Taehyung crouched behind a clump of bushes. Its tangled branches broke up his view of the morning patrol as it trekked down the sidewalk on the other side of the road. Watching them was sickening. Each one wore a perfectly clean, white hazmat suit. Each one followed the one before it. Each one marched in perfect unison with the rest- right foot forward, left foot forward. Never stumbling. Never stopping. Completely unresponsive to all things other than their patrol's leader.
It was hard to believe they were human.
But they're not. Taehyung told himself. They're not human anymore.
Or maybe it was just easier to convince himself as much. Maybe it was easier to believe that they were dead, never coming back. That they weren't trapped in their own bodies.
The young male waited until they had turned the street corner, disappearing from sight. Their footsteps, which echoed eerily through the empty city, got progressively fainter. The sluggish drowning of sound, until it was only background noise.
Taehyung prepared to stand up. Suddenly, he sensed movement cross the street. The crouching male froze. Could it be another patrol? Why would they send two so close together? He squinted through the bushes. What he saw was not another patrol, rather a young male with messy, dark brown hair and torn up clothes. The boy slipped quietly behind an abandoned building.
Taehyung had seen this boy before. After weeks of watching this mysterious other, Taehyung had determined for certain that this was another free willed person, who, like Taehyung himself, had escaped somehow.
Taehyung waited until the boy disappeared from sight to make his own move. Carefully scanning the area around him, he stepped lightly over the shriveled grass and into a jumble of trees. Adjusting himself, he crouched in between its roots and slipped off his backpack. The first food item he saw in it was an orange, which he snatched from his bag's clutches and began peeling back the skin immediately. At first exposure of orange flesh to air, he sank his teeth in, letting juice run down his hands. He devoured the fruit like a ravenous predator, eating its first catch in days. In a matter of seconds, he'd eaten every edible piece, buried the peel, and was wiping his hands on his pants. Safe.
Or not.
BANG
A force shook the ground. The foul stench of burning asphalt hit Taehyung's nose. Quickly, the male turned to see that one of the explosive traps had been set off. The charred pieces of concrete lay scattered about, along with the burned body of some small animal, which lay to rest a few meters away from the explosion site.
Taehyung cursed as he slid his bag back on, preparing to evacuate the premises. The ones without free will would be arriving shortly. But he glanced back at the road. Thank god for that glance, because in his line of sight he caught a mangled lump in the road. The other boy had been trying to cross the intersection about forty feet away from the explosion site. The impact wasn't enough to kill someone from that distance, but undoubtedly knock them out cold.
Taehyung stared at the boy, who was lying on his side in the middle of the shattered asphalt. He had to do something, right? It wasn't even the poor kid's fault. He might even be the only other person left with free will. Taehyung couldn't just leave him there. He couldn't just let the only other survivor fall into the hands of their tormentors, only to become a soulless face among the crowd of skin and bones.
Taehyung made a decision. He clenched his fists as if he held that decision in his hand, refusing to let it slip, refusing to hesitate. He sprinted over the broken concrete to the boy's side. With no time to lose, he picked the boy up, bridal style, and ran into the woods.
The woods were protection. Those trees meant sanctuary. This ground was untouched. Taehyung slowed his pace and headed for his makeshift camp.
He laid the boy he carried gently on his bed of ferns. With two fingers he checked for a pulse, with his eyes he checked for movement.
The feeling of blood pumping through the veins beneath his fingers was a breath of air after thrashing underwater- sweet, sweet relief.
"At least you're alive," Taehyung muttered.
Now that they were hidden and mostly safe, Taehyung was able to get a good look at the boy. He was thin and just a bit shorter than Taehyung himself. He was fast, Taehyung knew, and had exceptional agility. You couldn't blame Taehyung for knowing such things- what else did he have to do in this ghost town then take interest in the only other living being with free-will? And this other boy also had an attractive face. A pointy chin, high cheekbones, soft eyes. He looked slightly younger, though not by much.
Suddenly the boy's breathing got deeper and more frantic. He turned over and started to cough out dust and dirt. The amount of soot and debris that came from the boy's mouth was concerning. Taehyung prayed silently that his lungs weren't damaged. He continued coughing for a few minutes before finally taking a deep breath and looking up.
