"Theres no way out, don (1/1)

The policemen lumbered out of their vans with heavy footsteps, scanning the place clumsily for any sign of the two vagabonds. They swore and flashed their torches vehemently and treaded noisily across the streets. But, the avenues were deserted; there was no sign of life, no sign of humanity and definitely no sign of two sacrilege-committers. Their heavy breaths broke the serene silence of the night as they urged their sleepy dogs to sniff out the two who had evaded the constabulary. It wasn’t the first time they had had to single out law-breakers from among those harbouring in a peaceful sleep. No, it definitely wasn’t. But, somehow this time was different. They were looking for two youngsters, who for all intents and purposes possibly weren’t even to be called as adults. They were boys, young, headstrong boys who had, to the entire police force of South Korea, committed a crime as filthy as homosexuality. The clumsy, heavy policemen struggled to seek out those two young criminals, because they knew well that if they had let them escape right from under their noses, the punishment that would be meted out to them, the policemen, would be far from savoury.              The inspector walked with deft, angry, impatient footsteps behind the swaying dogs that seemed to be in no hurry to sniff out the filthy criminals. The menacing dogs sniffed their way to a long, narrow stretch of murky, black, dangerous waters – a mucky canal. The inspector stood at the edge, looking grimly at the dirty waters and swore involuntarily. The dogs could pick out no more scents and the Inspector instantaneously realised that the two youngsters had plunged headfirst into the waters of the canal that had claimed more than a few petty lives. He shone the light of his torch inside the seemingly small tunnel that the canal flowed into, but to no avail. All was still and no sign of a person, dead or alive was noticeable.“Get for reinforcements. We’ll search this place tomorrow. Those two filthy creatures must have fallen inside this canal. We’ll probably find their bodies floating around tomorrow. Good thing too.” The Inspector rasped unpleasantly and his troops flinched slightly as his amplified voice slapped their ears. They nodded and walked away silently. The Inspector motioned two of his men to stay back and watch the canal for any sign of movement. “If they haven’t died, falling into the water, make sure they do when they try to come out!” He barked out the order, grinning unpleasantly as he did, showcasing his yellowed, decayed teeth. His men murmured in assent and took their positions on either side of the canal, occasionally shining their torches into the narrow closed space that the canal rested in.            Those two inhuman dogs had to be intercepted and hanged. They were dangerous for all of humankind.* * * * * *            Taemin spluttered helplessly and gasped for breath as the murky, polluted waters of the dirty canal overwhelmed him with their strength and chill. He felt as though a thousand knives had been plunged straight into every cell, every tissue, and every aspect that lived in his body. He felt as though every ounce of his battered life was slowly ebbing out of his gradually numbing body. He couldn’t fathom a torture worse than the one he was going through at that moment and somehow, beneath all the torture, he felt it would be easier to face the police than to go through this.                No sooner had he let such a though flit across his benumbed senses, when a strong, sinewy, familiar arm gripped him tightly across his waist, pulling him towards safety. Even in the midst of the chilling cold and the fanatical thoughts, Taemin knew that that was the arm pulling him back to life – it was Minho’s. Taemin clung on to the owner of the arm, as though hanging on by a mere thread to life and waited for the petty pricks of cold to slide off his back. Minho held him tight, wading effortlessly through the waters, motioning for Taemin to stay silent. He hurriedly brought them close to one fetid wall of the enclosed tunnel and the two of them pressed their heaving bodies as close to the bricked wall as they could, just as a strong beam of light shone vainly inside. The two of them dared not to breathe and waited impatiently for the light to flicker away. Taemin rested his heavy head against Minho’s broad shoulders, oblivious to the world. But, Minho’s sharp ears caught strains of the conversations happening outside. He waited awhile then whispered urgently to Taemin, “Come now, we must get going.”                Taemin nodded blindly and wrapped his arms around Minho’s waist, waiting for him to guide them out of this harrowed mess. Minho moved forward, with Taemin in two, as the waters lapped up, surrounding the lower halves of their bodies. Minho blindly waded forward, hoping to the Gods, that this canal would lead somewhere, somewhere from where they could begin their journey of escape again. But, a niggling doubt at the back of his mind seemed to worry him – Whatever would they do if it led to a dead end, a wall of mere nothingness?                   