Chaos.
Meaning a state of utter confusion, disorder, or disarray. Yet, not even this word can describe the hell that's been unleashed through this Royal Navy attack.
As I weave through the stands of the outdoor market-- leaving behind a frantic Seonghwa in its wake-- I think I can still hear him calling for me even now that I've exited the large formation of stands.
I find myself entering the back alleys, the same ones I took last time to visit Iseul with San. It's just as empty as I remember it, save for a couple of dead bodies sprawled around and left deformed from bomb shrapnel and gunshots. These people probably crawled all the way here to die. I feel bile rising in my throat and it takes everything in me to not just throw up my entrails right about now.
Moving on from the horrific sight, I occasionally have to freeze when I hear gunshots too close, or when a stray cannon shot crashes somewhere around me out of fear of getting shrapnel stuck in my skin. It's been probably 10 minutes that I've wasted in running around since I left Seonghwa behind, and I'm still not anywhere closer to getting to our missing members than before.
I slowed down the pace I was at the minute I started walking on the run-down cobblestone street, but I still feel exhausted from my prior running. I'm panting heavily as I try my best to steady my heartbeat. An enormously difficult task considering the explosions and the fighting that is keeping me on edge and accelerated.
My panting was so loud I almost missed the rustling in the bushes behind me. It was probably a couple of steps ahead of the salient bush that would rustle when I gave it my back, yet still when I faced it.
A small chill slithers down my back causing me to shiver when I notice this unsettling detail about the bush. Moving my hand to where my satchel would be if I had it, I realize I left it back at the diner. I curse myself mentally and start getting frantic because that means I don't have my chakrams. And if I don't have my chakrams, I don't have a weapon to protect myself. I could use my magic, but I risk using up more of my energy that way.
Oh god, I think to myself, Why did it have to be now?
I ball up my hands into tight fists, swallowing down my fear of what's lying in wait for me. I don't have a physical object to protect me and I can't really rely too much on my reaction time with my magic, but I can't go on oblivious to the rustling bush. Someone could be waiting to blow my brains out.
Anxiety and a restless curiosity get the better of me. I find myself slowly sliding over to the bush, holding my breath as I do. The closer I get the more noticeable the tiny droplets of blood become. The crimson droplets get thicker, creating a trail that leads all the way to the bush. I think I hear a small gasp come from whoever is hiding in there when I bend down. My heart pounds against my rib cage mercilessly and I begin doubting myself.
What are you doing, Sun-Mi? Stop being stupid!
No matter how much my mind nags at me, my body acts of its own free will. I stretch out a trembling hand to part the large set of bushes hiding whoever it is that's there from me. My thoughts run wild, throwing hundreds of deadly scenarios, but nothing stops my limbs from grabbing the bush and parting it violently to reveal who's there.
All I see is a blond streak shoot up out of the bushes covered in a dark red liquid that's coming from its face. I hear the cocking of a gun followed by the toying of a trigger and instinctually my magic reacts, building a makeshift barrier out of the roots of the bush. The roots enlarge and build a wall in front of me so that when the gunshot goes off, it makes contact with the root instead of my head.
Whoever was there had spun around so quickly and I had freaked out badly, which meant I didn't get a good look. When I peak around the corner to see who it was, all I see is the familiar form of the blond navigator of the Aurora stumbling and groaning like a madman as he tries to escape. He has his back to me so I can't see his face but I notice that he's discarded his blue jacket and that while he carries his pistol in one hand, his other hand remains on his head.
I follow after him, calling his name. This could just be another Illusion of Sehun's but if it were, Yeosang would've stayed to do me more harm. No, this is the real navigator. There's no way Sehun is playing his mind games. Not yet, at least.
"YEOSANG!" I shout after him once more and he seems to hear me this time. He stops at a tree just up ahead of me, leaning on it heavily for support. He looks so weak and tired that it's beginning to eat at me and I start worrying, getting ready in case of any severe wounds, but what I found was more than I could fathom.
