Hope

The sound of cracking leaves under heavy hiking boots resounded through the deadly but quiet forest. Youngjae was tired and weary after restlessly and mindlessly walking all night – and every day before that – stopping only once to kill off two zombies and refill his canteen full of water at a creek he stumbled upon. His feet ached, and he was hungry.

The harsh sunlight beating down on the back of his neck made him break a sweat even in the chilly fall weather. He sighed deeply before deciding it was time to finally take a rest after hours of trudging through fallen leaves in the blinding darkness. He found a fallen tree and opted this as his resting place.

Youngjae slid his hiking bag off of his shoulders and it landed with a heavy thud next to the fallen tree where he plopped down in exhaustion. He ran a hand through his black hair before drawing his knees towards his chest and resting his hands on his knees.

Youngjae’s tired eyes roamed about the forest, hearing the chirps of birds and the occasional cricket sound. His ears suddenly perked up at the sound of something shuffling in a hurried pace over the sea of leaves covering the forest floor. It was too fast to be a zombie. As the figure came closer to him, he could clearly see that it was a rabbit.

Rabbits were hard to find nowadays. He would opt for a squirrel now and then, but those didn’t feed him enough like rabbits did. He immediately pulled out his Glock .44, not caring if he attracts any zombies with the loud crack of the gun – he was ing hungry. He aimed skillfully at the figure moving a few feet in front of him and fired.

“Yay.” He said happily to himself as he walked over to the dead rabbit. He picked it up by the tail and began to examine it. “Poor guy. At least you didn’t get horribly torn up and eaten alive by those mother ers.”

Youngjae carried his rabbit back over to the fallen tree, cut off its tail, and began to skin it. Then he started a small fire and roasted the rabbit meat over the fire, his stomach growling loudly as the aroma of cooking meat encircled his nostrils.

Just as he was about to take a bite of his delicious accomplishment, he heard the growls and gurgles of nearby zombies. By the sound of it, it sounded like two, maybe more. He groaned in frustration.

“For ing one time can you guys just leave me be? I gotta eat too. Selfish bastards.” He said in frustration as five man-eating zombies started shuffling towards him, desperate hunger apparent in their lifeless eyes as their arms reached out for him.

Youngjae pulled out his knife sitting comfortably in its holster around his thigh, and kicked the first zombie away and it fell onto another behind it, before sinking his knife into a third zombie’s tender skull. Then he kicked a fourth zombie’s knee, snapping the weak bone, causing the zombie to fall, before climbing over it and stabbing it in the head. From behind him, a zombie wrapped its rotting arms around his back and he panicked.

Youngjae stood and struggled to get the zombie off of him. His heart was racing with anticipation as he was waiting for those teeth to tear into his flesh. He tried his best to avoid the zombie’s open mouth full of rotten teeth wanting to sink into his flesh. The other zombie he first kicked was coming at him from the front and he kicked it away again. His knife dropped in his struggle and was lost somewhere near one of the dead corpses.

Youngjae, with great difficulty, managed to turn himself around in the zombie’s hold, but he tripped over a root and fell flat on his back. The zombie fell on top of him, the other one plopped itself on top of the other, and another let itself fall on the pile as well, all reaching out for him. Youngjae knew this would be the end; this was how he was going to die. He felt completely hopeless until he turned his head and praised the heavens when he saw his knife an arm’s reach away.

He put his forearm underneath the zombie’s chin, holding it off while he desperately clawed for his knife, moist dirt climbing uncomfortably under his nails. He gripped the handle, and sunk the blade into one skull and into the others. The bodies went limp, the growling and gurgling stopped, and the corpses were heavy on him, but he laid there without moving. His arms were spread out around him, the knife still gripped tightly in his hand, and his eyes stared upward at the gray sky.

He laid there until the sound of a gurgling zombie munching viciously on meat – rabbit’s meat to be precise – averted his attention to his right side where, sure enough, the fifth zombie he didn’t kill was feasting on the rabbit. His rabbit. He groaned and glared at the undead monster before pushing the heavy corpses off of him.

