Oceanine - Ateez Pirate AU -

Chapter twelve

Your eyes widened to the size of saucers the second you saw Mingi dragging Yeosang by the wrist, them zig-zagging haphazardly through the cobblestone path. Poor Yeosang could barely keep up with Mingi's sprint and staggered trying to run faster just not to tumble down on the stack of coconuts they just passed. But he had to. There were at least five armoured men chasing them down the central path of the market with their pistols glinting under the midday sun pointing directly at them.

Market goers and vendors scrambled aside in a frenzy of shouts and clattering metal just not to get run over. Small children hiding in their mothers's skirts and old people shouting back curse words at them in their groggy and phased voices.

You legs began burning with effort as San dragged you towards the dock by your wrist, taking you right behind Mingi and Yeosang who were already ahead of you, the quartermaster not-so-kindly yelling at you to move faster down the sandy downhill path.

The voices in the market square began fading away and sequentially got replaced by your heavy breathing and hurrying footfalls thundering in your ears.

The guards were just at your tail and were catching up quickly. Too quickly. They ordered for you to freeze immediately or they would begin shooting now that they couldn't harm the villagers anymore. But it was all in vain at the sight of the tip of the mainmast of the Treasure just a couple of hundred feet away.

San dragged you zig-zagging around to make hitting you harder for the armed men. Bullets flew juts overhead as you ducked down some branches in the way while Mingi and Yeosang were already screaming for the rest of the crew to loose the moorings and detangle the sails. And from the look of it, Yunho already spotted the problem from his station up in the crow's nest, already jumping down and sliding on a rope and hitting the deck in mere seconds.

San panted a few encouraging words, although they were strongly tanged with hurry and a good dose of frustration. And just as he took a sharp turn left, another shot rung out and struck a tree trunk you just passed. He didn't have to repeat whatever he was saying twice because your legs started to move faster and faster until everything you could hear were your feet hitting the ground. It didn't take a genius to figure out that if you didn't want to get shot and arrested, you would have to run faster.

Your thighs stung with a piercing wave of pain as you jumped behind San over a red patch of sand crawling with ants and ending on the other side with your knees almost giving way underneath your weight and one of your ankles bending awkwardly to the side.

In the hurry to diverge from the guards you lost sight of the quartermaster and the medic. They probably took another path and had already reached the docks and most likely already figured out that the guards weren't following them anymore. Instead they decided to keep running for you.

They were near. So damn near. You could hear their footsteps catching up to you and San who was desperately trying to find a way to create more distance between you and the chasers. You could hear his hard breathing and watch his head twist left and right for a way out and back and forth to check both you and the guards behind.

In between the path that let to the village and the docks stood a patch of bright green vegetation, tangled with slimy vines and tall palm trees packed with ripe dates and coconuts.

Another sharp turn and you found yourselves inside the the forest surrounded by almost neon green leaves and hundreds of vines at your disposal.

The guards reached the spot you breeched and started shouting for you to come in sight. San froze on his spot, his hand still tight around your wirst when he suddenly jerked you behind a tree trunk hidden by wide leaves.