The Scent of Your Blood

Chapter 9

Around 5:11 p.m. they packed up and made their way back to their campsite because it was getting dark. They had showers before putting their pyjamas on and sitting by the lit fire with blankets wrapped around them, the warm day coming in colder as the sun was setting.

"Today was fun," Yeosang said as he stretched in his chair.

"Yeah," Jongho agreed, his eyes staying on the fire as he poked it with a stick, the heat warming his body.

"How long were we planning to stay?" Hongjoong asked, looking around at his friends.

"Hmm, well I wanted to stay until Friday if you guys are okay with that," Wooyoung said.

"I want to stay away from my apartment as long as I can," Hongjoong says.

"Why did you move in if it is haunted?" Mingi asked.

"Well, Mingi, if I had known the apartment was haunted by a bloodthirsty demon, I wouldn't have moved in in the first place," Hongjoong said and glared at his friend. The others looked at the oldest.

"Woah, I was just asking. You don't need to get so salty, hyung," Mingi said and this just made the oldest even more annoyed.

"Wait, bloodthirsty demon?" Yeosang questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Don't worry about it, Hongjoong-hyung won't be living there once we get back," Yunho says. It went quiet for a few minutes until Hongjoong abruptly stood up, startling the others.

"I'm going for a walk," he mumbled before taking off.

"Hyung—" Yunho called out but he didn't listen as he quickly walked away from the group.

"It was a harmless question, I don't know why he got so angry," Mingi said.

Yunho sighed and leans back in his chair. "Let's leave him alone for now until he calms down."

Hongjoong didn't know why he got so annoyed. He WAS told that the apartment is haunted but he chose to stay. He didn't know it was going to get this bad though; being grabbed, scratched and dragged nearly out of his bed, yeah how fun. Hongjoong sighed as he sat down on a bench near a small pond. Hongjoong doesn't know how long he was sitting there but Yunho soon walked over and quietly sat down.

"I'm sorry," Hongjoong mumbled and the tall man glanced at him. "I don't know why I got angry, I'm just scared. That place is evil and it has affected me since the activity started."

Yunho didn't say anything, just listened to what the older had to say. "I know I shouldn't go back because whatever is in that place wants me dead but I can't help but to want to stay. It's like an invisible force that keeps pulling me back no matter how much I want to leave," Hongjoong frowns.

"You aren't going to stay there after what it has done to you, hyung. It's messing with you mentally and physically."

Hongjoong once again let out a sigh and looked down at the grass-covered ground. "Come on, let's get back. We made dinner," Yunho stood up and a few seconds passed before Hongjoong followed his action. They walked back to the campsite, no one saying anything to Hongjoong as he sat down and grabbed a bowl of food that was handed to him by Yunho.

(10:47 PM)

Hongjoong crawled into his sleeping bag then closed his eyes, listening to his friends as they talked and laughed. It wasn't as cold as the other night but it was still chilly. It took nearly 45 minutes for Hongjoong to fall asleep since his mind was filled with thoughts of his apartment and that demon.

I open my eyes and look around my blurry surroundings but when my eyes adjust, I shoot up, my eyes growing wide in disbelief. My breathing is heavy and my heartbeat is pounding hard against my chest. 'I'm back at my apartment.' I look around the lounge room, dining and kitchen.

I jump up and run for the front door but before I can grab the handle, I'm grabbed then harshly pulled onto the ground where I am dragged across the floor into my bedroom.

"Let me go!" I cry out.

The door slams shut causing the whole apartment to shake from the force. The invisible hands let me go and a deep chuckle echoes around me until it disappears. My heart hasn't stopped racing and I place my right hand on my chest. I sit up and that's when a black clawed hand reaches out from under my bed. I jump back, a startled scream leaving my mouth and the claw just misses me. It leaves scratches on the carpet as it retreats under the bed.

"Hongjoong," a voice whispers and I whip my head around to see where it came from.

"Agh!" I shout when two claws grab onto me and start pulling me towards the bed. I claw at the carpet, trying to find something to grab onto so it doesn't pull me under the bed.

It's a game of tug of war with my body but the demon succeeds in pulling me under my bed and my screams echo around me.

I'm falling for what seems like hours but soon land hard against the ground, the wind getting knocked out of my lungs. I cough and try to sit up.

"Hongjoong," the voice calls out again and I look to my left where it came from. Blood red eyes glare at me from the darkness and when they blink, they're gone. I breathe heavily as I turn my head this way and that way trying to find the eyes. A deep, evil chuckle echoes all around me.

"You can't escape." The claws are back as they grab my legs and they leave deep wounds on my skin. I'm falling again and this time I land on my bed. I sit up but an invisible force shoves me back down. I close my eyes and when I open them I scream in fear when I see the demon hovering over me.

"You won't leave because you are now mine. I'll drain your blood before I chop your limbs off and cut up your torso into little bite-sized pieces," the demon bursts out laughing, his laughter echoing all around me. I struggle against him, tears streaming down my face.

"No!"

A sharp pain erupts in my lower abdomen and I cry out in pain. "Bye-bye~" the demon opens his mouth widely before biting down on my head.

Hongjoong sat up, a scream leaving his mouth and it jolted awake his friends.

"Hongjoong! It's okay, it was just a nightmare," Yunho said and pulled the older into a safe embrace and Hongjoong gripped tightly onto his friend's shirt. He sobbed into his chest, hiccups escaping as he cried. Mingi watched with a frown, wondering what kind of dream the older had to have him reacting like that.

Yunho rubbed Hongjoong's back to try to calm him down. Footsteps from outside were quickly approaching the tent and the zipper was undone. Wooyoung and San poked their heads in, worry evident on their faces.

"What happened? We heard screams," Wooyoung asked and when he saw Hongjoong crying he got inside the tent. "Hyung, what happened?" He sat beside him and placed a hand on the older's shoulder.

"Just a nightmare," Yunho answered for him since Hongjoong was still trying to calm down.

"Must have been one hell of a nightmare to have him shaking like this," San spoke up before coming inside.

Minutes passed and Hongjoong had fallen back to sleep, Yunho still holding him close as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"You two should get back to your tents. It's really cold," Mingi spoke up and the two nodded before leaving.

They laid back down, Hongjoong snuggled close to Yunho with his face hiding in the taller's chest. Yunho leaned down to leave a gentle kiss on top of Hongjoong's head. He never stopped running his fingers through the older's hair but he eventually stopped when he was slowly drifting off to sleep.