SSS 2014: For siaht
For: siaht
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Before the Dawn
Pairing: Jonghyun/Key
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Authors’ Notes: I feel like I didn’t do your prompt justice, but I really tried my best, and I hope you enjoy it! It was fun to write, and I’m really sorry if it’s not what you were looking for.
Listening to the soft breaths of the sleeping boy next to him, Kim Kibum could almost imagine that the world was not fucked up beyond repair. The moonlight filtering through the broken windows shined beautifully through the glass, illuminating the room with shapes and colors that had long been forgotten in a world consumed by grey. Kibum let out a soft sigh as he adjusted on the plush mattress, noting just how comfortable it was.
This was one of the best strong-holds he had ever been able to hold down, and he wasn’t sure how long they could safely stay there. Despite being away from the city, the road is well-traveled, and there are bound to be hostile groups looking to ransack a place as nice as this. That was why Kibum broke the windows when they’d arrived and destroyed some furniture downstairs to make it seem as if all of the goods had been stolen away.
Tonight, there wasn’t a sound on the streets, not even the sluggish footfalls or labored breathing of the undead. Kibum could remember a time when the zombie apocalypse was a fantasy world lived out by millions through video games, comic books, television shows, and big-screen productions. No one had really been prepared for the horror of it all when the parasite struck, though, for no amount of pre-planning could prepare someone for the quickness of it all or from seeing their family and friends wither away as the parasite infested their brainstem and drove them to madness.
The zombies weren’t really the undead- the rotting flesh came from untreated wounds which festered with disease and decay. If it hadn’t been for the fact the hospitals had been the first system of society to collapse, humanity might have stood a chance.
Jonghyun let out a loud snore, and Kibum startled at the sound, reaching subconsciously for his gun that lay to the side until he realized that there was no threat that he needed to protect them from. It was difficult to let his guard down and sleep. Jonghyun had never had a problem with it, but Jonghyun had also been a member of a rescue operation before his teammates became infected and he was forced to flee. He was used to taking watch and trusting others in order to get some rest. But before Jonghyun, Kibum had no one. He had been braving the wasteland alone. And even though he finally had someone he could trust at his side, he couldn’t shake the feeling of paranoia that crept into his veins. He would just have to get some sleep in the morning when Jonghyun woke up.
- - -
It didn’t take long before supplies start dwindling in the small house. Jonghyun insisted that he would be fine going out for supplies while Kibum held down the stronghold, but Kibum didn’t want to let him go alone. In the end, however, Jonghyun’s stubbornness won out and he set off to restock on food, the one thing that they can’t afford to screw up on collecting. Food and water were both contaminated by the parasite. The only safe thing was canned goods marked with a date at least two weeks before the outbreak. It might be better to eat expired, molding foods than to eat something fresh and possibly contaminated. The problem currently is finding canned goods that meet the safety qualifications without running into trouble.
Jonghyun had a knack for trouble, ever since Kibum first met him. In fact, their first meeting consisted of Kibum saving his ass as he tried to outrun some very persistent zombies. It had pissed him off beyond imagination because Kibum had finally found a safe hiding spot in the infested city when Jonghyun had come running down the street leading the hoard straight to him. Kibum had hidden amongst the musty furniture which managed to hide the scent of living flesh from the bloodthirsty creatures.
But Jonghyun couldn’t just run by the building and let Kibum keep hidden. He had to catch his eyes through the window and lead him right there. If his aim wasn’t so horrible, Kibum might have blown his head off with the shot he fired, not as if he had wasted any time letting Jonghyun know that he had wasted a perfectly good bullet that didn’t even connect.
“You idiot! You lead them straight here!” Kibum hissed at him, standing up, nearly knocking over a chair nearby.
