Between Footsteps| p.jm

TWENTY-EIGHT| .... --- .-.. -..

You left food for Hun without Jimin that night. You were surprised when he never appeared at the truck, but felt awkward about going out of your way to find him.

You supposed if he wanted a day to himself then you should respect it, even if fear slightly fluttered in your heart as you wondered if he was OK. He had to be, right? 

There was no need to panic. After awhile, you decided that you would only go looking for Jimin if he still hadn't appeared by morning to explain his absence. 

You felt almost lost as you walked back from the main tent about the streets of the Between. Your eyes managed to spot the last numbers in line receiving their paychecks; you quickly looking away from the sight as your breath became visible in the growing cold.

Without Jimin... you didn't really have anything to do. Biting your inner cheek, you decided maybe you should look for where Hun was staying. After about an hour of checking around the dark outskirts of the Between, you realized you weren't going to be able to find him on your own. The areas beyond the street lights were almost pitch black in a way that both seemingly forbade you from moving further and tauntingly mocked you for not disobeying at the same time. 

I wish I was braver. 

Your mind troubled you as you backed away from the darkness and back onto the empty dirt streets. There was a 10 year old boy all alone out there. And yet... you couldn't fight past your fear of the dark to go find him. 

I'm sorry, Hun.

Feeling exhausted and troubled, you decided all you could do was return to your hotel room as your body lightly shook and you felt truly alone in the darkness of the world you were trapped in. You tried not to worry about Jimin but found he was the only thing on your mind as you crawled into your nearly broken bed. 

CC, your stuffed cat, was now a bit worn from use. It's fur was matted and slightly loosing color from where your hands had so tightly clung to it in fits of lost anxiety and fear. You stared at the animal in contemplation and allowed the pads of your fingers to graze one of the broken whiskers.

The dolls beaded eyes reflected your worn out appearance as you bit your lower lip. 

"How long now?" You pondered aloud in a weary and hushed voice, knowing the answer well. 25. There was 25 days left with Jimin. 

Less than a month. Time was precious, and you weren't sure if you should feel afraid or angry regarding the waste of the current day.  

The light that poured from your small bathroom shed streaks across the creaky bed you laid in as you firmly shut your eyes and tried to sleep while shaking off the confusion as to why you hadn't seen Jimin that day. 

Then the power went off.

The usual soft light that you were able to sense from behind your closed lids vanished and your heart dropped in an instant as they shot open. All you saw was darkness. 

In a sudden panic, you clutched onto the stuffed cat and tried to control the hammering of your heart as you rushed to the bathroom and flailed your hand against where the light switch should be.

To your horror, the click that followed after your fingers successfully connected did nothing. You were still left in darkness. Panic swallowed common sense as your terror halted all logical thinking and your stuffed cat fell to the floor. 

The lack of windows meant you couldn't see anything, and in the dark suddenly your senses felt heightened; as if every small sound was easily heard in a frightening manner that only fueled your quickened heartbeat. You had to escape.