But, the two of them waded ahead nonetheless, using every ounce of strength they owned, every bit of it. They exerted themselves, even as the waters tried their best to make them falter and fall with each step. The rotting, decayed smell of all things dead clogged their noses and they struggled to breathe normally. It was draining, physically, mentally and emotionally. Taemin hoped earnestly that Minho wouldn’t give away, because he knew he could do it all; he could conquer the hatred of the world, he could wade through a thousand canals like this, if only Minho was by his side. He provided strength, solace and support. He gave him a renewed lease of life. Taemin couldn’t do much without his Minho; on the other hand, he could do everything with him.               They waded through for hours altogether, growing steadily grouchy and tired with each movement forward. Minho heaved and panted even as the darkness around them increased manifolds with each step. Suddenly a menacing, leering, heavy wall struck Minho squarely on the face. This was it. Minho faltered a moment then fell heavily into the waters, thrashing around for a bit. He couldn’t handle the disappointment. All the strength spent, all the stink inhaled, all the plunges taken, for this; a square, perfectly strong dead end? Minho swore aloud, kicking lividly at the unyielding wall that stood before them. Taemin stared at him fearfully for a while then gently soothed him, consoling him as he always did when his temper got the best of him.“It’s alright, we’ll find another way.” Taemin said softly, lying brazenly through his teeth. The disappointment had struck Taemin badly too, but for the sake of his lover, he wasn’t about to make that evident or give up. “We’ll break through or walk back. Maybe there’s even a way out from here. Don’t give up so easily.”             Minho laughed unpleasantly, gruffly; it wasn’t like his usual, rich, husky laugh. It was a laugh dripping with utter disappointment and reproach. “There’s no way out, don’t you see? We’re trapped and we’ll die, just like the world wants us to. We can’t go back, there are policemen outside waiting to tear us apart and in any case, the return journey itself would be enough to kill us. Look at you, you’re shivering, you look like you’ll die any minute!” There was no trace of worry in the tone, rather, everything was said so matter-of-factly, that Taemin felt as though his Minho had escaped and left behind something that wasn’t remotely like him. “There’s no way out. This stupid wall prevents us from going further. We’re just going to have to lay down here and embrace death.” He barked out a laugh and sat down, the waters skimmed past his strong chin.             Taemin stared at him, unblinkingly for a while, then sighed and walked towards the wall, picking at the wall with all the strength he had in him. He placed his nimble fingers in the small gaps between the wall and tried to scrape out as much of the wall he could. It was a vain attempt, but he kept going nonetheless. He wasn’t about to give up, even though his pillar of support had. Emotionally, Taemin was far, far stronger than Minho could ever be. That’s why Taemin rarely thought of quitting. He knew that whatever they were doing was right and so he believed God would show them the way out.          Minho watched as his lover’s fingers turned bruised and red, sprinkled with little droplets of blood as they picked incessantly at the wall. “It’s no use, darling,” Minho said softly, he seemed to come back to his senses, “It’s no use. I’m sorry; somehow I feel it’s all my fault. At least I’ll have you close to me when I die.” Taemin let out a small impatient snort and said, “No one’s dying, Minho, so enough with the melodramatic behaviour. Come help me, and we’ll be out of here, proving to everyone that love can overcome all obstacles.”            Somehow, watching his slender, wavering lover not giving up but relentlessly picking at the wall hoping that one of the bricks would give way, filled Minho with a renewed vigour. He silently stood up, and walked towards the wall, accompanying his lover in the seemingly futile task of trying to remove the bricks from their unyielding stance. Their fingers bled overwhelmingly, their hands ached, their fingernails turned grimy and numb, but they wouldn’t let go. With each scratch and each removal of dirt, it seemed as though the wall was becoming a little less strong, a little less barricading. Blood dripped down their fingers and their nails broke loose sometimes, but there was no looking back. Minho pushed at regular intervals, hoping vainly that the wall would collapse; while sturdy little Taemin continued to scrap off dirt, and part of the bricks from the walls. It made them feel like criminals, it did. But, perhaps, in the eyes of their caste, they were.            Taemin suddenly felt a loose brick shake in his grip and barely believing it, he called out breathlessly to Minho, “It’s coming loose! It is!” Minho pushed with all his might, pressing his better shoulder against the wall thinking of all the things that were at stake. Taemin got up, notwithstanding his bloody hands and pushed alongside his lover. They rammed into the wall as hard as they could when suddenly, with a groaning, slow noise, the entire wall majestically collapse down. Rubble, stones flew every possible way, and smoke clogged their windpipes. But the deed was done. The wall had been brought down. They sighed in relief, but a familiar noise made them wary; suddenly a human called out.