#I have two main worlds with systems of magic but this is the one that most of my stories use | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

krushedstars · 10 days

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PAWNS IN THE COSMOS

‧₊˚ ┊synopsis ... in a world where your soulmate is chosen by you, you wanted to be sure you would be happy as you delve into the complex webs of love.

‧₊˚ ┊fandom ... jujutsu kaisen. ㅤㅤ‧₊˚ ft. ... geto x gn!reader, gojo x gn!reader. ‧₊˚ ┊au! ... soulmates, college. ‧₊˚ ┊genre ... one-shot. ㅤㅤ‧₊˚ content ... fluff, angst. ㅤㅤ‧₊˚ word count ... 5.1k. ‧₊˚ ┊cole's note ... yes, the uni bits were based on my personal experience, ignore that and enjoy ur reading ♡

How is a person defined?

Of course we can delve into personality tangents and unique character traits that only each of us possesses in a perfect combination of stars and magic. However, this alone is not enough. A person is created by more than mere looks and personality; there are dreams, each person's own ways, unique hearts that shine with specific colors conceived by each thought, each action, each desire.

A single personality is not enough to define a person – and all the gods knew this. And as such, a new system was created.

Numbers.

What else to define a person than the infinity of numbers that made up the universe?

All human beings were born marked with simple numbers that dictated their souls; from zero to infinity, passing through the infinities of decimals that each one had for having managed to acquire a body in that new world.

Stuck on the back of their necks, hidden by occasional hair and various clothes, the numbers became something sacred in that society; not only was it something that defined a person, that made them unique, but they were also the main factor in relationships and connections. The thing is, bored with the eternity of cosmic lives, the gods liked to create small games that helped them in the static passage of time – and what more exciting than guiding the various lost souls to their better half?

A soulmate was something primordial.

Created long before the first star was born, soulmates roamed the world hand in hand, their stardust unique to each pair created by the various gods. They were essences without bodies, united only by cosmic dust that insisted on cradling them in the eternities of time and space in the universe. However, just star and cosmic dust was something monotonous, without any substance of its own, without a body of its own that made everything much easier to see, to be marveled at.

Thus, the first humans were created.

A connection that was only felt by the universe, beautified by the stars and constellations that they made their homes, was now something tangible, something that could be seen, something that could be admired. And, since then, relationships began to blossom in the world according to the seasons, making all the love that was felt to be the cause of all the misfortunes and happiness in the world.

Every year, small letters with a specific number and initials appeared on the bedside tables of thousands of people, a hint to eternal happiness appearing in black tones on a white background.

For years, humans followed their cards, creating happy and fulfilled lives for centuries, never once contesting the appearance of neither their cards nor their veracity; the gods commanded, the humans followed.

“Eighty-three million, two hundred and twenty thousand, six hundred and seventy-four point one hundred and ninety-three.”

“What?”

Gojo placed his apple juice on the table and looked at his friend, intrigued by the numbers he recited so naturally.

“It’s their number.”

“Their?” Gojo raised an eyebrow and let out a small pretentious smile, knowing perfectly well who Geto was talking about.

“Their. I saw it yesterday when they got off the bus. It was very brief, but I'm sure that was the number.”

“And what do you intend to do with this life-changing information?”

Geto looked at Gojo for the first time since they sat at the bar table. A smile played on the brunette's lips, his dark eyes shining with the possibilities that danced in his mind.

He leaned forward, his chest almost touching the plate with his sandwich and, in a whisper too low for such a noisy space, Geto spoke in a soft and quite convinced voice.

“Write down this number and compare it to the one on my card.”

“Have you received your card yet?”

Gojo's question came out automatically, a trace of nervousness clinging to the various syllables, his blue eyes widening behind his sunglasses.

“Not yet,” Geto sighed and resumed his starting position, playing with some loose crumbs from his sandwich. “But I believe it’s coming soon. I don’t know how to explain it, but every time I look at them…”

The words that were going to come out of Geto died in his mouth without having a chance to see the light of day. Taken by a mystical force, a chance written by the cosmos, Geto raised his face at the exact moment you entered the bar.

You looked beautiful that day.

Favored by the beauty of that day, the sun's rays painted your smile golden; your eyes shone with the light of new experiences, your words sounding as delicate as the breeze that day.

You entered the bar without any worries, your laugh filling the space with the delicacy of its sound. You were with your group of friends, looking for a free table in that crowded bar for you to have lunch before your afternoon class. Your eyes scanned the compartment with some hope, a smile lingering on your lips after a joke from your best friend.

And then you noticed. In all that confusion, oblivious to your friends' conversations, too focused on finding a place to sit, you saw Geto looking at you. Static, without any thought beyond his eyes, without any reaction when you approached him, your smile expanding with each step you took.

“Hello,” you stopped behind Gojo, one of your hands resting on his chair as your eyes jumped from Geto to Gojo. “Ready for the test?”

Gojo put his hands on his head, ruffling some of his silky hair as he let out a small growl, which made you laugh. And what a laugh. What a melody sung by your lips that seemed to fill the entire bar, drowning out every sound that appeared there.

“I spent the night studying, but I couldn’t memorize anything,” Gojo's outburst was accompanied by a tired sigh, his body leaning back against the chair, making you let go of it. “I don’t think even a miracle could save me.”

“Think of it like this,” you walked to the side of the table, Geto and Gojo on your sides, your group of friends in front of you waiting for you. “It’s about the Bible. Jesus will be with you.”

Gojo gave you a small frown and picked up his apple juice again, giving Geto a little kick under the table.

“And you? Are you ready?” Geto spoke finally, holding his sandwich and taking a small bite as he waited for your response.

“What helps me is being able to take the Bible with me,” you confessed between smiles and winks. “But I’m confident. Our presentation actually went well.”

“The teacher liked it,” Geto set down his sandwich and looked at you. “I think we even make a good team.”

“And I wouldn’t give anything for you two,” you smiled as you gently ruffled Gojo’s hair. “Well, I'm going now. See you later.”

Geto followed you with his gaze out of the bar, the way your body walked excitedly towards your friends, the way your smile didn't leave your lips for a single second.

“Eighty-three million, two hundred and twenty thousand, six hundred and seventy-four point one hundred and ninety-three.” Geto repeated it again under his breath, his eyes still fixed on the bar door.

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“I can’t believe the teacher gave us more work,” Geto grunted, storming into his room. “Where do you want to start?”

He placed his Bible on the desk, throwing his backpack onto the bed. Gojo followed in his footsteps, throwing the book on the bed and placing the backpack on the floor, opening it immediately with a sigh.

“We can start with the document the teacher gave us…” Gojo’s voice was full of doubts and uncertainties, his hands frantically searching his backpack for his notebook. “We can read it and go from there.”

Geto didn't say anything.

Sitting down at the desk, the brunette turned on his computer and waited a few moments until his desktop began to glow in shades of blue and silver. “You start with the document and I’ll look for which books we need to study.”

Gojo nodded and, after making himself comfortable on his best friend's bed, he began to dive into the waves of knowledge in the document, reading and rereading concepts and terms, looking for something in the various lines of ink that could help him in his new work.

Geto, in turn, opened the web page, typing a few words before spending minutes opening and closing tabs, desperately looking for help. Beside him, the Bible was open, several sheets of papers and memory aids reminding Geto which books he needed to highlight and look deeper into.

Shrouded in stories and theories, the two friends didn't notice as the hours passed; Too focused on their work, taking some notes and highlighting the most important thing, Geto and Gojo disconnected from the outside world, believing that, the sooner they finished that work, the sooner they would free themselves from the academic responsibilities that gave them so many headaches.

The sun was slowly setting.

From Geto's bedroom window, the various street lamps began to shine with the certainty that a long night was approaching; cars and people retired to their homes at the end of a long day of work and in the sky, between the soft clouds and the dark blue expanse, several stars made their way to the earth, telling in their death endless stories of past memories and lives lived.

Geto stretched out in his chair. Putting down the computer mouse for a moment and looking away from the screen for the first time since he got home, Geto felt tired. Totally devastated by a complicated day in his life: the Classical Texts exam had gone wrong, no matter how many prayers were in the Bible, he knew that his grade would go down; the teacher, at the end of the exam, gave his students one last assignment in a week full of exams and presentations; and, to end the last ray of hope in Geto, that day had been another day in which he was unable to do anything other than admire you.

It had been almost two years, but Geto had simply withdrawn into a bubble of shyness that prevented him from functioning decently in front of you. He didn't understand why, but you had a power over him; like a spell, an enchantment that prevented him from functioning normally in your presence. It all happened so fast, he didn't even remember the first time he succumbed to your charms, but, once consumed by your unique, cosmic essence, he found himself trapped in a web of emotions that prevented him from leaving.

But now was not the time to dwell on you. Now Geto had an obligation to fulfill and, as much as he wanted to ignore it, he knew that his responsibility as a student had to be pleased.

“Do you want to order food?”

Gojo straightened up in bed, putting his pencil behind his ear, adjusting his sunglasses on his head. “I’m not very hungry…”

“But we need to eat,” Geto stood up with a small grunt, walking away from the desk and grabbing his cell phone. “I'm going to order some food and I'll take the opportunity to call Shoko to ask her for the texts for tomorrow.”

Gojo didn't answer him.

With tired eyes and a yawn trapped in his mouth, Gojo saw his best friend leaving the room, making the room plunge into serene silence.

Tired of studying, feeling a strong pain in his back, Gojo fell onto the bed, taking out his cell phone and starting to explore the digital world while waiting for Geto to return.

Gojo was freely lost among images and videos, reading loose sentences without any context, finding a bit of tranquility in the mess of others; Gojo's slender fingers moved across the screen with ease, clicking on images and links, allowing him to sink into a little peace before returning to work.

But no matter how involved he was in the digital world, that didn't stop Gojo from listening.

It was a faint, low sound, like the turning of a page; it was brief, lasting only a second, something too small to be noticed; but Gojo noticed, Gojo realized that something had happened, and when he sat back down on the bed and looked at Geto's desk, he saw it.

A small, white card rested gently on the wooden surface. It was thin, almost invisible from Gojo's point of view, but those dark letters, that black that adorned the card left no room for doubt: Geto had just received his card.

Gojo leaned forward, looking closely at the initials and numbers written on the card.

There was silence.

A dark silence took over Geto's room, leaning into every corner, refusing to leave through the door that Geto had left open. The shadows in the room seemed thicker at that moment, gaining a bit of dimension when seen from the corner of Gojo's eye; it seemed like they were watching him, trying to keep Gojo's actions in their dark corners, silently judging everything Gojo did, everything he thought.

But Gojo continued to look at the card, memorizing the initials and numbers, repeating them in his mind over and over again. Until he heard Geto's voice approaching the room and he let the shadows keep the secret he had just made.

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Geto was at the bus stop patiently waiting. Letting the sun warm him through the bus stop window, Geto faced the road with a smile on his lips.

Seeing students and teachers walking up and down the street, hearing the happy birdsong and feeling the cool breeze of the day on his face, Geto couldn't be happier at that moment. That day, it seemed as if the whole world had gained a new color, a new meaning, as if all the stars that made up the universe had arranged themselves especially to link Geto's path.

He was certain that in that day nothing would destroy his enthusiasm. Not when he held tightly to a small white card and waited patiently for a bus to arrive, for you to arrive.

It had been mere minutes since Geto arrived at the stop to see your bus arriving punctually at your building. Keeping all the enthusiasm he was feeling in a small box inside his heart, Geto approached you when you got off the platform, ready for another day of classes.

“Good morning!”

“Oh, good morning, Geto,” your smile painted constellations, illuminating the entire universe with a simple curve of affection and delicacy. “Were you waiting for me?”

“Eighty-three million, two hundred and twenty thousand, six hundred and seventy-four point one hundred and ninety-three.”

You stopped walking and looked seriously at your classmate. Confused by why those numbers were recited so passionately, you waited for Geto to continue his reasoning. Looking closely at Geto, you couldn't help but let out a small smile; there was something about his childish enthusiasm, his cosmic joy that made you feel at least the slightest bit comfortable.

“It’s your number, isn’t it?”

“And how do you know my number?” your smile had taken on a playful tone, not realizing where that conversation would lead you, or why he was having it with you at that moment. As such, and as always, you just waited.

“Because they gave me that number yesterday.”

Geto handed you the small card he kept in his hand. Curious about his words, you looked at that white piece of paper, seeing your number and initials in dark tones.

Y/N 83220674,193

You remained silent for a moment while you assimilated all that information.

In reality, you hadn't received your card yet, but you didn't care. In so many years of life, you have never had the need to get together with someone, to let the gods guide your destiny with a mere card; but that didn't mean you weren't expecting it. You were never a romantic by nature, avoiding cliché films and closing the books when the couple began to express their eternal love for each other; but that didn't mean you didn't want that magic for yourself.

The reality is that throughout your life you have had to worry about something more than the triviality that was love. From friendships to school, your entire life was made up of obstacles that prevented you from delving into the complex webs of romantic relationships that could have been.

But there it was. A card. Your number. Your initials. There was no denying it – Geto’s soulmate was you.

Still trapped in those complex numbers and the beautiful initials carved into the white of the card, your mind began to wander to a future that could exist, leaving you speechless, completely surrendered to the surprise of the event.

“You seem excited about that idea,” not knowing how to respond, not knowing how to act after that revelation, you tried to focus your attention on Geto, starting to walk into the building with your colleague always by your side.

“Just happy for the confirmation.”

“Confirmation?” You looked at Geto confused and he just smiled before opening the door to the building for you.

“I always knew it was you.”

You gave a small laugh that gently echoed through the interior of the building. “What made you so sure?”

“That’s what I felt.” Geto let a sigh escape him, his lips expanding more and more into the victorious smile he wore. “Since the first day I saw you.”

You looked curiously at Geto as you climbed the stairs to the second floor.

“I can't explain it to you, but from the first day I saw you, I felt something inside me change. It's hard to explain, but it's as if the forces of the universe were pulling me towards you. Many times, without meaning to, I was already looking at you and wondering how I could talk to you.”

Geto's words traveled seamlessly to your ears, collecting all the celestial magic they could grab along the way. Geto's confession appeared wrapped in the stardust of the sky that sheltered you, leaving you to smile shyly at your colleague's frankness.

Would it be true? All the words Geto said seemed too whimsical to be real, his honesty appearing like a small butterfly on warmer days, flapping its wings and simplicity with the lightness of someone who didn't care about what he said.

“Very well,” you said finally, opening the door to the classroom and giving Geto space to enter. “And what do you intend to do with this new information?”

“For starters,” smiled Geto, leaning against one of the desks, the one where you always sat, and putting his hands in his pants pockets, “I’m going to ask you out on a date.”

“What if I say no?”

You sat in your seat, placing your backpack on the table and looking at Geto with amusement.

“I will invite you until you say yes.”

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You wouldn't go as far as to say you were in love, but the truth was you felt something.

You would never think that agreeing to go out with Geto would bring you the avalanche of feelings that you started to feel. There was something about him. Something that moved you, that managed to reach your core and comfort your heart as if it were a blanket. You couldn't explain what it was, you couldn't explain what it was like, you just felt it. And it was something so unique and unusual that it consumed you every time you were with Geto.

Since the day you agreed to go out with him, your whole world seemed to have changed.

“Explain something to me,” Geto stretched as he sat in the chair. Leaning forward and resting his chin on his hand, he stared at you, eyes so bright and passionate that he made you feel important.

“What?”

“What do I need to do so I can be yours?”

You choked on the water. The words that Geto said hadn't crossed your mind, taking you by surprise.

You coughed once, twice, three times, placed the glass of water on the table and looked at Geto, your eyes still shining with the tears that had formed seconds ago.

“What?”

“I just want to know,” his smile was infectious. Whenever Geto looked at you, he smiled, a smile that spread across his face and made him more beautiful, more brilliant, as if that curve of his lips were the only detail about him. “We have already gone on several dates. We already know each other well. What is missing?"

You stared at Geto.

In fact, you felt something every time you were with Geto, your heart growing warmer with each moment shared with him. But that something was indescribable, you couldn't understand the nature of that something. What was it? How had it come about? Why did it torment you so much every time you were with Geto?

Yes. You could ignore it. Just take yourself in the comfort of that feeling, and allow yourself to enjoy a little of the tranquility that that feeling offered you. But there was something about that feeling, there was something that made you feel nervous. Maybe it was because you were happy and it had been years since you last felt so carefree and light; maybe it was because you couldn't explain what you felt, the lack of words and descriptions leaving you delirious. You didn't know exactly what it was. You just knew you weren't ready.

“I'm waiting,” you let out a small smile, looking at the water in the glass and thinking deeply about that something attacking your heart. What was that?

“For a formal request?” Geto let out a small laugh, so beautiful and melodious that it made the authenticity of your smile change tones, the small line becoming more real with that laugh. “I can kneel here right now and ask you to be yours.”

“No,” now it was you who laughed, holding Geto's hands when he made a move to get up. “Don’t you dare!”

“So what do you want? Tell me and I’ll give you anything.”

“My card.”

You whispered your confession a little nervously, letting your voice get lost in the university bar.

Geto looked at you, the smile that beautified him so much gently fading as he thought and repeated your words in his mind. Your card. Your card? Why were you waiting for something you already knew? What did you want to find in your white piece? Why was confirming a number so important to you? Didn't you feel your connection? Didn't you feel how your souls were interconnected for generations and eras, your essence existing on the same star before inhabiting the human bodies that held you back from expressing your true love?

“Why?”

Geto's voice had changed tone. Before playful, sprinkled with passion and affection, it was now serious, monotonous, without any feeling attached to the intonation of the syllables.

“Just…” you continued to stare at the glass of water, too embarrassed by your whim, thinking that your request was a betrayal for Geto. “I just want to be sure.”

Geto looked at you without showing any emotion. His bright eyes were now opaque, focused on your figure, studying your posture; his lips were in a straight line, too tense from the conversation to be able to express a mere smile.

Finally, he took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and putting his hands in his coat pockets.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll wait.”

Geto's words gently lifted your chin, finally looking at him, seeing a small, shy smile on his lips, filled with a small sadness, wrapped in understanding.

“Tell me your number.”

“Sixty-nine point zero, one, six, zero.”

“…six, zero,” Geto’s number was now saved on your cell phone. You were smiling, believing that that exchange of numbers could be the last drop to fill the glass of your doubts – it had to be him, you felt it.

Geto got up from his chair, smiling and offering you his hand.

You put your cell phone away and held Geto's hand, feeling his warm, thin fingers intertwine with yours, gently pulling you out of the bar and taking you through the city's flowery paths to your house.

Saying goodbye with a kiss on your forehead, Geto watched you enter your home, the smile he still wore being painted with love and complete devotion – how he loved you.

You sighed when you entered the house. You were tired. Classes were becoming increasingly demanding and, with the semester almost over, the pressure only increased.

You placed your hands on your shoulders and pressed down hard as you walked to your room. Your back was burning, a fog of anxiety was clouding your mind, your feet were asking for a moment of rest.

You threw yourself onto the bed, leaving your backpack at the bedroom door. You were exhausted, you couldn't even open your eyes. Ready to get some sleep before studying, you took your cell phone out of your pants pocket and placed it on the bedside table next to the white card.

The white card.

As if pinching you with electricity, the card woke you up to reality. You quickly sat down on the bed, holding that piece of paper in your hands. Finally the confirmation, finally the key to your happiness.

S.G.

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You abruptly pulled Gojo into an empty room. After closing the door with some force, you faced your friend who looked at you confused and a little worried.

“What…”

“You should have told me.”

You cut Gojo's words without any difficulty, throwing your card at Gojo, he fumbling to catch the lightness of the paper.

You were upset, completely furious. Your heart pounded with the knowledge of that betrayal, forcing you to look at Gojo with angry eyes and trembling lips.

“What happe…”

“Look at the card,” you didn’t want to shout at Gojo, it wasn’t in your nature to speak loudly to other people, but at that moment, totally consumed by all the emotions that arose in your heart, you couldn’t control your tone of voice, your words coming out louder than intended. “Look at the card and explain to me why you didn’t tell me!”

Gojo's blue eyes looked at you nervously, the glow that embellished them giving them a fear that was completely unknown to him. It took a while. He was still assimilating your words, repeating them in his head, trying to understand what you specifically meant. But, when all the dots connected, when your anger became justifiable and the card essential, Gojo quickly looked at the card, letting out a small curse when he saw the initials and numbers that adorned the white piece of paper.

S.G. 2430.1872

“I can explain…”

“I don't believe it. It is really you! You switched the cards!”

You let out a fake laugh, turning your body to face the door in an attempt to calm down. After taking a deep breath once, twice, three times, you looked back at Gojo, who now had a look of determination that didn't match your conversation.

“He loves you.”

“He’s not my soulmate,” you couldn’t explain, but your eyes started to water. Anger? Despair? Betrayal? What emotion did you seek from the turbulent sea that shook your heart to make you want to cry?

“That doesn’t invalidate the fact that he loves you.”

You shook your head, your lips forming a fake, angry smile, painted with the turmoil that existed in your heart. “You know perfectly well it does.”

“Listen,” Gojo approached you, the card held in one of his hands, his sunglasses almost falling off his head. “You like him. It's noticeable! The way you look at him, the way you shine when you're with him. You…"

“No!” you shouted without realizing it, snatching the card from Gojo's hand and waving it in front of his eyes. “You are my soulmate. It's you I have to stay with. You are the one I have to love.”

“No. No! No!” now Gojo was also shouting, desperate to make himself heard, wanting to explain himself at all costs. “You don’t have to keep yours…”

“You know perfectly well what happens to those who don’t stay with their soulmate.” Sadness. Hurt. Suffering. Grief. Years of pure despair. Years of nothing but anguish. “Do you really want him to be like that? Consumed by the negativity of the universe?”

