Interaction [Dreamnotfound]

3 | Flee

idk what to put here so hi :)

-Cas

Zak sprinted through the house, blinded by panic, barely able to see. "Darryl! DARRYL!"

He skidded to a stop at the foot of the stairs. They looked so white. Why did they look so white?

The panic was growing. He could hear the door to the vehicle outside open. Where was Darryl where was Darryl-

And then Darryl was at the top of the stairs, a confused expression on his face. "What? Zak, what is it?"

Zak shook his head. "I-"

But Darryl was there, waiting, with no clue at all to what Zak had done - and in that moment, Zak made up his mind.

"Darryl, we have to go. Now. I'll explain on the way, but just grab whatever and come on-"
He was interrupted by a few forceful knocks on the door. Zak grabbed the banister, terror in his eyes. "Darryl come on-"
Darryl, fear evident in his face, didn't even respond. Instead, he snapped into action, grabbing his backpack from earlier off of the side of the stairwell, and ran down the stairs. "Let's go."

Shock passed briefly through Zak's thoughts, but he shook them off. "Come on," he said, panic running wild through his head as he rounded the banister and headed towards the back door.

The knocks on the front door intensified, slowly becoming a steady pounding on the door. Zak, breathless, reached the back door. Standing on his tiptoes, he barely managed to reach the window to the right of the door. The forest stood there, thick yet elegent, the last wisps of sunlight streaming through the branches as the sun slowly set.

Zak was about to look away when something caught his eye. A glimmer of silver.

The barrel of a gun, pointing out from behind the tree closest to them.

Another on the left. And yet another, to their right.

They were surrounded.

Shit.

Zak's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. He turned to face Darryl, desperation clear on his face. "We're surrounded - what do we do-"
Without hesitation, Darryl looped back to the staircase and headed to the basement. Zak followed, struggling slightly to keep up. "Darryl- Where are we going-"

Darryl didn't answer, only charging down the steps and closing the door situated at the top of the stairs behind them, locking it with a smooth silver key he quickly produced from his pocket. Zak's eyes widened. Since when was there a lock on that door?

They reached the floor of the basement quickly enough, Zak's heart beating rapidly as he looked around the dank, concrete room. "Darryl?"

Darryl looked up suddenly, snapping out of his daze and staring at Zak. "Yeah?"

Zak waited, open-mouthed, and then shook his head. "I- why are we down here?"

"Ah, yes!" Darryl smiled, turning away from Zak. He raised his right wrist, black band evident against his pale skin, and pressed it against the concrete wall closest to him.

Nothing happened.

Zak, uncomfortable, shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Darryl stayed where he was.

From above, a loud bang sounded, and the resonating footsteps began to thud heavily around the main floor. Zak, panicking once more, tugged on Darryl's other arm. "They're here-"

And then the wall rippled.

Darryl stepped back, wrist still aimed at the wall, and motioned frantically to Zak. "It won't stay for long, Zak. Go in."

Zak's brain felt like it had been fried a hundred times over, but he didn't argue. As the footsteps from above grew increasingly louder, he stepped forwards, cautiously reaching a hand towards the wall.

The moment his hand made contact, the wall rippled again and split apart where he touched it, exposing the dark, menacing space behind it.

Zak inhaled sharply. "Whaaaat? That's so... cool!" He swiped his hand through the wall, watching as the particles parted where he touched. "How-"

The nausea hit suddenly, striking Zak nearly hard enough to cry out. He stumbled backwards, the room spinning, his hand suddenly tingling with an unknown sensation.

From behind, Darryl gasped. "Zak?"
Zak couldn't respond, hand suddenly aching with pain, nausea overcoming him.

Fear grew in Darryl, pushing him enough to grab Zak by the arm. "You have to go through first, Zak! They're almost here-"
A loud bang came from the top of the staircase. Their door had been discovered.

Zak took a deep breath, trying to steady himself enough to stand. Slowly, painfully, he made it back to the wall, ignoring the yells from the door above. The wall shimmered again. Zak inhaled, then exhaled, and then stepped inside.

The world spun, a black void, and then tilted. He was falling... falling...

And then he hit the ground, concrete floor slamming into his knee and shoulder, gasping in pain as his head resonated with pain.

A split second later, Darryl fell next to him. The shimmering wall solidified, and Zak, through the pain, reached up to touch it.

It was pure concrete.

But how-

Darryl was already up, grabbing Zak's arm. "Come on, Zak. They're not far behind..."
Zak's head was still spinning, and he closed his eyes briefly. He had to do this. He had to get up and keep going.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The steady beeping of Zak's wristband forced him to open his eyes, his head not giving him as much pain as before, thankfully. He squinted at the screen. Elevated heart rate, it warned.

Had it been like that the whole time?
Turning away from the screen, Zak pushed himself to his feet. "Let's go," he whispered to Darryl, managing to gain his balance somewhat as he stood.

Darryl nodded, swiftly beginning to move, and with a jolt, Zak realized the black space was much more than just space.

It was un underground tunnel.

And it looked like it led straight to the forest.