Jisun's legs ached but she ignored the pain. She kept running and stumbling through woods, desperate to get away. To get away from everything. Including seeing Zelo holding the knife to his throat and sacrificing himself so he would never hurt anyone again. Her eyes blurred again from tears and she tripped. She landed hard on her knees and winced in pain. Then she staggered to her feet before running once more.
A sob small sob tore from in between her heavy breaths. Then she remembered the loud voices coming from the mine when Zelo helped her escape. They must have realized by now that she was gone. Meaning they would be looking for her. She quickly looked behind her without slowing down. She didn't see anyone but she had to be quiet.
She suddenly gasped as she ran in to something. Branches scraped her skin as she held up her arms to protect her face and squeezed her eye shut. When she broke through the bush, her feet hit small rocks and she fell to her knees again. Not only was there pain, but also a shock. She opened her eyes in surprise to see herself on her hands and knees in a stream.
She carefully stood and turned as she looked around. She bush she had ran through had berries growing on it and she saw other bushes with the same berries. Blackberries. She inhaled sharply as she realized where she was. Her hand reached up to touch her chest and she felt Zelo's dog tags tucked under her shirt. With renewed strength, she started running again. Her only thought now was to reach the safety of her home.
She let out a frightened cry when all of a sudden she was grabbed. A hand quickly covered , silencing her as she was yanked downwards. Fear took over and she struggled against her captive while screaming in to the palm of their hand.
"Shut up!" the person hissed in her ear.
She instantly stopped at the sound of the familiar voice. Then her heart skipped a beat as she heard shouting. She laid completely frozen with a weight pressing on her and she waited. It seemed like an eternity passed before she was released. She kept sill for a few moments, letting her racing heart settle before slowly getting to her feet.
She stared at Daehyun, not believing what she was seeing. That he was here with her and her eyes watered. He surveyed the forest before saying, "They're gone." Then he turned to her. His eyes narrowed as his gaze wandered over her and she could only wonder just how badly she looked.
"Where's Zelo?" he asked.
A few tears rolled down her cheeks. "He... took me. They... changed... him." she told him, her voice hitching.
His eyes widened as it dawned on him what she was saying. He looked her up and down again, seeing her differently. Then his gaze stopped at her neck. He reached for her neck and she involuntarily flinched. He stopped for a second before slowly continuing. He grabbed the metal chain and pulled. The dog tags slid out from under her shirt until he was holding them. As soon as he saw the name, he let them go. He looked away and at that moment, Jisun remembered the other tags she had. She retrieved Suyun's tags from her pocket and held them out for him. He noticed her hand and briefly hesitated before taking them from her. He looked at them and then squeezed his hand around them. He took several steps away and turned so his back was to her.
She felt even more tears freely flowing as she thought about Suyun in the cage. If she was going through anymore torture of if her pain had finally stopped. If only she had been there still so they could have gotten her out as well. Maybe she would have been able to reason with Zelo before he...
Daehyun turned back around and approached her. "Where are Yongguk's tags?" he questioned.
Jisun stared in to his eyes and saw how much they were watering. How tightly his jaw was clenched, just like his fists. She opened to say something but only a strangled squeak came from her. Her voice refusing to work. Her body started shaking as her jaw quivered. Then she closed the distance and clutched at Daehyun while burying her face in to his shoulder. She felt him stiffen but she held on. Everything keeping her together broke and she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Uh..." Daehyun uttered unsurely. He lifted one arm and awkwardly patted her back.
"I... I didn't... tell them. I didn't tell." she managed to choke out between sobs. She felt him stop as his hand rested on her back. Then his arm wrapped around her and he held her tightly.
"You did good Jisun. You did really good." he assured her. "But we have to go. They're looking for you."
She knew he was right so she only allowed herself a few more seconds. Then she worked on pushing all her emotions back inside her. She pulled away and hastily wiped at her face. "They're in my secret tree house. I have to get the keys from my house."
Daehyun glanced in the direction of her house. "Can you run?"
Her body said no but she knew what needed to be done. "Yes." she said, hating the weakness in her voice.
He surveyed her for a bit before nodding. Then he took Suyun's tags and placed them over her head. "Alright. Let's go."

They came to the edge of the forest and Daehyun had her wait. She tried to catch her breath quietly while she glanced around the familiar yard. She didn't see anyone but waited for Daehyun to nod at her before following him.
They went to the back door and she watched as he pressed an ear to the door. Then he took out on of the medium sized blades. "Stay close." he whispered and reached for the door knob.
He carefully opened the door enough for him to peer in. Then he opened it more and silently slipped inside. She pressed her lips together and tiptoed behind him. As they moved in to the kitchen, she immediately noticed that someone had been in her house. All the cupboard doors were open and food was strewn everywhere. A quick glance in to the messy living room and then they moved down the hallway. At every doorway, they paused long enough for him to peek in to each room until they reached her bedroom. The house was empty.
"Hurry." Daehyun instructed as he looked back down the hall.
She brushed past him and into her room. Her dresser drawers were empty, her clothes having been thrown around the room. Luckily the stuff on top of the dresser remained undisturbed and she grabbed the keys. She stuffed them in to her pocket as she went back to the doorway and nodded at Daehyun. He lead them back down the hallway and to the back door. They stepped out on to the back porch and she closed the door behind them.
"Where?" Daehyun asked her.
She lifted her arm and pointed to one of the paths. "That way." Then she hurried off the porch. As they jogged across the yard though, she caught a glimpse of her garden and came to an abrupt halt.
