Last Hope 1/?
Title: Last Hope
Author: dubuluvshinee
Pairing: Jongho & Ontae (Taesun, not Taemin)
Rating: PG-13/R
Word count: 3,212
Disclaimer: I don't own SHINee, if I did life would be so much better... I own the plot, nothing else.
Summary: A deadly virus has spread and many have died, coming back as something Jonghyun only remembered seeing in movies. He's searching for safety, and hopefully civilization, when he runs into someone around his age...
Crap summary, but seriously, the story is good. Great, in my opinion. But I'm the writer so my opinion doesn't really count lol
It had been 3 months, 5 days, and 7 hours since Jonghyun had last seen a human being.
Sure, he had seen tons of the undead since then, but he really didn't consider them humans. They were monsters that shuffled after him when he was too loud or his musky live human scent wasn't covered enough. There were days he had had to roll around in mud and cover himself in fecal matter to cover his scent. Those days were usually the worst.
And today had been no exception.
He was on his way to a new town, backback slung over his shoulder, baseball bat looped through a belt on his ratty pants. He had finally had a bath about 3 days before, when he had run into a fresh water pond with really clear water. It had been absolute heaven. Thinking back to 4 months ago, Jonghyun could never have imagined life like this, where he was actually extremely lucky to be able to clean himself.
Now here he was, covered in shit, literally, stealthily crossing through a highly known, densely populated town. If he was quiet enough, the things wouldn't notice him.
He was too busy thinking about how not to get caught that he didn't notice what was in front of him. He should have known better by now, but he was tired and hungry and his muscles ached. He had been walking for 2 days straight. He wanted to find a safe place, fast, so that he wouldn't have to worry like this anymore. There had to be more humans out there.
But he was slowly losing hope. He had been to so many towns and cities in the past 3 months, and none of them held what he was seeking. Just undead bodies moaning and groaning, faces and limbs falling apart, and they chased him until he beat them down. There were tons of them. Thousands upon thousands.
He tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face. Swearing softly, he quickly scrambled to his feet. They had noticed. They had definitely noticed.
The things all headed towards him, not slowly like in all those scary movies he had once seen. Those movies he had watched with his best friend. Those movies that they had laughed at and made fun of... they weren't making fun of them now. Unless they were missing a leg or both, they moved incredibly fast.
There were about 7 of them headed after him now. He quickly grabbed his bat and swung when one got close, snapping it's neck to the side. It's head lolled for a bit and it stopped walking, only to moan again and shamble after him, seemingly faster than before.
It took a while to get rid of them. It was hard to dodge their attacks and keep himself on his feet when they were all circling around him. They were pretty smart.
He hit the woman in the head once, twice, and suddenly her brain came flying out of her ears, part of her head fell with a sick thump against the cement. The last one was gone, truly dead on the sidewalk, laying in a pile of decaying brain goo. Jonghyun was so used to the smell and the look of dead bodies that he didn't even gag anymore. He didn't even give them a second glance before he used one of their shirts to wipe off his bat, sticking it back through his belt, and taking off towards... somewhere.
He really didn't think he would ever find that safe place. There was no way anyone else was alive.
The last time he had seen a real live person, it had been right after this whole thing had started. There was no power, no heat, no water, nothing. No radio, no newspapers, no news channel. They didn't know what was going on in the world. All they knew was that there was this virus going around and they were advised not to go outside. That had been the last thing they had heard before everything went out. So they just stayed inside, sleeping, eating, not showering so they both smelled really bad. Jonghyun was calm on the outside, but on the inside he was freaking out. He wanted to know where his parents were, and why they hadn't come home. He wanted to go outside and find someone to fix everything so he could go back to his normal life. He wanted to get Taemin home so that he could be with his hyung and parents. Jonghyun knew the boy was really worried about his family, but he was scared to even open the front door. He didn't want Taemin to die.
Then one morning he awoke to screaming. Screaming that was definitely Taemin's, screaming that was coming from outside. He ran down the stairs, taking 3 at a time and jumped down over the side, booking it to the back door, where he could hear Taemin's screams.
