In three pairs, the group carefully made their way closer to the collection of run down houses that Jonghyun and Daniel had found.  As they approached, Byunghun could see a fair few of them were still intact, though the majority had fallen waste to time and aggression.  Splintered boards lay everywhere and he didn’t see a single window that was still in good repair.  Honestly, they were the first to go most of the time; barriers of false comfort that could be broken with little to no difficulty.

                Not surprisingly, there were all manner of cars still littering the streets as well.  Changhyun pointed to them with a strange mixture of curiosity and hope.  When Byunghyun mutely shook his head and Changhyun’s face fell, he leaned close to murmur, “Too hard to maintain and it would draw too much attention to us.”

                “They have them in the city,” Changhyun responded in a quiet tone, his eyes downcast.

                “We’re not in the city,” Byunghyun reminded him, swinging his gaze around to confirm there was nothing else nearby.  The cities had a lot of things that the wastes didn’t, and a good many of them weren’t exactly conducive to survival.  While he would love to find a gun, the noise alone would alert everything nearby they were present; same thing with the cars.  Any sort of alcohol was a luxury they couldn’t afford and Minsoo was the only one to smoke before everything went down.  Not surprisingly, he’d given the habit up pretty quick since it was dangerous to hold onto: the smoke alone would draw attention and actually acquiring them put him further at risk.

                He was pulled from his thoughts when the four ahead paused and Byunghyun looked closer.  “There,” Minsoo murmured, pointing with his machete towards a two story home that was in surprisingly good repair.  The garage was mostly crumpled and the top part of the roof appeared to be caved in, but aside from the windows being broken, it looked… good.

                As a group, they shuffled towards the house, keen eyes darting every which way as they made sure they were clear.  It was easy to jump at shadows and living out in the wastes made all of them very skittish, but it was better than dead.  At least the flickers weren’t anything more than inanimate objects fluttering in the fetid breeze.  That was another thing Byunghyun hated about former places of civilization: they stank.  Rotting vegetation and ruptured septic tanks weren’t uncommon in the slightest and both were pretty much guaranteed.  At least the latter was.

                “It looks alright,” Daniel blinked, roughing his too long, dark hair with the weaponless hand quickly.  He hooked the end of his tarnished golf club under the piece of porch siding that lay in their path and carefully pulled it away.

                “They always do,” Jonghyun exhaled with a wary look over the front before he glanced back at his brother, drawing the duel set of bowie knives from his waist in preparation.  Out of their group, he was the only one that had managed to hold onto something useful from his life before.  And if they had to come face to face with humans, Byunghyun knew he was the best hand to hand fighter they had.

                “Take it slow,” Minsoo nodded, helping Chanhee to rest against one of the ruined cars after checking under and around it cautiously.  The lame male finally pulled his weapon free, nothing more than a hammer that he could carry in his belt, but it was surprisingly effective.  If he caught something in the head, it probably wasn’t getting back up.

                “Of course,” Jonghyun nodded, getting close to the door so that Daniel could push it open for him.

                “Stay together,” Minsoo added, letting his eyes slide to Byunghyun and Changhyun.

                “Yes, dad,” Daniel snorted softly, unaware of the additional sweep of the older man’s eyes.

                “We keeping watch?” Chanhee asked, leaning down enough to see under the car, head swiveling from side to side as he searched the wreckage beyond them.

                “Yes,” Minsoo nodded, pointing at the other pair and waving towards the side.  “Check around back, Byunghyun.  They might have a cellar or something,” he explained needlessly.

                Byunghyun stifled the urge to roll his eyes since he realized it was for Changhyun’s benefit.  “Come on, newbie,” he sighed, shoulders tensing automatically at the thought of going into a cellar right now.  He hated those places, potential death traps that they were.  They were slow enough to make sure Jonghyun cleared the front when Daniel pushed the door open for him, moving as quietly as possible, but then they had to focus on their footing.

