A Race to New World // ATEEZ Dystopia AU

5 | Seonghwa

Somewhere over the North Pacific Ocean

"Mom, noona, it's me! Open the door!"

I was standing in front of our house, ready to bring home the food and water I grabbed after raiding an abandoned convenience store earlier that day.

Ten seconds passed, but still, no one came to open the door for me.

I shouted again, but there was no answer. I was starting to get worried, and I knew some passer-bys behind me were eyeing the things in my bag.

I went around the house to the backdoor, which could easily be unlocked by a backup key we hid inside a garden gnome. Its spiky hat, faded into a brick red color, was lying on its side when I found it, but I didn't think much of it.

Probably just a mild earthquake that made it fall.

"Mom, noona, I'm home..."

The first thing that welcomed me was a stinging metallic smell.

The sound came next. The sound of eerie silence that sent chills down my spine.

Then I saw it. The two pairs of feet sticking out from the side of the dining table. On the wall adjacent to them was a hole big enough for a pack of Invincs to storm through.

I dropped my bag, not caring that the contents inside were spilling out. I ran and I was barely there before my jelly-like knees gave out on me and I fell onto the ground.

"MOM! NOONA!" I screamed.

Blood. A lot of blood.

The two people I loved most were swimming in it.

I didn't know when the tears started, but they wouldn't stop now. I watched them mix with the barely-dried blood on the floor, as if trying so hard to wash them away. Yet in the end, red always prevailed.

As I sobbed, I scrambled for the drawer where I kept all the medical things I stole from med school. I was underwater, gasping for air while my eyes stung and my vision blurred. I thought I cut my hand with a scalpel, but I wasn't sure.

I tried to remember what I had to do to save them, but my mind was blank.

I thought noona moved, so I pounced on her, hoping to catch her last breath. There were bandages in my hand. My hands were trembling as I tried to stop the bleeding on her head.

I looked down to see if her wound was cleaner, just like how they taught me in school. But the wound was like a sponge, and the more I apply pressure to it, the more blood that pooled out.

My hands were soaked in it.

How much had I sweated? It felt like I was drowning in it. They mixed with my tears and flow ed down my face like a waterfall, until my eyes were forced to close shut--

"Hey!"

My eyes shot open.

Two faces were hovering over mine - one belonged to the pilot, another a stranger. They were forced to back away as I pushed myself off the bed and into a sitting position.

Only then did I realize that cold water was dripping down my chin and onto my t-shirt.

That explained the last part of my dream. Mingi handed me a towel that I accepted gratefully.

Now that water was out of my eyes, I looked around to get my bearings. My ears popped and my head throbbed in response. I peered at the pilot accusingly.