Let Go

Chapter 11- Asylum

The sun had risen up. It's cold, but it's bright outside. There were no signs of snowfall or rain to come. Hoseok headed out and checked the surroundings. It was dead quiet outside. The sun mildly hit the ground, melting some of the snow that had piled up from yesternight. He stepped on the wet ground very cautiously. His eyes scanned the entire area. He wanted to make sure no one else came close to where they were. He came back inside, "We should be safe by now." he spoke in a low voice. "Jimin, you went out with Suga-hyung yesterday. How far have you gone from here? Tell me what you guys have seen."

"There's a pier South of here. Four and a half hours of walk. There were two cabins past the frozen lake. One has pyrotechnic emergency signal kit and a few first aid equipments inside. The other has ammunition and life vests. About another three to four hours of walk from the cabins is an abandoned trail. We can't figure out if there's a mining area near here or if that's an abandoned train railroad. We didn't get that far. We had to go back after we heard some screaming and we saw the other two survivors got killed." Jimin explained.

"The two survivors were Donghyuk and Ikje... They told us about this... Slow Rabbit guy who runs the ferry out." Suga added. Jungkook was wide-eyed again, smiling "I told you, Slow Rabbit will bring us out. I was supposed to meet him in the forest. But mom will be mad, so I said I will meet bwii-hyung."

Yoongi raised his right eyebrow. "He's losing it again. Jimin, do you have his ampule?" Jimin rushed to scramble inside his bag but Jungkook was quick to flee. "I am not insane! Why don't you guys believe me? I told you, it was the people on that Asylum that want you to believe Bwii-hyung is dead! I can see him! He's not dead! He's not dead!" Yoongi sprinted towards Jungkook and locked his arm behind him. "Jimin, quick! Inject him the ampule!"

Jungkook flinched violently and Yoongi pressed on him tighter. Jimin injected the serum on Jungkook's nape. Soon, Jungkook fell silent. He became calm and looked more focused.

"What was that?" Hoseok asked reluctantly. "It's an ampule from the Psychiatric Facility where we were held for a while. After the Dalbang incident, we all tried to enlist for the government support agency where Jin-hyung and Randa stayed. But we failed the psychological examination and we were sent to this facility to get us "straightened up". They taught us to work in a patternized behavior which is deemed "normal behavior" in the society." Suga responded. "Tell me more..."

Suga sat beside Jungkook and began to tell his side of the story...

"Jin-hyung and I went to Hannam Support Agency to be registered as Abandoned and orphaned individuals. We got the name of the agency from the ledger I stole. Jin-hyung seemed to have a stronger mental state than you think, he was accepted in the facility long with Randa. But Jimin, Jungkook and I failed the psychological examination. I was diagnosed with OCD, Social Phobia and Anger management issues. Jimin was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Post-traumatic anxiety. Jungkook was too young to be enlisted on any other programs at the time so we brought him to children's protection center. He was supposed to be adopted but when he was brought home by the couple who wanted to adopt him, he was found out to have post-traumatic amnesia but it was not confirmed because he developed Munchausen Syndrome at the time. We were sent to Gangnam Psychiatric Facility for rehabilitation. We underwent hypnosis therapy and continuous therapy session for three years. Among us, Jungkook had suffered the most traumatic experience at a young age, therapy didn't seem to work with his case. The only option was to prescribe him antidepressant ampules that we inject to him once a day as maintenance medicine and sometimes a few more if he starts showing other symptoms of triggers or anxiety attacks. I thought we weren't going to be okay. The therapy became tiresome and we've become dependent on the medicines. Whenever we missed a shot, our depression feels worse than before. We all have our ampules by then. Even when we were released, we continued to take the ampules."

"So just the three of you?"

"No... we all got the same medicine." Jin interrupted.

"But I thought, you were fine?" Hoseok felt doubtful as the conversation went on.

"In my second year in training, the pressure was too much and the training became more and more difficult. Namjoon and I were both on the edge. I was mentally stable but I still got weary, and it eventually affected Namjoon. To prevent us from developing any more mental issues, they took preventive measure and gave us these ampules."

"Mind if I take a look at those?" Hoseok enquired, Jin unhesitatingly gave him one ampule. Hoseok tore the tip of the ampule with his teeth and dropped a few contents on a hot water. We watched it turn the water into soft globules that looked like crystallized gel. "I highly recommend everyone to stop using this."

