haunted, the forest // nct [3]

{20}

(Yo I had no idea it's been so long since I updated this book. I'm sorry, hope you enjoy ♡)

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Kun marched through the trees, tuning in on all his senses to find where the ghosts could be. Jungwoo and Sicheng nervously trailed behind him while huddling close together. Though they believed in their intelligent and older friend, there was still a bit of uncertainty with his quest.

"How do you know we'll find the ghosts?" Sicheng asked. "We've been trying to find our way out this whole time and haven't recieved any luck."

Kun suddenly stopped in his tracks as his eyes caught sight of a faint, orange glow. He narrowed his eyes, not losing where the flickering light was. "Stay low," he ordered in a whisper. "Keep quiet."

The three boys crouched down and moved along the tall weeds. Upon closer inspection, Kun could make out the sight of a fire. The light it produced was shining on four familiar faces. Kun had to hold his breath to stop himself from making any noise in response to the scene. He stuck a hand back to stop Jungwoo and Sicheng from moving.

Jungwoo leaned closer to Kun. "How come we found them so easily?" he whispered in such a low volume that Kun could barely hear him.

"They must be letting their guard down because of the ones they captured." Kun's eyes lingered on the four hooded figures as one pointed at Vernon.

"We have to save them." The corners of Sicheng's mouth turned down in a frown.

Behind the three, the sound of leaves crunching started approaching. They whipped their heads around to discover Johnny, Ten, Taeyong, Daerin, and Jihwan cautiously moving closer. Ten gasped at what he saw and stepped back against Johnny.

"I can't believe him," Jihwan muttered, bringing her hands up to her head in distress.

Taeyong took a step closer to inspect the area, but his foot landed on a rather loud twig as it snapped in half. His face came up from with an expression filled with terror. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the spirits just as their heads turned to look at them. The cloaked figures attention turned to the group, and they started walking in their direction.

"Kun, what do we do?" Jungwoo nervously questioned, holding onto Kun's sleeve.

Jihwan flinched back as one of the ghosts suddenly sped in her direction before stopping in front of her. She peered at it, slowly stepping back. However, whenever she would move, the ghost would do the same. It's arm reached out of the baggy cloak closer to her. Jihwan closed her eyes, muttering curse words and preparing for its cold hand to grasp her arm when she couldn't get away anymore.

All of a sudden, Jihwan's eyes were forced open by the sound of a loud whack. The cloaked figure fell to the forest floor and Lucas stood there triumphantly with a chunk of wood in his hand.

"Wh... h-how did you get out?" she breathed, examining Lucas who was standing right in front of her.

He held up a sharp rock, cracking a smile. "Don't underestimate me, Ji—" before he could finish, the cloaked figure came back up and shoved Lucas back with an extreme, supernatural force. His head collided with a tree and he fell on the ground, limp.

Kun, Jungwoo, and Sicheng dodged passed the spirits coming at them. They rushed to Jisoo, Vernon, and Mark so they could be untied.

"How did this happen?" Kun questioned while he tackled Vernon's rope.

"Something happened to Mark's ankle. It started swelling like crazy after he tripped over a root," Vernon quickly explained. He stepped away from the tree when Kun finished untying him. "They stole my bag of supplies. We need to find it quickly so we can hold them back and possibly find their bones. I have salt and—"

"KUN HELP!" Jungwoo screamed.

Kun quickly looked in the direction of Jungwoo's urgent call. One of the spirits had locked his arms behind his back before he was able to untie Mark from the tree. Kun panicked, unsure of what to do. He needed to act fast. Anger began to build inside of Kun to the point where he didn't even think, he just charged at the spirit.

Taeyong took Daerin's hand and pulled her away from the spirit heading in their direction. Johnny had the same idea with Ten. The four dodged by the spirits as they continuously reappeared right in front of them.

Jihwan was being held by one of the four cult members, taking her closer to the fire. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she could start to feel the heat of the flames. "No... no!" She squirmed and squirmed until she could finally rip a hand free. Jihwan pulled her arm back, sending her fist against the jaw of the spirit. The grip loosened as it stepped back, but a smile slowly surfaced of its face when balance was regained.

Jihwan ran away from the fire, going to the tree Lucas was thrown against. She walked around it a couple times as confusion began to rise inside of her from the fact Lucas was no longer there. Her gaze swept over the scene multiple times, hoping to find his tall frame amongst the frantic dodging, running, and fighting.

"Lucas!" she called desperately. "If you aren't already dead, I'm gonna kill you!"