9:15 P.M. | Location Unknown

When Kelsey comes to Soonyoung is still bleeding profusely, the blonde and brunette still hovering worriedly over him. He’s still smiling brightly despite this, gritting his teeth as introduces the former as Minghao and the latter as Jun. The intimidating blonde is Seungcheol, the menacing raven haired boy is Wonwoo, Mingyu won’t stop playing with his pocket knife, and Hansol seems the most calm given the situation, Kelsey comes to learn. When Jun informs them that Soonyoung’s ribs are bruised, Seungcheol almost rips his hair out, barking at Jun to get out of the way so he can see for himself, then yelling at him to help Soonyoung when he sees the dark patches on the boy’s ribcage.  

"We need to get him to Jisoo and Jeonghan, but we can't travel in a group at the moment. It's too dangerous, so we'll split up. Soonyoung, Minghao, and Junhui will come with me, Hansol, Mingyu, and Wonwoo, take the girl and go the back way."

Kelsey wants to protest, partly because she doesn’t want to part from Soonyoung while he’s in such a critical state, but also because she’s pretty sure Wonwoo doesn’t like her, if the scornful glances he kept sending her way were any indication, but Seungcheol looks so firm in his orders that she simply remains silent. 

"Wait, why do we have to take her?" Of course, to prove her assumptions, Wonwoo grunts, jerking a thumb toward her with a look of disdain.

"Because Soonyoung's injury is enough of a liability for my group." Seungcheol states simply with a small shrug.  

"So you just dump her on us?"

"Pretty much" The blonde shrugs, ordering Jun to inform the driver of their change of plans.

"Great" The raven haired boy mutters sourly.

"Jihoon is waiting for us at the hideout. It's nine twenty. If you're not there by ten I'm going to assume something went wrong." Seungcheol instructs strictly, offering Jun a hand when he returns, pulling him up into the truck.

"We'll be there" Mingyu mock salutes.

"Good, see you then" Seungcheol says before tugging the back of the truck down and before Kelsey can even blink it’s speeding off down the barren streets.

Once the truck is out of sight, the other three seem to snap into action, hopping on their discarded bikes and revving the engines obnoxiously. Since she’s not sure who she’s supposed to ride with, Kelsey simply stands there, trying to seem as small as possible as she waits for instruction. Finally, Wonwoo looks up to regard her, lip curled in barely restrained animosity.  

"Here's the thing, I don't like being weighed down, so here are a few rules to avoid that. Number one, don't speak unless spoken to. Two, stay close to us. Three, in case of a fight, stay down and cover as best as you can. Four, when I say move, you better move, or I'll make it so you wished you'd moved-"

"Five, ignore him" Hansol interjects, rolling his eyes.

"Six, shut up" Wonwoo sneers, turning to regard the other with a look of thinly veiled patience.

"Seven, who's bike is she riding on?" Mingyu cuts in, sparing her a small glance.

"Mine" Wonwoo answers tightly before sneering at her, "Get on".

While she would much rather ride with Hansol, or even Mingyu, Kelsey finds that she really doesn’t have much of a choice. Though she finds Wonwoo a bit insufferable, she figures angering him in anyway wouldn’t turn out too good, at least for her anyway. Without Soonyoung around, she was pretty much at their mercy. The only thing that she can do, is exactly what they tell her. So, with that in mind she does at told without protest, clasping her arms around Wonwoo’s neck once she’s safely seated.

It’s decided that Mingyu will lead, Wonwoo will take the middle, while Hansol brings up the rear. The plan is to take the back way as quickly as possible, without much detection. Apparently, they have to move as quickly as possible, as there are more important matters to tend to. Matters they keep hushed when they seem to remember she’s in her presence, she notes wearily.

"Hey, don't worry. Soonyoung’s a fighter. A few punches and a bruised rib won't take him out."

It’s Hansol, offering her a small, reassuring smile. One that she finds herself returning albeit hesitantly, in the same moment that Mingyu takes off. Wonwoo turns back to glance at her before following, both Kelsey and Hansol missing the frown marring his features as they take off down a dimly illuminated alleyway.  

The back way, she finds, is much safer than the front. The only problems they encounter are measly, such as running through the various crates littered on the cracked gravel and Mingyu enjoying the random ramps a little too much. Also, there was Wonwoo’s not so hidden animosity toward her. It was like walking on eggshells, being in his presence, because more than once he had snapped at Mingyu and hissed at Hansol to stop lagging behind. Briefly, she wonders when she’ll be next, but all too soon she hears a piercing scream that cause her to flinch and unconsciously tighten her hold on Wonwoo’s shoulder. He whips around glaring at her.

"You need to relax."

