Chapter Text
“Now boarding all passengers to hell. Your flight is leaving in twenty minutes.”
Taeyong woke up to the sound of Lucas’ deep voice imitating the airport intercom, followed quickly by Mark’s echoing giggles. He slowly stretched on his makeshift bed in the airplane aisle and winced as Mark burst into another fit of laughter at something Lucas said. It didn’t take long for Taeyong’s mouth to twitch into a small smile. There were worse sounds to wake up to.
Still slightly grumpy, he got up, walked out of the plane, and towards the source of the noise, where Lucas was imitating a flight attendant and Mark was laughing in the middle of the hangar. Jaemin was watching the two from the ground, laughing along with as much energy as he could muster. His brother’s head was resting on his shoulder. Taeyong’s smile spread as he noticed that the youngest boy was still half-asleep. Every time Jaemin laughed, it would shake Jisung’s head and his wide eyes would open after drooping closed. He was glad that Jaemin was up and moving, even though Taeyong could tell that Jaemin was trying to hide his winces of pain whenever he moved his arm. Jaehyun, who was working on starting a fire, was the first to notice Taeyong’s presence.
“Ah, the dead has risen,” he remarked with a smile. Taeyong’s scowled at his friend, but it was hard for him to be intimidating with his red hair sticking up in all sorts of directions. Lucas paused his antics to address him.
“Tyongieeee. Thank god you’re awake. We’re fucking starving!” Taeyong wondered how he had so much energy this early in the morning and then glared at Lucas’ nickname.
“You know, you could always make your own goddamn food.” At this, Lucas pouted and Jaehyun gave a soft laugh.
“Ah, we wouldn’t have a shelter if we left the cooking to Lucas,” he said, adding on to the teasing of Lucas, who is turn replied with a joke. At this, Mark started laughing again. Taeyong looked at Mark and Jaehyun and thought about how nice it was to see them smile again. He was glad the group had found Lucas. Even though he was loud, his energy was contagious. Taeyong grabbed a pot and moved to sit next to Jaemin, where he began preparing breakfast with the things Jaehyun had already set up. This startled Jisung, whose eyes had closed again. His eyes shot open and he picked his head up from his brother’s shoulder.
“I’m up!” he yelped. Jaemin ruffled Jisung’s blonde hair with his good arm.
“Morning, sleepy head.”
After Taeyong was done cooking the rice, Mark and Lucas joined the circle next to Jaemin around the fire. The three boys launched into a new conversation and Jaehyun, who was tending to the fire, leaned down next to Taeyong.
“Hey, we’re going to have to go into town today. We’re running low on supplies,” he said in a low voice.
“Yeah, I knew it would be soon… I’ll go this time. I’m going to try to find a pharmacy. Jaemin’s been putting on a brave face, but I know he’s in pain. Our ibuprofen stock doesn’t really help for shit with anything more than a headache,” he replied in the same low tone, and the two sat in silence for a second, both knowing that Taeyong felt guilty for staying behind last time they had gone into town, even though Jaehyun had insisted on going and making Taeyong get some rest. Things didn’t go according to plan. Taeyong shuddered and looked over to Jaemin, focusing on the scar running down his arm. The angry red line snaked diagonally from his shoulder to just above the start of his elbow. He turned away and looked at Lucas.
“Lucas, you up for a trip to the city?” Lucas’ face lit up at this question and Taeyong knew he made the right call. They were all feeling a little cooped up. Ever since the last trip to the city, the group had agreed to stay inside the hangar and lay low for a while. He knew Lucas, as the most recent addition to their group, was particularly having trouble adjusting to living in the hangar. Lucas stood up and punched the air with a dramatic “yes!”
“I know I can’t go with you guys, but can you make sure to get some coffee? We’ve been out for a few days and I’m actually dying over here,” Jaemin said. They all rolled their eyes at his dramatics. Jaemin was smiling with the rest of them, but his left hand had come up to absentmindedly rub his injured arm.
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Always be ready, gun loaded. Keep your finger on the trigger. Shoot first. Ask later.
Taeyong put his jacket on and loaded his gun, trying to shake their voices out of his head. He didn’t want to remember his training. He motioned for Mark to come over to him.
