Luna opened her eyes, only to close them from the brightness of the sun that filtered its way through the thick leaves of the trees. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes to the golden light that warmed her from head to toe. She smiled brightly, never wanting the warm feeling to leave her. Her hands were grasping the soft grass next to her as if it was a lifeline. It felt good to hold the grass in her fingers, she felt somehow free. Luna then sat up to take in more of her surroundings.
Trees surrounded her on all sides, tall yet graceful as the branches danced freely in the sweet breeze that tousled her hair, forcing her to move it from her eyes. There wasn't much else, besides the soft grass she sat upon and the trees that gave her a sense of protectiveness that she longed for her whole life. A sudden hand on her bare shoulder made her snap her head to who had touched her. She locked eyes with brown ones, ones that she recognized as her best friend.
His eyes were pained and his face was adorned with splotches of blood. Cuts littered his face almost carelessly, the hand that was on her shoulder was washed a fading orange, demonstrating that there had been blood spilled. The once peaceful aura was shattered effortlessly by this single look, a feeling of anxiety and dread had now found themselves blooming. Luna turned fully around to face him, grasping his shoulders to try and keep him upright. She was panicking, he looked close to dead at this point, his eyes now glossing over. The once sunny sky was becoming darker and darker, the sky now thick with grey clouds. A light rain made its way down, hitting Luna softly, as it was barely there.
"Run, Luna, get out of here," Ryland spoke, his usual bubbly tone replaced to one dripping in pain.
"What? And leave you here?" Luna questioned, now holding Ryland's face gently, as if he would disintegrate between her fingers.
"Yes, go, he's coming!" Ryland was still speaking painfully, but now with more urgency. He ripped Luna's gentle grip from off his face and fell backward, his chest now unmoving.
"R-Ryland?" Luna managed to get out, as she crawled closer to where he now lay in a pool of his own blood. The image made her sick, but this was her best friend, and she couldn't bring herself to look away. Luna rested a shaky hand on Ryland's chest, feeling no reassurance of a heartbeat, tears now forming in her eyes, threatening to roll down her cheeks. A dark chuckle and an ominous wind made her snap her head up from Ryland's lifeless body. She looked around and saw nothing, but a sudden feeling of panic filled her body as if she had just been injected with some sort of drug.
"I'd run if I were you," A dark voice spoke out, causing chills to break out across Luna's bare arms and legs. Luna was confused and panicked, a deadly combo that would only lead to some sort of fatal consequence.
As if a switch had just been flipped, Luna shot up from her position and bolted in a random direction, practically diving head first into the unknown world of towering trees. Her feet were bare and she could feel every leaf, each blade of grass, branch, and pine needle pierce the bottom of her feet, it was uncomfortable and distracting, to say the least. The rain that was gently falling, now turned into one that slashed mercilessly at Luna's exposed skin, leaving a dull sting everywhere it had managed to hit. Her vision was now becoming blurry and opaque, leaving her to literally blindly run through the never-ending forest. The trees now whipped violently in the now billowing wind, dropping branches left and right as Luna continued running. A low rumble vibrated through the sky, making the hair on Luna's arms stand on end, it was as if she could literally feel the thunder coil itself around her frame. Since things only get worse for poor Luna, she had misplaced her foot and went tumbling down, resulting in her ankle to be injured, forcing her to stay on the ground. She groaned when she tried to put any weight on it, just adding more panic and anxiety into her body. Lightning struck forcefully, causing Luna to visibly flinch at the force of nature.
Luna heard the snap of a twig, turning her head quickly to face the sound. Suddenly the face of Daniel flashes through the trees as another bolt of lightning strikes. His face is hideously stained with blood, it dripping down his mouth and down the front part of his neck and shirt. The visual of Daniel covered in what she could only assume was Ryland's blood per the previous events, made her heart thud in her chest and her hands began to shake as she curled them into fists at her sides. There was no way the rain could have picked up more, but it did, washing the blood from Daniel's face, his mouth turned into a twisted smirk. There was now a thud at Daniel's feet, the sound forced Luna's eyes downwards to a sickening sight. There laid Ryland in a pool of his own blood having what looked like a seizure. His throat was torn apart, leaking out a sickly amount of blood and his parted lips pathetically gasped for air. as if he was going to miraculously heal. His brown eyes were bulging out of his head, making Luna's stomach twist and for a wave of nausea to roll through her. She screamed, knowing that this would do nothing for her or Ryland, but it was an instinct she couldn't deny.
