"Wooyoung..."
It was as if time stopped, not that it really allowed for it, but everything moved in slow motion. The sounds of distant gunshots and men yelling were drowned out, Seonghwa's body felt like it was underwater as he watched Wooyoung crumble to the floor.
His legs had given out, knees bending too far forward that they could no longer support him. The whites of his eyes shined brightly with the flashing lights around them, it was evident by the way all the blood had drained in his face and the way his hands were shaking, that Wooyoung was too far into a state of shock to even really cry.
Seonghwa could only watch with his mouth open as Wooyoung began to shake even worse as he brought up his bloodied hand and arm to look at it like it was a foreign object. Seonghwa had seen a lot of fear in someone's eyes before, he had seen it all, but the way Wooyoung had looking at the hand that had held the gun and shot the bullet... it was a completely new look.
"Wooyoung-" he tried again, reaching forward but as soon as he did he felt a sharp pain crawl up his spine successfully stopping any further movements. His body froze immediately, retracting his arm with a sharp hiss.
That... was not good.
"Seonghwa..." Wooyoung was finally calling out to him, reaching his hand out but then pulling it back close to him like it was wrong of him to reach out to Seonghwa with such a bloody hand.
Seonghwa looked at him once more, the pain spreading across his chest as Wooyoung looked limp and completely out of it. He could see his pale face turning a shade of green, and it was evident in the way that Wooyoung was looking around blindly and then squeezing his eyes shut and slapping a hand over his mouth that he was about to be sick.
Seonghwa panicked, jerking around to where Yeosang was still sitting up against the wall but had found the sense to at least grab his gun and hold it close to him. He too had some blood streaks across his cheeks, and it was clear how much he had been crying with the way it stained down his neck.
"Yeosang-" he choked out, surprised to find that his throat hurt and sounded hoarse as he tried to speak. The younger looked at him, at least able to acknowledge his presence even if it was a little delayed. "Take Wooyoung- get out of here!"
Yeosang's lips parted, shaking his head. "I can't..."
"What do you mean you can't?" Seonghwa's throat felt raw, but it didn't stop him from yelling out.
"Because I can't Seonghwa!" The sound of Yeosang's voice was bone-chilling... the fear and the pain behind it was enough to knock Seonghwa off his balance a little.
Seonghwa felt his body cave in a little more, his lower back aching with each movement he took. Yeosang was giving him an absolutely heartbroken look, his eyes watering again as he clenched his teeth together when Seonghwa couldn't find the words to say anything.
"I can't leave- you take Wooyoung and get out of here!"
Seonghwa was shaking his head before he even realized it, his eyes looked over Yeosang's limp body looking for any bite or claw marks. He couldn't find any visible ones, but the way that Yeosang's eyes were slowly losing their hope and his body was sinking in on itself, Seonghwa's stomach started to twist in an ugly way.
"No- we aren't leaving you behind," he challenged, trying to move forward but the spikes of pain flared up again as his face scrunched up into a grimace. "Are you- are you hurt? Did you get bit?"
He feared the answer. Part of him didn't even want to know the answer to that. If Yeosang was hurt- that was one thing... but if he was bitten that was a completely different thing. Seonghwa could feel his skin crawl and Yeosang seemed to break down at that, his bunched-up legs falling down and laying out limply.
He shook his head back and forth, his chest heaving.
"No?" Seonghwa echoed, blindly reaching around for his crowbar. "Then what- why can't you leave? Damnit Yeosang this is not the time to play around!"
As soon as Seonghwa's fingers touched the metal of the crowbar, he curled his fingers around it and pulled it close to his body, using the back of his hand to wipe at his eyes that were beginning to burn from the sweat and blood on his face. Yeosang was looking at him with a pleading expression before looking up the wall, bringing his arm up to point at what was a button on the wall.
There were a bunch of other buttons, but this one was large in comparison. Large and red.
"It's ... it's an emergency button," Yeosang choked out, his bottom lip quivering. "They had them at the lab I used to intern at and it's... if the emergency system is triggered all the doors close and lock. This is the only way to keep them open ... so I have to- I have to stay here and hold it until you all are gone..."
Seonghwa's body froze over, his lungs aching terribly at the news. He couldn't breathe and he found his heart beating in his ears, an absolutely deafening sound.
"What-" he choked out, but it was too hoarse for anyone to hear.
"You have to go-" Yeosang was finally pushing himself up to his feet, his legs shaking as he did. "I'll keep the door open for you-"
"Like hell we are just leaving you here!"
"Seonghwa! Yeosang!"
