Chapter Text
At first, you were convinced it was a dream. You tapped your face twice on each side in despair for escape. Blood pressure felt low, legs could barely take any steps forward nor backward. Being certain that once the water would swallow you whole, you would drown and hopefully wake up in your single bed screaming with your heart up the throat. It wasn’t the first time you had dreamt of being swallowed by a tsunami. Each time you found yourself trying to escape, there was somebody with you, one person of a kind. There was your mother or a lover, even people you despised, sometimes strangers too. After the wave attack, it all went to black - like a horrifying ‘good night’.
This time, you must have been in such a deep sleep. The human body has programmed itself into freeze mode. You could swear you saw those two boys jump directly into the water, drenching their elegant outfits. Why would they do that? Are they insane? None of this was to your interest however, instincts had told you to get away as soon as possible. Still, you could not move.
Eyes widened while the water levels just rose up and those boys had disappeared, Gods know how angry Poseidon must have been. Seconds turned into milliseconds where water had ingested you with the rest of your surroundings. Not being able to take control of your body, shortly after your head hit a rock you escaped the unbearable pain of the water making its way into your lungs, leading you along further from the bottom. Do you know that sound? You have heard it before, haven’t you? Sound of nothingness, wide empty space full of just nothing. That sound that you think you can get adapted to, when you are at your worst, ready to lock everyone else out. That sound makes you think that you can live with yourself, and in the end, it just makes you panic, desperately looking for life, colors, and laughter.
It was so strange when your brain slowly woke up after the same loop of pain had been repeated for what felt like years now in your head. You already felt that this was not your bedroom, and the fabric on your body was not your clothes. An older dream being repeated again, a slight panic hit you. The feeling of emptiness clung to your stomach, there were hands with super thick claws and they belonged to your demon. To defend yourself from the pain, you tried to crawl into a ball, hugging yourself - but couldn’t. Suddenly two strong pairs of hands grabbed you and your eyes snapped open. “MAMA!” was the only word that slipped out of your mouth. Ever since you were little, mama was the only safe person you could call for although she was not beside you.
“It is alright, remember me, okay?” A manly voice assures and pulls your lifeless body into a hug. You do not even have time to process whatever was going on, your brain signals were two steps behind everything else. “I will be just one text message away, do not hesitate to contact me.” He adds as he helps you lay back, adjusting the blanket for comfort. One thing that followed with you, was the smell of lavender. It made you think of colorful plains, back in the countryside when you were just a kid. The summer breeze was perfect, and butterflies around you flew happily. The grass was growing taller than you were, and it made it so much fun to play hide and seek although there was nobody out there, just you and your imaginary friend. Voiceless, your eyes give in as the image of him fades into black. What was it there to even remember about somebody you didn’t even know?
This time you woke up, the place was a little familiar, although the people around you were loud strangers. A smile found on your lips seeing your nana enjoy the sun go down, accompanied by one of her older kids. You wanted to get up and join them but your leg was injured and you could not move so much without help. Not like you remembered how you got in this state, but waking up from napping on a plastic chair would probably leave everybody a bit confused. When it was getting dark, you knew you had to turn in the wooden cabin for the night and hide from nature's little creatures, however this time you were having none of it. Panic started hitting you when you remembered you were missing something or someone. No trace of your nana or anybody was around. It’s like they vanished and you were alone.
There it is again. That hollow sound, the emptiness. The night could reflect so many shades of blue, purple, yellow, and black. You tried to point things out and make a good thing out of it but they just turned into scary little monsters with a big mouth.
With an injured leg, you dragged yourself around the island, holding the only belonging you had found marked as yours. A phone, with one contact named with what it looked like “comfort”. You pressed green, with hope.“Pick up, please pick up.” It was calling a few times, however, nobody picked up. You tried a few more times over and over again until you realized it was useless. On the last try, it went on the answering machine. A low dark voice growled out so many unrecognizable words.
“obmil siht epacse ton lliw noy”
Remember your demon, Do you remember him? Of course, you do. You know him, you feel him, you will always acknowledge him. With a trembling hand, you threw the phone away at the rock bottom of the silent lake. “WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?” You screamed. He was here to ruin you, and all your sweet dreams.