He flew out the door, really unprepared for what he was about to witness, and immediately stopped upon seeing it. His heart jumped up into his throat and stuck there, for what he was witnessing, he had really wished he had never seen.
It was his Taeminnie. His Taeminnie, being attacked by some thing. It was a weird gray color and it's eyes were oozing. It's skin was peeling off, it's clothes were covered in disgusting filth, and it's mouth was open, revealing ugly, blood covered teeth. It was groaning and moaning and it's eyes just oozed, and he didn't know what to do.
Taemin was still screaming, still fighting against the thing that looked like it was trying to bite him. When he heard Taemin screech, "Hyung! HELP ME! HYUNG!" he finally was able to move and he grabbed the only thing remotely like a weapon that he could find - a garden hoe. His mother's garden hoe. She had just made him use it the other day when they had been out back, readying the ground for new plants. His mother loved to garden.
He swung at the thing and brought the metal down on it's arm, which easily fell right off onto the ground with a solid thump. Taemin broke away and ran towards the house, clutching his right arm tightly. Jonghyun didn't even look to see why his was clutching his arm and swung again at the thing, successfully hitting it in the head. It didn't stop moving for a while. Jonghyun had to beat it's head into a disgusting, gooey, bloody pulp before it finally stopped moving altogether. He dropped the hoe and, trembling, made his way for the back door. It took him a good 5 minutes to finally get inside, he was shaking so bad. He shut the door behind him and locked it, just in case, and slid down to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
When he finally stopped, he realized he needed to find Taemin and see if he was alright. He screeched, "TAEMIN?!" and ran for the stairs, hoping to find the boy safe and sound in Jonghyun's room. He was - but what he found wasn't what he had hoped to find.
Taemin was sitting on the floor, his back against Jonghyun's bed, and he was sobbing, not even bothering to wipe his tears with his hand. Both hands were covered in blood, and a t-shirt was wrapped around his upper right arm, which was also soaked in blood.
"Taemin, shit, Taeminnie." Jonghyun fell to the floor in front of him and wrapped his arms around Taemin's tiny body, bringing it to his. The boy nuzzled his face into Jonghyun's shirt and sobbed, harder than before. "Are you okay? Shit, what the hell was that? I don't... Taemin, we need to do something about your arm, what if it won't stop bleeding and you-" Jonghyun sucked in a deep breath and buried his face in Taemin's hair, breathing in his strong, Taeminnie scent. "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know, Hyung." Taemin whispered, bloody hands clutching his Hyung's shirt tightly. He shuddered. His body was turning weirdly hot. Feverish. "I d-don't know. I only wanted to g-go outside for a second. I t-thought I saw someone in the g-garden, and I did, but i-it wasn't... it wasn't what I t-thought it was. I'm sorry, Hyung. I'm so s-sorry."
"It's alright Taeminnie. I understand. It's okay." He smoothed back the boys hair and kissed his forehead. "I need to see your arm, Taeminnie."
"No, Hyung, it's bad. It's really b-bad." Taemin shook his head and clutched at the wound, wrapping his blood covered hand around it protectively.
"Taeminnie, just let me see it. I just want to help."
So he took Taemin and laid him back on the bed, and removed the soaked t-shirt as gently as he could. Taemin was shaking uncontrollably and his teeth were chattering, though his body felt boiling hot. Jonghyun was so scared. He tried to remain calm, but he had this feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach that Taemin had caught the virus. He was going to die and end up like that thing outside.
Jonghyun gasped at what he saw. There was a gigantic chunk of flesh missing from Taemin's arm, and he could see some bone. He tried really hard not to vomit, he really did, but seeing his best friend and love of his life like that, how could he not?
He quickly dove for his garbage can and let everything out, shuddering when he was finally done. He felt woozy and utterly fucked. Everything was turning to shit. They were done for. Taeminnie was going to turn into a monster, and then he would bite Jonghyun and they'd both be dead and fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to live together when Taemin graduated. They were supposed to become a couple when Jonghyun finally confessed. They were going to get married and adopt kids together.
