Human |BTS|

Chapter 4

He was menacing. Figure tall and intimidating, mask alarmingly sleek, and suit far too perfect. The blood dripping down his pants and arms oozed off of the shaking figure in his arms, and he shifted it, head tilting slightly.

Eden was shaking (Y/n), trying to get her to move, but she felt frozen to the spot. It was as if everything had failed her— nothing executing. And Eden had to drag her fear stricken body away from the window and into a nearby closet.

It was dark— cold. Damp. The closet smelled of mold, and as Eden closed the door, everything seemed to come back. (Y/n) found the two of them gripping their knives pitifully, realizing all too late they should've gone out the back door... That they should've ran. They didn't stand a chance with their tiny knives. Not against the White Lotus. No one did.

Breath fast and heart beating faster, she peeked through the cracks, listening intently as the front door opened.

It creaked quietly, a thump resounding throughout the house as the White Lotus kicked the old corpse aside with the tip of his dress shoe. She watched him step inside, Jimin's cries having gone silent and replaced with panicked breathing.

The further they walked in, the less she could see, until they disappeared from view altogether, leaving her ears alert as the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the room.

Closer, closer, then they froze. There was a lot of softened hits, more than a few squeaks, and then silence.

It was quiet for a while, except for the sound of fabric ripping as it resounded around the room every so often. However, even that ceased eventually... After that, it was just Jimin's heavy breathing.

(Y/n)'s muscles were so tense they ached. Silent tears continued to pour down her cheeks, fear causing her body to shake precariously. The knife she was gripping felt like a mere toothpick— seeing how she knew it wouldn't do any real damage, and after a few more moments of silence, the walking began again, gradually getting closer and closer to the closet. Then they froze again... But this time, they were right in front of it.

Suddenly the door flung open, causing the two girls to gasp and (Y/n) to fly to her feet.

However, when the door was fully open and they could finally see out it, she found that the man had taken rapid steps back so that he was a few feet away. He studied first her— who stood in front of Eden, acting as a shield— and then Eden, gun gripped in his hand as (Y/n)'s brain scrambled for an idea.

But her brain fell silent. It was as if his mask had froze her like the stare of Medusa, and even Eden seemed to be out of ideas. And it was when her younger sister began to cry fearfully that she realized she'd failed her. She'd failed to keep her promise of getting her back to their parents safely, and her heart ached sorrowfully, realizing for the thousandth time that this was all her fault.

However, just as she was about to give up, something happened.

The White Lotus stared at them for a bit longer before slowly bending down and placing the gun on the poorly laminated floor. Then, he slowly rose back up to his full height, raising his arms up in a steady sign of peace...

At that moment, her mind blanked.

He kicked the gun to the side.

She blinked, watching the gun slide before slowly looking back up at him, confused. Confused and suddenly weak in the knees.

Then, he moved again, offering something. And when she looked down, she found a flashlight and a piece of paper resting in the palm of his hand. He had pulled them out of the inside of his suit, and when he pulled out those two simple things, she was so relieved she dropped her knife. Then, she looked back up at his mask, relief pouring streams down her face before she gradually moved forward, snatched the two things, and took a few steps backwards.

He simply walked away after that.

Looking down, she winced when she turned on the flashlight. However, after a few minutes of adjustment, she took a look at the note.

It simply read:

"You're safe."

"(Y/n)... W—What does it say?" Whispered Eden.

With trembling hands, she passed on the two objects before slowly looking back up at the White Lotus. He was searching around the house— looking through drawers, closets, and cupboards.

There were more than a few mice that he had to shew away, but he didn't seem the least bit fazed.

Looking over, she jumped when she saw Jimin sitting on the couch, arms wrapped in makeshift bandages and eyes staring at her with just as much surprise. He seemed weak and tired, but the rest of his emotions seemed to be ruled out by fear.

She quickly looked away, wondering if he recognized her. Wondering if he cared.

Eden stood beside her, body shaking and eyes watching the White Lotus. Carefully pinned underneath her foot was his pistol.

All of their eyes had adjusted to the dark a long time ago. There was never any light— so if it was dark somewhere, you had to get used to it. That's just how things went— despite the working electricity in each house.

Still, none of them could see much. It doesn't matter how "good" one's eyes were. There were still limitations. And as (Y/n) slowly began to relax— knowing that temporarily, her and her sister were safe— she began to realize that the White Lotus was struggling as he looked around the house.

And so, she gathered up her courage and approached him.

But the White Lotus didn't like that. His hand flew to his hip as he slid to the side and spun around, squaring up with a knife in hand. It caused her to leap back, eyes wide and heart racing.

But when he relaxed, she realized what had happened. She'd surprised him— scared him. In a time so rough, it was hard to properly trust anyone— they could turn on you faster than a cobra's strike.

She held out the flashlight.

The mask's blank gaze watched her for a second before he slowly loosened up a bit more. Then, he stretched out his hand to take it. However, (Y/n) quickly retracted it, causing him to do the same with his hand as he went on defense once more.

"Can I trust you?" She found herself asking finally before holding out her hand. "Only shake it unless we can absolutely trust you."

There was no hesitation. He immediately shook it.

And she swore, within that second, that she heard a very small and faint: "I promise."

Whether it was just her ears playing tricks on her or him actually speaking, she would never know. However, she still held out that flashlight, and he still took it.