3R [chapter 4]
Title: 3R [chapter 4]
Pairing: Chansung/Junho
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 3139
Author's note: @egle0702 thanks again for editing and noticing important things, that just prove how bad my memory is sometimes lol. Comment please!!!!
There’s a moment of silence before a rotten smell reaches Chansung’s nostrils and a menacing echo full of low growls and moans spreads from the darkness of the basement. Junho quickly joins Chansung on top of the stairs, both waiting for the inevitable. At least they’re dealing with the roamers; Chansung finds solace in that thought.
When they finally start pouring out of the basement, there seems to be no end to them. Just who and how got them in there? Or were they hiding in hope of being saved? Chansung wouldn’t know. He just does his best at aiming his gun and shooting their brains out with Junho doing the same beside him. There’s already a huge pile of dead bodies and some zombies stumble over them; however, they keep on pilling up like sand in an hourglass.
“I’m almost out of bullets,” Junho says as he shoots down another one.
“Me too.” With those words his gun stops firing. Seconds later, Junho’s in the same situation. “Okay, don’t let them get you. We can do this.” Junho nods.
The ones that manage to get upstairs are met with harsh kicks and if the fall doesn’t kill them, Junho makes sure to end their lives with a knife. Chansung can’t help, but admire how ferocious Junho looks, like a wild animal, but with a sense of control. How come he was the second-in-command with skills and a character like that? He has leader qualities.
They fight for the longest time kicking, stabbing, and breaking the dull bones just by using sheer muscle strength. Chansung himself starts to feel like a wild wolf, giving no second thoughts when it comes to defence. He notices Junho kill off the last zombie and they both look at each other, breathing heavily.
“Good job,” Chansung says, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. “It’s quite unbelievable that you weren’t a Team Leader. Were you really second-in-command?”
Junho wipes his knife into one of the zombie’s clothes. “They wanted me to be the Team Leader, but I didn’t want to be one.” He states calmly, surprising Chansung.
“Why?”
“It’s just... Maybe I wasn’t ready for it yet. Too much responsibility, I guess. That’s probably a cowardly thing to say.”
“And yet you’re still alive and kicking ass. That’s not something a coward would do. Though I must admit your decision is weird.”
“Yeah, perhaps my squad could have been united like yours and they would still be alive...” Junho looks down briefly, bringing a stinging feeling in the Sergeant’s chest. Junho has regrets and, obviously, he feels guilty. Each squad is different and a lot depends on the person leading it. Chansung comes closer to him.
“We all have our lessons to learn... And they aren’t always easy.” He touches Junho’s shoulder for a moment, making the latter look at him. “It wasn’t easy for us too. For me, it wasn’t a hard decision because I don’t have any close relatives, however, for the rest of my men it was a different story.” Chansung pulls back. “We all have sacrifices to make. It’s just how life is. Now, let’s go get those guns we fought so hard for.” Junho nods and they make their way towards the darkness.
Chansung motions to stop as an odd sound comes from the basement, but no one’s coming out. They turn on the flashlights, while stepping away from the daylight. The floor is slimy, probably covered in thick blood and whatnot. Clinking sound is getting closer and Chansung cannot remember when it was the last time he felt so much tension just by listening to a sound. The smell here is atrocious too, making it hard to concentrate.
Following down the corridor, they reach a corner and it seems like whatever’s causing the sound is right behind it. Chansung gets his knife ready and takes the important step, just to look at the scene in front of him. A frown appears between his eyebrows.
There’s the door leading to the weaponry room and a radiator with two children hand-cuffed to it. Chansung feels disgusted, seeing a few heavily damaged bodies beneath their little legs. Someone fed those little girls before they fled the building or died in the corridor. They start moaning and reaching their little fingers towards Junho and Chansung. Their hunger must be insane as one of them lurches forward so hard, her frail wrist is damaged by the sharp handcuff and her hand breaks apart, the little zombie girl finally becoming free. Chansung doesn’t hesitate anymore as he catches the child by the hair and pierces her head with the knife. Junho takes care of the second one, still attached to the radiator.
