virus | skz

-two-

"ChangBin." Chan grabs my thigh and shakes lightly. His voice is hushed yet slightly panicked. I groan and cover my eyes with my arm.

"I need your help, Binnie." Chan gently lowers my arm and I reach up to rub at my eyes.

"What?" I yawn as I meet his gaze. His dark eyes stare back at mine apologetically. He reaches out to brush my hair from my eyes as a gentle smile crosses face.

"We have to go change the tire on the truck. MinHo can't do it. JiSung and SeungMin can't keep watch and change it." Chan explains as I turn my head side to side a little stiff from the position I was sleeping in.

"Fine." I push the door open without much thought and climb out.

"Quiet—" Felix mumbles as he reaches out to grab my arm. I shrug him off and glance up at the sky. Great.

The sun is down. The worst time of day to have to do anything. Not only is it nearly impossible to see, but they're senses are heightened. They hear and see better at night. Their smell is impeccable at night, too. I circle around the Jeep and meet Chan at the trunk. He tugs the spare tire out and we make our way towards the others.

I kneel down on the ground and loosen the tire a bit before helping Chan situate the jack. He lifts the car and I swiftly remove the tire. He hands me the new one and I put it in its place. I start to tighten it, but the sound of snapping twigs behind me causes me to freeze. I listen closely, preparing myself to move. The sound of nearing danger is more than enough of a signal for me to dive out of the way. Chan dives in the opposite direction and JiSung shoots. The moment the threat is handled, I quickly return to my task. The longer we linger the more likely we are to have more visitors. The sound of JiSung's gun is going to draw in every threat for miles.

"I've got your back. Breathe. Make sure it's on right. It's better to do it right then have to stop and redo it later." Chan reassures me as he grabs his club and stands directly behind me. I can feel his foot against mine and I take the sense of safety it gives without objection.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a second. I then go back to work. My hands move quickly, but accurately. I jerk my head to the left the moment I hear a low growl. Chan seems to hear it, too. He shifts his position and blocks me. I continue my work until every bolt on the tire is tight and secure.

"Runner!" SeungMin calls out and I leap up. I grab my bat from my bag and prepare myself to help Chan.

SeungMin's warning didn't come quick enough. Chan stumbles back and falls on top of me. My bat rolls toward the Jeep too far for me to reach it. The monster jumps on top of him and tries to go for his throat. He uses his club to keep them from getting too close. JiSung and SeungMin both panic. The monster is far too close to Chan and I for them to shoot. If they did, they could hit either one of us in the process.

I reach for my knife in the halter on my thigh. I reach around Chan and thrust it into the monster's head. Their growls stop and their body goes weak. They fall down on Chan and I tug my knife free. Chan pushes the body off of him and gets to his feet a little shook up. I lower the truck down and silently grab the jack. I turn toward the Jeep as if nothing happened. I toss the jack in the trunk and slam it before grabbing my bat and climbing back into the passenger's seat.

I rub at the back of my head. Asphalt is anything but soft and Chan is anything but light. JeongIn leans forward and swats my hand away. He parts my hair and trails his finger along the worst of the pain.

"There's a cut." JeongIn states emotionlessly as Chan climbs into the driver's seat. He closes the door and turns to see what JeongIn is doing.

"Where's the first aid kit?" JeongIn questions as he digs around in the bags next to him.