"W-what? I-I... How did..." He turned his head slowly, taking in his surroundings. His soft eyes fell across Taehyung. Immediately scrambling backward, a gasp escaped his lips.
His big doe eyes were round and stressed; shining with anxiety. Suddenly he squinted and looked at Taehyung, who was kneeling calmly beside the fern bed, as if remembering him from somewhere.
"It-It's you! What... Why are you here? Where am I?"
"Ah, so you've seen me around then? You're in my camp." Taehyung replied, amused by the frightened boy's confusion, though still concerned as he scanned for injuries.
"Why? How?" The boy asked, not moving from his defensive position.
"Because if I hadn't brought you here you would have died- or worse, had your will stolen. I think you and me are the only two free people left in this city- I had to save you."
The boy, seeing that Taehyung wasn't about to harm him, relaxed a bit and shifted himself into a more comfortable position; sitting on his knees and facing Taehyung.
"What happened?"
"A squirrel set off an explosive trap about forty feet away from where you were walking," Taehyung explained.
The younger boy rubbed his bloodshot eyes, smearing the dirt on his face.
"Oh... how did you get me here?"
Taehyung smiled and said, "I carried you."
The younger looked down with embarrassment, trying to hide that he was blushing. Taehyung grinned in amusement and put a finger under the boy's chin to lift his face to eye level.
"How old are you?" Taehyung asked.
"Sixteen. And you?"
"Eighteen. Gosh, you're young to be out here alone like you are."
"I'm not much younger than you are." The boy replied, a defensive tone stiffening his soft voice.
"No need to snap," Taehyung assured him, "I was just saying, that's all. What's your name?"
The younger furrowed his eyebrows at the question. He pursed his lips, conjuring memory.
"Jungkook."
"I'm Taehyung. I hope you're ok now. Let's get you some water." Taehyung stood up and put his hand out to help the younger to his feet.
The boy hesitated before taking the older's hand and attempting to stand. Immediately, he fell to his knees again, left leg splayed out awkwardly, a string of curse words flying off his tounge.
"Why didn't you say it hurt earlier?" Taehyung asked, worriedly crouching to the younger's level.
"You're a stranger." The younger panted, his face scrunched up in agony.
Taehyung furrowed his brow. He felt suddenly sympathetic towards this curt sixteen-year-old. But he took no time to pause and ponder about why he could possibly be so untrusting.
"Okay, just let me see." His hands hovered over the boy's leg hesitantly, not wanting to make the boy feel threatened by touching his injury.
"No." Jungkook pulled his leg away, flinching at the movement. "I'm fine, just leave it alone. It's fine."
"No, it's not. Look, Jungkook... I need you to trust me, ok? Why would I hurt you after I risked my life to save you from the ones without free will? I know what I'm doing. My parents were both doctors and they pretty much taught me everything the knew. Just let me see." Taehyung looked pleadingly into Jungkook's eyes.
"Fine." Jungkook could see that there was no way out of this. He was forced to trust the older- it's not like he could get away anyway.
Taehyung gently rolled up Jungkook's jeans until he saw where the younger's shin split at a sickening outward angle, the broken bone threatening to poke out of the youngers shin. Taehyung gulped, stomach twisting with nausea. Jungkook's whole leg was turning purple.
"Ok, Jungkook, this will all be over soon, I promise. I need you to take three deep breaths and force your leg to relax. Can you do that for me?"
The younger was in too much pain to object; he did as he was told. As soon as the younger made his leg relax, Taehyung placed his hand under Jungkook's leg and his thumb over the broken bone, applying pressure just enough to pop the bone back into place. Jungkook clenched his jaw and sucked in a breath, throwing his head back in anguish. His fingers dug into his thigh, a sob was forced back, a few curse words squeezed through clenched teeth.
"My gosh. You didn't even scream!" Taehyung looked at the younger. The boy had tears pouring out of the corners of his eyes as he stared upwards at the forest canopy, eyes glazed with pain.
Taking a deep breath, Jungkook looked at Taehyung and said simply, "I'm fine."