“You okay?” Junho looks back at Chansung.
“Yeah.” He motions towards the door. “Let’s get this over with.”
Junho uses his lock picking skills once again, hoping this is the last one he has to deal with for now. Chansung stares at the door, ready to grab everything he finds in there. There’s also a bad premonition that it might be already empty, however, Chansung bats those thoughts away. They had to deal with a lot of crap to get there, so it better doesn’t disappoint them. They still have to go back through the zombie corridor somehow.
The lock clicks and Junho stands up, while Chansung gets in a position to cover him in case there are hidden zombies too. He nods and Junho opens the door, but there’s nothing happening and, with a relief, they enter the ammo temple. Chansung’s jaw drops slightly when he sees the amount of guns scattered across the table, hung on the walls and placed neatly on the shelves. “Holy shit.” He hears an excited Junho and notices him holding onto something long.
“What’s that?” Chansung inquires with curiosity.
“That, Mr. Sergeant,” Junho unsheathes a perfectly sculpted sword and its blade reflects the flashlight, “...is my kind of a toy.” Chansung arches an eyebrow.
“You’re familiar with sword fighting?”
“Lock picking, needles, knives, swords... Let’s just say I’m a cold weapon type of guy.”
“Quite crafty, huh?” Chansung touches the blade. The steel is exceptionally well forged. “What were the odds we would find a weapon like this in here?”
“Right? Destiny.” Junho agrees and attaches the sword sheath onto his back. It fits perfectly.
“It’s hard to find a skilled soldier like you these days.” Chansung chuckles, while stuffing their bags with all sorts of weapons. It’d be nice to have a cart, but beggars can’t be choosers and they will have to deal with all that weight on their bodies until they reach Chansung’s squad.
“I’d say it’s a miracle to find a full squad like yours these days.” Junho smiles, zipping up a bag. “Seems like that will be all.”
“Good. Let’s head back to the guys.”
They walk back through the pile of dead corpses, heavy bags putting a significant weight on their bodies. They’re quite exhausted already after fighting so many zombies, but in the end it’s all worth it. Also, having someone like Junho on his team with great close combat skills always comes in handy. Especially when you’re out of bullets.
There’s a red X in front of them as they stand in front of the door that separates them from a bunch of zombies, and Chansung grins at Junho. “Want a kebab for dinner?” Junho raises his eyebrow, staring at Chansung questioningly. “I found a couple of grenades.”
“Sweet.” Junho grins too.
“Taecyeon?” Chansung contacts his squad member through an earpiece.
“Finally, we were starting to get worried.” There’s a hint of relief in Taec’s voice.
“Stay back from the door. I’ll throw in a grenade through that opening in the air duct to blow the zombies’ brains out.”
“Got it.” Taecyeon replies.
Junho stays away with the bags, while Chansung grabs a grenade and takes a good look at the air duct, calculating how far the grenade should go in. He then presses on his earpiece and warns Taecyeon to cover their ears. Chansung removes the safety pin and throws the grenade into the broken air duct where the tiny, but powerful weapon is supposed to drop on the zombie-infested corridor floor. Chansung runs quickly to where Junho is staying and just when he ducks and covers his ears, there’s a loud explosion. It feels like the walls and the ground are shaking, there’s dust everywhere and when Chansung looks back, he notices the door is gone.
“Let me go first, I’ll finish the remaining ones quickly with my sword.” Junho offers.
“Well, if you volunteer...” Chansung doesn’t object.
There’s a pile of limbs in the corridor, some of the zombies are still moaning, but there’s no real threat from dismembered corpses. Chansung notices the rest of his team on the other side of the corridor, making their way towards him. Taecyeon reaches the Sergeant first.
“How’s the situation outside?” Chansung asks.
“The crowd of the undead is increasing and with that explosion we probably got even more attention.”
“I guess we will have to find another way.” Chansung says and turns around with everyone following him to the corridor that leads to the staircase. “We probably should head to the rooftop to assess our options.”