A sudden gentle whisper drifted into her ears as she was screaming aimlessly at Ryland's dying form and Daniel's devious smirk.
"You have the power to save them all."
Luna woke up trembling, beads of sweat coming down her forehead, she could feel her hands shaking the most. She was breathing heavily, practically gasping, tears forming in her eyes; before they could fall, Luna wiped them harshly away with her sleeve. Luna took this opportunity to sit up and to look at her surroundings. Luna was laying in the bed, the covers now scrunched around the lower part of her body messily. The window was open, welcoming in the cool, late January air into the room, causing an involuntary shiver to go down her spine due to the sudden frigidness. Moonlight seeped in as well, lighting up the room dimly, yet beautifully. The beams washed the walls and floor, making them appear lighter in color, and the white curtains were almost glowing as they blew limply in the slight breeze. Luna was grateful for the curtains to be pulled, she absolutely adored the moon and the way it shone so softly in the dead of night.
It was really quiet in her room all except for the light wind blowing in through her window. Luna swung her legs out from under the warm mass of blankets and gingerly made her way to the window, sitting on the bench provided. She was hoping to calm her hammering heart and to settle her nerves from the viciously vivid dream she had just had. As she settled, she pulled up the neatly folded blanket from the edge of the bench and pulled it over herself for some sort of heat. Luna let the soft breeze move her hair, not caring if it got more messed up, although she did pull the blanket up a little higher. She allowed her head to lean back to rest on the half wall behind her, she then shifted her gaze to admire the stars that shone brilliantly in the dark sky. She then began to whisper out the constellations she saw, getting excited when she was able to point out another one, adding it to the growing, intangible list in her head. The wind then stopped for a moment, allowing her to now pick up on the mumbling coming through the wall, making her smile lazily to herself. Luna felt better, but not safe. Her heart was no longer threatening to break through her ribcage and her adrenaline levels had slowed to a stop, but that wasn't enough reassurance for her. Luna then moved her head from off the wall and a sudden wave of pain washed over her. She groaned in both surprise and hurt as she felt a stinging pain in her back, near her shoulder blades. There was also a dull pounding now in her head and a subtle throbbing burn near her wrist.
As she stood up, she had to grab the wall for support, the pain now becoming worse by the second. Her wrist now felt like it was on fire and the pain in her back made it difficult to breathe properly. She was wheezing, sounding like she had abruptly gotten an asthma attack, and her head wasn't making things any better, it felt like the worst migraine she had ever had. Luna rolled up her sleeve on her wrist, the burning pain becoming unbearable, hoping the cool air in the room would provide some sort of comfort. She looked down, breathing heavily and was taken aback by what she now saw. A black tattoo was now etched on her fiery red skin. The tattoo was a number reading: 00007201800.
"That doesn't make any sense. What the hell is that?" Luna thought to herself, a slight panic rising at the sudden ink marked into her skin. Luna then touched it, but as soon as the pad of her finger brushed against it, she whined in pain. The pain in her back was growing worse and worse, her breathing was more rapid and labored, Luna was struggling to get air into her lungs now and the splitting pain in her head didn't make things any better.
Luna wanted help, she didn't know if this was still apart of her dream or not, but she was beginning to freak out. She now decided that her best bet was to do something, this wasn't normal, and she sought some sort of human comfort. Luna then pushed herself somewhat off the wall, causing her to stumble a little before regaining some sort of control over her footwork. She managed to get to the door and reached for the handle to swing the door open. The dark hallway seemed longer than before as she stepped out into the darkness, stumbling and bumping into walls, whining ever so often at the constant pain coursing through her. Luna then began to feel dizzy, as if she was now walking sideways instead of straight. She somehow kept her focus on the dim light at the approaching end of the hallway. Luna finally emerged and faltered, almost hitting a big table that held precious pictures and keepsakes. The living room was in sight and it looked almost distorted in Luna's eyes, hurting her head further, making her clutch it more feverishly.
