Another chain was peeking below the shrubs…

MJ: This can’t be…..no…

I started making my way towards the new found item, fastening my pace as I got closer. Fear of encountering another injured prisoner roamed my mind and soul. I ended up running, praying that something so horrible didn’t happen twice in the same location. I reached the place and stood right in front of it, looking at the chain that emerged from the vegetation. I took some deep breathes before taking any actions. I looked back towards the others; they were frozen, observing what the outcome would be. I gazed once again at the bushes, extending my arms forward and introducing them in between the small leaves. I was breathing heavy, but managed to push aside the little branches, only to find nothing. I was relieved; still, the chain was there. It must have been some sort of trap to makes us all worry; probably the same person that attacked Chanyeol. I squatted and grabbed onto the chain, pulling it to uncover the real mystery behind it all. But what came as a result wasn’t pretty. A pale foot and leg came along with the chain. I let go of it, falling backwards, dragging myself away from such horror. Kai and the rest came running when they heard my continuous screams; the weird girl stayed behind. Kai quickly kneeled next to me, taking a hold of my arms as he eyed the human limb from afar. XiuMin looked more than scared, so it was tom-boy LanFang who threw herself on the ground and took a hold of the foot, pulling it outward from the bushes. Slowly, a human body began to appear. XiuMin eventually helped out when LanFang threw him some dagger-like stares saying  it was too heavy for her to handle alone. Finally, the body was out. The reason why I hadn’t seen it in between the bush was because the body was lying horizontally, not sitting. The person that lay before us was a white, dark red headed young man; same condition as Chanyeol. He had cuts and scratches scattered around his face and bear arms, his major wound was on his right ribs, where the white button shirt he wore was drenched in blood.

MJ: OH MY GOD! WE NEED TO HELP HIM!!

I crawled to the man and took his vital signs; he was alive, but his pulse was decreasing fast. I quickly opened his shirt, revealing the deep wound, right next to a full six pack of abs. I told Kai to clean his wound while I gave him some water to drink. We had already finished the salts, so we didn’t have anything to cure this man with. I had put his head on my lap, while I dampened his face and lips. Kai was doing the best he could, but we needed Lays supervision. I told LanFang to take the injured man’s head as I got on my feet to go talk with XiuMin. I took him by the hand and walked with him back to the entrance of the maze, where the unknown girl was still standing, looking dazedly towards the path in front of her. I blocked her view, standing right in front of her. I took her right hand in both of mine, looking at her directly.

MJ: I know you don’t want to share anything with us; you must have your reasons and we respect that. But right now we need your help… again... Please, take MinSeok to the beginning of the maze. We left some friends behind, and we need to bring them here. Please….Please… I know deep inside, you want to help…

The woman stared at me without any remorse, but I didn’t back down. I kept staring at her, trying to make her see I wasn’t planning on giving up on her… not this time. We needed her just like she needed us, she likes it or not. After a minute of intense glaring, the woman removed her hand from mine, turned around and began to walk towards the maze. I smiled; she was starting to warm up to us. I looked at XiuMin and explained.

MJ: MinSeok! Go with her! Try to give her some space, so she doesn’t feel pressured. Go find the others and bring them back. If you men have to carry Chanyeol, then do it; but no one stays behind! You know what the rules are…Now go! Be careful! The Lord protect you all…

MinSeok nodded and went after the girl, who was already walking down the maze’s exit trail. I went back to the injured man, and saw how everything was coming along. Kai had finished cleaning the wound, and was starting to wrap it with a trim of his own shirt. LanFang was slowly dripping some water into the man’s dry mouth. I kneeled beside him and contemplated his features: straight red-wine colored hair down to his nape, white soft skin, black thick eyebrows above his closed eyes, sharp nose bridge, full rose-colored lips. He seemed to be a fallen angel from heaven. I bent down and touched his face, slowly caressing his left cheek; it was indeed soft, besides the scratches it contained. I gently patted his face to see if he responded.

MJ: Hello?..... Sir…. Hello?.... Please wake up; we need to speak with you…. Sir?

Nothing; the man was unconscious for the time being. I had to know who the one behind these attacks was; maybe this person was able to see the heartless Exotic. Kai had finished; he looked at me looking for some kind of response.