“Shh!” Jonghyun didn’t flinch at the cursing, just moved over and clamped his hand over Kibum’s mouth. The other man had half a mind to bite down on it, but the collective groans and awkward shuffling of feet had him petrified, frozen in spot. Kibum had never been a hunter in the game of life and death. His plan had always been to hide for as long as he could until the zombies dispersed or died from their festering wounds. As shown by how he missed Jonghyun’s entire body while shooting, he wasn’t the best at confrontation even though he tried to act tough.
That was why he found himself paralyzed at the thought of the impending zombies heading their way. And then it happened. At first it was just a tap, and then an eerie scratch that left Kibum’s ears feel as if they were bleeding. And then the hinges began to give way. Jonghyung cursed under his breath, loud enough only for Kibum to hear.
“Shit. On my count… Five… four…” the door broke. “One.”
Kibum screamed as the wood came crashing down. Jonghyun had already grabbed his arm and started running with him towards the back door. More zombies had started to gather there, but they were too slow to reach them. It didn’t stop Kibum from continuing to shriek as they ran together through the neighborhood, a hoard of zombies moving to try to take a bite out of them.
When they had finally stopped running, though at that point it had turned into a slow walk, night had fallen. Kibum was out of breath, his palms and knees were scraped, and he was sticky with sweat, his eyes bagged with the day’s exhaustion. He coughed and wheezed as Jonghyun let him go.
“You fucking dick… I had a good hiding place there and you ruined it for me! There was food and the house still had some water! I could have lived comfortably there for a few months!” That was an exaggeration. He would have been lucky to get a few weeks out of it.
“Their numbers were growing too large in that town. You wouldn’t have been safe,” Jonghyun frowned as he made his way over to a small building. “This is where I’ve been staying. You’re welcome to join me. I can tell you’re not infected.”
Kibum gawked at him as he looked at the small cabin. “Live here? In the forest? With no one around? No supplies?”
“I make trips into the town to get supplies,” Jonghyun opened the door to the small place, and Kibum knew he wasn’t lying. It was pretty well stocked for being so small. “I had run out of medicine though. That was really the first thing to go, wasn’t it?” he cocked a smile, but there was no joy in his eyes. “Luckily I found some. Your city really went fast, didn’t it?”
“Oh… that wasn’t my city. I was visiting family there,” family… what a strange word on his tongue now. He didn’t have that any more, and he couldn’t say he was used to that thought yet, either. Now that he was able to talk about it, he realized he had never gotten to give them proper burials. In fact, he didn’t know if their lifeless bodies were walking around the streets somewhere in his hometown or if they had dropped from exhaustion by now. He only knew they were gone.
“I see… I’m sorry,” Jonghyun offered the word of apology. Kibum might have snapped at him, but the look in the man’s eyes was wistful. “I lost the last of mine recently. My older sister…” he trailed off. “She drank infected water. I lost everyone,” Kibum had never had to witness his own family’s insanity, and he couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for the man in front of him.
Jonghyun reached into a small box of goods and pulled out a soda. “Here, have this. You’re with me now.”
Kibum took it from him. “… I’m Kibum, by the way.”
“Jonghyun,” the boy grinned at him. “My name is Jonghyun. It nice to meet you, Kibum.”
It was the first memory he had of Jonghyun, and he didn’t know it then, but he would grow to cherish it forever.
- - -
“Kibum! Kibum wake up!”
Kibum opened his eyes with a sudden jolt to his body. His throat contracted- he hadn’t realized that he’d been screaming. Tears filled his eyes and he reached forward, clutching onto Jonghyun’s broad frame. “Oh god, Jonghyun. I had the worst nightmare. I thought. I thought…”
Jonghyun watched him with a kind, steady gaze. “I’m right here. I’m right here. You don’t have to be afraid. We’re safe here,” even though he said the words with such reassurance, Kibum couldn’t help but hesitate to believe him. He had said those words once before, back in that same cabin. It was supposed to be safe being that it wasn’t close to society, but still they had been found. Their scent had been too strong for the undead craving what little living flesh still roamed the earth. They had attacked, and they had been forced to flee once more.
