#67:The God Gene (Part 9)
Continuity: Directly after the previous chapter
Baekhyun-centric
WE ARE BACK IN THE GOD GENE ARC!!!

Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol, dumbfounded and slightly nauseous. He could feel something warm and wet on his face and shirt, and he didn’t want to look because he just knew it was blood. Chanyeol’s blood. It was everywhere, on Baekhyun, on the walls, and all over Chanyeol.

By the Tree, there was blood everywhere.

Baekhyun swallowed nervously and gently touched the back of Chanyeol’s head.

“C-can you hear me?” He stammered. Chanyeol was splayed out on his stomach, his arms flung out. His face was twisted in a grimace but he appeared to be unconscious.

Baekhyun took a few steadying breaths. He stood up and his knees almost buckled, but he managed to stay upright. He went to the kitchen, and tested the stove. It worked, and he quickly filled a pot with water and set it up to boil. It was an agonizing wait, and he kept running to the bedroom to see if Chanyeol had woken up. He was still out cold, and Baekhyun was quick to realize that the gaping wounds on his back where the wings had sprung out were not healing. Upon realizing this he ran back to the kitchen and threw a small towel into the hot water—it wasn’t boiling, and he wasn’t sure of the towel would be properly disinfected, but he knew that hot water was better than nothing. Once he’d done that he filled a small bowl with cold water and took the bowl and the towel to the bedroom, where he set about cleaning Chanyeol’s wounds.

Baekhyun thought that Chanyeol’s skin was torn, but in reality it looked like his back has exploded. Some of his skin was missing in some places, and some was detached from his back. Baekhyun forced himself not to be sick as he gently dabbed at the cuts, avoiding the wings as best he could. Chanyeol moaned and recoiled from the towel.

Baekhyun’ hands shook as he withdrew. “Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol whimpered in pain. “Baek…it hurts…”

Baekhyun gulped back tears. “I know, but I have to clean it.” He resumed cleaning, resolutely ignoring Chanyeol’s pained sounds. By the time he had finished the towel was soaked in blood, and he didn’t know if he’d done any more good than bad. Chanyeol’s teeth were chattering. Baekhyun touched his back. He was warm, but not feverish—he was probably going into shock.

Chanyeol was gripping the sheets so hard he’d ripped them. “I’m not healing, am I?” He asked faintly.

It wasn’t going to do any good to lie to him. “No, you’re not.”

Chanyeol squeezed his eyes shut. “Is it bad?”

Baekhyun knew he could smell the blood. “It…it is. Your back kind of…exploded.”

Chanyeol sobbed. “It hurts…it really hurts.”

Baekhyun’s hands fluttered at his sides. He had no idea what he could possibly do in this situation.

“We need Yixing,” Baekhyun said to himself. “Even if he can’t heal this, he’ll know what to do. We need to go home.”

But how could he possibly move Chanyeol like this? Baekhyun didn’t know how to drive, and it was easily a two day walk back to the palace, he didn’t think he could carry Chanyeol that far. Baekhyun stood up and stared to pace, wringing his hands. What should he do? What could he do?

He could run back to the palace, get help, have Kai transport them back…but he balked at the idea of leaving Chanyeol alone. He could try to drive, but he’d never done it before and he didn’t want to try when Chanyeol was in this kind of state. Besides, he couldn’t exactly sit Chanyeol up in the passenger seat, or lay him and his long legs out on the back seat.

He couldn’t go for help, he couldn’t drive…he had two choices, he could wait and hope that Chanyeol would start healing on his own, or he could carry Chanyeol back to the palace himself.

Baekhyun got a fresh towel and a new bowl of cold water and went back to the bed. He sat next to Chanyeol and washed his face and arms. After a few hours he could tell that Chanyeol was running a fever and he held a cold towel over his wrists, hoping that the fever would break. When it still hadn’t two hours later, Baekhyun started to realize that he couldn’t wait much longer.

Chanyeol woke up just as the rain stopped. He leaned over the bed and vomited, screaming in agony as the movement aggravated his wounds.

Baekhyun knew he couldn’t wait anymore. He took some sheets from another bedroom and ripped them into long strips. Then he boiled some more water, this time waiting for it to boil, and he soaked the cloth in the water. Once they had been cleaned, Baekhyun took them back to the bedroom and wrapped them around Chanyeol’s wounds. He ignored Chanyeol’s cries of pain and kept going even when Chanyeol out.