“How,” Gojo laughed, a little insane with your argument, taking his hands to his head and taking off the glasses that made him feel weird. “How is he going to be unhappy if he has loved you since the first day you met?”

“Feelings come and go,” your tone returned to normal, your gaze now trapping Gojo in a box with no escape, your conversation turning from despair to frustration. “He wouldn’t be happy with me.”

Gojo looked at you furious with your deaf ears. You looked at Gojo irritated by his empty words.

The door opened.

Geto entered.

“I heard screams… Is everything okay?”

Geto's eyes jumped from you to Gojo. He was confused, he didn't understand why you were alone in an empty room screaming. On the other side of the door, Geto hadn't been able to understand the nature of your argument, but now looking at you, he knew it was something serious.

“Tell him.” Your eyes finally got tired, the first tear sliding easily down your face, taking with it a bit of the sadness of reality. “Tell him, Gojo.”

“Tell me what?”

Now Geto started to get nervous. What had happened between the two of you to create such a tense atmosphere? How did the two of you, the ones who were always joking with each other, the ones who knew nothing more than laughter and smiles, how did the two of you end up screaming and crying?

“Tell him how I will never be happy with him because I am destined to love you.”

ㅤㅤ‧₊˚ feedback is appreciated ♡

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dduane · 7 months

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Re: Magic systems

kosmonaunt asked:

I have the weird hyper-fixation of wanting to know all their is about The Speech and just how everything works!! I love learning about how power systems work, and it helps since I’m trying to develop my own. I’m always stuck on soft or hard magic systems. Since I don’t know all there is to really know about my system. Do you have tips on crafting magic systems? How do you feel about someone being inspired by pieces of your system?

Inspiration is fine! What you want to make sure you do with whatever inspires you, though, is to work hard to make your own take on it different from or better than what you borrowed. Around here we refer to this as "the magpie principle:" if you're going to pick up and play with/make off with a bright and shiny idea, you need to be working to produce something even brighter and shinier as your part of the "exchange". Whether or not you succeed at this (or can succeed), either sometimes or never at all, isn't the point. The point is to always be trying.

As regards building magic systems: there were three different ones in the foreground or background of my first novel alone—all of them with features that at this end of time I can recognize as being inspired by elements of magic systems in other writers' work. But by the time I'd more fully developed them, each had become something unique. The system I'm probably better known for—the system based on the wizardly Speech and its use—sprang more or less automatically from the increasingly complex answers to the question, "What if there was a manual that could tell you the truth about/the secrets of what makes the world go?". (Because once you answer one question, another pops up. "Where did that manual come from? What're you supposed to do with it? What's wizardry for?" Etc., etc.) I've spent the last few decades, on and off, answering that question in ways that (intentionally) mirror the main characters' exploration of the art of wizardry, and what it means to engage in the business of errantry in a world that mostly thinks wizards are a fairy tale.

Before getting into describing my own approach to building a system, I needed to take a little time to look around and make sure I knew what you meant when you mentioned hard and soft magic. My best guess is that you're referring to what a lot of people are calling "Sanderson's Three Laws of Magic" (fairly enough, as Brandon calls them that himself). I had a look, and have come to the conclusion that they're more general guidelines than laws... as in each of his three essays on the subject, Brandon no sooner names his basic laws/principles than he starts punching holes through them to make room for systems that don't follow them rigidly. (And frankly I find this kind of endearing.)

With his first one, in particular, I have no quarrel at all: the concept that in one kind of magic, which for his purposes he defines as the "hard" kind, rules are extremely important. (Which is why I'm kind of horrified that he apparently got dogpiled about this take on a Worldcon panel, because to me it seems so intuitive. Some of the best fantasy storytellers I know, like this one, would agree with him.) Then later he gets on to the equally valid ideas that limitations on magic are really important, and that culturally interconnecting multiple systems is useful; and here too we're in agreement. This is reassuring to me, considering that I built my first four systems—all of which feature approaches resting on similar concepts—while Sanderson was between four and six years old. :)

People using Sanderson's Laws will look at the three systems in the Middle Kingdoms books and classify them as varying sorts of relatively hard magic, with their power rooted in two or maybe three different sources. (The blue Fire is a gift of the Divine, nearly lost since ancient times and much damaged, but now slowly being recovered: sorcery is a language-based art in which no one's terribly sure where its power comes from: and the so-called "royal magics" probably started out as a blood sorcery that over centuries was shifted toward very specific uses by the power of the demigod-descendants who employed it.)

The Young Wizards novels, though, feature an extremely hard magic deeply rooted in science and (more or less under the hood) very, very rules-intensive... while its power relies on correct use of the language used to create the Universe, and the active cooperation of the Powers still busy about that work. And this is the reason why, though people are going to naturally be curious about the Speech itself, no one's going to hear very much from me about its actual words.

This is because the Speech is canonically described as so powerful that its use is something you can feel in your body and mind (and theoretically your spirit): bone-shaking, life-changing, unmistakable. And there's no way that made-up words on the page can realistically be expected to evoke physical sensations like that in the reader... or like the sense of the universe going silent around you, leaning in to listen, as you speak your spell. The careful writer knows that it's unwise to attempt to produce responses in the reader that, when they fail, will only emphasize how that thing is not happening, and stands a good chance of shattering the illusion one’s trying to weave.

So a Speech-word gets dropped here and a phrase there, but no one's ever going to get enough of it out of me to try to build a spell. Readers are better at doing that work for themselves in their own heads, out of hints and whispers. Over ten books and their interstitial material, there are plenty of those scattered through the text: not to mention the most basic principles of wizardry, which are laid out before the end of the first chapter of the first book in the series. So I'll leave you to get on with deducing what you can from canon.

Meanwhile, if I was about to build a new system, I'd look at my main characters—in the setting of their home cultures—and ask myself for answers to these questions:

What do they want more than anything?

Why can't they have it?

What kind of power will help them get it?

When they do eventually get within reach of the power / the desired thing... what will its achievement cost them?

And will they pay the price?

...Because the payment of such prices is where you find out what your heroes are worth. (Or aren't.) The above arc succinctly describes, in broad strokes, both The Door into Fire and So You Want To Be A Wizard, and a good number of the books that follow them. (Because why abandon what works, or try to fix what's not broken?) :)

With answers to the questions above you can start feeling your way toward what you need—always looking closely at the cultures your characters spring from, and how those cultures will shape their response to the magic they seek. (Or that finds them.) Maybe it's no surprise that the preferred arc structure of a writer who was a psychiatric nurse will be deeply involved with questions of motivation: because motivation is at the heart of almost all human behavior. Find the motivation and you find the character's heart—and, often enough, what kind of magic they need to make their desire and intention overflow into triumph.

...There are quite a few "How to design your magic system" pages out there. You might glance at these to see if there's anything useful in them for you:

How To Build An Amazing Magic System For Your Fantasy Novel

How To Create A Magic System In Six Simple Steps

Building Your Magic System: A Full Recipe

How To Create A Rational Magic System

However, my favorite is the "So You Want To Write A Functional Magic System" page at TV Tropes, which is nicely arranged yet also completely nonprescriptive—a pick-'n'-mix jar of prompts, things other writers have done that've worked, and generally useful ideas. (And try not to vanish too far down the many interconnected rabbitholes...) :)

Now get out there, build the world, and make the magic(s).

#magic systems #building magic #magic #writing advice #fantasy

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goldiecastelia · 1 month

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WHY ARE THERE SO FEW SHŌGUN (Not just romance but any kind) FANFICS!?

Like, the series is incredible, I'm grateful that my stepfather introduced this wonderful series to me, and in my opinion, the main couple is great (and sad, very tragic), but it's scary how I had to struggle to find a Mariko x John fanfic relay (does anyone have a name for this ship? I thought of something related to the sea, but I'm not sure), and with the current four episodes, it is now possible for the fanfic writers's troubled minds to create a fanfic of at least two thousand words, seriously, they deserve it! I can think of possibilities, like, what if it was an alternate universe?

What if Mariko ended up in England for God knows what? I really don't know why I thought this, just that it would be a very sudden role reversal.

What if Toranaga had appointed her to be John's consort? I mean, the moment Buntaro died, a widow was born, in this case, Mariko!

What if she was married to someone other than Buntaro? I wish she wasn't married but knowing ancient Japan as it was...

What if Fuji's husband and baby hadn't died? I mean, damn that scene made me cry, it was a little baby, I wish I could change that.

What if Mariko's father hadn't died? I know we know almost nothing about him at the moment, but moments of reflection.

What if (again, alternate universe) there was magic involved in the story? I mean, it's ancient Japan, this is the perfect time to let your knowledge of Japanese legends run wild!

If John had done something and been able to recognize Mariko in the dim light of their night in their room?

What if Mariko ended up sleeping there and he woke up and confirmed it was her?

What if it took place in the modern world? I don't know about you, but I love fanfics that portray a modern setting, it's really cool, for me, Toranaga would almost end up being a politician!

What if (this one touches on the system of power, hierarchy and structural status of women in ancient Japanese society) Mariko had a higher position and was someone even more trustworthy than Toranaga?

What if John and Mariko had met before (through misfortune or any other factor of fate) and had some relationship? Like in a theater!

I literally developed an entire story from scratch just to make these two have a daughter (her name is Umi — I haven't decided if I'll keep that one yet — she has blue eyes, wavy hair and is completely Japanese, a Mariko's mini copy) and develop a whole material with this chaos! I know that the story is focused on politics, and not on romance, I know, but you can never dream too much and I like it when you know how to keep the fragile line of politics-romance well. I just hope there are more fanfics about them, I need fanfics about them!!

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alpaca-clouds · 21 days

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How to make a "world" more accessible

Let's talk a bit about accessible worldbuilding. I am thinking here first about Solarpunk worlds, but also about other scifi and fantasy worlds, that often do not think about this at all. Again, there is this nasty tendency to just assume that there are no disabilities in those worlds - and it leaves disabled people often feeling left out.

One of the most basic accessibility features one would expect to see in a world would be some sorts of ramps. And don't get me started with "oh, in my world wheelchairs fly!", which is something that actually not all folks reliant on wheelchairs want - as the actual hand-moved wheelchair often gives them a certain control.

It should also be noted that ramps help not only wheelchair users, but also people with baby strollers, and folks who might use other mobility aids like rollators. Heck, in my life ramps have also helped me, when I was travelling with a large trunk. Really, ramps make life easier for a lot of folks! Heck, if we think about a solarpunk world, where hopefully a lot of folks would get around by bike, ramps would help as well.

Of course, in some cases (if feasible in the technology level) there might also be a need for some sort of elevator. Again, not only wheelchair users will make use of that.

Another thing that should help, would be a wider usage of stuff like orientation systems for blind people. Currently those things are fairly spotty. Like some places have them, other places don't. And even where they are implemented, a lot of folks do not know what they are and will walk over it and park their cars on it. Stuff like that, which will once again make stuff more dangerous and inaccessible for blind people.

Then there should more accessibility accomondations for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Those could mean to install visual signals for warning systems, which often currently are mainly auditory. It could also mean a wider usage of stuff like subtitles if possible in the world. And it also could mean that in the world people are more encouraged to learn sign language.

But those are the obvious disabilities. The stuff folks think off first when they hear "disability".

But there are other disabilities. Personally, for example, I do have some issues with my bowels. So what would be important to me is easy access to toilets whereever I move around. Which also is to say: Yes, dear public transport. Not having a single accessible toilet in your fucking train is an accessibility issue and ableistic.

Or the one accessibility aspect that has slowly been taken away recently due to hostile architecture: Benches and other places in public to sit down on. Because a lot of folks just cannot stand/walk for a long while. This is true for old people, and recently increasingly too for folks disabled through COVID.

There is also the need for shaded areas. As there are several disabilities that do not deal well with direct sunlight. Be it people who react allergic against sunlight, be it people whose eyes cannot deal with too much light, or be it people who might just struggle with their circulation when in the direct sun for too long.

And then there is allergic people. Which is also a big chunk - and in some cases can be quite debilitating. And I might remind people: In a fantasy or scifi world there might be people allergic to some of the worldbuilding stuff. Like in the Witcher Triss is allergic against magic, and in the nice sapphic webcomic Always Human one of the two main characters is allergic against bio-implants. Hence, ideally in an accessible fantasy/scifi world it would be easy to access what kinda stuff is in a potion and what not, to allow folks to be safe.

Lastly, of course, there are neurodivergent folks and... about that I am going to talk tomorrow.

Oh, and by the way: If you are disabled and have ideas of how the world could be more accessible for you... Please feel free to add!

#scifi #fantasy #science fiction #worldbuilding #disability #disability rights #accessibility #mobility aid #blindness #deafness #hard of hearing #allergies #invisible disability #solarpunk #lunarpunk

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yunarim · 8 months

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╰┈➤ summary : you and your reliable partner grim are the most famous interdimensional travelers under the Official Isekai Association. you're used to traveling into psychological thrillers and horrors. however, this time something goes wrong, and you suddenly turn into the protagonist of… an otome game?!

— characters : jade leech, leona kingscholar | kalim al-asim, azul ashengrotto | lilia vanrouge, idia shroud

⌞tags⌝ : gn reader, fluff at times, occasional angst, typical manhwas tropes, mention of a typical isekai manhwa death by truck hit... yeah, you go from the first route to the last (from jade to idia), hence the parts are connected — w.c. : 4.6k+

⌞notes⌝ : i've been reading too much isekai mangas/manhwas lately and here we go lmao. also forgive me for not writing for so long, i've been experiencing a huge burnout ;; i originally intended to write for dorm leaders but then gave it a second thought and came up with another plan hhhhhh i hope i'll manage to finish other chapters on time but pls be patient with me, i'm preoccupied with too much work lately 😭😭

You sigh and stretch out your hand, looking at it while lying on the bed, and wonder, how in the dimension did you manage to land in an otome game realm. You heard your colleagues complaining how annoying those can be, not to mention many of you forgot about romantic relationships long long ago—when you probably got hit by a truck in your original world?—and to think you somehow appeared in a world which didn’t belong to your department.

Your specialization was horror and psychological thriller stories, and even if you possess no magic (which is strange, given after transmigrating for so many times, you don’t remember getting magic abilities at least for once, but whatever), you’ve got an excellent, strategic mastermind. And if something dangerous happens, you have your partner and friend, Grim.

“It’s been a while since we’ve isekaed into a high school setting,” you say to yourself, system windows appearing before your eyes.

“Main goal: TO GET A HAPPY ENDING WITH *name*!!”

Ah really…

You set a reminder and throw a quick glance at already fallen asleep Grim before going to sleep yourself. If you can’t escape the world until you complete it, then so be it.

“Event: TO BECOME A SCHOOL COUNCIL PRESIDENT: success!!”

One mention of a school student council you’ve encountered in many worlds (though possessing not really sweet memories of dealing with many psychological intrigues and schemes), and the local headmaster named Crowley happened to be fairly overjoyed and excited to proclaim you as a council’s president, much to everyone’s indifference chagrin.

You were quite surprised to realize that the school that large didn’t invent such a common structure. On the second note, it was easy for you to operate and deal with information provided through leading the council. Much to your chagrin this time, you needed to pick a route to escape this world.

It was an otome game. You couldn’t care less at first, assuming you and Grim landed in another horror, however a fantasy atmosphere lingering everywhere made you two slightly confused. And the conclusion was made right after you saw heart-shaped indicators above six people’s heads.

“Do you remember what our colleagues told us about otome games?..” You asked Grim, sitting in the auditorium that Crowley assigned as the Council’s room.

“Nah,” Grim yawned. “Not my field.”

“As if it’s mine,” you frowned. “What, not even MC’s words? She ended up transmigrating into a closed apartament and had only 11 days to get an ending…”

“Come to think of it, we have 11 days till the festival.”

You raised your head, turning to the voice’s source, and slightly parted your lips.

“Jade,” you said, standing up. “Good afternoon.”

Jade Leech, to be more precise. You’ve scanned through his profile when you first interacted with him two weeks ago when you ended up transmigrating here in Twisted Wonderland. As expected of a fantasy world, he wasn’t a normal human being, but belonged to merfolk. You don’t remember having much experience with them, and maybe picking him as your first route wasn’t exactly your best choice.

“Good luck on surviving the event,” Grim said, jumping off the chair he was sitting on, and headed to the exit.

“Ah,” Jade’s feigned surprise made you blink at him questionably. “How unfortunate, you’re supposed to help us with the preparations, Grim-san.”

You saw a system window popping up above your head as a reminder of not forgetting your main goal, and sighed.

“Not this kind of event he meant…” You mumbled, knowing exactly well that Jade heard you.

“How about we discuss the budget, Yuu-san?” Leech took a seat beside you, to which you nodded.

Appointed as a council’s treasurer, Jade actually managed his sources with an outstanding performance. Since you had no experience in entering otome realms, it was quite hard for you to predict what was going to happen next. Your fellow transmigrators you barely saw in the interdimensional space used to exchange their thoughts on their journeys before traveling to the next world, and somehow you, who witnessed a ton of horror stories, possessed psyche of a solidity, while otome novels and games travelers happened to be constantly overworked and heavily damaged in terms of their minds.

You never asked why. They’ve mentioned the necessity to go through an endless amount of routes and paths, to make people fall in love with them, and then leave them behind in their worlds. You also heard the system was erasing their memories, so they would live happily after experiencing love and joy of being loved, but the system never really cared about the travelers themselves.

The department you were assigned to provided you with a psychotherapists’ help if needed after coming back to the office, so you would heal after experiencing terrible things and emotional drainings, but your and Grim’s emotional state has never reached the point of damaged position.

Some of your colleagues even stated that you were emotionless and—

“Yuu-san?” you found Jade leaning closer to you, his face showing slight hints of a false worry made of politeness. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, I am sorry. Let’s continue.”

“I’ll be honest with you,” Leech stood up and came to the bar counter of the Mostro Lounge you’ve been occupying for the council discussions regarding the upcoming festival.

“You don’t seem like the type to be honest with people,” you let the conclusion slip of your tongue before meeting his gaze you couldn’t decipher.

“Then would you like to consider this an observation? A remark of sorts.”

“Alright then.”

“Sometimes it’s quite peculiar how you’re so composed and calm for a magicless person who got here in a school of magic,” a majestic coffee aroma filled the room. “Not to mention we’re fairly… uncommon individuals here.”

“You seem quite normal to me,” you answer emotionlessly, closing your eyes. “But you can say my opinion of what ‘normal’ is may differ from others. Yours, too.”

“Then I would be really willing to know how exactly.”

His voice suddenly appeared really close to your ear, but you didn't even raise an eyebrow, accepting a coffee cup from his elegant hands and looked at him.

Normally you wouldn’t want to have people interfering in your business, but a heart-shaped vitreous icon with a pink liquid in it made you widen your eyes in surprise.

There was no liquid in it before.

Now that you think about it, yes, your colleagues said there were indicators showing your progress, and apparently you really made it further, somehow managing to get Jade interested in you more than he was.

“You’ve seemed to be spacing out a lot lately, Yuu-san.”

“Now that the festival is almost here, I guess I’m slightly nervous.”

“You don’t seem to be the type to get nervous so easily.”

You suddenly chuckle with a light grin on your face at his reversed pun and sip a coffee he brewed.

“It’s brilliant,” you compliment his work, staring straight at his mismatched eyes and seeing something in there. “May I ask you to brew this exclusively for me when the festival comes? In order to celebrate our successful and thoughtful work.”

“It would be my greatest pleasure.”

You had no idea about how romance works, but you did know you needed to get on Jade’s route as quickly as you could and come back to the office immediately. You wanted to get the detailed information about how you ended up transmigrating into an otome game, so now, sitting in the library and reading mycology books, you hoped to find something useful.

“Aha!” You exclaimed, summoning your transmigrator’s interface and taking a screenshot of a book page containing a mushroom’s drawing. “This is it!”

A mushroom which could be served as a component of a firework supplement, making it iridescent in rainbow colors right in the sky, which also was overflowing when put in soil. You found yourself smiling at the thought of Jade’s reaction, and headed to the mountain near the school.

Unfortunately, you’ve spent all the transmigrator currency you’ve earned during the previous isekai on preparations to the festival, thus you couldn’t afford any equipment for climbing. Well, even if something happens, you still have the system to save your progress, so you could reload and try again. Thinking about the demerits you could get for being not careful and damaging your body made you cringe, though.

You've reached the mountain, and a deep dark forest loomed before your eyes, a cold and moistened fog made you shiver in displeasure. How unfortunate that such a beautiful colorful mushroom grew in such an obscure place.

You made your way further, checking the map with the system tools, and took one more step to darkness. A small iridescent light on the ground made you rash towards it, and you grabbed the mushroom you were looking for.

“Here you are!” You smiled, grabbing more of them, but…

A sudden feeling of ground slipping under your feet made you scream in horror and turn off all the system signs, alerting you about the danger you’ve encountered.

Who knew there was a cliff?!

You tried to grab onto the branches of the occasionally falling trees to slow down your uncontrolled flight, but they were more likely to do more harm than good. You somehow felt someone’s gaze on you, but there was no time to think it thoroughly. You were ready to collapse on the damp ground, but a sudden prehensile grip prevented your fall, and you opened your eyes in a daze.

“Are you alright?!”

You could promise a genuine—this time—worry slid over Jade’s confused face, but he quickly tried to regain his composure. You took a look at his grip and wondered if he’s going to let you go, but at your gaze he instead tightened it, holding you even closer.

“What were you thinking, going to the forest unequipped…”

“Don’t worry,” you’ve tried reassuring him, but receiving only a frown. “I would have survived.”

“Falling from this height?” He asked, his voice raising slightly.

