Chapter 24.

  “I’ll kill him.” Mark said, trying to get Ten away from him but Ten held on with all his strength.

  “No!” He almost screamed. “Just… I need a place to sleep.”

Mark was shaking, the anger he felt before coming over him like a tsunami. “How can I slee- sleep. Ten.” He said voice trembling. Ten cried but he didn’t let go of Mark.

  “I’m strong. I can do it. I’ll deal with this.”

  “Strong?” Mark repeated and turned around to look at Ten. So small. So vulnerable. Mark wasn’t there. Mark could’ve protected him. “Not strong enough.” Mark said and Ten’s hands slipped off Mark. “I didn’t want to be overprotective. It’s my fault. I should’ve been there.”

Ten’s hand was trembling as he covered his face with it. Mark reached out for him but Ten stepped away.

  “Where do you sleep?” He asked simply and Mark frowned, trying to reach out for Ten again.

Haechan answered. “That building,” he said and pointed. Ten’s gaze was still on the ground, but he nodded in reply and then pulled on his shirt and limped his way towards the building. He tried to conceal it, but it was obvious.

  “Stay, Mark.” Haechan demanded. “Go with him.”

Mark looked down at his clenched fists.

Haechan’s hand looked pale in the light of the moon as it took one of his into it. He opened up Mark’s fingers and rubbed circles into Mark’s palm with his thumb. “Don’t say anything. Just be there for him. We’ll let him decide what happens tomorrow.”

  “Haechan,” Mark shook and Haechan stepped backwards, tugging Mark with him step by step.

  “His choice.” The other said. “Be strong for him. He needs your strength.”

Step by step.

Haechan led Mark back into the building and up the stairs by dragging the other by his hand. Mark looked at the sleeping spot, he had made ready for himself, which was now occupied by Ten. Haechan let go of his hand and Mark walked over to Ten’s form. He kneeled down beside the other and placed a hand on Ten’s shoulder.

Ten reached up a hand and held onto Mark’s. “I’ll be okay.” He promised Mark. “Just – give me a moment.”

Mark wiped his cheek and looked at his hand. Haechan was sitting on his blanket when Mark settled down by the fire. Jisung looked at Mark questioningly. Mark shook his head and pressed the heel of his palms against his eyes. He tried to steady his breathing, but he cried there by the fire under the many stars. Jisung let Haechan take his spot and Mark somehow fell asleep.

  “Ten!”

  “None of your are allowed to go down.” Mark commanded as they all had been woken up by Taeyong’s calls. “Ten – sit.” Mark pointed at the other.

  “Mark.” Ten pleaded and the other walked over to his brother, kneeling down in front of him.

  “Tell me what to do. I’ll do it.”

Ten looked grim. “We need him.”

Mark shook his head. “No we don’t, we have Kun.”

Ten smiled but his eyes were so sad. “I can handle him.”

Mark didn’t say anything. Because the words that wanted to leave his mouth weren’t words Ten wanted to hear. So he let Ten get up and fix his clothes and hair. Then he followed Ten’s smaller figure down the stairs, knowing the others would go down with them.

Taeyong was a wreck. Mark looked at him with disgust.

  “Ten.” Taeyong pleaded. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t control myself.”

Mark looked away in with a bad taste on his tongue.

Ten stood with the morning sun in his eyes, squinting at Taeyong. “Too bad.” He said. “Damned or not. You’re not forgiven. Don’t talk to me.”
Mark noticed Johnny, Jaehyun and Doyoung had come out of their building. Kun watched it all from afar. Yuta looked at the scene with wide eyes.

  “Ten.” Taeyong pleaded. Mark shot forwards. He couldn’t stop himself. He slapped away the hand that had reached out for Ten. Taeyong was pushed away and Mark had unsheathed his sword. Taeyong stumbled and fell down on the ground. Everybody seemed to hold their breath.

  “You heard him.”

  “Mark.” Taeyong cried, teeth gritted and eyes pleading. His hands were shaking.

  “I’ll allow you to return to the Land of the Damned.” Mark said. “I don’t want you with us on this journey. Pack your stuff and leave.”

Taeyong got up on his feet, eyes so round and full of fear. Mark didn’t let any of his own sadness shine through. He showed only a grim expression when Taeyong quickly left after throwing one last glance in Ten’s direction.

Johnny walked closer. Mark could see that he knew. Ten let Johnny embrace him. Mark looked at the ground. Ten had made the wrong choice.

“So I was right?” Doyoung asked, somehow he had come up to walk beside Mark on their journey towards the 7^th Clan’s borders. Mark tried to ignore the image of Taeyong’s lonely figure looking  at them go. Johnny had stopped, looking at Taeyong as they passed by him.

 

  “If I see you, I’ll kill you.” He stated. There was no kindness in his eyes. “Don’t follow us.”

 

Mark looked at Doyoung. “Your prediction was true. Taeyong committed something that is unforgivable.”