They both turned to see San yelling at them. He was standing in front of the now closed door from where they had come in from. It was dark, but the flashing lights allowed them to see that San was still standing on both feet, though he was bent over at his waist gasping for air and weakly banging on the door with a closed fist. Seonghwa couldn't tell if the liquid dripping off his nose and chin was his sweat or tears.
"It's closed- I can't fucking open it!"
San slammed his fist against the metal door again, the loud noise echoing throughout the room. The flashing lights did not stop, and somehow in that short period of time, it seemed that they had managed to kill off most of the zombies that had completely swarmed them. The carcasses littered the floor in a pool of blood and guts, it would be basically impossible to not step on them. There were more men gathering around the door- those who hadn't managed to get out. They were yelling and banging on the door, and from the extra added noises, Seonghwa could tell there were men outside who were calling to them.
"Who designed this fucking thing!" San was yelling, now kicking at the door even though he knew it wouldn't do anything. "Why won't it open?!"
Seonghwa was looking up at Yeosang, the man's fingers trembling by his sides.
"You have to go-" Yeosang tried to tell him, his voice quivering but Seonghwa cut him off, summoning all the strength he could find in his body to push himself to his feet. The pain was blinding and by the time he was up, Seonghwa was gripping onto the wall and heaving in oxygen as his vision blurred and grew spotted.
"You go," he panted out, not even looking at the blonde man. "Go and get Wooyoung out of here- I'll keep the door open."
Yeosang's mouth dropped open, his eyebrows furrowing as a heavy protest formed on his lips. But Seonghwa was moving forward again, doing his best to put one foot in front of the other and push through the blinding pain in his lower back that was making him sick to his stomach.
"I can't..." Seonghwa got close enough to him, his bloody hands making it hard to grasp onto the wall as they kept slipping. "You go, I'm not going to be able to get out of here."
Yeosang's eyes were immediately looking over him, which clearly was the previous doctor's natural instinct, his eyes widening with worry as he really started to take in Seonghwa's posture and the pained expression on his face. And it looked like the blonde was going to protest once more, his hands reaching out to grab Seonghwa to help support him- but the banging on the walls started again.
There came more pounding and pounding, echoing throughout the lobby. It was enough to make all their hearts drop. They wouldn't be able to last another round.
"Go!" Seonghwa was pushing at Yeosang, nearly slapping his hands away. "There are more coming you can't waste time here!"
"We aren't leaving you-"
"Yes you are-" Seonghwa shoved harshly at Yeosang, nearly knocking the man to the ground. It sent a shivering spike of pain down his fingertips, making him nearly collapse to the ground gasping and crying out.
But Yeosang was looking at him with a hurt expression, his face pale and helpless.
"Hongjoong what do we do?!" San was yelling again, the banging on the walls was growing louder and he was beginning to freak out. Seonghwa could see Hongjoong standing there over a creature, his small body heaving like the rest of theirs. He was silent and still, and Seonghwa couldn't see his face but he knew the man was out of ideas.
This was their only option.
Seonghwa turned back to Yeosang, limping to the button on the wall. "Please- go. Hurry before they get here."
Then he was pushing the button, leaning his head against the wall to try and steady himself. The pain was beginning to be unbearable, his legs shaking pathetically under him. Had he broken his back? It sure felt like it- but he could at least he could barely walk.
He could faintly hear the doors squeaking open, daylight once again filling the room. Sure enough, there were men outside, and Seonghwa let out a breath of relief seeing the young man from his squad that was asking him questions earlier out there and safe.
San began physically shoving the rest of them out, calling blinding to the three of them to hurry up. Seonghwa made eye contact with Yeosang again, the blonde's eyes shaking and his hands clenching together into fists by his sides. He looked angry and torn apart, not that Seonghwa could blame him.
But thankfully he was moving over and yanking Wooyoung who had keeled over to his feet, doing his best to steady him and shake the younger back into himself.
"We gotta go-" Yeosang was then pulling him, grabbing at Wooyoung's arm and yanking him away from Seonghwa. The older breathed out, letting his mouth drop open in a pained cry.
"Let's go hurry up!" San was yelling, standing in the doorway and waving his hands at them to hurry up. His eyes shot up to the top of the stairs where the thudding against the ground was getting louder and louder. "We don't have much time!"
Wooyoung was following Yeosang blindly and Seonghwa was thankful for that. Yeosang refused to look back, finally reaching San who grabbed onto the both of them and tried to yank them out of the door.
"Seonghwa! What are you doing? Let's go, stop playing around!"
Seonghwa looked up, the exhaustion and pain in his body made it difficult to hold up his head for long. San was looking at him with an almost murderous look, but then Yeosang was at his side, his eyes squeezed shut as he said something to San that Seonghwa couldn't hear.
He could see San's expression change instantly, the muscles in his face going limp as he stood there frozen. He glanced back up to the top of the stairs and then back to Seonghwa who was fully leaning against the wall for support as his knees began to give out.