"That did not just..."

Hoseok nodded "Unfortunately, yes. It slowly kills your brain neurons. It may cause hallucinations, partial to full amnesia or alzheimer's if it gets worse. Technically, whether or not you get killed here or in the training facility, this would have killed you in ten years time if you continue to take this."

"I don't know what to believe anymore..." Jin sighed exasperatingly.

"I'd say, it's a wise decision that Jungkook chose to stop taking it. You all should as well. Those feelings of having your depression getting worse might also be coming from this. You see, it contains ingredients which are addictive and the strong antidepressant material makes you feel like you need this once it wears out of your system." Hoseok tossed the ampule container on the fireplace. "When was the last time you guys took those ampules?"

"I just took one yesterday, before I slept. Same with Suga-hyung." Jimin answered.

"If Seokjin didn't inject me the serum last night then mine would wear out in a couple of hours from now." Namjoon replied.

"I had mine before I head out to find Namjoon yesterday. It would come off more or less past five in the afternoon." Seokjin said.

"So, the longest wait time is for Jungkook..." Hoseok murmured.

"No, he usually needs two to three shots a day." Jimin's voice cracked as if he's about to cry. "His episodes of acting like a kid, is usually followed by self-mutilation and or continuous crying for no reason. We usually give him shots three times a day."

"Then we'll wait till you are all cleared. We'll then come out of here and see how different you would act when you are under the effects of that serum and when you are clean. I doubt that there would be any, but, if in any case, it's available, coconut water and sterilized milk will make it easier for this drug to wear out."

"There's a few by the shoreline... but it's a bit far from here. I can get through, if you want." Suga suggested.

"No, we're good. Let's all just rest. Let's cook this deer and I will observe any changes in your behavior while we're waiting." Hoseok insisted they stay in the Cabin for the day.

"We're honestly so lucky to have found you again. We couldn't do this without you." Namjoon praised Hoseok's vast knowledge in medicine and psychology.

"I never knew that the things I have studied before would come in handy like this, the way it is right now. It might not be the best scenario, but it feels so useful. I feel a sense of relief with you guys." Hoseok smiled. He's genuinely happy. You can see it in his eyes.

"Hope-hyung..." Jungkook suddenly spoke. They all turned to look at Jungkook. "Has his serum wore out already?" he asked... "No. But his eyes... he's conscious. He knows what's happening." Jimin crawled closer to Jungkook. "What's going on, baby?" he brushed off Jungkook's hair and wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand.

"I know where we are... I know the way out. Slow Rabbit is not a person, it's the code to the door."

"What do you mean, baby? Speak slowly so we can understand..." Jimin plead.

"They've caught us.They knew about us from the very beginning. We were not abducted. The person who wanted to burn us, the person who runs the training facility and the support facility, the head of the psychiatric ward and the person behind the organ auction at the black market. This is all a part of their plan. They've put us into this Asylum and they are watching how we all die one by one... They want us dead..."

"How do we prove that?" Jimin worriedly asked.

"727 Gageodo-ri, Heuksan-myeon, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Hang-ni Psychiatric Asylum..." Yoongi read the note at the back of one of the polaroid photos. "We really are thrown in this prison. If every hint is written among these photos, then maybe, one of these will tell us how we can escape here."

"Then why am I here? I was not a part of the training to begin with!" Hoseok exclaimed. His eyes turned dark in fear.

"All of us were part of it. It's not a coincidence that we were put together inside the orphanage. You are a witness to the crime and So am I. That ledger holds the names of the children whose organs were supposed to be sold to the black market. Suga-hyung stole it thinking he wouldn't need to leave Jimin-ssi if he crosses his name out of the ledger. But he was never able to return it. And when they found out it was lost, they couldn't find who took it. In fear of having themselves exposed through that ledger, they had to eradicate all sources of info about them. That led to the orphanage being burned. You are here because you witnessed what they do to the children we once thought had lived well. You remember their faces. That means they also want you dead. We need to survive. But we don't have the time. When the tide rises at full moon, this island will be submerged in the ocean. We will all die. If we want to live, we need to leave now."

"The south port?"

"No... the underwater railway. We need to find the door that leads to the railway before high tide. They sent us here in this Asylum through that door. We have to find it."