“You ing bastard. That was my food.” He kicked the zombie onto the leaf littered ground harshly, and climbed on top of it before stabbing it in the head multiple times in a manner that he would have never seen himself do. He stabbed the head repeatedly, the squelching noises invading his ears, until his hands were completely covered in the zombie’s blood and his face had splatters of blood.

He stood up, panting, and wiped blood away from his chin, then he laughed in misery. Youngjae walked over to what was left of the rabbit he was supposed to eat, to see nothing but a few scraps of meat here and there on the bones. He was going to eat the scraps of meat when he noticed it was covered in the zombie’s saliva. He would become infected if he ate it. That only made Youngjae want to eat it more. It would be too easy, but he’d rather die and stay dead than to become one of those carnivorous monsters. Youngjae tossed the bone to the side, sighing in defeat. He’d just have to keep going.

Youngjae stood up on his sore legs, adjusted his jacket, packed his weapons back into his bag, put on his bag, and started walking. He didn’t know where, but he let his feet guide the way hopefully to a place where there were nice people and not people like the murderers he rolled around with a few days ago.

He remembered how they would kill everyone they came across, leaving no time for the person to explain themselves. Just kill and move on was what they told him. They told him he couldn’t trust anyone. It was funny how he trusted people like them when they told him to watch out for who he trusted. Youngjae refused to kill, so they sent him off with limited supplies that were already almost gone. He had only a can of beans and peaches left. Well, the supplies they gave him would only have lasted a day anyway.   

Youngjae sighed once more before checking his watch that had stopped ticking when the world started going down. He’d been walking for God knows how long to nowhere. He was hopeless, completely hopeless until he noticed up ahead, black asphalt and painted median lines covering it. It was a road. He all but ran to the road.

He came across a two lane highway littered with leaves and an abandoned car. He walked cautiously to the car, taking out his knife before opening the door. He flinched back when a zombie, still strapped in the driver’s seat, growled and reached out to him. He walked over to it and sunk his blade into the zombie’s skull before unbuckling it and pulling it out of the car.

He sat in the driver’s seat, excitement bubbling in him when he realized that he would have a car. A mothering car! He dipped under the steering wheel to hotwire the vehicle. He connected the wires inwardly cheering, but the car didn’t start. “No, no, no, no. Come on,” Youngjae pushed the wires together again and still no answer. “Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!” He yelled before sitting back up in the seat and hitting the steering wheel in anger. He was fed up with this .

He sulked for a while before getting out of the vehicle. He looked down the road to his right, then to his left. He pondered which way he should go and opted going left. Youngjae started his walk, walking in the middle of the road.

As he walked, he waited, desperately pleading that someone would just drive down that road or he’ll run into another person along the way. He just hated being alone and needed someone he could talk to. Loneliness was a battle he was losing miserably as well as not giving up hope. He’s already given up a long time ago.

Youngjae mindlessly walked, ignoring the hunger pains in his empty stomach. It hurt, but he could care less. Youngjae was tired, his body weary without rest, and his feet were aching. But Lord knows he has to keep going.

The sun was setting, a fiery orange painting the sky and a cold breeze blew, when Youngjae came upon a small abandoned town with particularly huge buildings that began to decay with neglect. He walked into the town as quiet as he possibly could. He came across a few stores here and there in hopes to find more food and ammunition because he was running low with only three bullets remaining in the magazine of his gun. However, those stores were ransacked and most of the supplies were taken.

Youngjae walked away from the center of the town to a demolished building a few blocks down. He opened the door that barely hung onto its hinges. The room was dark and he wished so much that he had a flashlight with him. After deciding that he didn’t care if he died in this place, he walked straight into the building. It was empty and the windows were boarded up. He clawed at the boards and successfully took them off, the bright orange light of the sunset brightening the room. He sighed at the extraordinary view before turning around and finding a staircase.

Youngjae climbed the stairs and went into an open-door room holding his gun, ready to fire in case he needed to. When he deemed the room empty, he took his bag off and set it down before he sat down under a window that wasn’t boarded and he sighed, tiredly sighed. He looked at his gun and threw it on the ground in front of him. Then he began to cry. Sobs wracked his body as he wailed.