Taehyung stared at the sixteen-year-old. Something clicked in his head, and all he felt was sympathy. Gently, the eighteen-year-old took hold of Jungkook's stressed fingers and coaxed his hand into letting go of his abused thigh. Fingers were intertwined, eyes met eyes at close proximity.
"Jungkook, what happened to you? Why can't you trust me?"
Jungkook looked away. Taehyung's gaze was too intense for him; it was so urgent, so caring, practically pleading for his trust. And he refused to give in.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Taehyung nodded slowly. Of course, he was disappointed, but for some reason, he started to become fond of the distant boy.
"You need water." He told the younger.
"Well, how do you expect me to get it?" Jungkook snapped.
Jungkook met Taehyung's eye again. He saw the fondness, he saw the care. Taehyung's gentle emotion was clear as day. And for a moment, he wanted to trust it. No, he thought, trust no one, depend on no one.
Suddenly, Taehyung scooped Jungkook up off the ground, carrying the younger bridal style for the second time that day. Jungkook instinctively wrapped his arms around the older's neck, then blushed looked at Teahyung. Being treated like Taehyung was treating him was weird. No one had ever treated him like this. No one had ever cared.
Taehyung looked down and grinned with amusement at Jungkook's rosy face. Jungkook looked away quickly, blush flaring brighter. Taehyung's smile was box-shaped and brighter than sunlight. He was cute.
Taehyung carried Jungkook through the woods, walking carefully so as not to disturb the younger's broken leg. When they finally reached a small stream, Taehyung set Jungkook down on the bank, close enough for him to reach the water, and told the younger to drink and that he'd be right back. Taehyung walked a few feet away and started looking for something in the brush. The dry rustle of leaves filled their ears, a search coaxing Taehyung a few feet further away.
Seeing that the older was out of earshot, Jungkook relaxed and stopped hiding his pain. He cursed and gently brought his fingers along his broken leg. Shifting it to a more comfortable position, he then washed the leftover dust from his mouth and face. Once the clear water had reached his tongue, Jungkook felt overwhelming greed for the clear liquid. So, he drank, savoring the taste of freshness as it cascaded down his raw throat.
Once Jungkook had had his fill, he leaned over his broken leg and took his shoe off. He took a handful of ice-cold water from the stream and let it pour down his shin, soothing the pain.
"Ow." With that simple phrase, he surprised himself.
Meanwhile, Taehyung was a few feet up the bank, where he had come back, but not to close. He was just within earshot of Jungkook.
"So you do feel pain."
Taehyung's voice startled Jungkook out of his wits.
"Taehyung! W-what do you mean?"
Taehyung just shook his head, smiling to himself as he approached the younger. A shiny strip of metal was in his hand. Jungkook's mind reeled too fast, and he was about to scramble backward, but Taehyung was faster. The older knelt by the younger's leg and gently lifted it by the ankle. It was a gentleness Jungkook was not used to being handled with, and he was shocked speechless. This went unnoticed. Taehyung slipped a shiny metal brace over the younger's calf, tightening it to fit his leg's shape.
"Where did you get that?" Jungkook asked.
"There's a run-down pharmacy a few blocks away. If you happen to have a bit of extra time on your hands, you can find some pretty good stuff in the rubble."
Jungkook nodded and leaned back on his elbows.
"Do you think I could walk now?" The sparkle of hope in the younger's eyes put a crack in Taehyung's heart.
"No, I'm sorry. It's going to be months until you can walk properly."
Jungkook cursed.
"How am I supposed to survive then?"
"I'm going to help you."
Jungkook looked up at the older, who scooped him up once again and began to carry him back to his camp. (They did bring Jungkook's shoe as well, by the way)
"Won't that make it harder for you though?" Jungkook asked.
"Well, what am I supposed to do? Just leave you to die?"
Jungkook looked away.
"Sorry." He muttered. "I mean, thank you."
Taehyung smiled to himself.
When they got back to the camp, it was starting to get dark. Taehyung laid Jungkook on the fern bed and got down next to him. Jungkook didn't react when Taehyung snuggled up close to him and covered them both with a tattered blanket. However, the younger secretly enjoyed the warmth and comfort of falling asleep next to another human being for the first time in two years.