𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞!𝐚𝐮) 𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐙

CH. 53 ~ Betrayal

"Alright, Sun-Mi," I pant, continuing my trek and forcing myself onward even as horror seeps into my bones, making me jittery. I can tell that I've gotten significantly close to Yunho because of how strong that undeniably paralyzing sensation has gotten. It's the only indicator that I'm heading in the right direction and no matter how tumultuous my brain feels I can't stop now. Not when I'm this close to my friend. "Just a little more and—," I freeze hearing the snap of a twig not far off to my left.

Snapping my head in that direction, I squint as hard as I can into the distance, hearing my blood flooding my ears each time my heart beats. There are zero movements from the direction that I heard the twig snap and it's then that I realize how deep I've gone into the woods. Thick dark-brown bark and overgrown greens stretch on for miles on end around me no matter where I look. It's eerily quiet and it doesn't help that the ominous feeling is stronger here. More than ever.

The sweat that's beginning to collect at my temples, runs down my skin painstakingly slow before stopping at my mid cheek. And it didn't stop because it fell into my shirt or because it was just a small droplet, no, it's stopped completely out of nowhere. Like if someone commanded it to.

This brings me completely on edge and all the hairs on my body stand up. My hands begin to shake violently and I hide them under my armpits, trying to keep them as close to my body as possible out of comfort.

"Okay, calm down," I whisper, still making sure in case something really was there, waiting for me. "It was just a figment of your imagination. It was just a figment of your imagination." I chant under my breath, lifting my right leg to take a step forward. I try pushing down all my fears reminding myself that I'm doing this for Yunho when the leaves all around me begin to rustle. This prompts me to stay in place once again and the longer I stay where I am, the louder the rustling becomes.

It increases to such loudness that it feels like the earth's rumbling is causing the trees and foliage all around me to shake. I bring both hands and in my frightened state I press them over my ears to drown out the sounds but it's no use. I begin hitting my head recklessly, almost until I can see stars, and still, the rustling of the trees remains. I shake my head frantically, spinning around to try to locate the source to no avail.

The sounds are erupting from all sides and because of that, there isn't any form of clues as to what the source of this commotion is. Only one word swirls around my mind and I follow its command, finding no better option.

Run. Run. Run. The same word repeats itself in my head and my limbs move to it. I don't spend time deciding what would be best, just doing what my brain commands, and by the time I realize that I'm running deeper into the forest, it's too late. My legs have carried me away from the sounds of the rustling foliage and into a clearing, but I'm still not sure where in the forest I am.

I look around for any sign of a path walk, something to connect me to the rest of the Isle and its inhabitants, but there's no sign of civil life anywhere. Taking a couple of steps into the clearing, I also notice that the ominous feeling is long gone and I curse myself mentally for letting Yunho out of my range. I turn to face where I came from cursing myself even more for getting lost.

"Stupid... Stupid... Stupid!" I grunt, kicking a large root and regretting it the minute my toe makes contact with its hard exterior. I let out a frustrated cry, crouching down with a large frown, and trying to gather my jumbled-up thoughts. As I retrace my steps mentally, I become too engrossed in trying to remember my way back that when I hear a sound of someone coming up from behind me, I don't register it, until it's too late.

All I can see is the edge of the wooden bow as it gets closer and closer to the side of my face before it makes contact, snapping in two because of the sheer force that the wielder uses to smack me across the face with. The only thing I had time to do was widen my eyes as I saw the weapon coming.