“Remember what I told you that night? Think, Kibum. Remember it…”
Kibum closed his eyes, trying to calm himself by taking large, steady breaths. Jonghyun was right. He couldn’t get upset, cry, or scream. Even if his mind liked to play tricks on him, even if it liked to play that night out very differently- he had to remember the reality.
- - -
It had been a long four months since he’d met Jonghyun. At first, things had been tense. Kibum wasn’t sure whether or not he should trust him once he’d calmed down from being chased, and Jonghyun didn’t seem to understand the concept of personal space. Many times during the night, Kibum would wake up to arms wrapped around him as Jonghyun snuggled up close. He’d complained at first, saying that one of them should keep watch, but Jonghyun had insisted that they were safe and that they’d hear anything coming before it got to them thanks to his ingenious traps. Usually, Kibum was too exhausted to argue with him.
There was also the problem of Jonghyun’s recklessness, the one defining trait that really struck out to the all too meticulous Kibum. Jonghyun liked to dive headfirst into things without thinking. Once, he’d gone out without telling Kibum, leaving the other boy to wake up with no one else around. A terrified Kibum had huddled in the corner and surprised a very proud Jonghyun (he’d gotten a large loot that day) when he’d pounced on him as he entered the room.
“You’re such a jerk! I hate you! Do you know how scared I was!?” he screamed and hit him several times, rather hard at that, as he sobbed and tears streamed down his face.
“Huh? What did I d-“
“You can’t just leave me here alone like that! I thought something bad had happened to you! I thought…”
“Kibum-“
“Don’t talk to me!” Kibum stormed over to the bed and flopped down on it, pulling the covers over his head.
It’d taken Jonghyun hours to console him and reassure him that everything was alright. Once he’d came out of his room, he’d hit him a few times for good measure to further scold him. This time, Jonghyun had grabbed ahold of him around the waist and pressed his face against the skin, murmuring an apology about doing better. Kibum tried pushing him off, but looking at the sad, dog-like eyes staring back at him had him rethinking his outburst, and before he’d known it, he was pressing their lips together, drinking Jonghyun in.
He smelled of pine and green tea, things Kibum had long forgotten after the invasion. Once he’d had a taste, he couldn’t stop. He’d rutted with him fervently against the moth-eaten sheets of the bed, waves of pleasure soothing the ache in his body and soul. He’d never guessed that he would one day get to experience the typical fantasy most people have. The fact that most people were now walking corpses probably had something to do with that, but here he was, lying beneath Jonghyun’s sweaty body, long legs wrapped around his lower spine as he was thrust into.
He mewled and Jonghyun grunted, hoisting him up a little higher off the bed as he reached his climax. Never before had Kibum thought a man was so beautiful, and here he was: Kim Jonghyun, a boy he had only known for a few months, a boy who was one of the last of the living, a boy who had protected him and kept him safe. He was the most perfect man Kibum had ever known.
And he was more terrified than ever of losing him.
Unfortunately, losing him is what almost happened. Not three days after Jonghyun’s most recent return from the city for supplies did the sounds of ghastly wailing and labored breathing fill the night air. It was all Kibum could do not to scream as he saw the face of death pressed against the window and heard the collective groans from outside the small cabin.
Jonghyun didn’t waste any time grabbing the emergency bag of supplies, hastily whispering to Kibum that this was not something they could wait out and hope that it would go away. They had to abandon their shelter and their home Kibum had grown comfortable in. Kibum, however, could only stare at the ghoulish mask, frozen in fear until Jonghyun noticed that he wasn’t moving. “Kibum, come on. We have to go,” Kibum still didn’t move. He couldn’t move. He remembered the dead look in his mother’s eyes as the parasite consumed her brain and the way she staggered towards him, grabbing him, trying to bite straight into his jugular as the hunger drove her mad.