"Luna?"
A voice, Luna couldn't be bothered with identifying, called out to her, almost distantly as she came further into the living room.
"My-ahh!" Luna tried to get a coherent sentence out but was cut short with a new searing pain in her back causing her to almost collapse if it wasn't for someone reaching out to catch her.
"Woah, woah, woah, hey? What's wrong sunshine?" Luna recognized it as Yoongi who was speaking to her by the nickname he had dubbed her recently. She sunk into his grasp, feeling her legs completely give out beneath her. She felt bad that Yoongi was now supporting basically all of her weight, but her body made it seem that there was literal lava coursing through her veins.
Her breathing was heavy and she allowed tears to slip out of her now bolted shut eyes out of how much everything hurt. She clenched her teeth painfully as if a reminder that this was indeed reality. Luna grasped at the long sleeve Yoongi was wearing as if her life depended on it.
Yoongi looked around to see if anyone knew what was wrong with Luna, she was breathing like she had no oxygen and her grip on him was extremely warm.
"What do I do?" Yoongi mouthed to the rest of the boys who were now stood in shock. He was new to this, his whole concept of taking care of someone. Of course, he took care of the younger members but he was unfamiliar with someone naturally weaker than he was. He was holding a human being in his arms at this very second, and he was lost at what to do.
Jin rushed over and rested a mildly cold hand on Luna's forehead and immediate concern flushed his features.
"She has a fever. We need her to sit somewhere and rest a cold towel on her head, neck, and we need to put her in a short sleeve shirt or something more breathable than a sweatshirt," Jin almost barked, looking at everyone as they now scrambled to get everything that Jin had listed off.
"Yoongi, I am going to steady her, I need you to carefully take off her sweatshirt," Jin demanded, carefully balancing Luna as Yoongi began to peel off the sweatshirt.
Luna shuttered at the air that now nipped at her exposed skin, she was now left in merely her bra, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. A sudden gasp could be heard from behind her.
"Oh my god! Her back!" Jimin had exclaimed, a black shirt clutched tightly in his grip.
"W-what about my b-back?" Luna managed to get out still feeling like fire was crawling beneath her skin.
"Everything is fine, don't worry, it's nothing we can handle," Namjoon soothed her, holding a damp washcloth in his hand.
They were all lying through their teeth, they had NO idea what to do with the situation that had decided to present itself at roughly 2:30 in the morning. Luna's back was coated with fresh blood. Near her shoulder blades was the worst bit, as it seemed like there were two big scabs that had sealed themselves over poorly.
"Okay, let just clean this up. Yoongi, please hold her again," Jin managed to get out over the stench of blood.
Yoongi was now supporting Luna once more, waiting for further instruction. There was sudden contact on her back and it made her scream in pain. The contact was anything but harsh, it barely brushed up against her, but the action made it feel like someone had stabbed her, as a new wave of pain washed over her. She clung to Yoongi even more now, his shirt fisted in her fists. Yoongi had to tighten his grip on her making sure she wouldn't collapse within his hold.
"I barely touched her with the cloth," Hoseok whispered, a look of concern flooding his features, backing up and looking at everyone with worry.
"Okay, let's just put the shirt on her then, we can deal with this when she isn't so sensitive. Jimin?" Namjoon worriedly nudged Jimin closer to Luna, directing him to either give Jin or Yoongi the shirt or to do it himself.
Jimin stepped closer cautiously as if he was afraid that Luna would make a sudden movement or he would go ballistic. Yoongi adjusted his grip on Luna, sighing a little when he did so. Jimin pulled the shirt over her head and helped her put her arms through the holes of the shirt. All his movements were slow, gentle, and careful. He then was able to steal a glance at one of Luna's wrist, not able to believe his eyes, but decided he could get a better look when she was comfortably laying down.
"Perfect, let's get her on the couch now, we should keep her on her stomach though, as her back is, not great." Namjoon directed, looking sympathetically at Luna.