San was then walking forward but Yeosang grabbed at his arm, pulling him back. Seonghwa closed his eyes, feeling the back of his eyes and throat swell painfully and begin to throb.
It wasn't until then that he heard Wooyoung speak, the confusion in his voice was thick.
"Wait what-" Wooyoung's face dropped even more, and somehow became even paler than he already was.
Seonghwa hated seeing him like that. Broken and bloody, standing uselessly in the doorway as he stared at Seonghwa. It seemed to take a few seconds for the situation to click in Wooyoung's head, but when it did, it was evident on his face.
"Wait- no, no, Seonghwa!" He was screaming, already stepping forward but Yeosang was grabbing at him again, pulling him back.
Seonghwa breathed in heavily, his fingers numb on the button.
"Seonghwa let's go! You can make it!" Wooyoung was screaming again, clawing at Yeosang's hand.
Seonghwa shook his head, his vision blurring again.
"Don't worry, I've got- I have a plan-" he did his best to yell back, the words falling out of his mouth in a bald-faced lie. He knew Wooyoung wouldn't leave him. Even in this life or death situation. Wooyoung was loyal- he wouldn't leave unless he believed Seonghwa was going to be okay. "I have a plan but you need to go now!"
Wooyoung seemed to self-destruct at that, his knees locking as tears finally started to fall down his face and his eyes turn a bright shade of red.
"No- that's a lie! That's a fucking lie and you know it!" He cried out, his hands turning into fists, but Yeosang wrapped his arms around Wooyoung's waist and began pulling him backward.
Wooyoung panicked, hitting Yeosang's hands and kicking his legs as he violently fought to get out of his grip.
"Let go of me! He's lying- he's fucking lying! Seonghwa's hurt- someone go help him- please!" Wooyoung's begging calls began to hurt worse than the pain in his lower back. His chest felt heavy with guilt as it began to get harder and harder to breathe. Wooyoung's cries were ringing in his ears and Seonghwa so desperately wanted to cover his ears and scream to drown them out.
"Wooyoung please..." he begged silently knowing his words would never reach the younger man.
"I'll never forgive you!" He screamed, the sound raw and pure, the end of each word cracking. "I'll never fucking forgive you- Seonghwa! I'll hate you! Let's go already come on!"
A zombie falling over the railing was what brought them all back, another wave of them flying out of the hall and doing the same exact thing the first group had gone. They were falling and tumbling down the stairs or spilling over the railing and landing on the floor with a loud and crunching thud.
San was reaching over and grabbing Yeosang's gun, instinctively firing away at some of the zombies that were getting up from the ground and heading over to them. He only got maybe eight shots out before the rifle ran empty, and in a burst of anger, he threw the gun away with a loud curse.
He was looking back at Seonghwa with a betrayed look, and all Seonghwa could do was mouth out the words that he was sorry before his knees gave out and crumbled to the ground. He couldn't tell if he was still holding the button or not, but the light seemed to be dimming so he guessed the door was closing.
"No- no! He's lying! You can't believe him!" Wooyoung's violent screams were drowned out, the sounds of pure rage and pain became distant. "Seonghwa! Seonghwa!"
The door closing was probably the most comforting noise he had heard all day, and with the last bit of energy he had, he pulled his head up to see the door closed and the lights flashing around him.
They were gone. They had escaped.
They were safe.
But even then, it didn't erase the image of Wooyoung kicking and screaming in Yeosang's arms as he tried to grab onto the door to run back to Seonghwa. It didn't erase the pain in his voice, the betrayal, or the anger.
Seonghwa hadn't given his brain time to even think about what he had really done, it was all just instinct to get the rest of them out of there. He did his best to push himself up against the wall, his back aching terribly and the shots of pain became both tingling and numbing at the same time. His head was beginning to pound and it became obvious that he had taken on more damage when the zombie had slammed him up against the wall than he thought.
With the darker atmosphere, Seonghwa couldn't see the creatures all that well, but he could definitely hear them. It was what he imagined diving in the deep parts of the ocean would be like- a terrible fear of his. The sound of the bodies hitting the floor was worse than he remembered, and he wasn't sure if it was because he was all alone with no way out or if the injury he had sustained was making the sounds echo in his ears worse than it was previously.
It was unnatural- all of this was. To see the bodies fall from the second floor and then somehow manage to get up and start walking again. Seonghwa could only sit there and watch them with his head leaned back against the wall as the walking dead seemed to find interest in his fallen squadmates.
He chose not to watch, but thankfully it seemed that they had already died from blood loss and didn't have to relive more bites into their flesh.
Seonghwa started counting. One, two, three ...
