013

No Turning Back

(A/N: Links in below A/N for Woljeongsa Temple if you have trouble visualizing it)

Yunho sighed, and stared at her with a sort of tired patience. He knew what he wanted to do with someone who was bitten, but not their own. He was prepared to do it himself, but he was sure the others wouldn't agree.

“Don't tell me you're actually thinking about doing that, Yunho.” Yunho looked up, so see Changmin staring at him, bewildered and disgusted. Yunho grinded his teeth with a nod. Changmin huffed and looked away. Someone had to do it, might as well be him. He's their leader.

Jaejoong slipped his hand into his own, and looked at him. His soft, pale face showed concern. He didn't need it. Yunho rejected Jaejoong's hand, and took out his pistol. The lady finally seemed to have caught on. She shoved Jiyeon out of the way.

“No. No! Don't kill me! Please, please!” She begged. And begged and begged. She forced her body on her knees, and begged, still, tugging at Yunho's shirt. The blood stained the edges as she begged. Tears rolled down her faces in globs and waves. Disgusting.

Yunho aimed. “I will do anything to protect my family.”

She still begged.

“Jinhee, baby, don't look.” Yunho heard Jaejoong speak, as softly as he did.

With a deep breath, he pulled the trigger.

The gunshot rang in their ears and around them. The birds flew off. The body hit the dirt with a loud thud.

It was then that Yunho noticed his hands were shaking. The group looked around, for any signs of zombies that have heard the shot. It was quiet for the longest time. Yunho had to do it. He had to.

Yunho repeated those words in his head as he put his gun away. Below him, the blood had pooled to his shoes. Yunho stepped back, appalled at the amount a human body had. He frowned in disgust. “Changmin get rid of it.”

“Why me?”

“Can't ask the lady to do it.”

Jiyeon laughed. “Lady? Who?” She turned serious just as fast as she laughed, and stared at Yunho. “There is no 'lady' or 'gentleman' in this game. No 'man' or 'woman.' Just 'survivor' and 'dead.'”

Yunho stared her down. “Fine, then. You can Jaejoong can go find out where she kept the food.” He turned to Yoochun. “Keep an eye out for soulless, and fine anything we can use for anything. Don't go near the back temples. I'll go help Changmin and then we'll clear it out once we're done here.”

Changmin sighed and stood up. He was drenched in sweat. By now he halfway to the bridge, a trail of deep red following him, pooling a little every time he had to stop to take his breath. “Now you tell me this?”

The group split in various directions, and Yunho walked to Changmin. “What are you doing?”

“You said to get rid of it, so I thought I'd dump it off the bridge.”

“You grab the shoulders, I got the legs.” Changmin nodded, and they worked together to haul the body up. With two people carrying it, it made it much easier on the back and what little energy they had left. The two made it to the bridge.

There was water under the bridge, but it wasn't a great fall. “Is it even deep enough?”

Changmin shrugged. “Don't care. It gets it away from us, and that's all I care about. Come on.”

The two hoisted the body up, and let it fall below. The body landed with a loud splash, but did not drift off. The blood followed the course of the river. Yunho sighed, and turned back around.

The red trail, from where she was shot to where she was tossed, stood out against the white wood and bleached stone bridge. Tainted. Stained. No longer innocent. Soon the blood stain will dry, harden, and turn black.

Yunho took out his gun. “Let's go.”

Changmin huffed for a breath, before following suit and headed to the three back temples.

There were only three zombies in one of the locked up temples, two of which were bitten. The duo took them out with ease. Changmin stared at them as only little blood pooled on the floor and together. “I'm not dumping those thing.”

Yunho shook his head. “I'm not risking you. Let's go find the others.”

The two headed back out to find Jaejoong and Jiyeon chatting by the pagoda statue. JinHee sat on a stone bench, swinging her legs as she ate an apple. “You found food?”

Jaejoong smiled and nodded. “It looks like a feast.”

“Must have been temple offerings before everything happened.” Yoochun shouted just then, coming from the right temple. When they looked, he waved. Yunho sighed. “Did you find anything?”

