Feels like I'm Almost Dead

"Human mind is truly the scariest thing of all"

___ 

Chapter 2 | Feel Like I'm Almost Dead

The wind howls from the narrowed alley as a wounded boy limps barefooted to an unknown location. His breath ragged as he hobbles on the wet mudded concrete, the smell of the sewer tingles the boy's senses. 

       "Keep walking boy—" said the voice in his head. Minho feels like a voice is taking him hostage, right now.

               "You need to be as far away from the people. Go right by the corner, it should be good." Said the voice instructing the limping boy.

The boy stops to see that it was a dead end. Minho drops on the wet cement, as he catches his breath. 

     "Ugh—is this enough?" The blonde boy asked. But the voice didn't respond. Minho embraced his knees, his eyes drooping from the tiredness. Minho extends his left leg, touching his fresh wound. 

                   "The barbed wire caught me." The boy winced from the pain.

        "What do you want from me?" Minho was enraged, as he kept the pressure on his torso which is now bleeding from the exerted actions done earlier. 

               "Nothing, by the way, your body is so weak yet you handled my power like one of your own. I'm impressed." The voice compliments the boy. Sweats trickle from the boy's blonde locks. 

      "Did you guide me here just to compliment me?" Minho barked, making the voice chuckle. 

      "No, that's way too harsh. I just hate mortals." He said with a hint of trolling. 

"So, you're hating now? What's wrong with you? Why the hell would you hurt my friend!?" Minho blurted out, as the boy flinched from the pain on his body.

"I might hate you for that tone of your voice, kid." 

"Who cares! I don't care whether you hate me or not. Who are you even?! You hurt my friend, you had me climb a barbed wire, you lured me here, just to say ' 'oh, I'm impressed' 'oh, I hate mortals' " the voice in Minho's head burst out laughing. 

"You did a good job imitating me, kid." This angers Minho even more. 

"You may have already noticed this, but you are the one that your friend saw attacking him, not me." 

The guy seemed to smile behind his voice. Minho clenched his fist, unable to move as the voice told facts about what happened.

"Do you also know that you died, kid, that much blood loss? No one could ever survive that." The guy clicked his tongue. "That nasty scar on your torso, the ghoul did a pretty good job wounding you." The voice said and started laughing like a maniac. Minho was so confused that he could not voice out his thoughts. 

Died? 

Lose a lot of blood? This must be another trick right? 

No, this is real, Luhan hyung must have hated him now. 

              Minho exhaled from his nose, his breath jagged from rage. 

                   What is this voice in his head? Is it his consciousness? Maybe another form of hallucination? 

       Minho's thoughts raced as his breathing became uneven. 

            Is he having a panic attack? 

"Kid, what's going on? Why's your heart beating like crazy? Oh, Did my words get in that little brain of yours?" 

"Nothing—Nothing's wrong with me! You are just a voice in my head! You are not real!" Minho rants as he pounds his head aggressively while ugly crying.

"I must resist! This is not real! You are not real," Minho chants as he rocks back and forth. 

"If I ain't real kid, how is your friend, what was his name? Luhan? How is Luhan bleeding? You are the one who attacked him, not me, well that's what it looks like." The voice continues to provoke Minho.

"If I am not real, how are you talking to me right now?" Minho could not stop the voice, it's inside him—there's a monster inside him. 

Waves of electricity started to build around Minho as the boy chants "Nothing's wrong with me." The boy quivers from his place. 

"Woah, easy boy, you'll blow our cover." The voice tried to calm the boy, but it was already too late, the blue electricity grew massive, cutting off the power in the city. 

___

(Earlier…)

After crying, Minho exited the restroom to witness Luhan sleeping on his bed, this made Minho smile. As the boy, Minho, closed his eyes, the voice started talking again.

         "Let me out kid, let me take over your body." The voice said sluggish and low. Minho grunts in response. 

         "Luhan and Minho sitting on the tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G." the voice sang as Minho wavers from his sleep. 

The guy clicked his tongue and cleared his throat. 

      "You're gonna let me use your body, Minho." The voice sends signals throughout the bearer's body. 

                   "Lift your arms and bite it." Said the voice, Minho's body moves voluntarily. The boy then bit his hand.   

        "Now drink your blood." Minho's body willingly motions and the boy drinks his blood, unaware. The boy grunts in response.  "Good. Now sleep, kid." The voice said as Minho's consciousness drifted away. The boy was so tired that he could not resist the voice.