“I want you to do a check up on Jaemin’s arm while I’m out. Change the dressing and clean the wound. If there’s no sign of infection, you can take the stitches out.” At this, Mark’s eyes widened.
“Really? Doesn’t standard protocol call for up to two weeks?”
“That’s the maximum healing time, but in the ER, we rarely waited that long. It’s been about nine days, so it should be fine if the wound isn’t infected. Now, what are the five signs of infection?”
Taeyong started buttoning up his jacket as he quizzed Mark, who had pulled out a small notepad from his back pocket and was taking notes as Taeyong spoke. He paused his scribbling to answer the question.
“Five signs of infection: pain, redness, warmth, pus, and … edema,” he listed out, barely hesitating. Taeyong smiled and nodded.
“Perfect. You’re up Dr. Lee.” At this Mark smiled and walked away, not looking up as he read his notes furiously. Taeyong watched him go. His smile dropped as he remembered their time in the Cells. Taeyong had only been a third-year medical student before the war, but he had the most medical experience of the bunch. To pass the time in the Cells, he had started teaching Mark the medical basics. Both parties appreciated the distraction, and Mark was smart and a hard worker. Taeyong’s heart clenched as he imagined what a good medical student Mark would have made. It clenched harder when he realized that they may never get to live in a world again where normal things like doctors and teachers existed. Taeyong was shaken out of his thoughts by Jisung poking his stomach.
“I want to go with you and Lucas,” he stated, and after seeing Taeyong’s mouth begin to form the letters n-o, he added with a pout, “I really don’t want to sit around while Jaemin is in pain.” Jisung put on his best puppy dog face, which no one, even Taeyong, could resist. Taeyong sighed and contemplated a second before nodding his head.
“Alright fine. Go get your jacket. You can carry the suitcase. But you’re not taking a gun!” He yelled after Jisung, who started running to get his jacket from the plane the second Taeyong nodded. He watched and rubbed his temples with his thumb and pointer finger.
“Kids these days,” Jaehyun said from behind him, humor in his voice.
“Yeah, and he’s just now entering his rebellious teenager phase,” Taeyong replied, still rubbing his temples, “we’ve got our hands full with that one.”
“Shit, do you know how old we sound?” Jaehyun asked, which made Taeyong’s lips turn up. They stood there in silence until Taeyong stopped rubbing his head and turned to Jaehyun.
“I just don’t want him to get hurt, Jae. What if we run into Scavengers again? Jaemin is just now recovering.”
Never show weakness. By the end of your training, you will have none.
Again, Taeyong wished desperately for their words to leave his thoughts.
“It’s going to be okay, Tyong. Yes, it was a bad day, but Jaemin’s fine now, and we got Lucas out of it,” he paused, “we need supplies, and we can’t keep Jisung in this hangar forever, as much as everyone would love to.” Jaehyun placed his hand on Taeyong’s shoulder and squeezed it. Taeyong closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly. It was okay to be vulnerable with Jaehyun. The group almost never talked about Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Mark’s time in the Cells, but they knew that Taeyong and Jaehyun were taken first. The two of them had a unique bond that no one else could understand. Jaehyun was the only one that had seen Taeyong at his worst, and the same was true the other way around. Taeyong slowly opened his eyes and muttered a quiet “thank you” before grabbing three bandanas and going to meet the others at the hangar entrance. Lucas was doing jumping jacks and Jaemin stood with his arm around his brother, who held the suitcase they used to transport supplies eagerly. Jaemin looked up at Taeyong with a smirk as he approached.
“Yeah, I can’t resist the face, either,” he teased, and then said more seriously, “don’t let him do anything stupid, okay?” Taeyong nodded while making eye contact with him, knowing that Jaemin wished he could go out with his brother. He threw the bandanas to Lucas and Jisung, before wrapping his own around his neck and pulling it up to cover his nose and mouth. They both did the same. Taeyong knew that they couldn’t do anything about the radiation, but at least they could try not to breathe in all the shit floating around out there.
