**Chapter Ten: A Fleeting Sanctuary
"Min," he replied quickly, the alias feeling increasingly flimsy, a fragile shield against the weight of her questions. He knew he couldn't evade forever. He needed to buy time, to control the narrative, but the truth lurked beneath the surface, threatening to erupt. "We need to move. That crevice won't hold them for long." The guttural snarls and distorted howls, though fainter now, still echoed in his memory, a chilling reminder of their relentless pursuers.
Yuna tried to shift, a sharp cry tearing from her throat as her injured leg protested the movement. "My leg… it hurts too much to walk properly." Her face was pale, drawn tight with pain, and her eyes, when they met his, held a raw, unfiltered terror that mirrored his own. She clutched at her torn jeans, the fabric stained and twisted, a testament to their desperate escape.
Minwoo's gaze swept over their immediate surroundings. The narrow passage had deposited them in a small, overgrown hollow, a pocket of relative calm shielded by the imposing rock face and a dense thicket of thorny bushes. It was a temporary reprieve, a fragile bubble of silence in a world rapidly descending into chaos.
"Can you crawl?" he asked, his voice softer now, laced with a forced gentleness. He needed her to be mobile, to be a partner in this desperate flight, not a burden.
With a visible effort, Yuna nodded, her lips pressed into a thin, determined line. Minwoo carefully supported her as she shifted, her injured leg dragging uselessly behind her. It was clear the injury was severe, likely a fracture.
"We can't stay here," Minwoo reiterated, his eyes constantly scanning the perimeter, searching for any sign of their pursuers. The frustrated snarls from beyond the rocks hadn't ceased, a constant, low-frequency hum of menace. "They'll be looking for us. They're… persistent."
He spotted a narrow, dark opening in the rock face opposite the crevice. It was low and claustrophobic, a jagged maw leading into the unknown depths of the mountain. But it offered concealment, a chance to disappear into the earth.
"Think you can manage to crawl towards that?" he asked, pointing to the tunnel. "It might lead to a safer place. Deeper in. Away from… them."
Yuna followed his gaze, her expression a fragile mix of pain, fear, and a growing, desperate trust in this enigmatic savior. "I'll try," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
Minwoo went first, crouching low and peering into the inky blackness of the tunnel. The air within was damp and still, carrying a faint, earthy odor mingled with a metallic tang that prickled his senses. He listened intently, but heard only the echoing silence of the rock, a silence that felt heavy with unspoken secrets. He turned back to Yuna, his face grim.
"Slowly," he instructed, positioning himself to support her as best he could. The crawl was agonizingly slow. Thorns snagged at their clothes, tearing the already damaged fabric. Rough stones scraped at their hands and knees, drawing blood. Yuna whimpered with each movement, but her determination held, fueled by a primal instinct for survival. The faint light from the hollow behind them gradually receded as they burrowed deeper into the mountain's cold embrace. The sounds of the pursuing monsters faded, replaced by the echoing whispers of their own labored breathing and the scraping of their bodies against the rough, unforgiving rock.
Finally, the narrow tunnel opened into a slightly larger cavern. A weak shaft of light, piercing through a crack high in the cavern ceiling, illuminated a small, relatively sheltered space. The air here was still and carried a stronger scent of damp earth, a faint promise of stability.
Minwoo gently helped Yuna to lean against the cool, rough cavern wall. Her face was ashen, slick with sweat, and her breathing was shallow and rapid. She was clearly in significant pain.
"Rest here," he said, his voice low and firm, his senses still hyper-alert. He leaned against the opposite wall, his gaze fixed on the tunnel entrance, the darkness beyond a constant reminder of the lurking danger. This wasn't safety, merely a pause in their desperate flight.
Yuna closed her eyes, a shaky breath escaping her lips. "Thank you… Min. You saved me back there. But… what *were* those things? They weren't… animals. They were… twisted." Her voice was barely a whisper, laced with a profound unease that resonated deep within Minwoo.
Minwoo hesitated, choosing his words with extreme care. How much could he reveal? How much would she believe? "Something… unnatural," he began, his voice low and measured. "There was an… accident. An instability… related to the old dungeon gate." He forced the word out, watching her reaction closely. "It fractured, and... it's affecting the wildlife."
Yuna's eyes fluttered open, her gaze searching his face with a desperate intensity. "Dungeon? What kind of dungeon? And what does that have to do with… that?" She shivered, despite the relative stillness of the cavern air. "They looked like… like something out of a nightmare. And… how did you know to be there? You just… appeared. Like you were waiting for me." Her confusion was palpable, her fear slowly giving way to a desperate need for answers. "Who are you, really? And what… what is happening to this place?"