                The house itself was alright, but those on either side of it had mostly fallen in, providing plenty of debris to get over and around.  Squinting in the gloomy shadow of the house to his right, he tried to make sure nothing else was moving in front of them.  This was also the perfect place for those damned snakes to lurk, hiding in the wreckage and feeding on overgrown rats.  Did he mention the snakes were large too?  Not that they fed on humans so much, but they were angry bastards and their bite wasn’t something to play with.

                “Byunghyun,” Changhyun whispered, drawing close so that he was practically on top of him.

                “Not too close,” the slender male hissed back, shaking his arm to make him step back just a hair, feeling claustrophobic at the intrusion of space.

                He could tell the comment stung by Changhyun’s sudden silence, but it didn’t last.  “I think there’s something else here,” he practically whined, breath coming in shorter, shallower pants.

                His immediate reaction was to disregard the concern entirely, chalking it up to nothing more than a newbie’s fear.  If he’d learned anything about living out here though, it was that you didn’t take that chance.  Pausing, Byunghyun shifted to look at his companion, keeping his gaze sweeping from side to side in the process.  “Where?” he asked, extending the nail bat before them cautiously.

                “Over there,” Changhyun pointed, drawing close again anyway so that he could peek over his companion’s shoulder.

                Byunghyun followed his finger and saw a flicker of movement in the debris to their left; something stirred in the house beside them.  Determinedly, he freed his hand from Changhyun’s and had the younger boy grab the back of his belt instead so he could use both limbs if necessary.  “Shh,” he urged with a finger over his lips, looking back before he turned to investigate further.  He certainly didn’t want something coming up to bite them in the if he didn’t.

                He could practically hear Changhyun’s teeth chattering at his back and if he wasn’t already fighting so hard with his own fear, a steady roar of blood rushing in his ears setting him further on edge, Byunghyun might have snapped at him.  As it was, he had to focus more on his footing than anything else.  Broken beams and nails jutted through everything, making walking treacherous.  He stopped abruptly, teeth digging into his bottom lip when the surface he stepped down on shifted underfoot, threatening to give under his weight.

                “Wait,” he called, warning Changhyun that something wasn’t quite right.  Without moving from his spot, he shifted his weight to more on his back foot and adjusted his posture to get a better glimpse of the thing that was still moving within… fluttering it almost seemed.  “Ah ,” he shuddered visibly when he realized what it was.

                “What?  What?!” Changhyun asked in near panic.

                “Spider web,” Byunghyun frowned, giving another full body shiver.

                “Ugh,” his companion agreed with him in quiet horror.

                Where there was a web, there was almost always bound to be at least one spider, if not more.  In his haste to get away, Byunghyun forgot about the weak board underfoot and he gasped when he heard wood splinter and creak.  “!” he yelped, flailing in a moment of blind panic while he started to pitch forward.

                “No!” Changhyun squeaked and Byunghyun felt the belt about his waist dig into his already bruised flesh, driving the air from his lungs in a pained wheeze before he was falling backwards.

                Another loud crash of unstable wood resounded through the air and Byunghyun scrambled to his feet immediately, heart hammering a million miles an hour as he looked around.  His mouth felt sandpaper dry while he watched the neighboring house shift further, crumpling in on itself as the overall stability was disturbed.  He coughed against the foul tasting dust that plumed over them and squinted his eyes, trying not to let too much of the irritating crap into his vision.  “Changhyun?” he called, glancing back to see the boy curled up on the ground, his hands over his head defensively.  “Aish…” he rolled his eyes, looking up when he heard someone else running up.

                “Byunghyun!” Minsoo hissed worriedly, the older male nearly indistinguishable through the dust.

                “We’re alright,” he called back, squatting to pat his companion on the shoulder.  “Spiders in the house to the left,” he warned, pushing Changhyun’s shoulder until the younger boy uncurled enough to look at him with wide, frightened eyes.

                “You sure you’re good?” Minsoo asked again, a little louder this time.

                “Yeah,” Byunghyun responded.  “Right?” he asked Changhyun, standing up to give him a hand.  Mutely, the younger boy nodded in embarrassed agreement, coughing quietly behind his arm.  “Ayah.  Let’s just get this over with,” he urged, clapping his companion on the shoulder encouragingly.

