Min-ho leaped onto the closest jetting stone. Upon landing, he wobbled a bit before catching himself.
Then he turned to the next stone and leaped toward it.
"I'm coming, Ji-su," Min-ho said, then leaped to the next.
Above, Sae-wee and Dok-su had managed to close the distance, leaving only five meters.
"Come on!" Jang-book yelled, urging them on.
They ran and ran. As they were about to cross three meters, the ground in front of them collapsed.
They had no time to leap or roll. Their momentum carried them, and they plummeted.
Jang-book didn't hesitate to outstretch a slab of stone behind them, catching them in place.
Sae-wee crashed onto the slab with a thud, her back aching as she reeled to the side.
Propping herself on one elbow, her heart sank when she saw Min-ho and Ji-su still in the midst of death.
Min-ho had made it to the closest stepping stone near Ji-su, but they still had a hurdle to overcome.
QUAKE!
Ji-su shook once again. He bent low, holding the stone with both hands as he tried to get his balance.
Looking at Ji-su's stone, it was much too small for Min-ho to leap toward. He initially wanted to get to Ji-su and then carry him on his back, but that plan was now out the window.
"Ji-su," Min-ho called out.
Hearing his voice up close instilled a spark of hope in Ji-su.
"Yes?" he answered immediately.
"I need you to jump," Min-ho said, but he received no response.
"Ji-su…"
"You want me to jump?" Ji-su asked, his voice shaken.
QUAKE!
CRACK!
KRACK!
A pillar in the distance gave out, crumbling into the acid and splashing it in every direction.
Fortunately, they were far enough to avoid the splashes, but there were several pillars around them—waiting to fall apart.
Also, the acid was rising.
Min-ho's heart rate skyrocketed.
"Ji-su, I need you to trust me," Min-ho said, cleaning out his eyes from the sting and his sweat.
Ji-su hesitated.
"Ji-su, you fucking jump, you hear me?!" Dok-su called out, fear and anger filling his heart.
Everyone else watched in silence as dread simmered in their souls.
Ji-su hesitated still, but then, he slowly erected himself.
QUAKE!
The ground shook. The acid splashed around.
Ji-su fell back on all fours, trying to hold himself steady. Min-ho turned his gaze to the pillars. They were still standing.
"Come on, Ji-su," Min-ho said, refraining from shouting.
Ji-su gulped hard, then slowly got to his feet. It took a second or two, but he finally stood upright.
"Good," Min-ho said. "You know what direction my voice is coming from, right?"
Ji-su didn't respond. Instead, he slowly turned toward the sound of Min-ho's voice.
"Okay, stop," Min-ho said when he was about to overshoot. "Now, I need you to jump as far as you can. There's at least a meter between the two of us, so you should be able to make it."
Min-ho stood firm, readying both hands to catch him.
Ji-su paused again. He took several deep breaths, then pulled back and leaped.
QUAKE!
Min-ho's spirit left him as the ground shook. He lost his firm stance, and when Ji-su rushed into him, he lost his footing and fell.
Ji-su crashed into Min-ho's shoulder and spun, heading straight for the pool of acid.
As Min-ho fell, the world slowed to a crawl.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dok-su screaming, Im-hee clutching Jang-book, and Sae-wee frozen still.
His heart thumped. His thoughts ran amok.
Are we… are we going to die like this? Min-ho thought. His mind flashed for a moment—he saw himself in a back alley, watching a little girl ransack a trashcan. Then, she was in cleaner clothes—healthy, beautiful, smiling. Her eyes full of love. Then, she was in a hospital bed.
The room was dark as death, the atmosphere choked with dread and pain.
Did I come all this way for nothing? Min-ho wondered, as he stared at Ji-su, who was also falling to his doom.
Then he saw the corpses of his parents. They both lay on the floor, covered in a pool of their own blood. Then the hospital bed again.
"Fuck no!" Min-ho shouted, his eyes flashing with fury. He reached out and grabbed Ji-su's hand, then used the momentum to spin around—balancing both of them like a seesaw.
He pulled Ji-su in, grabbing him as though in an embrace. Once he had a firm grip, he dug his feet into the stone, the hard surface slamming through the soles of his shoes and into his feet.
Pain echoed through his foot, but it didn't matter.
They found their balance.
Upon seeing this, everyone screamed.
"Min-ho, you bastard!" Jang-book said.
"You did it, Min-ho!" Im-hee cried out.
"Yes!" Sae-wee shouted, slamming her hand into the slab of stone.
Dok-su, on the other hand, lowered his head, crying.
"What happened?" Ji-su asked, breathing hard as his heart pounded against Min-ho's.
Min-ho couldn't respond. He just held Ji-su tight. If what they were doing was a hug, he really needed it at this moment.
QUAKE!
The ground shook again, pulling everyone out of their moment of respite.
CRACK!
CRUMBLE!
A pillar not too far from them crumbled and began to fall.
Min-ho's eyes widened.
It was falling too fast for them to escape.
Left with no other choice, he turned his back against it, shielding Ji-su.
The pillar fell.
SPLASH!