How long would it take before they turned too?
But sure enough, he could tell when the air around him changed. The zombies that were on the floor or squatted down by his old friends were standing up with human flesh and blood dangling from their jaws and were turning towards him. It was not an uncommon scene for him, he had been in many tight positions before.
But he had previously always had a way out.
He could see them start to come, one by one as they lost interest with the dead people on the ground. They would sense there was someone still alive, could probably sense his heartbeat. Seonghwa's hand scrambled around for Wooyoung's gun that he had dropped earlier, finally finding it and checking to see how much ammo he had in it.
There were about ten bullets, nowhere close to enough to shoot down all the zombies. It was pointless really, but it didn't stop him from gritting his teeth and cocking back the handgun and shooting down the first zombie that had gotten close to him. Aiming was difficult, his arm was shaking and the next shot he had taken missed his original target. It seemed it did hit one of them, but it wasn't anywhere near its head so it was pointless.
Seonghwa cursed at himself, the mixture of his pounding heart and back was barely enough adrenaline to keep him going. He seemed to know deep down that he wasn't getting out of this, so with one more shot, he was able to kill a zombie that had been crawling on the floor towards him, and he let his arm drop down to his lap.
If he was crying he couldn't feel it. The gun was heavy where it laid in his lap like it was mocking him for giving up so early. But he was exhausted, finding it hard to breathe and the stench of everything around him made him want to gag.
It was a weird thought that washed over him as he watched a zombie come closer to him, a woman who had been bitten on the right side of her body was slowly stalking him down. He wondered briefly if this was what his friends felt like when they were about to die. He wondered if they were feeling the same fear and exhaustion along with the hopeless burden falling upon his shoulders. He wondered briefly if this was what everyone felt like as they watched their killer come closer.
But as she got closer, her mouth lined with red dripping liquid as she swayed back and forth with soft groans, Seonghwa couldn't help but wonder how she died. Was she a mother? Did she scream as her killer bit into her? What sort of life did she live before all of this happened?
His fingers twitched uselessly beside him, his head lulling to the side as he let his eyes drift shut. Maybe it would be less painful if he didn't see it happen.
He just hoped and prayed that his friends never would find him walking around like the rest of these mindless creatures.
Eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-four...
Bam. Bam. Bam.
Just as Seonghwa opened his eyes, the woman in front of him that was no more than four feet away was falling forward like she had been shoved by a powerful force. She crumbled to the ground with a loud wail, her arms flailing around as someone was jumping on top of her.
Seonghwa had to blink multiple times to clear his vision, the swirling of the lights and colors finally becoming more clear as he was startled by the sudden movement in front of him.
The person had straddled the zombie's shoulders, their hands dropping the weapons they were previously holding and reaching forward to grab onto the woman's head and jaw and with a quick movement and a noise that made Seonghwa's body shiver in disgust- snapped the neck clean off before dropping the dead weight to the ground.
Seonghwa sat there dazed, his jaw open in disbelief.
"Hongjoong..." he croaked out as his eyebrows pinched together.
Hongjoong's look was unmistakable, the fire in his eyes was deadly as he grabbed the gun he had dropped and spun around to fire off a few more shots into the oncoming wave of creatures coming at them.
"What are you doing here?" Seonghwa's words were slurred, but the bite behind them was still there.
Hongjoong was cursing to himself, climbing off the body and retreating to where Seonghwa was laying and stood over him as he fired off more shots. The close proximity made his ears ring even more, the flashes of yellow light made him dizzy. He felt pathetic for not being about to do anything while Hongjoong was firing for the both of them.
"What are you-" Seonghwa tried again when Hongjoong completely ignored him, but the man just shot him a heated glare and threw the pistol in his hand down to the ground.
"Why the fuck are you still here?" His voice was patronizing, yelling at Seonghwa loudly. "You're supposed to be outside with the others! Do you have some sort of death wish or something?"
Seonghwa clenched his jaw together, the tightness in his chest only growing.
"Someone had to keep the door open!" He yelled back, but then doubled over on himself with a violent cough. Each cough hurt terribly, his brain began to spin again, and couldn't tell if he was still sitting up straight or had fallen over.
"You aren't allowed to pass out on me!" He heard Hongjoong sneer above him, then he felt the man's hands on his shoulder shaking him violently to knock him back into the present time. Every movement was excruciating, but it worked well enough to keep him conscious. "I'm out of ammo, give me your gun!"
Seonghwa wanted to cuss at him- to tell him to find his own gun- but then was rather revolted that even his attitude carried over into a situation like this. He did his best to hand the gun to Hongjoong who just ripped it out of his hands and immediately fired off bullet after bullet. He watched them all drop to the ground, nearly creating a disgusting pile of decaying corpses.
