teaser 一

They must have been in the car for over two hours. The heat causing all but the driver to dose off, but thankfully the beaten and bumpy road kept the map-reader on her toes.

"Yah! You're driving like a maniac." The girl in the passenger seat yelped as the red jeep shaked on the rough path. The driver groaned, he didn't seem too pleased with the complaining his company was producing into his ear.

"Babe, it's not my fault. Do you not see this road?" The statement caused the passenger to look forward. It was dusty, slighting wooding lined the sides with daylight escaping throught the breaks in the branches. It was calm, serene, and the classic time for people to be sleeping in the backseat. "It isn't paved, Ara, I can't help if we're jumping all over the place." Ara sighed and slouched back into her seat. "Just relax."

"That's easy for you to say, Taehyung. Where is this place anyway?" She gave the map another look. Red marker dotted the road they were currently on; it was apparent that their location wasn't on general maps. There were a few smaller pamphlets in the last stop they made, but they still weren't detailed enough for the couple to compare it to their own map. "I wouldn't have tagged along, had I known it was in the middle of nowhere..."

"Least we didn't take the other route of getting there."

"Other route?"

"Taking the train, then walking." He laughed at the mere image. Ara wasn't amused.

Another bump on the road awoken a drowzy girl in the back, who sat up groggily from her previous position. "Gggrrmmm..."

"Morning, sunshine." Ara joked. "I think we're getting clos-" Taehyung cut her off.

"I think that's it."

The car pulled around one last, slow turn, and a variety of small houses appear in view. A few cars were parked near what seemed like a gate, and people were there awaiting them. The jeep was parked and unpacked, and the three were greeted by the villages people. "Are you three here for the festival?"

"Ah, yes!" They chimed, and they were then lead into town. Taehyung and Ara continued on their way to the inn, and their friend lingered about to eye the decorations. It wasn't completed yet, but it was still pretty cool for an unfinished job. "Seji, we'll be unpacking our stuff. You know where to find us!"

"Yeah, yeah." They were waved off as Seji wandered the roads. Kids ran about messing with the loose papers hanging from the walls, elderly ladies sat and admired the scenery, and Seji stumbled upon a garden outside the village. A pond sat in the center with tall grass surrounding it. It didn't seem that much action would be found in this place, not that she minded. She sat on a bench and just looked around. What was the point of coming to this town anyway?

She ended up dosing off, and the same dream she had on the way here: she didn't feel herself, and she felt nothing but fear flowed through her veins like cold water. Her heart pounding out of her chest to the beat of the drums off in the distance as she ran through a dark forest. Voices all around her, leaves and sticks breaking beneath her feet. The only thing she knew was to run, and run fast. But she didn't know what she was running from. Soon, things became darker, darker, and colder until sh-

Awakening when a sense of being watched fluttered across her skin like something was there. And breathing on her. Shock caused her to jump when a black figure stood in front of her eyes. She couldn't scream, couldn't move, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates before she woke up, again.

It was like no more than five minutes had past. Seji found herself running to the hotel, and panicing to friends who told her nothing but to just calm down. How was she supposed to calm down?

That wasn't just a dream, was it?