                “Yes please,” Changhyun agreed with the ghost of a smile.

                “Come on,” Byunghyun urged, grabbing the boy’s hand again as he led the way, making sure Minsoo had finally gone as well.  “Do you know anything about surviving out here?” he asked under his breath, trying to keep them both calm.

                “Not really,” Changhyun mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

                “Can you handle a weapon?” came the next question while Byunghyun scanned the path, taking one careful step after the next and trying to disturb things as little as possible.

                “Does a super soaker count?” he asked, the hint of a smile in his tone.

                Byunghyun snorted at the answer, annoyed and amused at the same time.  Cheeky brat.  “Not by a longshot,” he finally commented, poking his head around the corner with wary concern.  The backyard was surprisingly clean and he blinked in surprise when he saw what looked to be a garden shed still standing.  Interesting.  “Come on,” he tugged on the hand still in his and started to lead the way, skulking across the ground with his eyes darting every which direction.

                “Hey.  They do have a cellar,” Changhyun pointed out, nearly stumbling in his observation.

                “Bleh,” Byunghyun sighed, lip curling in irritation.  He really hated cellars.  “We’ll check out the shed first.  See if we can’t find you a weapon or something.”

                “Okay,” he whispered, drawing close again, the unexpected presence making Byunghyun shiver.

                He really wasn’t used to having anybody this close to him.  Byunghyun would have been more irritated except it was kind of nice to feel needed.  None of the others really did; they had each other after all.  And that only extended as far as family and friendship would take it.  Mentally, he cursed himself for letting his mind wander even remotely and shook free of such thoughts as he approached the shed.  It was leaning precariously and the front door was slightly off its hinges but it was otherwise whole.

                “Be ready,” he warned without looking back as he hooked one of the nails under the edge of the door so he could pull it open.

                They both tensed when the structure shifted and creaked before coming to a full stop again as the door on the hinges dug into the ground and provided a prop to steady the rest of the shed, leaving the opening clear.  Mutely, a relieved sigh escaped the pair and Byunghyun freed his hand to edge forward cautiously, keeping Changhyun in the clear.

                “Byunghyun,” the boy practically whimpered behind him, obviously afraid at being left alone, though they were only a couple feet apart.

                The slender male waved his hand behind him mutely and paid close attention to the interior.  It was so bloody dark…  On the edge of the threshold, he reached into his pocket to dig around for the mostly empty lighter he kept on hand and then frowned as something smelled funny.  The air still stank, that wasn’t unusual, but it had a familiar scent to it this time.  Oh great…  Gas fumes.  That would be perfect if he managed to blow himself up.  Maybe it was where they stored the fuel for a lawn mower or weed eater or something.  Either way, he wouldn’t be exploring it further without battery operated light.

                Stifling his irritation, he stepped back and waved at Changhyun.  “Come on.  We’ll try the stupid cellar.”

                “What’s wrong?” Changhyun asked, very much confused if the perplexed look on his face was any indication.

                “Too dark,” Byunghyun muttered.  “That’s just asking for trouble.”  Granted, the cellar probably wouldn’t be much better but at least he should be able to use the lighter there.  Who’d have ever thought the little things would be so useful?

                Changhyun drew close again, pretty much plastering himself to Byunghyun as the pair approached the mostly whole doors.  “Why is there a hole there?” Changhyun asked, pointing at the break in the barrier.

                “Feh,” Byunghyun hissed, not at all pleased by the neatly gnawed out section.  “Rats.”

                “Rats?” Changhyun asked, fingers digging into his companion tighter in his fear.

                “Yeah.  Nasty buggers.  Just stay behind me,” he soothed, trying to calm the younger boy as much as himself.  The little ones from his childhood weren’t so bad but these damn things could take a pretty good bite out of you.  Or worse.  Steeling himself, he looked up at the rest of the house to see if he could get a glimpse of Daniel or Jonghyun.  When all else remained quiet, he reached to open the doors and flung them away, making them both jump at the resultant bang.  “Changhyun…” he hissed, tensing up further when he felt the boy’s arms wrap tight around his waist as he heard skittering and quiet squeaks from within.