The door to the rooftop is unlocked and when they go outside, they see dark clouds above their heads. “It’s going to rain soon.” Nichkhun notes. “It’d be great to leave this place with dry clothes.”
“Yeah, catching a cold would suck.” Seulong agrees while Chansung is looking around with the rest of the squad.
The building is 4 floors tall and for the most part it’s surrounded by zombies. Chansung stares at another horde approaching and purses his lips. If they are going to get out of here, they have to do it quickly. Taecyeon runs over to him with a toothy grin on his face. He’d better be bringing good news.
“On the other side, there’s a fire ladder. It’s a bit rusty, but it’s the only chance to get out of here.” He delivers the good news and Chansung pats his colleague’s shoulder.
They walk over to the said ladder and Chansung leans over to see what they’re dealing with here. The ladder looks quite fishy, but, like Taecyeon said, it’s the only way. There are not that many zombies over there as well, which makes using the ladder an easier choice. Everyone gathers up around him.
“Let’s distribute guns evenly for everyone. The guys who are still waiting for their turn down the ladder will cover those who might be attacked once they’re down. Taecyeon will go first; I will be the last one to leave this rooftop. Nichkhun, did you contact Joon and Seungho?”
“Yeah, they’re on their way here.”
“Good. Let’s go.” Chansung says and Taecyeon goes first.
The Sergeant feels the first drops of rain on his face, while shooting some roamers below the ladder. The rest of his team does the same, making it clear for Taecyeon to land safely. After him go Nichkhun, Minjae, Seulong, Junho, Wooyoung, Himchan and Namyong. It starts raining faster when Changmin’s turn comes up and as he goes down, there’s an alarming creek in the ladder, which makes him stop midway. Everyone looks at him concerned.
“Hey, drop your bag, we will catch it.” Taecyeon says and Changmin does so to become lighter. “Chansung, maybe you should do the same?”
“Yeah.” He says and drops the bag over the edge when Changmin lands safely.
The truck finally shows up, but with it more zombies show up too. Chansung has no time to spare as he holds onto the ladder. He’s heavier than Changmin and even without the bag the ladder seems to be wobbly and unstable. “First the air duct, now this. Just my fucking luck.” Chansung mumbles under his nose, moving down carefully, while his team fights off the zombies.
“Runner!” Someone yells and Chansung’s heartbeat spikes up.
He’s almost 3 floors down when it happens. Everything seems like a slow motion movie to him. When the ladder falls apart and he falls down with it, Chansung’s not so sure anymore about surviving this. His body is in a sharp pain and he feels a warm liquid dripping over his eye; everything all of a sudden seems so surreal. Chansung sees his squad members fighting off the undead and a zombie head falling right in front of his face. The way its neck is cut looks sharp, clearly made by a beautifully forged blade. Then, everything goes black.
***
The pleasant warmth inside the car is making Chansung yawn as his mother looks back at him with a smile. He smiles back and rubs his eyes, quite exhausted. It’s already dark and the sound of rain drumming against the car roof makes it harder for him to stay awake. Chansung’s eager to come back home; this summer trip lasted for almost 2 weeks. He’s so ready to hit his comfortable bed and play some video games.
“Are we there yet?” He asks, feeling drowsier and drowsier.
“Soon, sweetheart.” His father answers, fixing his glasses behind the steering wheel. “And mom will cook us something nice when we’re back, right?” That makes Chansung look expectantly at his mother, while his dad’s face is decorated with a smart grin.
“Can I get a banana milkshake?” His voice suddenly feels livelier.
“Only if you promise to give mommy a kiss.” She smiles back at him, putting a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear.
Chansung leans forward quickly, ready to plant a kiss on his mother’s cheek when his attention is caught by the headlights, going straight into their car. Then there’s an indescribable sound and everything’s gone.
***
Chansung’s eyes are wide open, his head is pounding and he feels lost for a moment, finding himself in a dim bedroom lit by candlelight. He hasn’t had that dream in a while and he wishes he could erase it permanently from his memory. Chansung’s vision is a bit blurry, but he sees an IV drip attached to his arm and when he tries to raise his head, he feels like he’s about to puke. Chansung groans, his head feeling as heavy as a bucket of water.
