[CONTENTID1] CHAPTER NINETEEN - LIKE A CANDLE [/CONTENTID1]
[CONTENTID2]

Things went bad fast. New York City, as expected, crumbled first. Then followed Philadelphia, New Jersey and Boston. It quickly expanded to Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maryland. The loss was already tragic but what added fuel to the fire was the virus travelling across further borders like Mexico and Brazil and Argentina. It spread faster than the tropical dengue fever disease, becoming the biggest epidemic recorded in history in a matter of months. People tried to escape it by going to different countries which unwittingly increased the distance and rate of the spread.  It was said that at least ten thousand people were infected every day and twice that amount died. Although the number of deaths were shocking, that wasn't what had people both fascinated and scared out of their minds - it was the number of people that didn't stay dead. 

Kyuhyun clicks his tongue and I look up from my revolver which is currently disassembled. "You know, we're probably gonna end up together." I can't help but laugh and focus back on reassembling the gun. Kyuhyun twirls a combat knife between his two index fingers, his eyes taking in the gleam of the sharp weapon. "I'm serious. It's inevitable."

I decide to take the bait. "Why is that?" He sighs as if it's a stupid question and throws the combat knife up, skilfully catching it and spinning it between his fingers. He slides off the counter and takes a seat opposite me. 

"Because, sweet Hyerim, I was your first," he answers with a toothy grin. I raise a single grow but continue the assembling of my gun. "The first guy you slept with willingly. You're the first girl I've slept with that I don't want to kill afterwards."

"Dramatic," I snort, shaking my head. "What about Hyoyeon?" 

He scoffs. "Hyoyeon? I'd drink the last cup of water and watch her burn." I whistle lowly and continue to shake my head. "Besides, you and I are different. We fit." 

"Oh, do we?" I ask, laughing. I lift my eyes to meet his and put my configured revolver down. I've gotten good at this, especially with Sehun's help. I expected him to be good with weapons given his role in the team but I could have never guessed how skilled he is in his field, and then some. His precision is flawless whether long or short range and not just with a sniper but with many other weapons and non-weapons: spears, darts, arrows, stones. You name it, he can hit a bullseye with it.  

"Yeah, we do. But I'm a patient guy, I'll wait for you to get over your fling with Jackson," he says, leaning back in his chair and stretching casually. I burst out laughing.

"Yah, babo! Why do you say things like that?" I giggle, shaking my head. 

"Because I'm hoping I'll be caught saying them at least once," he replies with a smirk. "I'm bored, I need something to do."

"So you're looking for a fight?" I ask and he shrugs. "You really are an idiot." 

"Maybe. But I'm also a ing genius." We laugh together and the conversation continues lightly. We both know that our relationship is far from normal but we also appreciate it for what it is: comic relief. As much as he drives me mad, Kyuhyun is one of the most trustworthy people I know. Sure, he's an , but he's one I'm willing to deal with.

"So, I've been thinking--"

"Woah, don't hurt yourself," he interrupts and I stick my tongue out at him. 

"I've been thinking, we've all been a team for almost two years, right?" He nods. "There's still so much we don't know about each other. I don't know your favourite colour, food, season...anything!"

He makes me a weird face. "Who cares? That stuff is trivial in comparison to everything that's going on in the world." He picks up a grape from the fruit bowl in the centre of the table and throws it in his mouth. "I don't think I need to know which shade of mint green Jessica noona prefers." 

I roll my eyes and take a grape for myself. "How are we supposed to trust one another if we don't know the person as more than just a teammate?" 

"Knowing my favourite type of salsa isn't what makes you my friend," he argues, holding my gaze with intensity in his eyes. "It's caring about my survival, not because you want to save your own skin but because you don't want to lose me. That's what separates teammates and friends." 

"Did you just admit that you care about our team?" I ask, grinning. He rolls his eyes and I start to giggle, clapping my hands victoriously. "I knew it! The big bad jerk has a soft side."

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you," he grumbles and I nod, flashing him a wink. "No, seriously--" His words are cut off by the phone ringing. I retrieve it and return to the kitchen, sitting back down next to him but on the table. 

"Yob- I mean, hello?"

"Are you in your living room?" Youngjae asks and I shake my head, forgetting he can't see me. 

"No, but Yoongi oppa, Sica eonnie, Jongin--"

"Go to the living room and switch on the news." He hangs up and I hold the phone back, blinking at it. Youngjae is never the rude one and for him to hang up without a word means something serious has happened - or is happening. I look at Kyuhyun and he raises a brow at me.

