I spent the remainder of the weekend and the whole of Monday training for the contest. The boys would watch me after school with a med kit just in case.
It is currently Tuesday afternoon, I've been practicing for about eight hours now and I feel extremely light headed. I started early this morning around 6:00am and I've only stopped for a few breaks.
"I think you should stop now" Hyunjin stated bluntly
"I second that" Bang Chan raised his hand
"Ok, but one more set first" I said quickly as I flew past them
"She's going to kill herself" Lee Know sighed in defeat. I had decided to train in an abandoned skate park which was located in the outskirts of the city in a forest where nobody lived. There are many stories and rumors that tell of the place being haunted.
One story I remember was spread about a few years ago when this park first opened, many kids enjoyed coming here and it was a hotspot for local skating talent, but one day a teenage boy attempted to do a particularly dangerous stunt. He miscalculated his jump and he fell and snapped one of his vertebrae, he was rushed to the hospital and was operated on. The following week when he woke up the doctors told him he was completely paralyzed in his left leg. He was devastated that he couldn't continue skating, so he went to the park that night and committed suicide
After that, kids who came to the park were experiencing paranormal activity, from creepy messages on the walls to mannequins being hung from the neck in trees. The park slowly became desolate and lost popularity, so nobody comes here anymore.
I thought this would be a good place to train because firstly, I could go as fast as I wanted without having to worry about bumping into other kids and secondly, it's in a forest so there is constant cover from the sun and I don't have to worry about heatstroke.
I finished my last set and headed back to the guys.
I kept thinking about the boy and how he died. I do believe in ghosts, but in all the time I've been coming here I haven't seen or heard anything. Sometimes when I want to be alone I come here and I'm starting to doubt that this place is actually haunted.
"Heraaaaaaaaa, are you done yet?" Jungkook whined, "this place is creepy, I want to go home and watch movies" I chuckled
"Yes, I'm done"
The park is deep-ish into the forest, so it took a decent amount of time to get out. I was extremely tired so I fell asleep in the car.
It felt like I was asleep for only two seconds before I was jolted awake by the feeling of ice cold water on my face. I sputtered and wiped the water away before turning to glare at Taehyung.
He was hysterically laughing with Jungkook and Hoseok. I saw a flash for a brief moment and looked to my right to see Seungmin with his phone out.
"Smile" he sang
"Have you forgotten how many embarrassing photo's I have of you" I retorted
"I haven't forgotten, but this photo is a nice edition to my collection of your embarrassing photo's, now get out and take a shower. You stink" he giggled. I gave an unamused look
"See you tomorrow" I sighed as I got out of the car. He was right, I did stink. I walked inside and got ready to shower. The contest is tomorrow at exactly 11:00am, the rules state that if you don't arrive in time for the starting gun then you can't compete, so I have to sleep early tonight. Hongjoong told me that he will be there with the rest of his members just in case Jase tries anything.
I got out of the shower and dressed in loose sweatpants and a sleeveless sleep shirt. I collapsed onto my bed with no energy left in my body and drifted off to sleep within a matter of seconds.
Hongjoongs pov
Seonghwa and I were in the kitchen going over escape plans and checking the weaponary. There were so many things we weren't sure of, so we had to prepare for everything. While we were busy we heard the conversations from the living room.
"Do you think Jase will be there?" Jongho asked. He was now almost fully recovered and ready to take on anything as usual
"Duh" Yoesang remarked, "Jase is certain that Hera heard their conversation from the first time they met, so he won't stop until he has her"
"I think we should just warn her to be careful tomorrow" Mingi said
"I'm pretty sure her friends would have told her that countless times already" Yoesang answered him
"Still" Mingi shrugged
"I'll go tonight" I spoke up and walked to the living room. They looked at me
"What?" I asked
Wooyoung smirked
"You just want an excuse to see her" he grinned at me with a devil smile. I scoffed
"Just admit it already" he pressed on," you are whipped for her, and you're good at keeping it hidden but you can't hide anything from us" He was right, I couldn't hide anything from them but I'm willing to try for my own sanity
"I simply just want to make sure she knows what to expect, Jase is persistent and he won't give up easily" I reminded him
"Just go already loverboy, sweep her off her feet with your handsome face and bad boy charms" San smiled
"Shut up" I said, but I couldn't help the blush that crept onto my face
God dammit Hongjoong. I scolded myself
"Hongjoong is blushing" Yunho cooed. The guys around me began to chuckle and snicker. I rolled my eyes and went to grab my jacket
"I'll be back soon" I called over my shoulder as I left the house
"Take your time and give us all the juicy detailes when you get back!!" I heard Seonghwa yell from the kitchen
I sighed and shook my head
Hera's pov
Tap tap
What?
