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November 21^st 5692

Jongup tripped and scrambled backwards on the grass, before his back hit the trunk of a tree. He sat, panting crazily, and watched as dust continued to float up from the mouth of the cave. His fingers clenched around thick tufts of grass, which were cool against his palms, but his eyes stayed trained ahead. A light breeze ruffled his hair.

The nurse––Daehyun, that was his name––knelt on the ground nearby, coughing heavily with a hand over his chest. Jongup looked around, but he didn't see anybody else. He couldn't hear much over the sound of Daehyun's hacking coughs, either.

Where was everyone else?

He gave a few dry coughs himself, much quieter than Daehyun's, which had yet to stop, though they were slowly fizzling out. Daehyun remained on his hands and knees, struggling to even out his breathing. Jongup could see that his arms were shaking, and he wasn't putting any weight on his right side.

Jongup stood, wobbling for a second before regaining his balance, and ran back toward the cave, though his movements were more like fast stumbling. He propped one hand against the side of the rock face, and took a deep breath before ducking back inside. It was dark inside, but the light from outside was enough. He didn't make it far, anyway. Only a small distance into the passage he ran into a wall that hadn't been there before.

Jongup walked slowly from one end of the wall to the other, feeling along the side with his hands. The surface of it wasn't smooth; it wasn't even a wall, really––it was a pile of rocks. It was a cave-in. When the earth had started shaking before––had that been Jongup's magic? The shocks had been far too powerful for anything he was capable of. There was no way. But Jongup couldn't deny he had been able to feel it, the chaos and the way the walls of the cave shifted and shook around them. The way the tunnel’s path had been blocked off, the ceiling-high pile of rocks that now separated him from the others.

Had he strengthened an earthquake? Or… started one? There was some connection, that he was sure of, but puzzling over it was going to have to wait.

Just as he made it to the opposite wall of the cave, Jongup tripped over something. He fell, but caught himself with his hands, which landed on something far less… cave-like than he had been expecting. As if he'd really had the time to contemplate the texture of the surface his hands were moving toward as he fell.

It was darker over here; one of the other slabs of earth that wound toward the exit was protruding to form a sort of corner, and cast the ground in shadow. Jongup balanced himself on his knees, and felt around in front of him. His hands scraped hard rock briefly before coming in contact with something soft; the same thing he had landed on. This time, he took a moment to notice that the surface was moving gently under his hands, breathing. His heart skipped as he registered that someone was lying right before him, but Jongup couldn't make anything out of the shadows shrouding the large, dark corner.

He slid his hands up farther, tracing carefully as he came into contact with skin, a face… but no response. Whoever it was, they were probably injured. Well aware of the fact that he could barely even carry his own weight, Jongup noted the location in his head and made his way back outside. He crashed right into Daehyun, who was back on his feet, glancing around wildly. He reached out absentmindedly to Jongup, hands on his shoulders, but Jongup’s momentum sent him straight into Daehyun’s arms. They barely took even a moment to look at each other, but Jongup could see that Daehyun was coated in a thick layer of dust, and surely he was, too. But that didn't matter. Under any other circumstance, Jongup probably would have found it in himself to shove Daehyun off, knowing all too well that he was the one who had taken his voice away from him. But somebody else in there needed help, and Jongup wasn't going to risk leaving them in there for even a second longer. He grabbed Daehyun's wrist, instead, and dragged him back into the cave.

Daehyun yelped, but didn't resist. "Wait," he said. But nothing else followed the command, so Jongup did not. He tightened his grip and ran his other hand along the side of the cave to keep his own balance. Farther inside, he pulled Daehyun down to crouch beside the person on the ground, and led his hand to the man's chest. Daehyun tried to step back, but Jongup snatched his wrist and quickly pulled him back into the cave.

Daehyun didn’t protest as Jongup tugged him along, and when Jongup showed him what––who––he had found, he immediately helped Jongup get him outside, holding most of the weight himself before carefully placing him on the ground.

"Is––is there anyone else? Was he the only one in there?" he asked, voice hoarse.

Jongup shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He didn't know. As Daehyun sprinted back into the cave, Jongup tried to pull the other man as gently as possible––his back to Jongup's chest, legs dragging on the grass––and prop him up against a large tree, carefully making sure he wouldn't fall over or anything.

Jongup noticed that one of his hands was covered in quickly-forming bruises, and he reached out to lift one up to inspect. He pressed around his fingers and felt for anything that could potentially be problematic. Nothing seemed to be broken, but he knew that those bruises would last a long time.

 After making sure there were no serious injuries, Jongup stood again––ignoring the wave of lightheadedness that swept through his head––and joined Daehyun back in the cave. They had to keep looking––they had to check every corner.

Jongup dug through the rubble. There was only one word going through his head, over and over again because he had to find him.

JunhongJunhongJunhong.

Jongup had watched the light in his eyes ignite and grow over the two days they had spent together, more and more hopeful with every passing hour for something he couldn’t even name.

This was all wrong. Junhong was supposed to be here––he was supposed to be with him. He was the one who had saved Jongup. If it hadn't been for Junhong, he'd be as good as gone, and the same went for Himchan.

Jongup knew that the cave hadn't collapsed completely, his internal compass could sense a ways inside, though he did lose range rather quickly. He knew that the most likely scenario was that the others were just on the other side. Just. It would be impossible to get back through without some sort of machine. Even if he could get to them, he wasn't sure it would be the best idea, considering who exactly would be over there with his friends. There was no way they could all make it to safety if that man was there. Jongup figured Kim probably had some sort of machine that could destroy the rock wall, and it probably wouldn't be long before he followed them. They needed to get away without leaving a trail. He would get lost and give up.

A chunk of rock slipped loose and landed in front of him, forcing dust into the air and at his face. Jongup coughed dryly, closing his mouth to keep more of the particles from getting down his throat. Shakily he pushed himself to his feet, following the light and quickly running the rest of the way out of the cave, Daehyun right behind him, empty handed.

Alrighty, we've got two identified outdoor crew members! Maybe you can guess who the third is they found… but I won't be telling you! I suppose you'll have to wait in suspense until I start posting part two. Why am I keeping his identity a secret, you ask? Good question. :D Get pumped for some… eventful camping? um.

Sad to split up our adventurers, but that's what makes for the adventure part, isn't it? I guess we'll see who's stuck where and with whom next time. I have things planned!!

Thank you for reading! I hope you'll tell me what you think. <3 And I hope you'll all look forward to part two: "Ad Altiorem."