Final
The World As It IsThey were all the best of friends, even if they were the oddest bunch to be considered friends. Despite the mixed auras of each member’s different personalities and attitudes, they watched over each other like family, and they protected their youngest and fairly innocent female member from being exposed to danger.
Despite how innocent and naïve she looked, she was far from it. She knew about society’s harsh lifestyle and demanding requirements that her older teammates encountered and lived through. The Earth she lived on now was completely different from the Earth that people lived on a long time ago.
Sera currently sat in the passenger’s seat of the van, driven by her best friend. She stared out of the side window solemnly, eyes focused on the burnt down buildings and scattered debris. Smoke rose up to the sky, and not a single person was seen walking through the bloodied streets.
Besides the male sitting next to her, the four other members sat in the back, harmlessly teasing or flirting with one another. Although they acted this way, there was no guarantee that they actually felt that way. They all saw each other as a brotherly, sisterly, motherly, or fatherly figure. They all had grown up with their parents either abandoning them or dying an innocent death. A human with a weak will and soul would never be able to live on their own, so they all had to fend for themselves. It was only when Sera appeared that they all decided to get along with each other; they were all aware of each other, afraid that betrayal would knock on the door when they least expected it.
“What are you thinking about?”
A voice snapped Sera out of her reminiscence. She turned her head to the side, her eyes meeting with his side profile. “When we all met,” she replied softly, turning her head to look at the streets ahead, “When this group came to be.”
“I see.” It was silent between the two, the only sounds filling the silence was the oblivious laughter and chuckles from the elder members. Sera’s eye twitched, causing her hand to hold onto the male’s sleeve, “I can sense people up ahead. We’re not going to be able to pass without them trying to kill us.” He said nothing as he stopped the car, causing the others to stop their conversations. “Are we here?” a fairly young male named Baekhyun asked.
Baekhyun was two, possibly three years older than her, the eldest male of the group. He was rather short, still a good two inches or so taller than her, and had a lanky build, though he packed quite a punch. He had brown hair and eyes that shimmered with mischief. Whenever he smiled, his eyes curved as well; when he smirked, there was no telling what he was thinking.
“I don’t think so,” a female named Hyunji replied with a displeased frown, “This doesn’t look like it.”
Hyunji was an older female who was usually considered as the elder sister of the group. She watched over Sera the most and kept her away from almost every single dangerous situation they all encountered. She was pretty, smart, and quite tall, possibly the tallest female of the group. Though her face usually consisted of smirks and glares, she had the softest smile, prettiest eyes, and kindest heart to those who were close to her.
“There’s trouble up ahead,” another male by the name of Chanyeol nodded towards the approaching figures, “Seems like we’ve got company.”
Chanyeol was definitely the tallest male and member of the group. He, like Baekhyun, also packed quite a punch despite his slim stature. He was younger than Baekhyun by about a year and older the male maknae by a year and a few months. He had a fairly contagious smile that often caused one of his eyes to squint a bit more than his other eye; even if he was quite the jokester, he wasn’t someone to make an enemy out of.
“I think I see the building ahead,” the eldest female, Hanyi, stated, her hand on the door handle, “We’ll have to escape quickly.”
Hanyi was the same age as Baekhyun but a couple months younger. She was considered the mother of the group, watching over everyone and making sure they were unharmed and well before coming up with plans to keeping them all alive. She usually kept her face void of emotion but always ended up cracking a smile whenever Sera beamed at her. Sera was basically the reason Hanyi was still alive today; if not for the younger female, Hanyi probably wouldn’t be alive to see today.
“Alright,” the male next to Sera said, keeping his eyes on the approaching figures, “When I say go, get out of the car and sprint to the nearest building.”
“I’m staying with you, Jongin,” Sera said softly, tugging the sleeve of his hoodie.
Jongin, also known as Kai, was the youngest male of the group and Sera’s best friend. Though he was the youngest, he was definitely the strongest of the group. His eyes were always void of emotion, and he rarely smiled, a smirk adorning his slightly tanned face when he’s confronting his opponents. The soft and humane emotions in his eyes only appeared when Sera was around. He was fond of the younger girl who kept him sane enough to know not to do anything life-threatening. The two were basically inseparable despite Sera having to leave in order to stay safe.
“You have to go with them,” he said, turning to her, “I don’t want anything happening to you.”
“But what about you?” she slightly whimpered, “If you get hurt-”
“Trust me, Sera,” he reassured, patting her head, “I’ll come back safely, okay?” She searched his eyes, looking for comfort before she reluctantly nodded, letting go of his sleeve, “Come back safely.” He gave her a small, rare smile and nodded.
The six waited in silence, the elder four and Sera waiting for Jongin to give the signal. When they heard it faintly, they immediately bolted out of the car, running towards the nearest building for cover as the figures began to chase them. “Oh, no you don’t,” the youngest male muttered, immediately starting the car and driving towards the enemies. He felt no remorse as the car stuttered slightly and drops of red colored the bottom of the windshield.
-
Sera bit her lip nervously, her eyes glancing from right to left frantically as she looked for the other members. Somehow she had been separated from the other members, and the only thing she remembered when in haste was the two, three men that chased after her. She managed to outrun them but knew that they would find her again only in a matter of time.
She let out a shaky breath as she silently walked through the halls carefully. She flinched whenever she thought she saw a shadow, and she let out a yelp whenever she thought someone was behind her. She whimpered slightly, eyes teary as she made her way out of the building she was in, which seemed to be a shopping mall before the bloodshed and destruction.
