Darkest Depths [ON HOLD]

Part Five

In what way would you be afraid to die?

What kind of a question is that?

Jimin stared into Namjoon's eyes, he was dead serious.

'I-I don't know?' Jimin stuttered and broke the eye contact.

'Well you better figure that out, look where we are.' Namjoon tilted his head to the view beyond Jimin, he turned around and to his surprise the sun was now out and shining, the blue sky stretched across and white clouds dotted the blue horizon.

An outstretched building lay before them with students beginning to flood the front doors.

'Our old school?' Jimin whispered and watched the students flock.

Namjoon stepped forward and looked at Jimin before returning his eyes to the students, 'The memories had to have started somewhere, and that somewhere was detention.' He smirked and walked into the crowd of bodies.

'We were a pretty interesting bunch.' Namjoon laughed.

Jimin stood still and watched as Namjoon turned back around and raised an eyebrow, 'Well? Are you coming?'

Jimin nodded and quickly followed Namjoon through the sea of bodies, looking at each of their serene, expressionless and mindless bodies.

'Can they see us?' Jimin asked as he tried to stay at Namjoon's side and gently shouldered past them.

'Of course they can, but it's not like they care.' Namjoon laughed.

'They...they all look the same.' Jimin said as he stared at the passing faces.

'Your mind can't make up a new face,' Namjoon began as he lightly shoved the bodies out of their way, 'so of course some faces will be reused, you can't remember every single person you saw on this day anyway,' Namjoon looked around at all the faces, 'funny. Most of them have her face.'

Jimin slowed his breathing to calm his nerves as the emotionless faces floated by.

'Don't be scared,' Namjoon said with a stern voice, 'if they sense it then they'll devour you. It's how they feed, it's how they stay alive in this, let's say, chapter of your life,' Namjoon said as he turned around he glanced at Jimin, 'Every embarrassing moment, every fear of being late to class, fear of talking to that girl, everything that scared you once before is what they rely on to stay alive in your memory. So whenever you remember the fear you had back then, these guys chew it up causing you to fear the memory even more or have second hand embarassment.'

'But what does me fearing them now have to do with my past high school fears?' Jimin asked as he exhaled his nerves.

'How often do you think about your high school life? How often do you think about stupid little teenage dramas you had? Not often I'm guessing,' Namjoon said as he continued to shove the bodies aside as they began to crowd, 'they're starving. They'll take any fear they can get.'

Namjoon looked down at Jimin who stared nervously at the bodies, they looked hungry.

'How do you know all of this?' Jimin said before he bit his lip nervously.

Namjoon stopped at the front door and sighed loudly before turning around to face Jimin, 'How long has it been since I've been dead?'

Jimin reeled back in thought, 'Four, five years?'

'One month in here is ten years, for four years I've been inside my own mind, I know a thing or two.' Namjoon said with a serene face and pain in his eyes. Jimin could tell Namjoon was broken inside, he could tell that he was continuously trying to keep up a front, a porcelain mask hiding the pain and terror he had encountered throughout the past years.