MJ: I know what you’re thinking JongIn. I’m worried as well. I mean, how are me going to keep moving with 2 injured men! But, we can’t leave them behind either; it isn’t right. Even if we have to drag them, they’re coming with us. I’m sure they’ll get better as we go on. Still, I’m worried about his guy here; we used all the salts, so he’s more prone to getting sick or infected.

I felt as if Kai was annoyed. He gestured in a harsh manner, saying the Sun would catch up to us if we didn’t hurry, and how some people weren’t necessary in the group. I was surprised by he’s rude expressions. I was bothered by his words.

MJ: What!? JongIn, how could you say that! Okay, fine; the Sun will come out on us and we’ll get attacked. I’d prefer that than knowing I left injured people behind… PEOPLE! Not animals Kai! PEOPLE like you and me! Why are you in such a hurry anyways? I’m the one that should be hurrying you all, and yet I’m taking things one step at a time.

Kai got up in one swift movement, moving his arms with harsh movements and facial gestures. I felt something was wrong with him; he was stating and demanding all of a sudden. He said I could put in peril the people we already had just to protect new ones. He wanted to keep moving so he could leave this place already. Suddenly, he asked if I had forgotten what my true purposes were in the game… I got up and confronted him.

MJ: HOLD IT! JUST A MINUTE KIM JONGIN! I know PREECTLY what my reasons for playing are, and they involve saving EVERYONE, not just LuHan or myself! And I thought you were a sensible person! All of a sudden you turned into this heartless beast, WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!? WHAT HAPPENED!? How do you want me to leave hurt and needy people alone, just so I can run to the finish line!! Would you have liked it if I had left YOUR SISTER behind? Huh!? DO YOU!?

Everything went silent. I saw how Kai’s expression went from angry to possessed. He was enraged; I feared he would rebel against me and attack. Hard heavy breathing, piercing stare, furrowed brows. Maybe I had crossed the line a bit; maybe it wasn’t the time to bring up such a hurtful topic. I was just so mad, that I wasn’t being careful with my words.

MJ: Kai… I…I didn’t mean to say that… please forgive me; it wasn’t my intention…I just…you were…

I witnessed how he slowly began to decrease his breathing, looking towards the ground. Soon after his expression became full of misery and sadness; eyes that gleamed beneath the moonlight. He covered his face with both hands and squatted in place, not making a single sound; he must have been thinking. I looked back at the unknown man, who was still with LanFang. She was frowning as well; worried by the situation. She moved her head, prompting me to go talk with the emotionally-ill kid. I didn’t know exactly what to say, but it was necessary. I turned back to Kai and walked towards him, kneeling in front of him. I took his hands and tried to remove them from his face, but refused.

MJ: JongIn… I’m sorry if I made you remember… I don’t want you to suffer because of what I said. But, it was the only way I could think of to make you see the truth…

I tried to remove his hands again, this time succeeding. His face was dampened; his eyes red all around. He was directly looking at the ground, not giving me a glance. I squeezed his hands, trying to comfort him.

MJ: JongIn… We’ve been through this a couple of time already; you have to believe in me. I know I’ve been reckless in some decisions, but still, I have the same goals. Just like you, I also want to get out of here, but I would be able to live with myself knowing I survived because others had to suffer the consequences. I DO want to save LuHan; he’s the reason I began to play in the first place. But I also want to save YOU; save ALL the prisoners. That includes the ones that are injured along the way.

Kai managed to throw a side look towards me, still wearing a frown. I took his face in my hands, and made him look at me directly.

MJ: JongIn… I already told you how much you mean to me, and I would never do something to hurt you any more than you already are. I WILL keep my promise; I WILL get you out of here… I may be taking some extra time, but it’s only for the better. We don’t know what we’ll be up against at the end, so we need to start preparing way before we reach our final destination. So please…. Please… help me out… and don’t fight yourself anymore. You have friends now; friends that are here to care for you and help you… You just have to accept them… I’ve noticed how you treat your group mates, and its cold… Sometimes even YiXing, your best friend, gets pushed aside by you…

JongIn gestured and mouthed, explaining that he was scared of losing again, which is why he acts the way he does; he doesn’t want to keep being hurt. The boy tightly closed his eyes, trying to prevent his tears from exploding again. I just took him into a warm hug, letting him hide his face in my bosom. I patted his head. This guy… he looks so strong and mature, yet he’s just a young boy with a dark past that still haunts him.