            "It's good to be back." Said the god Ilwolyeomna. "This body is stronger than I expected, damn this kid has unlimited potential." The god admired his bearer as he scanned the body. Ilwolyeomna got out of the bed, his legs wobbling from his long rest. 

           "Warm-up!" Ilwolyeomna god shouted, making Luhan flinch in his sleep. 

             The god started to jog in his place.

                         "The boy sure doesn't work out, I suddenly feel so exhausted." He catches his breath to see Luhan awake. 

"Minho? What are you doing up? It's 2 A.M. go back to sleep, you need more rest." Ilwolyeomna clicked his tongue, annoyed.

"Don't click your tongue at me, now, now, rest up," Luhan said, guiding Minho's back to the bed. But Ilwolyeomna refuses. 

"No! You aren't gonna boss me around, I need to get out of here." Ilwolyeomna slaps Luhan's hand away. "Don't make me hurt you!" The god points at Luhan aggressively, sprints through the window, opening it wide. 

           "No! Minho! You'll get hurt!" The green-eyed boy yanks Minho away from the window. 

                  "I had enough of you!" Ilwolyeomna pushes Luhan, hitting his head on the edge of the side table. The boy grunts in pain as blood pours the green-haired guy's forehead. 

"Serves you right. Wake up, Little boy." Said the god, Minho then came back with his senses jumbled. 

                            "Ugh—what happened?" Minho fondles his head, squinting from the pain, Luhan grunts, keeping pressure on the wound. 

Minho then notices Luhan's frail form. 

"Hyung! What—what happened to you?" The reaction from Minho confuses Luhan. 

"Minho what's happening—ugh, is your head hurting again?"

"I should be asking you that hyung—" Minho's voice cracks as he inches closer to Luhan.

"Stop there kid, I can take over your body at any moment, now jump over the window, or else he'll get hurt even further." The voice said, Minho flinched at what he just heard, he clenched his teeth in rage. 

"What did you just—"

"Do it, or I'll hurt everyone around you!" The voice was too loud for Minho, it was uncontrollable, the boy's breath roughened. 

What should he do? Hurt them? Hurt my friends? How the hell would he threaten them?! Who the hell is he to decide on that?! Minho squints his eyes. 

"Move now, before it's too late." Minho shut his eyes. There's no way he'll leave his hyung hurt and bleeding. But—he will hurt them. I must—must protect them! 

"I'm sorry hyung!" Minho shouted, jumping off the window, the faint voice of Luhan can be heard in the background as Minho falls.

The air was too cold, he's wearing thin clothes, but it didn't bother the boy as he fell on his feet, breaking his ankle. He needs to run as far as possible, it's the only way to protect them. 

"It's barricaded." Minho stopped on his tracks staring at the 3 feet wall before him. 

"Jump on it, you'll only lose two or three fingers from that barbed wire. It's no biggie just don't lose the index though, you can't point things anymore." The voice said mockingly. Minho hesitantly climbed over the wall, scratched his leg, and ripped his hospital suits' fabric. But he managed to get over the wall. 

"Blood—BLOOD!" Minho hollered as he shuffled on the floor, his eyes shut tightly. 

"It's just blood, not nuclear waste. Calm down." Ilwolyeomna moaned at the sight of the boy scrambling the dirt. 

"Shut—shut up!" Minho faltered. As he rose to his feet and started walking. 

"Okay, gee—just making you calm your ass, that old man is looking at you." Ilwolyoemna burst out laughing at the old man looking at the boy Minho. "That's funny, you two are cuckoos" the god guffawed. 

"Look kid ha-ha, give me a second, I just can't get over that old man, he looks like he's found someone like him, the hope in his eyes!" The god cackled louder. 

___

As soon as Jae Hyo heard about the incident. Void and Jae Hyo teleported to an alley near the hospital. 

The two walk into the building to witness Knuckles hitting on an injured girl. 

"Hey, man—what are you doing?" Void pats Knuckles' head. 

"Oh, so you see, we're talking—"

"That looks one-sided tho." Jae Hyo snorted. Void sighed, grabbing Knuckles' by the arm. 

"Let's go, Luhan hyung is waiting." Knuckles nudge the older's grasp and proceed to talk to the girl. 

            "I didn't catch your name," Knuckles asks, winking at the girl. 

            "Well, I didn't throw it." Responded the girl, smirking at Knuckles' hopeless reaction.

