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He'd been walking through the same path over and over again, trying to keenly listen to any audible human noises apart from the crickets and some hungry walkers under the stars full night. The moon showered some light over dark tall trees and some only landed on the ground as he walked carefully to the path where he assumed Taehyung ran into.
'I can't let Taehyung pass off this one. I promised. I needed him back. I needed him back for Baekhyun.' He mumbled at himself as he continued. Every step he takes had him going deeper into the woods. Had he chasing his danger.
It's been a couple of hours until the sun starts to peek over the horizon again and left the sky with a gray bluish color.
"Damn it Taehyung, where are you," He cursed as he bent his frustration on the zombie that tried to approach him from the dark. There's nothing out there. There's only the sound of crickets and the sound of silence.
He checked the stomach of the zombie he had just killed. He ripped his intestines using his combat knife and he felt relief to see nothing but dried leaves and dark blood. It looks like the zombie hadn't eaten something for the past few days. Tells him and gives him faith that Taehyung is still alive.
The sound of branches and dried leaves crunched under the rubber of his boots as he keenly searched for any trails and footsteps that could lead him to Taehyung.
The clouds began to cry. Gray clouds filled up the sky as it hovered over the trees. Chanyeol was determined. He was guilty and he felt so angry at himself because he's supposed to protect his people from danger. And he slipped with his responsibility and let an innocent young man get pulled through grave danger.
His search continued and it went by for hours and hours and saw nothing. He saw no one.
Two days passed by. He couldn't return without the boy beside him. He promised. Not now.
He was still going for it even though in the back of his mind was the dark thought, the thought that he's fighting to not get into him. The thought that the person he was finding for was now a corpse walking around aimlessly nor had been a meal from the ones who still roam the earth without a soul.
He searched furthermore. His bottled water was now gone. His water bottle container was refilled due to the heavy rain yet his stomach is growling for something to eat.
Any trails, any signs had been erased. No trace. Yet even in that hardest moment for him that he think it's time to give up, to go back and move on, he still pushed through.
Then he heard a hoarse sound, a sound that an undead could or couldn't make.
"Taehyung! TAEHYUNG!" Chanyeol shouted as he ran and passed through a lake.
He heard the cry getting more audible, more clearer. Apart from that, he also hears the usual noise of the zombies' gurgling noises.
He ended up stopping by his tracks as he witnessed a hoard of zombies being piled up on a tree.
For a second he thought he was late. His heart almost stopped.
"TAEHYUNG!" He shouted as he attacked the zombies behind.
"H-Help.." Taehyung weakly sounded. Tears formed in Chanyeol's eyes. He feels like the only way he could go back to the prison was to take Taehyung with him as a key to open the locks. And he promised to Baekhyun. He just couldn't take back his words and say sorry.
Chanyeol sunk his knives on the zombie's heads. All his frustration bent on the hard skulls of the flesh-eaters. Taehyung is the only hope that he couldn't suffer from guilt when he turns back.
When he got to the last zombie that's still standing, he used his gun to put it down. For a moment, he thought he lost his mind when he saw nothing but then Taehyung's voice resonated again, he knew he still has a slim chance.
"P-Please stay alive." He muttered under his ragged breathing.
"H-hyung.." Taehyung came out from the small opening of the tree where he squeezed his body inside the space of the trunk. His entire body was dirtied with leaves, soil, and mud.
With an almost fainting voice, the boy managed to appear only to fall on Chanyeol's arms.
"Are you bitten?! Are you hurt!?" Chanyeol asked worriedly as he saw his arm being had dried blood-soaked from it. The boy didn't reply as he felt like the world is spinning.
"Please tell me you're okay, T-Taehyung!" Chanyeol felt so angry, so worried and so tired. He can't afford Taehyung to die. He ripped the long sleeve off. Yes, he saw a wound but not the wound he expected it to be, but a wound that seemed to come from a gunshot. And for that, he felt relieved yet still worried as heck that the boy might lose blood too much.
"I'm..I-I'm thirsty..." Taehyung spoke so fragile yet Chanyeol reacted so fast and grabbed his water bottle. He popped the lid off and made Taehyung drink from it by hoisting the container on Taehyung's lips.
After Taehyung had been replenished with the water and quenched his dried throat, the tiredness knocked him into Chanyeol's arms finally.