“Sera!” someone called out before she felt herself being engulfed in a tight hug, “I thought they caught you and-”
“I’m alright, Baekhyun,” she exhaled shakily as he let her go, eyes filled with worry, “Do you know how scared we were? Hanyi basically turned into a killing machine and slaughtered everyone in our way, Hyunji started to panic, and Chanyeol was on the verge of crying-”
“I was not,” a hand smacked Baekhyun on the back of his head, making him flinch in pain as he clutched the back of his head. Chanyeol eyed him before turning to Sera, eyes wide and turning teary as he placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her back and forth. “I thought you were dead! We couldn’t find you anywhere!” he wailed loudly, causing Hyunji to smack his shoulder and glare at him, “Stop it, you oaf. You’re going to attract unwanted attention.”
“Next time, try to stay with us, okay?” Hanyi warned softly, “We don’t want anything bad happening to you, or else Kai would kill us.” Sera bit her lip guiltily and nodded, “I’m sorry.”
Baekhyun and Hanyi sighed. The female spoke up, “Let’s head to the building. I think Kai is waiting there for us.”
-
When the five reached the building which looked like a rundown apartment that barely survived the destruction, Jongin did not arrive yet. The eldest decided to wait in the front and told Sera to go in, assuring her that it was safe and that they would tell her when Jongin would arrive. Reluctantly, she nodded and entered the building.
The apartment wasn’t as bad on the inside as it seemed on the outside. It was still rather neat, only a thin layer of dust covered everything. Sera felt a slight throbbing on her head, giving her a headache. She winced in pain as the throbbing only seemed to worsen. Looking through the first floor, she noticed a desk with opened drawers. Feeling curiosity bubble in her, she opened one of the drawers, eyes widening when she found something inside.
It was an ID card. Not just any ID card, but hers.
She blinked, picking it up. She didn’t remember having an ID card before; she had to fend for herself at the mere age of six.
Stashing it in her pocket for now, she trudged up the stairs and decided to claim one of the rooms first. There were more than plenty, so she didn’t think the others would mind.
Hours past, and she grew weary and panicked. Why hadn’t the others arrived up here with Jongin yet? Did something happen to them?
She started to shake uncontrollably, eyes wide with fear as her thoughts grew worse. Were they all dead? While she was up here, safe and sound, had they been killed?
In the midst of her thoughts, she unconsciously hid in the closet, eyes wide as her arms wrapped around her legs. A few tears ran down her face at the thought of the people she called her family dead. Suddenly, she heard footsteps, causing her breath to hitch. Her eyes grew wider as she saw the shadows on the wall, signaling that there were people approaching closer. Her eyes shut tightly, her body pressed tightly against the corner of the closet.
“Where’s Sera?” a familiar voice asked, causing the mentioned girl to open her eyes slowly. She stood up slowly as she heard the shuffling grow louder, “I don’t know. She should be up here.”
“Baekhyun? Hyunji?” Sera spoke up timidly, peeking from the closet. The two let out a breath before calling the other two. “I was on the verge of panicking again because we didn’t hear anything up here,” Hyunji scolded lightly. Sera sadly frowned and apologized.
“Have you found Jongin yet?” the youngest asked meekly once everyone gathered. The four elder members exchanged uncomfortable looks. “He hasn’t…,” Hanyi twisted to the side hesitantly, “appeared yet. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”
Almost immediately, thoughts of Jongin’s death flooded her mind. Tears escaped her eyes as she clamped her hand over , eyes shut tightly. Hyunji frowned and pulled the younger girl into a comforting hug, rubbing her back as she rested her cheek on the top of Sera’s head, “There, there. I’m sure he’s not dead. He’s strong enough to get himself out of trouble.” The tears continued to run down Sera’s pale cheeks, her body shaking from her silent sobs.
“What happened?” a voice weakly called out from the hallway, causing everyone to freeze, “Why are you crying?”
Sera opened her teary eyes, looking towards the door to see a bloody Jongin. She nearly collapsed at the sight of his injured self. Instead, she rushed towards him, hugging him tightly. “I thought you were dead because you didn’t come back yet,” she blubbered, tears continuing to escape after a long time, “I thought I told you to come back safely.”
“I’m sorry,” Jongin apologized, running a hand through her hair, “There was a bit of…resistance when I made my way here. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
After the short, tearful “reunion”, Jongin’s injuries were bandaged up thanks to the first aid kit they found in the bathroom. Since it was well past midnight and the rooms were quite small, they all decided to pair up and share rooms, just in case something happens when they were asleep. Baekhyun and Hanyi shared one room, Chanyeol and Hyunji shared another room, and the maknaes shared the other room.
Sera and Jongin lied facing each other, his left arm under her head and serving as a pillow. She had refused at first, not wanting his arm to go numb since his right arm was injured, but he insisted, not wanting her neck to hurt the next morning. His right arm was draped over her waist, keeping a protective hold on her. They stared at each other, searching each other’s eyes. She raised her hand and placed it on his cheek, rubbing her thumb over the bandaged cut. She frowned sadly, not being able to do anything to make him feel better. “Don’t feel bad,” he murmured softly, reaching up with his right hand to entwine his fingers with her left hand, “It’s not your fault.”
“But still,” she mumbled, “I don’t like seeing you hurt. It makes me feel hurt, too.”
“I’ll be fine,” he reassured her, giving her a smile that only she was able to witness, “At least I didn’t break any bones.” She frowned again before he sighed. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before turning her around, his right arm protectively hugging her to him. “Just sleep, okay?” he murmured, resting his chin on her head, “We’ll be staying here until I completely recover, and I won’t be leaving until I completely recover, so don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay,” she mumbled again before letting out a sigh. She twisted her head and looked up before placing a light peck on his jaw and turning her head forward, “Good night.”
“Good night,” he replied, giving her hand a soft squeeze of reassurance before the both of them drifted into a dreamless sleep.
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