chapter fourteen / shipsa
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When I was a child, I would always make Mama check my closet and under my bed for monsters before I went to sleep. I wasn't afraid of the shadows, I was afraid of what lurked behind them.

The imagination I had as a small kid would run wild with thoughts of tall, menacing creatures, long and sharp claws, ready to slice at my throat. Monsters with blood dripping through their teeth from previous victims. Hallowed cheeks and sunken eyes. My mind would create all kinds of villains, that I just knew were hiding in the dark, waiting to take me.

All of that time I spent fearing what was inside of the dark, I never thought to watch out for the shadows themselves. Monsters wouldn't be hiding in the dark because they're afraid of the shadows too.

I woke up that day with the songs of the morning birds and the blazing sun pouring into the room. I yawn and rub the sleep from my eyes. My slight movement causes the boy sleeping next to me to stir. The first thing I notice is his hand under my shirt, his warm hand on my stomach. My eyes widen and I can feel heat rushing to my cheeks. Before I can stop myself, I jump up from our cot and back away from it. Namjoon wakes with a start and looks at me with confusion, and slight fear.

"Are you alright?" He inquires.

I blink. "Y-yeah, I just... I was-" I try to think of a reason for how startled I was, but I don't want to admit to him that I felt nervous because of the way he was touching me. I can't blame him for it, he wasn't even conscious. "We should probably check out of the inn and head for the next boss."

Namjoon gives me a skeptical look, but eventually shrugs it off. "If you want to leave now, I'll gather the boys." I nod my head and watch as he leaves our shared room and closes the door behind him.

I take off my silk pajamas and put on a pair of black, ripped jeans, a black and white striped, oversized shirt, and a light blue, denim jacket. I put on some black sneakers and throw my tangled mess of hair into a bun.

We all get breakfast, pay for the services at the inn and hot springs, and then take the air train to a place named Kiken'na Kage. On the long time we spend on the train, the boys attempt to go to sleep, but Namjoon calls their names out every time he sees someone dozing off, determined to keep everyone's attention as he goes over the information listed for the specific boss we're about to face.

"Supposedly, there's a key hidden in an abandoned museum, a lot like the key we found in the dragon's castle. The goal is to get that key, and- Taehyung," Namjoon snaps, waking the boy who was previously nodding off to sleep, "can you please stay awake for this?" Namjoon pleads, sighing with frustration because they don't seem to be taking it as seriously as him. Taehyung lowers his eyebrows, looking like a puppy that just got it's paw stepped on. He nods his head and rubs his tired eyes, trying his best to stay awake. I can tell Namjoon feels bad for being so stern with the boy.

"I'm sorry," Namjoon apologizes, "I shouldn't have been so mean." Namjoon ruffles the younger boy's locks of hair, to which the boy responds with a warm smile.

"It's okay, Hyung. I'll stay awake this time." Taehyung sits up straight and opens his eyes as wide as possible. Namjoon laughs beside him before continuing to debrief us.

"So we have to find a key... sounds too easy." Hoseok looks skeptical.

"Yeah, there's gotta be something protecting the key from us," Yoongi adds.

Namjoon scratches at the side of his head, almost like he's trying to stimulate his brain into thinking harder. "That's what I think too, but there doesn't seem to be any monster or person we have to fight. It just says to be careful of the shadows."

I furrow my eyebrows. Be careful of the shadows. What could that mean? Will shadow monsters attack us? Does it mean it's dangerous to be in the dark because something will get to us? I wish there was more information. I feel far too unprepared. I'm jumping into a dangerous situation, not knowing what to expect, or how to handle things. This could be detrimental.

Once Namjoon is done telling us about the next place we have to go, the boys don't waste any time in catching some sleep. Yoongi, who is sitting next to me, leans his head on my shoulder. Namjoon, sitting on my right, does the same. It seems that I always become a sleeping pillow for the boys. I sigh and wonder if I'll ever get to lean on someone else to take a nap. Why can't they just lean on Jin? His shoulders are way broader. I look over to see that Hoseok and Jimin are already taking up the oldest's shoulders.

I notice Taehyung leaning on Jungkook, looking like a small child as he cuddles up to the boy next to him, his eyes closed as he lets out shallow breaths, probably dreaming by now.

Jungkook stares idly out the window of the air train. I wonder if he's actually viewing the beautiful, blue mountains that we pass by, or if he's too caught up in his own thoughts, his own world, to even give the view before his eyes a second thought. I wonder if he's still angry with me for what I said last night.

I didn't talk to him at all today. It felt so strange to be with him, but not say a single word. The whole time we've lived together, we've always had something to say to each other. He's become someone I can say anything to. Today was different. As we ate breakfast, or walked by each other, the only exchange between us was an awkward smile, the kind you give to someone you used to know. The kind of smile you give someone you want to speak to, but there's too much hurt between the both of you to close the gap. It's strange to even classify it as a smile, because the only feeling you have when it's painted on your face, is one of pain.

I don't understand why he feels so strongly about the hacker, why he would defend the hacker, even when that meant hurting me. Do I mean that little that he'd rather cause me pain so he can protect the honor of a murderer, someone who doesn't even have honor?

I try to swallow the lump in my throat, along with the bitterness I feel. I care about Jungkook, so much that I see him as my own brother. Maybe I shouldn't view him as someone that close. Because I see him as family, I seem to keep overstepping my boundaries. I keep hurting him, and in the process, I keep hurting myself. Maybe I'm closer to him than he is to me. Maybe he gets mad at me so often because I don't have the right to say or do the things that I do. Just because he came to me for comfort that one night, that doesn't mean anything. Maybe I should stop trying to be like a sister to him, it's obviously not working.