But soon that gun was out of ammo too, the trigger becoming useless and Hongjoong cursed under his breath again before throwing the piece of metal into the oncoming body of zombies. They were slow thankfully, none of them seemed to be the mutated kind like the first wave was, but it still didn't help much because the numbers were too great.
"Give me your crowbar!" Hongjoong reached down at Seonghwa expectantly, but Seonghwa could only look at his open and bloodied hand like it was foreign to him.
"There's no use-" he answered, his eyebrows furrowing. "We can't get out of here, there is no use in fighting anymore."
Hongjoong retracted his hand, his jaw tightening as he wiped his face off with the back of his hand.
"I didn't know you gave up so easily," he nearly sneered again, briefly looking in front of them before snapping his eyes back down to Seonghwa. "I had higher hopes for you but this is absolutely pathetic!"
Before Seonghwa could say anything, Hongjoong was already moving around him and grabbing onto his crowbar and spinning on his heel to take out a creature's knees that was reaching out to them with both hands. As soon as the zombie was down on the ground, Hongjoong raised his leg up and brought the back of his heel down onto its head, breaking open the skull.
Seonghwa scrunched his nose at the cracking noise, looking away before Hongjoong did it once more to finish off the job. He was panting, standing there in the open as he looked down at Seonghwa with a disappointed expression. He was covered in sweat, his hair damp and his bangs pressed against his forehead as his shirt stuck proudly to his chest.
Before Seonghwa knew it, Hongjoong was pushing the crowbar under his chin and forcing him to look up at him when Seonghwa refused to look at the man.
"You have friends waiting for you back home," he challenged, his voice gruff and stressed, pulling the crowbar away to spin on his heel once more to take off the head of another creature that nearly grabbed onto him. "I heard you tell Yunho that you wanted him to come back home with you. What good is that if you don't even leave this place!"
Seonghwa's mouth dropped open again, his fingers twitching once more as Hongjoong swung his heavy crowbar again into the shoulder of another zombie, nearly taking off its arm and pushing it to the ground with a small spray of blood.
Hongjoong's body was heaving as he turned around to regard Seonghwa with a dark expression.
"Don't you dare try and take the easy way out of this. You're a fighter- so fucking act like one," Hongjoong was squatting down in front of him, dropping the bar to the ground and grabbing onto Seonghwa's jaw with a grip that was too tight and painful. Seonghwa held his breath- the proximity between the two of them was too close and the look Hongjoong was giving him only made the pressure in his chest ache more.
"You fucking piss me off Seonghwa but the people I care about really need you and I'm not about to let them suffer because you were too selfish to keep going!" Seonghwa could almost feel Hongjoong's warm breath on his face, and the words going straight down to his stomach as Hongjoong glared at him with his signature murderous glare before he was dropping Seonghwa's jaw and standing up again.
His hands came up to rub at his jaw where it began to ache, ready to fire off some sort of insult, but Hongjoong was grabbing at the straps around his chest where the grenades were held. Seonghwa's eyes widened comically, his brain short-circuiting more than it already was as Hongjoong pulled one of the balls away from the harness.
The man turned around to look at him, looking over his shoulder to Seonghwa, and with a wink of his eye, he was pulling off the clip and letting the pin fall to the ground.
Seonghwa nearly screaming at him, but without waiting a second longer, Hongjoong was pulling back his arm and launching the grenade in the direction of the closed doors. As soon as it happened, the smaller man was running back, squatting down next to Seonghwa and straddling both of his thighs before putting his hands over Seonghwa's ears and pulling his head into his chest.
He pressed them as close to the wall as he could, and Seonghwa found himself unable to breathe at all before the explosion jolted them both, shaking the very core of the whole building. Even if Hongjoong was protecting Seonghwa's eardrums from the sound, his ears were still ringing from how loud it was and he found himself unable to piece together where he was.
But then Hongjoong was leading him blindly, yanking him to his feet as Seonghwa didn't even have the strength to really cry out with how bad his back had hurt from the sudden movement. Hongjoong had thrown Seonghwa's arm over his shoulders, trying to take some of his weight as the smaller did his best to lead them towards the hole in the wall that the grenade had made. It was clear to Seonghwa that Hongjoong was out of sorts too- he had probably lost his hearing completely for a little while and they both were swaying around trying to get to the exit.
They were lucky enough that the debris from the explosion had taken a good chunk of the zombies out so they had somewhat of a path they could make a break for to get out. The smoke made the both of them choke and as soon as they exited the building, Hongjoong collapsed to his knees taking Seonghwa with him. Every cell in his body was screaming angrily at him, the pain so bad he couldn't even see.