                “Sorry,” Changhyun whispered in a shaky voice, prying his face away from Byunghyun’s back as he forced his arms to relax.

                Byunghyun wasn’t listening, paying attention instead to the sounds coming from the dark cellar and the creaking house before him.  Why was it creaking?  Tilting his head to the side as he looked at the exterior quizzically, his eyes widened and he inhaled sharply when something crashed inside the house.  “What the…?”

                A muffled scream reached his ears and they both heard, “Jonghyun!”

                “!” Byunghyun gasped, throwing both hands up as the crashing continued, growing louder when something fell through into the cellar space with a terrible ruckus.  “Jonghyun?!” he shouted in alarmed concern as he made to run forward to check on the younger man, and then stopped entirely when the skittering, squeaking sound became exponentially louder.

                “Yah!” he and Changhyun screamed in panic as a small swarm of rats fled the opening, running straight at them.

                Byunghyun growled when sharp claws dug into him through his clothes as the large creatures ran over and around him in their haste to escape.  Blindly, he swung at them with his weapon, beating them off, and nearly missed Changhyun fleeing in terror behind him.

                “Changhyun!” he yelled, catching the boy running off in the corner of his eye.  Byunghyun reacted instantly, his body turning to follow as the younger man sprinted away, seemingly at random.  “Stop!” he shouted roughly, voice breaking when he felt a stab of pain in his foot.  There was no time to check what it was though and he threw himself after Changhyun when the other seemed oblivious of his pursuit.

                “No!” Changhyun yelled, flailing while he stumbled and nearly fell.

                “Changhyun, stop!” Byunghyun growled as he threw himself forward, just barely catching up to the boy.  He wasn’t strong enough to stop both their momentum on the uneven terrain though and grabbing onto Changhyun only caused them to tip over and fall in a tangle of limbs together.

                “No, no, no!” Changhyun continued to scream, blindly struggling against Byunghyun’s restrictive hold as they finally came to a creaky stop, with broken beams and random bits of debris jabbing against them.

                More aware of their surroundings than his panicked companion, Byunghyun finally clapped a hand over the boy’s mouth with a terse hiss, “Quiet!”  He felt more than saw Changhyun still beneath him, fingers crooking into his sides with painful intensity.  His attention was focused on the space directly beside them where he heard a long, low hiss and could just barely make out the sleek, patterned body of something long and coiled…

                Changhyun tried to say something under his hand, the word coming out muffled, and he figured it was his name, but he shook his head slightly in warning.

                As his eyes adjusted to the shadows, he could see what had to be one of the larger snakes he’d seen in a while.  It wasn’t rattling at him so maybe it was just a constrictor.  Possibly?  Not that it mattered.  Another low hiss made him shiver as his other hand reached for the nail bat lying just a foot away and he swallowed when the thing coiled up further.  “Snake,” he whispered, wrapping his fingers around the hilt of his weapon as he felt Changhyun tense, whimpering under his hand.

                Oh so slowly, Byunghyun picked the bat up between him and the monster, hardly daring to blink.  With just as much care, he edged himself off Changhyun to give him more room and leverage, trying not to shake too bad.

                “Come on you,” he whispered in a trembling voice.  “Come on,” he taunted, fingers tightening around the handle.

                In a moment of blinding clarity, Byunghyun felt as if time slowed down when the snake struck inhumanly fast, lengths of coils unwinding in one powerful strike as a terrifying mouth filled with teeth opened too wide and darted at him.  Half instinct and half blind luck allowed him to have the head of his weapon in the way enough for the snake to bite down on it instead of him.  It didn’t stop the attack from ramming him in the chest with his weapon, driving the wind from his lungs as pain lanced through his torso while he was knocked back.