“Kibum!” Jonghyun’s panic-stricken voice could be heard in the near distance, but Kibum wasn’t sure where it was coming from. He felt a firm grip on his wrist and he screamed, thrashing around. The thumps on the door only grew louder as the undead became agitated with the promise of the food that awaited them inside. He was being pulled to his feet, dragged around the room, and finally pushed out the door. And then his feet were moving on their own. He wasn’t sure how it was possible. He could see the trees fly by as he was pulled, felt the muscles in his legs tighten in pain just as the adrenaline began to kick in, heard the wind breeze past his ears. He could feel the unyielding grasp on his wrist, tugging him along, not giving him a moment’s pause. And the smell- oh he could smell the undead, the scent of those still living with rotting flesh and infected wounds, the sounds of their pathetic cries as they staggeringly chased after their meal.
And then he saw one, a poor lost soul with unseeing grey eyes that begged for death. It leapt at him as he ran, but something blocked it, and then there was a sound- a loud sound like a blast. He saw the thing recoil and drop, a bullet in its head. He stared up at Jonghyun who didn’t say a thing. Kibum had never felt more useless. All of the time he’d spent learning to use his gun, and he still couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.
“…We have to keep going,” Jonghyun breathed. “There should be another stronghold a few miles out from here if it’s not already infested,” his voice sounded hollow, and Kibum didn’t have it in him to pry.
They walked for what felt like an eternity until their legs gave out. They came across the scattered, decomposing bodies of those more fortunate than their brethren who still lived due to the parasite, but civilization there wasn’t. Jonghyun had spoken of rumors surrounding small cities of survivors, but he was too scared to go near them. He said he didn’t trust people any more, not when everyone was looking out for themselves. Perhaps, one day, when things began to stabilize, he would change his mind. But he couldn’t trust them not to go crazy and kill them.
Humans were no better than those “things” that chased them, he said.
“This place looks good,” Jonghyun came out of the abandoned building that they would now call home. With the dim light of day approaching, Kibum could see the wound festering on Jonghyun’s arm. He thought back to the thing-no- the woman that had leapt that them, her teeth bared, and he realized. “You’re bitten…” he grabbed Jonghyun’s arm. “No. No no no. You can’t die. You can’t. You can’t just leave me here after-“
“Kibum,” Jonghyun took his face in his hands, trying to comfort him as best as he could with the boy on the verge of hysterics. “It’s okay. I’m okay. We have medical supplies. I’m not going down from something like this.”
“But she bit you. The parasite-“
“I’m immune,” Jonghyun sighed. “And so are you. That’s why we haven’t succumbed to it,” he turned from him. “Even if they bite us, we won’t turn into them. I just have to make sure I don’t lose my arm at this point or I won’t be able to shoot a gun,” he sounded more upset about the inconvenience than about the fact he now had a festering wound to tend to.
“They can’t run as fast as we can,” they could barely walk, to be fair. “We’re going to be okay. I promise.”
“But-“
“No, Kibum. We’re going to be okay. You have my word. I’ll always protect you,” Jonghyun smiled the brightest smile Kibum had seen in months. It was more radiant than the rising sun, filling him with a new warmth and hope than things would be okay as long as they ran together.
- - -
Kibum looked at Jonghyun, his eyes slowly widening with realization as the memory flooded back to him, the terror of the nightmare beginning to leave his body.
“We’re going to be okay, Kibum. I promised you that. I always keep my word.”
The young man nodded. Even now that they had moved from city to city, tirelessly, losing track of time (they had both celebrated their birthdays together only recently), Kibum looked forward towards the future with hope. Every day that went by, it seemed that the groans grew fainter. Eventually, there would be none left, eventually, what was left of humanity would start over. But even so, he would stay at Jonghyun’s side.
“We’ll be okay,” Kibum repeated. “As long as we’re together.”
And as the sun rose through the window, Kibum found that for the first time in a very long time, he truly believed what he was saying.
