I stand at the entrance of my room after being escorted back by the guards. My left hand is balled into a tight fist, and my right hand holds the device given to me by President Jaeshin. Every time I have a dream, I'm supposed to write down every detail and interpretation of them I might have. The device will immediately record and send the information to the president for review and analyzation.

I stare blankly at the wall opposite of me, too full of shock and anger to have any thoughts. I take deep, heavy breaths, heart pounding, and muscles tense, with a thin layer of sweat covering my skin. Minutes pass of my brain attempting to process anything it can, and suddenly reality sinks in.

"..." I whisper to myself. The tension and anger in my body builds, and I repeat that word once again, loud and clear enough to begin the release of the feelings overflowing me.

"!"

I stomp over to the desk and slam the device harshly onto the hard surface. I pick up the chair and throw it angrily across the room with a yell. I run my arms through my hair as sobs build up a knot in my throat. Releasing another loud noise of frustration, I throw my body onto the bed. I don't hold anything back, kicking and punching at the mattress and pillows; yelling and sobbing and cursing into the dead, toxic air. Emptiness and coldness mixes with the anger inside of me, and when there's nothing left inside of me to release except the lingering emotions that no amount of screaming and flailing can removee, I lay flat on my back and cry. I cry not in anger like I was just seconds before, but I cry in loss, fear, and defeat. I cry for Hyung. I cry for Chanyeol. I cry for myself. I cry for those who stood no chance in the face of a selfish and corrupted system they were trained to trust. I cry until I no longer can.

I stand up wearily from my bed and walk over to the bathroom. I turn on the sink and take off my oxygen mask before rinsing my face with cold water. I look up to meet my reflection in the mirror. I observe my appearance: hair messy, eyes puffy, face red and flushed. I sigh at the sight. Byun Baekhyun, you're so ing pathetic.

I turn the faucet off and don't even bother putting my mask back on, exiting the bathroom to meet the mess I made. I give myself time to recover, picking up my mess and tidying up the room I so recklessly destroyed just minutes before. After completing my task, I sit at the desk, picking up the device and fidgeting with it in my hands. With released emotions and a refreshed mindset, I try to think about everything again.

What would Chanyeol do? He would help, right? He would help like he's been doing since the beginning of this disaster, right? But then again, he never knew what President Jaeshin was scheming this whole time. Damnit. He always knew what to do. He should be the one in my place. I should be the one ing dying, not him.

At a loss of ideas and lack of motivation to continue, I cross my arms on the desk in front of me and lay my head down onto them as comfortably as I can manage. I close my eyes, not resisting any of the tiredness taking over me. 

 

~~~~

 

"GO! ... GO! ... GO!" Chanyeols voice echoes from the distance. My vision is black and the only sense I can use is my hearing picking up that repeating word. "GO! ... GO!"

A small light appears in sight, gradually getting brighter and brighter until a scene can be distinguished. In a dark tunnel, a small dog runs on his little legs, exhausted yet determined to reach his destination. As the light becomes brighter, the end of the tunnel can be seen, revealing the outside world. Chanyeol's echoes continue, slowly fading out the closer the dog reaches the tunnel's exit.

Suddenly, the scene switches to an overhead view of the outside world. The view pans over different scenes. The underground shelter, dirt roads, dead earth, until it reaches The Headquarters, where the view suddenly stops, leaving me to stare down at it as I wait for what comes next. Static begins to fill my ears, and a second later that eerie government song plays from who knows where, audio distorted, making it creepier than the song already is on its own. The view remains unchanged as the entirety of the song plays. The end of the song finally completes, and the static in my ears dissipates. Suddenly the view begins panning again, this time quickly and sharply, leading somewhere miles away within this dead, vast world.

Here, everything doesn't seem as dead as before. Small patches of green grass pop up from the brown earth. A few insects fly through the sky and dig through the dirt. A bird tweets faintly in the distance. A small lit campfire sits calmly next to a boulder. My vision begins to lose focus, and all things in sight become just a blur of random colors in front of me. My ears begin to fill with sounds of cheers and applause that slowly get louder and louder in my head. A small text gradually fades into view in strong, bold letters:

방랑자 

 

~~~~

 

My eyes snap open at the stabbing sensation in my head. I move my hand to rub over the spot as my consciousness comes back to me. My thoughts immediately flash back to the dream that just took place, and a sudden revelation clicks within me. I quickly get up from my bed and scurry over to the desk.

Determined and excited, I grab the pen and paper from the desk drawer and begin writing. Taking no breaks or hesitation, I scribble down everything my brain is spitting out to me. When the final word makes its mark in front of my eyes, I slam the pen down onto the wooden surface and stand up from the chair, paper in hand. I examine my work and laugh in a mix of relief and satisfaction, staring at the two words at the top of the paper. Confidently, I read them out loud:

ESCAPE PLAN