"Stop flirting and let's go." Void yanks Knuckles by the hair, making the boy yelp in pain. 

The three got on the elevator, Void and Knuckles arguing about the incident earlier, Knuckles really likes girls his age, Jae Hyo could only ignore the two, the elevator stopped at the floor where Luhan is admitted after the incident, Jae Hyo could only wish that Minho would not have run off, she wanted to talk to the boy, why would he do such thing to his hyung, she sighs in exhaustion.

               From Jae Hyo's peripheral vision, A short-haired girl with bleached eyes passed by the end of the hall. Jae Hyo was the only one who noticed the girl, Jae Hyo's eyes furrowed thinking why would that glassy-eyed girl be in this hospital. 

The air in the hospital is a bit nauseating for Knuckles.

This made the younger to head-on, so they can leave sooner—when Jae Hyo yanks Knuckles back to the elevator. "Don't run off like that, we need to hurry and go to Luhan." Jae Hyo drags the poor boy towards Luhan's room, Void following behind. 

"Hey Hyung!" Knuckles greets with so much energy, they lit the dull room. 

"Hey, knucklehead, didn't Void transport you earlier than Jae Hyo? Have you flirted with girls again?" Luhan ruffles the boy's hair, Knuckles giggled. 

                 "Luhan, can we talk for a minute?" Jae Hyo said as she fidgets in her place, making the boys stop. 

           "What's wrong?" Luhan asks concern at the sudden change of aura. Jae Hyo scratched her sweat-drenched nape. 

                 "Did anyone get here before us?" Jae Hyo asks, in a grim atmosphere.  

              "Except for the nurses?" Luhan assumed, agitated all of a sudden. 

              "Earlier, I saw the glassy-eyed girl, she seemed to appear here in the hospital for a reason." Luhan kept his breath steady as soon as he heard about the girl. 

Jae Hyo headlock Knuckles as she gave him a noogie. "You playboy, If I hadn't caught your shirt, you could have run off somewhere." Jae Hyo exhales, as anxiety starts roping again. 

         "We need to leave this place ASAP. There could be more of the glassy-eyed girl's friends going around the hospital." Void and Knuckles could only listen while fidgeting along Luhan's bed. 

         "I can't leave, we can't leave, what if Minho comes back here to not find us?" Luhan rose from his bed, making the others rush as he stumbled on his feet. 

          "Okay, Luhan—listen to me, you need to calm down. Nothing's going to happen to Minho, but we need to get going now, we can find him on the way. Okay?" Jae Hyo reassured the frail boy. 

           "He—he jumped through this window, there still might be traces of him. We need to act now." The older said as he started packing. 

The wind howls as Void and Jae Hyo support Luhan, Knuckles who has transformed himself into a witch dog has been sniffing the ground tracing Minho's scent. 

           "Did something happen before he attacked you?" Jae Hyo asks Luhan who's been bothered the whole time. 

                               "He must have had another hallucination, he was so scared that he accidentally pushed me away." Luhan lied. He wasn't sure if he was in the right mind after Minho had pushed him away, but he had always suspected Minho was acting strangely as something had possessed him, and he wasn't certain if he saw it right. 

            Glowing reddish-black eyes, he must be mistaken right? Might be his eyes playing tricks on him? 

                         "Guys!" Said the witch dog, his snout pointing at the barbed wire with blue fabric on it.

        It was Minho's, they are all sure of it, plus Knuckles said it smelled like Minho had spilled some blood as well, the scent was stronger on the other side of the wall.

          "Void, we need you to warp us on the other side," Luhan instructed as Void started to whip his arms in circles as purple glowing ashes started to form a sphere. 

         "It's done." Void huffs as they all entered the orb. Void sure is still not used to using his power, especially in a public place. As they move in the sphere, Void feels so exhausted that he almost loses his balance. 

          "You okay hyung?" Knuckles asks. "Let's switch, the portal must have exhausted you, you used it three times today." Knuckles suggested, worried about his hyung passing out. 

The two switch as Knuckles has turned back to human form, the four of them following a trail of blood that Knuckles told them about. The blood was thick and murky. 

"We need to hurry, this makes me uneasy." Void cringes at the sight of Minho's blood trail. 

As the four went further into the alleys, following the blood, Knuckles flinched hearing a faint voice, it sounded so distressful. "I hear something!" Knuckles shouted, transforming into a witch dog, the three watched Knuckles go off to the alley on their right. 