Tap tap
Tap tap
I began to stir awake, the faint sound of footsteps could be heard in the silence of night.
Footsteps?
Shit
I was now fully awake and slightly panicking
Tap tap
They were getting closer
I sat up quickly and climbed out of bed.
Tap tap
I speed walked to my cupboard and fished out my metal baseball bat. I positioned myself beside the doorway and waited. The footsteps stopped right outside my door.
My grip on the bat tightened.
My door opened.
I swung the bat......
but managed to stop it just in time when I realized who it was.
"Hongjoong!?" I let the bat hang loosely in my hand as I stared at him dumbfounded
"Hera? Were you going to hit me with that?!" He gasped and stared at the bat
"I thought you were a robber or even worse, Jase!" I whisper yelled," if I hadn't seen your face then I would have hit you"
"I'm glad I decided not to wear the mask" he sighed. I let out a relieved chuckle and leaned the bat against the wall
"I thought you promised you wouldn't sneak into my house anymore" I said as I walked back to my bed to sit down
"It's going to be very hard to keep that promise" he said and sat down on the bed. We stayed silent for a few seconds
"Sooooooo..... why did you come here at 1:34am in the morning, could whatever you have to say not wait until at least 8:00am" I layed my head back against the headboard of my bed
"I just wanted to remind you to be aware of your surroundings tomorrow, because I'm sure Jase is going to be there" he warned. My jaw hit the floor in disbelief
"You seriously think I haven't been told that already" I said
"It makes me feel better to know that I told you" he smiled
"Well, thanks anyway" I thanked him and prepared to go back to sleep,"Hongjoong?"
"Hmm" he hummed in response. I sat up again and looked at him
"No more sneaking into my house" I said,"next time I might hit you"
"You wouldn't hit me" he pouted,"I'm adorable"
"Goodnight Hongjoong" I layed down, not answering him
"Night" he replied softly,"I'll see you tomorrow princess" he smiled before standing and walking to the door. He gave me a quick smile over his shoulder and left the room, closing the door behind him
My cheeks were burning up and were probably blood red.
Did he just say that?
Oh my god, he did
What do I do?
I went to sleep that night smiling like a complete idiot
______
The next morning I was ecstatic, hyper and ready to go by 9:30. We didn't have to drive far but I had to be early for registration and checking.
"Why did we have to be here so early" Yoongi groaned sleepily
"Because you agreed to be there with me and we need to leave early" I explained
I double checked my skates before putting them in the car, I also packed a bag with snacks, medical supplies, my phone and money just in case.
I then quickly ran inside to get my weapon. My weapon is basically just a wooden staff, but it is fucking sore when you get hit with it.
"You guys ready to go" my voice echoed through the house
"As ready as we'll ever be" Jimin sighed and walked me out the door
In total we had two minivans to transport all of us, I was in the van in front with Bang Chan, Felix, Yoongi, Taehyung, Seungmin, Chanbin and Lee Know.
We used walkie talkies to communicate with the other van.
"Heraaaaaaaaa" Seungmin whined," are you sure we can't change your mind?"
"I'm sure, I'll be fine" I reassured him. The view from the car window gradually began to change from cityscapes to countryside. The fields stretched on for as far as you could see and the mountains towered over us.
We approached a blockade with construction signs and men in builder uniforms. One man holding a red flag stopped us. He walked up to the window and Bang Chan rolled it down.
"Hayakute kiken" he said
I recognised the language. Japanese. It was the code phrase that only contestants would know.
I pulled my ticket out of my pocket and replied to him.
