Hyuk and Hongbin stumbled along the dark corridors of the maze.  It seemed like the further into the maze they went, the worse the atmosphere was.  They were both tired physically and emotionally.  Hongbin made sure to keep close to Hyuk who was guiding himself along the wall.  The paranoia was wearing the both of them out.  They didn't know when or where another creature would appear.  It was even worse whenever there were long stretches of time that were uneventful. 

Travelling in the dark maze, their minds would play tricks on them.  Occasionally Hongbin would see something emerge from a shadowy corner or Hyuk would hear footsteps behind them, but they would just be figments of their imagination.  They dark cloudy sky was trapping humidity in the maze and both of the boys were sweating profusely. Their dehydration did nothing but add to the ever constant hullucinations.  

Hongbin could sense the younger breaking down. He didn't want to admit it, but the maze was actively trying to kill them.  If not the creatures, then the weather or various traps would work against them.  At one point Hyuk thought he heard the other three lost members and stumbled towards their voices.  Hongbin had to tell the maknae that he was hallucinating and that he couldn't hear them.  That had taken a toll on the black haired boy.

Hongbin looked over to watch Hyuk stumble along the wall. He was barely keeping himself standing.  His chest was heaving and his breathing came out in ragged pants. In this sudden unbarable heat, they both needed water.  The body could only last so long without it and would last an even shorter amount of time if you added heat into the mixture.

Hyuk stumbled and collapsed along the wall.  His head drooped until his chin was at his chest.  Hongbin was at his side in an instant.

"Hyukkie~ Come on.  Look at me.  You're alright."  Hongbin shook the others shoulders lightly.  What concerned him was how the younger's body was almost completely limp.  He didn't have any energy left.  The younger let out a cough, but it was dry - too dry.

"Come on, Hyuk.  Get on my back."  Hongbin turned around.  He had to get the maknae out of this place at any cost.

"Why bother?  We're going to die here."  Hyuk's voice was void of any emotion.  If anything, Hongbin could hear the acceptance of his fate.  Hongbin shook his head, glaring at the defeated boy in front of him.

"No!  Do you think Hakyeon would let you think that if he were here?"  Hongbin tried not to yell.  He couldn't let Hyuk give up on himself.  If he did he'd be giving up in him and Hakyeon as well.  That was the last thing that Hongbin would let happen.

"If Hakyeon were here we wouldn't be in this situation."  Hyuk let his eyes slowly close and let his body relax against the wall.  He was happy to just let himself go, even if Hongbin were angry with him.  He just needed some time to rest.  He needed time to recover.  The maknae felt as if he were in a dream and his body were falling.  Hongbin's words sounded so far away.  He was in a fog and the words were barely cutting though.   

Hyuk opened his eyes and he didn't recognize where he was.  It was completely dark, but it was different from being blind.  Knowing that it's dark and knowing that you can't see are two different feelings.  looking around he could see that he was falling, but there was another person keeping him from falling.  Hongbin had a hold of his arm, but him arm was all he could see of the visual.

Hyuk looked down and received a shock when he saw his leader's outstretched arm just withing reach. Hyuk grasped the red head's hand and was still in shock when he realized that Hakyeon was real.  He was here in front of him.  Hakyeon was unconcious though.  Who knew how long Hakyeon had been alone in this dark space.  Hyuk felt Hongbin pulling him up and almost lost his grasp on the leader, but he told himself not to let go.

"Hakyeon, I'll never let you go again."

"Go!"  

Wonsik wandered around flailing his arms while trying to find the other two. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  When did the area get so big?

"Can one of you make some noise or something?" Wonsik called, but his voice echoed throughout the room.  Even if they made noise, the echo would bounce off of the walls and throw off his senses.  Then he heard it.  There was a dull knock on a wall.  The knock was hollow enough that it didn't echo so much.  Wonsik ran in that general direction, keeping his hands in front of him as he tried to feel for the other two members.  

"Jaehwan, keep knocking."  Wonsik called, worried about how much time there was left.  Wonsik's hand brushed against something soft and warm.  That had to be Jaehwan. Once wonsik confirmed it was the singer he turned.

"Jaehwan, knock once for left, twice for right, and three times if he's in front of me."  Wonsik walked straight.  

Two knocks.

"Ten seconds left."

One knock

3

Two knocks

2

Three knocks

1

Wonsik's hand brushed Taekwoon's shoulder.

Did he make it in time? 

Hello my dears.  I hope you all enjoy this chapter as a 4th of July present.  Please comment, subscribe, or upvote.  If you're only going to pick one comments are always my favorite.  Until next time!

<3 Kitamea