Let Go

Chapter 13- Retrospection

The gears clanked loudly as the door to the underwater railway cranked open. The vaulted door released a thick mist from the steam engine beneath. "Joonie, do you have the glow stick with you?" Seokjin spread his palm, waiting for Namjoon to hand him the emergency light. He quickly searched through the backpack and handed Seokjin the light. "I'll go first. Namjoon, keep your eyes on Kookie." He commanded as he jumped inside.

The hollowed tunnel rung with Seokjin's shoes' thud on the ground. The vaults on the tunnel were old. The foul stench of spoiled sea water and rust filled the air. The walls have moss that had dried and got wet again over time. The floor was moldy and slimy. It looked like it was not used for a long time. It gives Seokjin the chills. He carefully inspected the abandoned underwater railway and checked if it's safe to go all the way. "Jimin, did you pick up the flares from one of the cabins you found?" he yelled. "Yes, mom." he shouted back. "Hand me one!" Jimin tossed the flare down the entryway. Seokjin caught it in his right hand, "Thanks!" he uttered loudly.

Seokjin peeled the end of the flare, scratched it on the friction pen and pointed the flare to the direction of the railway. It flew continuously and left Seokjin in phosphorus smoke. He coughed a bit, but he could see how the light went through continuously at the far end of the tunnel until its light went out. He tried to check the rest of the entryway. "Hope, can you please help me here? I need a hand." Hoseok quickly jumped in without hesitation. "What can I help you with?" Seokjin pointed at the upper left corner of the tunnel. "There's a fusebox there. Do you think we can light up this tunnel with that? Do you know how to fix a fuse box?". Hoseok nodded, "I know a little about electronics. Let me see what I can do."

There were crates by the wall. He checked them thoroughly and found some stuff which might become useful along the way. He put those inside his bag. He also found pliers, a box of extra bulbs and fuse, some rubber bands and a couple of other things in the crate. The other crate, on the other hand is full of disgusting and frightful things.

The inner portion of the crate is covered in aluminum and silicon wrapping. And inside that crate was a couple of smaller locked organ transport boxes. The stocked water probably were ice that had melted. He didn't want to open those. "This place is driving me insane. I can't stay here for much longer." he whined. "Just a little more, Hope. We'll make it. Just trust yourself. We can make it." Seokjin's gentle voice was reassuring and gave Hoseok a sense of comfort. "You're right. I'm sorry. It almost got the better of me. We shouldn't waste our time."

Seokjin stood at one of the crates and lit the fuse box up while Hoseok fixed the lines with electric tapes and some spare wires that he had found at the crate. "Do you think they left these here? Is this still part of the test?" Hoseok begun to question the situation. He was right, it's too much of a coincidence to have those things near where they need something to be fixed. "This place is both convenient and inconvenient at the same time." He commented as he shut the fuse box lid. He pulled the vault up, and the line of bulbs begun to light up. "You did it!" Seokjin jumped and hugged Hoseok. He almost lost his balance "Be careful!" he screamed. "Oh, sorry. I was just happy." He jumped down and ran to the entryway. "Everyone, come down! We got the lights up!"

Everyone followed and jumped down. Just as they all got inside, the vault door shut close again. The atmosphere suddenly felt compressed. "Watch your step. We still don't know what's ahead of us."

They all started to walk, fast, but carefully. "What time is it?" Namjoon inquired. "It's 5 past four. It'll get dark before we could make it to the other side."

The deafening silence of the tunnel heightened up the anxiety everyone felt. Only the hissing noise of some worn-out exhaust pipes and the dripping sound of the water from rusty screws holding up the shaft of the concrete walls disturbs the silence from time-to-time.

As they went further, the oxygen seemed to drop rapidly. Their breathing soon became heavy. "I think the serum had worn out." Namjoon muttered. "It's fine. You're holding up just fine, Randa. We're almost there." Hoseok tried to cheer Namjoon up. "Mine's worn out, too." Yoongi echoed. "Don't worry, JimIn. I'm okay." he assured Jimin. "Hyung, would you please hold Kookie's hands? I'll walk behind you guys. I'll watch our back." Jimin gently placed Jungkook's hand on Yoongi's hands. "Are you alright, buddy?" Jungkook's hands feels cold. "Suga-hyung, do you remember when you first held my hand like this?" Jungkook looked at Yoongi's hands with glassy eyes. "Please, let's not talk about that..." Yoongi averted his eyes. "No... Mom and Dad, and Hoba and Chichan needs to know the truth... I might not get the chance to confess it again."

"Baby, has your serum worn out as well?" Jimin worriedly checked on Jungkook's eyes. He softly nodded. "Mine's worn out a couple of hours ago, when Bwii-hyung showed up. Don't worry, I am feeling better without the serum. Mom, no... Seokjin-hyung. Namjoon-hyung, Hoba-hyung, Jiminie... Yoongi-hyung and I have something to confess." Jungkook took his hands off of Yoongi's hold and clasped his hands together. "I first saw bwii-hyung, inside the Psychiatric ward, five years ago. When I first attempted to end my life."

Seokjin's heart skipped a beat upon hearing those words from Jungkook. "You did what?" he turned to look at him. They all stopped walking.

"I thought it was just a dream. But now, I understand that it's not." Tears started to well from his eyes. "Yoongi-hyung saw him, too. But he said he wasn't sure. He knew he saw him. But he woke up and Chichan was holding him instead."

"It happened back at the first Asylum we were sent to." Yoongi continued. "I never wanted to open up about it. But thinking about the situation, I think it makes sense that we all talk about it."

"It happened right after we failed the registration. Jungkook was supposed to be adopted by a good family. But it didn't happen because his behavior was uncontrollable. He was too young to register to the government support back then. So they sent him to the children's protection desk. He went under assessments and the organization was advised that he had to be sent to a psychiatric institution for rehabilitation. He was diagnosed with severe posttraumatic depression." Jimin explained. "We heard he was sent to the same institution but we weren't able to see him until a year after. They said his case was a different one. He was sent to the same floor with Suga-hyung. I never knew what happened there. They both wouldn't tell me so I gave up on asking."

"The third floor of that building was dedicated for patients who have dementia, severe depression and factitious disorders. Those who resort to suicide or self-harm. Kookie was the youngest to be brought there." Yoongi added.

In the middle of the discussion, Jungkook heard a rumbling noise. It sounded like something huge was crashing down towards them in a swift rolling motion. The tunnel was filled with tottering sound, followed by violent tremors. Jungkook turned his head to look back and realized what it was.

The tide was rising.