Tonight, the nightmares would not come again.
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Before the Dawn
Pairing: Jonghyun/Key
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Authors’ Notes: I feel like I didn’t do your prompt justice, but I really tried my best, and I hope you enjoy it! It was fun to write, and I’m really sorry if it’s not what you were looking for.
Listening to the soft breaths of the sleeping boy next to him, Kim Kibum could almost imagine that the world was not fucked up beyond repair. The moonlight filtering through the broken windows shined beautifully through the glass, illuminating the room with shapes and colors that had long been forgotten in a world consumed by grey. Kibum let out a soft sigh as he adjusted on the plush mattress, noting just how comfortable it was.
This was one of the best strong-holds he had ever been able to hold down, and he wasn’t sure how long they could safely stay there. Despite being away from the city, the road is well-traveled, and there are bound to be hostile groups looking to ransack a place as nice as this. That was why Kibum broke the windows when they’d arrived and destroyed some furniture downstairs to make it seem as if all of the goods had been stolen away.
Tonight, there wasn’t a sound on the streets, not even the sluggish footfalls or labored breathing of the undead. Kibum could remember a time when the zombie apocalypse was a fantasy world lived out by millions through video games, comic books, television shows, and big-screen productions. No one had really been prepared for the horror of it all when the parasite struck, though, for no amount of pre-planning could prepare someone for the quickness of it all or from seeing their family and friends wither away as the parasite infested their brainstem and drove them to madness.
The zombies weren’t really the undead- the rotting flesh came from untreated wounds which festered with disease and decay. If it hadn’t been for the fact the hospitals had been the first system of society to collapse, humanity might have stood a chance.
Jonghyun let out a loud snore, and Kibum startled at the sound, reaching subconsciously for his gun that lay to the side until he realized that there was no threat that he needed to protect them from. It was difficult to let his guard down and sleep. Jonghyun had never had a problem with it, but Jonghyun had also been a member of a rescue operation before his teammates became infected and he was forced to flee. He was used to taking watch and trusting others in order to get some rest. But before Jonghyun, Kibum had no one. He had been braving the wasteland alone. And even though he finally had someone he could trust at his side, he couldn’t shake the feeling of paranoia that crept into his veins. He would just have to get some sleep in the morning when Jonghyun woke up.
- - -
It didn’t take long before supplies start dwindling in the small house. Jonghyun insisted that he would be fine going out for supplies while Kibum held down the stronghold, but Kibum didn’t want to let him go alone. In the end, however, Jonghyun’s stubbornness won out and he set off to restock on food, the one thing that they can’t afford to screw up on collecting. Food and water were both contaminated by the parasite. The only safe thing was canned goods marked with a date at least two weeks before the outbreak. It might be better to eat expired, molding foods than to eat something fresh and possibly contaminated. The problem currently is finding canned goods that meet the safety qualifications without running into trouble.
Jonghyun had a knack for trouble, ever since Kibum first met him. In fact, their first meeting consisted of Kibum saving his ass as he tried to outrun some very persistent zombies. It had pissed him off beyond imagination because Kibum had finally found a safe hiding spot in the infested city when Jonghyun had come running down the street leading the hoard straight to him. Kibum had hidden amongst the musty furniture which managed to hide the scent of living flesh from the bloodthirsty creatures.
But Jonghyun couldn’t just run by the building and let Kibum keep hidden. He had to catch his eyes through the window and lead him right there. If his aim wasn’t so horrible, Kibum might have blown his head off with the shot he fired, not as if he had wasted any time letting Jonghyun know that he had wasted a perfectly good bullet that didn’t even connect.
“You idiot! You lead them straight here!” Kibum hissed at him, standing up, nearly knocking over a chair nearby.
