VAMPIRE SURVIVAL - ENHYPEN

The Map of Kalbaek

I clutched on to my bottle containing the last few drops of water I'd have for goodness knows how long. Just the thought of returning to the place that I had only been in for a day sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't even imagine how the others - who'd been there as long as they could remember - felt. I glanced at Heeseung, who knew well that he could be about to face the same fate as Ameena right now. His face was like stone, his features set perfectly still so as not to betray any emotion. I turned to see Jay, who seemed to be hovering anxiously around Heeseung, unsure whether to say anything. Despite his cool appearance, I could tell he was the warm type. He had an arm around Jungwons shoulders as we trudged thought the leaves. 

Next to them were Sunoo and Sunghoon, who seemed to be having some sort of therapy session. Sunoo's face was contorted with worry and he was expressing something to the latter fervently. I'd noticed that when Sunoo spoke he expressed himself with his entire body. If he was passionate about his words, he would do some sort of bodyroll starting from his head and ending at his torso, whilst Sunghoon listened to him quietly, occasionally chuckling to himself at the youngers remarks.

Jake was walking with a hand on Ni-ki's back like a responsible older brother. I hadn't seen much of Jake till now. Ni-ki seemed to be especially affectionate of him and I'd seen them joke around together a lot today. It looked to me like Jake was always keeping an eye out for the younger and making sure that he was happy, and Ni-ki adored him back. It was clear that Ni-ki adored all his hyungs, and although he might have teased them, he respected and loved them a lot.

The dynamics of the seven of them were sweet, and they all seemed to rely on each other when things got tough. I remembered that feeling when I felt like I could trust someone; that I had someone to rely on when I needed it the most too. That was until she left me to the orphanage with no warning. I found myself craving the same bond that they had for each other. That's when I knew I wanted to grow up with them and have that same bond that they had with each other.

We reached the orphanage some time later when the sun was almost fully set. In the background of oranges and reds, the orphanage looks like a haunted castle with its stone walls and towering buildings. I glance at Heeseung nervously, who sends me a reassuring look before turning to the others.

'Ok, Ameena said the map is in Miss Jang's office. The only doors to the room are the huge ones that you need a key to unlock, so our best bet is the passageway at the back of the building that goes to the old corridor. We'll need to be careful not to be caught, which won't be too hard since most of the matrons are putting the kids to sleep,' Heeseung told us. Then he turned and walked off towards the building that towered over us ominously. I cowered behind Sunghoon as we crept along. Heeseung took us to the back of the orphanage and down the stone path to the gardens that looked oddly sinister in this light. We trudged through the leaves in the cold for what felt like a decade until we finally reached a small wooden hut that looked like a garden shed. Heeseung reached out to it and I sighed in relief, ready to embrace the warmth. But rather than grabbing the handle, he grabbed a rake and began to sweep the floor. I stared in disbelief as the others watched in silence like this was a normal occurrence. I nudged Ni-ki.

'What's he doing?'

Ni-ki smiled. 'You'll see.' I turned back to Heeseung and saw that he had ditched the rake and was gesturing at us to come closer. I walked towards him. Just then, he jumped. I stared at the ground into which Heeseung had disappeared and saw the pile of leaves which Heeseung had brushed aside. I stared at the others with worry and confusion. Just then I heard a voice from below us.

'Come on then! Don't leave my down here by myself, even twelve year olds get scared sometimes!'

'Coming hyung!' Ni-ki shouted, before walking backwards and then stopping a few meters away from the hole. We watched as he prepared to do a running jump. I gasped, not wanting to lose another friend to the hole. I grabbed his arm to pull him back but his force was too strong and we both went tumbling down it. We dropped a good few meters and landed on the soft mud with a 'thud'. We seemed to be in some underground passageway. Ni-ki rubbed his head as he got to his feet.

'What did you grab on for? You could have gotten hurt you know?' Ni-ki told me, lending a hand to get to my feet. But I'd landed awkwardly on my ankle which was throbbing slightly. I winced as I put my weight on it.

'Are you hurt?' Heeseung asked.

'Just a little bit, I'll be fine,' I told him as the others landed next to us one by one. 'Where are we anyway?'

'We're underneath the orphanage. This is the pathway we use incase of an evacuation. If I get my bearings right we'll be inside Miss Carter's office soon enough,' Heeseung explained. We followed him down the dark tunnel, the light on his phone which he held up was the only thing lighting the path. I shivered slightly as we made our way through the darkness.

We passed multiple doors; some rusty metal ones, some rotting wooden ones, some big, some small, some rectangular, and some oval. I stared at each of them as we passed. We came to a sop after about three minutes. Heeseung put a finger to his mouth to indicate silence, and took a deep breath as he put his hand on the knob of a grand looking royal blue door. He opened it and walked up the rusty metal steps leading to a similar looking door. W all followed suit. Cautiously, he put an ear to the door and none of us breathed. After a while, he nodded at us and opened the door noiselessly just a crack. He peered through the crack at the room and then proceeded to opening fully. He ushered us all in and shut the door hastily. Then he ran to the door on the other side of the room and put an ear to that one.

'All clear. Ok, we need to be quick. She said that James found the map when he was being punished by standing in the forbidden corner,' Heeseung declared. He turned to the to right corner of the room and ran for the drawers that lined it. He pulled them open and rummaged through their contents, the rest of us joining him. We searched and searched but none of us could find anything of importance. Finally, Jay broke the silence.

'Hyung, there's nothing here,' he said, laying a hand on Heeseung's shoulder gently.

'There has to-' but Heeseung's reply was cut short. Outside we heard voices approaching.

'I swear Ma'am, I sent a whole search party for those kids, but they were no where to be found.'

'Well then you'd best find them or you'll find yourself unemployed within the next two days! We need that old one for those experiments or we won't have any research produced this year! Once he find out that he's got powers he'll be one of the best ones we've had yet, I'm sure of it!'

We all turned to look at Heeseung, who was standing in the same way he had the day before just before we fled the orphanage. But this time he was looking down at his hands, which he held up to his torso as though he were expecting magic to come flying out of them. He seemed to come back to his senses, and gestured to all of us to get out. The others ran, but my ankle was throbbing worse than ever. They were all almost out the door, and I hurried to keep up with them. Suddenly, I tripped over a loose bit of floorboard and fell to the floor. The floorboard came up and landed next to me with a 'thud'. Heeseung turned and ran to help me up, but froze as he caught sight of the floorboard. Stuck to the bottom of it with sellotape was a piece of paper with the words 'Map of Kalbaek' on it. He gasped. The voices came closer and closer until they were just outside the door. Heeseung ripped the piece of paper from the board and grabbed my arm, but my ankle was throbbing so hard I could barely move. I heard the click of the door being opened and Heeseung and I exchanged hopeless looks.

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Hey guys! Did you enjoy that chapter? Sorry again since it was a day late, just a lot going on recently. If you're ever curious about chapter updates, feel free to check out my YouTube since I sometimes update about it there (link in the comments). Also don't forget to stream Bite Me and Sacrifice, they're mv's and choreo and vocals are amazing and they deserve so many more views and streams! Lets give them back as much love as they give us. Just a reminder that looping the mvs are a huge help, and even if you want to listen to a different song to it you could just mute it. Our boys would appreciate it so much!! Please show them all the love they deserve and don't forget to vote for them.

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