"Hai, onegaishimasu"
He smiled before speaking in english
"What about that guy?" He pointed to the van behind us
"My friends" I told him,"they're with me" He nodded
"Are you the only contestant among your group?" He asked
"Yes" I answered
"Please come with me, your friends can go down that path to spectate the race" he pointed toward another road that led to the spectating area
"Ok, let me just tell the van behind us" I told him
"Sure, don't take to long" he said and turned to talk to his crew. I grabbed my weapon and skates before walking to the other van
"What's happening?" Jimin asked
"You are going to go that way to the spectators area and I'm going this way to the starting line" I explained
"You sure you're gonna be okay?" he asked
"I'm sure, the med kit is in the other van" I told him. Jimin looked more worried than usual. His face is full of panic. He got out of the car and engulfed me in a tight hug.
"Please be careful" he said
"I will" I smiled whilst hugging him back. With one last glance over my shoulder, I walked toward the man who was going to take me to the starting line. He led me through the fake construction site and to a cable car that was going to take us to the summit of the mountain
"Have you entered this contest before?" He asked me once the cable car started moving
"Yeah"
"Oh, so you were here the last time we were in this city" he said
"Yes" I replied
"I wasn't here last time so I didn't see you. How did you do?" he asked
"I think I did okay, I didn't get the prize but I survived. I didn't place badly either, I think I came third or something like that"
"That's good, we'll see what happens today"
"Yeah, we'll see" We remained silent for a little bit. The ride was going to take longer than I thought, the mountain was really tall and steep-ish.
"Right I almost forgot" I turned to face him,"I have more friends coming"
"More?" He asked
"Yes, eight more. The leaders name is Hongjoong. Please let them pass if you see them" I said. He nodded
"We also have a fake construction site on the road at the top of the mountain, they may come from there" he explained
"Could you maybe tell your other team while you're up there?" I asked
"Yeah, sure" he said
"Thank you" I smiled
"Are any other contestants here already?" I asked
"No, you're the first one" Suddenly, the cable car abrutly stopped. Me and the man stumbled before falling on the floor.
"Shit" he sighed,"sorry, we didn't plan on this happening" I got up and dusted myself off
"It's fine" I looked at the view from out the window,"how long do think we'll be stuck?"
"It depends on what's wrong" he replied. He pulled a walkie talkie from his belt and spoke to the person on the other end of the line
"Can you fix it?" He listened carefully
"Ok, see you then" He turned to face me
"The gears jammed, my friend said it will take 10min" he told me. I sighed and sat down on the floor
"Might as well introduce ourselves" he sat down across from me
"Sure" I shrugged and crossed my legs
"What's your name?"
"Hera. Yours?"
"Jackson" We lost track of time as we spoke. We seemed to have forgotten that we were stuck in a cable car.
"What is you-" the cable car started moving when Jackson was in the middle of his sentence. The sudden movement had us falling to the side. We recovered quickly and stood up. I noticed that we were approaching the top of the mountain much faster than before.
"They seem to have not only fixed the gears but the speed as well" Jackson pointed out. We reached the top and exited the cable car.
"Will I see you at the finish line?" I asked
"You might if you don't get wiped out during the race" he replied
"Then that means I'll see you there" I smiled cheekily. He chuckled and headed to the other fake construction site
"Be careful out there" he called over his shoulder. I nodded and walked to the start line and sat down. Even though it was early I wanted to warm up, so I pulled my white converse shoes off and slipped on my skates. After tightening the skates I did a few small circles. I looked around me and noticed something.
A crane? I thought
To the right of the starting line was a small crane, it's arm stretched out and stopped in the middle of the path. It was raised into the air and had a hook dangling about three metres above the ground. I had never seen a crane being part of the contest before. They couldn't have just put it there for nothing.
Time past quickly as more contestants began to arrive. Drones started circling above us to capture footage from the air. I counted twelve people in total, including me. I was a little bit nervous, the memories from the last time flooded my head.
All of a sudden I got a chill down my spine, as if someone was watching me. I looked around but didn't see anything.
I'm just being paranoid, right?
_______________________________________
Hey readers.
I'm convined I've come up with a new game.(the Rollerblading contest)
PS: and yes. It is Jackson Wang
Visuals:
The Abandoned skate park