“I have to do this,” Baekhyun whispered to Chanyeol’s unconscious form, “If I left them open they could get dirty, and I can’t just throw a shirt on you because…”

Flies. Because flies would come and lay eggs in the wounds.

Baekhyun turned away from Chanyeol and vomited, his own sick adding to the stench of the room. When he’d finished he turned back to Chanyeol, finishing up with the wrappings. Then he put his shoes on and gathered some water bottles, putting them in a bag that he tied to his waist. Just before he picked Chanyeol up off the bed, he took a moment to pray.

‘Please, if the Tree of Life can hear me, give me the strength to carry him home. Help me be strong for both of us.’

Then he heaved Chanyeol onto his back and walked out of the house.

It was dark when Baekhyun left, and he was grateful for that because the sun would have been brutal, and it probably would have burned Chanyeol’s sensitive skin. Baekhyun kept his eyes straight ahead, trying not to think about how if he looked to the side, he could see Chanyeol’s arms hanging limply by his sides. He tried not to think about how tired his arms were, or how his back started aching after only a few minutes. Baekhyun was strong, but he wasn’t strong enough to carry Chanyeol’s dead weight.

Still he pressed on, constantly telling himself that he would stop after one more block, just one more block and then he would rest.

When the sky started to lighten Baekhyun staggered to the side of the road and fell to his knees. He felt the impact in his whole body and he flinched as Chanyeol whimpered in pain.

“Chanyeol,” he panted, “Are you awake?”

Chanyeol didn’t move. Baekhyun eased him to the ground, and still he didn’t move. Baekhyun’s shoulders and arms ached, he could barely move them, but he forgot all about the pain when he saw Chanyeol’s back.

“Oh, ,” He breathed. Chanyeol was starting to bleed through the bandages, and when Baekhyun touched his skin it was burning hot.

Baekhyun seized a water bottle from his pack and drank from it quickly. Then he poured some on the back of Chanyeol’s neck to cool him down. he knew he should try to make Chanyeol drink, but he was afraid that Chanyeol would choke.

Baekhyun heaved Chanyeol onto his back again, staggering a bit under his weight, but he gritted his teeth and kept walking. One foot in front of the other.

Around midday Chanyeol stirred, startling Baekhyun out of a stupor.

“Baekhyun.”

“I’m here, baby.”

“What happened?”

“You got hurt,” Baekhyun was breathing so hard he didn’t even know if Chanyeol could understand him. “I’m taking you home now, love. We’re going to get Yixing to take care of you.”

“It hurts, Baek it really hurts…”

“Shh, don’t cry, you’ll hurt yourself more. Don’t cry, don’t cry, you got wings, Chanyeol! You got wings, you’ll be able to fly soon. You’re a real phoenix now.”

Chanyeol sobbed quietly. “It feels like fire…”

“You’re not on fire,” Baekhyun slurred, hitching Chanyeol’s legs higher on his waist. His arms, shoulders, back, even his neck were all screaming in protest, but he focused on the road ahead. “If you were on fire, I’d smell something burning, and I just smell blood.”

They would be home soon, Baekhyun had been walking for a long time. They would be home soon. One foot in front of the other.

“Chanyeol, are you awake?”

“The sun is setting Chanyeol, look. I can see the city, we’re almost home, baby.”

“Chanyeol, say something.”

“You’re breathing, I can feel you breathing, I know you’re alive.”

“I finally got better, and now it’s you that’s not healing.”

“I’m tired, but I’m not going to stop. I can’t, because you’re hurt, and this is the most I can do to help you. I wish I could do more. Oh in the name of the Tree, I hope there aren’t any flies in your wounds. I’m sorry baby, I can’t pull over and check because I wouldn’t be able to pick you up again. You’ll be okay, I’m sure that we’ll make it home before midnight.”

“It looks so far away…”

“Almost there, Chanyeol.”

“I’m going to kill the Guardians who put us here. If we were home, if you hadn’t taken me away, you just wanted to help me, and this is the thanks you get. If I hadn’t been…if I hadn’t been locked up in that damn tower, we wouldn’t have been in this mess. When we get home, I’m going to tear that tower apart with my bare hands.”

“I’m going after those Guardians, Chanyeol. I know why Kai’s so mad at them. Every single bit of suffering in our lives leads back to their mistakes. Why should we pay for it? It’s not fair…we didn’t do anything wrong. We didn’t do anything to deserve this, Chanyeol.”

“Chanyeol. I was counting steps in my head…I lost count.”

“Almost…there.”

