Scattered [ONF ff]

Chapter 10

Sirens blared through the night, warning everyone within this metal trap sheltered by a mountain. The moon was trying to lull everyone to sleep but this organisation wouldn't listen.

Everything had gone smoothly until they had managed to make their way in. Changyun had been sure they had been as careful as possible, planning out their actions in the forest surrounding this base, going over every possibility they could come across and mapping the cameras they saw, but it still wasn't enough. Yuto had carefully crafted an opening in the main door, forcing a corner up from a short distance by making the earth fight the big metal slate. It had been just enough to crawl through and made them feel successful.

But then they learnt that the technology here didn't sleep either. Seungjun had phased through the large door easily, Hyojin had crawled through the self-made entrance and Jaeyoung had followed him quickly. Then, it was Changyun's turn, and he wondered what he had done wrong. The second he dropped on his stomach, the building began to scream. The large structure lit up in flickering red lights and a siren put everyone on alert.

They didn't know if anyone occupied this place, but the likelihood was too big to ignore the possibility. Changyun rushed through the opening as quickly as he could and helped Minkyun and Yuto hurry up.

Without saying anything, Seungjun gave them a hiding place. Multiple large vehicles were stored in this cement room. Old green cars—much more robust than Minkyun's van—had their backs covered by large plastic sheets. Seungjun pushed two of those aside and ushered everyone to split up and hide underneath. Changyun took Minkyun to hide in the one closest, climbing into the back and having the sheet pulled back over the small pipes making the shape of a cage. After having made sure everything looked as if it hadn't moved, Seungjun quickly phased in.

He closed a raised palm to sign for silence, but Changyun didn't need to be told that. His breath was as shallow as possible and stopped completely when a door slammed open. The only thing he couldn't silence was the thundering in his chest. This couldn't go bad already. He didn't want a fight to break out.

The thumping must've been audible. A hand locked with his own and he saw Minkyun's smile flash his way. But it was forced, fear was plastered on his face and his other fingers were clenched around the black handgun. Minkyun had discarded his bag in the forest along with his and Hyojin's coats so nothing would weigh them down, but he had been sure to grab the weapon. Changyun wished he wouldn't have to use it.

Time began to pass. It took five more deafening seconds before the sirens were turned off and Changyun could differentiate the footsteps. Two. No, three? It was hard to hear how many people were searching the space around them, but it was more than he would've liked.

"What set it off this time?" a person grumbled in a low voice, standing but a step away from Changyun. He made eye contact with Seungjun but he was concentrating too much on the outside to notice. Hopefully the others were able to keep just as quiet.

❧☙

Hyojin tried not to hiss through his teeth at the annoying throb in his shin. While jumping into this cargo bed, he had stupidly knocked his leg on the metal side and a bruise was forming. But he had to stay as frozen as possible. He wasn't allowed to cough out the stuffy air or sneeze at the dust particles that had sprung up when the old sheets were moved. Seungjun had been impressively quick but Hyojin hadn't been able to see if he had made it to the other truck in time; given the confusion of the people that had come to search, he must've.

From what little Hyojin had caught, this area appeared to be a loading bay of sorts. Large vehicles of all kinds were parked near the two opposing walls and any empty place seemed to have been stacked with wooden boxes, trolleys and crates. Everything had a grey haze over it and Hyojin wondered if anything here had seen the light of day lately.