“Shh!” Jonghyun didn’t flinch at the cursing, just moved over and clamped his hand over Kibum’s mouth. The other man had half a mind to bite down on it, but the collective groans and awkward shuffling of feet had him petrified, frozen in spot. Kibum had never been a hunter in the game of life and death. His plan had always been to hide for as long as he could until the zombies dispersed or died from their festering wounds. As shown by how he missed Jonghyun’s entire body while shooting, he wasn’t the best at confrontation even though he tried to act tough.
That was why he found himself paralyzed at the thought of the impending zombies heading their way. And then it happened. At first it was just a tap, and then an eerie scratch that left Kibum’s ears feel as if they were bleeding. And then the hinges began to give way. Jonghyung cursed under his breath, loud enough only for Kibum to hear.
“Shit. On my count… Five… four…” the door broke. “One.”
Kibum screamed as the wood came crashing down. Jonghyun had already grabbed his arm and started running with him towards the back door. More zombies had started to gather there, but they were too slow to reach them. It didn’t stop Kibum from continuing to shriek as they ran together through the neighborhood, a hoard of zombies moving to try to take a bite out of them.
When they had finally stopped running, though at that point it had turned into a slow walk, night had fallen. Kibum was out of breath, his palms and knees were scraped, and he was sticky with sweat, his eyes bagged with the day’s exhaustion. He coughed and wheezed as Jonghyun let him go.
“You fucking dick… I had a good hiding place there and you ruined it for me! There was food and the house still had some water! I could have lived comfortably there for a few months!” That was an exaggeration. He would have been lucky to get a few weeks out of it.
“Their numbers were growing too large in that town. You wouldn’t have been safe,” Jonghyun frowned as he made his way over to a small building. “This is where I’ve been staying. You’re welcome to join me. I can tell you’re not infected.”
Kibum gawked at him as he looked at the small cabin. “Live here? In the forest? With no one around? No supplies?”
“I make trips into the town to get supplies,” Jonghyun opened the door to the small place, and Kibum knew he wasn’t lying. It was pretty well stocked for being so small. “I had run out of medicine though. That was really the first thing to go, wasn’t it?” he cocked a smile, but there was no joy in his eyes. “Luckily I found some. Your city really went fast, didn’t it?”
“Oh… that wasn’t my city. I was visiting family there,” family… what a strange word on his tongue now. He didn’t have that any more, and he couldn’t say he was used to that thought yet, either. Now that he was able to talk about it, he realized he had never gotten to give them proper burials. In fact, he didn’t know if their lifeless bodies were walking around the streets somewhere in his hometown or if they had dropped from exhaustion by now. He only knew they were gone.
“I see… I’m sorry,” Jonghyun offered the word of apology. Kibum might have snapped at him, but the look in the man’s eyes was wistful. “I lost the last of mine recently. My older sister…” he trailed off. “She drank infected water. I lost everyone,” Kibum had never had to witness his own family’s insanity, and he couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for the man in front of him.
Jonghyun reached into a small box of goods and pulled out a soda. “Here, have this. You’re with me now.”
Kibum took it from him. “… I’m Kibum, by the way.”
“Jonghyun,” the boy grinned at him. “My name is Jonghyun. It nice to meet you, Kibum.”
It was the first memory he had of Jonghyun, and he didn’t know it then, but he would grow to cherish it forever.
- - -
“Kibum! Kibum wake up!”
Kibum opened his eyes with a sudden jolt to his body. His throat contracted- he hadn’t realized that he’d been screaming. Tears filled his eyes and he reached forward, clutching onto Jonghyun’s broad frame. “Oh god, Jonghyun. I had the worst nightmare. I thought. I thought…”
Jonghyun watched him with a kind, steady gaze. “I’m right here. I’m right here. You don’t have to be afraid. We’re safe here,” even though he said the words with such reassurance, Kibum couldn’t help but hesitate to believe him. He had said those words once before, back in that same cabin. It was supposed to be safe being that it wasn’t close to society, but still they had been found. Their scent had been too strong for the undead craving what little living flesh still roamed the earth. They had attacked, and they had been forced to flee once more.
