[exo] I May Be Paranoid, but Not an Android
Title: I May Be Paranoid, but Not an Android (written for femmexo)
Pairing: Fem!Taosoo
Rating: PG-15
Lenght: 950 words
Warnings: Character death, violence
Prompt: Apocalypse/tech regression
Zitao swiftly moved from one car wreck to the next. The air in the abandoned car lot had once been heavy, filled with ash and dust. These days it was fresher, the rain and wind having washed away most of it.
She still couldn't believe it was only two months since she'd seen them set fire to the cars. Many of them had died in the following explosions, but they were only foot soldiers after all. Their leaders didn't care about if they lived or died, as long as the job got done.
Back then she'd still been together with Kyungsoo. They'd watched the massive fire from the top of a mall barely two kilometers away from the car lot. This had been in the peaceful period after all the stores had been robbed of most of their contents, before the malls turned into mingling places for criminal activity. These days they were filled with gambling, fighting for money and prostitution. They were also one of the few places you still could get alcohol, cigarettes and narcotics.
Zitao always stayed as far away from the malls as she could.
It was hard finding a bearable spot to rest for the night these days. But never so bad that Zitao considered joining The Group. She knew they provided all their subjects with a roof over their head and enough food to survive. However she had sworn that she would rather die than join them on their barbaric crusade, and it was a promise she intended to keep.
It hadn't been so bad at first. After The Group's first havoc was over, everything had been silent. Not peaceful, but silent, like in the silence right before a storm breaks out. She and Kyungsoo had been lucky enough to not be killed in the fires, and now they knew that they had to get out from the inner city.
This had been when they had first learned how to move without being seen, and how the day sometimes was more dangerous than the night. Darkness hid you, while daylight gave you away.
They spent the first nights in abandoned cafes and restaurants. It was safer there than in stores or houses where humans had lived. The strongest fought for the supplies, safety and comfort, while people like Kyungsoo and Zitao was ok as long as they had roof over their head. It was still only spring, and the nights could be cold.
The accident happened when they happened to run into a group of men ready to take whatever they wanted. They had jeered at them as they closed in on them, pressing them into a corner.
Zitao and Kyungsoo were just two young women, and the three men probably didn't except them to pose much of a challenge. Zitao thanked the gods every day for the fact that she'd spent all those years perfecting her wushu. And Kyungsoo, sweet little Kyungsoo, who happened to know how to handle a knife. They fought for their life while the men only fought because they wanted to, and in the end it proved enough to make the men give up.
However it came at a cost. Kyungsoo had been slashed in the tight, making it hard for her to walk. They managed to get out to the outskirts of the city, seeking shelter in a rotten apartment. Every day Zitao would go outside on her own, trying her best to find them food enough to stay alive.
Kyungsoo's wound only got worse with time. It was clearly infected, and they had nothing to treat it with.
“There is nothing we can do about it,” Kyungsoo told Zitao. She was lying on a crumbling rug, Zitao sitting beside her. Their hands were intertwined. Zitao had difficulties with letting go at all these days, only ever leaving her girlfriend when it was absolutely necessary.
“But there has to be something we can do!” Zitao said back. She would have yelled in frustration if she wasn't so afraid for someone to find them. Kyungsoo smiled up at her. She was in constant pain, yet refused to stop putting on a strong front for Zitao. Zitao tried her best not to cry. She wanted to be brave and strong for Kyungsoo as well.
Kyungsoo squeezed her hand. It was impossible to hide anything from her.
“Come here,” she said, pulling Zitao down to her. They cuddled up together, their lips meeting in a wet kiss. Wet, because Zitao couldn’t stop her tears.
Zitao had moved past the car lot. She managed to get over the freeway, which was dangerously clear and open. Making her easy to spot, an easy prey. Nevertheless this was the best path to where she was heading.
Not that she knew exactly where that was, but she'd hear rumors, whispers. Of a group fighting against The Group, trying to uphold justice in a world where there no longer was any law.
The thing that had tempted Zitao the most was the rumor that they were mostly girls, women, fighting together for justice and revenge. EXO they called themselves. She had promised Kyungsoo that she wouldn't give up, that she would continue to fight for herself, to live. And to do that she needed a purpose, and at least a tiny bit of hope left.
She walked on, and she didn't stop. Because she had a destination, a goal and a purpose. A small hope that this place and these people actually existed.
