Ever since they came and took over the world, humans couldn’t live peacefully anymore. At first, they destroyed everything- schools, hospitals, skyscrapers. Humans -those who escaped the monsters- were forced to build bunkers in the ground and hide there. It was painful, though, to see them struggling for life every second of the day. Many of them found it so hard to live under these conditions, that they ended their life. In the end, only a few remained- but they were scared; they were afraid of every little noise, they would shiver whenever a strange sound was heard. The monsters were constantly playing with their minds, trying to break them, trying to taunt them for their short being.

 

It was a cold December morning. A few sunrays were warming up the ground; the dusty streets were agonizingly empty, but the silence was somehow comforting. From behind a demolished house, a tall figure was watching as a few snowflakes were floating through the cold air.

 

“Don’t come here, why didn’t you stay up there...” he whispered to a delicate snowflake which landed on his hand, “Wverywhere is better than here...” He closed his palm over the melting snowflake and let out a gasp when he heard someone whispering somewhere behind him:

 

“But nobody asked you if you like it here or not.”

 

The boy jumped in horror and started running, clasping his hands over his ears and screaming “Get away from me, I am not going to break just like my family did!” He fought the tears that were spilling out of his chocolate brown eyes and scanned the area to see if there was some kind of haven somewhere. At that point, it didn’t matter where he hid- he just wanted to get away from them. His legs started trembling and he realised that he was going to faint it he didn’t find a bunker somewhere. Apparently, luck was on his side today, because he saw an iron door into the ground. He didn’t even think twice; he just opened it and entered the shelter.

 

His soul had, for a second, the feeling of a relief. Then, the feeling itself refined like a steam and fear crept up his hollow heart. He didn’t know how long he can take it, how much he will be able to stand until he breaks and kills himself.

 

He scanned the room while trying to catch his breath. It was small, but warm; a bed covered with purple bedsheets was occupying a corner; beside it, stood a small, antique table. A clock with roman letters was hung above the bed.

 

“Tic-toc”

 

The boy dragged his tired legs towards the bed and sat on it.

 

“Tic-toc”

 

He curled into a ball and started crying, clutching a pillow with his hands.

 

“Tic-toc”

 

He fell asleep somewhere between muffled cries and painful pleas for help.

 

“Tic-toc”

 

The clock was counting the passing of time almost mockingly; another second, another minute, another hour has passed in this world. There, a second was passing painfully slow.

 

The boy on the bed was sleeping peacefully for over an hour. The iron door was pushed open and a man stepped inside the hiding place. He didn’t notice at first the figure sleeping on his bed; he placed some apples on the table and tried to sit on the bed, and then was when he saw him. The man stopped in his tracks and his breath got caught in his throat. The first thing that flashed through his mind was that he’s one of them. He panicked and grabbed the knife he was always carrying around with him. He nudged the stranger with his foot and prepared for the attack. The boy woke up and screamed, though he really should have expected the owner of this place to come. He retreated to a corner of the bed and brought his knees to his chest.

 

“P-please, please don’t hurt me” he said with a scared voice, “I’m sorry I broke in but they were after me!”

 

The man snorted, “Bull. Stop trying to gain my trust so you can kill me after- I was not born yesterday.”

 

The boy took in the appearance of the man before replying. He was tall, maybe a little bit taller than him. He had a lean body and a piercing stare. He was wearing black slacks and a grey sweater, and his hair was dyed a chocolate brown. The boy put up his hands in defense and spoke quietly:

 

“I’m not one of them, really. I ran in here because a monster was following me. They are everywhere, there could be one under the bed right now! OH MY GOD WHAT IF THERE’S ONE UNDER THE BED!!!” He screamed and jumped into the man’s arms, startling him and making him drop the knife. As soon as it reached the ground, a dark shadow engulfed it and it disappeared. The two looked at each other in horror, and the boy spoke:

 

“I-I didn’t do that”

 

“I know you didn’t,” the man sighed and placed him on the bed. “What’s your name?”

 

“Dongwoo.”

 

“Mine’s Hoya”

 

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, neither one of them daring to talk about what just happened. Hoya sat on the bed next to Dongwoo and sighed.

 

“I’m afraid this isn’t the first time that happens.” Dongwoo looked at him questioningly.

 

“But the monster under my bed never did anything to me” Dongwoo said, pulling the thin blanket over his ears, “why is this one...”

 

“Let’s just say I kind of made it mad” the other stated and turned so he was facing Dongwoo now. “Are you afraid of them?”

 

The said boy looked at Hoya and then closed his eyes.

 

“I was always afraid of them. Even when they were just in my imagination, I was afraid of them. My dad used to tell me when I was little that I am stronger than them, but I guess he was awfully wrong. He used to tell me all these stories where monsters were always defeated by strong men...It’s better that he didn’t live to see what I’m going through.”

 

“But you can defeat them. It’s just that you have to find their weakness. I tried to do that, and that’s why the monster under my bed is trying to kill me now”, Hoya sighed.

 

“Why aren’t you moving somewhere else?”

 

“He would come with me, there’s no point. I tried to. You see, Dongwoo, every one of us has a monster that is following us. Sometimes it’s inside us, sometimes it’s in our room, lurking, trying to find a way to break us. And you have to fight it, you have to fight it with all your strength, and you have to believe that they don’t exist. They are just in our imagination, Dongwoo. We are good, we are strong and we can resist them. Why do you think they came here? To test us, to see if we are really as powerful and as strong as we say we are. And, over the past few months, I have come to the conclusion that we are not. We are nothing compared to them.”

 

“And did you find its weakness?” Dongwoo asked.

 

“Yes. The only way to make them disappear is to change into a better person. To push back all your dark thoughts, to clear your mind, to clear your soul. The goodness in us is way greater than the evil, you know? It’s just that evil has more clever ways of controlling us.”

 

Hoya smiled seeing Dongwoo peacefully sleeping. Somehow, this stranger had a bright halo around him, and it confused him. It confused him to see that he was still afraid of the monsters, because he shouldn’t. He couldn’t be broke. They couldn’t taunt him, because he was too good.

He, however, was weak. A part of him was still evil, and even though he was trying everyday to push it back, sometimes it came to the surface and controlled his mind and body.

 

But, together, they could fight them. They could do anything, as long as they were together.

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A/N/ Yeah, sorry if I kinda forgot about the prompt BUT I WAS WRITING AND WRITING AND THIS CAME UP SO I HOPE YOU’LL BE HAPPY. Please be happy ;~; Everyone deserves to be happy~ ♥