“”... I believe you’re not the type to worry about others,” you mumble.

“What made you think I was worried?” He chuckled, still not letting you go. “Would have been troublesome if you died on the school grounds.”

“No,” you answered with a suspicious calmness you’d better hide. “You’re worried. Your pupils tremble.”

“... Let this be at least in theory,” he sighed. “But what made you come here?”

“Oh,” you sigh and finally unclench your scratched fists and hand over only one mushroom you’ve managed to preserve. “Here. I wanted to give you this mushroom. It’s iridescent and can be used for— Huh?”

Jade chuckled, looking into the sky which suddenly shone pretty bright with glimmering stars, and sighed heavily, finally letting you go of his grip, but holding your shoulders nevertheless, obviously scared of you falling.

“So you did this for me.”

“Yes, I did, but what… Ah.”

You looked up at his head where the heart icon was, seeing the liquid feeling almost to the top, and gasped.

So he was genuinely worried.

“It seems you’ve realized something,” he said, fixing a strand of your hair and smiling rather wearily. “I’ve never thought you’re the type to risk your life for getting gifts, Yuu-san. Especially for me, given how actually twisted I am.”

You found yourself giggling softly at his remark.

“I’m the twisted type myself. I believe.”

When the festival came, you thought you wouldn't be able to see Jade due to how busy you two were.

He was busy with calculations, and also constantly disappeared in the kitchen due to the insufficient number of workers, but somehow everything went smoothly.

You were greeting the guests by showing them the area and were up all day long actually dreaming of laying down, while Grim helped with the special effects on stage spraying his blue flames along with the rest of the guys.

Finally, it was time for the fireworks show, and you, making sure everything was under control and the visitors were enjoying the show, went to the roof of the school, dreaming of relaxing on the bench alone.

Being in an otome was tiring you out more than you thought it would, and you laughed at how you presumed you would just allure the love interests and get back home.

You grew to genuinely like Jade maybe not as a love interest, but maybe even someone closer than a character of another world.

“Resting here all alone?”

A familiar voice was heard, but you didn’t dare to look, continuing keeping your gaze fixed on the night sky, knowing exactly well who came.

“Ashengrotto has finally freed you from the kitchen?”

“You could say so, even though Leona-san asked for an extra meat dish I’ve created yesterday…”

“Is that so…” You smiled as Jade sat right next to you, lying on the bench. “The fireworks show is going to start soon, right?”

“Not just soon,” he chuckled. “Right now.”

There were loud bangs just after a thin thread of light pierced the night sky and burst into a bouquet of multicolored lights that shimmered in rainbow colors right under the stars, and you released a smile from your lips, surprised at your sincere joy.

“It’s beautiful.”

Jade silently watched the show with you and then bent over your face, covering the view of a clear night sky when the show was over. An unfamiliar expression on his face made you blink in surprise.

“It is beautiful, indeed.”

“Somehow I feel you’re not talking about fireworks?..” You questioned, chuckling, and gasped the second after.

The heart icon was fully filled, a bright pink light radiating from it and covering Jade’s cheeks with a slight pink hue. Or wasn’t it an icon?..

“You know, Yuu-san,” Jade smiled. “You were right when you said I’m not the honest type, but right at this moment, let me tell you something.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Thank you for your beautiful gift,” he said. “I’ll treasure it. And also… you.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to say something, stretching your hand and touching his cheek, cold because of a night breeze and maybe just because he was always naturally like that, and dared to cover his eyes with your hand.

“Thank you for appearing in my life. I’ll treasure you too.”

And with that his soft chuckle dissolved in a bright light and system notifications, congratulating you with getting a happy ending.

Happy ending, starting again in your room with a piercing pain in your heart.

“Ah…” You said, seeing Grim sleep peacefully next to you. “So that is why they said otome games are hard to escape.”

Shit, you thought, waking up the next morning.

You came to the conclusion that it wasn’t really necessary for you to fall in love with the love interest (it was enough just to open up to him?), and weren’t sure if Jade really grew to like you.

But you definitely came to a realization that it was painful to see him in the hall, talking to his brother and noticing you, nodding in a greeting way with a familiar feigned politeness, a glimpse of warmth, which appeared in your previous walkthrough, was no longer lingering underneath his eyes.

You found yourself wanting to taste a coffee he brewed for you exclusively, but he was no longer here by your side, his profile image became gray, and a ‘COMPLETED’ line appeared in capital letters in the system interface.

Was that it? All the feelings both of you developed turned into a finished story without any chance for rereading it? Otome games were unfair. But transmigrating still was your main job you couldn’t decline, and even in thrillers and horrors you used to enter so often there were people who you genuinely liked and treasured.

Still, you knew that once the story ended, you got back into the office and traveled to another world, then another, and another, and… There was no point in developing feelings anymore.

You chuckled to yourself when Jade passed through you, and raised your head, meeting someone else’s intense gaze.

Leona Kingscholar. The system made a melodious sound, letting you know about your next ‘target’. You quickly checked his profile, appearing right before standing in front of you Leona, and wondered, what type of a character he would be.

Slightly older than his classmates, and he also belonged to royalty, how very interesting. You closed the system interface with a snap of fingers and greeted your next… target.

“Good morning. May I help you… Eh?”

Leona approached you, his face suddenly extremely close to yours, and sniffed your neck, then clavicles and stared at your eyes, allowing you to notice how beautifully the emeralds of his were shining.

“What a strange smell.”

“Excuse me, I took a shower in the morning.”

“Not that,” Leona sighed, a heart above his head being absolutely empty and transparent. “The smell, not of magic, but similar. Also like that fish guy.”

“Fish guy?..”

He was probably speaking about Jade, but how in the world did he manage to sniff that?! Your eyes widened in shock for a brief moment.

“If you’re talking about Ja… Leech, then maybe it’s because hu just was there.”

“Whatever,” Leona shrugged, sniffing you once more, to which you attempted to distant yourself. “There’s also a dirt smell. And also raining, alcohol, hospital… A blood? What the hell, herbivore?”

Now this wasn’t funny at all. The last world you’ve transmigrated into was centered around a story about doctors, crimes and, well, the usual horror stuff you had to deal with, and how did Leona manage to casually sniff it on you like that?

Naturally, you wanted to get rid of any suspicions and shrug it off, but you also needed to get him on your side and find a way to reach a happy ending with him. A slight fearful thought of collecting people’s hearts like some sort of a hobby slid through your mind, making you nauseous, but you swallowed the feeling and forced a cheeky smile.

“Care to figure it out?”

Leona looked at you with an unreadable emotion and made his way to the exit, leaving you all confused.

“It’s not my business, herbivore. But do something about this smell, it’s disgusting, Savanaclaw students are really sensitive to the smell this strong.”

“As if I can just wash it away…” You mumbled to yourself, following Leona’s distancing figure with your gaze and parting your lips in a surprise way when noticing a little amount of pink liquid in the heart above his head.

So you did pique his interest, after all.

The progress with Leona’s route was incredibly slow and strange. You took the sequence the system suggested automatically, providing you with calculations regarding the difficulty on each walkthrough, and at first you blinked questionably at Leona’s one, seeing only 40%, since now you’ve been feeling all 100%.

He wasn’t hard to find — the botanical garden was his second alma mater, and yet when his words he said to you the first day of his route lingered in your mind, ‘It’s not my business’ line repeating in your head like an annoying pop song, you almost thought that it really was not his problem at all, as if he totally didn’t care.

You almost convinced yourself, but small steps you took towards him also helped you in discovering concealed aspects of his character.

At first you visited the botanical garden just out of a habit you’ve managed to form in other isekais, and ended up finding Leona there without fail every time. At first you were silent, observing him and his unwavering composure—you thought of that as indifference—but not so long after you took the first attempt to start a casual conversation.

“Leona,” you once said, seeing him sleeping under the tree and knowing he heard you talking. “Do I still, uhm, reek?..”

“I sense the strong smell of that fish guy.”

How in the world did Jade’s lingering scent still remain on you?

“And also that bat.”

“Bat?” You asked, wondering who he meant.

“Lilia Vanrouge.”

You knitted your brows together at his reply. You saw Vanrouge only once, right before Leona came into the garden one day, and briefly talked to him. Lilia was also listed among your potential ‘love interests’, but a 100% difficulty level was confusing to you, and the one talk you had did really confirm that he’s going to be a tough character to deal with. To make him fall in love with?..

“I see… I wonder how it works for you beastmen, your sense of smell.”

“Like a second skin,” Leona opened one eye and glanced your way. “I don’t get how you humans live with such a short range of smell.”

“I think that’s only about you,” you suddenly said, meeting Leona’s gaze. “No one from Savanaclaw other than you mentioned what I smell like.”

A short pause stretched between you two, but somehow you didn’t find it unpleasant, more like relaxing and thoughtful. Kingscholar chuckled, tapping on the spot beside him with his tail and attracting your attention.

“Yes?”

“Come here.”

You did as he said, wondering what was that about, and ended up being held in his arms. He sniffed you once again, but with more care and politeness than he did the first time, while you couldn’t tear away your fixated gaze on his bright focused eyes.

“Those strange scents are still on you. What kind of life did you live before getting here, herbivore…”

“And you said it’s not your business, huh,” you grinned and gasped the second after he suddenly laid on your lap. “Hey!”

“It’s still not my business though.” He answered, closing his eyes and resting comfortably. “But don’t get near other Savanaclaws. It’s really a disgusting smell.”

“Which is why you’re on my lap, am I being correct?” You chuckled. “Still, I don’t think others have the audacity to come near me. Or such a strong sense of smell like you do. You’re impressive, Leona.”

For a moment you thought he stopped breathing, but then heard a bitter laugh coming from his lips.

“One day you’ll take your words back.”

Till today you really wondered what he meant by that, seeing no particular reason to actually question his skills. Even despite his poor attendance and self-deprecating lines, he really was an amazing, outstandingly clever person you really did want to get to know more.

And today an occasion came up, when you visited the botanical garden again, now it was more out of a habit, and found Leona with the first-year students you didn’t know, challenging him in chess.

“Good afternoon everyone,” you greeted them, hearing excited ‘hello’ from other students and receiving a light nod from Leona. “What are you doing?”

“Miserably failing to win Kingscholar-senpai in a chess match,” one of the students answered. “No one has succeeded yet…”

“Check and mate,” Leona announced, when the first year he played cried out of indignation.

“How are you so talented in chess, Kingscholar-senpai!!..”

“Hmph,” Leona chuckled, but you somehow knew somewhere underneath his ever-so-mighty persona he was genuinely happy to receive those compliments. “Right, herbivore. Come play with me while I’m in the mood.”

You tilted your head, thinking beforehand. You couldn’t remember the last time you played, but possessing a naturally inquisitive and quick-witted mind due to your job, you nodded, taking a seat in front of him.

The match was silent, and if at first you heard first years hitched breaths, during the second hour passing of the match, even those students left, leaving a silence lingering between you two.

“I really admire you, Leona,” you dared to break the silence, seeing Leona’s hand holding a chess piece stop for a second.

“Flattery will take you to nowhere,” he replied, performing an en passant of your pawn, to which you pouted. “Huh, you can be cute sometimes.”

“And you can be sweet, I see,” you flirted back. “But… I’m sorry. Checkmate, Leona.”

Two knights endgame, huh.

Leona was staring at the chess board for a fairly concerning amount of time before bursting into laughs.

“W-what’s wrong?..”

“Remember I said you’ll take your words back?” He raised his gaze to meet yours. “Take it now. Tell me I’m not impressive anymore now that you’ve outsmarted me.”

You raised an eyebrow at him, feeling annoyed.

“What are you saying.”

“I can’t believe it, huh,” he laughed again. “You, a magicless human, out of people… Hah! What a ridiculously clever herbivore you are. It pisses me off.”

“You know what? Shut up.”

You grabbed his shirt, seeing his absolutely unimpressed expression, and clenched your fists with even more force than you thought you would, and pressed your forehead to his, chess pieces scattering around the table.

“Even when you have no one to believe in your abilities, even you yourself doubt them…” You took a deep breath. “I myself will be that one person who will believe in you AND believe you.”

You heard a splash, realizing it was the liquid in the heart above his head filling half of it, and then a genuine laughter came from Leona’s chest.

“You’re insane, herbivore.”

You really were insane, indeed.

To the point you couldn’t even take a quick look at Leona in the past week due to him being anywhere but near you, which annoyed you for sure. You had a whole month planned for you two to spend together in case his route appeared too difficult to reach an ending, so many things to witness, but instead…

Instead you managed to meet Jade thrice or even more, then stumble upon Lilia ‘ku-fu-fu’-ing at you cheerfully and mysteriously, and all those were driving you crazy slowly. You wanted to have a chat with Jade who portrayed no such interest you used to witness in his route, much to your dismay, but you also wanted to finally find Leona and genuinely get to know him more.

“Oh, Yuu-san.”

You were resting at the school yard, students walking here and there, chatting and playing, and you saw Jade approaching you, nodding to him.

“Good afternoon.”

“Oya, isn’t it Yuu?”

… Jade and Lilia. And no signs of Leona or whatsoever. You blinked at them, trying to conceal your honest feelings, and listened to them talking.

“It’s rare to see you all alone,” Jade noticed.

“Indeed, you could be often seen in Leona’s company. Did you two have a quarrel?”

“We…” Despite how much you wanted to protest, you weren’t sure anymore.

“We have not.”

A sudden warmth spreading in your chest and a heart pounding faster than it was made you turn to Leona, who appeared behind your back, and you smiled at him.

“Herbivore,” he called you, shoving his nose into the crook of your neck and making you giggle. “One week of me being busy, and you already have such a strong scent of those two. How come?”

“Look who’s talking.”

“My my, do you have a problem with us?” Lilia obviously tried to tease Leona, but the last one suddenly fell silent.

“Leona?..”

“Yeah, I have one.”

His arms enveloping you made you yelp softly, and an unfamiliar burning on your cheeks made you bite your lips and stare at Leona’s cheeky expression.

“I liked it more when you had an aroma of garden’s flowers on you more. And also…”

A kiss he pressed on your lips was bright, passionate, also confusing to everyone else, and very much awaited by you.

“That way I don’t need to worry anymore. Care for another game of chess, herbivore?”

You smiled at him, wanting to reply instantly, but the heart icon above filled to its max, and splashing beats of bright light covered your watering eyes.

“Yes, let’s play one more time, Leona!..”

You…

You really were growing to hate otome games to your very heart.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #jade x reader #leona x reader #kalim x reader #azul x reader #lilia x reader #idia x reader

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rabbit-surfboard · 7 months

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Fictional podcast recs

One of my friends got into audio drama and I just sent them a whole list of recommendations to go through, I thought someone who follows these tags might also appreciate it and perhaps have some more to throw in. I resisted the urge to throw in the little blurb about audio dramas as a weird little medium and their tropes that I wrote up. It was something to the effect of nodding at how the medium has rapidly been improving since Welcome to Nightvale started, also how a lot of the tropes that tie the medium together are products of the indie podcast scene being accessible and primarily based in audio. Also at how well horror works in the format. Those paragraphs went unsaved but writing first about the medium in general helped me to reflect on a lot of the things that make audiodramas appealing or repulsive to me for discussing each show in brief beyond just explaining what they're about.

All recommendations are tagged for the tldr.

Fiction podcast recommendations in no particular order:

The Magnus Archives

Horror

The biggest criticism I ever had of this podcast’s voice acting from episode 1 turned out to be a relevant plot point. This thing is probably the best of the best, but I would never recommend it to someone unfamiliar with podcasts because the listener only notices a plot hook somewhere between episodes 20-40 and that’s daunting in the face of a 200 episode show. Getting sucked in rewards you with 200 episodes of thoughtful content and a great explanation for most of the weird things this show chooses to incorporate.

Old Gods of Appalachia

Horror

Fantastic production quality on this ongoing show. Many seasons with interconnected lore and a hell of a narrator. It’s not my personal favorite but it’s quite excellent.

Red Valley

Found footage mystery

One of the newer shows I’ve gotten into, Red Valley is well-crafted. It becomes compelling very quickly with a rapid pace that slows down to land in a neat spot for a while so you can savor the cool parts. The production quality is excellent and the two main voice actors have excellent chemistry. The third and final season is currently being produced.

The Silt Verses

Horror

Often compared to American Gods, this newer podcast made by an experienced team is doing a lot of creative and fresh things at once. The magnificently fucked up religious system of The Silt Verses is both a neat plot vehicle and cleanly works as a criticism of late stage capitalism, where many podcasts like to jab at capitalism this one is much more pointed in its commentary. Episodes are long and very well produced. All the credits in the third season have been mostly diegetic and add flavor to the world.

Archive 81

Found footage horror

Slow to start but by season 2 the production quality and plot are among the best in the game. Unfortunately, on an extended hiatus.

Ars Paradoxica

Science fiction, historical

Very well produced considering its age, this is a highly regarded show among people who follow the medium. Excellent time travel mechanics here. The plot drags a bit by the end because time travel stories must violently contort themselves into a conclusion, but the first season or two are fantastic and it’s always nice to have an ending instead of interminable hiatus.

Caravan

Gay demons n stuff

Showed up, did magic and gay shit, disappeared and went on hiatus probably with some kinda unsatisfying cliffhanger seeing as I don’t remember the plot. Could I recommend it in good faith? Not until they at least cough up season 2. I don’t remember it being bad and that alone is notable for the medium.

Mabel

Gothic horror

This is the deepest cut on the list except for maybe Caravan. Lesbians pine at each other for increasingly complicated reasons, eventually devolving into them doing datura and then spewing cryptic poetry together for the rest of their days. The production quality is fair. The slow windup and creepy house are American-gothic af. This show has had a few hiatuses, but each time it comes back significantly more intriguing.

Welcome to Nightvale

Goofy spooky news broadcast

Old and iconic, not very consistent. Sometimes explores emotional, tense, spooky, or funny scenes well, but the show is really focused on being local news for an ooky spooky desert town because Cecil is damn good at his job. Don’t come here looking for plot, it’s a fun vibe and I don’t know that anybody’s ripped it off and notably improved on this classic. Above average production quality for its time which improved through the years.

Alice isn’t Dead

USA road trip, horror

Made by at least one of the Nightvale writers, totally different show with a lesbian trucker making wry observations of some magnificently twisted shit seen around the United States. The producers know how to run a show, so the production is pretty good.

Tanis

Found footage horror

Tanis is not good. However, it was the first fiction podcast to make me ask “Is this real?” and hesitantly believe it for a frankly embarrassing number of episodes. The stories in the first season were interesting and the lore is just some big-tent conspiracy style of cramming a bunch of fun Wikipedia research into what turns out to be an increasingly nonsensical plot. Every season after the second, I return to hate-listen and am gaslit into thinking the show might low-key rock a few episodes before the finale, which is routinely frustrating and makes sure to throw out any good plot points Terry Miles comes up with. The acting is routinely terrible, and the frame narrative allows lazy and frequent retcons, ruining what I think is a good premise. Also it’s incomplete.

The Black Tapes

Horror

Terry Miles started this show before Tanis began releasing about 5 months later. I think of it as one of his earlier works because it behaves like Tanis with an added layer of cringe from a time waster of an awkward romance(?) between the two main characters. I couldn’t finish this show. You won’t see this recommended as often as it used to be online because there’s many better shows now, but this used to be a big deal. There’s a bunch of memes making fun of the annoying cadence of the characters’ speech and iconic sponsorship reads in both this and Tanis. If you’re interested in some cringe atop your creepypasta podcast, the two are interchangeable.

Rabbits

ARG investigation

Not as horror focused as Terry Miles’ other shows, the cringe is dialed down and the show is better for it. Tanis and The Black Tapes are more well known, I think the only reason more people don’t think about this one is because the first two don’t inspire trust in the production or narrative quality of this show, but I remember it being fine for a season. I have not gone back to catch up now that more is out.

Malevolent

Horror

Inspired by The King in Yellow, one man performs two voices and verbally abuses himself with aplomb. Having a blind main character with an extra voice in his head is a frame story I haven’t heard yet (unless it came up in the magnus archives and I don’t remember), the concept works out great for the frame of a podcast to deploy the environmental imagery that foley cannot communicate. It also prevents the podcast trope of lengthy exposition about visual surroundings from sounding awkward or potentially impacting someone’s character development to show setting.

Wolf 359

Comedy, science fiction

A crew of whacky characters is stuck in deep space, hanging out and researching a star. Since that’s not actually very interesting they crack jokes and fuck around for a slow burn until interesting stuff happens. Good but not great, this one is long and satisfying and a bit less heavy than all the horror this medium often focuses on. Decent production quality.

The White Vault

Found footage horror

I lost patience with this podcast even though the overarching story seemed very cool – it progresses very slowly yet appears to grow bigger and more confusing instead of deigning to answer basic questions for a frustratingly long drag through the first four seasons. I worry that this frustration may be the point and the Patreon gated stories are the drivers for this tendency towards the confusing patchwork of ideas this show communicates. The production quality is good though.

The Left Right Game

Found footage horror

Genuinely great reddit creepypasta got turned into an overproduced podcast – I say “over” in comparison to the voice acting quality because it’s kind of impossible to sell some of the lines, which makes sense considering the source. Brief, complete, punchy, interesting, and just a little odd to hear such a clean production but a creepypasta this fun deserves the effort.

Wooden Overcoats

Comedy

Surprisingly good production quality for its age, and also a refresher from the usual tropes of the medium. Just a chill sitcom about a funeral parlor in a small town. I haven’t finished this 4 season show yet but its good.