He inhaled another breath but Seonghwa was choking on the smoke again and reaching around blinding for Hongjoong.
"Hongjo-"
There were hands wrapping around his waist, hoisting him up to his feet that he swore were numb. His arm was wrapped again around Hongjoong's shoulder as they stumbled towards the last jeep that remained parked there. Seonghwa's ears burned as well as his head and whenever Hongjoong tripped over his feet as they both hobbled towards the car, he couldn't help the soundless cry that left his mouth.
By the time his vision and his hearing were returning to him, Hongjoong was shoving at Seonghwa's body to get him inside the jeep. Seonghwa used the last bit of strength to latch onto the handle at the top of the door and pull himself up into the back seat. He nearly blackout again, falling onto the seats on his side with his arms and legs going completely limp as he gasped for air.
"My- my crowbar..." he managed to gasp out, reaching around blindly for the one thing that could bring him some sort of relief which was the familiar feeling of his weapon.
He tried to sit up, but Hongjoong was shoving him back down with urgency, sliding the crowbar Seonghwa was growing desperate for to the floor behind the front seats. Seonghwa barely even noticed Hongjoong climbing into the front seat and pounding on the gas pedal until there was another loud explosion that shook the ground even as they were driving away.
The world hadn't stopped spinning, but when Seonghwa could open his eyes and lay like a dead fish in the backseat of the jeep listening to the low hum of the engine and wince every time the car went over a bump in the road, he found himself looking at the bright color of the sun. It was blinding normally, but like this it was dim and it didn't hurt his eyes.
Seonghwa wasn't sure if it was utter relief that washed over him to be able to see daylight once more, or if it was relief that seeing daylight meant he would be able to see his friends back at the base again. He was able to let out a heavy sigh, some of the harsh weight on his chest finally lifting off as his mind drifted far off.
He couldn't keep his thoughts in line, the pain that twisted in his stomach made him wonder if Yunho and Jongho had gotten out alright. At least he was able to see the rest of them leave safely... at least Wooyoung was okay. He couldn't help but think that Yunho and Jongho were still stuck back in the lab- that they hadn't been able to escape and were hiding away in a room waiting for him to come and save them like he always did. The idea brought an ugly feeling, nausea swirling thick in his stomach.
His mind drifted once more as he brought a hand to lay over his eyes to try and block out the bright sun.
Wooyoung... his sweet and pure Wooyoung. He would never be able to get that face out of his head. He had failed him. Wooyoung had looked at him with a face of betrayal because Seonghwa had promised to protect him no matter what.
And he had failed him.
Seonghwa didn't know how long they had been driving for, the bumps and the turns of the jeep all felt the same as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The pain slowly became numb and the lack of feeling in his legs probably should've been concerning- but he couldn't find it in himself to raise his head to look to see if he still even had his legs.
His throat burned worse than his eyes, and as time passed, he was able to turn his head to the side to see Hongjoong driving with one hand on the steering wheel and another pressed firmly against his ear. He was tense, Seonghwa could tell that much, but even in the calmer state they were in, the older couldn't find the energy in him to lash out at the man.
"I didn't ask you to save me," Seonghwa croaked, trying his voice out for the first time, the dryness and hoarseness of it only burned the back of his throat.
He wasn't sure if Hongjoong was able to hear him yet, and with each passing second that went by without the other even acknowledging that he had said anything, Seonghwa assumed his hearing was still gone or was too fuzzy to hear him.
"You should've gone with the others," he forced out, his jaw tense as he closed his eyes tightly, a sudden wave of emotion building behind his eyes. "You weren't supposed to... you shouldn't sacrifice your life for someone like me."
It burned- it burned so bad. His bottom lip started quivering, the pressure behind his eyes and throat was so mysterious and infuriating because why in the world was he about to cry at a time like this? Was he that weak and childish that he was about to cry in front of his sworn enemy? How pathetic could he get in a single day?
"You were supposed to leave me and go with them- you have a group to lead and take care of," Seonghwa pressed a hand over his eyes, digging his fingers into the side of his face to try and relieve the pain that was overcoming him at an increasing rate. "It doesn't make sense- I didn't want ... you weren't supposed to save me..."
"I didn't ask you to save me either," Hongjoong answered, causing Seonghwa to lift his hand and stare at the other. He had pulled his hand away from his ear, and it was clear to see that it had been bleeding from the fresh blood dripping down his neck.
Hongjoong wasn't looking at him, his own voice sounded scratchy like how his own throat burned.
"I didn't ask you to save me," he repeated, pausing to clear his throat. "But you did."
Seonghwa pursed his lips, his eyes welling up with angry tears.
"If I didn't get to leave this fucked up world," Hongjoong's hands tightened visibly on the steering wheel. "Then neither do you."