  “We still need him.”

Mark shook his head. “We can do it without him.”

It was clear that Doyoung thought otherwise. Ten insisted on walking alone. Mark led the way, hoping that he would magically figure out the right way to comfort Ten. Whenever he looked at him he felt sorrow and guilt. He should have known from the very beginning. Taeyong’s attraction to Ten was dangerous, he’d tried things the first time his hands landed on Ten. Even if he held himself back and tried to do good, Mark couldn’t find any excuse that would make him understand the other’s actions. Being angry and lashing out like Jisung… but not stopping yourself in such a situation.

Mark looked down at a small lake they were passing, beyond a hill they could see the rising trees of the woods that took up most of the 7^th Clan’s land. He would soon be home again. His heart ached with longing to return to the familiar paths and the smell of home, but he wouldn’t find the people he used to have. His mother had died just before he did. He’d never gotten the chance to really realize that she had passed, going home would only make it worse. He needed to stay on the path towards the 4^th Clan.

The sun wasn’t as hot as it had been, the winds growing colder now. The trees they saw had hints of orange and soon they would lose it. The Cold season would come; bringing snow that would fill their waterholes with acid and they needed to cover them up and make them stay safe. The frost would freeze them over and they would have to knock holes into the ice to get any water. Mark remembered that one night where everyone had gathered around three big fires and that they built walls between the trees to keep out the wind. They all slept together in his small village. He wondered what the others had done? All in all there were 4 villages in the 7^th Clan, but they knew each other well and most of the time forgot they were all separate. The Masters in each village spoke often and children were allowed to use the paths in the trees to get to the closest village. But travelling on foot in the bottom of the forest were only allowed if you were an adult who knew the way of climbing well. People travelling through their grounds were allowed too, but few camped outside of the villages. They stayed in spare tree-houses and continued their journey after that.

Maybe they could find one of the makeshift camps up in the trees before going into the 4^th. He didn’t want to sleep on the ground.

Johnny had left Jaehyun’s side to walk closer to Ten. So Haechan walked beside Jaehyun most of the way. Few times Jisung or one of the others would come up to Mark to give him company, but Mark didn’t talk much either.

They settled down to eat before entering the giant woods, and enjoyed the sun’s rays and the clear sky they were so lucky to have.

  “What do we do if acid rain starts to fall? It has become more frequent lately.” Yuta asked and people looked to Ten, Jisung and Mark who knew their clan well.

  “Either stay close to the trees or…” Mark began.

  “We have some boulders and rock formations too amongst it all, but they’re not too frequent.”

  “We have these places called the Love Huts. Young people from our villages go out into the woods and built a small quiet place for themselves.” Ten explained. Mark could hear on his voice that the subject wasn’t easy for him to talk about. “They’re outside of the villages and could give us shelter, but I don’t want to disturb any couples so we should be careful around them.”

Jeno squinted. “They’re up? In the trees?”

The three boys from the 7^th Clan nodded.

  “Is everything in the trees?” Renjun asked curiously.

  “Only deep within the villages would you see any kinds of buildings on the ground. Everything is up where it’s safe.”

Johnny looked grim. “Those Wrous.” He started, “they’re so dangerous you stay away from the ground?”

Mark, Ten and Jisung all nodded. It left a grim feeling in them all, because most of them we’re not familiar with climbing and had to travel through the bottom of the woods. It left them all vulnerable.

Haechan came up to Mark as they entered the woods. “Things I need to know about the Wrous?”

  “Well,” Mark started. “I’ve explained a little. They’re big, long arms, long claws and long snouts. Yellow eyes, good sense of smell. They can jump far because of their strong legs.” He focused on the ground that changed as they moved further into the woods. The trees smelled of his home, it was an odd feeling.

  “If you see one, there is two, if you see four there is five.” He said the last words with a sour taste on his tongue. Flashes of the time he lost his father crossed his mind and he looked up to distract himself.

  “Arrows will work on them, blades will too, they don’t have thick skin.”

Haechan nodded looking back at Yuta who was carrying a bow and arrow. Doyoung did too. Johnny fought mostly with sword but was good with bow and arrow he had said. “Maybe we need to get more archers.” He muttered to himself. Mark looked at the other and Haechan sent him a small smile. Mark reached out a hand, letting his fingers brush over the bark of the trees. He was home.

Ten suddenly started running, he came up to Mark in the front and Mark felt his heart swell when he noticed a smile on Ten’s face. He started running too and Haechan stopped as he watched the two run. Jisung howled and sped up to follow the two and then they sprang up in the low tree that Ten had seen from a distance. Branch to branch, higher and higher and soon they were up where the widest branches were and they swung themselves from tree to tree, running on branches and flying through the air. It was thrilling and healing to Mark. He laughed and Ten did too, both of them having forgotten the night and the missing person.

  “Not fair!” They heard Chenle yell as they noticed the others running below them.