“Remember what I told you that night? Think, Kibum. Remember it…”
Kibum closed his eyes, trying to calm himself by taking large, steady breaths. Jonghyun was right. He couldn’t get upset, cry, or scream. Even if his mind liked to play tricks on him, even if it liked to play that night out very differently- he had to remember the reality.
- - -
It had been a long four months since he’d met Jonghyun. At first, things had been tense. Kibum wasn’t sure whether or not he should trust him once he’d calmed down from being chased, and Jonghyun didn’t seem to understand the concept of personal space. Many times during the night, Kibum would wake up to arms wrapped around him as Jonghyun snuggled up close. He’d complained at first, saying that one of them should keep watch, but Jonghyun had insisted that they were safe and that they’d hear anything coming before it got to them thanks to his ingenious traps. Usually, Kibum was too exhausted to argue with him.
There was also the problem of Jonghyun’s recklessness, the one defining trait that really struck out to the all too meticulous Kibum. Jonghyun liked to dive headfirst into things without thinking. Once, he’d gone out without telling Kibum, leaving the other boy to wake up with no one else around. A terrified Kibum had huddled in the corner and surprised a very proud Jonghyun (he’d gotten a large loot that day) when he’d pounced on him as he entered the room.
“You’re such a jerk! I hate you! Do you know how scared I was!?” he screamed and hit him several times, rather hard at that, as he sobbed and tears streamed down his face.
“Huh? What did I d-“
“You can’t just leave me here alone like that! I thought something bad had happened to you! I thought…”
“Kibum-“
“Don’t talk to me!” Kibum stormed over to the bed and flopped down on it, pulling the covers over his head.
It’d taken Jonghyun hours to console him and reassure him that everything was alright. Once he’d came out of his room, he’d hit him a few times for good measure to further scold him. This time, Jonghyun had grabbed ahold of him around the waist and pressed his face against the skin, murmuring an apology about doing better. Kibum tried pushing him off, but looking at the sad, dog-like eyes staring back at him had him rethinking his outburst, and before he’d known it, he was pressing their lips together, drinking Jonghyun in.
He smelled of pine and green tea, things Kibum had long forgotten after the invasion. Once he’d had a taste, he couldn’t stop. He’d rutted with him fervently against the moth-eaten sheets of the bed, waves of pleasure soothing the ache in his body and soul. He’d never guessed that he would one day get to experience the typical fantasy most people have. The fact that most people were now walking corpses probably had something to do with that, but here he was, lying beneath Jonghyun’s sweaty body, long legs wrapped around his lower spine as he was thrust into.
He mewled and Jonghyun grunted, hoisting him up a little higher off the bed as he reached his climax. Never before had Kibum thought a man was so beautiful, and here he was: Kim Jonghyun, a boy he had only known for a few months, a boy who was one of the last of the living, a boy who had protected him and kept him safe. He was the most perfect man Kibum had ever known.
And he was more terrified than ever of losing him.
Unfortunately, losing him is what almost happened. Not three days after Jonghyun’s most recent return from the city for supplies did the sounds of ghastly wailing and labored breathing fill the night air. It was all Kibum could do not to scream as he saw the face of death pressed against the window and heard the collective groans from outside the small cabin.
Jonghyun didn’t waste any time grabbing the emergency bag of supplies, hastily whispering to Kibum that this was not something they could wait out and hope that it would go away. They had to abandon their shelter and their home Kibum had grown comfortable in. Kibum, however, could only stare at the ghoulish mask, frozen in fear until Jonghyun noticed that he wasn’t moving. “Kibum, come on. We have to go,” Kibum still didn’t move. He couldn’t move. He remembered the dead look in his mother’s eyes as the parasite consumed her brain and the way she staggered towards him, grabbing him, trying to bite straight into his jugular as the hunger drove her mad.
