Go Home ✔️

• SAT OCT 13 PT 2 •

~ There’s a black house burning in the moonlight, we’re standing at the door and there’s no-one in sight...this will all be over tonight ~

Jimin

The walls enclosed me, seemingly so strong yet so beaten and worn. The cave was devoid of light, swallowing everything, and it was apparent that warmth had never been present inside the hidden world. The darkness forced fears to surface; fears of both the known and the unknown. A soft noise made surprised me and made me stumble on the gravelled floor beneath me and catch my hand on the rough wall, grazing my skin in the process. The sound, soft sniffling, urged me further into the darkness and willed me to abandon my fears. Taehyung was here. He needed me.

I came to an opening in the cave that was covered by a makeshift door - a patch of fabric hanging to divide the two areas. The sniffles became louder the closer I came and my body tensed as I slowly pulled the fabric to the side. My eyes instantly blinked against the sudden light in the small room - coming from a lantern in the corner on top of a table. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust and when they did I found a small figure huddled in a corner.

Taehyung sat with his head buried in his knees and arms around his legs, hiding himself from the world and crying as silently as he could. His once soft and fluffy hair was now matted and sticking at all angles and as I slowly moved closer I could see obvious bruises lining his arms and the bare skin of his legs.

He’s in a dress...why is he in a dress…

I couldn’t help but glare hard at the outfit my brother was in and my lip curled when I spotted the ridiculous bunny ears that sat on top of Taehyung’s head. Though my brother was hurt and his clothes were torn those bunny ears were in perfect condition; the black velvet shining proudly in the dim light.

It made me feel sick.

He hadn’t noticed me yet so I made sure to take it slow as I crouched in front of the terrified boy and lightly touched his arm. He reacted instantly, shying away from my touch and whimpering a string of ‘please don’t’.

It almost broke me.

“TaeTae it’s me - Chim” I whispered soothingly and Taehyung slowly raised his head - eyes red and swollen from crying with tears staining his face. His lips trembled as his eyes searched mine before he flung himself into my arms, crushing me as he held me tight. He cried hard into my shoulder and I couldn’t hold back my own tears as I rubbed his back, not ignoring how he jolted slightly at certain areas.

“Shhh…” I kissed the side of his head, not caring about the dirt, and looked around our surroundings. There wasn’t much inside the cave with only a table, a mattress and a chair as furnishings - but I could clearly make out dents in the wall of the cave with dried patches of blood scattered around.

Taehyung wasn’t the first to be brought here.

I gave my brother a comforting squeeze before pulling him back and brushing a matted strand of hair behind his ear. I gave him a watery smile, which he returned, and stared into his eyes.

“Do you want to go home?” I whispered, fearing my voice would break if I spoke too loud. Taehyung nodded and I took hold of his hands as I helped him stand on shaky legs. I brushed some dirt from his body and put an arm around my shoulder for support. Taehyung leaned onto me heavily and gave my shoulder a squeeze.

“You are never leaving my side again, Taehyung. You hear me? These four days have been a living hell without you” Taehyung chuckled weakly.

“You have no idea” I swallowed hard and pursed my lips - he was right, I had no idea what he had been through but part of me didn’t want to know. By the way he was bruised, dried blood on his clothes, I could guess what could have happened. I pulled him closer, if possible, and took a step towards the entry way...I didn’t even hear the footsteps.

The fabric was pulled to the side - a tall, muscular boy walking through while looking through a small shopping bag. He hadn’t noticed us yet and Taehyung and I both froze, tensed, as the raven haired man’s head lifted and he stared at the two of us in surprise. He looked at me, then Taehyung before his dark eyes drifted back to mine - openly glaring as I tried to move Taehyung behind me, shielding him as best I could. At this movement the man lunged and grabbed onto Taehyung’s arm, tearing him from my side with a painful cry from Tae.

My body reacted on it’s own, out of instinct, as I took hold of Taehyung’s free arm and turned, shoving the man away from us. The guy, not expecting the move, let go of Taehyung and stumbled backward. It wasn’t far - he was still within grabbing distance - so I wasted no time and pushed Taehyung in the direction of the entryway. He held onto my hand but I shook off his hold.

“Run, Tae! I’ll be right behind you” Taehyung looked as if he doubted my words but with another forceful shove he turned and ran, as best he could. I watched with a sinking feeling as my brother was engulfed in the darkness and prayed that he would find his way to Yoongi.

Before I could think more on the matter I was tackled from the side as the man dragged me to the floor - hands grabbing at my neck. I managed to hold them away, barely, and began to panic as they began lowering to my throat.

“You shouldn’t have come here” The man snarled. His hand was so close to my neck.

“You shouldn’t have touched Taehyung” I swiftly jerked my head forward and connected with the man’s face making him cry out in alarm and raise his hands to his now bleeding nose. I shoved the man off me and stood to make my escape when I felt a hand on my ankle. The man roughly tugged me backwards and I stumbled, falling forward onto the hands. The man stood and I mirrored his position. The man was panting as he wiped a trail of blood from his face. I saw him move towards me and pulled out the small knife from my pocket. The blade sunk into the man’s bicep and he howled in pain as he stumbled backwards. Within seconds he had pulled the small knife from his arm and the look he gave me was pure rage and completely feral. My eyes widened as the man snarled and grabbed me by the throat.

“You shouldn’t have done that”