Jisung looked down and laughed. Mark watched the other run and then noticed where the other was heading. Jisung was jumping towards a branch that from Mark’s point of view didn’t look safe. Mark ran towards Jisung’s direction and as Jisung landed on the branch and it gave into his weight, Mark was already in the air.

He caught Jisung’s wrist and his own hand grabbed onto a branch before he swung his arm and Jisung, sending the other towards a tree. Jisung fell but managed to grab onto the branches of the tree Mark had directed him towards. He was quick to gather speed again and go higher. Mark had noticed Johnny and Haechan gasp.

The others below them had stopped in shock. Mark settled in a tree and looked down at them. “Johnny, your jaw is coming off.” He yelled and Ten who was a little ahead, came back a few trees.

  “You’re our neighbor, have you never seen people do this?”

Johnny shook his head still gawping. Jaehyun was grinning up at them. “You’re so fast!” He exclaimed and Mark smiled but then lowered his gaze. When he looked up he saw Haechan eye Jaehyun and then look back up at Mark.

  “You’re freaking me out!” Said Jeno. “I’ve seen Jisung do a little, but that stunt you just pulled. What the hell was that?”

  “A catcher?” Ten asked. “You learn to do that after having learned to climb on your own, then you can save others too.”

  “I can’t hear you when you’re so far up, get down!” Johnny yelled and it made the three laugh.

  “We’re looking for the paths! There should be some soon!” Mark promised. “We’re getting further into the woods, we need to head up.”

  “Up?” Doyoung repeated.

  “The Wrous.” Haechan reminded him. “Find it quick!” He then commanded and Jisung and Mark stood.

  “Yes, sir!” They joked and Haechan chuckled. Ten looked at Mark and the two headed in the same direction. It was cool up in the trees, they could from time to time see the clear blue sky above them. No rain, not yet. It would fall soon. Mark knew that.

Ten’s feet landed upon a bridge. Jisung did a little further ahead and Mark landed behind Ten. They’d found one of the crossings.

  “We found it!” They yelled and Jisung came running towards the middle connection that was supported by a wide tree.

  “We found something down here too!” Johnny yelled and Ten looked down to see Johnny let Yuta and Doyoung climb up a ladder. Mark leaned against the tree and glanced  at the woods. Jisung and Chenle were bickering about Chenle beating Jisung’s when he got up there for leaving him on the ground. Kun sprang up swiftly and crawled up the ladder, he was quiet most of the trip. The sound seemed to turn into a mutter because one distinct sound seemed to echo in the distance.


  “Ou.” Ten repeated the sound. It sounded more like waou, but with a rough growl to it in the beginning, hence the name of the creatures.

That sound.

Mark saw the yellow eyes, saw his father fall.

He looked down to see Jaehyun and Chenle stand together. Johnny let Jeno climb up and Renjun was on his way but the other spun around to look behind them. All the Damned did as a sound of thumps neared them. It happened in slow motion. The movement he saw through the branches in the distance. The way Jisung screamed Chenle’s name as they saw the figures of 3 creatures coming closer. Mark could only look at Jaehyun who gripped Chenle’s shoulder and spun around to face the oncoming danger. Johnny pulled out his sword. Yuta and Doyoung readied their arrows. Mark saw them, the long front legs that were almost shaped like arms, thick and strong pulled the creatures closer with a great speed. Their long snouts were pulled back to reveal their teeth and drool fell from their mouths as they expected their next meal. Johnny’s grip on his sword faltered for a short moment before he sprang in front of Jaehyun who tried to get to the ladder. Out from the bushes came a Wrou from a total different direction and Jaehyun threw himself and Chenle down to avoid it. The other 3 still hadn’t reached Johnny yet. Doyoung and Yuta shot at the one that had missed Jaehyun and Chenle landing on the other side of them. The creature released a cry when an arrow buried its stone head in its back. Mark looked at Jaehyun who had turned his eyes upward. Their eyes met.

Mark saw Jaehyun’s fear and he saw the other’s lips move.

  “Mark,” he whispered as the Wrou pounced on him.

A/N:

Just watched The Death Cure, which is the end of the Maze Runner triology and I am sad. Very sad. But I also like it a lot better than the last book tbh. The author is a genius but he slacked off on a lot of characters and suddenly forced a ship at us that had NO chemistry. But the movies made me love all the characters and they did it very well. Good call, Wes Ball. 

Made me think of how I can continue this and make it as good as I'd like it to be. I guess you always have regrets about a story after finishing it. I hope I won't have those when this ends. 

BUT there's a long time till that happens hahaha <3

NEXT CHAPTER is definitely one of the long ones. Almost 4.000 words. 

 - If I see 10 comments I'm gonna post it immediately hahaha, just kidding, don't feel pressured to do anything!! (just so excited about the next chap - need an excuse to post it tomorrow)
I'll see how busy my week is going to be. But I'll post the new chapter soon!!!
 

Love,
Emma <3