INTO MY WORLD (ENG.VER) - [FF EXO]

Chapter 14

Sun Hyang

I run through the tall grass, my injured leg lagging behind me. The pain radiating from the wound is spreading to the rest of my body, and prevents me from going as fast as I need to. I wipe the tears running over my cheeks: I mustn't cry, I have to remain strong, until the end. I glance behind me: a trail of blood leads all the way to Baekhyun, so I wrench tufts of grass away, and get rid of the evidence as best I can. I can't let them trace him.

They'll be coming any minute now, so I hurry up, and get back to the car we arrived in. I open the door, and sit inside. Just in time, their headlights' white halo blinds me, and I jump out of the car as if I'd just come out of it. A couple men dart out, and start running after me. I hear them search the car, and I speed up when I'm certain they're steering clear from Baekhyun's location, as quickly as I can with my leg. My heart is actually in greater pain than my wound, but I ignore it: I mustn't pay it any attention, and keep on running. Even if I have to die, Baekhyun will be safe. Even if I have to die, he shall live. When did his life become a priority? I don't know, the only thing I'm sure of is that now is not the time to think about it.

I'm still running, but I can tell I'm losing momentum. I'm dragging my leg more than anything else, and my pursuers have gotten back inside their car. Headlights light up my path, and the sound of engines indicates they're getting closer and closer. I'm done for. The road doesn't seem to narrow down any time soon: the cars are still able to follow me, and now that I'm on a bridge, I can't cut across country anymore. All I can do is run ahead. But until where? I'm not going to last much longer, and all they're patiently waiting for is for me to stop by myself, out of exhaustion.

There is no hope – I'm going to die here, tonight. I knew it, but to actually realise it is stronger.

The noises are closing in on me, and an idea suddenly comes to mind. What if...

Understanding I have no other choice, I run along the bridge, perceiving the night's obscurity thanks to my pursuers' headlights. I quickly make it to the railing, and lean over: I don't see the water, just pitch darkness: am I really going to jump? It seems like one of the worst ideas I've ever had regarding "survival instincts". Doors slam and the click of guns being loaded answer me: yes, I am going to jump, I have no other choice.

I take in a deep breath – and jump.

"You better come back alive, you hear me, Sun Hyang?"

Deep down inside me, a voice louder than all the others replies: I promise.

***

In action movies, you often see the main protagonist jumping into rivers to escape the bad guys going after him. Often, he dives and everything is slowed down, as if he were plunging into a soothing expanse, akin to that of a dream. But the water around me is nothing like a dream, or else it's a nightmare.

The rain falling against the surface feeds the water, and the currents twist me over. I am pulled in every possible direction, and resistance is futile: I try at first, but that only drives the air out of my lungs faster. My clothes quickly soak in, tugging me down, and my injured leg becomes almost unresponsive: I feel myself sinking deeper and deeper, further and further away. There's no right side up anymore, just black water and ice, against which I am powerless. I am lost, and my strength is leaving me way too fast.

Something brushes past me, and sudden panic stuns me. What is it? I can't see anything, I don't know where I am, I can barely even feel my own body. Another brush: it's gluey, and long. It's probably only seaweed, but I feel overwhelmed by an instinctive terror as I lose all rational thought: I use what remaining strength I have left to push away. I flap my legs and arms with no sense of coordination whatsoever, hysterical and despairing. Suddenly, I bump against something. I struggle to contain a shout that would make me lose what little air I have left. But rather than moving away from it, a spark of reason whispers for me to identify it. And so, scared shitless, I run a hand over: it's made out of metal, and cambered. It seems big to me. It's... the wreck of a car, fallen inside the river? That must mean that... the surface is right above!