Shadows of Abyss

Chapter 21

Past

Jungkook stared blankly at the ceiling, his eyes wide open, unmoving. Every muscle, every bone in his body ached with excruciating pain, but he lay still like a corpse forgotten in the depths of the earth. His dry throat began to burn, the sensation like ants crawling and biting from within. He turned his throbbing head slightly, scanning the dim, suffocating space around him. There was no way out.

Sunlight pierced through the tiny barred window high on the wall, casting weak rays that barely touched the cold concrete floor. He remembered other children. They had been here with him. But now, they were gone. Were they dead? Or worse? His gaze shifted to a worn out water dispenser sitting in the corner, a single glass balanced on top. Relief flooded his chest.

He tried to move, but his body refused. The effort to even lift a finger felt like it would rip him apart. His cracked, parched lips trembled as he dragged himself across the floor, using his elbows and legs, his body scraping against the rough stone like a lifeless husk.

Jungkook, now propped against the wall, every breath heaving as if it were his last, glanced at the glass of water. His shaking hands reached for it, and as his fingertips brushed against the cool surface, it felt like life surged back into his body only for a moment.

With trembling hands, he filled the glass, the water spilling over the edges, the liquid glimmering like salvation. When he finally pressed the glass to his lips, the coolness flooded his mouth, dripped down his throat, and he smiled an eerie smile. How could something as simple as water feel like salvation? If someone had asked him then, the importance of water, he could have filled entire books with the answer, yet it still wouldn't have captured the desperation, the need.

As he gulped down the water, the fever still gnawed at him, leaving him soaked in sweat, chills taking over his body. He poured another glass, but this time he didn't drink. He tipped it over his burning skin, letting the cold liquid wash over him. His body shivered violently, yet he kept pouring, desperately trying to cool the raging fire within him.

Suddenly, a soft voice pierced his broken consciousness, laced with worry, "Look at my prince, he's shivering like a leaf. Seo! Where's the towel? Hurry up!"

Jungkook's black eyes, once lifeless, darted down to the ground where his blood had begun to pool beneath him, the crimson liquid spilling out from the gash on his body. That's when his screams began. Gut-wrenching, soul-piercing screams that echoed through the dungeon like the howl of a dying animal. The entire room reverberated with his agony.

"Eomma..Hyung! Where are you? Seo hyung, answer me! Pleasee" Jungkook wailed, his voice hoarse, shredded by the intensity of his cries. He fell to his knees, reaching toward the small window, as if his hyung could somehow hear him. He screamed his name again and again until his throat was raw, the cries dissolving into nothing but sobs.

But no one came.

His voice shattered in his throat, his body convulsing in a heap on the cold floor. He clawed at the ground, scraping his nails against the rough stone as if trying to dig his way to safety. But the dungeon remained silent, save for his whimpering breaths.

The door creaked open, and a shadow loomed over him. Jungkook looked up through his tear-streaked eyes, his face swollen and bruised. A man entered, gun slung lazily over his shoulder, looking down at the pitiful boy. With a cold sneer, the man turned away, exiting as if Jungkook was nothing more than a wretched animal.

Jungkook barely had time to register the two men who stormed in next, grabbing his hair roughly, yanking him to his feet. "Come on, pretty boy. Save your screams. You'll have plenty of chances to cry later." The man's voice laced with sarcasm as his fist clenched Jungkook's thick, dark hair, dragging him mercilessly out of the dungeon.