“I’m so thirsty…”

“I can’t feel my arms.”

“I should stop talking.”

“Chanyeol…please be okay.”

The sky was just getting light with dawn when Baekhyun reached the first gate. By then he knew there was no way he could have possibly opened the door. He couldn’t move his arms, they had stopped hurting, in fact he’d lost all feeling in them. He thought the only reason he hadn’t dropped Chanyeol was that his muscles had seized up and frozen in place.

When Baekhyun reached the gate he tipped his head to the sky and summoned the last bit of strength from deep within his body, and he unleashed a bright flash of light—even if they were inside, sleeping, his brothers would see it.

“They’re coming for us, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered. His throat was so dry. “Hang in there, we’re almost home…”

Baekhyun didn’t know how long he waited, but he knew it wasn’t really too long before the door to the gate finally opened. Suho was the first one to come out.

“By the Tree!” He cried, “Baekhyun, what happened?!”

Baekhyun could feel his legs starting to buckle. “Chanyeol…he’s hurt,” he gasped.

Suho rushed over—it didn’t seem like he’d seen the wings before, but as he approached he saw them.

“Oh my god, Kris, Tao, get over here!”

Baekhyun felt Suho steady him. “Hang on Baekhyun, they’re coming…”

He heard Kris and Tao gasp at the same time, but he couldn’t see them. Everything was dark…but it was dawn…oh, his eyes were shut.

“Baekhyun, honey, I need you to let go of Chanyeol.”

“I can’t,” he whispered. He fell forward a little and cried out as his shoulders shifted. “Hyung, my arms…”

“Okay, okay Baekhyun…Kyungsoo, help me, I need you to get Baekhyun’s arms…”

Baekhyun felt himself being forced to let go of Chanyeol, his arms moved around to the side. He didn’t have the energy to scream again, he just whimpered in pain and collapsed against something warm and firm.

“Oof…Chen, help me carry him…”

Baekhyun’s head lolled to the side, someone cradled him in his arms—Suho, it was Suho.

“Suho,” Baekhyun panted, “Chanyeol…he’s not healing.”

“Shh, darling I know, we’re taking both of you to the medical wing, Yixing’s going to look at him, he;s going to help.”

“The wings…they just…they exploded out of his back…there was blood everywhere.” He sobbed. “I tried, hyung, I tried to help…”

“Baby, please, don’t try to talk, okay? I know you tried, you did so well, you carried him all this way, right? You did well, my brave boy, you did so well, now we need to help you.”

Chen spoke up. “Let’s take him to the bathroom, he’s covered in blood…”

Baekhyun knew he was about to fall unconscious, and he didn’t try to fight it. instead he welcomed the darkness and the absence of pain that came with it.

When Baekhyun woke up it was because of pain in his shoulders. His eyes flew open and he gasped, thrashing away from whatever was hurting him.

Suho’s face swam into view. “Easy, Baekhyun, it’s okay, it’s just me.”

Baekhyun stopped thrashing, taking a moment to gather his wits. He was in a bathtub, and it was slowly being filled with water courtesy of Suho.

Someone started petting his hair and he craned his head back. It was Kyungsoo.

“Hey there,” Kyungsoo said softly. “It’s okay, we’re just going to get the blood off of you.”

Baekhyun realized he was shaking. “M-my arms,” he said, cutting off with a cough.

“I know,” Suho said soothingly. He kept filling the tub, and Kyungsoo held a glass of water to Baekhyun’s lips. Baekhyun gulped it down desperately.

Suho kept talking. “Yixing will help you in a moment, he’s just taking care of Chanyeol now.”

Chanyeol, Chanyeol.

“Is he okay?” Baekhyun asked, sitting up. His shoulders and arms were aching, but he didn’t even care, he could deal with the pain. “Where is he? Where is Chanyeol?”

“He’s in the next room,” Suho said with a gentle tone, one that didn’t match the firm hand he had pressed into Baekhyun’s chest. “You need to just stay still until Yixing gets here, you’re very badly hurt.”

“Chanyeol’s skin was ripped off,” Baekhyun said, babbling, “I wrapped it as best I could but it bled everywhere, I didn’t know what to do, I was worried about the flies, I wrapped the wounds as best I could, I tried, I tried, hyung, I didn’t know what to do! Is he okay, is Chanyeol okay?”

“He’ll be fine, Baekhyun, please stop trying to stand.”

Baekhyun fell back into the tub, but not because he wanted to—he didn’t have the strength to stand anymore. “I want to see him,” he said. “Suho, where is he?”

