------------
a long one :)
also, i have a new series, a sickfic book for bts as kids. theres no story yet, just the rules and the open request page, but if youre interested, its there
please note that not all requests will be accepted if it gets flooded.
but, for here, requests closed as always hehe