The Black List Table Reads

Movie script readings

Some movie scripts just short of making the cut to be turned into a full Hollywood production were well liked enough by a group of film nerds that sat down to act them out as a podcast. Half of the episodes are interviews with screenwriters, and the other half see a script read all the way through by actors. They’re all rejected for different reasons so there’s a pretty broad spread of genres. My favorites were Blood From a Stone and Balls Out.

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onlycosmere · 2 months

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Least Favorite Novel of the Cosmere

GodsShoeShine23 : I'd say Alloy of Law. I just honestly didn't really care about Wax and Wayne until they were more fleshed out in Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning. For Once, Brandon kind of just threw us right into the action from the get-go, but did so in a way where I had no real motivation to root for the main characters of the book other than them being the main characters of the book.

Brandon Sanderson: I wonder sometimes if I should do a full-on rewrite of Alloy. It would also be my vote for weakest Cosmere novel. (I think it's probably my weakest novel overall.) The big problem came from it being a short story, that became a novella, that became a fun little novel not meant to do any heavy lifting. But the series went from there to get some of my strongest books, as I fell in love with world and characters, and became a full-blown era rather than a pit stop between tow large eras.

So you have something weaker, meant as a kind of "Secret History" novella, to a load-bearing pillar of the Mistborn series. And it's the place where already (coming off the main trilogy) where people were the most likely to abandon Mistborn as a larger mega-series. So I have my weakest cosmere book in a pivotal place in the sequence.

The solution could be to just take it and give it a ground-up rewrite with more depth of characterization and narrative rigor. But then, we have the problem of their being two significantly different versions of a book, which causes other logistical problems.

GodsShoeShine23: I find it hilarious that the one time I’m not praising your novels, you end up stumbling upon my comment, lol.

In all seriousness, I thought Alloy of Law was still a pretty fun read. I like the expansion on the magic system that was built up in Era 1, and Wayne honestly ends up being one of my all time favorite characters in the cosmere. I always thought to myself that Alloy of Law read like a novella, so it’s actually interesting to see that it was originally based on a short story idea essentially.

I will say this though; I expected to see most people vote Elantris as the weakest book as seen in the comments, but I honestly found it to be much more entertaining than people lead me to believe. Hrathen may be my favorite antagonist you’ve written, and I’m wondering if more will be revealed about his charcater in the sequels.

#mistborn #the bands of mourning #elantris #cosmere #cfsbf #brandon sanderson #branderson #wob #kind of #long post

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yellobb · 4 months

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Had book club discussion about Carry On today! Here’s some of the highlights:

People were mostly a big fan of the Magic system. Main criticism about it was that it would sometimes take them out of it, like the snickers spell while ebb is actively dying

There was much discussion over Penny and Baz kidnapping the dog, which was very entertaining to me

One of my managers asked if Agatha was in the rest of the series. I told her “she is, but I don’t think she wants to be”

People loved Baz lol. There was a bit less love for Simon (that’s okay, that’s what I’m there for)

I explained the lore behind Fangirl and why the titles are the way they are. Thoroughly confused some people

Someone had to leave the zoom call halfway through because his neighbors called the cops on his van???? Idk that was just wild

One dude who showed up also didn’t even finish the book yet, which I didn’t find out until partway through, so that was fun

They noted some Harry Potter similarities, but agreed it was a very different book

Number one complaint was that “nothing happened”. They were really interested in the politics of the world, how relationships were formed and were pretty disappointed that a lot of that was exposition

One coworker was confused as to why Nico couldn’t do magic anymore, since they mentioned he used to be able to use Ebb’s staff and honestly I don’t remember the answer, so help here would be great if anyone knows. He should be able to even though they snapped his wand, right?

One coworker was frustrated that Simon lost his magic because he thought that was the most interesting part. I told him that he was not alone in that, since I remember so many people being upset back in the day

Everyone saw the plot twist that the Mage was the bad guy coming. Tbh, I read it so long ago that I can’t remember if I was surprised

Everyone also saw snowbaz coming lol. One guy said “I knew by chapter three that those two would be fucking” (oh just you wait my friend. Soon the issue will be that they’re not fucking)

They found it very entertaining that the endorsement was from Lev Grossman because “The Magicians is the polar opposite of this book”

I brought in Skee’s ABC’s of Carry On, Venessa’s art book, the whole series, Fangirl, Scattered Showers, MRB, and various pins from Selkie and others. Also wore my dragon wing earrings and Kris’ shirt :P I let myself be unhinged about it because this is my time to shine. I also have the Wayward Son poster pack at my desk that I pointed out

Overall reviews are positive. Most people didn’t love it quite like I do, but they enjoyed it well enough. I am lovingly forcing two coworkers to finish out the series because they made the mistake of being my friend lol

One guy’s review was “I liked it and I don’t know why. I hate Harry Potter and stuff like it usually.”

Very happy that this is done though, since I can finally hang back up Kris’ Carry On poster. It has too many spoilers, so I’ve had it on the ground hiding for two months for when people came over 😭 it’s going back in its place of honor next to my TV

#m rambles #the simon snow series #simon snow #baz pitch #snowbaz

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hwxnghyynjin · 6 months

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Kannibalen

Pairing: stray kids x reader Genre: horror, apocalypse!au, angst, some fluff, crack? but not really Warnings: alcohol consumption, mentions of food, swearing (like, a lot), horror themes (blood, gore, slight injury detail, cannibalism, Seungmin gets a dislocated shoulder rip), use of weapons (knives, guns), lots of crying, character death, main character deaths, attempted murder, abusive relationships, a couple of kiss scenes, not a warning but Jisung is slightly dramatic Word count: 22,738 (blooming heck, my longest fic ever) Taglist: @alphadisaster @catlove83 a/n: this was supposed to be released on halloween but, life happened lol, better late than ever though amirite

It started out as a normal day in Seoul. Everyone enjoying the sunshine, feeling the warmth from the sun on their skin. Children were playing in the park, laughing with not a care in the world. Young people seeing their loved ones, enjoying spending their time together as they basked in the afternoon sun. However, that all changed in just a couple of hours, a virus outbreak turning people into cannibalistic psychopaths.

5 hours before the outbreak

You were chilling at the dorms with the guys, sitting between Hyunjin and Jeongin. You were playing with Hyunjin’s hands, twirling the rings around his fingers. Hyunjin didn’t seem to mind though, too engrossed in the conversation he was having with Seungmin. Jisung and Minho were bickering, as usual, probably about what they wanted to eat. Felix was in the kitchen, baking brownies for everyone, the smell of the brownies baking hitting your senses. You swear that Felix puts a hint of magic in the brownies as they are the best brownies you’ve ever eaten. You’re not sure when Chan and Changbin are, probably working out, which they usually do.

“I want to eat jajangmyeon”

“I want tteokbokki!”

“We had that last time!”

“I don’t care, I’m craving tteokbokki again”

“If the both of you don’t shut up, you’ll both be eating a sock”, Seungmin said, glaring at the pair for their bickering. You giggled, finding the scene in front of you funny: Jisung and Minho both staring at Seungmin, not knowing what to say. They just sat back in their seats, sighing. “Why don’t we try out that new steak restaurant? I heard that the steak there is amazing”, Jeongin suggested, to which everyone agreed on the idea. You texted Chan and Changbin to meet you at the steak restaurant, to which they were ok with that.

4 hours before the outbreak

You all arrived at the restaurant, the aura of the restaurant felt warm and cosy. You were greeted by a front of house staff, guiding you to a table before giving you a menu each. “I hope you two aren’t going to bicker about what to eat”, Seungmin said, referring to Jisung and Minho. The table was filled with laughter from Seungmin’s comment, both Minho and Jisung feeling embarrassed.

Thankfully the meal was filled with laughter and jokes, and the occasional dad joke from Chan which made you all groan. Hyunjin fed you some pieces of steak and some veggies, and you did the same to him. Jeongin felt a bit left out so you fed him some steak and veggies too, the smile on his face making your heart warm. Soju filled your system, as well as the others. You were all tipsy, some more than others, but you were still aware of your senses and surroundings.

3 hours before the outbreak

You all walked back home, the streetlights illuminating the city. You were laughing at nothing in particular, probably at something Hyunjin said as you leaned into his side. The others were walking ahead of you, Jisung twirling around like a ballerina, whilst Changbin tried to push Minho over for some odd reason. Chan stops him, scolding him like a dad telling his child off. All of a sudden, you felt yourself being stopped, looking up to see Hyunjin looking down at you.

“Can I try something? Just, don’t hit me please, I’m fragile”, Hyunjin said, making you laugh. You just nodded your head and a second later, you felt his lips against yours. They were softer than you imagined, like pillows. You thought it was going to be a soft and short kiss, you didn’t expect to make out in the middle of the street.

“Hey, love birds! How about instead of making out in the middle of the street, we get home. I’m tired and Changbin won’t stop trying to push Minho over. Oh, and Jisung almost walked into a lamp post pretending to be a ballerina. I’m too old to look after you all”, Chan said, really sounding like a tired dad. You and Hyunjin ran towards him, holding hands so as to not lose each other, even though the street is practically empty.

2 hours before the outbreak

You were in Hyunjin’s room, straddling him as you made out. His hands were on your waist whilst yours were around his neck. Your lips moulded together perfectly, like they were made for each other. Neither of you made any moves to deepen the kiss, just wanting to keep the moment sweet and soft. After a moment, Hyunjin was the first to pull away, looking at you with soft eyes. He planted a small kiss on the tip of your nose, watching as you scrunch your face up from the feeling. He planted kisses all over your face from how cute you were. You continued to sit like that for a while, basking in the warmth from Hyunjin’s body.

After a while, though, you both left the room and joined the others. Some kind of action film was playing on the TV but you’re not familiar with it. Hyunjin sat down on the sofa, pulling you down on the couch, snuggling up into him. No one was talking at this point, probably still tipsy or just really tired, which you don’t blame them. You could fall asleep right then and there but you didn’t want to, not just yet.

“Do you think bees have belly buttons?”

“Jisung, what the fuck?!”

1 hour before the outbreak

The TV was still on, some film you didn’t recognise playing as everyone else was asleep apart from you. The sound of Hyunjin’s light snores hit your ears, his lips pouty as his head rested on the back of the sofa. Jisung and Minho’s legs were intertwined as they cuddled against each other, which you decided to take a picture of because you found it adorable. You didn’t realise you left the flash on, though, as the flash went off as soon as you pressed the button. Thankfully no one woke up as you let out a sigh of relief.

You felt yourself getting sleepy as you let out a massive yawn, putting your phone in your pocket. You sat back down next to Hyunjin, resting your head on his shoulder. You closed your eyes, hoping to fall into dreamland, which you did a few minutes later. However, your sleep was soon interrupted as about an hour later, you were all woken up by a massive explosion.

“What the fuck was that?!” Chan asked, hurrying out of his seat and running to the window. He looked outside and saw that a building in the distance was on fire. In the distance, he could see people running around, screaming their heads off. They all looked terrified, which is understandable since a building literally just exploded not even five minutes ago. What he couldn’t see, though, was that the people weren’t running because the building exploded, no, they were running because someone was trying to kill them. And they were also trying to eat them?

The building that exploded was a laboratory, which stored chemicals to create vaccinations for different types of diseases. However, one of the workers in the facility who was working on some of the chemicals accidentally made a mistake, mixing two different chemicals which aren’t supposed to be mixed together. When they realised what they had done, it was too late. It had caused a reaction, a reaction they had not seen before. The glass beaker smashed, glass shattering everywhere. Some of the glass had cut the workers face, a piece of glass stuck in their cheek. There was some sort of a ball of mist caused by the reaction, which had a slight green tinge to it. Before the worker could run out of the room to escape it, it was too late. They had ingested the green mist, suffocating them before they fell to the floor.

Other people in the facility were unaware of what had happened,not realising their lives were now in danger. The laboratory assistant manager was walking through a door, a clipboard in her hand, reading through the notes on the piece of paper. When she rounded the corner, she bumped into the worker who ingested the mist, which she had no acknowledgement of.

“Ah, Donghae, you scared me”, she said, holding a hand to her chest. She took a good look at him, realising something wasn’t right about him. “Hey, are you ok? You don’t look so good”, she was about to put a hand to his forehead to check his temperature when all of a sudden, Donghae lunged forward, knocking her to the ground. She screamed, trying to push him off but it was no use, he was too strong. He grabbed her shoulders, gaining more access to her neck and bit the flesh between her neck and shoulders, biting a massive chunk out of it.

Donghae got off of her, walking away, the assistant manager bleeding out onto the floor. He soon heard screams coming from behind him, workers running towards their assistant manager, calling for help. Donghae chewed on the flesh in his mouth, swallowing it. Before the workers who were surrounding the assistant managers knew it, the assistant manager's eyes opened, which were now bloodshot. She lunged at one of the workers, attacking her as she hit her over and over again, the worker begging her to stop.

About an hour later, the laboratory was an entire mess. All the workers were screaming, running out of the building, trying to get away from the cannibalistic psychopaths that were trying to eat and kill them. A fire had started in one of the rooms, which contained different flammable chemicals and gas canisters. That’s when it exploded, spreading all over the building, resulting in the loud bang, startling you and the others in the dorm room.

That’s when Chan could see the reason why people were running away. He saw someone getting jumped, being knocked to the ground by someone, biting into their flesh. Chan jumped backwards, scared for his life. “What, what’s wrong?” you asked, jumping out of your seat and walking towards him. That’s when you saw what he was looking at, seeing people getting eaten alive, turning into those things.

“Ok, we need to leave. Now”, Chan said, you agreeing with him. “Where are we supposed to go? What if those things are everywhere? Who knows how many people are infected”, you said, looking at him. “Wait, infection? What are you on about?” Jeongin asked, fear evident in his voice. You looked at Chan, and then at the others. “I’m not entirely sure what the infection is but, it looks like the infection causes people to become cannibalistic psychopaths and if you’re bitten, or in this case being eaten alive by someone who’s infected, you also get infected and get turned into one of those things”, Chan said.

“I’m sorry, did you just say ‘cannibals’? I’m too precious to be eaten, plus I ain’t dying a virgin”, Jisung said, causing everyone to give him a weird look. “I can change that”, Lee Know said out of nowhere, looking at Jisung.

“What?”

“Ok weirdos, let’s just go”, Seungmin said, rolling his eyes.

--------------------------------

All of you left the dorm room building, seeing loads of people running around in different directions, seeing some people lying on the floor, covered in blood, screaming for help, and others being attacked, becoming infected with whatever the infection is. You grabbed hold of Hyunjin’s hand, squeezing it. You always do that whenever you feel scared and in this case, you were terrified.

“Where do we go? They’re surrounding the entire area”, Changbin said, trying to find a clear path, but not being able to. Felix pointed ahead of him, finding a clear path. “There! I found one. But unfortunately, we have to run through the infected area”, Felix said, not liking the idea but it was the only one he had.

“Ok, on the count of three, we run, ok?” Chan said, looking at everyone to ensure they were listening. You were still holding Hyunjin’s hand, Jisung clinging onto Lee Know. You all nodded, not liking the idea but you had to.

“One”

You squeezed Hyunjin’s hand harder, your breathing becoming heavier.

“Two”

You felt a tear run down your cheek, wiping it with your free hand, not wanting the others to see you crying.

“Three!”

You ran forward, running towards the infected. You didn’t stop running, even if your legs felt like they were going to buckle underneath you. You were getting close to the other side, running as fast as you could, as if your life depended on it and in this case, it did. You didn’t even realise that you let go of Hyunjin’s hand, until you were on the other side, not seeing Hyunjin standing beside you.

Before you could scream his name, he ran up to you, along with the rest of the guys. “Now that we're on the other side of them, what do we do now?” Jeongin asked, looking around to see who would answer his question.

“I guess all we need to do now is survive”, you said, walking away from the infected, wanting to be as far away from them as possible.

--------------------------------

It’s been 2 weeks since the outbreak started and you all seem to be doing alright so far, despite the fact that cannibalistic psychopaths are roaming around. So, to rephrase that, you’re doing alright physically but mentally and emotionally? That went out the window the moment the outbreak started. And when you became friends with Lee Know and Jisung but you’ll never tell them that, not wanting your ass kicked. I mean, the two of them are literal chaos, you can never keep up with them.

You all have backpacks full of food, weapons in case you need to use them, as well as another pair of clothes. Who knows what will happen, having a change of clothes is a good idea in your opinion, no matter what the circumstances are.

You’re currently cooped up in an abandoned house, a house which belonged to a family with a son and a daughter, but fled the city once the outbreak started, wanting to get to safety. You don’t even know if they managed to get out of the city, or if they got unlucky. You hope it was the first option.

You were walking around the house, looking at all the pictures of the family who lived there before they fled, and they looked like such a happy family. The son looked about 16 and the daughter about 12 years old. You saw one picture of the 4 of them, and they were smiling brightly, a glimmer in their eyes. The picture was taken on a nice summer day, the 4 of them at the beach. The picture was probably taken by a family member or a friend but it was a nice picture. You suddenly felt yourself starting to cry whilst looking at the picture.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, pulling you out of your trance. You turned your head and saw it was Chan, looking at you with a look in his eyes which means ‘are you ok?’. You gave him a small smile and looked back at the picture. “Do you think they left the city safely? I hope they did. They seem like such a nice family”, you said, putting the picture back. “I hope they did”, Chan said, rubbing your back gently.

You walked up the stairs, wanting to ensure the house is completely empty and safe before coming to a conclusion whether to stay there for the night or not. You looked through the different rooms, all of them seemed to be empty, apart from one room where Jeongin was taking a nap. He looked so cute, a blanket barely covering his body, which had dinosaurs on it. You smiled at the scene in front of you, wanting to take a picture but you didn't have a camera. That’s when you noticed a polaroid on the desk in the room. You took the polaroid, taking a picture of Jeongin. You took the picture out of the polaroid, shaking the image, waiting for it to develop. Once it developed, you put it in your pocket.

After you put the picture in your pocket, a noise caught your attention. It sounded like something heavy fell to the ground. You left the bedroom, walking towards the source of the sound. Another thud, only this time, it was closer and louder. It sounded like it was coming from above. You noticed a hatch in the ceiling, which could be the attic.

You grabbed a broom and hit it against the attic door, causing the door to come down, along with what seemed to be the father of the family in the picture. You screamed, hitting him in the face with the bottom of the broom before taking off and going into the bedroom which Jeongin was in, closing the door and putting a chair up against the door handle.

“What’s going on?” Jeongin asked as he woke up, rubbing his eyes. You made a gesture for him to be quiet, which he questioned but as soon as he heard the noise outside the door, he understood. It sounded like there was more than one person on the other side of the door now and now you were trapped in the room.

“Y/N?! What’s going on?” Hyunjin asked frantically as he ran up the stairs. You freaked out as you heard Hyunjin coming up the stairs, warning him about the infected. Hyunjin screamed once he saw them, freaking out and fell to the floor out of fear. That was when you heard someone else run up the stairs, and then a couple of gunshots. Wait, gunshots? You don’t recall any of you having a gun.

You removed the chair from the door and opened the door slowly, wanting to ensure that you were most definitely safe before leaving the room. You checked outside the door, and saw 4 now lifeless bodies on the floor. That’s when you realised that the family didn’t flee the city, it was too late for them as they got infected and turned. You turned to look at who shot the gun and that’s when you saw Chan holding a pistol.

“Didn’t realise you knew how to fire a gun”, you asked him, not seeming too fazed by the dead bodies on the floor. I mean, you’ve seen your fair share of dead bodies over the past couple of days so at this point, dead bodies don’t faze you anymore. You and Jeongin walked down the stairs, following Chan, Hyunjin following behind you.

“Are you guys ok?” Jisung asked, putting on a jacket which looked two times too big for him. You just nodded because if you spoke, you felt like you were going to break down in tears. “That jacket makes you look like a child because of how big it is”, Changbin said to Jisung, giggling at how cute he looks. Jisung just glared at him but that made Changbin giggle even more. “I’m sorry, you just look so cute with it on”, Changbin said, explaining himself. Everyone started to laugh at the two of them, forgetting about what just happened not even 5 minutes ago.

“Why don’t we sleep down here together? That way, I’ll know we’re safe together”, Chan said, you agreeing with him. You all settled down in the living room, some of you sitting on the couch, some of you lying on the floor, using your bags as pillows.

--------------------------------

You had been asleep for a couple of hours, until you were woken up by the sound of glass smashing. You became aware of your surroundings almost immediately, grabbing the first weapon you found in your bag, which was a crowbar. You alerted the rest of the guys, waking them up, which Lee Know wasn’t very keen on, he hates being woken up.

You headed towards where the sound came from, tiptoeing as to not make a sound. You rounded the corner, seeing broken glass on the floor, which came from the back door. That’s when you heard a grumble coming from the kitchen. You headed towards the kitchen, seeing the back of the intruder.

“Hello?” you spoke up, causing the intruder to slowly turn around. That’s when you saw that the intruder was, in fact, infected. They charged at you screaming, causing you to scream back, hitting them over the head with the crowbar. They fell to the ground, the commotion causing the others to look what’s going on.

You turned around and began running towards the guys but you felt a hand grab your ankle, knocking you to the ground with a yell. The infected climbed on top of you, trying to take a chunk out of you. Still holding the crowbar, you put it in between you and the infected, trying to stop it from infecting you.

All of a sudden, more infected came running into the house, surrounding you. The others fought the other infected while you still tried fighting off the one on top of you. Blood dribbled out of its mouth and onto your cheek, causing you to gag. “Bro, your breath stinks”, you said, before kicking your foot out, kicking the infected back. You got up off the floor, hitting the infected repeatedly with the crowbar, not caring if blood was splatting you in the face. You pushed them back, causing the infected to become impaled on a hook, which was embedded in the wall. It went right through their throat, causing them to make gurgling noises, even more blood spurting out of their mouth.

