The forest creatures run at the sight, hiding anywhere they can. Huddling close, predator and prey stick together as a more dangerous creature walks among them. Causing decay by her touch, Azalea glides her way through the forest taking slow steps towards her fulfillment of power. 

There is no need to rush, she is already the most powerful magic-user here, her win is inevitable. The stroll is more for Felix's sake, giving him one last long look at everything before she destroys it, taking the last once of good in the world and making sure Felix knows that he lost. 

The once unbearable pain Felix felt course through him, has dimmed down a significant amount. He is able to walk on his own, though every step aches. Being dragged along by Azalea as she talks about her reign isn't helping any, but Felix can't deny that nearly all her words are true. They are getting closer to the school and Felix's fear pits in his stomach. What will happen when people see him? What will everyone think?

These questions shouldn't matter since he'll die anyway, opinions of no one should affect him anymore.  

His breathing is labored as Azalea yanks him along, the shock and the pain took a toll on his body and the recovery hasn't been effective. Mainly, because Azalea has kept him on the move and hasn't given his body the time to heal itself. Felix is sure that Azalea won't need him when the school starts defending itself, he figures he'll be tossed to the side while she works on getting the other magic-users out of her way, manipulating one of them to tell her where the well is. That is if she doesn't know where it is already.

Felix has a large amount of fear bubbling inside of him as they get closer, he doesn't want anyone to see him. He doesn't want Changbin and Hyunjin to see him. Felix doesn't think he'd be able to handle the look of betrayal on their faces, it might kill him quicker than initially planned. 

The orange-haired male kicks himself for getting so close. This would be so much easier if he didn't create a relationship with people at this school. If he would have just stuck to himself and shut everyone out. Felix feels conflicted with himself and it only makes this situation harder. 

"Who are you most excited to see when we arrive?" Azalea asks though it isn't genuine, she says it mockingly, rubbing it in Felix's face that he now has nothing. 

Choosing not to answer, Felix allows his head to fall, eyes locking onto the dirt, leaves, and sticks that crunch under the weight of him. The silence doesn't stop Azalea from having her fun, though. She continues with her taunting, making Felix feel worse by the minute. Felix almost wishes they'd be at the school already, so he wouldn't have to suffer from her words any longer. 

"I'm excited to see your 'friends'," she tells him, "I want to see the looks on their faces once they've realized you've betrayed them. Their misery will be so fun to watch."

Felix heaves a shaky breath, continuing the painful walk to the school.

~•~

Woojin leads everyone to the library, carefully stepping in the halls as to not draw attention to themselves. The older has had to shush everyone at least ten times and the more he hears someone whisper the more agitated he is getting. It is as if no one here understands the first basic rule of sneaking around, and Woojin is ready to start swinging. 

They make it to the library without anyone getting hurt, which is a miracle in Woojin's mind. The older can't see Jeongin anywhere, so either he is on one of the upper floors or he hasn't made it back yet. 

"Come on." Woojin motions for everyone to follow, slowly making his way up the first flight of stairs. Everyone creeps behind him, all of them moving quietly until they have reached the third floor of the library. 

Woojin gathers them in a corner, out of sight to anyone who would walk through the door. He reminds them that they need to stay quiet so they can limit the possibilities of teachers finding them. He is sure Jeongin will arrive soon, the boy is smart and will be able to find a way past everyone, they just need to wait a few more minutes. 

There waiting time is silent, which is exactly what Woojin wants. His mind doesn't feel as if it as one hundred voices screaming at him and he can actually think clearly. The thought of what could happen to him is finally dawning on him. If they were to get caught, Woojin wouldn't hesitate to put all the blame upon himself. This could mean a variety of things for himself; he could get expelled, or worse in trouble with the law. All the hard work he and his parents have done to get him to this place will be thrown away, and Woojin wonder's if his parents would still see him as their son. 

Perfection is expected in their family; his older brother is everything their parents want in a child. Now, all the pressure is on Woojin to live up to what his brother has done. Woojin has been determined his whole life to achieve greatness, just as his brother has. However, now with the possibility that all of them will go down the drain, Woojin can't bring himself to feel shame for disappointing his parents. 

The sound of the library door being open shakes everyone from their thoughts. Eyes roam around the group as Woojin motions for them to stay quiet. He kneels to the floor, crawling over to the railing so he can get a peek at who had just entered. The library is dark, and it is hard to make out details, but the fact that four people walked in, instead of one, etches worry into the older. 

Woojin watches as the figures wander around the bottom floor of the library for a few seconds, hoping that they'll have the urge to leave before coming up the stairs. Glancing back Woojin notices how everyone else has gotten low to the floor, after watching Woojin's reaction, they all assume that it isn't someone they were expecting who entered the library. The older's eye go back to the people wandering the bottom floor, he can hear small whispers coming from them, but can't actually make out what they are saying. 

A couple of seconds go by and the people are still whispering to each other. Woojin is getting anxious by the second, fearing that they may not actually leave.

"Woojin!" a much louder whisper breaks through the room. 

"Woojin! Are you here?" This also comes from one of the people on the bottom floor.

The voice sounds familiar, but Woojin is having a hard time placing it.

"Jeongin, I don't think he is here," another voice speaks, but this time it isn't in a whisper and a normal tone. Woojin can clearly tell that the voice is Minho's.

Standing up, Woojin speaks, "We're up here."

The group on the bottom floor, makes their way up the stairs, meeting up with Woojin and the others. Woojin is surprised to see Minho, Jisung, and Seungmin since he thought they would all be locked up in the dorms with the other students.

"Not that I want to have an argument," Minho says once they have joined up with Woojin, "but next time you run off on an adventure, don't leave one of the group members all on their own."

Woojin opens his mouth to comment on the issue but is stopped by Jeongin who places a hand on his shoulder. The younger shakes his head a little, telling  Woojin not to get into it at the moment. Jeongin had to here an entire rant from Minho about leaving Seungmin behind, and though it was well argued, Jeongin knows they don't exactly have the time to hear Minho repeat it at this exact moment. 

"Now are you going to explain to us why you broke us out of detention?" Yugyeom asks. The three are getting impatient and they really don't enjoy being left in the dark.

"Yes, we are," Woojin tells them, "the school is on lockdown, the teachers are sending everyone into their dorms and none of us know why. We figured if we go to the people who are at the center of all the craziness then maybe we'd be able to figure out what is going on."

Bambam shakes his head, "sorry, but we know nothing. If something is going on and the teachers were locking you guys in your dorms, it was probably for a good reason. Sneaking away and busting us out was reckless, you could be putting yourselves in danger."

No one can deny Bambam's words, they are true. However, Woojin doesn't care what happens to him, he'll go out protecting his friends if he has to. Answers are what he wants at the moment, and if Bambam, Yugyeom, and Chan don't have it for them, then he'll have to just get from the teachers. Secretly, of course, Woojin is aware that no teacher will willingly give him information about what is going on. 

"I'm aware of how dangerous this is, will people stop telling me that!" Woojin snaps, "I want to help, and I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, so if everyone could stop tell--"

A loud, thunderous bang erupts through the room, rolling over Woojin's voice and silencing him. The group's attention centers on the awful, unfamiliar rumble, leaving everyone a bit shaken of where its origin is. 

"What was that?" Jisung whispers.

Woojin shakes his head, "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

The oldest is already running down the stairs before the group can process what he is doing. They all have a choice to make, stay here and cower in fear, or take action, following Woojin towards the sound. 

For most of them, it doesn't take long for their mind to be made up, jumping into a sprint to catch up to the older.

~•~

Word Count: 1,715