Before it All - A Love Wins All Fanfic

Chapter 10 - The Mall

They ran for what seemed like hours, having no idea where they were going so long as they could escape the metallic monster in the sky. Twigs snapped under foot, each sounding like a gunshot in the calm morning accompanied by the machine gun fire of the endless dead leaves. She just hoped the sound died away in the canopy above before reaching the sky. She didn't know if those things could hear, but she didn't want to find out.

Her legs felt like jello, her breaths coming in hard heavy pants. She had long forgotten the proper running posture she had so heavily preached to Ye Joon so long ago, and was doing everything she could just to stay up right.

Next to her Ye Joon wasn't faring any better. He had started to slow, his face a pained mask of exhaustion. She reached out grabbing his arm, hauling him forward so he was next to her as she found a new wave of energy.

Since her collapse to the forest floor, this had become normal for them. Ye Joon having had to haul her behind him almost more times than she did. Their weakness was the other's strength. As one began to lag behind, the other would grab their arm refusing to let go until the other could match the pace again on their own. Neither would let the other stop.

After what seemed like a century, the trees began to thin. They stumbled to a stop just inside the treeline not wanting to expose themselves. Beyond the trees, she could make out a large shopping complex and parking garage. Tall apartment buildings were behind the massive structures rising high into the sky. They must have stumbled into a residential area which meant there could possibly be many stores with the supplies they needed. They just had to get there.

The air was filled with the sounds of their labored breathing. Her lungs burned as she gulped in deep breaths of the chilly fall air. She could barely remain upright as she glanced at the sky to see if she could see the cube floating there. Not that it mattered. She didn't think she could run another step even if it meant saving her life.

Ye Joon was bent over, the hands on his knees the only thing keeping him from falling flat on his face. It had only been a few days since he got off of bed rest. She was surprised he had been able to make it this far at all.

He was always so much stronger than the world gave him credit for, she thought.

Reaching out, she put a hand on his shoulder causing him to look at her. His complexion had gone a sickly shade of green and his body shook as he gasped for air. Through the holes in his sweater, her fingers touched hot feverish skin, now slick with sweat.

It was too much for him, she thought in a panic. They couldn't have made it this far for him to only die of exhaustion. That was a real thing, right? The heart simply giving up? She had read about it before but never done much research on it since her specialty was more on the disease side.

After a few seconds, though, his breathing began to ease. He inhaled deep slow breaths as he looked at her with a slight shake of his head indicating he was fine.

Leaves began to fall around them, withered and dead as if it were an omen to what awaited them if they stayed there. A deep soft hum filled the air and Ji Hye could feel it vibrating down to her core. With each passing second the humming grew, like someone had cranked the bass up to maximum on their speaker. The sound penetrated her skull. It was so loud she could barely think. Her insides were vibrating so much, she wouldn't be surprised if all her organs turned into a smoothie. The branches high above began to visibly shake then, raining down the last of the leaves that had tried so desperately to hang on.

Ye Joon and her looked to the sky, dreading what they knew they would find there.

The cube was on top of them. Despite knowing what she would find, the sheer enormity and timelessness of it still shocked her. She tightened her hold on Ye Joon. Could they still run?