When I reach him, I extend a hand to his shoulder, making him turn slightly. He was so weak that when I turned him, he pressed his back against the tree he was leaning on and began to slide down. I had to hold him up by his arms so that he wouldn't fall completely.
His head seemed to loll to the side with this motion but his hand remained clamped down around his right eye. The navigator's once cotton-white shirt was terribly soaked in what I suspect is his blood that's trickling down from where his hand is covering his eye.
"Yeosang, move your hand I need to see—," I regret moving his hand because the minute I do I'm faced with the sight of his horribly injured eye. It seems to me that he suffered a bullet wound because of the injury and the blood still coming out of there. His whole eye is terribly swollen and the way his dark red blood crawls down his paled skin makes me want to hurl, but I need to keep it together.
"Sun-Mi?" He pants, getting exhausted from the loss of blood and his awkward attempt at running away from me. "It hurts. It was numb at first but now it hurts and the pain is spreading to the rest of my head." He shakes his head, sliding further down and this time I can't stop him. He whimpers softly, sniffling as he brings his hands to where he can see them with his good eye and panicking when he sees how much blood he's lost. He goes frantic trying to get up but I stop him, figuring that I'll have to heal him just enough for him to get back to Bina's without more harm.
"No, you have to stay still for me. You're in no shape to move at all." I steady him by the shoulders, feeling his body slowly getting weaker as he struggles to stay focused on me. "I'm going to heal you but you have to tell me what happened. Can you do that?" He bobs his head just enough to signal a yes, taking a big gulp of air before informing me of the events. As he does, I inspect his wound closely.
"I was at the docks with Wooyoung. We were..." he furrows his brows and winces when he moves the damaged side of his face as he tries to recall the events, "... We were talking about something when the first cannon shot went off."
"Keep going," I prompt, lightly patting the injured area to make sure he can still feel. He sucks in a sharp breath and I'm relieved that his nerves haven't been damaged because that would've been really bad.
"When the first cannonball hit, I remember feeling confused. It wasn't until the second shot that I reacted. Wooyoung ran straight to the Aurora but I stayed behind to get the rest of the crew-- Ack!" He whines in pain when I apply pressure to the wound. From what I can gauge, whatever hurt him narrowly missed his eye, amazingly. "After I went for the rest of the crew, I was making my way back when some soldier ambushed me, trying to stab me with his musket and he got my eye. How bad is it?"
I curl my top lip when I see the small piece of skin that has been detached from his forehead.
"It's not that bad," I try to lie through my teeth and he responds by giving me a weak chuckle.
"You're terrible at lying, you know that? It's a shame such a handsome face got mutilated."
"Shut up." I silence him, apologizing afterward under my breath for being so curt. My nerves are beginning to be put on edge as I work to conjure up some magic. The tantalizing white glow of my physical magic lights up the skin under my palm that I've placed against Yeosang's gruesome injury to try to heal it. I press my lips tighter against each other as I bring my eyebrows down to concentrate. Chanting under my breath, I feel myself work a little bit to try to heal most of his wound, or at least enough to seal it.
I hear him let out a small moan from the pressure I'm applying on his skin as he squirms under my grip. He scrunches up his nose, clenching his jaw tightly and balling up his fists.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered repeatedly, not knowing how painful this must be for him. Although the magic treatment may speed up his healing process, it's certainly not a walk in the park. For me to return his skin to its state prior to what happened, I have to mend it together like if I were to stitch it and it's not a very pretty thing to experience without a painkiller. His skin is so tender to the touch that when I'm done, even the soft breeze that hits it is painful for him. "Again, I'm so sorry about this, but I needed to pull the wound close or else—,"
"It's fine. Your perfectly fine." Yeosang breathes out heavily as if he's been holding in his breath whilst waving me off. "Just help me up to get me back to where I need to be." He holds out his hand shakily and I grip his arm securely, pulling him up with what strength I have. I feel an odd sensation probably because of my overexertion on Yeosang's wound, but something about this is unsettling.