Yoongi managed to move Luna onto the couch on her stomach and sat down next to her on the floor. She was laying so that she could rest her head and arms on the arm of the couch, allowing her body to lay comfortably on the cushy part of the couch. Then a cloth was placed on the back of Luna's neck and Hoseok held the other one on Luna's forehead. She sighed out in relief as the cold rag touched her skin, relieving her of some of the discomforts she was in. Jimin then gently grabbed Luna's wrist and examined it.
"Namjoon hyung, look," Jimin was looking at the strange number that had shown up on Luna's skin without reason, "do you know what this means? Maybe one of your books can help us out?"
Namjoon was shocked, he knew Luna didn't have any tattoos when they met, so how this one randomly showed up suddenly, was beyond him.
"Yeah, I'll look into it," Namjoon replied, looking at the numbers in confusion before stepping away to go into the library.
There was silence, the only sound being Luna's now steady breathing. Hoseok removed the cloth from Luna's forehead and was shocked to see that all her previous injuries, including the giant 'B' that was supposed to be carved into her cheek, were gone.
"Guys, look," Hoseok pointed at Luna's face and everyone else had the same expression of shock and confusion written on their faces.
"How is that even possible?"
"What I don't understand is the number on her wrist."
"Or how about the fact that we didn't smell her blood until we put her in a tee shirt instead?"
"What does any of this mean?"
Yoongi scooted closer, rubbing a hand lovingly through Luna's hair.
"Sunshine, how are you feeling?" he questioned her softly, watching her every movement carefully.
"Tired, but the pain is mostly gone now. I mean I still have a headache and my back feels sore but other than that I'm okay," Luna spoke lowly, her eyes still closed as she buried her head in her arms.
"That's good. Do you need anything? You still feel really warm," He trailed off, now resting his hand in a slightly awkward position to rest it on her partially hidden forehead. Luna then sighed at the coolness of his hand on her still blistering forehead. Yoongi then tried to move his hand but Luna wrapped her hand around his wrist and whined like a child.
"No, leave it, your hand's cold,"
Yoongi chuckled but complied with the strange request. She then spoke up once more after about a minute of silence.
"Can I sit up? I don't like laying this way, I'm getting uncomfy," Luna shifted a little visibly showing that she was uncomfortable with the laying position she was in.
"Yeah, here let me help you," Yoongi offered, motioning for someone else to come and help as well. It's not like she was heavy, she was the complete opposite, he just didn't want to hurt her in any way. Jimin stepped forward, leaving the rest of the boys to talk quietly amongst themselves. He and Yoongi easily moved Luna so that she was now sitting up but not that her back was touching the couch cushions behind her.
"Better?" Yoongi asked, looking at Luna's hooded eyes.
"Yeah, thank you," She sighed contently, her head falling forward on its own. Yoongi caught her slumping shoulders and tried to readjust her so she wasn't literally falling forwards. Luna was limp, there was no way for her to keep herself upright in the position she was in, it was like she had absolutely no energy left in her body.
Namjoon made his way back into the living room empty handed. He wore a small frown and started to bite his fingernails while his eyebrows creased together.
"I think if we're going to figure this out, we're going to have to see her," He sneered the last part as if the mention of this unknown woman was toxic. Everyone in the room snapped their heads and a small growl erupted from a few of them, "she owes us all a favor anyway, and I think we should go now. The sooner the better, I guess," he rubbed a hand across his forehead and sighed in annoyance.
"What? Why now?" Jungkook asked surprised with the suddenness of the situation.
"Waiting would be dumb, we just need to get this over with," Namjoon huffed, his hand now running through his hair.
"Luna can't come with us, she would tear her apart," Taehyung spoke lowly, glancing at Luna, who was being heavily supported now by both Yoongi and Jimin.
"I know, I know. Can you guys stay with her? We should be back later in the morning." Namjoon addressed Yoongi and Jimin. Jimin gave a tight smile and a thumbs up and Yoongi just nodded his head in agreement.
"Perfect, let's go,"
Everyone besides Yoongi and Jimin grabbed their coats and headed out the door, allowing for the January air envelop them as they would make their way to her.