Chapter two: The missing link

Everything set into motion all at once:

Yesung grabbed Ryeowook by the middle and hoisted him up so that both of Ryeowook’s feet were dangling in the air. But, before Ryeowook could even make a sound, he was already placed behind Tiffany on the mare.

Meanwhile, Donghae pulled out his sword and pointed it at the furious leader who was already yelling:

“You, by the devil send, demons! How dare you interrupt this holy sacrifice?!” He was absolutely furious and it made his face seem even bonier than before.

“If there is one by the devil send, then it will by you people, who are sacrificing a life!” Donghae returned smartly as he easily controlled the excited stallion that pranced around.

The blazing gaze that the leader send Donghae made me shrink behind Donghae’s back. But the look that should’ve made Donghae cower away, made him straighten his back and in a whisper he encouraged me: “To be afraid, Hyukjae, he’s just a short-sighted priest.”

“Do you know him?” I asked him.

“I drew him.” Was the answer I got.

I gave him a look but I was distracted when I heard some sounds on the right side. While Donghae had been distracting the priest, Yesung had crouched down and reached for the sacrifice. Yesung’s strength was surprisingly big, he only needed to grab the sacrifice with one hand to hoist him over the back of his mare. The sacrifice didn’t struggle but just laid numb as if he was nothing more than a sack potatoes.

As soon as Donghae saw that the sacrifice was save, he placed the sword back on his hip, rammed his heels into the stallions flanks and he maneuvered us through the various clawing hands. In front of us the other horses shot away towards various corners.

Donghae wanted to follow them but our horse was prevented from following by the various priests. Donghae muttered a few curses under his breath and pulled on the reigns to let the stallion run into another part of the forest.

A few curses and yells were the only things that I heard as I saw the forest flying past us in a blur. Donghae’s arm was clammed around my body like a steel bar. And even though I had hated that arm before that horrifying event, I was thankful for it now.

I made an attempt to look over Donghae’s shoulder to see if they were following us or if I saw some of our friends but Donghae’s broad and stiff shoulders prevented me from seeing everything.

“Don’t look, Hyukjae. You could fall.” Donghae warned me as he kept his gaze strictly forward.

I decided to obey him for once, Donghae seemed to know what he was doing so for now, I would listen to him.

Ten minutes later, Donghae decided that we were far away enough for him to ride in a slower pace. It allowed me to start a conversation.

“You drew that priest?”

I felt Donghae’s muscles stiffen a bit but he sounded a bit amused as he answered: “Well, I drew this entire painting.”

I rolled with my eyes. Of course, I knew that. “I mean, did you draw him specifically?”

Donghae sighed. “These paintings are all parts of my strange imaginations, my strange nightmarish worlds. I drew these paintings’ beginnings but I didn’t decide their futures.”

I frowned and tried to comprehend what Donghae was saying. “I don’t understand, did you draw them or not?”

Donghae’s smile was hearable in his voice. “I suppose that it’s a bit hard to understand.” He rubbed his chin in thought. “Let’s see. I guess you could see me as the father of this painting and the painting as my child. I drew this world and therefor gave it certain characteristics: I placed the trees, made the people and build the churches. But I only placed them in these worlds, I only gave them their faces and I only decided their past. Now that we are in this painting, the characters decide on their own what they’re doing and what their thoughts are. I have no control over that anymore.”

Donghae paused for a second while I tried to take it all in. “So to answer your question. Yes, I drew that priest specifically. Yes, I decided his past and what he is now but I didn’t decide for him to go sacrifice someone. That was all his own doing.”

I nodded and let the tension that I had built up, unknowingly, flow out of my body. As an indirect result, my body laid itself comfortably against Donghae’s chest.

I felt Donghae’s low chuckle resounding in my chest. “I just tell you that I made lots of potential murderers if not already a murderer and you feel the need to make yourself comfortable against my chest?”

“I’m still mad at you.” I informed Donghae with a slight pout and closed eyes. “Not for making a few potential murderers but for leaving Jessica. However because you have a comfortable chest and I am tired, we’ll forget it for a second, got it?”

“Understood.” Donghae answered, now completely amused.

Slowly, Donghae’s warm chest, the rhythmic movements of the horse and the soft chirping of the birds, lulled me in sleep.

“Hyuk…”

“Hyukjae!” I woke up from Donghae’s slightly worried voice.

“What is it?” I mumbled sleepily. God, this had been one of the best naps that I had had in a long time… Not that I would tell Donghae that. “Have you found the others?”

“No.” Donghae didn’t beat around the bush. “Look around you.” He ordered after that.

I blinked a few times and raised my body from Donghae’s warm chest. The cold wind around us reminded me immediately of its presence. I had to resist the urge to push my back back on Donghae’s chest. But I rather suffered from the cold than from the embarrassment.

I let my eyes glide over our surroundings. There was an eerie atmosphere and mist on the ground. The moon was the only thing that made the path in the forest visible, the darkness was swallowing almost everything else up. The branches of the trees hung down and made the whole place seem even more sad and darker.

“Where are we?” I whispered to Donghae. I wasn’t sure why I was whispering but I had the feeling that I had to. Donghae apparently had the same feeling because he whispered back: “I don’t