“Let’s get this show on the road!” Lucas announced while pulling the lever to open the hangar door. As the door slowly rolled open it, the metal groaned. Taeyong pulled his gun out and pointed it at the entrance on the off-chance that something, or someone, was waiting for them on the other side. Once it was fully open, he motioned for Lucas and Jisung to wait while he stepped outside. The sun was bright in the air, and it took a second for Taeyong’s eyes to adjust after being in the hangar for a few days. He scanned their surroundings. No matter how many times he’d seen it, he was always somewhat shocked by what was beyond their little hangar. It was connected to what was once the Gimpo International Airport. Now, it looked like someone tried to play Jenga with giant concrete chunks of the building and failed miserably. When the war started, the airports were the first things bombed. Taeyong grudgingly thought to himself that it was a smart move from an enemy’s perspective. It reminded him of what he was taught in the Cells.
Always have an escape plan. Make sure your opponent doesn’t.
Taeyong turned around and caught eyes with Jaemin, Mark, and then Jaehyun watching from the hangar entrance. They all seemed to experience the same shock at seeing the outside world again. Taeyong motioned for Lucas and Jisung to follow him. The trio headed out and didn’t look back as the door screeched closed behind them, locking the rest of the group safe inside.
----
It was about a five-hour trek into town, and Taeyong couldn’t tell if it felt longer or shorter with Lucas around. The only time he stopped talking was when they were crossing the bridge over the Han River into town, where they knew there could be Scavengers, or worse, Agents. Taeyong himself was quiet, as he always was when they weren’t in the hangar, where it felt safe. Out here, he knew that he couldn’t afford to be chatty. Out here, he was reluctantly thankful that he had Cell training. At least he knew he could protect the others, or so he had thought before the last outing. The three walked across the long stretch in silence, with Jisung sandwiched in between Taeyong and Lucas, who both had their guns out and pointed in front of them. The subtle rushing of the water beneath them and the rolling of the suitcase Jisung was towing were the only things that dared to penetrate the silence.
They stayed in that formation once they got to the other side of the bridge, tense and quiet. They began walking through the streets, the shell of the once beautiful city of Seoul surrounding them. Dust particles and ashes fluttered in the air around them. The delicate pieces of what once was spotted the sky in a way that was almost beautiful. Sometimes if he squinted his eyes enough, Taeyong could pretend they were butterflies, like the ones he used to love seeing at the park by his apartment. But these ones didn’t fly away, just landed softly on the ground, coating the city in a dark sheet. The three kept up their pace in silence, sticking to the edges of the streets, hiding in shadow whenever they could. Jisung scrunched his eyebrows when a particle landed right in between them, and if Taeyong hadn’t been so on edge, he would have chuckled at sight.
Always be prepared. Think three steps ahead of your opponent.
They first went to their regular supermarket, where they had previously stored supplies that they couldn’t carry back on outings in the past. It was a good thing they planned ahead, because the market was otherwise almost completely empty. Went everything went to shit, the stores were raided by desperate throngs of people, and after they were done, the government didn’t even both trying to clean up the mess. It was a weird experience, walking through the store. Taeyong used to like to go shopping, the random mix of vibrant colors the aisles used to promise were a consistent comfort in his hectic life. Now, the entire store looked muted by the cream of the bare aisles, save for the occasional cans sprinkled around.
They tried to be as practical as possible with their food, prioritizing sustainable foods like beans and rice and peanut butter. Although they held no nutritional value, the group always made sure to pick up some of those cheap noodle packets. They were a taste of a home they would never be able to return to. They also remembered to grab the essentials, toilet paper, soap, and instant coffee for Jaemin. By then end of their tear through their stockpile in the market, the suitcase was almost busting, and Taeyong knew it would probably slow them down on the way back. However, on the way out, Lucas caught site of a chocolate bar under an overturned counter and upon nagging by both him and Jisung, Taeyong relented and said they could put it in the suitcase, even though it would probably melt by the time they got back. After they left, the sun hung lower in the sky and they neared a shop with peeling paint on the window. The once bright display was so dulled that Taeyong almost couldn’t read them.
“Hey, let’s stop here. I wanna see if they have any pain meds we can bring back for Jaemin,” Taeyong said.
Know the layout of your arena.
As they did when they left the hangar and with the supermarket, Taeyong went in first to check for any danger, flinching at the bell ringing when he opened the door. After clearing the area, he motioned for Lucas and Jisung to follow him into the pharmacy. They pulled the bandanas down from their faces when they got inside. It was much like the supermarket in that it was both eerily quiet and empty. Taeyong and Lucas headed towards the back of the pharmacy, sidestepping the various pills and empty bottles littering the floor.
