The Mansion

Chapter 3

Jeonghan's Pov:

Joshua and I were walking through the mansion, carefully looking around in the hallways, when a sudden noise caught our attention. It sounded like footsteps and they were coming our way. Joshua quickly pulled me with him in one of the closets, the two of us thinking it was the killer coming to get us. I was curious to see what the killer looked like, so in a moment of extreme intelligence, I decided to creak the door open. I looked through the small opening I just created, only to see Seungcheol walk by us.

I immediately jumped out of the closet and on top of Seungcheol. "COUPS!" I yelled as my body collided with his. Seungcheol let out a scream and we both fell on the ground. The look on Seungcheol's face was a mixture between anger and relief. "Jeonghan, what the hell are you doing?" Seungcheol said, his features softening as his anger faded away. "Well, Joshua and I heard footsteps coming our way and thinking it was the killer, we hid in this closet. When I saw it was you instead of the killer, I just couldn't control my excitement, I guess". Seungcheol hummed in response and the conversation fell in an awkward silence.

Seungcheol and I were just looking at each other when our attention was drawn to Joshua, who burst out into a fit of giggles. I arched my eyebrow at him, while his face slowly turned a light red from laughing. "When were you guys planning to get off of each other", Joshua said, gasping and trying to get some air into his lungs. Now it was Seungcheol's and my face's turn to turn red, while I quickly got off of Seungcheol. Another awkward silence ensued as Joshua caught his breath. When everyone had calmed down, the three of us agreed to do some further exploration, having already wasted too much time in the hallway.

Before we could even move, a new pair of footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway. Seungcheol quickly pulled me with him into the closet Joshua and I were hiding in before, while Joshua hid in another closet further down the hallway. The footsteps slowly drew nearer and my breath hitched in my throat. The footsteps were so loud and they made the floor shake ever so slightly. It was clear to me, that these were definitely not the footsteps of any of my members. My curious side got the better of me once again and I slowly moved my hand towards the closet door, wanting to see what the killer looked like. Before I could open the door, Seungcheol grabbed my hand and held it into place, giving me a stern look.

We waited for a few minutes after the footsteps disappeared, Seungcheol never letting go of my hand. When we were sure the killer wasn't near us anymore, we exited the closet and made our way towards Joshua who was already waiting for us. We walked around the hallways together, in the opposite direction the footsteps had gone to, looking for a room that might hold some secrets. I was walking next to Joshua, who kept asking me if I was alright.

"Joshua, for the one hundredth time, I'm completely fine. You don't have to be so worried about me", I said in a hushed tone, worried that Seungcheol might hear. I knew exactly why Joshua was so worried and I didn't want anyone else to know. I saw Joshua glance behind us, probably to look if Seungcheol could hear us as well, before he opened his mouth again. "I can see in your eyes that you're panicked. I don't want you to get a panic attack again. Remember how bad it got during our trainee days".

Of course I remembered how bad my panic attacks used to get. I hate it when Joshua brings it up, it just makes the memories reappear and it makes me unable to think about and focus on anything else. The days when I used to get panic attacks, are the days I remember the most vividly. Luckily Joshua was always there to calm me down. He never told my secret to anyone, he wanted to, but because I told him not to, he didn't. He really was my best friend out of everyone in the group.

I was pulled out of my thought by Joshua shaking my arm. "I'm sorry I talked about it again. It made you remember, didn't it", he said quietly. "It's okay, really. You're just looking out for me, I really appreciate that". The slight worry in his face was immediately replaced by a bright smile which made me smile as well.

Joshua and I quietly chatted some more, until Seungcheol let out an annoyed sound and started scolding us. "Are you guys even paying attention to your surroundings?", he angrily said. "Have you guys found some keys already, or have you just been spending your time here chatting?" I as perplexed by Seungcheol's sudden anger and didn't know how to reply. "For the record, we haven't found any keys yet, but we have been exploring. The only reason why we're talking so much right now, is because I was worried about Jeonghan. Why are you so annoyed right now? We didn't do anything wrong", Joshua replied. He also sounded kind of angry, which was weird, because he was Joshua and Joshua never got angry. Seungcheol seemed to also be taken aback by Joshua's fierceness and an apologetic look was etched on his face. "I'm sorry", he said softly, "I don't know why I got so angry all of a sudden. I'm sorry I took it out on you guys. "It's alright", Joshua said, already back to his usual friendly self.

"By the way, have you found any keys yet Seungcheol?" "Yes, I found one in the attic, right next to where I woke up", he replied, showing us the silver key. After that, the conversation fell into a deafening silence and the three of us continued or search.

After a while of not finding anything in the hallway we were in, we retraced our steps to the closets we hid in and we decided to go in the opposite direction. The killer had probably already moved on from that area and it probably wasn't explored yet. We soon ended up in another hallway and the search continued. The hallway was similar to the last one, except there was a double door amidst the single doors, a feature that was not to be found in the previous hallway.

We opened the suspicious double door, only to be met with a decent sized library. Hoping the library might hold some undiscovered secrets, we decided to spend some more time in this particular room. I was inspecting the seating area whilst Seungcheol and Joshua were inspecting the bookcases.

"Hey guys, look at this", Joshua said suddenly. He was pointing towards a book on a higher shelf. "What's so special about that book?" I asked. "It's the only English book in here", Joshua replied ", and it isn't just a book, it's a bible. Seungcheol and I rolled our eyes at Joshua and his antics. "Can someone help me reach it", Joshua asked, a pleading look on his face. "Is it really that important", Seungcheol asked, not in the mood to lift Joshua up, especially not for something as stupid as a book. "Yes, I find it suspicious that it's here. Maybe it has some secret writings about the location of the keys inside or something". Seungcheol made his way over to Joshua and lifted him up, whilst I went back to the seating area, which was located right next to the door.

I quietly searched more in my area, quietly laughing at the bickering which could be heard in the background. I turned around to see that Joshua had finally managed to get a hold of that stupid book, while being held up by a red faced Seungcheol. "I've got it", Joshua said as he took the book off the shelf. As soon as the book was taken off the shelf, an alarm started going off and the room was filled in a red light. The sound startled everyone, causing Seungcheol to fall, which caused Joshua to fall as well. The scene would have been considered funny, had we not been in the situation we were currently in.

I felt my heartbeat rise as I jumped up from the crouching position I was in. I looked at Joshua and Seungcheol, who were getting back up on their feet, when I heard the handles of the double doors go down. I turned around and froze into place when I saw the doors open. My breathing became ragged and I couldn't focus anymore. I was having a panic attack again. I frantically looked around, suddenly unable to locate the two other men who were in the room with me just moments ago. Where was Joshua when I needed him the most? Not being able to find him, panicked me even more. All sounds were muffled. I could hear some yelling, but it seemed so far away. The killer looked absolutely hideous. He was extremely tall and wide, wore torn clothes, and was covered in barbed wire. He was wielding a huge machete and he was threateningly walking towards me.

A strong pair of arms suddenly grabbed me and pulled me with them. I looked up to see Seungcheol dragging me towards a window, our only route to escape whilst the library only had one entrance. He quickly jumped through it, yelling at me to follow him. I complied, but I wasn't fast enough. I felt a sharp stinging in my side before I was able to escape the room completely. I quickly used the last bit of strength I had left to land on the ground outside, before I fell to my knees, screaming whilst holding my side. Everything became too much and I felt as if I couldn't breathe anymore. I was hyperventilating and Joshua, who was now on my side, tried to calm me down. Tears sprung to my eyes as I saw the blood on my clothes and hands. Before I could do anything, everything turned black.