"Woah—hyung look, that looks like Minho," Void said pointing at the massive blue light. The three-run the path where they saw the light emitted. 

As Luhan darts to the right corner, he hears hazy voices, Knuckles, and Minho's voices. 

        "Here!" They all turned to another corner to see Knuckles far from Minho who was yelling for the witch dog to stay away. 

                "Minho!" Luhan's voice echoed in the close-spaced alley. 

Minho's blue eyes had more darkness than any brown eyes they had ever seen. It sent shivers to Void and Knuckles' spine making them inch backward. 

             "Stay—stay away from me!" The boy's voice cracked as he bawled on the wet ground. His hands were pressed against his wounded torso, his shirt drenched with his blood, shivering from the cold, his eyes were in so much agony and dismay.

He feels so desperate, desperate to save his friends. 

The voice in his head was getting too loud, his friends being there with him, wrapping the boy in tight ropes, the strings were too tight on his neck, he couldn't move, he couldn't say anything, he felt like drowning. 

"Minho—listen to me, you need to come with us, you are bleeding, you've strained yourself too much. Please. Please. Grab my hand and let's go home." Luhan's voice and Ilwolyeomnna's were too loud for Minho. As strands of electricity started to emit once again. 

"Home—" said the boy whose eyes were sparkling exceedingly, his eyes were the color of cobalt blue, but his gazes were so painful. 

"Yes! Yes, let's go home." Luhan's eyes glow from the reflecting blue light emitted by Minho. 

I wanna go home. Minho thought, as everything around him silenced. He stares blankly at his friends, they look all so distressed, shouting, their words were inaudible, Minho feels so numb all over that the only sound he hears is his heart beating fast. 

He didn't lose consciousness, instead, he lost some of his senses, he could not hear, feel, and taste, it was all so tasteless and dull.

On the other hand, he is seeing the events unfold in front of him, Knuckles and Jae Hyo supporting the boy on his feet as Void starts to create another warp. The smell of burning filled Ji Minho's nostrils, as they entered the orb leading to the camp. 

He's been here, it was all so vivid, the smell of the fire burning the wood, how the fire flickers from the wind. He remembers it too well, the first time he became one of them. His sight is still hazy from the blood he lost in the incident earlier. 

He sees all the smiling and worried faces of the people in their camp. It made his head fume with pain, it startled everyone as he started to see the ghouls again. 

Standing behind the trees, staring at him with their beady red eyes. Minho shook his head furiously, he could not hear them, but he could feel someone shaking him. Is he dreaming? Hallucinating? Is this reality? Are there ghouls? Why aren't they attacking? The pain in his head didn't leave. The intense feeling of worry, sadness, and fear filled Ji Minho's mind once again. 

"Please… please… make it stop," Minho muttered under his breath. 

He still could see the ghouls crawling his way, their black slime-soaked bodies shining as they walked past the fire falling in line, they seemed to avoid the heat. Minho could only bite his arm so hard that it bled. But the ghouls were gone… like a ghost. 

___

Minho was awoken by the sound of crying, it sounded muffled and painful. The boy moved his arm as a pain shot up his arm. 

"Did I get hurt?" The boy said looking at his bandaged arm his body is full of bandages and everything is aching. But the boy still stood up, he stumbled on his feet but still managed to keep his balance. 

The sound of crying was so close that it sent shivers down Minho's back. 

It was a little girl, about 11 years old, she was wearing a white pajama, her pants were stained with blood. "Help me, oppa." The girl's voice cracked. 

As Minho inches closer to the girl, the door in his room opens. 

"Oh, you're alive." Cheol-Su smirked. His race hair parted in the front. 

"You sound so disappointed seeing me alive," Minho said smiling, looking down at his bandages. Then in the corner where the girl was. It bothers Minho a lot that he is having another episode of his hallucinations.

"Of course I am! Just kidding, so, How are you feeling? Erm, what are you doing?" Cheol-Su said, wondering why Minho is standing facing in the corner of the room. 

"Nothing, just stretching." Cheol-Su didn't say anything but his expression looks like he doesn't believe what Minho is telling him.

"It's lunchtime, leave the room for a bit of fresh air," Cheol-Su said leaving the room.

Minho sat down in the corner where the little girl was earlier. "Another hallucination?" Minho clicked his tongue. 

"When is this trauma gonna end?" The boy embraced his knees as he sat on the floor, as fibers of electricity started to rope around Minho, it was his only way of coping with his trauma.