Monster's Labyrinth ~ Hyunlix

>47<

(Hidden In The Sand • Tally Hall)

For five straight seconds everybody looked at the boy's dead body. Everybody looked over to the ghostly pale Jisung, who stood as if petrified. They saw him gulp.

"Jun-ho?" He muttered. "Jun-ho, what happened to your neck?" He slowly walked over to Chan, who had to clench his eyes shut in order to prevent himself from crying.

"Jun-ho, baby?" Jisung shoved Changbin aside in the large lift and grabbed the boy's pale face. Jeongin didn't retrieve his hand. The boy must've broken his neck when he was slammed against the wall by that tentacle. He had probably been dead at once. He hoped.

Hyunjin clenched his eyes shut and turned away, and Felix did too. The younger one grabbed Hyunjin's hand, trying to suppress the sobs that would soon follow his tears. Hyunjin squeezed Felix's hand.

They heard a certain sound from Jisung that was close to both a sob and a scoff. "Jun-ho, why aren't you waking up?" He said, almost desperately.

Changbin tried to step in: "Jisung you should probably-"
"Jun-ho!" Jisung grabbed the boy's shoulders and tried to shake the body, but was quickly stopped by Changbin pulling him back.

Jisung didn't cry. "He's dead?" He asked, not necessarily directed to anyone. Chan gulped. He nodded. Jisung looked down. Changbin let go of him. Jisung's knees gave up on him and the man collapsed on his butt.

"He's dead." He repeated. Although this time it was more like a statement, less like a question. He then smiled, which confused everyone, and he was quick to burst out in laughter. He dropped the rest of his body onto the floor, the group had to step back in order for him not to fall on their feet. Jisung rolled over to his side, rolled up into a ball and continued laughing. Like an insane man.

Felix now really started crying. He dropped onto his knees in front of Jisung's chuckling form and shook his shoulders.
"Jisung, don't fucking do this to us." Felix cried softly. He wiped away a few tears. Hyunjin kneeled down beside his husbands and tried to comfort him while Jisung's laughter slowly transitioned into silent sobs.

Chan and Jeongin were still staring in front of them, not moving an inch, not capable of looking each other in the eyes.
"You should've left the body." Jeongin spoke up, loud enough only for Chan to hear. Chan didn't answer at first.

"We needed it then and we will still need it." Chan answered. Jeongin pressed his lips together in frustration, but still didn't look at Chan.
The younger sighed. "We would've only needed his hand, only the chip and dead tissue." Jeongin said.
Chan scoffed. "You mean cut off his hand? You're sick." He said.
"I did not necessarily mean that, but maybe." Jeongin avoided the question. Chan finally snapped his gaze towards Jeongin. The younger looked back daringly.

"You've made the man go insane." Jeongin stated, nudging his head towards the now crying Jisung. Chan scoffed and looked away, before his gaze snapped back towards Jeongin.

"If he hadn't seen the dead body for himself he'd want to go back and bring us all in danger." Chan said. Jeongin pressed his lips together again, having nothing to say about that. Chan sighed and looked away again. "One down is better than all down." He concluded. Although Jeongin was disgusted by the statement he couldn't help but agree.

"Except now there are three men down." Jeongin muttered. Chan nodded, acknowledging the fact. Neither of the two said anything.

Seungmin tried to catch Changbin's attention, but the other was quick to turn away from the younger.
"How long does it take to get to the sixtieth floor?" He asked Chan.

"We started at minus forty five, so we'll be there soon." Chan said casually, his voice cold and distant.
"How many floors are there?" Hyunjin asked with amazement. Felix was now holding Jisung in his arms, crying along with him, and Hyunjin could do nothing but rub Felix's back.

"Two hundred, all underground." Jeongin answered.
"But... how?"
"Have you never heard of how deep the Atlantic can be?" Chan asked, turning towards Hyunjin. Hyunjin had to comprehend this for a moment.

They had been underwater all the time?
He remembered wanting to blow up the walls in the beginning, could that have led to flooded corridors? He didn't even want to imagine that. He didn't even know what was hiding in the Atlantic at that depth.
Maybe that's how they made those monsters? With the DNA of other sea creatures no one had ever seen before and were therefore considered abnormal?

Actually, he didn't even want to know. He could just ask the question right now, but he didn't even want to.

"Then how did we breathe? And isn't the pressure so high that nothing would be able to hold it off?" Changbin asked.
"Oxygen is imitable and pressure is defiable." Seungmin answered the shorter man. Changbin still didn't pay any attention to him. He had concluded that the best way to punish the man was by ignoring him.

"You have reached floor... sixty three." The female voice came out of nowhere. They felt the lift come to a halt, and very slowly, the doors opened.

"Seungmin, do you have the gun ready?" Jeongin asked. Seungmin nodded as he lifted up the machine gun for a brief second. Jeongin nodded and walked out with a steady pace, Chan following. Jun-ho's head was now resting on Chan's shoulder, threatening to fall. Hyunjin quickly looked away. The group followed.

They were now in a long, grey hallway. It seemed endless with the similar lights and the eerie silence. The group was quick to walk close together as they walked the long hallway.

"Jisung, everything will be fine." Felix spoke gently. He softly rubbed Jisung's shoulder. Jisung just nodded, walking on while in some type of trance. It mostly looked like he was in disbelief, which could very much be true.

Hyunjin sighed and decided to leave the two alone for a second. He saw Seungmin trying to strike up a conversation with him but he was quick to ignore the man. Seungmin really was the last person he wanted to talk to right now.