“Hey guys, this suitcase is heavy, I’m gonna chill up here. Let me know if I can help,” Jisung hollered from the front.
“That’s okay, Jisung. Rest up ‘cuz you have the carry that thing the whole way back,” Lucas yelled back, looking back and smiling as Jisung sat on one of the front checkout counters and pouted. Lucas chuckled as Taeyong sent a glare that held no weight over to him, which was quickly followed by a tiny smile. It was probably the first semblance of a smile that had graced Taeyong’s face since they’d left the hangar. They both knew that one of them would end up carrying the suitcase by the time they got back. Taeyong’s smile vanished as he began focusing on the task at hand.
“Alright, so we’re looking for pain medication. The narcotics will probably be in the very back. While I’m checking there, can you look around for some antibiotics? Basically, anything that ends in -cilllin or -mycin will be good,” he said, marching to the back.
“Aye aye!” Lucas exclaimed, giving a mocking salute. Then the two older boys then began their search through the disordered shelves. The pharmacy was quiet as they focused, with only the occasional proclamation from Jisung interrupting them. At some point, Lucas had let out a shout when he found a bottle of amoxicillin, and then everything went quiet again as they searched for pain pills among the chaos behind the pharmacist’s counter.
“Aha!” Taeyong’s victorious shout was the first sound that had echoed through the deserted pharmacy in a while. He was holding up a white sealed package. “Hydrocodone,” he followed up with a smile. Lucas laughed at this.
“Okay, drug addict,” he said with a smile. At this, Taeyong shot him a glare.
“Ha ha,” he said in a dry voice, which only prolonged Lucas’ bellowing laughs. “Hey, Jisung, look around and see if there’s anything we could use back at the hangar,” he hollered from behind the counter to Jisung, who hadn’t moved from his spot in the front.
“Oh, and see if you could find some lotion. We all know how Jaehyun loves to moisturize,” Lucas added on. At this, Taeyong did let out a little laugh. Jisung gave a sound of acknowledgement as he hopped down from the counter he was sitting on. Lucas had wondered off towards the front, stopping in an aisle to smell the few broken bottles of cologne that were scattered on the floor.
“Clean up on aisle four,” he muttered to himself, proud of his own joke. Taeyong heard this and rolled his eyes as he inspected another bottle of pills, trying to remember what they were used for. Whatever they were, they didn’t need them, but he scrunched his nose up in frustration because he couldn’t remember. His concentration was broken by the ring of the door opening followed by a gasp and a shout. Taeyong’s focus was immediately rerouted to the front of the store, where Jisung was, and he ran towards it, gun drawn. Lucas was close behind. When they got to the front of the store, Taeyong felt his whole body go cold at what was waiting when they got there.
There were four of them. They were standing in front of the counter where Jisung had just been. One of the taller ones with jet black hair had grabbed Jisung by the hair and pivoted towards the approaching Taeyong and Lucas. The dark-haired one was flanked by a shorter boy with reddish hair on his left and another dark-haired boy on his right, both gripping knives of varying lengths tightly in their hands. Behind them stood the tallest of the lot, with bluish-gray hair hanging over his dark eyes. Lucas gasped when he saw that the one holding Jisung held a blade against his throat.
“Let him go!” he yelled, gun pointed directly at the boy, who simply tightened his grasp on Jisung’s hair, earning a wince from Jisung. Then he spoke for the first time.
“Put the guns down, both of you, and slide them across the room,” he said, and after a few moments of no one moving, added, “no one has to get hurt. Just do what I say.” His voice was calm, and as he spoke, he tilted his head slightly to the left, in an almost curious manner. When he said this, his grip tightened once again on Jisung, whose eyes widened more than should be humanly possible. The three other boys stayed positioned around him, staring intensely at the guns trained on the guy in the middle. Lucas kept his gun trained on him and shot a look over to Taeyong, who had been silent during the whole encounter. Taeyong could barely see anything other than the sharp blade pressed tightly against Jisung’s neck.
Never show weakness.