Suho picked up a cloth and scrubbed at Baekhyun’s face. “He’s in the next room, Baekhyun. I think Yixing’s done with him. Now it’s your turn.”

“My turn?” Baekhyun asked.

He heard something being cut and his shirt fell away. Suho removed Baekhyun’s wet and filthy jeans with clinical concern. “You’re hurt Baekhyun, you need to be healed.”

The door opened and Yixing came in.

“Chanyeol’s going to be okay,” He said before Baekhyun could even open his mouth. “His wounds are patched and he’s sleeping, now let’s take care of your arms.”

Baekhyun shook his head. “No, no,” he whispered, “It’s not me, it’s Chanyeol, Chanyeol was hurt, you need to take care of him!”

Yixing laid his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders. Baekhyun shrieked in pain, but it was short lived. The ache remained, but it slowly lessened.

“It’s not me,” he whimpered, grasping along the edge of the tub for something that could help him stand. Suho grabbed his hands and squeezed them.

“Baekhyun, Chanyeol is okay. Do you understand?”

Baekhyun gasped as he felt his muscles start to heal. They’d been torn, twisted, popped out of place, one felt like it had been separated from his bone at some point. The damage wnet beyond his arms and shoulders. His ribs were strained from his harsh breathing, his knees were hurt from when he fell, his feet were all kinds of messed up...

“Chanyeol,” he whimpered. “It’s…he’s hurt, not me, not me…”

Suho Baekhyun’s face gently. “Yixing’s almost done. We’ll take you to Chanyeol in a minute, okay?”

Baekhyun’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and his whole body tensed—Yixing squeezed his shoulders tightly, and then it was over.

“There,” Yixing said. “You’re all better.”

Baekhyun laid still, feeling stunned. His shoulders, arms, and back all felt too new, too stiff. He didn’t fight Suho and Kyungsoo when they washed his hair and body, nor when they pulled him from the tub and redressed him. When they carried him from the bathroom the first thing he saw was Chanyeol. He was lying on a large bed, sprawled out on his stomach with his great, red wings fanned out around him.

Suho and Kyungsoo carried Baekhyun to the bed and tucked him in beside Chanyeol. Baekhyun curled into his side, touching his face gently. Chanyeol was asleep, his chest rising and falling with deep breaths, but his face still looked slightly pained, and he was still very warm.

“Chanyeol,” he whispered, “Don’t leave me…please don’t leave me…”

Baekhyun didn’t remember falling asleep.

When he woke up, it was dark. He needed to go to the bathroom, he was hungry, and his throat was on fire. He sat up and saw Kris sitting next to him. On his other side Chanyeol was still sprawled on the bed, still asleep.

“Hi,” Kris said, handing him a glass of water. Baekhyun gulped it down.

“Welcome back,” Kris said when Baekhyun lowered the glass.

“Back?” Baekhyun asked.

Kris nodded. “You’ve been asleep for three days. You and Chanyeol.”

Baekhyun looked to the side. Chanyeol didn’t look like he was in pain anymore. “Is he okay?”

“Yes,” Kris said. “Yixing told me to tell you that you did an excellent job taking care of him. It’s really thanks to you that his wounds weren’t too bad—you kept them clean and protected.”

Baekhyun sighed in relief. “I need the bathroom…”

Kris stood up. “Yixing said your legs might be weak, here…” He put his arm around Baekhyun’s waist and helped him up. Baekhyun was very weak, and he tried not to lean on Kris too much but he wasn’t very successful.

“Are you going to help me pee, too?” Baekhyun asked crossly.

Kris had the nerve to grin. “Not like it’s anything I haven’t seen before. But I’ll leave.”

Baekhyun was grateful for the few moments to himself. He got a shock when he looked in the mirror as he was washing up and saw how pale his skin was, how thin he’d gotten. Had he been like this when he left?

When Baekhyun opened the bathroom door, Kris was waiting for him, and Suho was there too. they both helped Baekhyun back to bed and sat beside him.

“Why do you both look so worried?” Baekhyun asked them. “What happened?”

Suho laughed, but he looked exhausted. “What didn’t happen. Baekhyun…well, you and Chanyeol missed a lot.” He took a deep breath. “Tao and Kai…they figured out that they can travel through time.”

DUN DUN DUN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS WILL HAVE EVEN MORE TWISTS AND TURNS THAN THE FIRST GOD GENE ARC.

I'm tired and I need sleep. =_____________=