Drag Me To Hell ✦ Markhyuck

07 - wanna hear a joke?

Mark stares at Donghyuck with a look of complete vacancy as he attempts to process what the younger boy had just told him.

"Wh..." Mark attempts to speak, "Why don't I remember that?"

"I don't know," Donghyuck responds feebly as his fingers mindlessly pick at the hem of his hoodie.

"Are...are we dead?" Mark inquires.

"I don't know," Donghyuck repeats but this time in a weak whisper.

The air becomes thick with tension as neither boy speaks, and Donghyuck swears he's suffocating from it. He wishes that Mark would say something. Anything. He couldn't stand the deafening silence that pierces his ears and the fear of not knowing how Mark was feeling. Does he hate him? Does he not? Donghyuck fully understands Mark most likely is unable to properly process what's going on, but it doesn't ease his mind in the slightest.

"I'm so sorry, Mark," Donghyuck says in a volume which is so low, it was barely even audible to himself.

Mark glances up at Donghyuck with saddened eyes and shakes his head. Before he can say anything, a soft creaking noise fills the air. Both boys snap their heads towards the door to Mark's room and watch as it slowly opens on its own.

Without a second's hesitation, Mark stands up and walks towards it. Donghyuck shoots up from the bed and rushes to his side. He grips his wrist tightly, causing Mark to stop and shoot him a questioning look.

"Don't go," Donghyuck begs with a sense of urgency.

Despite his pleas, Mark turns his back on him and continues on. Donghyuck follows close behind, feeling too afraid to be left alone. Mark checks the end of the hallway where the staircase begins and stares at it for several moments. Donghyuck stands anxiously by his side, waiting for him to figure out what to do.

The faint sound of overly animated chuckling comes from the other side of the hall, and Donghyuck immediately snaps his head towards it. He questions if he really heard what he thought he did, and takes a few steps closer in the general direction of the sound. He hears it again, feeling the muscles in his body instantaneously tense up.

"D-did you hear that?" Donghyuck asks, but there's no response, "Mark?"

As the boy spins on his heel, he's met with the sight of an empty hallway. His stomach drops at the realization he's alone now.

The laugh fills the air once more, but this time at a much more audible volume. He turns around and sees a figure dart across the hall from one room to another. Without thinking, Donghyuck paces towards the room which the figure had run into.

The door is wide open, but the room is pitch black, hindering Donghyuck from being able to see anything inside. He takes a few cautious steps into the room and brushes his hand against the wall in attempt to find the light switch. After a couple seconds of awkward wall caressing, his hand hits the cold plastic, and he flicks it on. To Donghyuck's surprise, the room is vacant. All that's inside is a queen sized bed, a bedside stand with a plain-looking lamp, and a fairly large dresser drawer. It clicks in Donghyuck's head that this was Mark's parents' room. He had never been inside, but he recalls it being one of the only rooms he had never entered.

But where were Mark's parents?

And who had run across the hallway laughing?

Donghyuck shudders as a wave of chills run through his body. He tries not to think about it and decides he needs to find Mark, immediately. The longer he wanders the place without him, the more likely he's going to get hurt.

As he turns to leave, Donghyuck is met with a face that's covered completely in makeup. The entirety of it is coated in a ghost white shade with a large red spot on its nose and blood red on its lips. It's dressed in a sort of baggy clown costume which is checkered with black and red diamonds all over it. When it smiles at Donghyuck, its teeth are coated with a deep red liquid that's a similar colour to its lips.

Without warning, the clown-like figure latches its black gloved hand to Donghyuck's throat. Donghyuck can feel his airways being cut off as its grip tightens, but the clown doesn't stop there. It lifts Donghyuck into the air and proceeds to chuckle at him. The laugh starts out goofy, but as it goes on, it becomes increasingly sinister.

Then, it abruptly stops.

"Wanna hear a joke, Hyuck?" the clown asks as it leans in close, forcing Donghyuck to breathe in the smell of rust on it's breath, "That you thought Mark would stick by you."

The clown begins to cackle as Donghyuck claws at its hand. He jerks his body around in attempt to get it to drop him, but it proves to be a futile action. Its grip just seemingly tightens, causing Donghyuck to start feeling pressure building in his head.

"Oh! I have an even funnier joke!" the clown exclaims, "It's the one where the only closet Mark is willing to help you out of is the wardrobe you got locked in."

The clown begins roaring with laughter as Donghyuck feels tears sting his eyes. It was a mix of the emotional pain the 'joke' inflicted as well as the physical pain from his inability to breathe properly. Donghyuck flails his legs out with as much force as he can muster. To his surprise, he manages to kick the clown hard in the ribs, causing it to drop him as it cries out in pain. Donghyuck lands on his hands and knees, gasping wildly for air as he coughs.

"M-a-Mar-k," Donghyuck tries to scream, but his cries come out as hoarse spurts of air.

Ditching plan A, Donghyuck starts crawling for the door. Unfortunately, a pair of hands wrap around one of his ankles and begin dragging him further into the room. Donghyuck is flipped onto his back and sees the clown snarling at him as it proceeds to pull him along. Donghyuck forcefully kicks at its face with his free foot and surprisingly strikes it right on its nose. The clown bellows in pain as it lets go of Donghyuck and cups its hands over its nose. Realizing this is his only window of opportunity to escape, he scrambles to his feet and jets off out of the room before the horrific clown can catch him again.