She could almost hear it in the wind. EXO. She wouldn't stop walking until she found them.
Pairing: Fem!Taosoo
Rating: PG-15
Lenght: 950 words
Warnings: Character death, violence
Prompt: Apocalypse/tech regression
Zitao swiftly moved from one car wreck to the next. The air in the abandoned car lot had once been heavy, filled with ash and dust. These days it was fresher, the rain and wind having washed away most of it.
She still couldn't believe it was only two months since she'd seen them set fire to the cars. Many of them had died in the following explosions, but they were only foot soldiers after all. Their leaders didn't care about if they lived or died, as long as the job got done.
Back then she'd still been together with Kyungsoo. They'd watched the massive fire from the top of a mall barely two kilometers away from the car lot. This had been in the peaceful period after all the stores had been robbed of most of their contents, before the malls turned into mingling places for criminal activity. These days they were filled with gambling, fighting for money and prostitution. They were also one of the few places you still could get alcohol, cigarettes and narcotics.
Zitao always stayed as far away from the malls as she could.
It was hard finding a bearable spot to rest for the night these days. But never so bad that Zitao considered joining The Group. She knew they provided all their subjects with a roof over their head and enough food to survive. However she had sworn that she would rather die than join them on their barbaric crusade, and it was a promise she intended to keep.
It hadn't been so bad at first. After The Group's first havoc was over, everything had been silent. Not peaceful, but silent, like in the silence right before a storm breaks out. She and Kyungsoo had been lucky enough to not be killed in the fires, and now they knew that they had to get out from the inner city.
This had been when they had first learned how to move without being seen, and how the day sometimes was more dangerous than the night. Darkness hid you, while daylight gave you away.
They spent the first nights in abandoned cafes and restaurants. It was safer there than in stores or houses where humans had lived. The strongest fought for the supplies, safety and comfort, while people like Kyungsoo and Zitao was ok as long as they had roof over their head. It was still only spring, and the nights could be cold.
The accident happened when they happened to run into a group of men ready to take whatever they wanted. They had jeered at them as they closed in on them, pressing them into a corner.
Zitao and Kyungsoo were just two young women, and the three men probably didn't except them to pose much of a challenge. Zitao thanked the gods every day for the fact that she'd spent all those years perfecting her wushu. And Kyungsoo, sweet little Kyungsoo, who happened to know how to handle a knife. They fought for their life while the men only fought because they wanted to, and in the end it proved enough to make the men give up.
However it came at a cost. Kyungsoo had been slashed in the tight, making it hard for her to walk. They managed to get out to the outskirts of the city, seeking shelter in a rotten apartment. Every day Zitao would go outside on her own, trying her best to find them food enough to stay alive.
Kyungsoo's wound only got worse with time. It was clearly infected, and they had nothing to treat it with.
“There is nothing we can do about it,” Kyungsoo told Zitao. She was lying on a crumbling rug, Zitao sitting beside her. Their hands were intertwined. Zitao had difficulties with letting go at all these days, only ever leaving her girlfriend when it was absolutely necessary.
“But there has to be something we can do!” Zitao said back. She would have yelled in frustration if she wasn't so afraid for someone to find them. Kyungsoo smiled up at her. She was in constant pain, yet refused to stop putting on a strong front for Zitao. Zitao tried her best not to cry. She wanted to be brave and strong for Kyungsoo as well.
Kyungsoo squeezed her hand. It was impossible to hide anything from her.
“Come here,” she said, pulling Zitao down to her. They cuddled up together, their lips meeting in a wet kiss. Wet, because Zitao couldn’t stop her tears.
Zitao had moved past the car lot. She managed to get over the freeway, which was dangerously clear and open. Making her easy to spot, an easy prey. Nevertheless this was the best path to where she was heading.
Not that she knew exactly where that was, but she'd hear rumors, whispers. Of a group fighting against The Group, trying to uphold justice in a world where there no longer was any law.
The thing that had tempted Zitao the most was the rumor that they were mostly girls, women, fighting together for justice and revenge. EXO they called themselves. She had promised Kyungsoo that she wouldn't give up, that she would continue to fight for herself, to live. And to do that she needed a purpose, and at least a tiny bit of hope left.
She walked on, and she didn't stop. Because she had a destination, a goal and a purpose. A small hope that this place and these people actually existed.
She could almost hear it in the wind. EXO. She wouldn't stop walking until she found them.