“Let him go,” he said. His voice was barely above a whisper, but everyone seemed to hear it. Lucas noticed the guy holding Jisung attempt to suppress a shiver at the tone of Taeyong’s voice. The guy on his right looked over to him for a second, a slight tremor passing over the hand that clenched around a knife. Lucas himself was taken aback for a moment. He almost didn’t recognize Taeyong by the look on his face. It was cold, lacked any warmth that had just moments before been present. The boy in the middle simply blinked after composing himself and replied.
“Put your guns on the floor, slide them towards us, and no one gets hurt,” he repeated. Lucas was impressed that the boy’s even tone remained amid facing down the barrels of two guns. He looked over at Taeyong again, whose focus shifted up from Jisung’s pained face to the boy holding him. When Taeyong’s eyes met the other boy’s, he found them already intensively trained on him. Taeyong saw the boy tilt his head ever so slightly more to the left, exposing a flash of his pale neck behind the torn maroon scarf that was wrapped around it. No one moved as the two sized each other up. Eventually, the red-haired boy broke the silence when he turned to the guy in the middle.
“Doyoung, shit, look at his jacket,” he muttered quietly, but not quietly enough for Lucas and Taeyong to miss what he was saying. He gestured to Taeyong’s jacket. Taeyong watched as the boy in the middle took in the jacket he was wearing and saw his eyes slightly widening. He pressed the knife into Jisung’s skin harder. Jisung gasped and tried to grab at the hand that held the knife. Taeyong once again looked down to Jisung’s neck to see a drop of blood peek out from where the knife was putting pressure.
“Are you guys Agents?” the boy hissed.
“Hey, let up on the kid, he’s bleeding,” Lucas commanded, clenching the gun in his hands harder as he watched Jisung get manhandled.
“How about you answer his goddamned question first!” the red-haired boy yelled back before the other one had a chance to answer. Lucas gritted his teeth.
“No, we’re not fucking Agents! He used to be, but he escaped the Cells,” Lucas answered, gesturing to Taeyong, “now, please, let the kid go.” At this, all four of the boys’ eyes shot up to Taeyong, who was smiling. The knowledge that he had once been in the Cells gave him some power in this situation. However, this wasn’t a smile Lucas had ever seen before.
Use your opponents fear to your advantage.
“Bullshit! You expect us to believe that he is just conveniently wearing the Agent uniform and you both have fucking military-grade guns,” yelled the red-haired one again.
“Uh, yeah, actually I do, you- ” Lucas was about to snap back at the boy when Taeyong interrupted him in a tone that once again silenced everyone.
“Yes,” he said, “I was in the Cells for a long time. Which means I could probably kill all four of you with one bullet. So, it might be wise to do what I say.” He still had that chilling smile on his face when he repeated once more,
“Let. Him. Go.”
Lucas was hoping to God that the idiots in front of them would catch the hint and let Jisung go before it got messy. He didn’t know much about the Cells, but he’d seen Jaehyun and Mark in action when the group had rescued him from the Scavengers on their last supply outing. He could see why people were so afraid of Agents. However, much to Lucas’ dismay, it didn’t seem like it would end easily. He again saw another shiver run through the boy in the middle’s body, but other than that the only emotion shown clearly on his face was anger. The gray-haired boy in the back of the group had put his hand on the shoulder of the boy- Doyoung- and whispered into his ear, casting occasional glances at Taeyong. It almost looked like he was trying to calm him down. Lucas hoped the boy was successful. The dark-haired boy next to Doyoung didn’t look like he was faring well. His hand was actively shaking, causing the knife in his hand to reflect the light coming in through the store window, and he was trying desperately to keep his fear off his face. Lucas almost felt bad for him. The red-haired boy, on the other hand, looked slightly shaken by Taeyong’s threat, but still had that annoyingly determined look in his eye. He sneered at Lucas but didn’t say anything. Doyoung shook the gray-haired one’s hand off his shoulder, and Lucas quickly realized that the gray-haired boy must’ve been unsuccessful in calming Doyoung down.
“Your threats mean nothing, not when I have this little guy,” Doyoung said as he gave a pointed look down to Jisung, whose bottom lip was now trembling, and continued, “so, it might be wise to do what I say.” He shot a wicked smile over to Taeyong when he said his next words.
