HIKE

16 | panic mode activate

the rain grew heavier yet and the wind howled. the dream team trudged along miserably, water soaking through raincoats and leaking through boots.

renjun struggled with the map, or what was left of it at least. the wind tore through it and the rain dripped through the pages, blurring the lines together.

"you can put the map in a plastic pocket," said mr kim when they were still planning the expediation.

"nah, we don't need one, sir," the group had replied.

renjun really regretted that right then.

"jae, can you help me with this?" he called out over the lashing rain. jaemin was good at this stuff - surely he would lend a hand.

but jaemin didn't even look up, eyes buried in the shadow of his hood. renjun turned back to the path in disappointment.

"ren, are we even going the right way?" donghyuck yelled over the wind.

"i don't know, okay?!" renjun exploded on him, "maybe someone else should read the fucking map!"

at that moment, the wind tore the map right out of his hands and carried it far, far away into the rumbling clouds.

renjun let out something between a frustrated squeal and an angry sob and stormed off ahead of them, not even bothering to look where he was going.

"renny!"

"renjun, come back!"

renjun ignored them. caught up between the stress of the challenge and the pressure of keeping his secret off the cards, he just couldn't deal with his friends right then. they could never understand him.

"watch out!"

"renjun, the river!" donghyuck shrieked.

blindly tearing up the path, renjun lost his footing, feeling himself go over on his ankle, and the sharp twinge of pain it gave. he slipped down the bank into an icy river, the water level rising rapidly with the rain. he screamed at the lurch of being sucked under, the weight of his rucksack dragging him down.

"renny!" jeno yelled, instantly sprinting towards him, killing all the breath in his lungs. he dropped his bag and ran into the river, fighting against the current to reach renjun's small struggling body.

he charged forward, the protective insticts causing a rush of adrenaline to his brain, not slowing until he reached the chinese boy. "get your arms out," he instructed, forcibly getting renjun's arms out of the deathtrap of a bag.

"chuck it here, jeno!" donghyuck yelled from the bank of the river, accepting the the rucksack that was hurled over with open arms.

then jeno wrapped strong arms around renjun and held him close, tight against his chest, head well above water. "it's okay, i've got you," he said softly in his ear. he couldn't tell whether the water on renjun's cheeks was rain or tears.

standing firm against the current without the weight of a bag, jeno stayed there with the smaller boy for a moment, whilst renjun coughed up water onto jeno's shirt. then, lifting renjun by the thighs and resting them on his hips, jeno waded back to the riverbank and climbed back up to safety.

"oh my god, that scared me so much, ren," donghyuck said, his voice wavering with concern.

"i-i'm... s-sorry," renjun shivered, teeth chattering as they all stood there in the pouring rain. he nestled his face in jeno's shoulder, arms still clinging on around his neck.

nobody seemed to know what to do next. but it was raining and they were lost, and renjun was on his way to hypothermia if they stood around much longer.

"well, this is gr-" jaemin began.

"gay?" donghyuck interrupted. "is that what you were gonna say? hm?"

"what?" jaemin frowned, "no, i-"

"what is your problem with gay people, jaemin?" donghyuck accused.

"i don't have a-" jaemin protested, but was cut off yet again by donghyuck - who was pissed and needed a metaphorical punchbag.

"you need to respect the fucking lgbt community, you homophobe," donghyuck snapped. "i can't believe you still make gay jokes, it's not even funny anymore!"

"why do you even care?" jaemin demanded weakly. his face was paler now, almost sickly. "it's not like it affects you. you've got a girlfriend-"

"n-no, but it affects plenty of other people!" donghyuck told him with a nod.

"who then? who on this fucking team is it going to affect?"

"i can't say that-"

"then stop having a go for no reason!" jaemin wobbled then, donghyuck becoming a spinning blur in front of his eyes.

"i'm not! it's just that it affects-"

"me!" renjun yelled. he slipped out from jeno's grasp and stood his ground. "i'm fucking gay, alright?"

that's when jaemin's eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor.

"jaemin?"

"jae, what just-?"

"jae-jae?"

the three of them rushed to his side, and suddenly donghyuck was in charge. he checked jaemin's pulse and temperature, and pursed his lips grimly. "right," he said, "we can't stay out in this fucking storm any longer. we're gonna have to find shelter. now."

jeno jumped to his feet and ran ahead in search of someplace they could wait out the rain. renjun dragged the remaining bags into a nearby pile, and donghyuck kept a first aider's eye on jaemin.

"this way!" jeno yelled, returning with a sprint. "there's a cave kinda thing, and it's big enough for us all."

donghyuck nodded. "let's go," he said.

somehow, between them they managed to drag all the bags and an unconcious na jaemin all the way over to the cave jeno had mentioned. once inside, they all sat down, already exhausted.

"okay, if there's any wood in here we need to make a fire," donghyuck instructed. "there should be a first aid kit in one of the bags and i need it. oh, it should have a hypothermia blanket inside too, which needs to be put around renjun."

"since when were you in charge?" jeno blinked at him.

"since i took a fucking first aid course, that's when," said donghyuck. he rolled his eyes and clapped his hands. "chop chop! we don't have all fucking weekend."

renjun started searching the rucksacks for the first aid kit whilst jeno made himself busy collecting dry wood from around the cave to make a fire. donghyuck put jaemin into the recovery position, clearing his airways, and keeping a level head - even though inside he was screeching in terror.

"first aid kit!" renjun announced. he ignored the pain in his ankle (since it really was a minor issue in this situation) and tossed the first aid kit over to donghyuck.

"do we have any matches?" jeno asked no one in particular, but renjun was the only one who could answer.

"here," said renjun, passing them over.

jeno started trying to light the fire, piling up all the firewood into the middle of the cave. "i don't know how we're all so calm," he remarked, "especially when jaemin is fucking dead."

"he's not dead, shut up!" donghyuck yelled at him, feeling awfully tense at that moment.

"and i'm not calm," renjun added, still shivering from the river.

"you sound pretty calm-" jeno began.

"do you want me to scream or something?!"

"well..."

renjun sighed in exasperation. "just light the fire, je," he huffed.

the circumstances were dire. and the storm still wouldn't give up.

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