【Original】The Forgotten Lights

----Chapter 8

*Hansol's POV*

We had been running for a long time. The boiling sun was burning my skin, and I needed water. We didn't know if the enemy was still chasing us, but we kept walking. I couldn't help but feel guilty of leaving those poor people behind, back in the tipped truck. But I guess, Kris did rescue seven of them. Including Siha, which I was glad he was okay. We were now slowing down, and started to walk. "Kris?" I croaked, trying to get his attention. He turned around slightly. His eyes were red from what I presumed he had been crying. I've never seen Kris cry. "A-Are we going to be okay?" I asked quietly jogging to catch up with him. He turned away from me. He was obviously upset. Did the enemy hurt him? "Kris?" I was certain he was upset. I wanted to know what was wrong. He was ignoring me. He hadn't spoken to me since yesterday, when we escaped the burning truck. I stopped. The others continued to walk, and they all hobbled past me. All, I presumed, were all tired and thirsty too. Siha put his hand on my shoulder. "You okay, cub?" He asked kindly. I smiled and looked back at him. "Nan gwenchana." I replied, continuing to follow Kris. Siha walked beside me. Where were we even going? Did Kris know the way to the new base? Or were we just running for nothing? It was quiet as we all walked toward somewhere. Maybe we were walking nowhere, and we'd die out here. I looked to Siha. He looked tired too. He looked at me and smiled. "Not long now, cub." He said. I hoped Siha was right. I wanted to get to wherever we were going! I was tired. I was thirsty! It was getting darker the more we walked. I figured it must be late in the afternoon. I just wanted to sleep. We finally got off the sand, and onto some cobble pavement. We were in a town, or city, of some sort, and we were heading right toward a group of large buildings. Siha patted my back. "What did I tell you? We are closer now." He chuckled quietly. "You know I'm always right, ya?" He said. I nodded. It was very quiet, we presumed there was no one here. I hoped that the new base was here. We walked for a long while into the city, and we recognised it. "Siha what was the name of this city?" I asked. I knew that Siha would probably know. His geographical knowledge was phenomenal. He was like a walking map. No wonder Kris kept him by his side. I then began to wonder about Siha's life. He looked at me. "It is Pyongyang." He replied. I nodded. Pyongyang? Are we in the North or South I wonder? I've heard of it, but never seen it. "It's a Northern city. It was nice before the enemy came, now look at it." He said. I looked around. I suddenly could tell what Siha was meaning. The city was crumbling. A lot of the buildings were just a pile of rubble. It was one of the first cities to be attacked. I now wondered if any of our group was from Pyongyang, or if all the people who originated from here died. It was probably the latter, but I had a feeling that Luna was from the North. Her odd name just made me think of it. I wonder how she and Siha met. "Everyone!" Kris roared from the front of the group. I was suddenly shot back into reality. I hadn't realised I was daydreaming so much. Siha patted my back slightly. I think he knew that I was daydreaming. "We will find a place to stop so you can all rest, so be patient." He said, and I could tell he was relieved to finally get somewhere.

We all snuck in around the back of what looked like an old restaurant.

"We will be staying here." Kris said, shutting the door behind us. I stumbled over to the side of a bench, and collapsed next to Siha, curling up beside him. I knew Kris didn't want me near him. He was always mad at me. I don't even think he came to the truck to get me. He was probably looking for Siha. That's why he was worried when I said that Siha was trapped in the truck. He didn't care about me. I looked up quietly. Kris was pacing. He was worrying, and I could tell even though it was getting dark. "Cub, you should get some rest." Siha said, quietly. I hadn't noticed he was still awake. I tried to close my eyes. It was useless. I was hurt that Kris hadn't even said anything to me. You know like 'I am glad you're okay, Hansol' or 'I was happy to see you alive and well'. Yeah, no. He was caught up in his leadership to be worrying about me. I snapped back into reality, and realised Kris had been staring at me the whole time I was glaring at him. He was suddenly walking over to Siha and me. I was scared. Was he going to yell at me again? He crouched down in front of us, and put his hand on my face. "I'm sorry." Was all he said before he got back up and walked away. Siha pulled me closer. "It's okay, he's not much of a talker. He's been a shutout since Ryeowook died." He said, trying to explain Kris' behaviour. Siha didn't have to explain the behaviour. He looked at me, and smiled. "There is a lot of things that happened at that camp." He said, sighing. I wonder how Siha knew. Kris probably told him. Siha looked to the ground. "How do you know?" I asked. He looked at me again. "I was there. That's where I met your brothers." He replied. I was in shock. Siha was in the camp too? I looked across the restaurant. Then I looked back at Siha. "You knew Ryeowook?" I questioned. I wanted to know about him. Siha smiled a little. "He was an amazing guy, Hansol. You were so lucky to have him as an older brother. I always looked up to him. When I was captured by the Americans, I was thrown in the back of an enemy truck. The men had bound my hands together. That's the first time I met those two. Kris was first to help me. Reo was kind of quiet at first. We were taken to the camp, and put in the same dorm. That's when we became really close. The day Reo was shot, I honestly felt so torn. They thought you were dead. Reo had killed one of the commanders, in attempt to avenge your death. But then, we escaped. Kris took charge of our escape. He's been cold hearted ever since our escape. I guess who could blame him? He though he lost everything. Then, a year later, we found you." He chuckled slightly and messed up my hair a bit. I smiled as the warm feeling came to me. "You should get some sleep, cub. Big day tomorrow." I smiled, and closed my eyes.

*Dream* I reached for the door, and walked in as I heard my mother welcome me home. "Hansol! Did you have a good day?" She asked as I entered our small dining area. She was sitting at the table with a newspaper in one hand, and a cup of tea in the other. She smiled at me as I walked over and sat across from her. "It was good, where's Kris and Ryeowook?" I asked. I hadn't seen them on the way home, and they told me to walk home by myself. My mother put down her newspaper. "Why? Are they not behind you?" She asked, looked behind my head slightly. I shook my head. "No, they told me to walk home by myself." I replied, and she looked mad. "Ma?" I questioned as she folded the newspaper and placed it on the kitchen bench. She hadn't even drunk the rest of her tea. "Ma?" I questioned again. I was confused, what was she doing? Suddenly, we heard people walk in the house. "Ma! We're home, and guess what we-" Ryeowook started as he and Kris came around the corner. "How dare you!!" She yelled loudly, thumping the table with her fist. They were shocked at this sudden outrage. "Ma? Are you okay?" I asked, trying to calm her down. She walked over to the other two, and gave them her terrifying 'look'. "Why would you let your baby brother walk home from school by himself?! Are you both crazy?! He could get hurt!! You need to look after him!!" She screamed, looking between myself, and my brothers. They were terrified. And so was I. She never acted like this at all. "We're sorry, Ma." Kris apologised. She looked at them. "You need to look after your brother, he's precious and younger than you. Please, don't let anything happen to him. You both need to protect, and care for him." She said, calming down. She walked back over to the table and sat back down. Sipping her tea she looked at me, smiling. I looked to my brothers. They were both walking over to me. Suddenly, they both hugged me. "I'm sorry, Hansol." Ryeowook said. I smiled. I knew they loved me, and I knew they'd be there to keep me safe. We sat at the table, and Ryeowook went to his room. That's when we heard explosions and gun shots. I screamed. "Umma!! We're going to die!! Umma!!" The enemy stormed into the room, holding Ryeowook's dead body by his shirt. I screamed as they shot my mother, and Kris. I was all alone. I screamed again. This time, it felt real. *End of dream*

I screamed, and woke up crying. "Umma!!" I cried loudly. "Umma!!!"