Once we get to our stop, we all file out of the air train. I notice a few others leave the train with us. There must be more people going for the second boss than the first. I wonder if only one key is available for each boss. Will we need all of the keys once we get to the last boss? What if different groups get keys? Will it matter that they're separated? Will we have to come together to fight the final boss? There's too many unknowns. I like having answers. Rushing into a scary situation, not knowing what to expect, I'm not too good at that.

Though there are quite a few groups of players traveling with us, everyone keeps to themselves. Even though I feel most comfortable around my group of friends, I feel our chances of success and survival would be much higher if we worked together. Maybe once the action starts we'll join forces.

We reach a large forest. Most places covered by trees tend to look vibrant and lively, but this place is somehow the exact opposite. The trees are dark and barren, almost like they've been struck by lightning. A thick fog wraps around the trunks and limbs of the trees. Twigs and branches reach out of the grey mist, almost like twisted arms and fingers, like they're begging for help, like they're begging to be saved. A long dirt trail spirals through the forest, a small path cut out to walk on. Because of the fog, I can barely make out what's in front of me, but apparently, at the end of this trail, is the museum we're searching for.

"I don't like this place," Hoseok murmers, "why couldn't the hackers make the place sunny, with butterflies everywhere?"

"I guess the hacker was more inspired by Yoongi's vibe than yours," Jin laughs, but as he looks at his surrounding it comes out nervously.

Our group stays close together as we walk, almost blindly, through the haunting mist. I grab and latch on to the shirts of the closest people near me; Hoseok and Jimin. They both replace the cloth I held in my grip with their own hands. I'm not sure if the gesture was to make sure I didn't get lost, they didn't get lost, to comfort me, or to comfort themselves. Regardless, as a cold wind rips through the fabric of my jacket, sending chills down my spine, I find myself grateful to have someone to hold onto.

I almost jump out of my skin when I feel someone clutch the back of my denim jacket. I quickly glance behind me to see who, or what, is touching me. I breathe a sigh of relief when a mess of mint green hair comes into my view, almost covering over Yoongi's nervous eyes as he gives me a sheepish smile.

"I don't want any of us to be seperated." I notice a train of boys behind him, all linked together by holding onto each other's hands or shirts. I nod my head at the boy and smile. I feel a little more confident by the gesture. We're not even in danger yet, but we all have each other's backs. I'm reminded of Namjoon's words just a few days ago, together or not at all.

It takes a while of walking, but I'm finally able to make out the large building that I'm assuming is the museum.

The whole building is white, surrounded by tall pillars, each crafted with much care and delicacy. At the end of the trail, wide, concrete stairs start, leading up to large double doors that I'm sure the dragon we slayed would have been able to walk right through without destroying anything. I crane my neck, trying my best to see how far up the building goes, but because of the fog that surrounds this area, the top of the building seems to fade away, like it goes on forever, stretching all the way to the clouds. The building is magnificent. I assume that the hacker placed the building here because I can't fathom why the creators of Elysium would place such a wonderful feat of architecture in the middle of no where.

I notice that there's already a group of people standing at the entrance, but no one goes inside. Even as we walk up the steps, they all just stand there.

"What's going on?" Taehyung asks.

"The doors won't budge. We've been trying to figure out how to open them," a boy with pale skin and white hair informs us.

"Have you tried a window?" Hoseok questions.

Another boy, standing next to the boy that looks like the king of ice, scoffs. "Look around. Do you see any windows?"

He's right. As I scan the whole front of the museum, there isn't one window in sight. I can't believe I didn't notice that before. It must be extremely dark inside since there's no natural source of light. Then I freeze as I remember the warning for this boss. Be careful of the shadows. I hope with all my being that there's good artificial light inside.

"Kookie, you think you can hack your way through here?" Namjoon inquires hopefully.

Jungkook shakes his head. "I don't think I have to. We already have a way to get inside." We all look at him, quizzical expressions painted on our faces. "The key from the castle has the numbers one, three, four, three, four, zero etched onto the metal. I saw the same numbers knifed into a tree we passed on our way here," Jungkook explains, "I think it might fit into this lock."

Without a word, Jimin takes the key that we found from the castle out of his inventory. All of the players that were in front of the door cut away to form a path for the boy. Jimin fumbles with the key for a while, trying to push it through the lock. For a split second, my hopes for it being able to work come crashing down, but my disappoint disappears as soon as I hear a click. The key worked.

Jimin swings the large door open, a large creak sounding as a result. Light from outside pours into the building like a tunnel, revealing particles of dust flying in the air. Not long after, lights hanging from the ceiling of the building start to flicker on, one by one, as if to lead the way for us to enter.

I get the strange feeling that even though the lights have welcomed us, the shadows are doing the exact opposite.

__________

A/N -

Hope you turtles liked this chapter because it's the last one I'll be posting.

Hahahahaha jk.

Seriously Though, I may be getting a job very soon, I've already had an interview and I was asked to go back to show I.D and other stuff, so like, it sounds legit. Idk if this will effect how often I update. It might take me longer because I get tired super easily, and I still have school to worry about.

I will do my very best to update regularly until this book is finished. Please be patient with me if I don't do as well as before.

Peace out my cotton balls ✌🏻