Timeless

Chapter Five

The night air was frigid as Shuhua was swiftly led throughout the campus. The smell of rain hung in the air as a storm had struck the academy a few hours prior. The leaves on the trees danced as the chilled breeze passed them by, occasionally causing goosebumps to form on the back of Shuhua's neck.

Shuhua glanced over to her right where Yuqi was huffing and puffing, a scowl turning the corners of her lips down. Being the strongest out of them all, and the one who had enhanced stamina, Yuqi was tasked to carry Miyeon. At the moment, Miyeon was being their scout, watching the future them to see if they run into any guards, and to help steer them away so they wouldn't have to make such encounters.

Shuhua can't even begin to grasp that concept. Seeing into the future seems like something that would feel... Almost unreal? Like a dream, yet a dream that is waiting to happen just around the corner. She wonders if Miyeon sees it in the third person, like a spectator watching over her own body, or in first. If it was in first, would she experience the same emotions and thoughts that the future her is? If she did, how would she still think the past her's thoughts and know to pull herself out if she is so in tune with what is happening in the future? It's all very confusing to her, but does seem like a good conversation that Shuhua should have with Miyeon later on.

"Turn left, hide behind the tree," Miyeon's voice announced, no louder than a whisper.

Without delay, everyone did as they were told and hid. Shuhua let her back hit the tree trunk, Soyeon glued at her side. Minnie and Soojin crouched down, masking themselves behind the lush bush that stood proudly next to the tree. Yuqi, on the other hand, activated her ability and leaped up into the tree with a nearly unconscious Miyeon in her arms, letting the foliage conceal them.

Shortly after they had all fallen quiet, heavy footsteps collided with the pavement.

Feeling a little curious, Shuhua took a hasty peek, observing the glow from the street light reflect off of a familiar badge. A badge that belonged to the campus officers.

This one in particular had the name of "Huang Li" on it, which was the name of an officer who had nearly caught her before.

In the blink of an eye, he had long passed.

"Come on, let's continue on," Yuqi whispered, dropping out of the tree with Miyeon in her arms.

Miyeon hung weakly in Yuqi's hold. Her skin was slightly pale, and small, dark circles began to form under her eyes. Her red hair was slick with sweat, sticking to her forehead whilst the rest of her body was cold to the touch. Shuhua knows these all to be classical signs of overexertion of one's abilities. She has gone through the exact same thing multiple times. Most species with abilities like theirs have.

"Yeah, we need to get going fast. I'll take her now," Minnie stated firmly, promptly taking Miyeon into her arms with great care. Shuhua could almost swear that she saw Minnie's red eyes soften as she looked at the angel in her arms, but it was still a little hard to tell in the dark. "Soojin, speed us all up a bit, will you?"

A small grumble came from behind Shuhua, causing the girl to flinch in surprise. She didn't know that the blond was just towering over her the entire time. But what shocked her even more was the quickening rate of her heart and the blinks that felt faster than ever. With every few steps she took, she moved around at a much more rapid pace, finding that everyone was crossing the distance that they needed to cross at a much quicker rate.

While Shuhua wanted to walk near the front of the group with the others, she decided on staying at the flank, beside Soojin. You know, just so she could help her if she was exerting too much energy.

***

Shuhua gave Yuqi an incredulous look, deeply confused. It turns out that Yuqi's "Top-secret Hang Out Spot" is a large crack in an old willow tree. No wonder she kept it a secret.