It's cold.

It's freezing, Jongin thinks when he comes to. He moves to pick himself up, then realizes it's grass that he is on. The air is thin, laced with the subtle smell of gunpowder. The taste of his own blood still linger on his tongue. "Who?" question the owls above him, as if to inquire his sudden appearance.

This is not where he was shot.

He gets up, expecting a sharp pain to shoot through his chest. However, nothing came.

Eyes searching around for any sign of civilization, Jongin wonders whether he was even alive. 

The trees stretch into the sky and blend into one big black shape at the bottom. It was so dark, Jongin could only clearly see the moonlit sky above.

I have to find shelter...

Jongin is only able to get on all fours before he hears faint footsteps. As they grow louder, so do his heartbeats. The speed at which they moved suggests that it has to be another human approaching. 

When Jongin realizes the creature is heading directly towards him, he lies back down.

Suddenly, he feels something hit his waist, and not too long after, a loud thump! 

Jongin groans in pain before he is blinded by a bright light. The next thing he knew, he was staring into a young face.

Said man's eyes widen, and he screams, dropping his flashlight. "Jesus Christ!" 

Jongin, too, lets out a yelp, scurrying away as fast as he could. The other man seems to be fumbling with something. Seconds later, Jongin is caught off guard as he is hit in the head by a hard object. His hands fly up to shield his head. "What the ," he yells.

He stands up, and freezes when he sees that the man is armed.

"You're not from here," the young man whispers. He aims his rifle so that Jongin is staring straight into the dark barrel. 

Baffled and terrified, Jongin lifts both his hands. "Sir-" he chokes on his own words. What if the man pulls the trigger right here, right now? If this is heaven, will he be sent back to the real world? Is it even possible to die twice? 

No. no no no...this can't be! The 2 gigabytes of on my computer...This has to be hell!

"Who are you?!"

Jongin flinches out of his thoughts. "P-pardon?"

"Who, the ..." the man closes in on Jongin, making him take a few steps back. "...are you?"

"I...!" Jongin blurts, "I'm just looking for a place to stay!" He does the only thing he can think of and falls to his knees. He sees the man's feet quickly shuffle back in response to the sudden movement. "I mean no harm, sir. I...I don't know where I am, and it's dark and I'm scared of the dark."

An unknown amount of seconds pass, and there is no reply from the other body. 

I can't see anything...He could be aiming straight down at my head.

Jongin clenches his fists against the damp dirt. Then suddenly, he feels an object hit the ground in front of him. He looks up apprehensively, only to find that it was the rifle's snout. The man had lowered his rifle.

His gaze floats up to the man's face. All that can be seen is a blob of color, for Jongin does not have his glasses with him. He could not see what kind of expression the man is making. 

The man then turns around and starts walking away.

"Get up."

Jongin stares at his back. "E-excuse me?"

"Do you want to stay out here in the cold, or not?" the man snaps. Jongin flinches at his harsh tone, then rushes to get on his feet.

The pair walk through the woods in silence. Jongin is not sure what to say, but the young man seemed to have his mind on something else.

Jongin's city doesn't have owls, so he's never been near one his whole life. But here they were; a bunch of them, perched upon high tree branches. Their yellow eyes follow him, and it etched a slight fear into him.

Jongin takes faster steps to catch up with the young man ahead. When Jongin closes the distance between them, the young man turns his head to give him a questioning look. "You're awfully close."

"These owls really give me the creeps," Jongin says with a shakey voice, laughing to cover up his anxiety. 

The young man said nothing for a long while. Then, "You mean the Shapes?"

Jongin stutters in his step. "Shapes?"

"You live in a cave? These things are everywhere," says the young man.

Jongin's jaw drops. The Shapes; creatures he had written for his most recent work. They exist as shadows, though they often shapeshifted to blend in with their sur