Trying to distinguish what it could be while I maneuver the injured navigator toward Bina's, I hear a soft whispering in the rustling leaves around us, something I just noticed. An ominous feeling that I've never felt before coils itself around my body, almost trying to tug me backward but at the same time, I'm able to move onward freely.
The instant that I look back over my shoulder I notice a thin speck of wood sailing at our heads and in a heartbeat, I pull down Yeosang with me as the object flies over our head with a small whistle. The object lodges itself in the trunk of a tree that lies a bit past us and it takes me a second to recognize it as an arrow.
Whipping my head back, I freeze in my spot. My eyes take in the figure of the last person I expected to see but relieved nonetheless by the friendly face.
"Oh, Yunho, thank god you're here. Hurry! Help me get Yeosang back to Bina's!" I rush him, attempting to pick up Yeosang from the floor but stopping when I notice the brunette's eccentric movements. He lumbers in our direction, towering over us with an inscrutable expression. "W-What are you doing? This isn't a time to be pulling a prank!" I chastise frantically, recognizing the source of this ominous feeling.
His shadow casts itself on us as he makes his way slowly but steadily, determined. His steps sound heavy on the grass, like if he were carrying a large amount of weight on his back, and his breath sounds strained as his shoulders heave with every exhale. I shake Yeosang's shoulder, unable to tear my eyes off of Yunho's clearly abnormal form stalking toward us. Full of evil intent.
Yeosang finally lifts his head meekly to get a good look, gasping at the sight of our assailant with just as much shock as me. This man before us remains unrecognizable even though we both have already registered who it is.
The main details about him remain untouched-- from his curly brown hair to his tall and slender build-- but the distant look in his eyes and the imminent threat he poses with his gait makes him seem completely different.
This is not our Yunho. Not in a million years.
His shadow, a form incomprehensible from the way it moves and twitches with inhuman mannerisms, begins to swallow us as he gets closer and closer with every step, a menacing smile creeping up, on his lips. The familiar ominous feeling that had arisen earlier, resurfaces with a new wave of intimidation and terror. The shadow swallowing us becomes clearer the more it swallows us, resembling the faint outline of a wolf-type beast.
Yeosang and I find ourselves frozen where we fell when I moved us out of harm's way. I open my mouth to address the brunette, to tell him to stop, but fear wraps itself around my throat, tightening its terrible tendrils and keeping its suffocating hold. But it isn't Yunho's gait that makes us cower as he inches towards us, it's the deranged look in his eye.
His unnerving stare is fixed on me, and me solely, not even batting an eye in the navigator's direction. I gulp loudly, hoping that someone, anyone, could pull me or slap me out of my state but no matter what I yell at or command my brain to do, my body won't budge.
I remain frozen as Yunho advances. His blank yet murderous eyes never fail to leave my form, even when he raises both hands holding the bow that shot the deadly arrow above his head. Even when Yeosang yells at the brunette, trying his best in his weakened state to deter him from harming me. Even when he brings the bow down as fast as he can on my head he never lets the sight of me go. I think, if I'm not wrong, I see him almost smile sadistically at my terror-filled face as he brings his weapon down.
Time slows down and I don't know if that's an unconscious happening because of my magic or if this is an effect of some pre-death events. Either way, the world's speed decreases, allowing me to take in every single moment that the daunting bow barrels toward my cranium.
Clamping my eyes shut, I wait for the sweet stillness of unconsciousness to consume me but it doesn't happen. Before the brunette can fully bring the weapon down, a deep raspy voice shrieks... calling him.
