The Pitch || EXO

Chapter 16

The tension continues to rise to the point where all of the boys continue to get suspicious. It is now Thursday and they need to get going again. They all quickly pack up their stuff, and leave that night, saying a goodbye to the woman before thanking her for her hospitality. They split up into two groups and begin their trek to get back to their houses. As their journey continues, the grey sky seems to get darker and both groups know that there is a storm quickly approaching. They meet up down the road (which took them more than a half hour since they split ways) and just as they spot each other, a deafening rumble of thunder sounds and rain explodes from the dark grey sea above them, shooting to the ground in rods. The group moves quickly to find shelter and run along the road, before diving into the woods. Here, they are less likely to be seen (since they are only a few miles away from the neighbourhood in which they stayed and so the Black Hearts are still patrolling) and are less likely to get sick. They travel through the woods which would be extremely dark if it wasn't for Baekhyun's light orbs. They seem to glide in the air around them and when in their stable state, do not expel any heat and so are fine to touch or brush against. They bob gently around the group, lighting up their surroundings. They travel deeper into the woods, desperate to find home.

"Oh shit!" Jongin cusses beneath his breath when lightning briefly lights up the sky above them.
"We need to get out of here!" Junmyeon groans to himself and the group hurries through the maze of trees, running through the dangerous forest as they split into their own separate ways subconsciously. Kyungsoo and Sehun jump over logs and duck beneath branches, before coming to a wide stream of fast moving water. Upon looking around, the younger sees none of their other friends. He panics, grabbing the attention of his friend.
"Should we cross this?!" Sehun asks, shouting over the roaring stream of water. The older shrugs and simultaneously shakes his head, looking confused and distraught about what decision they should make. After a few moments of standing and doing nothing, Sehun decides to take the lead, trudging through the sodden ground near the bank of the raging stream and rolls up his jeans. He decides to cross the fast moving wall of freezing water.
"Sehun, I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Shouldn't we wait for the others?"
"Soo, do you see the others? What if they came this way already?"
"Then we'd probably see their footprints since the ground is so soft."
"Wait, so then what are those?" Sehun smiles widely, as he points to his left at large footprints made by boots. The size of the imprints look like Chanyeol's.
Kyungsoo nods his head in defeat and watches the younger carefully as he crosses. Sehun steps his first foot in cautiously and then his next. But when he reaches the middle of his journey, the struggle appears on his face as he battles with the cold temperature of the water and the fast flowing pace of the mass. His foot slips at one point but he manages to regain control and rights himself, seeing as the water is pretty much hip level. Sehun (now violently shivering) waits for Kyungsoo to cross, who also rolls up his jeans and carefully steps into the water. It is ice cold and bites into his skin, instantly numbing it and sending shivers up his spine. His skin prickles with goosebumps as the younger's did as he crosses the stream. However, when nearing the middle, his foot slips on a loose pebble and he falls into the ice cold water. A splash sounds (which was silenced by the sound of the rushing water and Sehun no longer sees Kyungsoo. He panics until he sees his friend's head stick out of the water momentarily to scream his name.
"Sehun!"

Jongin's ears prick at the sound of someone shouting and he stops Baekhyun and Chanyeol to listen further. In his mind, he knows that it is someone familiar but he isn't close enough to properly hear the person's voice. The three backtrack and sprint towards the noise and the sound of a river begins to enter their hearing. They spot a tall man who is sprinting along the riverbank, almost slipping on the muddy ground. Baekhyun arrives at the scene first, quickly discovering the man to be Sehun. Kyungsoo's head after a few moments finally breaks the surface of the water and his hands fly out to grab at anything possible. His left leg comes into contact with the side of the bank and so his right leg weakly pushes himself forward, his hands grasping wildly at the grass on the bank. His hands slip over the mud before he manages to catch the root of a tree. Sehun sighs in relief, sliding carefully down the side of the bank and grabbing the older's freezing hands. Jongin and Chanyeol also slide down next to Sehun to haul Kyungsoo out of the water. Baekhyun calms the rapid beating of his heart as the smaller is dragged out of the river and pulled onto the flat ground at the top of the bank. Kyungsoo pants and heaves burning oxygen into his air deprived lungs, coughing and hacking afterwards. After taking a few breaths, Jongin explodes.
"What the fuck were you two thinking?! That was so stupid!" The two hang their heads in shame. "If we weren't around, then Kyungsoo more than likely would be dead by now. Compose yourselves and then we'll set off to look for the others." Jongin storms off and Sehun looks up at Baekhyun and Chanyeol. All of the boys are drenched (well, not more than Kyungsoo, but still drenched) and as they travel further through the woods the more silent the boys seem to get. After roughly ten minutes of silence, it is finally broken by a hoarse and tired voice.
"I'm sorry, about . . . Well, everything. Thank you guys, for coming to our rescue. And you're right, Jongin, about what could've happened. But none of this was Sehun's fault. We just wanted to find you guys. We went too far ahead. And then we couldn't see anyone."
"Next time, find a safer way of finding us." Baekhyun smiles softly, placing an arm around Sehun's shoulders. "Also, we need to get you dried if somewhere. Your lips and your hands are blue. Are you feeling ok?"
"I'm a little cold but I'll survive." The five chuckle quietly before continuing their journey.

"What if we don't find them?" Jingsu bites her lower lip anxiously, worrying about Sehun and the other boys.
"We'll find them don't worry. They're strong and intelligent. They're probably looking for us if I'm honest." Minseok smiles gently, patting Jingsu's arm.
"Well, we'll have to meet with them somehow. Those Black Hearts soldiers are still out there." Jongdae grumbles, then his stomach growls.
"How long has it been since we had something to eat?" Sungjil asks, rubbing his stomach. Everybody's eyes are slightly glazed with hunger.
"We'll have to find some food soon. We can't keep this amount of exercise up for long. We can just rest for now guys." Junmyeon decides.
"But what about the search?" Jingsu presses on. She grips Minseok's arm. "What if they're in danger? What if something has happened to them?"
"You, like us, are really close to Sehun. Do you have a hunch that something life-threatening has happened to them?" Minseok asks. She shakes her head after a moment of thought. He gives her a small smile then the two catch up to the rest if the group. After walking for yet another half an hour, the group finally find an un-raided gas station to hide in for now. After filling their stomachs with the only in-date food in the store - candies, one by one their exhausted bodies fall asleep. Not a single one of them wake up for a good few hours, not even when the chimes at the top of the door frame sound and the sound of heavy boots clumping in can be heard.

Hey guys, hope that you enjoyed this action filled chapter and also, who do you think is the person that walked into the store? Anywho, I hope that you are enjoying this story so far and I will try my best to update again soon. Thank you for supporting me my peanut butter cookies ❤️🍪  See ya!

Word count: 1452