                The nail bat was torn from his grasp and he reflexively curled up as the massive snake writhed and coiled anew practically on top of him.  “Byunghyun!”  Someone grabbed his wrist and he wrapped his fingers around their limb in an iron grip, helping whoever it was pull him away as he kicked his feet and tried to draw in a full breath.  “Come on!” Changhyun screamed, finally shifting so that he could get at least one hand under Byunghyun’s arm to try and haul him to his feet.

                “Changhyun?” he croaked in response, at last able to drag his feet under him while the younger boy hauled him back.  Disoriented, Byunghyun saw the writhing snake with the nail bat stuck in its maw and lurched away, dragging Changhyun with him.

                Adrenaline screamed through his system, numbing the pain he knew was there as he sighted on the house.  His skin felt fit to explode with tension as he led them back past the open cellar and through the way they had come.  He had no time to check inside, nor was he thinking about it.  There was only the place he’d last seen Minsoo; that was his focus point.  He needed to get back to safety for both of them.

                Rounding the corner, he came face to face with Chanhee instead.  Too late, he tried to stop and ran right into the other male before either had time to register what was happening.  Somehow, Chanhee was able to turn out of the way enough so that they didn’t go tumbling to the ground; it was probably because Changhyun was able to cushion the impact from behind, yanking on the arm that connected them.

                “Byunghyun!” Chanhee yelled, dropping his weapon so he could use both hands.

                In a nauseating twist, Byunghyun’s world spun as he grabbed onto Chanhee and felt his knees suddenly give.  Unable to support them both, all Chanhee could do was help lower the slender male to the ground in a controlled fall as he panted rapidly.  “Safe?” he asked, erratic gaze searching for Changhyun.

                “Oh my god!” Chanhee gasped, finally noticing the spreading blood stain on his friend’s chest.  “What happened?!” he demanded, immediately placing a hand over the wound as he tried frantically to get Byunghyun to calm down.  “Changhyun.  Get his other hand,” he instructed when Byunghyun kept trying to push his assistance away.

                “S-sn-snake!” Changhyun stammered as he trembled violently, grabbing onto the downed man’s other hand as best he could.

                “,” Chanhee cursed, taking Byunghyun’s face in both his hands.  “Byungie.  Look at me,” he instructed, making sure the other boy held his gaze long enough to make sure he was all there.

                “Safe?” Byunghyun asked again, feeling as if it was very important he knew the answer.  His chest burned, his throat ached, his body was a mess, and his foot hurt for some god forsaken reason, but he needed to know that they were safe.

                “Yes,” Changhyun answered with a fervent nod, clasping both hands in his tightly.

                “Minsoo!” Chanhee shrieked, looking over Byunghyun’s body towards the house.

                Finally, his breathing started to become more manageable as the adrenaline began to ebb but then the pain seeped in further.  “Spiders and rats and snakes…” he hissed, scrunching his eyes shut tight as he groaned in pain.  “ing wastelands.”

                “Minsoo!” Chanhee tried again, louder this time and a more desperate edge to his tone.

                “Are you alright?” Changhyun asked hopelessly, his voice tight and on the edge of tears.

                Was that a serious question?  Of course he wasn’t alright.  The mere thought made him want to laugh, so he did, the act painful and utterly ridiculous.  But once it began, he couldn’t stop it and he laughed until he cried with tears streaming down his face and darkness creeping into his eyes.

                “Byungie!” Chanhee snapped, slapping his face with an open hand.  “Stay with me!”

                “ing wastelands,” he laugh-cried through gritted teeth with his eyes shut tight.

                “Byunghyun?!” Changhyun cried, shaking the hands in his frantically.

                “What the hell?!”

                “Minsoo!”

                “Help him!”

                There was nothing but pain and madness all around him and the only thing Byunghyun could think was that they made an awful lot of noise.  After that, he didn’t think much of anything at all.

(a/n: Well this went a darker direction than I originally intended.  :/  lol  But I have a plan!  More or less.  haha  I hope you've enjoyed it though and we'll see where it goes from here!  Dangerous debris, collapsing houses, and oh so fun injuries.  XD  I'm hoping to catch them a break soon though.  heh  Thanks for reading and please look forward to the next update!)