A little fed up with his attitude, she finds herself hurling back her own sarcastic response, rolling her eyes just as Hansol had done.

"Oh, sorry if I'm a little tense on a government approved night where it's legal to kill someone, riding on the back of the bike of a guy who tried to kill me. I'll try to be calmer-"

"I didn't try to kill you-" He insists, but she just scoffs.

"Silly me, I probably got the wrong impression. I just had a hard time thinking with your hand wrapped so tightly around the throat!-"

"Shut up! Listen, I'm not Soonyoung and I'm sure as hell not your friend. Let's make that clear. I don't like you, and I don't have to deal with you. Now, you can be quiet, do what I say, and possibly save your sorry life, or I can stop and let you manage on your own. It’s your choice." He snaps, swerving last minute to avoid missing a turn. Hansol shoots him a look when he catches up, but Wonwoo promptly ignores him, opting for glaring into the distance, shoulders stiffening.

Kelsey stays quiet after that, trying to convince herself that it could be worse and she had to depend on herself for survival. If surviving meant dealing with the other’s attitude then she would do so, because she definitely couldn’t survive on her own, not with how bad her hands shook and how erratically her heart raced. The thought of eleven more hours of this made her stomach tighten in anxiousness and fear of what more was to come. The constant paranoia was starting to get her and she began to feel nauseous again, so she was rather thankful when they began to slow down to a stop at the end of the alleyway.

 “When I count to three, run and don’t look back. Just follow Mingyu.” Wonwoo instructs as said boy comes to help her off the bike. She nods wordlessly at him, letting Mingyu pull her along. He stops at that edge where the crooked gravel meets the concrete just as Wonwoo starts counting. There’s another small alleyway across the street she assumes is their destination, if the fact that they were now on foot meant anything. Her heart is racing and when she glances back Wonwoo is already holding up three fingers, Mingyu taking off and yanking her along with him.   
 

Her curiosity gets the best of her when they run into the open street and she ends up stealing a peek to the right, a big mistake on her part. There’s a man wielding a blood soaked chainsaw standing among a mass of bodies, looting one of the tattered corpses. She’s too terrified to look away and almost as if feeling her eyes on him he looks up to meet her terrified gaze and without a moment’s hesitation, beings chasing them.

Her heart catches in and she bites back a scream because despite holding a heavy piece of metal he’s fast and close. They hit the curb to the other side of the street just as the man pulls his arm back, ready to strike down, but just as he releases his arm a shot rings out and he drops the chainsaw, stumbling and tripping over it. A sickening slicing sound rings out into the night and Kelsey doesn’t glance back anymore after that.   

In the alleyway, Mingyu leads them through a serious of turns before stopping at an area filled with various fallen and discarded bricks that he begins moving at a rapid pace, beckoning her over to reveal a hole in the wall. It’s a tight fit but she manages to squeeze in, him following closely behind. The area that follows is dark and dusty, but there’s a door that’s almost unnoticeable tucked in the corner. Mingyu slips his mask under the door then does a rhythmic knock before she hears several locks being undone and the door swings open to reveal Jun and Seungchol, the latter with brass knuckles adorning his fist and one hand clutched behind his back. Jun flashes them a small smile before stepping aside while Seuncheol motions for Mingyu to follow him. Unsure of what to do herself, she’s just about to follow the blonde and brunette when a familiar voice calls out.  

"Hey!"
 

Soonyoung is waving enthusiastically at her, despite the long haired brunette hovering over him pulling at his chin as he dabs adamantly at his blood crusted face. She rushes over to the makeshift table he’s seated on and he reaches out, grabbing her hand in his with a small grin.

"You're okay?" She inquires, relief flooding over her at the way the color has returned to his face.

"Never better!" He chirps, laughing at the way her nose crinkles in worry, before the boy wiping gently at his face clears his throat.

"Oh, sorry. Kelsey this is Jeonghan, Jeonghan meet Kelsey."

Jeonghan smiles warmly at her, slapping at Soonyoung’s hands when he begins poking at his ribs.

"Our Soonyoung here has taken a liking to you. He was really worried when he arrived, refused to be treated properly until he knew you were safe so we had to restrain him at first." The brunette explains, nodding at Minghao and Jun, chatting quietly to the side.

"But I think your true admirer is right there" He adds and she follows his line of sight to see Wonwoo entering alongside Hansol, seemingly looking for someone but then he catches her gaze and looks away quickly.

"He hates me" Kelsey mumbles miserably because everything seems to weighing her down and she thinks she’ll never stop shaking, albeit unconsciously so.

"Wonwoo doesn't hate anyone. He's just a bit ... tense, Purge night tends to make it worse. Speaking of which, I think you could use a good checkup. I’m not sure where Jisoo ran off to, but it couldn't have been too far."