Your scream has made the whole place quake. It had sent the vibes all over the silent lake. They were building themselves coming back like waves. History was repeating itself, in another place. As you could not run and your leg gave in, you closed your eyes and waited for it to hit you.
Lack of oxygen in your lungs had sent your brain the signals to wake up and gasp for air properly. Whatever had happened was now gone, and once again a memory was pushed to the back of your head. Everything was grey about the room you woke up in. The walls, the floor, the oxygen, the feeling, and the dust. You brought your hand up to your face when you noticed a purple bracelet around your wrist. It looked like a child had made it - so simple and innocent. The middle of it was decorated with a white pearl and a purple star placed on it. You pulled on it a few times. The rubber hurt your skin, but that is what you wanted it to. Maybe you would wake up. Maybe, it would call for comfort?
With no fear, you walked towards the metal door and made a try to leave as it would be normal. To your luck, it was unlocked yet heavy. Outside this door, it was pitch black. As soon as you stepped out and the door basically pushed you out, the sight of three orbs was approaching you. Adrenaline rushed through your body, getting signals to your feet to run. This wooden hallway had a loud creaking floor. Somebody was playing tricks on you. This was a game, you were the victim.
You were stopped by a dead end. Looking back, you saw the three orbs closer. They radiated a white dimming light behind them. You pressed your back against the wall, sinking down into the floor to cover your head. “LEAVE ME!” you cried pulling into the bracelet so hard it broke. The beads scattered all on the floor.
Everything goes black again.
This time you woke up on a quite steady chair. Have you fallen asleep again? Looking down at your lap, your body was covered in fancy materials, and your delicate hands were clothed in beautiful lace gloves. Swiping a hand over your injured leg, there was no longer any pain.
“ Nana? Anyone..What is happening to me?”
Three men came around you, they were all clothed in beautiful black costumes marked with an embroidered “J” on the right side of the costume. Their eyes were covered by a satin black fabric. One of them held a tray, leaning forward while the other picked the beautiful silver cup and led it to your mouth. His hand gripped your jaw a bit too violently, forcing the heavy liquid down your throat. Red drops painted the man’s white gloves, offering it rather than having your beautiful dress stained. “I was feeling quite dehydrated..”
Once you swallowed it, the third man lightly tapped your lips with a tissue. They smiled at you, and then at each other. Strangely you could not recall who and what they were, you just let things happen the way they did. Soon as they disappeared, your eyelids felt heavy again.
A light tap on your shoulder startled you. A tall figure was standing in front of you offering his hand. He too was dressed like the others, but the details were too blurry for you to see. Even though your head was spinning, you placed your delicate hands in his. It felt like you were pulled by the wind, a feather swinging into nothing. He pulled you along and you started dancing. A beautiful piano lullaby was being played. Now you noticed you weren't alone. Each step and spin you were making, let you figure it out.
One, Two, Three J’s
One Piano player
One, Blurry face dancer-
You were swept away by another pair of hands and then another. It kept going in circles. There were..three dancers? Eventually, the piano was getting louder, the three J’s were clapping along and you were spinning way too fast. Feeling ill, all you wanted was to pass out again- and you did. The music echoed in your ears, followed by an angry scream. Their faces were staring down at you. “Comfort..again.”
“We lost her again!”
Blood between your legs, sweat all over your body, and tears out of your eyes. That is how you finally came back to the real world after what felt like days of dreaming. The clock on the wall only pointed at exactly 7:00, which proved it was still early. Once you fell asleep it was so hard to wake you up but to your luck, you always got up before the alarm rang. You felt so disgusting, pushing off the sheets, slowly sitting up trying to avoid the pain from your sleeping position. The grossest thing about all this was your period. Normally you would see it coming. You made a joke to yourself remembering the red liquid you drank in your dream but quickly wiped that thought away undressing on your way to the shower. You rubbed every part of your body under the steaming water. It helped against the pain. You read somewhere that if you laid in a tub with hot water, it would calm your muscles and prevent fewer pains. Sadly you only had one lonely shower.
The mirror in your bedroom reflected the mass mess you had left when you woke up. Deciding to take your time to get dressed, you could not ignore the fact that each time you woke up from harassed dreams, mysterious bruises or marks would appear on places you remember being touched. Maybe it is you hurting yourself in your sleep, but how do you wake up stuck in a place like a heavy rock? You dressed carefully and prepared to have a change in case you were gonna bleed more under the day. The mess in your room was stressing you out so you had to tidy up before you could treat yourself for a meal, although your lower stomach was in pain because of your period.