"Oh God please stay alive." Chanyeol cursed as he carried Taehyung even under his tired state and started heading back to the prison which happened to be already in a far distance.
Now and then, Chanyeol would stop and let Taehyung sit on the ground as he rested from time to time for a bit. But he never let his eyes closed longer than five seconds. And yes, he hadn't had a sleep since the incident happened.
"C-Chanyeol hyung... My arm hurts.." This made Chanyeol shot his eyes open. He didn't notice that he fell asleep for a while.
"Who did this to you?" He asked worriedly.
Taehyung came closer as he crept his body on Chanyeol's side.
"I don't know... S-someone shot me.." Taehyung cried as his body shook.
"Am I gonna die?" The poor boy asked.
"No! No way!" Chanyeol answered firmly as he held Taehyung beside him.
"Are you hungry?" Chanyeol asked.
"So much!" Taehyung whimpered as he gripped his stomach.
"Okay, I'll find us something to eat. Stay by my side." He said and they started searching for food.
He started some fire after he got four fat birds for lunch and roasted them. He gave the three to Taehyung whom he quickly ravished it on until only the bones are left.
After the decent lunch that they had Chanyeol decided to carry Taehyung until he can manage to for his own.
It was almost dark when the view of the prison was in front of their faces.
Chanyeol grabbed both of his guns and started shooting a couple of walkers that's scratching the fences.
They're not yet in front of the gates yet the main gate has already been open and a few gunshots are noised from the other end until every one last zombie in the range has been put into the ground.
Both Chanyeol and Taehyung were welcomed with an almost pained whimper yet when the first drop of tears fell and it hit Taehyung's neck, the boy also cried his heart out.
"Baekhyun-hyung!!" He cried as he hugged the man with his dear life.
"Arghh! Baekhyun-hyung!" He cried so hard that he almost threw his body on the slim man.
Baekhyun pulled back and looked at Taehyung in the eyes.
"Are you bit?! Are you feeling okay?! Oh, my Taehyung!" Baekhyun frantically shouted. Tears freely drawing from his eyes.
"No, I'm not. I'm okay! Huhu, if weren't for Chanyeol-hyung I would be dead right now! I'm so scared back there alone!" Taehyung weep.
"Someone shot you?!" Baekhyun saw the wound.
"Someone shot me while I was running away from the zombies when they chased me away from the prison. Someone helped me escape the zombies that almost got me!" Taehyung tried his best to explain.
"Oh God, It's Luhan," Baekhyun spoke as he hugged Taehyung in his arms again.
That's the time when Baekhyun's eyes fell on Chanyeol's onyx ones.
"Y-You..." Baekhyun mumbled.
"Thank you.." Then he hugged Chanyeol so tight and warm. His face buried into the crevice of Chanyeol's neck.
"Fuck, that's what I need." Chanyeol boldly cursed in relief as he put his arms around Baekhyun.
"Fucker! I thought I lost you too!" Baekhyun teared up as he hit Chanyeol's chest with his palm.
"Guess what, I'm still here." Chanyeol managed to chuckle even though himself so dead tired. And yet he earned another punch on the chest.
"As much as I want this to last long, can we get inside first? I needed to take a bath and I'm damn hungry." Chanyeol spoke as he felt light-headed.
Baekhyun realized that he'd been hugging Chanyeol and so he pulled away and held Taehyung instead.
"Are you tired? Let's tend your wound. Please tell me if you're not feeling well." Baekhyun tried calming down as he harshly brushed the tears that is still freely sliding down his cheeks. He thought he lost Taehyung by this time. Two days is a long time for an innocent boy like him could last.
"I wanna eat something warm and sleep a lot. But I want you beside me while I'm asleep!" Taehyung demanded as he cried, hugging Baekhyun once again.
"I missed you all so much!" He whimpered.
Baekhyun just hugged the boy. He glanced at Chanyeol who's just beside them and mouthed thanks for the second time around.
"I promised didn't I?" Chanyeol smiled a little before ruffling his hands on top of Baekhyun's head before he maneuvered both Taehyung and Baekhyun inside before darkness could fully engulf the skies.
And that's the moment he realized that he offered his life just to make Baekhyun well and happy. That's the time he knew that he was more attached to the small fiery boy who carry a samurai blade than he ever thought about.
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