"Dont let go now." (1/1)

Blood poured out of Minho’s gaping wound as the bullet lodged itself firmly in the tan of his skin. He swore out loud and clutched blindly at a flickering lamppost in vain hopes of easing the pain. Taemin stared noiselessly and ashen faced, at this ruthless assault on his lover. He knew that his country condemned their love, but he didn’t realise that they were willing to go to any lengths to curb it. Coming back to his senses, he furiously tore off his shirt from his back, revealing his palpitating, bruise filled torso. He bundled the thin shirt hastily around Minho’s wound, hoping that it would, to some extent, stop the haemorrhage. His shirt immediately stained a deep red and Taemin saw his lover’s eyes turn bloodshot as he tolerated the immense pain that seared across his shivering body. Taemin wished vainly that the bullet had struck him instead, but there was no use. The damage had been done and time was fast running out. The sirens of the police van seemed to be dancing in his ears and getting louder by the second.“Can you walk?” Taemin whispered urgently.“I have to.” Minho answered plainly.      A shadow of a smile crossed Taemin’s lips after hearing Minho’s stoic answer. He tenderly kissed Minho’s bloodied wound and grasped his better hand. Then, they ran. They ran like they had never run before. They ran for their love, for the intolerance shown towards them by society. They ran for liberation, out of the sheer truth that they were doing nothing wrong. They ran because they had to live.       Trees, bushes, happy houses; it all flowed past them as they scaled one street after the other. The dark night seemed to be trying her best to provide them refuge. She guided them, cloaked them in a heavy wad of darkness, but the police sirens seemed to turn louder than ever. Taemin felt Minho slacken and he knew that the pain was unbearable. Taemin wished to the heavens that he could do something to alleviate the suffering, but urgency had overpowered all caring. They just had to get away from the clutches of the constabulary. They couldn’t go down like this. They just couldn’t! Taemin took the lead and tugged feverishly at Minho’s unharmed arm whenever his pace would slow down. Minho panted, huffed and puffed. He struggled and tried his level best to keep up with Taemin, but somewhere his strength failed him. He found himself beginning to wish he had never undertaken this, never decided to openly challenge customs and traditions. And Taemin’s urgent tugs on his arm seemed to cloud his senses further.“I can’t do it.” Minho whispered softly, bowing his head. His pace slowed down and he held Taemin lovingly. “I can’t.” He said. Taemin stopped, peered at him closely and then sent a stinging slap across Minho’s bruised cheek. Minho started, and asked almost plaintively, “What was that for?”“...For talking nonsense.” Taemin replied curtly. “What is wrong with you? You’re not dying; you’re not even close to dying! You’re Minho! Choi Minho - the athlete, the sportsman, the leader. You don’t give up and you sure as hell don’t spout nonsense! Whatever has gotten into you?” The softening his tone he said, “We can’t turn back now. You know it as well as I do. I’d brave that pain if I were you simply because I’d know you were with me. You have me now. Can’t you plod on? We can do it! You know we can. You told me we could. I trusted you and it’s time you trusted yourself. Let’s show those jerks that love can exist between people of the same gender. We’re heralding a change, Minho. Don’t let go now.”      Minho stared silently at Taemin for a few seconds, then gripping the wall with his fingers he pushed forward and pulled Taemin along. “I lead you; you don’t lead me.” Minho said, looking straight ahead. But, even then, he knew he had made his Taemin smile. They limped, pulled, struggled along as Minho led their frightened selves with a vain, contemptuous confidence that even he knew he didn’t possess.“Where shall we go?” Taemin whispered to Minho, as their ally, Night covered their traces with her stealth.“I-I don’t know.” Minho said, looking up at the dark, gloomy sky. “We’ll go somewhere, wherever our legs take us.”       And Taemin nodded. They walked on, their breaths uneven and hitched. Their rising chests constricting every instance the wailing of the ceaseless police sirens rang more forcefully in their weary ears. Fatigue overcame them, but they trudged on, occasionally taking cover behind unhelpful trees and sly bushes to prevent their capture. Their metamorphosis had occurred. In a span of no more than twenty four hours, they had been altered from remarkably ordinary individuals, to one of the familiar faces that would soon grace every wanted list in the country. They had taken a headfirst plunge into the dark world of defying societal plagues. They had plummeted, without even a slight caveat, into a lifestyle would soon impel them to turn into full-fledged criminals. Society had already branded them as illicit; they were nothing more than wanted criminals on the run. But, in their own battered, gradually diminishing hope, they knew they were fighting for justice. They just had no one to go to.            