“Lower. Your. Guns.”
He whispered the words in an attempt to mock the ones that Taeyong had previously uttered, drawing out the s. Lucas widened his eyes at Doyoung’s audacity. He looked over to Taeyong. He had his eyes closed, and one of his nostrils was subtly flaring, almost as if Taeyong was about to snarl.
“Oh, and Donghyuck, how about you go grab that suitcase, too,” Doyoung said, still gripping Jisung’s blonde hair tightly, to the red-haired boy on his left, and added, “I’m sure we could use the extra supplies.” Donghyuck grinned at Lucas as he started towards the nearly-bursting suitcase, filled with their supplies, that had fallen over on the ground by the counter when Jisung was grabbed. This made Lucas’ hand grip his gun even tighter. The knuckles were turning white from pressure. Jisung watched helplessly, lower lip still trembling.
When Taeyong heard Doyoung’s words, he opened his eyes. He didn’t watch Donghyuck’s pursuit towards the suitcase. He didn’t even pay attention to Jisung’s not-so-silent tears beginning to slide down his face. If he hadn’t been so angry, he might have noticed Doyoung’s grip slightly lessen at the sound of Jisung crying. But no, all he could see was the triumphant smirk that graced Doyoung’s calm face. Then he saw red. He couldn’t hear Jisung’s sobs over the rushing of blood in his ears. He felt his face flush with anger, and the rushing noise assaulting his ears harmonized with the sounds of voices he longed to forget bouncing around in his head.
Shoot first.
His eyebrow twitched upwards when he made eye-contact with Doyoung. Then, he turned towards Donghyuck, who had just made it to the suitcase. In a matter of seconds, a gunshot rang out, and Donghyuck was on the floor, gasping and looking at his leg, which now had blood running down the side of it. Other than the pained noises coming from Donghyuck while he gipped his thigh, everything was silent. The silence only lasted for a few moments. There was a clatter as the other dark-haired boy dropped his knife and ran over to Donghyuck, quickly followed by the gray-haired one. Doyoung stood statue still, his widened eyes didn’t leave Taeyong. Lucas looked just as shocked as Doyoung.
Ask later.
“I have perfect aim,” Taeyong said quietly, “I just nicked his femoral artery, which means we have about five minutes before he bleeds out. Now, I can save his life, but only if you let the fucking kid go and drop your weapons.” The staring match continued between Taeyong and Doyoung for another moment before Doyoung released his grip on Jisung’s hair and threw the blade to the ground. Jisung ran over to Lucas and hid behind his tall frame as the two watched the scene in front of them in shock. The second Jisung was safe, Taeyong’s face visibly changed. The eerie smile wiped from his face, and instead he began chewing nervously on his bottom hip as he saw Donghyuck on the ground. He took a few breaths to calm himself down, willing away the chill that had crawled through his body upon using his Cell training.
“Lucas, keep an eye on everyone,” Taeyong muttered before slinging his gun around to his back by the strap and rushing to where Donghyuck was, immediately relying on his instincts from his medical training. Lucas gave a quiet nod and kept his gun trained on everyone as they crowded around the groaning boy, even though he highly doubted anyone would try anything after what just happened.
Taeyong asked the gray-haired boy for his knife and immediately went to cut Donghyuck’s pants above the wound on his thigh. He cut a strip off the disconnected piece of fabric and began to fashion a tourniquet with the knife above the wound. Doyoung watched the scene from afar. He hadn’t moved since he let Jisung go. Donghyuck’s whimpers didn’t subside throughout the whole ordeal.
“Shit, Hyuck, hold on, it’s gonna be okay,” the other dark-haired boy was saying quietly to Donghyuck. Then he turned to Taeyong, “what the fuck is wrong with you?” The boy’s grip on Donghyuck’s hand tightened as he yelled. Taeyong looked up momentarily from his work and felt a pang of guilt as he saw the boy’s tear-streaked face and shaking shoulders as he yelled at him.
Never show weakness. You have none.
Taeyong shook his head in a desperate attempt to forget what he had just done, at least until after he helped the boy underneath him.
“Listen, um, what’s your name?” Taeyong asked. There was a softness in his voice that made the boy hesitate before answering.