“Now stay dead, you crazy motherfucker”, you said, not bothering to wipe the blood off your face. You left the kitchen, seeing the other infected dead on the floor. The others also had blood on their faces, and you noticed that Seungmin was clutching his shoulder. “Seungmin, are you ok?” you asked, concern evident in your voice. “Yeah, I’m ok. Though I think I might have dislocated my shoulder in the process of fighting off one of the infected”, he said, hissing at the pain of his shoulder.

“Ok let's get out of here before any more infected show up”, Chan said, grabbing his bag. The rest of you followed suit, grabbing all your things before rushing out of the house, Seungmin hobbling behind you, Jeongin staying with him.

--------------------------------

You have been walking for about 20 minutes before Seungmin started complaining about the pain he was in. He sat down on a bench, still clutching his shoulder only now, he was breathing heavily. You walked towards him, putting a hand on his forehead. Luckily his forehead felt normal, so you didn’t panic.

“Jeongin, hold Seungmin down so he doesn’t budge. Seungmin, put this in your mouth”, you gave a bandana to bite on. “I’m going to push your shoulder back in place on the count of three, ok?” Seungmin nodded, unable to talk due to the bandana in his mouth.

“One”

As soon as you said ‘one’, you pushed his shoulder back in place, Seungmin screaming out in pain. He ripped the bandana out of his mouth, glaring at you. “I thought you said on the count of three!”

“I’m shocked you believed me”, you said, to which Seungmin huffed. Thankfully Seungmin wasn’t clutching his shoulder anymore, the pain finally disappeared. “Thanks”, Seungmin mumbled under his breath, but you managed to hear him, to which you shoved his arm in response.

You carried on walking for a good few hours, fighting off some more infected in the process. You walked through an abandoned village, until you saw what looked like an arsenal. “Hey guys, look”, you said, not giving the others a chance to reply before you ran off.

The others caught up to you and Hyunjin grabbed your arm, but not too hard. He turned you around to look at him and that’s when you saw the look on his face: anger. “Don’t fucking run away like that. What if you were attacked by infected or something?! What if you got yourself killed?” he raised his voice, but not because he’s angry at you, he was just worried.

“I’m sorry. But look, there are still guns left”, you said, changing the subject. Hyunjin just rolled his eyes, used to you changing the subject, but he didn’t want to cause an argument so he just left it. Besides, he loved you too much. You all picked up a few guns, along with bullets for the specific guns you chose.

You picked up a shotgun, a rifle and a couple of handguns because it’s good to have a backup gun in case one of them gets jammed. “I don’t know about you guys but, I’m going to test these bad boys out”, you said, going outside to test out the guns you’ve got.

You put some old bottles you found on a wall, all lined up in a row. You started off with the handguns, putting the bullets in, taking the safety off and aiming them. You pulled the trigger, hitting a bottle. You were pleased with the handguns, putting them in your back (after putting the safety back on, obviously, you don't want to accidentally be shot in the ass). You tested out the rifle next, which had a scope on it so you can focus on any target in the distance. You put the bullets in the rifle, putting the butt of the rifle between your shoulder and cheek. You looked through the scope, focusing on a bottle before firing the trigger, hitting the bottle, blasting it into smithereens. You put the safety back on the rifle, putting the sling over your shoulder. You tested out the shotgun, putting the shotgun shells in. You turned the safety off before aiming it at the bottles. You pulled the trigger, the force almost making you fall backwards. You were pleased with the guns you chose, putting the safety back on and slinging the shotgun over your other shoulder.

Suddenly, Hyunjin came jogging over to you, with worry on his face. “Hey, what’s wrong?” you asked him, turning your body to properly face him. “Um, I don’t know how to use a gun and since you know what you’re doing, I was hoping you could teach me?” he asked, biting his lip in anticipation. You gave him a small smile, walking behind him. You told him how to hold the gun, to which he did perfectly. You put your hands over his, aiming the gun at the remaining bottles on the wall. You talked him through it, until he pulled the trigger, hitting one of the bottles, knocking it to the ground. He smiled, happy that he now knows how to use a gun.

“Thank you, babe”, he said, the pet name leaving his mouth. He turned around, facing you. You looked up at him, a soft smile on your face. Before you knew it, his lips were on yours, capturing them in a deep yet sweet kiss. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but you could feel the emotion being poured into it.

You were the first one to pull away, opening your eyes to see Hyunjin looking at you with a fond expression. Your attention was pulled away from Hyunjin and the sound of shouting coming from inside the arsenal, and the sound of gunshots. “Shit”, Hyunjin said, the both of you running towards the arsenal. That’s when you saw the others running out of the arsenal, shouting for the two of you to run the other way. As soon as the others were out, a massive explosion came from it, the shop bursting into flames, the explosion blasting you backwards.

You groaned as your whole body ached. You touched your forehead, feeling blood trickling down your temples. You sat up, seeing the others on the ground. That’s when you saw an army truck speeding past, people holding scary looking guns. You laid back down, not wanting to be seen by them. They drove past you, and you waited until they were out of sight before getting back up.

“Guys?” you said, hoping that the others were okay. Thankfully, they were all okay as they started moving, getting up slowly. “What the fuck happened in there?” you asked, wondering what the heck happened. “One moment, we were just looking around and then the next thing I knew, I saw that truck outside, firing their guns. We started running out when they threw grenades”, Changbin said.

“Is everyone alright?” Chan asked, checking everyone out to see if they had any injuries. Everyone seemed alright, apart from the odd bruise and scrape. Jeongin, however, had a massive gash on his face, blood covering his cheek. “Fuck, Jeongin, you’re bleeding”, Chan said, holding his face.

“Really? I didn’t realise”, he said sarcastically, wincing at the pain. Luckily you had a mini first aid kit in your bag, taking it out. Chan treated Jeongin’s wound, carefully putting a bandage on it, despite Jeongin’s protests.

You started walking again after that, the sun starting to set. You could feel the air becoming colder the more the sun set, putting your jacket on.

--------------------------------

You’ve been walking for god knows how long, the sun now replaced with the moon in the sky. You haven’t seen any infected for a while, which you were glad about. But you were also cautious because who knows what could jump out at you. You walked up a hill, reaching the top. That’s when you saw it: a safe camp in the distance.

“Hey guys, look”, you said as you pointed at it. The others saw it too, feeling a slight chance of hope that they’ve found a place they’ll feel safe. “Do you think they’ll let us in?” Felix asked, hoping that they’ll be allowed in. “There’s only one way to find out”, Chan said, walking down the hill, the rest of you following him.

You made it to the front of the safe camp, a security light turning on, blinding you. Someone walked up to the gate, looking at you. “Are any of you infected?”, they asked, wanting to know if any of you have been bitten or not.

“We’re all clean”, you answered, the others agreeing with you. The person spoke into a walkie talkie, probably to the leader of the camp. After they received an order from the boss, the person nodded to someone, and that’s when the gates opened, letting you in. You followed the person, being shown around the camp. Others looked at you, probably wary since you’re newcomers to the camp, but you didn’t blame them, especially regarding the circumstances.

You were shown where you’ll be staying, and you were glad that you’ll finally have your own bed to sleep in after such a long time. You made yourself at home, putting your bag on the floor as you laid down on the bed. “This is nice”, you said to yourself, a small smile on your face.

“Dinner will be in an hour so, once you’ve settled in, come to the cafeteria. It’s down the hall, through the big doors. You won’t miss it. Oh, my name is Hoseok, by the way”, Hoseok introduced himself, giving you a small smile, to which you returned. You introduced yourself too, before he left.

You soon went to the cafeteria once you settled in, walking through the big doors. You saw the others sitting down, already eating. You grabbed something to eat before joining them, sitting by Hyunjin. “How’s your room?” Hyunjin asked, before swallowing a piece of chicken. “It’s nice. I’m so glad I have my own bed. It’s really comfy”, you said, eating some rice.

You were engaged in a conversation, laughing at something Jisung said. Though your conversation was interrupted by a long bang. The doors swung open, revealing a woman with short black hair, covered in tattoos and piercings. She looked intimidating, her eyes had a look in her eyes which you couldn’t make out. If looks could kill, many people in the room would be dead already. “Haneul, stop”, Hoseok said, trying to stop the girl, but she didn’t listen. She kept walking until she stopped at a table. She said something to one of the guys at the table, you couldn’t make out what she was saying as she was too far away but you knew it wasn’t good. The next thing you know, she hit the guy, knocking him off his seat.

Great, you’re not even at the safe camp for a whole day and there’s already a fight. Hoseok and who you assumed to be the leader of the camp broke the fight, Hoseok holding Haneul. “Stop it, the both of you. If you can’t behave then you’ll have to leave”, the leader said, before leaving. You must have looked at Haneul for a bit too long as she glared at you. “What are you looking at, bitch?” she spat, causing Hyunjin to almost jump out of his seat before you stopped him.

“Oh, nothing. Just admiring your tattoos”, you said, giving a smile. Haneul just rolled her eyes, leaving the cafeteria. Well, that’s someone you don’t want to mess with.

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You woke up the next morning, having a good night's sleep after a long time. You slipped a black tank top on, along with your black pants and combat boots. You put your jacket on over the top, about to leave your bedroom. Before you left, though, you ensured that you put your pocket knife in your boot, as well as hiding your gun in your pants, just in case something happened.

You were ready to leave your bedroom, opening the door. You slipped out of your bedroom and as you were about to head outside, you heard a voice. “Hey, bitch”, it was Haneul. What did she want? “What do you want?” you asked nicely, not wanting to get on her bad side. Then again, is she ever nice? “I just wanted to let you know that I run this camp so you better not disobey”, she said, causing you to laugh. “I’m sorry but that's hilarious. You don’t run this camp, Jongwoo does”, Jongwoo being the leader of the camp. “Also, I’m not scared of you. I bet you’re just an insecure little girl who tries to look tough”, you said, walking off. Haneul didn’t like that, however, as she turned you around and punched you square in the jaw. “Don’t insult me, you little fucker”, she said, gripping your jacket.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Hoseok said, walking down the hallway. The both of you looked at him, Hoseok seeing blood trickle down your mouth. “Haneul, get off them, now”, Hoseok ordered, his voice firm. Haneul let go of you, huffing and walking off. Hoseok walked up to you, looking at you. “You ok?” he asked, wiping the blood off your mouth. All you did was smile, before walking off.

You went outside, seeing Hyunjin and Chan. You ran up to them, giving them a smile. They went to smile back before they noticed the bruise forming on your face. “What the fuck happened?!” Hyunjin said, holding your face gently. “Remind me to never insult Haneul again”, was all you said before laughing slightly.

The three of you did your errands, which include going to the armory and cleaning the guns. You spent about 30 minutes cleaning the weapons, trying to make the time as enthusiastic as possible by cracking jokes.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion coming from outside, the sound of shouting causing you to go out and see what was happening. You saw Haneul pointing a gun at the same guy she fought yesterday, his face bleeding. “Fucking give it to me!” she shouted, waving the gun around, making everyone hide behind something.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, for fucks sake!” the guy shouted, but Haneul didn’t like that. She pulled the trigger, shooting the guy in the head. Everyone screamed, the guy falling to the ground. “Does anyone else want to fucking argue with me?” she shouted, but no one answered. You saw Jisung and Lee Know holding hands, scared out of their minds. Jeongin, Seungmin and Felix were hiding behind Changbin, who didn’t even look scared but you knew he was. Whenever Changbin was scared of something, he played with his fingers, and that’s exactly what he was doing.

You didn’t want anything happening to them so you walked towards Haneul, Hyunjin and Chan trying to stop you. You took your gun out from the back of your pants, aimed it in the air and pulled the trigger, getting Haneul’s attention. “Ah, look who decided to show up”, Haneul said, now putting her gun at you. “Haneul, stop this. This is supposed to be a safe camp but with you acting the way you are, you’re not making it safe”, you said, slowly walking towards her.

“Nowhere is safe anymore! Wherever I go, I always fear for my life that I’m going to become infected, which is what happened to my family”, Haneul said, as tears started streaming down her cheeks. “Look, I understand your fear but, is really acting this way going to help?” you said, being careful with your words, as well as your movements.

As soon as you were close enough, and Haneul had her guard down, you lunged forward and tried taking the gun out of her hand but in the process, Haneul kicked your leg, knocking you to the ground. “That was a stupid move”, Haneul said, aiming the gun at you as you laid on the ground. Without thinking, you kicked her in the shin, making her cry out in pain. She dropped the gun, the gun going off, luckily missing you and the others in the back. You tackled her to the ground, hitting her in the face.

“You think you’re the only one who’s scared? What about everyone here? We’re all fucking terrified so instead of thinking about yourself, think about the safety of everyone else, for fucks sake. Stop being a selfish, fucking bitch”, you screamed, repeatedly hitting her. Haneul flipped you over, now getting on top of you. She wrapped her hands around your throat, choking you.

The others ran to help, trying to get Haneul off you. Changbin tried pulling Haneul but she wouldn’t budge. All of a sudden, there was another gun going off. It was Jongwoo, storming over to where you were. “What the fuck is going on here?!” he shouted, and that’s when he saw Haneul trying to kill you. He had no other option: he pointed his gun at Haneul and pulled the trigger, shooting her in the head. She fell on top of you, her hands loosening around your throat. You threw her off you, gasping for air. You coughed a couple of times before you managed to breathe properly.

“Jongwoo, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have provoked her”, you said, now crying because Haneul is dead, and you felt guilty because if you didn’t provoke her, she would probably still be alive. “Hey, kid, it’s not your fault, ok? I should have seen this coming a mile away. Ever since she arrived a couple of days ago, she’s been a danger to herself and everyone around her. I shouldn’t have let her in. I know that sounds harsh but it’s true”, Jongwoo said, patting you on the shoulder.

You looked down at Haneul’s lifeless body, her body in a pool of her own blood. You walked off, ignoring the calls of your name from the others. You just wanted to be alone, still processing what just happened. You walked to your room, slamming the door and locking it. You jumped onto your bed, lying face down as you cried into the pillow, your throat still hurting from when Haneul tried choking you to death. You soon fell asleep not too long after that, soon to be haunted by the image of Haneul’s lifeless body.

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You’ve been locked in your room for a few days now, one of the guys (mainly Hyunjin, though) bringing you some food and something to drink throughout the days you’ve been cooped up in your room.

You were currently lying on your bed, looking up at the ceiling with blank eyes. You were lost in your thoughts until there was a bang at your door, which scared you. You thought it was nothing until it happened again. You got off your bed and walked towards the door. “Who is it?” you asked whoever was on the other side.

“It’s me”, it was Hyunjin. You unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a dishevelled Hyunjin. “What’s going on?” you asked, your voice monotonous. “We need to leave. Now”, he said, causing you to raise your eyebrows. “The others are waiting for us, let’s go”, Hyunjin said, going into your room and grabbing your bag for you, along with your guns before giving them to you. You tried getting his attention but he was too occupied with leaving for some reason, so you had to shout at him.

“Hyunjin!” you shouted, finally getting his attention, him now looking at you. “What’s going on?!?” you asked again, wanting to know why you had to leave. “While you have been locked in your room, the rest of us have been secretly exploring the place, trying to figure out if this safe camp is really a safe place”, Hyunjin explained, the both of you sitting on your bed at this point.

You nodded for him to continue, looking at him with fear in your eyes. “y/n, these people are dangerous. Hoseok and Jongwoo aren’t nice people. They have their own torture room. There are god knows how many dead bodies in there, tied up and mutilated. We need to leave and get as far away from here as possible”, he said, grabbing your hand. You put your bag on, slinging the shotgun and rifle over your shoulders and left with him, going to find the others, being as quiet as possible.

You caught up with the others, trying to find a way out through the back of the camp but unfortunately, there’s only one way out of the camp: through the front gates, which are guarded 24/7 by guards. “What do we do?” Jisung asked, his voice louder than a whisper, but quieter than his usual speaking voice. “I mean, we can’t just go all out guns-a-blazing, that’s one way of getting ourselves killed”, to which you all agreed. You had to think strategically about this.

“Hey, what are you guys doing back here?! You’re not allowed to be here”, one of the guards said, pointing his guns at you. You didn’t know what else to do so you just pointed your gun at him and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the chest, making him fall backwards. “Shit”, Jisung said as he started freaking out, which is understandable if you just saw someone shoot another person.

All of a sudden, an alarm started going off, along with red lights going off throughout the camp. “Ok, now we definitely need to leave”, you said, holding your rifle. All of you started running, shooting anyone who tries to attack you in the process.

You managed to make it to the front, getting closer to the gates. You reached the gates but you didn’t know how to open them. Changbin climbed up a ladder to hopefully find a button that opens the gates. “Shit, someone has destroyed the control pad. They don’t want us to leave”, Changbin said, screaming out of frustration.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” a voice said, and you turned around to see Jongwoo and Hoseok standing behind him. Hoseok had a smirk on his face, and you just wanted to slap the expression off his face. “We know what you have been up to, there’s nowhere to hide”, Hyunjin said, pointing his gun at them.

Whilst you were face to face with Hoseok and Jongwoo, Jisung remembered that he had some grenades in his bag, trying to get your attention but being subtle about it. You turned around slightly, seeing what Jisung had in his bag, signalling to you that he was going to put them by the gate.

“I thought we were really safe here. But turns out, that was a ploy, wasn’t it? Wanting us to feel like we were all safe before you end up torturing us and killing us. You sick bastards”, you spat, moving forwards to get closer to them, so Jisung could do what he needed to do.

“What are you guys up to?” Jongwoo asked, suspicious of your movements. “What do you mean?” you replied, acting innocent. “Oh cut the crap, I know exactly what you’re doing”, Hoseok spat, uncrossing his arms. “Oh, really?” was all you said before aiming your gun and shooting Hoseok in the head, the bullet going straight through his forehead, his body dropping to the ground with a thud.

“You fucking bitch”, Jongwoo shouted, lunging forward to try and grab you but you were quicker, hitting the butt of your rifle over his head, causing his to yell out in pain. Jisung managed to sort the grenades out, pulling the pin out of them, throwing them against the gates. “Take cover”, he shouted, running for cover, taking Lee Know with him as he threw himself behind a metal container. The grenades blew the gates open, metal flying everywhere.

While Jisung was preparing the grenades, with the help of Lee Know, you continued fighting Jongwoo. He tried hitting you but kept missing, you being too quick for him. That’s when you heard Jisung shout to take cover, but luckily, the rest of you were far away enough from the gate. As soon as you were sure you were able to leave, you didn’t think twice before running towards the gate.

“Don’t leave me here, you fucking idiots”, Jongwoo screamed but you didn’t pay any attention to him. You didn’t look back as you continued running, getting as far away from there as possible. Once you were sure you were far enough away, you stopped running. You hugged Hyunjin, clinging onto him. He hugged you back tightly, kissing the top of your head. You hugged the rest of the guys too, which Lee Know tried to avoid but you know deep down, he loved the hug you gave him.

--------------------------------

The sun had risen into the sky once you arrived at an abandoned school, which you were sure had infected inside. “I ain’t going in there”, Lee Know said, fear taking over him. “Listen, I don’t want to go in there either but I’m pretty sure there is the only way to go because as you can see, everywhere else is blocked”, you said, which was true. The only way forward was through the school.

As soon as you were about to walk towards the school, you heard infected coming towards you. There were a couple of them running towards you, so you ran as fast as you could towards the school. The only way into the school was through an open window, which you had to climb to get to.

“There’s our way in but how are we going to get up there?” you said, not seeing anything that you could use to climb up there. Thankfully there was a broken ladder lying on the floor. It may be broken but you could still use it, as long as you’re careful.

You used the ladder one by one, going in through the open window. The last person to use the ladder was Jisung, climbing up towards the window. He looked down at the infected, who looked up at Jisung, looking lost. “At least they can’t climb, right?” Jisung said as he laughed, but his laugh was soon cut off as one of the infected started to climb the ladder. Jisung screamed like a girl, kicking the infected in the face, making them fall to the ground. Jisung climbed as fast as he could, going through the open window and pushing the ladder to the floor.

Jisung fell to the floor, his legs like jelly. “I’m never doing this ever again”, he said as he tried catching his breath. “Come on, let’s keep going”, Chan said, helping Jisung up. You progressed through the abandoned school, surprisingly not seeing any infected inside. Though you were proved wrong when you rounded the corner and came face to face with one of them, being tackled to the ground.

“y/n!” Hyunjin yelled, shooting the infected in the head before kicking it off you. He helped you up, checking to see if you’re ok. “I guess I should be careful where I walk”, you said as you nervously chuckled. You walked through the school more carefully, always being on guard, having your gun on you at all times.

“Hey, guys?” Jeongin said, breaking the silence. “If I ever get bitten, I want one of you to shoot me”, Jeongin said, causing you to stop. ��That’s never going to happen, ok?” you said, not wanting to think about any of you getting infected. Jeongin was about to say something else before he heard a noise.

“Did you hear that?” he asked, looking all around him. “Yeah, it sounded like it came from behind us”, you said, turning around, aiming your gun. An infected started running towards you, firing your gun, shooting them in the head. Before you knew it, about a dozen infected came running towards you.

“Shit, run!”, Chan shouted, all of you running through the school. You didn’t bother looking back, not wanting to slow down. You were too busy running away from the infected behind you, you didn’t think about any infected being in front of you, before it was too late. You were completely surrounded by them, nowhere to run.

“What do we do? We’re surrounded by them”, Felix said, shooting them in the head. “Get down!” you heard a voice shout but you don’t know where it came from. You still listened to the voice, all of you getting down. An RPG came shooting past you, blasting all the infected into smithereens. Once you knew it was safe, you all stood up, turning around to see who shot the gun.

