The Pitch || EXO

Chapter 18

❗️Warning❗The following chapter contains gruesome description and gore. Read at your own risk.

The group run through the dense forest; shoes thudding against the earth, bitter winds chilling their bones as it bites at their skin. Yixing bolts just slightly ahead of Jiseok but as he runs forward, his trouser leg gets snagged on a loop of  bramble and catches around his ankle, causing him to trip painfully. His ankle twists and an agonising jolt of pain rushes through his body as he lands on his chest and hands. Jiseok almost trips over the fallen man due to being so close behind but manages to slow down just in time to pick Yixing up and get him going again. More gunshots are fired, but this time they are considerably closer, too close.

As Kim is running, one of the men from the Black Hearts lifts his gun and aims at her, crouching down behind one of the trees. His finger brushes against the trigger as he undoes the safety pin. A loud shot is heard, then three steps before a loud thud reverberates around the trees and into everybody's ears. Kim rolls onto her back, eyes wide in shock and pain. her lips tremble as she tries desperately to gasp in oxygen. but she can't. Her gaze falls upon her chest where the unbearable pain strikes her the worst. Every rise and fall of her chest causes her an immense amount of pain, so much so, that black spots begin to dance across her vision. The colour red begins to seep through her clothes, slowly spreading from the wound. The bullet penetrated her right lung, and went through and through, causing the lung to collapse and for blood to begin soaking the ground beneath her from the exit wound. Her chest jerks in a futile attempt to be able to breathe. Gargling noises are heard as she chokes on her own blood, which has risen from her collapsed lung, into her bronchioles and up into her throat. Her fingernails dig into the soft earth beneath her as she struggles to cope with the pain, the pain of the wound and of her lung burning due to oxygen deprivation. Her lips are now tinged a blueish colour as other patches of blue begin to appear. Shrieks and cries from Kim's best friend, Sunli, can be heard, the poor girl dropping onto her knees sobbing loudly and painfully at the loss of her best friend. Minseok with tears in his eyes picks up Sunli, pressing her head into his chest while carrying her so that she no longer sees the struggle of Kim. Some of the men from the Black Heart stop to laugh at the poor girl who lays dying, however are 'nice enough' to put her out of her misery. Another deafening gunshot sounds and this time Kim's struggles are over, hands and lips no longer trembling, chest no longer heaving. Her eyes stay wide open which portray the shock, horror and trauma that she felt during her dying moments. Her lashes stay clumped together and one last tear drops from her left eye as it rolls slowly down her cheek and drips onto the ground beneath her.

"Keep running! we can make this!" Baekhyun shouts in encouragement, running behind Sehun. Kyungsoo suddenly stops and presses his hands to the ground and soon a loud rumble ensues. A large stone wall rises out of the earth about a hundred meters behind them and almost encases them. The group stop momentarily but then continue running. That is, until the wall suddenly crumbles and the Black Hearts appear through the dust and rubble.
"How the fuck?!" Chanyeol exclaims, eyes wide in panic. While he's running, he turns around so that he is running backwards and with his open palm creates a ball of flame, which he aims at the opposing side. After hearing a few screams, they continue but soon enough a sizzling sound and a large cloud of steam arise and suddenly the group realises the danger that they are in.
"Oh shit." Yixing curses. "This isn't good." They continue sprinting until they are no longer chased, their mouths dry, lungs burning and legs wobbly. Junmyeon slumps down and cradles his head in his hands, sighing. With an open hand, he creates a sphere of water and drinks from it before cautiously passing it to Sehun. After a short rest they stand back up again, stomachs cramping with hunger. There is a long journey ahead of them and they have no time to be caught up in emotions. Sunli soon awakes, face a deathly grey and her eyes as well as her face are swollen. Minseok allows her to stand on her own feet, carefully grasping her hand to make sure she doesn't fall. He gives her a small smile as the group continue their journey back home. They've stocked up on food for now, but they will soon need more. However, growing their seeds from apple cores, the centre of oranges and from other fruit is going to be a challenge, especially when all of the tools they need to farm are in New Seoul, which has been conquered by the Black Hearts. Aching stomachs and fatigue are common now, more than it used to be than when the boys were in their trainee days. After a gruelling and sluggish two hour trek to find 'their' house, they unpack their things and half of the group head off into the woods to forage. Jingsu, who is in the house, helps Sehun, Jongin, Junmyeon, Yixing, Yoonsun and Sungjil to fill tupperware with soil so that they can grow their plants inside. This will prevent stealing and the group can monitor how much food they will need to plant.

The other group look for mushrooms, edible roots, mint leaves and other fruits. Through the trees the boys can see how the sun is slowly being drawn to the ground, the one thing that is constant and unchanging in a time like this. The sun is their hope, their light in this dark world where it is now every man for himself. Kyungsoo thinks about how things used to be, how colourful their world was before all of this happened. He sighs deeply, breathing in the scent of damp soil and continues digging around in the earth, searching for anything he can find. A sudden shout from Chanyeol has his heart hammering loudly in his chest as his eyes grow wide in alert. One word comes into mind.
"Shit."

Hi guys! I apologise for not updating as much lately but I had my history exam today and biology exam yesterday 😬 Anyways, feel free to comment about any mistakes, questions or suggestion you have and please let me know if you are enjoying this book so far. Love you, my peanut butter cookies and I will update soon, I promise ❤️🍪