“Kibum!” Jonghyun’s panic-stricken voice could be heard in the near distance, but Kibum wasn’t sure where it was coming from. He felt a firm grip on his wrist and he screamed, thrashing around. The thumps on the door only grew louder as the undead became agitated with the promise of the food that awaited them inside. He was being pulled to his feet, dragged around the room, and finally pushed out the door. And then his feet were moving on their own. He wasn’t sure how it was possible. He could see the trees fly by as he was pulled, felt the muscles in his legs tighten in pain just as the adrenaline began to kick in, heard the wind breeze past his ears. He could feel the unyielding grasp on his wrist, tugging him along, not giving him a moment’s pause. And the smell- oh he could smell the undead, the scent of those still living with rotting flesh and infected wounds, the sounds of their pathetic cries as they staggeringly chased after their meal.
And then he saw one, a poor lost soul with unseeing grey eyes that begged for death. It leapt at him as he ran, but something blocked it, and then there was a sound- a loud sound like a blast. He saw the thing recoil and drop, a bullet in its head. He stared up at Jonghyun who didn’t say a thing. Kibum had never felt more useless. All of the time he’d spent learning to use his gun, and he still couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.
“…We have to keep going,” Jonghyun breathed. “There should be another stronghold a few miles out from here if it’s not already infested,” his voice sounded hollow, and Kibum didn’t have it in him to pry.
They walked for what felt like an eternity until their legs gave out. They came across the scattered, decomposing bodies of those more fortunate than their brethren who still lived due to the parasite, but civilization there wasn’t. Jonghyun had spoken of rumors surrounding small cities of survivors, but he was too scared to go near them. He said he didn’t trust people any more, not when everyone was looking out for themselves. Perhaps, one day, when things began to stabilize, he would change his mind. But he couldn’t trust them not to go crazy and kill them.
Humans were no better than those “things” that chased them, he said.
“This place looks good,” Jonghyun came out of the abandoned building that they would now call home. With the dim light of day approaching, Kibum could see the wound festering on Jonghyun’s arm. He thought back to the thing-no- the woman that had leapt that them, her teeth bared, and he realized. “You’re bitten…” he grabbed Jonghyun’s arm. “No. No no no. You can’t die. You can’t. You can’t just leave me here after-“
“Kibum,” Jonghyun took his face in his hands, trying to comfort him as best as he could with the boy on the verge of hysterics. “It’s okay. I’m okay. We have medical supplies. I’m not going down from something like this.”
“But she bit you. The parasite-“
“I’m immune,” Jonghyun sighed. “And so are you. That’s why we haven’t succumbed to it,” he turned from him. “Even if they bite us, we won’t turn into them. I just have to make sure I don’t lose my arm at this point or I won’t be able to shoot a gun,” he sounded more upset about the inconvenience than about the fact he now had a festering wound to tend to.
“They can’t run as fast as we can,” they could barely walk, to be fair. “We’re going to be okay. I promise.”
“But-“
“No, Kibum. We’re going to be okay. You have my word. I’ll always protect you,” Jonghyun smiled the brightest smile Kibum had seen in months. It was more radiant than the rising sun, filling him with a new warmth and hope than things would be okay as long as they ran together.
- - -
Kibum looked at Jonghyun, his eyes slowly widening with realization as the memory flooded back to him, the terror of the nightmare beginning to leave his body.
“We’re going to be okay, Kibum. I promised you that. I always keep my word.”
The young man nodded. Even now that they had moved from city to city, tirelessly, losing track of time (they had both celebrated their birthdays together only recently), Kibum looked forward towards the future with hope. Every day that went by, it seemed that the groans grew fainter. Eventually, there would be none left, eventually, what was left of humanity would start over. But even so, he would stay at Jonghyun’s side.
“We’ll be okay,” Kibum repeated. “As long as we’re together.”
And as the sun rose through the window, Kibum found that for the first time in a very long time, he truly believed what he was saying.
Tonight, the nightmares would not come again.