“You could have killed us”, Chan said, talking to them. “I still could, you know”, they said, a hint of annoyance in their voice. “Come on out before I change my mind”, they said, all of you running out of the school. “Who is this guy?” you asked Hyunjin, him shaking his head as he has no idea either.

“The name is Jackson, by the way”, he said, introducing himself. You all followed him, wondering where he was taking you. Hopefully he wasn’t taking you to your death because if he was, you were going to haunt him.

“And before you ask, no I’m not going to kill you”, Jackson said, causing you to stop in your tracks, did he just read your fucking mind? You continued to follow him until you reached an abandoned house, which you assumed was where Jackson was living. You looked around the house, finding a picture on a wall. You went to touch it before Jackson raised his voice, “don’t fucking touch anything”.

“Hey, don’t talk to her like that”, Hyunjin said, coming up to Jackson, coming face to face with him. “Hey, Hyunjin, it’s ok”, you said, breaking them up. “I’m sorry, I should have asked before touching anything. I was just looking at the picture on the wall”, you said, pointing to the picture you were on about. It was a picture of 2 guys, one of them being Jackson. “The other guy is my boyfriend. Well, was my boyfriend, before he got infected and I had to shoot him”, Jackson said, no emotion in his voice. You felt bad for asking about it, walking off.

“Do any of you know how to drive?” Jackson asked as he walked into his garage, a truck parked in the middle of it. “I do”, Lee Know said, walking up to the car. “Unfortunately, the car won’t start as the battery is dead but I’m sure there is another battery around here somewhere”.

--------------------------------

Lee Know started the car, and it finally worked, all of you getting into the truck, including Jackson. Luckily the truck was big enough to fit all 10 of you, the remainder of you sitting in the back of the truck. “Do you know where you’re going, kid?” Jackson asked Lee Know, to which he responded that he didn’t, just wanted to drive as far away as possible.

Music was playing on the radio, a music cassette which Lee Know found. It wasn’t his music taste but it would do. You, Hyunjin and Jeongin were sitting in the back of the truck, having your guns out just in case you get raided by infected. Lee Know drove for about half an hour, until you were on the other side of the city, getting out of the truck.

“Thanks for this, Jackson”, Chan said, bowing to him. Jackson didn’t say anything but you could tell by his body language and facial expression that he thanked you back, before getting back in his truck, driving away. The part of the city you were in looked worse: buildings had collapsed, remnants of cars that had caught fire, as well as part of the road had caved in.

“Where to know?” you asked, trying to find the way forward. “I have no idea”, Chan said, looking lost. “We could try looking in one of the buildings”, Seungmin suggested, which seemed like the best choice. “We should split up since there are a couple of buildings to look in”, Chan said, which you didn’t like the idea but you had no choice. “If you manage to find a way out, shoot your gun once”, Chan said, to which you questioned, “how will we know which gun shot is the right one?” you asked to which Chan replied, “You’ll know, don’t worry”. You didn’t question him after that, not wanting to confuse yourself even more.

You split up into three groups: you, Hyunjin and Jeongin in one group, Chan, Changbin and Seungmin in the other group and Lee Know, Jisung and Felix in the last group. You went into different buildings, looking around.

You, Hyunjin and Jeongin

“What are we actually looking for, again?” Jeongin asked, looking around the building. “A way out, I guess”, you answered, walking up some stairs. As soon as you walked around the corner, you saw a couple of infected walking round. You slowly walked up behind one of them, stabbing it in the neck, dropping it to the ground. Hyunjin and Jeongin dealt with the others, silently killing them so as to not make a noise just in case there were others walking around.

You started to smell something really bad, like rotting meat. “Fuck, what’s that awful smell?” you said, holding your nose. You walked into a room, and that’s where you saw where the smell was coming from. In the middle of the room, there was a pile of dead bodies, which looked like it was set on fire by someone.

“That’s disgusting”, Hyunjin said, gagging at the awful smell. Jeongin looked like he was going to throw up, holding his chest. “Let’s get out of this room before I actually throw up”, Jeongin said, gagging. You all left the room, closing the door behind you to try and get rid of the smell. You progressed further through the building, hopefully trying to find a way out but so far, you’re not having any luck.

“I wonder how the others are doing”, Jeongin said, hoping the others were okay. He was too focused on trying to find a way out that he didn’t see the infected running towards him, before it was too late. “Jeongin!” you shouted, watching Jeongin being tackled towards the window, his body going out of it.

Chan, Changbin and Seungmin

“I hate this so much”, Changbin huffed, wanting nothing more than for this to be over. “Hey, you’re not the only one, shorty”, Seungmin said, rolling his eyes. “Hey! I’m not short. I’m just pocket sized”, Changbin argued, huffing again. Chan managed to stop them both bickering, progressing further into the building.

They haven’t seen any infected yet, since they could hardly see anything. “It’s so dark, I can hardly see anything”, Changbin said, squinting his eyes. There was hardly any light being shone into the building, apart from the odd light coming from some windows. “I wish I had a flashlight”, Changbin said, to which Seungmin whacked him over the head.

“Hey! What was that for?” Changbin said, crossing his arms. “I thought you had a flashlight in your bag? If you stopped constantly whining, you would realise that”, Seungmin said, tired of his whining. That’s when the realisation came to Changbin that he did, in fact, have a flashlight in his bag.

All three of them held their flashlights, which made it better for them to see. That’s when they saw some infected roaming around the halls in the building, causing them to be startled, resulting in Changbin falling over. The sound alerted the infected, causing them to charge after them. Chan and Seungmin fired their guns, shooting the infected, them falling to the ground. Changbin was too freaked out to do anything, still sitting on the floor.

After all the infected were shot, Chan and Seungmin put their guns away, checking on Changbin. “Bro, you good?” Chan asked him, holding his hand out for him to grab, helping him up. “Am I good? Nope, absolutely not, I’m 100% fucking far from good”, Changbin said, terrified out of his mind.

Changbin walked forward, freaked out. He started pacing around, his breathing getting heavier as the minutes passed. “Changbin, calm down”, Chan said, walking towards him. “Calm down?! How can I calm down when we’re in the middle of a fucking apocalypse!”, Changbin cried, tears now streaming down his face. Before he knew it, an infected charged through a door, knocking him to the ground. The sound of screaming was cut off by a gunshot.

Lee Know, Jisung and Felix

“Jisung, please for the love of god, stop whistling”, Lee Know said, Jisung’s whistling starting to annoy him. Jisung wanted to annoy him a bit more by whistling again but his whistling was cut off by the sound of a groan. “What was that?” Jisung whisper-shouted, wondering where it came from. “It came from that way”, Felix said, pointing in the direction of where the sound came from.

Jisung walked in front, walking towards where the sound was coming from, trying to be brave but in reality, he was scared shitless and he had no idea why he decided to go first. He had his gun out, holding it in front of him just in case something jumped out in front of him. “Jisung, wait!” Lee Know whisper-shouted, wanting Jisung to wait for them. They managed to catch up to him, watching Jisung as he walked down a long corridor.

The sound of the groaning was getting louder, the three of them standing outside where the sound was coming from. Lee Know counted to three, before kicking the door open, firing his gun at any infected he sees. Felix and Jisung did the same, shooting infected in the head, seeing their bodies fall to the ground.

“That went better than I expected”, Jisung said, smiling slightly. His smile faded, however, as he saw an infected coming up behind Lee Know, pushing him out of the way to shoot it in the face, watching as its body fell to the ground. Lee Know felt his heart beating out of his chest, holding it. “Shit, thanks Jisungie”, Lee Know said, the nickname falling off his tongue. The three of them left the room, not expecting an infected to be out there. Jsiung didn’t think as he ran off, his fight or flight kicked in (in this case, flight kicked in first). He didn’t bother looking back, screaming his head off. He went to open a door, but what he didn’t realise was that the room behind the door had completely caved in, the door now leading to the outside. Which was a problem since the three of them were nowhere near the ground.

You, Hyunjin and Jeongin

“Jeongin!” you shouted, seeing his body going out the window. Luckily, he grabbed onto the window sill just in time, the infected falling to the ground. You ran up to the window, and saw Jeongin hanging onto the window sill. “You okay?!” you asked, reaching your hand out for him to grab. He nodded as you helped him up, immediately hugging you as soon as he was on his feet. He was like a little brother to you, wanting nothing more than to protect him.

Hyunjin ran up to the two of you, hugging Jeongin as soon as he let go of you. Jeongin hugged him back, clinging onto the elder. He started crying into his chest, Hyunjin patting his head, which always calms him down. “Shall we continue trying to find a way out?” you asked, going up a flight of stairs, which the other two followed you. You went up a couple flights of stairs, hoping to reach the top but unfortunately, the way out was blocked. “I hope the others have better luck at finding a way out”, you said, going back down the stairs. That’s when you heard the singular gun shot, signalling that one of the other groups had found the way out.

Chan, Changbin and Seungmin

The sound of screaming was cut off by a gunshot, the infected becoming limp. Chan pushed the infected off of Changbin’s body, getting scared due to Changbin not moving. “Changbin?” Chan said, shaking the younger’s body, hoping he would wake up. Changbin groaned, touching his neck. His eyes widened as he felt a chunk of his neck was bitten off.

“Guys? Please get away from me”, Changbin said as he stood up, holding his neck. Both Chan and Seungmin were confused until it clicked: Changbin is infected. “No, this can’t be happening. We were all supposed to survive this”, Seungmin said, tears starting to stream down his face. Changbin started to feel his whole body twitch, his vision becoming blurry. “Chan, I want you to shoot me”, Changbin said, not wanting to become a cannibalistic psychopath. Chan held his gun by his side, not wanting to shoot one of his best friends.

“I can’t do it”, Chan cried. He didn’t want to shoot him but he also didn’t want Changbin to turn into one of those things. If that’s what Changbin wanted then, that’s what he’s going to get.

“Turn around, Changbin”, Chan said, tears starting to blur his vision. They were all a sobbing mess at this point. Changbin turned around, looking out the window, seeing birds fly in the distance. Changbin smiled slightly, his eyes closed as he waited for the sound of the gunshot. Chan pointed the gun at the back of Changbin’s head, his hand shaking. He closed his eyes, putting his finger on the trigger. He pulled the trigger, the bullet going through the back of Changbin’s head, his now lifeless body dropping to the floor.

It took Chan and Seungmin a moment to process what happened and once they did, they just broke. They sat on the floor for a good few minutes, not wanting to leave their now dead friend. But unfortunately, they had to. They needed to find a way out. “We will survive for you, Changbin”, Seungmin said, holding Changbin’s cold hand. They both progressed further into the building, going up some stairs to hopefully go to the top. They managed to reach the top, and thankfully, it wasn’t blocked. They opened the door, going out into the fresh air. They managed to find the way out. Chan held his gun in the air, firing the gun, signalling that they found the way out.

Lee Know, Jisung and Felix

Jisung opened the door, almost falling to his death. If it wasn’t for Lee Know, he would have. Lee Know shot the infected before coming to save him, putting his arm around his waist to stop him from falling.

“Next time, don’t run off. It’s like trying to babysit a child”, Lee Know said, pulling Jisung away from the edge. All of a sudden, Felix came running towards them, out of breath. “What’s wrong?” Lee Know said, watching Felix trying to catch his breath. “We have a problem”, Felix said, pointing towards the end of the corridor. The three of them slowly walked towards the end and that’s when they heard it: a voice. No, more than one voice. Lee Know peaked into the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. He saw a couple of men in the room, wearing some sort of uniform.

“Let’s get out of here”, Lee Know said, closing the door quietly and tiptoeing away from the door. Unfortunately, due to Jisung’s clumsiness, he accidentally knocked something over, causing it to make a loud bang. “What was that?” a voice said, walking towards the door. The three of them just stood there, holding their guns in front of them. A man walked out of the room, holding a gun. He looked scary: a couple of scars on his face, big muscles and short black hair. He didn’t look very friendly, and judging by the profanities he starts shouting, he definitely isn’t a nice person.

“Where the fuck are you, you shit heads?” he growled, cocking his gun. That’s when Lee Know decided to make the brave move by coming out of hiding, shooting the guy in the chest, causing him to fall backwards with a thud. “What the fuck?!” another voice said, and that’s when everyone came running out of the room, all holding guns. Lee Know, Jisung and Felix had no choice but to start shooting, it was a kill or be killed situation and they didn't want to die.

Once they were sure they all weren’t moving, the three of them progressed further into the building, trying to find a way out. Though they didn’t get very far as they heard the sound of a single gunshot, which is the signal that one of the other groups had found a way out.

--------------------------------

You met Lee Know, Jisung and Felix outside, wanting to go into the other building together. “I really hope the others are okay”, you said, running into the building, the others following. You ran up the stairs, not bothering to look where you were going, just wanting to get to the top as quickly as possible. As you rounded the corner, you saw someone lying on the ground. You walked closer to them but you soon regretted it. As you were close enough to see the person, you saw that it was Changbin. Blood pooled around his lifeless body, making you fall backwards and screamed. You saw that he had a chunk of his neck bitten off, realising that he got infected.

The others saw his lifeless body, everyone now crying. You all sat by his lifeless body for a few minutes, mourning him. You kissed your hand and pressed your hand to his cheek, before getting up and going towards the door, which was the way out.

All of you saw Chan and Seungmin standing on the rooftop. “What the hell happened?” you yelled, but not in an angry way. “We got bombarded by infected, causing Changbin to have a mental breakdown afterwards. He got jumped by one infected which we didn’t know was there, resulting in him getting bitten. Changbin didn’t want to turn into one of those things so… he wanted me to shoot him”, Chan explained, a few stray tears rolling down his cheek.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were supposed to survive this outbreak together! Now Changbin is fucking dead. I just want this to fucking end already”, Jeongin screamed to no one in particular, just venting his thoughts. Chan managed to calm the younger one down, his breathing becoming normal again.

“All we can do now is keep going forward. That’s what Changbin would want us to do, isn’t it? Despite him being scared of certain situations, he never backed down, no matter what”, you said, everyone agreeing with you. Changbin was tougher than he thought himself out to be, never backing down from a fight, no matter how scared he seemed. Whether that be someone insulting his friends or being in a dangerous situation such as the one you’re in now, Changbin never turned his back on things, no matter how tough things got.

You climbed down the ladder, leading down to the other side of the building, your feet landing on the ground. You walked into the middle of the street, but you didn’t get far as the same truck you saw back at the arsenal came driving past, all of you hiding behind concrete barriers. “Where the fuck did they come from?” Chan whispered, keeping his head down whilst trying to subtly look at what they are doing. “I have no idea but it looks like they’re looking for something. Or someone”, Lee Know said, sitting with his back against the barrier. “Come out, come out wherever you are”, a voice spoke up, coming from the truck. His voice sounded gruff, his tone threatening.

“What the fuck, I thought he went to prison”, you said, fear in your voice. “Wait, you know the guy?” Hyunjin asked, looking at you. You hesitated to answer him, but they needed to know. “That’s my ex. Yes, the abusive one. That’s the guy who tried to kill me, but luckily I managed to get away from him and called the police, who arrested him. I haven’t seen him since that day 2 years ago”, you explained, the memories of him beating you coming back.

When you first started dating your ex, who goes by the name of Minhyung, he was the sweetest person. He took you out on dates, bought you gifts and treated you like royalty. He always gave you affection, whether it was holding hands or cuddling, or giving you the most breathtaking kisses. But that soon changed when he started showing his true colours. His whole sweet act with you was just a facade, wanting you to think he was this sweet angel, just so he couldn’t make you leave the relationship.

It all started when he came home drunk one day, seeing you on the couch, watching your favourite tv show. When he saw you watching it without him, he got aggressive. Which is stupid because, it’s just a tv show, it’s not like you kicked him or anything. That’s when he first hit you. He didn’t even show remorse, his eyes full of hate. That went on for a few months, until you had enough. You sat him down one day, twiddling your fingers. You feared his reaction but you feared for your safety more than anything.

That’s when you said those 5 words: “I want to break up”. Minhyung didn’t like that at all. He screamed, saying that he owes you and you can’t go anywhere. You stood your ground, despite how terrified you were, telling him that you’re sick of his behaviour and the abuse you received from him, wanting nothing more than for it to stop. That’s when he hit you over and over again, first with his fists. You managed to get away from him, locking yourself in the bathroom.

You heard him shout after you, standing outside the bathroom door. He banged on the door, demanding that you unlocked the door for him. You didn’t listen, covering your ears to block out his shouting. After a while, his shouting stopped, removing your hands from your ears. You thought you were safe, but that feeling went away as quick as it came, Minhyung now destroying the door with an axe. You had no idea where he got the axe from but at the same time, you didn’t want to know.

You screamed as Minhyung made a hole in the door, putting his hand through to unlock the door. You backed away from him, your back hitting the wall. You were trapped. “I told you, you can’t get away from me, you stupid bitch”, he snarled, grabbing your ankles. You continued screaming as he pulled you out the bathroom, getting on top of you. He wrapped his hands around your neck, applying pressure on it.

“If you really want to leave me then, I guess I’ll make you leave for good”, he said, a sickening smile on his face. You struggled against him, trying to pry his hands off you. He started slamming your body on the floor, shouting profanities at you. You had to do something before he killed you. Without thinking, you reached your hand out, putting your hand on his face. You dug your nails into his left eye, causing him to cry out in pain. He took his hands off around your neck, and you kicked him in the shin, making him roll off your body.

You got up quickly, running away from him. You ran downstairs, grabbed your phone and immediately called the police. Thankfully they got there within 10 minutes of you putting the phone down, hiding from Minhyung. Your neighbour looked after you while Minhyung got arrested, which you thanked them for.

You were brought out of your thoughts by Hyunjin poking you gently, asking if you were okay. “I’m not scared of him anymore. I mean, I still kind of am but after a lot of therapy, I managed to deal with it”, you said, looking if they were still there, which they were. “Come on out, you stupid bitch”, Minhyung said, now coming out of the truck. Shit, you were all in trouble. Your heart was racing, you were surprised none of the guys could hear it. He was getting closer to where you were, his footsteps getting louder, until…

“Boss, I don’t think y/n is here”, one of his guys said, causing Minhyung to groan and walk back to the truck. The truck soon drove off, speeding off. You let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding, standing up once you were sure they were gone. “That was close”, Chan said, checking his surroundings, making sure no one else sneaks up on you. “Alright, it’s clear. Let’s go”, and at that, you continued on walking.

--------------------------------

The sun had started to set, the colder air causing shivers down your spine so you put your jacket on to keep yourself warm. “We haven’t seen any infected for a while, which I’m glad about”, Jisung said, feeling slightly safer. “Please don’t jinx us, Jisung”, Lee Know said, causing them to bicker. You just rolled your eyes at the pair, they seriously acted like an old married couple.

“Oi, love birds, if you would stop bickering, you’ll notice that we’re about to go into the underground subway, which means going into the dark so get your flashlights out”, Seungmin said, getting his flashlight out ready. The two stopped bickering and listened to him, getting their flashlights out. You all went into the underground subway, which was slightly flooded, the water coming up to just below your knees. You managed to walk through it though, even though it was a slight struggle.

Seungmin was right though, it was dark. Not too dark that you couldn’t see anything but dark enough that you had to use your torches. “I hate this, ew, this water feels so murky. It’s probably sewage water, filled with shit and piss. I think I’m going to throw up just thinking about it”, Jisung said, being dramatic, as per usual. “Jisung, if you don’t stop, I will turn you into a human flashlight because I will shove this flashlight so far up your ass, your entire body will start glowing”, Seungmin threatened, getting ready to shove the flashlight up his ass.

“Hey guys, stop it”, Chan said, suddenly going quiet. Everyone else went quiet too, wondering what Chan heard. That’s when they heard splashing coming from a distance. “I swear to god, if that’s an infected piece of shit, I will wreak havoc”, Jisung said, not wanting to move. “Stop being dramatic”, Lee Know said, who also wasn’t moving.

The splashing got closer, putting all of you on edge. “What the fuck is that?!” Felix said, shining his flashlight. That’s when an infected submerged out of the water, charging at you. You fired your gun, shooting it, causing it to fall back into the water with a massive splash. “That was close”, Jeongin said. “You still going to wreak havoc, Jisung?” Seungmin said jokingly, knowing full well that Jisung won’t do that. “Shut up, Seungmin”, Jisung said, rolling his eyes.

You progressed further through the subway, thankfully being able to walk normally, now that you reached part of it that wasn’t flooded. You reached the end of the subway, but it was blocked due to rubble blocking the exit. “Well, shit. How are we supposed to get out?” Hyunjin said, feeling stumped. “Hey, guys? Does that look like a way out?” Jeongin asked, pointing to a hole in the roof.

“That does look like the way out but, how are we supposed to get up there?” Chan asked, since there is no way up onto the subway train to get to the top. “We could boost others up there, I guess? It’s a risk, but it’s the only thing I can think of”, Lee Know said, everyone agreeing with him. It is a risk but it’s the only thing that should work.

You started boosting others onto the subway train, one after the other. It was going smoothly, like nothing bad was going to happen. But oh, you were so wrong. Jisung, Jeongin, Hyunjin and you were the last ones to be boosted up onto the train, and that’s when you started to hear the infected coming closer to you.

“Shit, hurry up”, Jisung said, being the next one to be boosted up. Hyunjin helped him, Jisung grabbing Chan’s hand, pulling him up. Next was Jeongin, grabbing Chan’s hand, almost falling as he stood up on top of the train. You could see infected in the distance, coming closer, their groans haunting you. “You’re next, y/n”, Hyunjin said, not giving you a chance to protest as he lifted you up. You grabbed Chan’s hand, pulling you up.