"What?" he worried questioned as he looked around.
Without a word, she ran to the garden and lifted one of the metal meshings. It rolled on to the ground where she left it.
"What are you doing?"
She turned around and saw him giving her a puzzled look. "It's for my rabbit."
"Your... what??" he asked, confused.
She didn't elaborate further and instead took off running once more. She stepped on to the path that ran through the woods and heard him right behind her.
After a while, she veered off the path. She was careful that she didn't make much noise by stepping on a stick or anything. Then they came up to the clump of trees that were growing around each other. She picked up the longs stick and pushed it up in to the leaves. It took her a few attempts before the rope finally fell down. She dropped the stick and grabbed the rope to pull herself up. As her hands tightened around it though, she winced and a small cry of pain escaped her. She quickly let go and cradled her left hand to her chest.
"Let me." Daehyun said as he eyed her bandaged hand.
She pulled the keys out of her pocket and handed them to him. "There's a loose floorboard by the window. They're in the box."
He gave a quick nod and took the keys. He grabbed the rope and hoisted himself up. Jisun stood back and watched him climb up until she couldn't see him anymore. Then she glanced around and went to crouch by the trees to hide herself. She held her breath and nervously waited while constantly moving her gaze around her. Of course she couldn't help but think about the last time she had been here. When she made sure Yongguk's tags were still there after he disappeared. She never brought herself to come back afterwards.
Finally she heard movement above her and she saw Daehyun coming down the rope. When he dropped to the ground, she threw the rope up in to the branches. It missed and fell down. She reached for it again but Daehyun grabbed it first. He tossed it up and it caught. Then he picked up the stick and pushed a small bit of the rope that was still hanging down until all of it was hidden.
"I locked it back up too." he quietly informed her as he dropped the stick. Then he handed the keys to her.
"Thank you." she replied, feeling a little relieved that he helped keep her hiding place secure and secret.
"There was an attack on the house. They others made it out safely and are hiding out in a cave." he told her. Then he reached in to his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He held it up in the air and frowned.
"It's the mountain. There isn't any reception until you're at least halfway down." she explained.
He put his phone away and ran his other hand through his air as he sighed. He tilted his head back and peered at the sky. "We'll have to make it on foot to the cave." Then pointed. "That way."
She followed him out of the clearing and towards the path. Once they reached it though, they crossed it and continued moving through the trees as they went down the mountain.

They came up to the road and Jisun slowed to match Daehyun's pace. As they got closer, Jisun felt her heart skip a beat when she saw an old truck parked on the road. She quickly crouched down and glanced around.
Daehyun silently moved forward and indicated for her to move with him. She kept close, careful to step where he stepped. When the reached the edge of the forest, she finally heard voices and looked in their direction. Across the road stood three men. They each had their backs to them as they quietly talked amongst themselves.
She turned to look at the male she was with, waiting for his lead. He pulled a long knife out of its sheath as he glared angrily at the three men. Her eyes widened as she realized what he was going to do. But he suddenly stopped and looked at her. He glanced over at the men once and pressed his lips together. Then he indicated to the truck with his head.
She swallowed before following him. He kept watch over the group but she kept her eyes on the truck. Once they reached it, Daehyun grabbed the handle and slowly opened the driver door. He checked the ignition and found the keys still it in before motioning her inside. She climbed in and crawled over to the passenger side. She locked the door and then put her seatbelt on. Daehyun sat in the driver seat and put his own seatbelt on. They shared a brief glance before he slammed the door shut. Immediately she heard someone yelling as Daehyun started the truck. Then he slammed his foot on the gas pedal and they sped off.
She felt her heart sink in to her stomach as her hand grabbed for the door. She wanted to tell him to slow down but a lump formed in . Trees whizzed by her and as they skidded around a turn, she finally squeezed her eyes shut as she let out a frightened squeak. When they were going straight, she slowly opened one eye and then the other as she saw they were on the road.
"Breathe." Daehyun told her without taking his eyes off the road.
She glanced over at him and let go of the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She looked back at the and forced herself to take several deep breaths. She noticed too that the trees weren't going by as fast which helped her calm down even more.
They came up to another turn and Daehyun slowed eased through it. She recognized where they were now. It wasn't exactly halfway down but now that they had a vehicle, it shouldn't take them too long. Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye. A few seconds later, the back driver side of the truck was hit.
Jisun screamed as the truck went sideways before straightening out and accelerating. Her heart thundered in her chest as she glanced outside. She looked in the side mirror and saw the jeep racing after them. And getting closer.
She tore her gaze away from the mirror as the back of the truck was hit and she was thrown forward. She heard the truck tires skidding on the dirt road until they regained traction. Then she saw a bend in the road and a moment later, they were hit from behind again.
Suddenly they were moving in slow motion as the back wheels of the truck skidded towards the driver side. She stared at the edge of the road before everything went black and a different image took over. She saw herself sitting in the middle of a backseat of a car. Through the front windshield, she could see the tress slowly going by. The sky was black and dotted with white spots of snow that fluttered downwards. A woman leaned over from the passenger seat and smiled at her. Then the trees disappeared.
"Hold on!" Daehyun yelled.
The image was gone just as quickly as it came and she was staring at the edge of the road once more. And how it sloped away.
She quickly squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around her. Her stomach twisted as she suddenly felt weightless. Then gravity pushed her down. She screamed as the truck landed hard and threw her to the side, her body pressing heavily against the seatbelt. Then she was jerked to the other side and felt her head bang against the window. Pain exploded through her as her body grew heavy until everything went black again.