“Jeno.”
“Okay, Jeno, look, I can’t have you yelling at me while I try to work, okay?” At this, Jeno clenched his jaw in silent anger. “Just keep holding his hand, that’s all you can do right now,” Taeyong added tentatively before going back to work on Donghyuck. The gray-haired one was crouched next to them and watched the interaction with wide eyes. After a few minutes of tense silence, occasionally interrupted by Donghyuck’s hisses and groans of pain, Taeyong muttered to himself.
“Shit.”
“What, what’s wrong?” Jeno asked him in a slightly panicked voice.
“Something’s not right. I think a piece of shattered bone might be causing more damage. There’s nothing more I can do here,” Taeyong sighed before standing up. As soon as he was up, he heard Lucas give a warning shout right before he was slammed up against the nearest pharmacy wall. When his vision came back into focus, he was met with Doyoung’s face pushed up against his, merely inches away. Doyoung’s hand was twisted into the front of Taeyong’s Agent jacket. The top buttons were digging into the skin of his hand, but he didn’t care. He leaned even closer to Taeyong’s face.
“Fix it, now. If he dies, I swear to God a gun won’t stop me from killing you and all your friends,” Doyoung seethed. When he spoke the words, he grabbed Taeyong’s jacket front and slammed him once again into the wall to make his point clear. Both boys were breathing heavily. Each time Doyoung exhaled, the wispy strands of hair hanging over Taeyong’s forehead shifted with the force. Taeyong had to crane his neck slightly to look into Doyoung’s eyes at his proximity. When Taeyong’s eyes did meet Doyoung’s, he noticed that they were dark, almost black, and more importantly, there was a gloss to them, like he was trying to hold back tears. The slight shine in Doyoung’s shadowy eyes was the only indication that he was he affected by any emotion other than rage. Taeyong swallowed down the guilt that once again threatened to bubble up to the surface, and instead lifted his hand to grasp Doyoung’s wrist. He yanked it hard, forcing Doyoung to let go of his jacket collar.
“I wasn’t going to leave him,” Taeyong told Doyoung in an elevated voice, and shoved him back. Doyoung blinked in surprise at the force of the shove. He didn’t expect someone so small to be that strong. “I need to go talk to my people for a second, if that’s okay with you?” The question was completely sarcastic, and Doyoung didn’t answer. He simply watched Taeyong with a glare as he walked past him. When Taeyong got to Lucas and Jisung, he noticed that Jisung was still trembling, and wondered if it was from being used as a hostage or Taeyong himself. Taeyong once again felt the frosty stab of guilt in his gut. Lucas spoke the moment Taeyong was in front of him.
“Jesus, Taeyong! I get that we had to do something, but damn. That guy, Donghyuck or whatever, he’s annoying as hell, but that doesn’t mean go and kill him!” Lucas was talking in a tone as low as his loud voice allowed. Taeyong looked up at him.
“Relax. I didn’t hit anywhere close to the femoral artery…got him in the muscle. I just said that to scare them,” he whispered, shooting a quick glance to the group, “he’s fine for now, but I think I might have chipped a bone, which means I’m gonna have to go in and remove the shard, so it doesn’t cause any damage. Shit!”
“Go in, with what? You don’t have any equipment here.” Upon Lucas’ question, Taeyong looked back up at him and waited for the realization to dawn on his face. “Hell no! Are you crazy? We can’t bring them back with us.” At this, Taeyong sighed.
“Yeah, I get that it’s not optimal, but we can’t just leave him here. I can’t remove the bone fragment without equipment, which we have back at the hangar. And I’ll have Mark to assist me.” Taeyong began worrying his bottom lip with his teeth.
“Okay, yeah, well it’s not my fault you went fucking psycho!” After Taeyong winced and stayed silent, Lucas added in resignation, “I’m sorry, man. I get that you can’t control that shit, but…ugh, fine. I guess we have to take them back.” Jisung watched the entire conversation without speaking, still eyeing Taeyong warily. Taeyong nodded silently in agreement, turned, and headed towards the other group.
As he approached, Doyoung shot him another scathing look. Taeyong looked over to Jeno, who was trying to keep a nearly passed out Donghyuck awake. His eyes finally landed on the gray-haired one, who seemed to be the calmest out of the bunch. Taeyong directed his words to him.
