ethereal | park jimin | ✓

chapter 23 where's my angel?

"JIMIN! JUNGKOOK! COME BACK!" Taehyung screams into the void of expanding darkness. He thrashes violently against the tight grip of rubber gloves. His deep voice echoes off the sterile white hospital walls.

A flare of fresh pain burns down across his back with each wild movement. He arches his spine before his body gives out and forces him to lie down on the starchy blankets.

"COME BACK! COME BACK!" he continues to scream until his throat feels as if it's bleeding. "DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN!"

Distorted images of ghost-white figures and padded rooms flash through his head like lightning strikes.

Everything from the scent of the disinfectant, the prickling sensation of needles against his sweaty skin, the way his voice echoes off the walls, brings him straight back into the laboratory and reminds him of every "doctor" visit he had to endure.

I can't trust these men! I have to escape before they try to change me again! I have to escape this place! I have to save the others! They're in danger too!

Yet the world around Taehyung begins to fade away into muffled darkness and incoherent whispers.

His voice dies in his throat and his body slackens against the body.

His heart continues to race inside of his chest making it difficult to breathe correctly.

We're going to die here. They're going to hurt us again.

With those parting thoughts, he is dragged under into the world of strange dreams and caged nightmares.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

"Taehyungie? Please wake up... the men are watching us again... can you wake up?"

Taehyung opened his eyes and found Jimin staring down at him. He sat up immediately and looked beyond the cage walls.

Three men stood outside of the cage. Their faces reflected the eerie glow of the tablets in their hands. Their faces are identical.

No, Taehyung reminds himself, they weren't identical. They were different every time. I just never paid attention to them.

Jimin pressed himself against Taehyung's side and held on to his arm. He rested his head on top of Taehyung's shoulder, still watching the men through the corner of his eye. "They are talking about Jungkook again. They said they are going to move him in our cage."

That's right. Jungkook used to be in a different cage before they moved him.

"I want to go home," Jimin whispered.

"Me too," Taehyung agreed quietly.

"Do you think we can?" Jimin turned to face him, his gaze was sincere. "One day... Do you think we can leave this place?"

Taehyung gulped. "I hope so."

Jimin sighed and lowered his head. "I don't want to die here. I want to go home... I miss it so much..." His eyes slowly filled with tears. He fought them back for a moment before allowing the tears to slide down his grime-stained face. He pressed the back of his hand against his mouth and leaned forward. "I don't know if I can do this for much longer. How long can I do this..."

I remember this. He said this many times in many ways. I felt terrible that I could never reassure him about the future. I felt like there was nothing I could do to help him.

Taehyung rested his hand on Jimin's trembling shoulder. "We just have to keep going... We can't give up now. I think there's a way we can escape. We just have to keep fighting."