“He’s awake.” Taecyeon’s voice reaches his ears. Chansung turns his head slowly to see his subordinate standing beside the bed. There’s Nichkhun and Junho beside him and seconds later the rest of the men fill in the room. “How are you?” He sits down on the edge of the bed.
“Still alive, I guess.” Chansung raises his hand to touch the epicentre of the pounding on a side of his head. He can feel a few stitches. “Is everyone alright?”
“You’re like an inflated ball right now and you ask about the others?” Nichkhun chuckles. “Everyone’s fine, we managed to get out of there before shit hit the fan.”
“I must say we barely made it, however, we got really lucky with this samurai dude beside us.” Taecyeon makes everyone look at Junho, who looks slightly uncomfortable being at the centre of attention.
“Piece of cake,” he says shrugging, making some of the men chuckle.
“Great,” Chansung smiles and then looks back at Taecyeon. “How long have I been out?”
“Since yesterday.” Taecyeon removes the IV drip needle from Chansung’s vein and puts a plaster on it.
“Wow.”
“Yeah... You really got us worried.” Taecyeon says and Chansung realises just how important he is for these men. All of them put their faith in Chansung, they followed his lead and when the trouble stroke, Chansung was the one who needed saving. “We probably should stay here for a bit longer since your concussion is pretty bad.”
“We will see about that. Okay, enough about me, go back to what you were doing. Check the perimeter.” Chansung dismisses his squad and everyone leaves but Junho. “Hero of the day.”
“Come on, stop it.” Junho scratches the back of his head.
“Can you grab me a bucket or something, just in case?” Chansung moves up slowly while Junho finds a huge vase and places it beside Chansung’s bed. “Classy.” His feet touch the floor as he looks down at it. No vomit is coming up.
“Are you sure you want to move around?” Junho comes closer.
“I have to test my condition.” Chansung stands up, but he does it too fast and he feels extremely dizzy. Junho catches him in time, his arms wrapping tight around Chansung’s torso. The Sergeant’s still lightheaded, his face pressed into Junho’s shoulder, trying to stabilise whatever is happening with his shaken brain.
“I think you failed the test.” Junho’s voice sounds lower than usual, or maybe it just feels like that while being so close. Chansung pulls back slowly, holding onto Junho’s muscular arms. Junho’s skin glistens in this dim light and Chansung just stares at him only to realise that’s beyond the common courtesy line. Again.
“Sorry, it’s just really hard to concentrate without falling down.” Chansung takes a step back. “I really need to use a bathroom.”
“It’s fine. The bathroom’s just around the corner.” Junho’s expression is indescribable. “Do you need help with walking?” He inquires, moving closer to Chansung, but the latter waves his arm refusing the help. Maybe it’s just his head playing tricks, but the atmosphere feels thick somehow.
“I’ll be fine now, thanks.” Chansung turns around and makes his way to the bathroom, where a few candles are lit.
Chansung shuts the door, locks it and then stares at the mirror. God, he looks like a mess. But there’s a bigger mess within him. Why now? Chansung leans forward, looking at his spooky reflection. It doesn’t even make sense; feeling like this about someone he has just met? And in circumstances like this? Maybe he just needs to let some steam off; he hasn’t had sex in months. That must be it.
Chansung empties his bladder first and then sits down on the toilet, ignoring his own reflection. He will do it and all of this tension will be gone; he’s sure of it. Chansung grabs whatever lotion is resting on the counter and wets his fingers, placing them around his erection. It’s painful, but it feels good. His hand is moving quickly, fingers grasping tightly, bringing him closer to the edge as he bites on his own lip, stopping any sounds that might come from his mouth. It’s kind of shameful that he finishes himself so fast, but what’s even more shameful that when he’s done, he realises that the face he was imagining while pleasuring himself was the face he was running away from just seconds ago.
The painful pounding in his head becomes stronger.