That sure as hell wasn't going to happen now.
"Hyung," Taemin whimpered, and Jonghyun immediately scrambled to his feet and sat on the edge of the bed to see Taemin. Taemin's face had turned so pale, it looked like someone had dumped flour all over his face. His lips were a weird, dull color, and Jonghyun knew it was bad. It was really, really bad.
He started to sob and he clutched at Taemin's hand, somehow hoping that Taemin would get through this.
"Hyung, I'm so sorry." Taeminnie whispered, and he was crying too. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open anymore. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"No, I'm sorry Taemin, I couldn't protect you..." Jonghyun kissed the back of Taemin's hand and stroked the side of his face, pushing his bangs back from his forehead. The boy was shaking and his body was so hot that sweat was pouring down his face. "I'll make this right, I promise. I'm going to go get the first aid kit. Maybe if I find my mom's sewing kit I can try to sew that wound shut. I know I -"
"Hyung," Taemin looked up at Jonghyun with tear glazed eyes. They were wild, shifting around the room constantly, and when they finally landed on Jonghyun, Taemin had a really hard time just looking at him. He could feel something shifting inside him. He knew something was terribly wrong. "When I die, the second my eyes close and I stop breathing, I want you to sever my head from my body."
Jonghyun looked down at Taemin like he was insane. When he realized how serious Taemin was, he started to go hysteric. "Taemin! I can't do that! I can't, you can't ask me to do something that - that - "
"Hyung, if you don't, I'll come back and I'll kill you. I don't want to do that. Please, Hyung." Taemin sobbed and finally closed his eyes, shuddering from the pain. The heat was becoming even more intense. "H-H-Hyung,"
"Taeminnie, please, don't do this to me, I can't do this!"
"H-Hyung, I never told you b-but, I l-loved y-you. I loved you s-so much. I wanted us to g-get married." Taemin shuddered again and let out a quick, humorless laugh. "It's so ch-childish, I know."
"I wanted the same thing, Minnie." Jonghyun buried his face in Taemin's shirt and almost screamed. He couldn't take it. He couldn't lose his Taeminnie. "Taemin, bite me. If you bite me, I could turn too, and then would could be together after-"
"Hyung, don't say t-that. You saw that m-man outside. He wasn't l-like himself. After I d-die, I won't even recognize y-you. I'll just want to e-eat you. Don't say that." Taemin whimpered again and grabbed at Jonghyun's shirt. He needed something to hold on to, to hold him to his body. He felt like his soul was being ripped out. His arm was now oozing something weird, something green and it smelled of decaying flesh. "I w-wish I would have told you s-sooner. We could have b-been together."
Jonghyun's body wracked with sobs and he felt Taemin's little fists tighten in his shirt, his body shuddering once again.
"Hyung, g-go get a knife, p-please. I want you to d-do this. Do it for m-me."
"Taeminnie, please don't make me do it, please,"
"Do it for me, Hyung. Do it for me, because you love me. Do it because I love you." Taemin's voice sounded so strong and sure then. "I'm going to... I'm going to die, Jonghyun. I was going to die at some point anyway. Everyone does. Maybe I was meant to go this early. Maybe I'm leaving for a reason."
"Taeminnie, this was all a mistake, it-"
"Jonghyun, listen to me." Taemin opened his eyes for a second. He could barely see the outline of Jonghyun's face anymore. Everything was so blurry and gray. "I think this is happening for a reason. God is taking me away for a reason. Maybe you're supposed to find something else, maybe... Maybe you were meant to love someone else."
"No, Taemin, I will only ever love you, I could never-"
"Jonghyun, just let me talk." Taemin shut his eyes again and smiled to himself, and once again, Jonghyun started to cry. Sobbing, he sat up, away from Taemin. "I'm going to leave soon. I just want you to know that... I want you to love someone else. Someone better than me. Someone you were meant to be with. Clearly, we weren't meant to be." He chuckled a bit. His breathing was becoming more ragged. "Hyung, I love you. I really, truly love you. I'm sorry it happened this way, but I know it was meant to be." He opened his eyes once again and grinned at Jonghyun's sad, pouting face. He was covered in tears and Taemin couldn't help but think that his Hyung was cute. "I want you to kiss me now. Please, kiss me now."
