The Gifted (Txt x Itzy)

六十七

The group finally were met with the heavy mist that promised the safe sanctuary of the island. Releasing long sighs with mixed emotions, they simply stared at the thick opaque fog. "There's probably a mess back there, huh," Yeji whispered. Beomgyu nodded grimly. Yuna shook her head. Yeonjun muttered unintelligible gibberish helpfully. So they plunged into the deep unknown.

-

But the island looked untouched. It was pristine and clean as if nature had been allowed to flourish there for years and years without disruption. As if-

"They've disappeared," Ryujin gasped with her hand over her mouth.

"It can't be," Soobin shook his head in disbelief.

They wandered around, their hands running over the dry cracking walls in search of that little opening they found the last time. That felt like a decade ago.

"Nothing," Yuna murmured, "Nothing at all."

"They left just like that?" Yeji spat out tearfully.

"If we had the damn map," Kai seethed.

Chaeryeong's eyes travelled up to the dark night sky, then gasped, "Stars."

"What?" Every single pair of eyes trailed up. The gorgeous constellations swirled across the sky, but they looked a lot different.

"Taehyung," Yeji guessed, "He must have done this."

"It's an arrow, isn't it?" Beomgyu said excitedly, "Then we just have to follow it!"

And so they did.

-

Taehyun woke up on the forest floor, his head on someone's shoulder. "You're up," Jimin said softly, "Come, it's dark, we should go." Brushing themselves off as they stood, Taehyun was surprised to find the notebook gleaming in his hands. Jimin grinned, "The map must have changed. I told Taehyung to lead us to the new base."

"A new one? What if humans find it again?"

A coy smile, "Well, we're already working on that."

A huff and Jimin said, "Let's go, it's late and I'm starving."

-

"Okay, this is a lot tougher than expected," Yeji said as she squinted at the sky.

"Yeah, and where are those thirteen?" Kai suddenly asked.

Blowing out a gust of air, Yuna said, "Aish, we lost them. But I bet they can handle better than we can. Let's just focus."

Chaeryeong wrinkled her nose, "Maybe we should just rest for the day. Yeonjun's injured and we're all super tired. We should stop for now."

"Yeah, and sleep on the ground again," Ryujin yawned, "I'm up for it."

"It's been a long day," Soobin whistled softly.

"Yeah."

Then they drifted off into the land of sweet, sweet dreams.

-
The bright sunlight woke them up, as they squinted at everything around them. "What time is it?" Yuna asked, "We've lost track of time for the last, what, week?"

"Yep," Yeji sighed, then suddenly froze, and her shoulders sagged, "What about Jisu? Do you think she's okay?"

"Shit, should we look for them? Taehyun and Jisu, I mean."

"Well, let's pray that they're together. Maybe they'll be able to help each other."

-

Jisu regained consciousness in the middle of the forest, sprawled elegantly on the moist floor. Blinking as she shakily stood, she tried to recall what had happened.

She had stormed off, searched for Taehyun for a really long time but to no avail. Then she probably fell asleep from all the exhaustion. Her body was sore and aching, and all she wanted was to go home. Home. Where was home, now? Was it where her father was? Was it that island that she felt so comfortable at for that short period of time that she was there for? Or was it with her friends? A nagging voice inside of her told her it was the last option. Well, she had to go somewhere now.

The bushes began rustling, and Jisu tensed to brace herself for what could appear. But it was only a small child.

He was crying and had dirt all over his face, his tears carving tracks in his grimy cheeks. His clothes were tattered and bloodied; he had obviously been in a scuffle.

The uncontrollable sisterly urge overcame her, and she crouched down to be at eye-level with the boy.

"Hey," She greeted gently, "What are you doing here?"

The boy sniffed, "I-I ran away from the scary humans. They put me in a cage, then there was a lot of noise, and I-I ran."

Jisu smiled, "Me too, I had a rough time yesterday too. Do you want to go somewhere safe?" The boy nodded gingerly. "I'm Jisu, what's your name?"

The boy gave a bright beam, "I'm Heesung!"

-

"Well, we are certainly getting nowhere," Kai announced for the nth time.

"Thanks for the reminder, Kai, but without the stars, we have no idea where we're going."

"Yep, and wandering this huge island isn't going to be helpful!"

"Got a better plan?"

Everyone froze at that point because Yeji sounded so much like Taehyun. Shrugging off the awkwardness, Yeji then said, "Well, let's just do our best. Come on, where is someplace that is well-hidden yet in plain sight?"

"I don't know, let's check every single wall we find to find out!"

Yuna smirked, "Excellent plan, let's go."

"Hey, kids!"

They turned and saw Jimin and-

"Taehyun," Beomgyu breathed, speaking the mind of all of them. Taehyun gave a slightly pained smile that really sent the message: I'm sorry. Raising his hand to show the notebook, Taehyun said, "I've got a map."

"Oh thank god," Yuna sighed, "I thought we would have to literally search everywhere. Where is the new place, anyways?"

Jimin's eyes curved into crescents as he spoke, "Well, we always had a back-up plan, underground!"

AN: Hello! I really want to do a QnA, you guys can ask me (almost) anything, you can ask about the story, about me, or anything, really, as long as it isn't inappropriate lol. You can also point out any weird or strange writing that doesn't really make sense, and I'll try to either edit it or I'll try to explain it >-<