Darkness now prevailed with an empowering sense of satisfaction. The two boys hurried along the streets that were bereft of green cover. Their tired eyes searched desperately for protection, even as Mother Nature seemed to provide them none. The flickering lampposts lined bleakly along the streets seemed to light up more vigorously at the sight of the two limping boys. Perhaps, even they sensed that they didn’t want to be found and seemed to take pleasure in taunting them. The light of the otherwise dull lampposts seemed to shine brightly on their frightened faces. It was as though they were calling out to the masses, in their own sadistic way, that the pair of scandalous criminals was panting just there. Taemin could almost heae the ringing laughter of the morbid lampposts as he walked past them, their lights beating down on him hopefully. He swore out loud at them and aimed a futile kick at one of their brethren. Nothing changed save for the emergence of a new, annoying pain in his feet complementing the others that ruined his aching body.“Maybe we should stop for a while.” Minho’s deep, husky voice broke the stillness of the night, startling Taemin out of his dazed walking.Taemin yawned hugely whilst shaking his head in agreement, his scarlet hair bouncing up and down as he did. “Y-yeah, we sh-sho –” The rest of his sentence drowned in another unannounced yawn.       He dropped down on his knees and lay down on the barren ground unmindful of the years of dust he might have accumulated onto his already grimy shirt. His lids closed as his hands groped around to search for Minho who ought to have been there beside him. Not finding him, Taemin wrenched open his fatigued eyes and spotted Minho standing, scanning the roads around them keenly. “Somethin’ the matter?” Taemin muttered thickly, as the lack of sleep made him drowsy.“Nothing, you can sleep. I will too, in a moment.” Minho answered.          Taemin dozed off, and in a while, he felt Minho’s deep breathing near him too. He smiled involuntarily in his sleep and let his loosely curled fingers coil around Minho’s hands. He felt Minho gently pull him closer and stroke his scarlet hair softly. He had missed that side of Minho. The twenty four hours that had passed seemed to have wrought Minho into something Taemin didn’t like and didn’t even know, for that matter. And now, in the dead of the night, as the cold pavement ripped apart their sanity, Taemin felt at peace with the world. Minho continued his gentle motion across Taemin’s hair. He gradually let his fingers move up to Taemin smooth, unblemished face and caressed it with the gracefulness of his fingers. He moved up closer to Taemin, closer still and positioned his mouth above Taemin’s reddened ears. “I missed you, Taemin-ah.” Minho whispered. And even though Taemin knew that he had never gone anywhere, never left Minho even for a moment, he understood the significance of those words. Because, he missed Minho too.            They lay there, serenely. But their serenity was too heavenly to survive the blackness of humanity. Suddenly, the piercing shrieks of the frenzied police van shook tumultuously through the night. Minho sat up, alert and scared. He swore with a vengeance, and then proceeded to shake his angel who was still lost in his slumber. “Taemin wake up! They’ve come to get us again! We need to move!” Taemin awoke with a start, as his wide eyes stared questioningly at Minho. But, the sirens of the police van seemed too close to bid for time. Minho rushed up to his feet, dragging Taemin carelessly along with him. He held Taemin’s hand tightly, and then broke into a mad sprint across the lonely streets of Seoul. Taemin struggled to keep up. They had to escape! They just had to! Fury, frenzy, madness; it gripped them with powerful intensities and they compelled their minds to believe that they could overcome the pace of the swift vehicles.“Where are we going?” Taemin asked, panting heavily.“I really don’t know,” Minho answered truthfully. “Just run.”         But fate knew where they were running. They were meant to run in the direction that they were, because just as they felt they were going to be prevailed over by the opposition, a sudden burst of speed seemed to accelerate their sprint. They ran like they had never run before and they ran straight off the streets of loneliness into the dark, murky waters of a sly, flowing canal; straight down under. It was as though time had frozen for that slight second before the impact of the unclean water hit them. Taemin remembered staring fearfully at Minho’s fearless eyes, wishing he were just as brave. And then, the water struck, darkness prevailed._______________________________________________________________________________________________________Hello! Thanks to all you lovely subbies who've made me so happy! :D I do hope you'll will comment and let me know what you think of the story. Honestly, I don't know when I can update now, but I'll try my best.I love you all. Bye! :D