Seonghwa felt a desperate cry attempt to leave his mouth, the urge to scream away the pain that was building up and pounding in his head was nearly too strong for him to suppress.
"If I can't escape from this hell and if I can't be relieved of these duties that I never asked for," Hongjoong's voice became significantly quieter, but Seonghwa was still able to hear him loud and clear. "Then I won't allow you to find peace either."
Seonghwa couldn't contain the salty tears that streamed down his face. He didn't even try and wipe them away, he knew more would just come. It was angering and so frustrating, he hated every second of it. He squeezed his hands together by his sides, ripping his eyes away from the man driving and looked up at the roof of the jeep instead. His tears were hot on his skin, burning his eyes and his nose.
He couldn't breathe. Everything was too thick. The knowledge of what Hongjoong was admitting to- what he was ultimately admitting to- made shame burn deep within himself. It was selfish of him to even consider such a thing or to find peace at the thought of it.
But Seonghwa was a selfish man. He always had been.
He turned on his side, his body screaming at him but he couldn't stop his shoulders from shaking and the way his body convulsed as he clasped his hand over his heart.
Seonghwa couldn't stop the strained cries that left his mouth, and for the first time, he didn't care if Hongjoong had heard him. Maybe Hongjoong would find pleasure in hearing him cry like this- maybe Hongjoong would tease and poke fun at him for acting like a spooked child.
But the other said nothing, his eyes glued perfectly to the road in front of him with a grip on the steering wheel so tight that his fingers turned white.
When Seonghwa stepped foot into the cafeteria of the base for the first time, he felt a rather weird sense of deja vu wash over him. Everyone looked at him like he had died and had risen up just like a famous story once said. Well to them, he had died- so he supposed the surprised eyes and gasps when Hongjoong and him limped into the cafeteria in all of their glory made sense.
Their rather gruesome appearance probably made many lose their appetite for the dinner in front of them. They hadn't even attempted to go wash up, and the blood and other bodily fluids that coated their skin was dry and flaking off along with the stench that followed. Seonghwa was even afraid to look in the mirror- dreading the thought of it actually.
But he stood there with his head held high like he had something to prove. His back was killing him, but at least the long ride where he remained unmoving had helped a little. But with each passing second, he stood there, it was only growing worse and worse.
It was dead silent, except for the spoon that a woman had dropped when she saw them.
All their eyes were on the two men that stood there silently, eyes cast downwards in shame.
"Seonghwa-"
Seonghwa's head shot up, his eyes widening at the call of his name.
It was Wooyoung.
The younger man had shot up from where he was seated a table, the food in front of him untouched. Both his hands were planted on the table in front of him, his mouth open in disbelief.
Seonghwa could tell the exact moment when it clicked with Wooyoung that he was actually standing there and it wasn't a figment of his imagination. It made his throat burn again, the guilt so thick in his stomach that he wanted to run away.
Wooyoung's face contorted into a painful expression, his eyes almost closing as they filled with tears and his jaw squared off when he gritted his teeth together. Yeosang was sitting right next to him, a similar expression on his face, though his was more controlled, but it was easy to tell he was battling a heavy emotion inside of him.
"Seonghwa-" Wooyoung was calling out to him again, already climbing off the bench and moving to stand in the middle of the aisle where Seonghwa was standing. "Is that- is that really you?"
He couldn't breathe.
"It's me," he whispered, forcing himself to breathe in a heavy breath before he passed out.
Wooyoung staggered back a little, his legs shaking as his hands tightened into fists. He looked absolutely wounded, tears once again falling down his face but was unable to look away from the older.
He was clean now- the blood had been washed away and his beautiful sun-kissed skin remained unblemished- but Seonghwa couldn't help but get flashes of images in his mind of the younger man on the floor in the darkroom of the lab with blood coating his skin and terror in his eyes. He couldn't shake the feeling. He couldn't forget how he had failed Wooyoung.
"You-" Wooyoung was pointing a stiff finger at him, his face red with anger as he was coming towards Seonghwa at a quick pace.
He didn't stop it or try to move away when Wooyoung slapped him.
The younger slapped him clear across his cheek so loud it echoed in the room. The force of it stung terribly- but he deserved it.
"You lied!" He screamed, choked cries following after as he pounded his hands on Seonghwa's chest, pushing the older backward each time. "You fucking lied to me! We promised we'd never lie to each other-"
Seonghwa's red eyes widened again, his hands coming up but not even bothering to try and push the younger away from him.
"You can't just- give up like that!" His voice was raw, worse than Seonghwa's was. He imagined Wooyoung screaming the whole way home or until his voice eventually gave out. The thought had his heart clenching painfully. "You looked... like you had given up- like you were okay with what was going to happen..."