"YUNHO!" Mingi wails as loud as he can, rushing over to where the three of us are. He rips me out of whatever spell I had gone under, bringing the world back up to speed. My eyes snap open and I'm faced with one pointy end of Yunho's bow, just barely a centimeter away from completely boring into my skull. I look up horrified at the brunette to see an unexpected change in his expression. "YUNHO, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
As if in response to hearing his friend, Yunho retracts his weapon, looking at me ruefully. There is both fear and shock underlying in his irises and he brings a hand to cover his mouth, a gesture to stop himself from saying anything. What he does next is what catches all of us off-guard.
"Yunho, please stop doing this!" Mingi pleads, "This isn't you! Just come back and we can work this out!"
While the red-headed quartermaster works to reach out to grab his lifelong best friend, Yunho senses this and he cowers away shaking his head severely. His attention snaps between Mingi, Yeosang, and me, and being unable to give a proper explanation to what he was trying to do, he begins to back away into the large group of trees behind him. He shakes his head giving his best friend an apologetic look before dashing off into the woods, breaking into the fastest sprint I've seen from him yet. Every second I sit and stare, he goes deeper and deeper into those woods.
"M-Mingi," I hear myself utter but I don't feel myself speak up. I'm still quite shaken up by the recent near-death experience and the tall quartermaster can see it registered on my face. When I finally do look in his direction, our expressions match. Expressions exhibiting both confusion and worry for our crewmate that's gone astray.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you guys? What the hell happened?" Mingi begins to bombard me with questions, rushing over to help me with Yeosang. Once we've finally helped the navigator stand I begin explaining but more so ranting.
"I was working to get Yeosang to heal his wound, and when I did I heard an arrow coming toward us, so I pulled us both out of harm's way and turned to see our attacker, but I didn't expect to see Yunho standing there looking so threateningly." I shake my head, unable to make sense of what's going on. "He looked so terrifying when he tried to harm me. Something is wrong with him, Mingi, and if we don't help him, I'm afraid we might lose him."
Mingi looks in the direction that his friend went off in, a sorrowful expression spreading across his sharp features.
"I know."
"How can we help him if we don't know what's wrong?" Yeosang vocalizes and the redhead looks back at us, the question eating at both our minds.
"We won't know what's wrong if we don't get him back. I'm going after him."
"What?" Mingi and the navigator both demand when they hear my resolution.
"You can't possibly think of going after him! He just tried to kill us!" Yeosang hisses, trying to give me his most threatening glare with his good eye. I look at both men with a look of determination. I'm not going to let them sway me out of this.
"Someone has to go after him."
"Then let it be me." The quartermaster interrupts. "I've known him the longest!" I shake my head, facing the way Yunho escaped once again.
"No, there's something wrong with him and I don't mean it as a simple thing. The minute he got near Yeosang and I, I felt an extra presence with us. One I hadn't felt in ages." Scanning the direction that Yunho went in, a plan starts to form in my head. "This is something I have to do myself. If I'm right, we could be in deep trouble with Yunho."
"But what if he hurts you?!" Yeosang attempts to deter me once more. "What if you get hurt and no one is there for you? What are we supposed to tell Captain?" I chew the inside of my cheek before I answer.
"If I'm not back at Bina's with Yunho in half an hour, send someone after me. Deal?" It takes both men with me a minute to decide but they come to the unanimous decision quickly, seeing that they have no time to waste.
"Deal. I'll take Yeosang the rest of the way to Bina's. Be safe. For all of us." Mingi finalizes, giving me a wholehearted look, before taking our blonde navigator out of my hands completely and throwing him like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder. Yeosang doesn't mind for now, considering this will take much faster than if he had to walk all the way to Bina's. They throw one last goodbye over their shoulder before taking off in the direction of Bina's diner.
I turn to face the woods where Yunho ran off to, staring at the thickness of trees that will envelop me as soon as I step foot in there. Scarily enough, I can still feel that ominous sensation. It grows weaker with every tick I let pass by.
Swallowing down my doubt, I nod, taking my first step in the direction of the scary feeling. I have to bring back Yunho. Even if it means dealing with the things controlling him.