“Hyunjin, grab my hand”, Chan said, holding his hand for Hyunjin to grab. Hyunjin grabbed his hand, and as soon as Chan started to pull him up, the infected held onto Hyunjin’s ankle, digging its nails into his flesh. He screamed in agony, feeling blood trickle down his ankle. You got your gun out, shooting the infected, it’s hand letting go of Hyunjin’s ankle. You managed to pull him up onto the train, Hyunjin almost collapsing into your arms. Hyunjin leaned on you, all of you leaving the subway.

You waited until you were safe before checking Hyunjin’s ankle. He sat down, rolling his pant leg up, revealing his ankle. “It doesn’t look too bad, thankfully”, you said, wrapping a bandage around the wound. “Hopefully I don’t turn. You don’t want to date a cannibalistic psychopath”, Hyunjin joked, which you didn’t find funny. “Hey, it didn’t bite me. You only get infected if they bite you, or eat you”, he said, which he did have a point. You only turn if an infected person eats you, or just even a bite. You gave him some medicine for it so it doesn’t end up getting infected.

“Are you able to walk?” you asked him, helping him up. He didn’t stumble or fall over so that answers your question. “We should stay here for the night, get some sleep. Luckily this place has lots of food so we’ll be able to eat”, Chan said, putting his bag down. You all made a place to sleep, getting as comfortable as you could. Everyone seemed to fall asleep straight away after eating but you couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Your mind just wouldn’t shut off. You kept thinking about Changbin, Minhyung trying to find you, Hyunjin.

After a while though, you somehow managed to fall asleep. Unfortunately, though, you didn’t end up in dreamland. You ended up having a nightmare, which you haven’t had since you were younger.

“y/n? I’m going to find you”, Minhyung said, his voice full of venom. You were hiding in a bathroom, the door locked. You were holding your breath so as to not make a noise. You had tears streaming down your face, your mascara staining your cheeks. You accidentally sobbed loudly, which Minhyung heard. He stood outside the bathroom door, his breathing erratic.

“I know you’re in there, y/n. Open the door for me, please”, his voice sounded oddly calm, despite his intentions. He knows you’re in there so there’s no point in trying to hide anymore. “Just leave me alone”, you cried, wanting all this to be over. You found a baseball bat in the corner of the bathroom, grabbing it. “If you don’t open this door in 10 seconds, I will break it down”, he said, and you knew he wasn’t just saying it because he will actually break it down.

“10”

You continued to sit there, holding the baseball bat.

“9”

Your breathing got heavier.

“8”

You thought about the times when Minhyung was actually nice, but it was all a facade and you wish you never met him.

“7”

Your hold on the baseball got tighter, gripping the handle.

“6”

You contemplated whether to unlock the door or not.

“5”

You took a deep breath.

“4”

You stood up.

“3”

You walked towards the door slowly, tears still streaming down your face, your vision slightly blurry.

“2”

You made it to the door, holding the lock.

“1”

You unlocked the door, but not opened the door yet.

“Attagirl”.

That’s all he said as he slammed the door open, but he wasn’t expecting you to whack him over the head with the baseball bat. He fell to the ground with a thud, giving you a chance to run out of the house. You ran down the stairs, not bothering to put on any shoes as you opened the front door. You were expecting to see the street in front of your house but you were surrounded by darkness. You walked through the darkness, trying to find the light.

All of a sudden, Changbin’s lifeless body appeared in front of you. But instead of him lying there, he had turned into a cannibalistic psychopath, running towards you. You tried to scream but you couldn’t, no sound coming out of your mouth. You ran in the opposite direction, trying to find something to break you from this nightmare. You kept running for what seemed like ages but when you turned around, Changbin was still there but so were the others. They were all infected, blood coming out of their mouths, their eyes sunken into their sockets. You tried to scream again but still, no sound came out. You moved backwards, and you felt yourself falling. You continued falling for god knows how long, until you felt light. That’s when you realised you were surrounded by water. You tried swimming to the surface but the more you swam, the further away from the surface you were.

“y/n?” you heard a voice calling your name but you couldn’t make out who it was. You felt like you were drowning, your lungs becoming filled with water, and your body started to sink into the dark abyss.

“y/n!” a voice woke you up from your nightmare, sweat covering your entire body. You sat up and saw who woke you up: Hyunjin. So that’s who was calling you. You fell into him, crying into his chest. “Did you have a nightmare? Do you want to talk about it?” Hyunjin asked, to which you shook your head, not wanting to replay the dark torments of your mind. You stayed like that for a few minutes, until you calmed down. When you lifted your head off his chest, you didn’t realise how close you were until Hyunjin’s face was inches away from yours. Hyunjin leaned in, planting a sweet and gentle kiss on your lips, his hand stroking your hip. It was only a short kiss, but you enjoyed it. He planted a kiss on the tip of your nose, making you giggle at the sensation.

The moment was ruined by the sound of Lee Know waking up, his cat senses alerting something. “You good, bro?” Hyunjin asked him. “I think something bad is about to happen”, he said, and right at that moment, the door was kicked down, waking the others up. “What the fuck?” Chan said, immediately waking up. Jisung stood up, wondering what happened. When he came face to face to whoever broke the door down, he put his hands up, as if he was surrendering.

“Don’t move”, the guy said, aiming his gun at Jisung. “Please don’t shoot”, Jisung said, trying his best to be brave when deep down, he was scared shitless. “Where is y/n?” the guy asked, and at the sound of your name, you hid behind a wall. “I have no idea who that is”, Jisung said, trying to be oblivious. “Kid, don’t try and fool me. You know exactly who I’m on about”, the guy said, putting his finger on the trigger.

“Dude, what do you want? Why do you want y/n so badly?” Jisung said, subtly looking behind him to look at the others, hoping you were nowhere in sight. “Minhyung wants them. How should I put this? He wants to… make things up with them”, the guy said, walking closer to Jisung. Jisung walked backwards, which the guy didn’t like. “I said don’t fucking move!” causing Jisung to freeze in his spot.

Lee Know slowly appeared behind the wall, making himself known to the mysterious guy. “Do you know how he treated y/n? You know he tried to kill them, right?” Jisung said, being careful with his words. “Oh really? That’s not what he said. He said it was the other way around”, the guy said, still pointing his gun at Jisung. “That’s bullshit”, you accidentally shouted, realising that you just made yourself known.

“Move out of my way, kid. I only want y/n”, the guy said, but Jisung didn’t move. “I said move!” he shouted, making Jisung flinch. “But you told me not to move”, Jisung said, which is true, he did tell me not to move. The guy was getting agitated, and he was about to pull the trigger, which Lee Know saw. Lee Know lunged for the guy, and he tackled him to the ground. The gun went off, but no one knows where the bullet hit.

The guy grabbed his gun and left, not bothering to get you due to what just happened. That’s when Jisung saw Lee Know on the floor. “Fuck, Lee Know!” he said, running over to him. “I-i’m okay. I think”, Lee Know said, holding his abdomen. “Guys, help”, Jisung called to the others, you running to his side. You pulled Lee Know’s t-shirt up, and you saw that he was shot in the abdomen. Blood was trickling out of the wound, freaking Jisung out.

“Hey, Chan, grab the first aid kit out of my bag please”, you asked, Chan immediately ran over to your bag and grabbed the first aid kit. He handed it to you, opening the kit. “This might hurt so I apologise in advance”, you said, making Lee Know nervous. You tried to stop the bleeding by using a sterile cloth, applying pressure to it. Lee Know winced in pain, squinting his eyes. You managed to stop the bleeding, and you went to use some tools to try and remove the bullet but Lee Know stopped you.

“Don’t try to remove it. That might make it worse. Just leave it in”, he said, making you nervous. “Are you sure? Who knows if it hit any organs”, you said, still applying pressure. “Hey, if anything happens to me, at least I died a hero”, he said, trying to lighten the mood, which was sort of working but at the same time, wasn’t. You left the bullet in, putting a bandage around his abdomen. You helped him up, his abdomen feeling like it was on fire. Despite it hurting like a bitch, he managed to stand up.

“We better keep moving. It looks like the sun is coming up”, Chan said, grabbing his things. You all left, the sun hitting your face as soon as you got outside.

--------------------------------

It’s been a couple of hours since Lee Know was shot, and everything seemed to be going okay. All of you were walking along a river, which was filled with moss and leaves, no ducks or fish to be found. You were too focused on the surroundings in front of you, you didn’t notice Lee Know struggling, until it was too late.

“I don’t feel too good”, Lee Know said, and his body collapsed to the floor. He started coughing up blood, blood was also coming out of his nose, trickling down to his chin. You all rushed to him, trying to wake him up. “Guys, he won’t wake up, what do we do?” Jisung freaked out, his mind going into overdrive. You lifted up his t-shirt, checking his wound. You lifted up the bandage, and saw that his wound had become infected. Pus was oozing out of the wound and even though you’re not a professional, you know that that is not a good sign.

“Shit”, you said, your hands shaking. You’re not a professional so you’re not sure what to do. “We need to do something”, Jisung said, tears welling up in his eyes. He didn’t want to lose his best friend, his soulmate. Chan checked his pulse and his pulse was very weak. “Shit, his pulse is weak”, he said. “Lee Know, wake up. We need you. I-i need you, please”, Jisung was a sobbing mess at this point. “Wake up!” Jisung screamed, the rest of you just sitting there, not knowing what to do.

“He’s gone”, Chan said after checking his pulse again, tears streaming down his face. “No, he can’t be! We need to fucking do something!” Jisung screamed at the top of his lungs, his sobs becoming full on wailing. His whole body was shaking at this point, and he was starting to hyperventilate. “I’m sorry”, you said, guilt filling your whole body. You felt like you didn’t do enough to treat his wound, and you felt like shit because of it. “No, don’t apologise. It’s not your fault y/n, you did everything you could. Besides, you’re not a professional”, Hyunjin said, squeezing your shoulder.

“No, you’re right. You should be sorry”, Jisung said, not thinking about what he’s saying. You looked confused, standing up. “You’re acting like I’m the one who shot him”, you said, trying not to take offence since Jisung isn’t thinking, his mind all over the place. “No, but you’re the one who treated his wound. You shouldn’t have listened to him and took the bullet ou, then maybe he would still be fucking alive”, Jisung shouted, his face looked angry.

“Jisung, stop. You’re not thinking straight”, Hyunjin said, walking towards him. Jisung ended up punching him in the face, knocking him to the ground. That’s when Jisung realised what he just did. “I-i’m so sorry”, he said, the anger turned back into sadness. Hyunjin knew he didn’t mean any of that so he let it go, standing up and going over to hug him, which Jisung accepted.

“W-we should bury him”, Jisung said whilst wiping his eyes. Luckily there was a random shovel close to them (someone else probably buried a loved one or something), digging a hole in the grass, placing Lee Know’s lifeless body in the ground before filling the hole. You created a makeshift grave, with Lee Know’s name on it. You sat by his grave for a while, not saying a word.

“We should go”, Jisung said, standing up and walking off without saying another word. You all followed him, walking in silence, apart from the odd bird sounds.

--------------------------------

It’s been 2 months since the deaths of Changbin and Lee Know, and just over 3 months since the outbreak started. It’s now winter, snow covering the ground and trees, making it look like a winter wonderland. Which it would be, if there weren’t flesh eating monsters walking around.

Ever since that day, something in Jisung changed. He wasn’t chatty like he used to, not even cracking a single joke. His bubbly personality disappeared, turning him into a different person. He became more serious, which sort of scared you in a way. But at the same time, it made it easier for all of you to survive.

You were currently in Busan, walking through an abandoned shopping mall. There was broken glass everywhere, all the shops either shut down or completely ransacked. “Hey, look what I found”, Jeongin said, picking up an old robot, which was covered in dust. “It looks as old as you, Chan”, Seungmin said, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone laughed, even Jisung. You missed his laugh, even if it was only a short one. You looked around the shopping mall, not looking for anything in particular but wanting to see if you could find anything interesting.

Apart from the occasional spoken words between the group, it was deathly quiet. Like, too quiet. It scared you. Despite it being empty, apart from you and the others, you felt like you were being watched. You turned around and as soon as you did, you saw Minhyung. Well, you thought you did. He charged at you screaming, holding a baseball bat. You screamed and crouched into a ball, cowering. When you didn’t feel the sensation of being hit with a baseball bat, you looked up, and saw no one there.

“Hey, y/n, are you okay?!” Hyunjin asked, rushing over to you, seeing you sitting on the floor. “I-i’m good. I think. Fuck, now I think I’m having nightmares while I’m awake”, you said, suddenly feeling exhausted after what just happened. All of a sudden, you felt a panic attack coming on, which is probably the reason why you started to feel exhausted. Your breathing became heavier, your eyes stinging.

“Guys, help”, Hyunjin shouted to the others, needing a hand to help you overcome your panic attack. “We’re a bit occupied at the moment”, Chan shouted, and that’s when Hyunjin saw the others fighting off the infected. Where the fuck did they come from? He didn’t even hear them. You felt like you were drowning, everything around you becoming muffled. The last time you had a panic attack was when you were a teenager, when you were doing your exams. Thinking back at it, doing your exams was nothing compared to the situation you’re currently in.

You couldn’t breathe, gasping for breath. Your heart felt heavy, whilst your entire body felt light, like you were surrounded by water. You couldn’t even concentrate on what Hyunjin was saying, not comprehending what he was saying, it just sounded like gibberish. Whilst Hyunjin was trying, but currently struggling, to calm you down, the others were continuing to fight off the infected. One of the infected has Seungmin trapped against the glass balustrade railing, struggling to push it away from him. He could feel the glass starting to break from the amount of force he is being pushed by the infected, scared for his life. He didn’t want to die like this. He wants to grow old, surrounded by loads of dogs he’s rescued, with the love of his life.

The glass finally hit its breaking point, the glass smashing as Seungmin and the infected started to fall through it, starting to fall from the top floor of the shopping mall. Jeongin saw, his eyes widening. “Seungmin!” he shouted, running towards them. Everything happened in slow motion, Jeongin watching as Seungmin’s body started to fall off the top floor, Jeongin going as quick as he could. Seungmin closed his eyes, not wanting to accept his fate, but he soon felt someone grab his wrist. He opened his eyes and saw Jeongin, who gripped onto his wrist for dear life. The infected grabbed onto Seungmin’s ankle, trying to pull him down but Jeongin was stronger. The infected’s grip loosened on Seungmin’s ankle, plummeting to its death. Jeongin pulled Seungmin up onto the floor, Seungmin clinging onto the younger.

Seungmin isn’t the one to cry in front of others, not wanting to show weakness. But right now, he was too exhausted to care, immediately crying as soon as Jeongin pulled him into his body, hugging him. “I’m so fucking tired”, Seungmin cried, still clinging onto Jeongin.

After god knows how long, Hyunjin managed to calm you down from your panic attack, holding your face in his hands. Your breathing went back to normal, your vision becoming clearer and your hearing no longer muffled. “Is everyone okay?” Chan asked, looking around to check on everyone. He saw Seungmin clinging onto Jeongin, Hyunjin hugging you and Jisung standing over some dead infected. However, he couldn’t see Felix.

“Felix?!” Chan shouted, trying to find him but couldn’t. That’s when he heard a distant voice. “Guys? You might want to come look at this”, it was Felix. Where the fuck did he go? You and the others followed Felix’s voice, finding him next to a shop full of dead bodies. Not infected, just normal people, all dead. It looks like they were all tortured, some of them still tied up. Most of the dead were adults, but there were also some children. Who the fuck would do something like this?!

“We should get out of here”, Chan said, all of you agreeing with him. You all ran out of the shopping mall as quickly as you could, not wanting to be in there a minute longer. You all made it out of there, feeling the snow under your feet again. You could hear the snow crunching under your feet whenever you walked forward, the sound of it satisfying you for some reason. You’ve loved the snow ever since you were a kid, always making snowmen or throwing snowballs at your friends, or just even running around in it, seeing your small footprints in the snow.

You were walking over a hill, about to walk down it when you saw some people in the distance, who you assumed were some of Minhyung’s men. You all crouched down, hiding behind some bushes to hide yourself. “How are we going to get past them?” Felix whispered. “I have an idea but, it’s very risky and stupid”, you said and when you said ‘risky and stupid’, everyone protested, not wanting you to get yourself killed. “They’ll just think I’m surrendering myself, they won’t even suspect anything because they all seem too dumb to notice”, you said, and despite the others hating the idea, it was the best one you could think of.

You stood up and started walking down the hill, holding your hands in the air. Once one of the men saw you, he aimed his gun at you. “Hey, you’ve been trying to find me, right? Well, here I am”, you said, trying not to show fear. “Wow, I can’t believe you actually showed up. Why take you to Minhyung when we can have you all to ourselves?” another guy said, his words making you feel sick.

There were about 5 of them, and they were all starting to walk towards you. You pretended to be innocent, so they didn't suggest anything. You smiled at them, putting your hands on your hips. One of them went to grab you but before they did, you grabbed his arm and twisted it, making him yell out in pain. You kicked his shin, causing him to fall to the ground. One of the other men lunged at you, getting ready to tackle you but you were quicker, punching him square in the face, knocking him straight to the ground. Another man grabbed you from behind, trapping your arms. You headbutted him with the back of your head, causing him to let go of you, giving you the opportunity to turn around and grab your gun, shooting him in the gut. He fell backwards, clutching his abdomen. There were now 2 men left, and you turned around to face them. This was your opportunity to use your martial arts skills. They both launched themselves at you, getting ready to hit you. You dodged both of their attacks, twisting one of the guy's arms and flipped him over, his back landing on the ground. You kicked the other guy in the shin as he was about to grab you from behind, and you did a backflip over him. You grabbed his head and got your knife out of your pocket, slicing his throat, him now bleeding to death. You didn’t want the other three waking up and coming after you so you grabbed your gun and shot them all.

You put your knife and gun back in your pockets, seeing the others running down the hill towards you. “Well, that went better than I expected”, you said, smiling at them, as if you just didn’t kill 5 guys on your own.

“y/n, that was… awesome. Where the fuck did you learn those moves?” Jisung said, never seen you move like that before. “Oh, I did martial arts as a teenager”, you said casually, continuing on walking, stepping over the dead bodies.

The guys didn’t say anything else as they followed you, also stepping over the dead bodies. You ended up walking through the woods, which looked very creepy, especially with snow covering the ground so you couldn’t see if there were traps hidden underneath. You treaded carefully, not wanting to risk anything because who knows what psychopath has hidden underneath it.

“y/n, why do you think someone has hidden traps under the snow? I mean, it’s kinda stupid”, Seungmin said, which is true but at the same time, in the current circumstances, anything can happen. “I don’t know, there’s just something off about this. I can feel it”, you said and as soon as you said that, a rabbit came running past you and got caught in a bear trap, revealing the trap from underneath the snow, its tiny body getting impaled by it.

“Well, shit”, is all Seungmin said. Seungmin treaded more carefully, not wanting to become like that rabbit. He took better care of where he placed his feet, his whole body rushing with anxiety. You managed to get to the other side safely with no hiccups, letting out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding. Hyunjin, Chan and Felix were the next ones to get to the other side, standing by you. Jisung, Jeongin and Seungmin were still struggling, you started to get anxious for them. Jisung was the next one to reach the safe point, accidentally running into Hyunjin, knocking him over.

“Really, bro?” Hyunjin said, pushing Jisung off him. “Hey, I could have died, you know”, Jisung said, glaring at him. As they both stood up, Jeongin was standing there, waiting for Seungmin. “Come one Seungmin, you can do it”, Jeongin said, trying to help him, but it wasn’t working. Seungmin was almost to the end when the unfortunate thing happened. Seungmin put his left foot down, and his ankle was impaled by a bear trap, causing him to scream out in pain.

“Fuck, Seungmin!” you shouted, running to him. “Get it off me!” Seungmin yelled, holding his leg. You tried to pry it open but it wouldn’t work. “It won’t open”, you said, panicking. “What do we do?!”

You walked backwards, your anxiety through the room. You felt helpless at this point, watching as Seungmin continued to scream in pain, blood staining the snow. After god knows how long, Seungmin seemed to have given up. “You guys go, save yourselves”, he said, tears staining his cheeks. “There’s no point in trying to open it. Just go, please”, he said but none of you moved. “I said go!” Seungmin screamed and as soon as he closed his mouth, a bullet went through his forehead, his body falling to the ground.

You screamed, feeling someone grab you from behind. The others were also being grabbed, cloths being put over their mouths, causing them to pass out. You thrashed around against the person but it was no use. You had a cloth put over your mouth too, making you pass out.

--------------------------------

You

When you came to, you looked at your surroundings. You saw you were in a cage, concrete walls either side of you. You sat up, the cold floor giving you chills. You tried to get a look outside the cage but you couldn’t see much, just a big table and… sharp knives on the walls? You were in big trouble.

“Ah, I see you’re awake”, a voice said, making you freeze. It was Minhyung, and he had a scar on his left eye, from when you dug your nails into it. “What the fuck do you want from me?!” you shouted, standing up. “I want to make amends”, is all he said and you scoffed. “Make amends? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” you said, rolling your eyes.

“Oh, babe, you’ll see soon, don’t worry”, hearing him call you ‘babe’ made you almost throw up in your mouth. That’s when another person walked into the room, holding a piece of meat. “You didn’t leave any evidence, right?” Minhyung asked him, and the guy shook his head, wiping his bloody hand on his pants. Shit, that can’t be good.

“Now, be a good little doll and listen to me. I want you to join me. We can survive this, together. We can be together like old times”, Minhyung said, coming closer to the cage. Like old times?! Who the fuck does he think he is?

