Six hours had passed, and it was a surprise how they all managed to sleep despite the worry and tension still sinking within. The unpredictable gusts of cool and warm air didn’t help either, especially with the small pieces of floating dust. Moreover, the lack of appropriate covering and blankets made their sleep much more uncomfortable, but it was sheer fatigue that allowed them to remain on the ground for six hours.

As some of them woke up with swollen eyes and tiny bruises on their arms and legs, – the swirling specks of dust and rock were somewhat sharp – they couldn’t help but frown even more at the sight of the sky that hadn’t changed at all; it was still dark, equipped with a constant shade of purple, with grey clouds adorning the sky. They wondered if the presence of stars would make any difference.

“So…”, started Taehyun as he suppressed a yawn. He sat upright, tilting his head and feeling up his own neck, relieved of the pain from his fall. “I guess there really is no relation between the state of the sky and time.”

Suddenly, the tone of the atmosphere changed drastically. Loud shots were fired away, several holes forming a jagged line on the wall further ahead of them, puffs of smoke rising from the pistol that Jisung held, his aim tight on the wall and his feet steady on the ground. He then loosened his grip around the weapon, shaking the gun and checking on the leftover ammunition.

“What the do you think you’re doing?!? Are you crazy?!? You’re going to get us all killed!” Yeosang rose from his sleeping posture, charging towards the younger.

He grabbed the other by the collar and pulled the body closer to him. With furious eyes that were somewhat visible in the dark, he yelled out once again, “How dare you take my pistol?!? You used up all the damn bullets! Do you have any common sense at all?!?”

Immediately, the others rushed towards the duo, trying to get them to separate. However, Yeosang was much stronger than he seemed, and his grip on Jisung was far too tight. He breathed in and out heavily, his chest heaving with every motion he made.

“Yeosang, stop!”

“Hyung, please let him go!”

Throughout it all, Jisung remained silent. He dropped the gun to his feet and lowered his head, letting his body stumble about as the other continued pulling at his collar, making his face turn red from all the accumulated pressure.

“Stop it! I told him to do that!”

All eyes turned towards the new voice, and they saw Felix standing by the wall with his hand tracing the newly formed holes. He held back a cry as he explained, “We can use the groove as a step to climb over the wall! I told Jisung to do that, so please just let him go, and let’s give this a try!”

Yeosang didn’t seem to care nor focus on whatever Felix said. He reluctantly let go of Jisung and made his way towards his new target. He closed his fingers into a fist, launching a hard punch on Felix’s face, wincing at the bruise created on his knuckles.

He looked down at him.

“You ing idiots! We already established that the wall is too thick for us to grab hold of! Just because you both are desperate to find Minho doesn’t mean that you can do as you please! We’re all suffering here, so don’t make stupid decisions without discussing it first!”

No one would have ever thought that the team would turn against each other, at least not so quickly. While most of them remained stunned in their places, Soobin quickly interrupted with his hands in front, telling the duo that he had no intention to hurt either of them. In his mind, he thought he was about to tame a pair of wild animals.

“Please stop. Please.” He nodded towards Felix, gesturing the latter to get up. The sight of the other’s bleeding face of cuts and wounds ached his heart. “Arguing is going to get us nowhere, okay? Please, we can’t hurt each other. We only have each other, and we can’t lose anyone else.”

Yeosang finally stepped away, his shoulders slouching as he slowly calmed down. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, backing away and returning to Jisung, only to pick up the fallen pistol and shove it into his pocket. He then muttered a few curses under his breath as he walked away.

With all the members sitting in a circle of silence and tension, they eventually split up two granola bars, worried about the availability of their stored food. There was nothing but anguish written on their faces, no clue or hint to spark a flame of hope – they felt numb.

“Felix, are you okay?”, asked Soobin as he leaned towards the other. He stole a quick glance at the fresh cuts on the other’s face. “I’m sorry about what happened.”

“It’s okay.” Felix kept his gaze fixed on his feet, his hands playing with his shoelaces. “I just wish we all were together in a safer place. Even the barrier was fine.”

“I think you’re forgetting about the slimes…” Soobin managed to let out a rather forced laugh. “This is better, so much better.”

The other only shook his head, eager to disagree. He lowered his voice into a whisper, “You’re wrong. This is much more terrifying in every possible way. At least with the barrier, we knew where to go and what to stay away from, but here? Here, we’re stuck behind a wall we can’t get over, and we don’t know for sure whether there’s an enemy to fight. None of us have po