They didn’t end up staying very long. The overall feel of their, now smaller, group was to get to safety as soon as possible without losing anymore of them. None of them were hungry after seeing how ruthless both Heechul and Siwon could be in the face of danger. Leeteuk was surprised at how well he’d been taking everything that had happened.

After watching Heechul hack a zombie with an emergency axe, seeing his father eating his mother in his own house, knowing that most of his friends were in the same position he was, then having a gun pointed at his head, he should be falling apart, not thinking about a kiss he’d just shared with the one person he loved more than anyone.

Leeteuk still felt responsible for all of this. If he’d kept his friends from going to that stupid dance, if he’d only confessed to Heechul back in his room, if he’d kept his voice down and not acted like an idiot, instead of trusting Heechul to protect all of them, they’d be in a better place. Eunhyuk would probably still have his parents. Leeteuk would have been home to save his mom. He started thinking about his mom and he suddenly remembered Inyoung. He hadn’t heard from her nor even checked on her since all this started. He grabbed for his phone and sent a text as he walked with the rest of the group.

They’d been walking without incident for an hour. Passing through the outskirts of the dead city, they were now following the highway that would take them to the base. Heechul insisted they stayed off the road, which made for a harder walk on less sturdy legs, through brush and occasionally trees with thick undergrowth. There were no close calls, no more noises of zombies in the distance and somehow that made the night even more terrifying. There was nothing out but them, no sounds but the sounds of their feet squelching through wet patches. The group hadn’t even talked to each other since they’d made it out of the city alive. They were too focused on willing themselves to continue forward, to make it through the night and to safety.

Heechul had refused to believe that Siwon was now dead. He’d left the light in the restaurant on before leaving it, to let Siwon know they were alive. Siwon was too good of a soldier to let himself be overwhelmed. He’d had too much training to manage himself in high stress situations. Heechul clung to the hope that Siwon had somehow made it alive.

Leeteuk kept his hand on his phone in his pocket, waiting for the vibration of Inyoung’s response. He prayed to every God he could remember the name of that his sister had made it out alive. But all he could picture was a dorm full of zombies attacking and eating her. Without Inyoung, Leeteuk would be completely alone. There was Heechul, but Leeteuk was starting to have his doubts about that too. If what Kangin had said, about Siwon kissing Heechul, was true then Leeteuk didn’t have a chance in hell against him if he really wanted Heechul. He was gorgeous, if a little abrasive and homicidal. Leeteuk had noticed how everyone looked at him. Even Sora who was slowly growing closer to Kangin, had put herself forward for Siwon.

Heechul had given him a kiss and Leeteuk was grateful to have one, but who was he kidding? They were teenagers, teenage love didn’t last. This was the time to try on different people and find out what really suited you, not pick one person to love for the rest of your life. His brain tried to console him with thoughts of how Heechul looked at him and memories of confessions, but he shot down the hope it was trying to give him. This whole time right now, of sickness, death and stress, moments like this brought people together out of necessity. Heechul felt a need to protect him and as soon as the dire situations were over, his feelings would fade and Leeteuk would be, completely alone. Leeteuk felt like such an idiot, but he knew he’d take what he could get as long as Heechul was offering it. At least he’d have some good memories to think back on when he was old and alone.

Sora asked for a break and they found a place against a big tree to sit and rest. She went a few paces away from them into the woods to relieve herself. While the rest of them did too, Heechul pulled out his map to get an idea of how much further they had. Using the last mile marker he’d seen along the highway as reference, Heechul figured they had at least the rest of the night walking, if not a good part of the morning too.

“What time do you have?” Heechul asked as Leeteuk came back.

Leeteuk took out his phone. “Almost 4AM .” He said stoically.

Heechul looked at him. “Are you okay?”

Wiggling his phone in his hands, Leeteuk sighed. “I tried texting Inyoung, no response.”

With a slow nod, Heechul watched Leeteuk. “She probably just doesn’t have service.” He kept his eyes on Leeteuk as he folded the map and slid it into his backpack.

Leeteuk willed himself not to cry. “I can’t believe I didn’t think about her until just now.”

Heechul stood up and walked over to sit by Leeteuk.

“And I’ll have to be the one to tell her about eomma,” he whispered the last part of the sentence, hanging his head.

Leaning to the side, Heechul pressed his shoulder against Leeteuk’s.

Leeteuk leaned his head against Heechul’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He pictured his father’s face as he’d looked up from stuffing his mouth with his mother. Blood drenched and completely lacking identity, he’d been a monster. “What if she’s dead?” Leeteuk asked quietly.

Heechul slid his arm around Leeteuk’s and took his phone away so he could thread their fingers together. “Inyoung wouldn’t let that happen to herself. She’s more of a boy than you are, remember?” Heechul with one of Inyoung’s jokes, trying to keep his mind off bad things.

Laughing softly, Leeteuk turned into Heechul, nuzzling against his shoulder.

“How much longer are we going to be walking?” Sora asked as she came back to their little camp, hand locked with Kangin’s.

“We still have miles to cover,” Heechul said. “It should be a straight line though. There’s some uphill we’re going to have to worry about, but smooth travels from there.”

“Can we keep going?” She asked. “I’m getting really tired of being out in the cold, damp woods.”

Heechul smirked. “You and me both.”

“You need a shower more than I do,” she .

Heechul mehronged her as Leeteuk shifted away from him to stand up. Wincing as he stood up, Heechul shrugged his pack onto his shoulders. His bandages were loosening and breathing was getting hard again, but it was okay enough for now. Leeteuk tucked his phone back in his pocket and ignored holding it for Heechul’s hand instead. Heechul squeezed gently and nodded to the other two.

“Ready?”

They nodded their agreement and Sora came closer to Heechul to grab his freehand, creating a link between all of them since she still had Kangin’s. Heechul started laughing at the look of them together like that. Leeteuk was surprised to hear that it was a natural laugh too, free of stress.

“Lions and Tigers and Bears?” Heechul asked.

“Oh my.” Sora said.

“Oh god,” Kangin drolled with an exaggerated rolling of his eyes as they all started walking again.