Meanwhile in the other realm where clocks tick differently..
“We lost her again! Comfort. I was supposed to be her comfort in that nightmare.”
“You did what you could, Namjoon.”
“That is very observant of you, as always Yoongi.”
Jimin took off his blindfold, and kneeled in front of you, softly stroking your face watching you vanish right in front of them, back to your own reality. The dress you had worn was left in his hands, he was so glad that Jin was right, the dress fit just perfectly on every inch of your body. Their fake surroundings had also started shattering into pieces, as they were transferred back to their own familiarity. All of them remained in the same place until Namjoon broke the silence, getting up and moving away to the back of the room. He unveiled a big round mirror and swiped his hand over it.
“Can’t we just let her breathe for once?” The piano player, known as Yoongi, interferes right behind the tall leader. Namjoon sighed out and continued doing his work, although he knew Yoongi was right. “I need to know if she is doing well.”
A few seconds of silence, the other has joined behind, tired after using so much of their energy for one night. Namjoon was so tall, Yoongi could not exactly see what the leader was exactly looking at. They started worrying when they saw his shoulders shaking. The youngest J, Jungkook reached his slim fingers immediately on the leader’s shoulder to comfort him, they all have been thinking that she wasn’t doing well and Namjoon was shaken by worry.
“Nam-” The boy gasped when he had gotten a peek of the mirror view. A beautiful woman was sitting there, slowly stroking her bruised body. She looked so weak, so unforgettable.
When all of them laid their eyes on the mirror view, time stopped for each one of their eyes. For a leader, he had to be strong and get back to his senses. He quickly swiped his hand over the mirror and clenched his teeth. The white cloth was thrown back over the mirror again. When Namjoon turned around to face all others, he cleared his throat, trying to avoid the recent view. He just nodded to them as a sign that it was fine to leave and get back to their own routine and work.
The room however was still left with your scent. For you, it was nothing - for them it was everything. Jimin still held on to the dress, ready to take it back into the special wardrobe, before he was stopped. “Can’t you smell it?” Jimin tilted his head and looked back, the beautiful man was standing behind him pointing at the dress. “Smell what, Taehyung?” He asked back, checking the dress upside down. “This.”
Taehyung pulled up the few layers of the dress, revealing a few red stains on the fabric. Jimin's lips parted and looked confused. “How did the wine..?”
A peal of delightful laughter filled the room, as it got closer. “Wine? You are adorable Jimin. Still so delicate and precious.”´His heart-shaped lips were drawn into a wide smile, catching Jimin’s cheek into a soft rub. “That is blood.” He added. Tae let go of the layers and backed off. “Let it hang out here for a while. The smell is gonna fill the room and probably help us better next time.”
After everyone had left, Jimin stared at the dress for a while. He thought of how beautiful you looked in it. He wondered if you liked it too. Apart of him wanted to just hold it, and dance with it like you had done, but he was a curious cat. The bloodstain looked tempting. He let an inference slide over it gently and brought it to his nose. After a moment of breathing, he finally understood what it was. He felt a bit silly for not paying attention to it later, maybe because his head was filled with other images from earlier. But this..was just so much more.
Catching the fearless one doing such a daring move on one of the delicate pieces the handsome J, Jin had ordered to be made himself woke a lot of curiosity in him. First, he wanted to scold him, what a dirty son of a God! Instead, he had backed off letting the younger leave. Jin was good at being a gentle, subtle man. He smirked for himself. The bloodstain had stuck its fragrance into Jimin’s skin and was more powerful than just a material.
A daring man, off to a daring matter. The dress was so beautiful still. The silly boy had forgotten to put it into place. With no second thought, he lifted off the few thin layers and squeezed the little stain as he hoped for tiny drops on the floor. He brought his hand up to his face. Ah, there it was. The fragrance Jimin had walked out with. What a powerful thing, the human body could be. They had never, and it was an honest one, never encountered this kind of blooming in their enclosure. “I will be next,” he spoke in a determining tone, leaving the dream room.