A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

56: Autumn Leaf

Sam's breath staggered with every step he took, and he winced when sitting. He held his hand out for Jin to take it, and Jin then began to wrap his forearm. Sam peered up at Jin, shyly looking away when Jin caught his stare. The birds chirped from outside and the sunlight filtered into the room brightly. It was a lush green landscape beyond the window and the sky was cerulean blue. It was a beautiful day.

"Why white?" Sam humbly asked.

Jin ran his hand down the bandaged arm for any loose or lifted edges, then looked up at Sam, "You're dressed in all white, just like a white dove. A symbol of peace. That is what I hope you feel in these difficult times."

Sam's smile twitched, and he cleared his throat to rid himself of the growing knot, "It's okay. You can say it. I'm dying, and there's nothing I can do about it. Euphemisms won't save me from it," he lightly chuckled.

"You're not dying," Jin patted Sam's shoulder comfortingly, "You're just falling asleep and...dreaming forever."

"Sam," Hyunjae greeted, his voice wavering at the sight of his friend approaching. Sam was clinging heavily onto Jin, who did not mind his weight and practically carried him over. Taehyung stepped in to help, taking Sam's other side while everyone else sympathetically watched. Sam's health was very quickly deteriorating, causing him to lose the ability to hold himself up. In the day that it took for Hyunjae to arrive, hopes had severely gone down, but here he was now, just like he said he would be. He seemed to be greatly impacted by his friend's declining state, but he still kept a determined frown.

Hyunjae stepped in to hold Sam, bringing him into his arms for a tight embrace. Hoseok's stare fell to the ground, and he shoved his hands into his pocket, his stoic face cracking. He had greeted Sam with an embrace, but had given Hoseok a mere handshake. The two brothers did not even appear related.

"I've accepted my fate," Sam whispered, patting Hyunjae's back with what little strength he had.

"I'm sorry that you had to," Hyunjae lamented. He pulled away slowly, as if not wanting to, holding Sam up at his side. Then he turned to Jin, offering a handshake and gratefully squeezing his hand.

"Thank you," he said, "For keeping him company and for being hospitable in every way possible."

Hyunjae sighed heavily as he looked at everyone, "Now there are some things we need to speak about. Is there any way we can all sit down and have a talk?"

"Dong-seok,"

A pale-faced Evan stood at the doorway of their cabin, his eyes slightly widened and his shoulders stiffened up. Usually he would call Dong-seok by his nickname, but Evan looked a little too freaked out for that. It caught his friend's attention fairly quickly though, and it had Dong-seok instinctively placing a hand on his holster where his sleek black gun sat, just waiting for its time to shine.

"Show me," Dong-seok ordered, stepping towards the front door and meeting Evan's apprehensive gaze. The younger opened the screen door, taking quiet steps towards the shack by the gate. Nokia's tail wagged as Evan drew closer, but she sat firmly by the door of the shack, snout pointed to it. Dong-seok eyed Evan when he stepped to the side, a firm grasp on the handle as he seemed to hesitate. Evan slowly opened it, grimacing at the squeak of the rusty hinges. Inside the shack was their animal feed, jars of preserves and seeds for their garden that Dong-seok had stored in potato sacks. There was a rake and a shovel, a couple gardening tools and some of Nokia's old toys.