"We need to switch on the news," I tell him and he immediately gets up, no questions asked. We rush to the living room where Jessica, Yoongi, Jongin and Sehun are. They're all watching a movie except for Sehun who, as always, is listening to music on his iPod. I grab the TV remote from the coffee table and change the channel.

"Yah, what the hell!" Jongin exclaims and they all glare at me, grumbling unintelligibly. "What did you do that for?" 

"Youngjae--" Just as I say his name, said male makes an entrance with Daehyun at his side. They burst into the living room and I put on the news channel. "What's going on, oppa?" 

"You'll see," is all he says. A man's face appears on the screen with a red board reading 'BREAKING NEWS'. There are flashing lights behind him and the noise level is high, making it almost impossible to hear the reporter himself. 

"...the virus, unofficially nicknamed 'LA FOLIE' or simply 'FOLIE' by French citizens is sweeping through the masses faster than smallpox, the plague, Ebola and influenza combined. The name was introduced earlier this week when a video was uploaded to YouTube, showing a man viciously attacking his wife and child. In the video, he is clearly seen tearing off their flesh and eating it..." 

The room is silent as we all listen to the news report, jaws dropped. I still don't understand why Youngjae is making us watch this but I remain silent, mostly because I can't find the right words.

"...rumours say that the man was infected with the virus but, unlike many others, did not die from it. Instead, his body bonded or, more accurately, was forced to adapt to the disease and his DNA was altered by it. This resulted in the craze witnessed in the video..."

"What. The. ," Hyoyeon mutters, her eyes glued to the TV. "What is this?"

"...similar videos have been hitting the web but it wasn't until this morning that new information surfaced. Here, take a look," the man says and disappears from the screen, being replaced by a bad-quality video. A woman walks into the frame but she's far away and appears to be severely injured. The person filming calls out to her and, slowly, she turns around. The woman does not look well. As she nears, her neck cracks along with her limbs and she looks spastic. She speeds up and rushes towards the camera at a shocking speed, latching onto the person filming. Screams are heard and blood splatters into the frame. 

The reporter speaks over the video. "The video is now being fast forwarded." It does, indeed, and for a long time nothing happens. The camera has fallen and is pointed at the woman who is feeding on the person who was filming; a younger man. The fast forwarding stops and I lean forward a bit, narrowing my eyes to focus on the screen. 

"Oh my god," I gasp, my eyes widening to the point that they almost hurt. I watch in stupefaction as the young man's body starts to twitch and jerk below the woman, who is still eating his flesh. Dark red veins cover his body and some of them are starting to turn a dark blueish-black colour, just like the ones coating the woman's face, arms and legs. His pupils have almost completely dilated, his irises seemingly nonexistent if it wasn't for the perceptible sliver of blue. Although his pupils are huge, he looks completely unfocused, maniacal, insane. 

After a few minutes of fast, noisy and throaty breathing, he scrambles to his feet and lets out a piercing scream. The woman gets up with him and they scream together before a faint noise catches their attention and they run after it, leaving the frame. The clip comes to an end and the reported reappears on the screen.

"The video seems to show an alternative result of the virus. Instead of causing painful death within the expected five days, it transformed both victims in what looks to be a psychotic and cannibalistic state. Sources say that scientists of different countries are coming together, only through the circumstance of a common enemy, to derive a cure or at the very least, a preventative injection..."

"Jesus ing Christ, this...what is happening?" Jessica breaths, stepping towards the TV whilst shaking her head in disbelief. "What on earth is happening?"

"The symptoms of the virus, as far as we know, are: profuse sweating, coughing up bodily fluids, especially blood, trembling despite the four degree Celsius increase in body temperature, grogginess and/or drowsiness, accelerated metabolism that burns all fat and protein reserves in the body and also, but not limited to, intense internal pain caused by the rotting effect of the virus." 

From the corner of my eye, I see Youngjae search for a notepad and scribble down everything the reporter is saying. 

"Although the initial exposure of the virus attacked people in a respiratory form, multiple governments have managed to purify their air with the use of large cargo planes carrying compressed and aerosolised chlorine that is released over cities and attacks water particles in the air, oxidising them and removing the virus in the process. However, the process has yet to be carried on to cure humans and, right now, is being deemed impossible by many."

The phone rings and Youngjae immediately answers it. 

"We advise everyone to remain indoors at all times unless it is absolutely necessary for you to l