prompt: “Just follow me, I know the area.” 

(pairing: jae (day6)/youngk (day6). genre: au, horror. rating: m. words: 1263) 

Brian knows the area, of course he does. Brian knowing things is the only ing reason they’re stranded in the middle of nowhere.  

The funny thing is, Brian is hilariously smart. He knows just enough about just about everything out there for it to seem both coincidental and at the same time immensely attractive – but the guy has the navigational skills of a blind pigeon. He says he doesn’t need a map, not even a GPS, and those famous last words are the main reason they’ve been driving in circles for what feels like hours.  

“I told you to take that left turn,” Jae mutters darkly. It’s pouring cats and dogs outside, it’s pitch black, and last sign of actual civilization is more than an hour behind them. All there is, is... Trees. Loads and loads of sturdy, old, sun-and-moon-blocking trees, that make it seem as though they’re driving through the color black rather than a forest. Brian only snorts. “You need to have a little faith.” One day, Jae would like to know what it’s like having that much confidence in your own flaws as a human being, because his friend’s ability to just casually ignore any shortcomings in his own person is nothing if not impressive and applaudible. “I do have faith. Just not in you and your driving skills,” is the dry reply, followed by an audible gasp when Brian has to make a sharp turn to avoid crashing into a tree trunk. “See? See what I’ve been saying?” That, he gets no answer to.  

The whole point of this doomed hell-ride is very, very simple: Somebody in their joint group of college friends is extremely emotional when it comes to staying in touch (Jamie), and somebody else is clearly not able to tell her no (everybody else). So here they are, late at night in the middle of a place the sacred creator probably forgot all about shortly after its creation, on their way to a cozy cottage in the woods to feast like the newly graduate kings and queens they undoubtedly are. Which really only means that someone’s going to be bringing an almost illegal amount of gatorade and a deck of playing cards.  

“Maybe if we get out we’ll be able to see the road,” Brian guesses loudly, and before Jae can even manage to protest (which he’s going to do whether the driver can hear him or not), he’s out of the car, Dora-the-Explorer-ing away in the darkness with his phone serving as an intermediate flashlight. “There he goes again...” Jae sighs, before goodwill gets the better of him, and he joins the other outside.  

He immediately regrets it, of course. Within mere minutes he’s soaked, cold and decidedly not where he’s supposed to be, and Brian’s next to him, equally soaked and equally lost, but determined not to let it get the best of him. “Just follow me. I know the area,” is a blatant lie and they both know it, but against his better judgement, Jae decides to just... Go with it. At this point they’ll be lucky to even get to the cottage before everybody else has decided to leave again. “We’re lost,” Jae grimaces. “So why not just call Jamie and ask her for directions?” There’s no answer from Brian, he’s probably too busy being Brian and too stubborn to admit defeat. “I’m serious,” he continues. “Can we just get back into the car?” He reaches out to grab a hold of something that isn’t a branch – maybe, if he’s lucky, he can drag his friend back into the god damn vehicle -, but all he gets is Brian standing very, very still, looking into the darkness. “What are you doing?” He doesn’t reply. “Brian.” Jae’s about to get real tired. “Brian.” Still no answer. This time, he puts his fingers to his lips and makes a shushing motion. It’s the universal sign for ‘please stop talking’, and Jae’s not having it, not after four--and-a-half hours on the road without any real sense of direction. “Don’t shush me, it’s not my fault you’re a navigator-” 

“Jae - shh!” This time he actually turns to look at Jae, and he does certainly not look like he’s supposed to. He almost looks... Scared. And when Jae scouts in between the branches and makes out the contour of something that definitely isn’t a tree in any way, shape or form, he understands why. “Brian?” he asks slowly. “What the hell is that?” 

And then they run. Jae hasn’t accumulated that much speed in years, and he’s definitely not very good at it, but adrenaline has this wonderful way of making the human body do spectacular things, and if it stands between being alive (wet, but alive) and being ing skinned, he knows what he’d like best. The ground beneath them is slippery, and Brian’s phone does a job at illuminating the path before them – and only when Jae stops because he feels like his lung is going to fail him does he realize that the poor lighting is because Brian is no longer with him.  

“Brian?” Jae wheezes into the night, but there’s no answer. No light moving between the branches, and no sound of footsteps that don’t belong to Jae. Absolutely, irreversibly, no Brian. That's not a very comforting thought. What is, though, is the fact that he sees the car. The beautiful, beautiful car Brian’s been tampering with for years, that’s been doused in ramen flavor packages and drowned in wrapping paper for ages and eternities, and he has never been happier to see it. If he can get there, he can drive away to safety, call the cops, his friends, get some help, and then everything will be fine, just fine.  

There’s a roar somewhere behind him that makes him jump forward, and he’s almost there, almost in safety, when something grabs his ankle and topples him to the ground with a high screech. He claws at the ground, kicks and wiggles like a distressed worm, but to no avail. His eyes widen in fear when he rolls onto his back and stares directly into a pair of gleaming, yellow eyes and a mouth so big and full of fangs, there’s really nothing left for him to do than put his arms in front of his face before accepting the inevitable.  

--- 

“Hey. Hey sleepyhead!” Jae bolts awake within seconds, and gasps like he’s never heard of fresh air before. It’s daytime outside, cloudy but not dark, and Brian sits next to him in the driver’s seat, poking him with a raised brow. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been trashing around for ages.” Jae looks down at his hands, his torso, his legs, and it’s all there, exactly how it should be. He's not dead. He hasn’t been attacked. Neither has Brian, obviously, because Brian is right there, and he looks every bit as annoying as usual. “Nothing,” is the reply, and he nearly drops his jaw in surprise when he looks around and actually sees where they are. Right there, a few feet in front of the car, is Jamie’s family cottage in the woods, complete with one excited Jamie standing in the doorway with a big smile on her face. He also spots Eric and Amy behind her (short) frame, and deducts that he and Brian must be the last ones to arrive. He turns to Brian. “No way,” he states blankly. Brian grins, and unbuckles his seatbelt. “Yes way. See? I told you I could find it.”