MJ: I’m not telling you this to shame on you; I just want to open up your eyes. So many years in here have affected you, so it’s normal if you don’t trust people or can’t seem to get close to them. But little by little, you’ll get there; I’ll be with you every step of the way. But for now, you just have to keep calm; your time of freedom will come, and we will al rejoice as a family. Now stop crying! You’re making me tear up…hehe…

I slightly giggled, as I wiped a small tear that had escaped my eye. I took Kai’s head and pulled it from me, giving him one last glance while clearing his beautiful face. I smiled at him, and he eventually smiled back, nodding with acceptance. I got up first and helped him afterwards. Just then, we heard some footsteps coming from the side. We turned over to see it was the rest of the gang, making their way towards us. The unknown girl was still with them, leading them right through the exit; I knew she was good. Chanyeol was being brought by MinSeok and YiXing; each one taking the man by one shoulder, putting his arms around their necks. HaeRi came running up front, carrying both men’s weapons. She reached us and took me into a hug. She smiled; apparently she missed me.

MJ: How was everything? Did everyone do a good job taking care of each other? (She nodded) Well done RiRi eomma! And I see the new girl didn’t abandon you; did she behave?

She nodded again, but this time asked why the girl had appeared again. I explained what had happened, and she seemed happy. I think she likes the idea of having more girls around… well, girly girls for a fact… The others finally reached us, setting Chanyeol to sit next to the newly found man. Chanyeol inspected the man, seeing how both of them were equally mangled. Lay was impressed with the man as well; he took a look at the injury, but only ended up congratulating Kai for a job well done. I proceeded to take the lead again.

MJ: We’re finally all together again, and as a special treat we’ve got new members; our family is slowly growing. But now, we have to make a decision. I see Chanyeol can at least walk with help, but this man we just found hasn’t even woken up; I’m afraid we’ll have to carry him. As for the new girl, she’ll accompany us; but she won’t be doing much. Still, remember to help her out if anything happens.

I went up to the girl, giving this relation one last chance. I asked her what her name was; we only needed a name to call her by, nothing more. The girl didn’t move, just staring at me with her light green eyes; I somehow felt lost in them. I wasn’t going to leave easily, so I just stood there, staring back at her. After what seemed to be a few minutes, she moved. She took my right hand and opened it up. With a finger, she slowly wrote something on my palm; she was still looking at my face. I looked back at her and tried to make sure of what she had just written.

MJ:… L...Lia?

The girl nodded, letting go of my hand and once again assuming a statue-like position. I smiled back at her, trying to give her some space so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable with my emotional behavior.

MJ: Well Lia, we’re glad you decided to join us. I was worried about leaving you behind all alone back at the Bridge. But what matters is that you’re all right. Now, whatever you need don’t hesitate on contacting any of us.

The girl didn’t move anymore; that was enough commotion for her at the moment. I turned back and looked at everyone around; making sure they could all hear and understand the plan.

MJ: Okay everyone, listen up. We can’t stay here; there isn’t anything around to protect us when the Sun rises. Besides, we can’t just stay put for so much time; the maze itself took us a big chunk of essential time. So, we’ll just keep moving, hoping we’ll find some kind of shelter before the Sun catches up on us. Then we can rest up and move along again at night.  Anything else we should think about?

Everyone shook their head; that meant we were ready to go. XiuMin and Lay helped Chanyeol up and kept by his side along the way. Kai was the one to pick up the unknown body and carry it on his back; I helped put the man on him safely, making sure the body was in a good horse ride position. I made sure to carry JongIn’s spear, just as the other girls carried Lay and XiuMin’s. Lia slowly made her way behind us, keeping some distance between her and us. We walked down the curving dirt road, which soon after turned into a more unstable trail. The bushes that were aligned at the sides came to a halt, and the path started to become wider. As we went on, I felt a dry smell in the air. No; whatever was producing the smell was actually IN the air. It was sand. Sand began to reach our faces, making us stop to wipe it away from our eyes and mouth; snorting if some had gotten into our nose. The night breeze was blowing the sand in the path toward us. We went on, trying to cover our faces from nature’s attack. A short distance up front, we encountered a new scenery. We had left the trees, and path, behind. What laid in front of us now was far beyond dangerous and hard. No path, no safe point… just a flat land made out of sand…

MJ: So… Is Aladdin our next ally?...