She gets the hint when he starts pulling off Soonyoung’s vest and blood caked shirt. So she turns and walks away, ready to head down the first hallway she sees when suddenly Wonwoo appears, blocking her path.  

"Looking for someone?"

"Jeonghan mentioned someone named Jisoo-"

He turns abruptly then, heading down the hallway before stopping and glancing back when he notices she’s still standing there, slightly confused.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

Jisoo looks strangely out of place among the likes of Wonwoo and Seungcheol, similar to Soonyoung in his warm hearted and easy going manner. He smiles disarmingly at her and motions for her to take a seat on the navy blue cot tucked neatly in the corner. Wonwoo disappears in the time span Jisoo gathers up his supplies and gently lifts up her chin. She takes in the room, the sterile, white walls and various shelves of medical supplies and books, flinching when Jisoo’s gloved hands come into contact with her sensitive neck.

“Your neck is bruised pretty badly. It’s going to take a while to heal, and you might need an actual doctor to look at it, not an amateur medical student. For now though, I’ll try to keep the swelling down. Sorry, this might be cold.”

It is cold and she jumps slightly, but Jisoo still manages to rub a decent amount around her neck and on the torn skin of her wrist. Deeming his work decent, he backs away, kind smile still intact.

“See? That wasn’t so bad. Now, wait right here. I’ll be right back.” He says before disappearing out the door.

He returns moments later with a bottle of water, an apple, and several bandages.

“I figured it’s been a while since your last meal. Plus you need to replenish your energy. Sorry, it was either this or Mingyu’s beef jerky links.” His face is flushed when he hands her the items before he quickly ducks his head, wrapping her wrist up with expertise.

“Thank you, Jisoo” She mumbles, face heating up as she bites into the apple.

They fall into a small silence in which she just observes him. The way he cuts the bandages carefully and tapes it for extra security, how his cheeks dust pink whenever he speaks to her, when he knocks over an array of supplies, mumbling sheepishly to himself as he scrambles to pick them up.

“Here”

She almost chokes on her water when Wonwoo appears at the door suddenly, holding a black t shirt out to her. She moves to grab it, but Jisoo is quicker, handing it to her with a small smile before following behind Wonwoo, leaving her to change in privacy.

She discards her jersey rather quickly, tossing it into the white trashcan in the corner of the room, but takes her time in removing the strip tied around her waist as the cut was still tender and when she fully removes the cloth, tossing it into the trashcan also, she notes that it has turned a brownish-green color. Not wanting to burden Jisoo further, she grabs the bottle he had used earlier and pours just enough to cover the wound. It tingles, but cleans most of the grime and blood.

She slips on the shirt then, not really sure what do next. Should she wait for Jisoo to return or seek him out? Or should she go check on Soonyoung? She decides on the latter, opening the door and slipping into the hall. Just as she’s about to head in the direction she last saw the blonde, the other end of the brightly illuminated hallway catches her eye. It’s extensive and only out of curiosity does she began walking down it, glancing back every so often to make sure she’s alone. At the end are two metal doors, that when she pushes, are surprisingly unlocked.

The cool chill of the night hits her bare arms and she shivers, wrapping her arms around herself. The door leads straight into a closed off street that looks impossible to find unless you came from her previous direction as it’s covered in caution signs and other closed off roads. The street lights are cracked, casting an odd lighting, but despite this something catches her eye when she does a quick sweep of the scenery.

A figure is strewn by one of the caution signs, hand clutched tightly to his stomach, where blood is pooling profusely, some smeared across the caution sign. A strong sense of disbelief surges through her but she runs forward nonetheless, because the glimmering hazel eyes and curly sandy brown hair is unmistakable.

“Brad!”  

His eyes twinkle when they recognize her, it’s quickly replaced by a panicked look when she kneels before him, placing her own hand over his, blood immediately pooling over it too. His voice is rough with disuse and pain, but there urgency is hard to miss.

“We have to get out of here, over there- an opening” Blood is steadily flowing from his mouth, making it difficult to speak, reminding her of Soonyoung, but she snaps into action once the words fully process.

She wraps her arm around his shoulder, wordlessly, glancing back every so often at the doors as if someone will come bursting out, and maybe, she thinks, they will. So she moves quickly, lifting him as best as she can before he manages to steady himself, supporting his weight too. They move in the direction he had pointed out, a small opening that overlooked the city, filled with sparse patches of grass, but upon further inspection there was a spiraling staircase leading into downtown.

Kelsey only glances back at what she can see of the double doors once more before taking the first step then a second, before helping Brad. She hopes they’ll have better luck downtown, but one glance at the extensive pool of blood seeping from Brad’s abdomen and the hysteric look in his eyes, she thinks otherwise.