“Old times? Like when you tried to kill me?” you shouted, holding the cage door. That’s when you saw the cage door keys hanging on his belt, and that’s when you had an idea. “You know what, that doesn’t seem too bad, you know? It’ll be nice”, you said, putting a fake smile on your face. You put your hand out through a gap in the door, and as soon as Minhyung was about to hold your hand, you grabbed his fingers and broke them, making him yell in pain. You attempted to grab his keys but you couldn’t. Minhyung grabbed your hand, pulling you, causing you to smack into the door hard, and fell to the floor.

“You little shit. You have until sundown to make your decision and if you choose the wrong one, well, then you won’t like what happens after that”, Minhyung said, leaving the room and slamming the door shut.

The guys

When the guys came to, they noticed you were nowhere to be found. They saw Seungmin lying on the ground, blood surrounding his head. Chan screamed out of anger, frustration and sadness. 3 of their friends are now dead and who knows what could happen to you. “We need to find y/n, and quickly”, Hyunjin said, rushing out of the woods, the others following behind him.

It started snowing, and it started snowing really hard. They could hardly see anything through the blizzard, making their search for you even harder. “Can you hear that?” Felix asked, and they stood still. They could hear church bells, and they sounded close. They continued walking through the blizzard, covering their eyes. Hyunjin could see a silhouette of someone, and he turned around, pointing his gun at him. Hyunjin was quicker, firing his gun at him, knocking the guy to the ground.

They ended up fighting a lot of Minhyung’s guys, taking them all out. The blizzard didn’t stop them from progressing further, needing to find you as soon as possible.

The only light source they had was from fire pits, which also warmed them up at the same time. “I really hope we’re getting closer, I’m freezing”, Felix said, shivering. All of a sudden, someone tackled Felix to the ground, hitting him over and over. Chan grabbed the person from behind, throwing him off Felix, and threw him on the ground. Chan hit the guy over and over in the face, before grabbing his knife and stabbed him in the neck, blood spurting out of his throat.

“You ok, Lix?” Chan asked him as he helped him up, Felix was sure his nose was broken and he had a busted lip but he didn’t care about that, he cared about saving you. All he did was nod and continue on walking. They ended up behind a building, seeing a way inside. They walked through the gap, inside from the blizzard. That’s when Hyunjin noticed your bag on a shelf.

“y/n is definitely in here”, is all he said, going through a door.

You

Minhyung came back a few hours later, standing in front of the cage. “Have you made up your mind yet?” he asked, his hands on his hips. “I’ll go with you… to take you to your fucking grave”, you shouted, spitting at him. He didn’t say anything, opening up the cage and grabbed you. Another guy grabbed your other arm, pulling you onto the table. “Don’t fucking touch me”, you screamed, trying to get out of their grip but it was no use.

Minhyung held you down on the table as the other guy grabbed a meat cleaver, getting ready to cut your arm off. “I’m infected!” you panicked, screaming out those 2 words. “You’re lying”, is all Minhyung said, not believing you. “Pull up my sleeve, see if I’m lying”, you didn’t even think about what you’re saying, fear taking over your body.

Minhyung pulled up your sleeve, trying to find a bite on your arm but he didn’t. Without thinking, you grabbed the meat cleaver off the table beside you and hit the guy in the arm, causing his arm to spray blood, him screaming out in pain. You kicked Minhyung, making him fly back. You got off the table and ran out of the room, running into a room which looked like a dining area. You hid behind a table, seeing broken plates all over the floor.

“Where are you, y/n?” you heard his voice, trying to calm your breathing. You talk a step forward, accidentally standing on a broken plate, revealing your hiding place. Minhyung walked further into the room, trying to find you. You carefully walked around the room, hiding behind another table. “I will find out, and I will end you”, Minhyung threatened, hearing him coming closer. You peaked your head above the table, and you saw him standing there. Smoke was filling up the room and the place caught fire, the heat of the fire making you sweat.

You saw the front door, mentally planning your escape without getting caught. When you thought you were safe, you made a beeline for it but unfortunately, Minhyung grabbed you, pulling you to the ground. He went on top of you, hitting you. “When will you learn to never disobey me?!” he shouted, hitting you again. You turned your head, seeing his machete behind you.

He got off you, giving you an opportunity to crawl away. You got on your stomach, crawling towards the machete. You almost got it when Minhyung grabbed you again, turning you over so you were on your back again.

“What, you thought I’d actually let you go? You stupid, stupid whore”, he said, wrapping his hands around your throat. You reached your hand behind you, trying to grab the machete. He tightened his grip around your throat, cutting off your airways. You struggled to breath, gasping for air. You felt faint, on the verge of passing out. You tried reaching for the machete again and this time, you managed to grab it. You picked it up, slashing Minhyung with it. He yelled and you flipped the both of you over, you now on top of him. You stabbed him over and over again, blood splashing you in the face. Even when you knew he was dead, you still continued to stab him, screaming bloody murder.

You felt someone grab you from behind, making you scream out in fear. You were turned around, and that’s when you saw who grabbed you: Hyunjin. “Hey, it’s me”, he said, holding your face in your hands. “H-he tried..”, you tried to say but Hyunjin stopped you. “It’s ok, you’re safe now, baby. I’ve got you”, he said, hugging you as you cried into his chest.

Hyunjin helped you up, leaving the building with the others, giving you your bag. Chan looked at Minhyung, seeing his lifeless body on the floor, the machete still impaling his chest. He decided to grab it, taking it with him. Minhyung didn’t need it anymore anyway.

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A couple months have passed since that day and you’re still traumatised. It’s now spring, the warmer air hitting your skin. You haven’t spoken about that day since it happened and the guys won’t ask you, letting you talk about it until you’re ready. You were walking slower than the guys, walking a bit further behind, lost in your own thoughts. You didn’t realise Hyunjin was talking to you until you walked into him, your face hitting his back.

“Huh, what? Oh yeah, sure”, you said, not even knowing what he said. “Are you okay? I mean, that’s a stupid question but, you know what I mean”, Hyunjin said, realising that the question he asked was, indeed, stupid because neither one of you are okay, especially with what has happened the past 6 months.

“What did you say?” you asked, dodging his question. “I’m going to be honest, I completely forgot what I said”, causing you to roll your eyes, laughing slightly. “Hey guys, the road is blocked so we can’t go this way”, Chan said, and he was right. The road was blocked with abandoned cars, as well the road being destroyed, cars fallen into a makeshift pot hole. “Is there any other way we can go?” Felix asked.

“I mean, we can just go left and go around”, Jeongin said, pointing left and seeing a path which cuts straight through underneath the road, into a tunnel underground. You went inside the tunnel, turning on your flashlights, since the tunnel was dark. “Fuck, it stinks in here”, Jisung said, holding his nose. “Well, we are underground so, you should expect it to smell like shit”, Jeongin said, thinking Jisung was on about the sewage smell. “No, not that. I mean, it smells like rotting meat”, Jisung said, gagging.

As they progressed further into the tunnel, they found the source of where the smell was coming from. “Fucking hell, that’s disgusting”, Hyunjin said, feeling like he was going to throw up. Jeongin, however, did end up throwing up, hunched over in a corner as he puked his guts up. “You good, bro?” Jisung asked Jeongin, going over to him and rubbing his back.

“What the fuck is that?” Jeongin asked as soon as he felt better, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “I think that’s what happens to someone when they progress further into the infection. They just… turn into that”, Chan said, not knowing how to describe it. The infected became one with the wall, fungi growing out of it, their features now unrecognisable. You all walked past it, wandering further into the tunnel.

“I really hope more of those things aren’t down here”, you said, not wanting to come into contact with them. They look more terrifying and disgusting than the regular infected you’ve seen. As soon as you said that, you heard a deep roar, coming from further deep in the tunnel. “Ok, what the fuck was that? That did not sound friendly”, Jisung said, and his question was soon answered as a huge monster looking thing came charging through the tunnel.

“What the fuck?!” you shouted, firing your gun at it. The gun did nothing to it, however, as it ricocheted off of it. “How the fuck are we supposed to kill this thing?!”

“I’ve seen in movies that fire works”, Jisung said, but unfortunately you didn’t have fire. “Jisung, this isn’t a fucking movie, this is real life. Besides, where the heck are we supposed to find fire is this godforsaken tunnel?” Hyunjin said, still firing his gun at the monster. The monster continued to charge towards you, and you jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, Jisung wasn’t as lucky as you and the others, the monster throwing Jisung against the wall, his head smashing against the wall.

“Jisung!” Chan shouted, running towards Jisung but the monster blocked him. The monster was completely covered head to toe in fungi, and it was twice the size of you. It was huge, and it smelled disgusting, like raw meat that’s gone bad. That’s when you remembered that you had a molotov in your bag, which you learned how to make a month back. You took it out of your bag, lighting the rag on fire.

“Hey, you smelly little fucker”, you shouted, causing the monster to turn around. It roared at you and that’s when you threw the molotov at it, the monster catching fire. You then fired your gun, and it worked. The monster screeched as if it was in pain, and after a few more shots of your gun, the monster was dead, its body falling to the ground with a thud.

You ran over to Jisung, seeing him unconscious on the floor. “Will he be okay?” you asked, looking at Chan. Chan checked Jisung’s head, seeing blood gushing out of his head. You grabbed your first aid kit from your bag, handing it to Chan. Chan managed to patch Jisung’s head, the blood stopping. “Thankfully his injury isn’t life threatening. He’ll be okay, though I think he’ll have a concussion”, Chan said, giving you your first aid kit back, putting it in your bag.

“How are we going to wake him up?” Felix asked, poking Jisung on the cheek. “Well, I don’t think poking him will wake him”, Felix said, pouting. You thought of an idea but you don’t think the others will like the idea. You gave Hyunjin a look and Hyunjin just shook his head. “No, nu uh. I’m not kissing him”, Hyunjin said, standing back. “Wow, you’re acting as if you’re in love with him. Plus, I wasn’t thinking of kissing him. Unless…”, you said, pretending to think.

Hyunjin just shoved your shoulder, but not too hard. “I was thinking of hitting him, it’s the only thing I can think of”, you said. You don’t want to hit your friend but at the same time, it’s the only way you can wake him up. “I volunteer”, Felix said, raising his hand but the look you gave him made him put his hand down. “Who’s the strongest out of the 4 of us?” you asked, excluding Felix because you know him well enough that if he ends up hitting Jisung, he’ll accidentally hurt himself, and you don’t want that to happen.

Whilst the guys were discussing why they think they were the strongest, you decided to hit Jisung instead, not letting the guys have the chance to do it. As soon as you hit Jisung, he woke up almost immediately. “What did I miss?” is the first thing he said when he woke up, seeing himself lying on the floor. “And why does my head hurt? And why does Chan have 2 heads?”, Jisung said. “Yep, definitely a concussion”, Chan said, ignoring Jisung’s comment of him having 2 heads, and helped him up.

“Let’s get out of here”, you said, Jisung leaning on Chan for support, so he doesn’t fall over. You progressed further through the tunnel, and you managed to get to a part of it that was light and higher up, part of the ceiling caved in. Due to part of the ceiling being caved in, there was a bus lying on its side, having fallen through the ground, ending up underground. There was also water flooding the tunnel. You had to climb onto the side wall to get to the bus, side shuffling along the wall so as to not fall. The others managed to jump onto the top of the bus, Jisung having the help from Chan, guiding him. They all went inside the bus through an open window, and they felt safe inside it.

It was your turn to jump onto the bus, grabbing the door and climbing on top of the bus, climbing in through the same window the others climbed through. You started walking carefully through the bus but after every single move you did, the bus started creaking, freaking you out.

“We better get out of here quickly”, you said, not wanting to get trapped inside it. You managed to get to the other side of the bus, about to get out of there but unfortunately, something must have collapsed because the bus suddenly became submerged in water, all of you now being surrounded by it. You tried to swim to the other side of the bus, wanting to find an exit but there was none. Chan signalled to you that he was going to break a window, doing it with no problem, swimming through the now broken window.

You all escaped through the broken window, swimming to the surface. You all swam to the top, gasping for air. “Where the hell are we?” Jisung asked, not knowing where you ended up. Unfortunately, you ended up in part of a river where there was a high current, being sucked down the stream. All of you were panicking again, not knowing what to do.

Hyunjin saw you heading towards a rock, and he managed to grab you, swapping your positions so that he was heading for the rock. He ended up smashing into the rock, knocking him out. The others were lucky as they were pulled straight towards dry land, crawling out of the water and onto the grass. Chan had to help you pull Hyunjin out of the water, lying his unconscious body on the ground.

“Hyunjin? Hyunjin, please, wake up”, you cried, trying to wake him up but nothing was working. As soon as you stood up and turned around, you felt yourself being tasered, your body seizing up, falling to the ground. Since you were tasered, you didn’t see the others fighting the people who caught you, causing them to also be tasered.

--------------------------------

When you woke up, it looked like you were in a hospital room. White painted the walls, some of the paint being chipped off the walls, medical tools lying on a table on the other side of the room. “Ah, I see you’re awake”, an unfamiliar voice said, a tall woman walking into the room. “Who the hell are you?” you asked, now sitting up on the bed. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Lea, and I’m part of a group called ‘Mayflower’. We’re trying to find a cure to this disease”, she said, leaning against the wall.

“Where are my friends?” you asked, wanting to know what she has done to them. “Don’t worry, your friends are fine. And your friend with the concussion is resting at the moment after giving him some medicine”, Lea said, and you weren’t convinced. “Take me to them”, you said, getting up off the bed. As soon as you stood up, you were pushed back down again by a man in uniform.

“I’m sorry but, I can’t do that”, Lea said, holding a syringe. The guy held you down on the bed, you shouting profanities at him. “This will be over a lot sooner if you just stop struggling”, Lea said, moving the syringe closer to your neck. Before Lea could stick the syringe in your neck, you headbutted her, making her fall backwards. You grabbed the syringe off her, stabbing the guy in the leg, causing him to scream in pain. The guy ended up passing out a couple seconds later, his body hitting the floor.

“You fucker. Since you won’t cooperate, I don’t need you anymore. Guards, take them out of the building”, Lea said, and 2 guards barged into the room, grabbing you. You didn’t even protest, too tired to care. The guards dragged you down a corridor and once you were out of sight of anyone, you attacked them, hitting them over the head with their gun. You took their machine gun, holding on to it for dear life.

You sneaked around the hospital, trying to find the others. You walked into a room, and saw Jeongin lying on the bed, still unconscious. You walked over to him, shaking him. Luckily he woke up straight away, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he freaked out. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s me”, you whispered, leading him out of the room, closing the door quietly behind you.

“We need to find the others but in order to do that, we need to be quiet”, you whispered, explaining the plan to Jeongin. He nodded, going in the opposite direction as you. The plan was, you were going to check on Jisung whilst Jeongin went to go get Chan, Felix and Hyunjin. You were able to find Jisung with no problem, seeing him resting on the hospital bed. He woke up on his own accord as he heard the door open, and when he saw you, he sighed in relief. “I’m so glad to see you, y/n. I thought they were going to kill us”, Jisung said, getting up off the bed. He definitely seemed more with it now a couple of hours ago, his concussion gone.

“Come on, lets go”, and you both left the room, going to find the others. You turned the corner and you saw 2 guards down the corridor, and you and Jisung hid behind the wall, breathing heavily. “How are we going to get past them?” Jisung asked, but luckily, you didn’t need to get past them because you suddenly heard the 2 guards bodies drop to the ground. You peaked round the corner, and you saw Jisung, Chan and Felix.

“Jeongin, where’s Hyunjin?” you asked, not seeing him with them. You started to panic, awful situations going round your head. You couldn’t think straight, worry and fear overtaking your body as you took off, running down the corridor. “y/n, wait!” Chan whisper-screamed, but you didn’t listen. Your body was filled with fear, worry, but also anger at the same time. A couple of guards came around the corner, walking towards you.

“Hey, stop there!” they shouted at you but you didn’t listen, firing the machine gut at them without hesitation, killing them at point blank. Any guards you saw that charged at you, you killed them all without hesitation, seeing nothing but red. You need Hyunjin back, and you will do that, no matter what it takes.

You ended up on the other side of the operation room, and that’s where you saw Hyunjin: he was lying on the operating table, wires coming out of his arms. You slammed the door open, barging in. All three surgeons who were in the room all stopped what they were doing, looking at you.

“Unhook him, now”, you said, your voice sounding threatening. You pointed the gun at the main surgeon, who had his arms up. “Don’t shoot, please”, he begged, walking backwards. “If you do what I say, then I won’t shoot you”, you said, hoping they would listen to you. Neither one of them moved, not wanting to unhook Hyunjin.

“I said fucking unhook him!” you shouted, walking closer to them. The main surgeon grabbed a scalpel, going to use it as a weapon. He didn’t think as he charged at you, but you fired the machine gun at him, firing multiple bullets into him. He slammed back into the wall, his body sliding down it, blood staining the blue walls. You didn’t even think as you shot the other 2 surgeons, not wanting them to report back to Lea. you put the machine gun down, going straight towards Hyunjin. You unhooked the wires from his arms, holding him in your arms.

Hyunjin looked peaceful, his features soft on his face. When you saw his chest rising up and down, you felt some sort of relief since you know that he’s still alive. The guys walked into the room, seeing Hyunjin lying on the operating table, and they thought their worst fears had come.

“Is he…”, Jeongin was about to ask, but before he finished his sentence, you interrupted him. “He’s still alive, just sedated”, you said, trying to find something to wake him up with. You saw some smelling salts on the table, grabbing them. You put the smelling salts near his face, and he woke up a few seconds later. “Where am I?” he asked, looking around the room. “Lets not worry about that now, let’s just get out of here”, Chan said, leaving the room.

Hyunjin leaned on you as you all tried to find the way out of the hospital, walking down some stairs. You managed to make it to the lower ground floor, walking through a door and ended up in the hospital car park. You picked the first car you found, getting in the car. Luckily the keys were already in the ignition, making your escape easier.

Unfortunately, you weren’t going to be able to leave that easily as the car park doors still need to be opened. “I’ll go and try to open them”, Chan offered, getting out of the car, walking towards the door. As soon as Chan got to the door, Lea came barging out of the door to the car park, holding a gun.

“Chan, get down”, Jisung shouted to him, but it was too late. Lea fired her gun, the bullet flying through the air, and it hit Chan straight in the back of the head, his body falling to the ground almost immediately. You all screamed, seeing Chan now dead on the floor. You went to Lea and stood face to face with her, whilst the others ran towards the car park door.

“You fucking bitch. You seriously don’t know when to stop, do you?” you said, holding your right hand behind your back, hiding your gun. “If only one of you would actually cooperate with me. But no, you didn’t. All we were trying to do was find a cure but you all destroyed that chance. Now there is going to be no cure because of your fucking selfishness”, Lea shouted, pointing her gun at you.

“Oh, but there is a cure for this disease”, you said, confusing Lea. The next few seconds went by like a flash, you pulled your gun from behind your back and fired your gun, the bullet hitting Lea in the middle of her forehead. She dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, her gun dropping from her hand.

You ran towards the others, seeing Chan’s lifeless body lying on the ground. “How many more friends do we have to fucking lose before we’re out of this fucking mess?” Jisung yelled, hitting the car park door. That’s when Jisung noticed the buttons to open the door, pressing the big green button, the door now opening.

“Hyunjin, can you drive?” Jisung asked him, Hyunjin nodding his head, sniffling as tears rolled down his cheeks. You all got into the car, Hyunjin turning the key in the ignition. He slammed his foot on the pedal, driving through the open door, driving as fast as he could, driving away from the hospital.

It had started raining lightly about an hour ago, and now the rain is really heavy, making it difficult for Hyunjin to see where he was going. “I can’t fucking see”, Hyunjin said, gripping the steering wheel, his fingers going white. He suddenly slammed on the brakes, the car coming to an abrupt stop. He got out of the car, slamming the door shut. You, Jeongin, Jisung and Felix stayed in the car while Hyunjin walked in front of the car, and started screaming, watching as he got soaked by the rain.

That’s when you all decided to get out of the car, not caring that you were getting soaked by the ferocious downpour. After a while, Hyunjin calmed down, breathing in and out, something he always does to calm himself down. Neither of you said anything, just listened to the sound of the rain, seeing it bounce off the ground.

The silence was soon interrupted by the sound of a plane, causing you to look up. You saw what looked like a military cargo plane flying through the sky, and that’s when you thought of something. “Wait, that plane in the sky means that we’ll be able to leave. If we get to the airport, we have a chance of getting on the next plane”, you said, feeling a slight chance of hope. “Yeah but who knows what could happen once we get on that plane”, Jisung said, trying to think realistically but at the same time, he really needed to leave the outbreak and start a fresh start in a new country.

You all got back in the car and Hyunjin turned the car around, racing towards the airport, going as fast as he could through the rain.

You got to the airport in the nick of time, seeing another military cargo plane filling up with other people. You got out of the car, all of you rushing towards it. You tried to get on the plane but you were stopped. “Sorry but, you all can’t get on this plane. Only 3 of you can, the other 2 will have to stay here”, the soldier said, pushing you back. “Hey, you can’t do that. We need to get out of here”, Jisung said, getting in the soldiers personal space.

“If you don’t step back, kid, I will shoot you”, the soldier said, pointing the gun against Jisung’s stomach. “What, in front of all these people? That won’t be good, will it?” Jisung said, not budging.

“Hey, let them all on, and that’s an order”, a familiar voice said, the soldier removing his gun and stepping to the side. That’s when you saw Jackson standing inside the plane, wearing a uniform. All of you walked inside the plane, sitting down. If it hadn’t been for Jackson, who knows what could have happened.

The door of the plane closed and for once in 6 months, you finally felt safe. You were finally leaving, but you wish the others were still here. The moment felt bittersweet, a few stray tears still rolling down your cheek. You rested your head on Hyunjin’s shoulder, closing your eyes, falling into a deep sleep, one that wasn’t full of nightmares.

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