Yoochun waited until he was closer to speak. “A whole lot of beds. We can sleep here for the night, instead of cramped up in that camper.”

“Yoochun, we found food! There's a cafeteria.” Jaejoong grabbed Yoochun's hand, smiling, and dragged him inside. The rest of the group followed.

Set up on the table were plates of sandwiches. Various unspoiled fruits were packed in a clear, large container. In another, similar container were stacks of canned and packaged foods.

Without speaking, the group sat to each. There were more than enough sandwiches, so Jaejoong made sure JinHee had two. It was then that he noticed Yunho standing there. He pat the seat next to him. “Yunho, come sit.”

The elder snapped out of it, and sat next to Jaejoong. His mind kept thinking back to poison. If the food was poisoned or not. How long it has been out. If that woman got her infected blood on any of the food items.

A hand slithered into his. He could tell by the warmth it was Jaejoong's. He smiled, kissed Jaejoong's cheek, and ate his sandwich. It wasted alright. Not poisoned or bloodied. Fresh. “I've been thinking.”

Yoochun shushed him, spitting various slobbered crumbs all over the table. “Not right now. No depressing thoughts until after we've had a full stomach.”

Yunho ignored him, and placed his sandwich back on his plate. “How would you guys like to stay here?”

The group stared at him. “We're surrounded by a forest.” Changmin said.

“Only half. The other half is the river. We find a way to block that, and the bridge, and I think we could stay here.” Yunho looked around the table, staring at their confused looks before settling on Jaejoong's face.

“Alright.” That was unexpected. “If you can block off the forest, then staying here would be good. We're on a hill, in the middle of the mountains, half surrounded by a river. If we block the forest, then the only way other people could get in is through the bridge.”

Yunho nodded, with a little smile on his face. “It's like you read my mind.”

Jiyeon crossed her arms, food already gone. “If we're staying here, they we can't leave that river open. It's not steep enough; Any human can climb it if they really wanted to.”

“So then we make a wall around the river too. We can just connect it with a gate at the bridge.”

“But with what?”

“Guys,” Changmin rose an eyebrow. “We're surrounded by wood and rocks. Just chop off the trees. We can use them as logs to build a vertical wall. Saw off the branches and we'd have it high enough that the soulless couldn't get in by banging on it, and the humans can't climb it.”

Yunho held up a hand, “Hold on, Changmin. We still haven't scouted the area.”

“What else are we going to build the walls out of? Buddhas?”

“Speaking of which, we need to do something about those graves.” Jiyeon pointed in the general direction of behind the temple, where a small graveyard was.

Jaejoong waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “Oh, I bet they're so dead that the bones are gone.”

“Easy.” Changmin began. “Build the fence so it doesn't include the graves.”

There was a moment of silence as it all sunk in. They were really staying there. Yunho nodded. “Alright. Changmin, since you're so dead set on a wooden wall, find anything than can be used for chopping trees. Yoochun, show me where those beds are, then you and Jiyeon can go find materials to build a wall.”

“Yunho.” Yunho looked to where the voice came from. Jaejoong.

He sighed. “I don't want your foot getting any worse. Stay by the pagoda, on lookout for any soulless. I'll be looking around to see what else we can find. I think I saw a bell in the back.” Jaejoong pouted.

Yunho looked at the rest of them. “Everybody's got a job. Go on. Yoochun, wait outside for a moment.”

Yoochun caught the hint, and called for JinHee. She followed with ease, another apple in hand.

When everyone was gone, Yunho cupped Jaejoong's face, and gently placed his forehead against the other's. Hands wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. Yunho obeyed, sitting on top of the other and planting his legs on both sides of Jaejoong's body. Jaejoong was first to kiss him. Yunho loved the slow kisses Jaejoong gave him. They were always warm, and loving, with limited wetness. Just perfect for the occasion.

Yunho smiled, and broke the kiss. “We'll get through this. Things are looking up.”