haunted, the forest // nct [3]

{15}

     "Doyoung, stop running!" Jaehyun yelled to his friend as he chased after him.

     "DOYOUNG I'M OVER HERE!" Doyoung heard Chanmi's voice yell in agony. "HELP!"

     "I can't stop!" Doyoung told them. "Chanmi is in pain!"

     "No one is calling!" Gina shouted. "The forest is trying to trick you!"

Chanmi's voice seemed to echo around the trees in Doyoung's ears. Though, the voice started to multiply until he heard her shouting sentences in every direction. Doyoung skidded to a stop and turned to look in every direction. The screams continued to get louder until Doyoung's head was aching. He could no longer hear his friends calling out to him, only Chanmi's screams coming from all directions. He blocked his ears with his hands and gritted his teeth. In the distance, four cloaked figures started creeping closer to Doyoung from each side.

He could almost make out their yellow decaying teeth from their sinister grins. Chanmi's screams diluted as it was replaced by the deep chanting of the figures.

"Effuderunt sanguinem et tu esses et pereat ex Creator omnium: et arcum, ut Deum novum."

Arms wrapped around Doyoung and pulled him away from the scene. The hands yanked his own away from his ears as another hand swiped across his face.

"Pull yourself together, man," Haechan ordered.

Doyoung winced at the stinging feeling that started to tingle on his cheek. He was about to yell at Haechan for slapping him when he noticed that the chanting and screams were gone, the figures were no longer surrounding him, and his back was now leaned against a tree.

"What happened?" Jaehyun questioned. He still held onto Doyoung's arms to steady him.

     Doyoung drew in a rigid breath, paranoid from the recent events. "I-I heard Chanmi calling my name. She sounded like... sounded like she was in pain." He shifted his eyes around the area, but everything was completely still. No breeze, no movement, no noise. For some reason, it was still incredibly eerie.

     "No one was yelling, Doyoung," Gina told him. "We didn't hear anything."

     "Did you see the c-cloaked figures?" Doyoung pointed in each direction he saw them, his hands shaking violently.

     Jaehyun shook his head. "Nothing, we just saw you standing there with your hands over your ears looking around the trees."

     Doyoung let his head fall back against the tree. Jaehyun rubbed his arm to help soothe him from the scare.

     "What are we going to do?" Gina questioned. "If this forest is messing with us, are we ever going to find a way out?"

"Yes, we will," Jaehyun said with confidence. "We will find everyone and make it out unharmed."

"Keep dreaming," Haechan scoffed. "The first time I was in a situation like this, a girl named Mi-Cha nearly broke her back and neck from possession. Then, Chenle, almost died from sacrificing himself to kill this weird drunk ghost. I'm fucking done with haunted places."

     "And if we find everyone, what if it's not actually them?" Doyoung asked in distress. "The forest could just make it seem like we found them."

     "It's not real," Jaehyun told them. "Only Doyoung saw what was happening so that means it's inside our heads that these spirits are manipulating. If we find people and all hell breaks loose, remember it's not real and we'll get away as fast as possible." Jaehyun looked at the three in his group and gave them a short nod. "Are we ready?"

Doyoung straightened himself and took a step away from the tree. "I'm ready."

"Ready," Gina added.

They turned to Haechan, who had crossed his arms and put on a blank expression. "Ready."

X X X

     "Jungwoo!" Taeyong called. "Chanmi, Chunja!"

     "Is anyone around here?" Daerin joined Taeyong in shouting out for the others. Taeyong put his arm around her as she shivered in the cold.

     "We're never going to get out of here," Jisoo exhaled sharply.

     "In the wise words of J.R.R. Tolkien," Daerin drew in a soft breath, "'courage will now be your best defense against the storm that is at hand.'"

     "You and Kun should have a Harry Potter marathon," Lucas put in.

     "J.R.R Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings," Jisoo corrected. "You tried, bud."

     "But I wouldn't mind a Harry Potter marathon," Daerin added.

     "Well, if we were curious about his knowledge in literature..." Johnny tilted his head in the direction of Lucas with a small smile.

     Lucas huffed a laughed and briefly closed his eyes. "Ah, my bad."

     Daerin chuckled. "I take pride in being a nerd."

     Taeyong smiled and kissed her cheek. "And I take pride in having such an intelligent girlfriend."

     "As soon as we get out of here," Mark started, "we're all going to sit together in one of the dorms and watch every single Harry Potter movie."

     "Yes please," Jisoo agreed. She looped her arm with Vernon and looked up at him. "You're invited too."

     "Sweet." Vernon beamed. "Thanks guys. You're my first friends since coming to this college."

     "And maybe your last," Jihwan muttered with a shrug.

     "First and last," Mark blew out a long breath. "Let's hope that's not the case."