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viii. revenge

it was dark.

dark, cold and so so suffocating.

he couldn't breathe in this, it was too much. his body lay immoblie as his mind worked, raced.

his fingers felt like they'd been stepped on, his calves were definitely injured, his head felt so painful but the worst of them all was his chest.

he'd cracked some ribs proabably, hopefully not. he couldn't breathe properly, his lungs refusing to co-operate. something constricted him from obtaining oxygen and he was so tired.

he could hear a bit. soft voices, quick and rushing around him. they spoke fast, urgent like they wanted to do something, get somewhere...

he felt everything. he felt the shaking and slow rumbling of the car as he moved, the voices as they spoke over him, the bonds that he had been restrained by and even the slight nip of the air as it made its way to the exposed part of his skin.

he couldn't see.

he couldn't breathe.

he couldn't understand.

tired, so tired

weariness, exhaustion, fatigue taking over him

it'll all be better after you open your eyes...

and the world seemed to stop as the air around him stilled.

⏱

their runaway had been captured.

they still didn't know his name, age, where he lived or anything about him.

but he was there.

felix stood at the start of the corridor, eyes scrutinising hyunjin and changbin as they placed the body in the corner of the hall, as if he was some type of creature who'd come into their house, not part of it in any sort but grudgingly (or eagerly) welcomed.

chan's characteristics had rubbed off on him the most. he'd spent most of his time with the leader after joining the group. chan had been a light in felix's life, one that he desperately needed after all that he went through.

"you can be nice or you can be mean but why can't you be nice and mean?"

felix laughed, the sound making chan shoot him a wide grin. behind them, a canopy of trees rustled, the wind passing them by on its own pace.

they were back at the place where they'd found him. the shop where he'd gone through countless sleepless nights, filled with purple bruises, red swollen skin and harsh words.

chan had made sure to avoid that road, even though the shop had been renovated.

they were watching the sunset, just him and chan. they'd grown so much closer in the past few weeks in which felix had joined stray kids. the two aussies had bonded over their hometown, excited shrieks filling the air when it was mentioned. but felix felt a sort of connection with chan, like a bond that linked them together.

even now, when dusk approached, chan turned towards felix, giving him one of the softest smiles he'd ever seen on the older boy.

"lix. you know... sometimes i think you're too good for anyone no i didn't mean it like that-" he cut himself off seeing felix's confused expression but looked up again.

"stay like this yeah? kind and caring and compassionate and everything i can't be because of this. everything i could never be.."

felix saw chan's look change, as he stared at the slowly fading sun.. dissapating like his confidence in himself, like the things he told himself.