Wooyoung was stepping back, his face fallen and no longer red with anger. His joints buckled again and he was on the floor, the thud of his knees against the tie was loud and it made Seonghwa wince. Wooyoung's hands were shaking by his sides before he brought them up to wipe at his eyes uselessly.
"You're not supposed to give up-" he cried, his voice soft but tense and strained. Seonghwa couldn't bear to watch it, but he also couldn't look away. He wanted to wrap Wooyoung in his arms and hold him until he stopped crying and whisper to him that he was okay and he was still alive.
But he couldn't.
Not after what he had done.
Wooyoung raised a criminalizing finger at him, his shoulders and chest heaving as he cried. "Remember what you used to tell us- back when it was just us and Yunho? You said that we were never allowed to give up... that we would make it out of this alive and that..." he had to pause to clear his throat, a strangled cry forcing itself out of his mouth. "We would be okay as long as we had each other... but you- you gave up! Don't tell me you didn't Seonghwa- I saw your eyes. You were okay with fucking dying!"
The words hurt so bad, he felt completely frozen as the truth of what Wooyoung was saying sat deep inside him. He couldn't say anything, not even when Wooyoung bent over to cry into his hands. No one dared to speak either, all their eyes were open wide as they watched the scene unfold.
Hongjoong stood unmoving next to them, his face void of all emotions.
"I-I'm sorry," Seonghwa whispered- all that his voice would allow him. "I'm so sorry-"
Wooyoung was up in an instant, the black-haired man was suddenly almost jumping on him, his arms wrapping around Seonghwa's body and holding onto him with a grip so tight that it hurt. The pain that shot through him was quickly forgotten as Wooyoung buried his face into Seonghwa's neck, his cries finally muffled by the fabric of the older's clothes. His body was shaking violently, and Seonghwa's arms finally wrapped around him and held him close.
He finally allowed himself to hold the younger. He gave in to his desire to be close to him and comfort him. It eased his heart as he squeezed him with the intent of never letting him go. He swore at that moment to never fail Wooyoung again.
"I thought I lost you-" Wooyoung was gasping against him, no doubt getting snot all over his clothes. "I thought you- I thought I would never see you-"
"Shhh," Seonghwa shushed him, holding the back of Wooyoung's head to try and calm him down.
Yeosang was there in front of them, his expression looked both stressed and absolutely relieved. His hand was coming to rest on Wooyoung's back, making brief eye contact with Seonghwa as the blonde offered the little bit of a smile that he could muster.
Seonghwa barely caught out of the corner of his eye that San was nearly running over to Hongjoong, the man looked about a few seconds away from breaking down before he was in Hongjoong's hold. The smaller man had his hand on the back of San's neck and as he pressed their foreheads together in a close embrace.
They said nothing to each other, but they didn't have to.
"Yunho, is he- where is he?" Seonghwa asked, looking up at Yeosang who had not moved. "And Jongho too- where are they?"
Yeosang's eyes softened, his shoulders relaxing and that was all Seonghwa needed to know before he could let his own tense body relax even more in Wooyoung's death grip.
"They're here, probably in the showers right now," he replied, ruffling Wooyoung's hair.
"So they're okay?"
Yeosang nodded his head. "They were here before we got back. Jongho said that he had tried to contact San and warn him about what was coming but the connection died, must've been in a dead zone or something. But they escaped through a backway while Hongjoong tried to lead the horde away thinking that Jongho had been able to contact San and you guys were already gone. If he had known you guys were still there, he wouldn't have gone that way."
Seonghwa glanced over at Hongjoong, their eyes meeting briefly.
"How was he able to lead them away? There were so many?" Seonghwa asked again, not breaking eye contact with Hongjoong.
The stare was intense, something unspoken between them.
"The cure, they're attracted to it," Yeosang answered softly.
"The cure-" Seonghwa felt his throat go dry once more. "Does that mean...?"
Hongjoong reached down into his pants, his tongue coming out to wet his lips as he held tense eye contact with Seonghwa.
"It's real," the man spoke out for the first time, pulling out a small vial from his pants. It was about as big as his hand was, with clear liquid inside it. There was white tape taped across the glass with an unmistakable "anti-t" label on it.
Seonghwa felt his heart stop.
The vial Hongjoong held in his hand was mocking him, laughing right in his face.
The room around them was silent as they couldn't possibly understand what this meant for them. Not a sound was heard, not even Wooyoung's heavy breathing. Seonghwa could only regard Hongjoong with an open-mouthed expression as the smaller held it up for everyone to see.
"The cure is real," Hongjoong repeated with a loud voice. "And I found it."
a/n: my lazy ass finally changed the name and cover- it took years but I finally did it :")