“So…uh, I can repair the damage, but not here. We have medical equipment back at our hideout.”
“Fuck no, we’re not going anywhere with you!” Doyoung yelled. Taeyong breathed in deeply, trying to keep his composure. Doyoung opened his mouth to yell again but was stopped by the gray-haired one.
“Is that really the only way?” the boy’s voice was soft and he looked up at Taeyong with wide eyes. When Taeyong nodded, the gray-haired boy turned to Doyoung. “Do, we have to.” Doyoung looked back at the gray-haired boy and let out a sigh, which Taeyong took as his reluctant approval.
“Okay, so the place is a few hours walk. It’s gonna be tricky, but we have to keep him as stable as possible. Maybe we could try to make some kind of gurney or-” Taeyong was interrupted by Doyoung’s clipped voice.
“We have a car.”
“A c-car?” Taeyong was shocked. Doyoung rolled his eyes.
“Yes, a car. You know those big metal things that roll around on four wheels?” his voice was bone dry. The gray-haired one stood up and shot a look to Doyoung before turning to Taeyong.
“Yeah, we have a van, but we only use it when we’re getting supplies. Gas is kinda hard to come by these days,” he said with a faint chuckle. No one else showed any sign of laughing, although Taeyong thought to himself that he probably would’ve smiled at the boy’s attempt at a joke under different circumstances.
“Alright, let’s go then. You guys can carry him if you want. Please be very careful. Like I said, he needs to be kept as stable as possible.” At this, Jeno and the gray-haired boy picked Donghyuck up and the entire group headed out of the pharmacy, led by Doyoung, into an alley where a beat-up van was parked. Before following everyone out of the pharmacy, Jisung ran and grabbed the suitcase. They van was packed. The gray-haired one sat in the driver’s seat, and Lucas agreed to sit up in the passenger’s seat to give directions. When they got situated, the gray-haired one turned to Lucas and stuck out his hand towards him.
“I’m Jungwoo,” he said with a smile, arm still extended. Lucas looked at him like he was crazy but reached out to shake the boy’s hand anyways.
“Uh, hi, I’m Lucas.” Lucas was half-convinced he hadn’t shaken someone’s hand since before the war. It was the first taste of diplomacy he’d had in a long time. After they shook hands, Jungwoo turned to the steering wheel and jabbed a screw-driver into the ignition, inciting the car to roar to life. The back of the van was hollowed out, so the other five boys tried their best to get comfortable, or as comfortable as you could be with Doyoung’s constant glares at Taeyong and Donghyuck’s pained groans. Jisung was in the corner of the van, hugging the suitcase to his chest. Jeno sat on one side of Donghyuck, Taeyong on the other. Doyoung sat in the corner, sun shining on his inky hair, and never once took his eyes off Taeyong, who inspected Donghyuck’s wound further. They rode in a tense silence, with Lucas occasionally giving directions to Jungwoo. At some point, the hit a bump, which shook Donghyuck awake from his pained daze.
“Agh! I can’t believe you fucking shot me!” Donghyuck yelled at Taeyong. His face was pale and sweat was collecting along his bright hairline. From the front, Lucas had to hold back a snort. Of course, he thought, the brat found a way to still be annoying, even after being shot. Taeyong suddenly reached into his pocket and ripped open the white package that took them to the pharmacy in the first place. He yanked out the orange pill bottle and popped it open, taking two pills into his hand and extending his arm to Donghyuck.
“This is hydrocodone. It should help with the pain. Does anyone have any water?” Before anyone had a chance to answer, Donghyuck grabbed the pills and pushed them into his mouth, swallowing them dry while shooting a glare to Taeyong. After he swallowed them, he took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, keeping them closed for the rest of the ride. No one spoke after that.
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Back in the hangar, Jaehyun was absent-mindedly tidying up the airplane that the group slept in, anxiously awaiting Taeyong and the others’ return. It was almost sunset, which meant they should be back anytime now, but he wasn’t going to panic yet. Mark had just finished cleaning and wrapping Jaemin’s wound after taking the stiches out, when they heard a bang on the hangar door. Lucas’ voice bellowed from outside.
“Boys! We’ve got company.”