Jonghyun swallowed thickly and shook his head, rubbing his hands over his face. "This... Taemin, you aren't going to die. You aren't. Stop it."
"Apparently, you can't see what's right in front of you." Taemin smiled again, which just broke Jonghyun's heart even more. "Well, I knew you would be stubborn. You're always so stubborn. Just the way I like my Jonghyunnie."
Jonghyun shook his head faster, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. He tried to keep the tears back. He really did. "Stop it Taemin."
"Kiss me, please."
Jonghyun opened his eyes and looked down at him, watching as Taemin's eyes fluttered open and closed, like he was truly fighting it. "Alright. I'll kiss you, but when you wake up, I'm going to tell you I told you so... And then we'll kiss some more."
Jonghyun knew Taemin would chuckle at that. His eyes finally closed again and he smiled widely. "I would like that."
Jonghyun leaned down and watched as Taemin's breathing slowed considerably. Jonghyun was going to lose him. He didn't want to acknowledge it, but he could feel it in the pit of his gut. He knew it. "I'm going to kiss you now."
"Please do." Taemin whispered, and it sounded like he was already too far off. Too gone.
So Jonghyun leaned down further and brushed his lips against Taemin's cold, cold, cold ones. It was sweet and light but Jonghyun didn't want it to be that way. He wanted it to be passionate and bruising and teeth biting at lips. This wasn't what Jonghyun had planned for their first kiss. He hadn't planned for their first kiss to be on Taemin's deathbed. He pressed his lips down a little harder against Taemin's and his chin started to quiver when he realized that Taemin's lips weren't pouted anymore. He wasn't kissing back anymore. Jonghyun's tears fell onto Taemin's cold, dark, lifeless face, and he just let himself fall against Taemin's limp body as he sobbed.
He just wanted to give up completely. Life wasn't worth living, when he truly had nothing left. But he wanted to live out Taemin's last wishes. He wanted to do it for Taemin.
So, somehow he managed to stumble his way down the stairs to the kitchen. He ripped the drawers open, throwing them angrily onto the floor. Once he found a good, sharp knife, he barely made his way back upstairs.
He sat down on his bed again and stared at Taemin's body for a while. Even with this weird green, smelly goo oozing out of Taemin's arm, he was still so beautiful. His lips were pursed in that cute, adorable smile of his. That smile that he now knew had been just for him. Jonghyun smiled down at Taemin and reached for his hand, and he held it in his, running his thumb over the edges of his knuckles. He lifted the hand to his lips and kissed Taemin's fingertips, one at a time, over and over. He leaned over and kissed Taemin's forehead, his cheek, the tip of his nose, and then his lips, once again. Taemin just kept smiling.
He sat there for a while, just staring and smiling and crying at Taemin, reliving their past memories together. Memories of sleepovers and parties and video games and nights when they laid awake, talking to each other until it was almost daylight again. Memories of laughter and memories of tears when Taemin's dad had left. Memories of Taemin's beautiful smile and his bright pink lips and his adorable aegyo.
He reached up and pushed Taemin's bangs back again, smiling down at the beautiful boy. It really wasn't fair.
And then Taemin's body twitched and his eyes opened and they were a dark, disgusting black. A groan broke free from his mouth and his lips parted, baring his teeth at Jonghyun. He moaned and reached out for Jonghyun, snapping his teeth at Jonghyun's arm. Jonghyun just stared until Taemin looked him straight in the eye and that's when he realized, it really wasn't Taemin.
That monster was not his adorable, loving, caring Taemin.
So he gripped that butcher knife tight in his hands, bringing it above his head, and he screamed as he brought it down, slicing at Taemin's neck.
By the end of it, Jonghyun's hands were covered in blood and Taemin's flesh, and Taemin's head rolled off the side of the bed and onto the floor with a sickening thump.
That was the last time Jonghyun had ever seen a human being.