Why had he survived for this long? He should be dead. His parents were, his siblings were, so why should he get to live when all his days were full of misfortune and hopelessness? Youngjae buried his head into his hands before drawing his knees close to his body, hugging them as his face burrowed between his knees. He sobbed before pulling his head up, wiping his remaining tears away. He spotted his gun in front of him and he took hold of it, gripping the handle tightly.

He sniffled before sliding the mechanism at the top of his gun, loading a bullet ready to fire. He just needed to pull the trigger. With the gun tightly held in his hand, he brought it up to his right temple. The cool metal of the gun cooled off his burning skin. I’m sorry. He said to himself. He didn’t know who he was apologizing to; maybe it was to himself, for being too weak to have hope, or maybe to his deceased family and friends who he couldn’t protect. Whomever, whatever, it wouldn’t matter when he pulled the trigger.

He was about to pull the trigger when the gurgles and growls of zombies caught his attention, and he looked to the door to see a huge herd of zombies shuffling up the staircase. Then what he heard next, made him forget what he was just about to do.

“Get in there you bastards! So I can burn you all.”

It was a human. Youngjae dropped his gun and he stood up abruptly to look out the window. He saw a man, dressed in black pants, a black button-up shirt, he wore black combat boots, and he wore a cardigan jacket with leather sleeves and angel wings on the back of it. He also had a crossbow hanging around his shoulders while he held an AK-47. The man directed more zombies into the building Youngaje was in.

Youngjae looked at him, forgetting about the zombies, leaning against the window until the window, not correctly fastened to the building, fell and crashed loudly down below. This caught not only the man’s attention, but the zombies coming through the doorway as they all started to shuffle towards Youngjae. Youngjae turned around and fear filled him. The zombies were all shuffling towards him and he had nowhere to go, he only had three bullets and a knife.

“Oh .” The man cursed before running towards the building. He was below the window he saw Youngjae standing by. “Hey you!”

Youngjae glanced quickly out of the window and back to the herd of zombies. “Please help me! Please!” Youngjae yelled out desperately. Just a few minutes ago he wanted to die, but now he doesn’t because he doesn’t want to become a zombie. He grabbed his knife and kicked zombies away and killed some. The man outside looked around before seeing a large firetruck near the window.

“Hey you in there!” The man yelled and Youngjae glanced back out the window quickly before killing another zombie.

“Help me!” He yelled again as he kicked a zombie away.

“I need you to jump out of the window!” The man yelled, and Youngjae looked down at the man in disbelief. It was a long fall and Youngjae didn’t want to die that way.

“No way! Are you crazy?!” He yelled back.

“There’s a firetruck underneath the window! It’s not that far down! You’ll survive!”

Youngjae looked out farther and he spotted the firetruck, and it really wasn’t that far down. Before he could grab his things and jump, a zombie he kicked over that fell on the floor, grabbed his ankle and he fell down. He began to get dragged into the herd. Youngjae thrashed, looking at the window then back at the herd of zombies. He found his gun, grabbed it, then he shot the zombie holding his leg. He scrambled to his feet, stuffed his gun and knife into his bag, slung his bag over his shoulders, and jumped before anymore zombies could grab him.

He landed with a hard thud on the firetruck. He landed straight on top of the ladder and it hurt like hell. He groaned before standing up uneasily, but fell over when he felt a sharp pain in his left ankle. He hissed in pain as the man came running over to the firetruck and climbed on top.

“Hey, you alright?” The man asked and Youngjae shook his head.

“My ankle, I think it’s sprained.” Youngjae answered him.

The man chuckled. “At least you jumped like a brave son of a . Can you walk?” The man tried helping Youngjae up, but Youngjae almost fell again. The man sighed with his lips in a straight line.

The door that was blocked by a few gas barrels, broke open and the herd of zombies came shuffling out. “Ah .” The man said as he punched the firetruck, the sound attracting the zombies. “Because of you this had to happen. Now when I get off of the truck, you walk or crawl or whatever to the ladder and I’ll help you down. Got it?” Youngjae nodded.

The man climbed off of the truck and started firing his AK-47 as he skillfully struck the heads of zombies with the bullets. Youngjae did as he was told, and crawled to the side. The man slung his gun back over his shoulders next his crossbow and helped the younger down. As the man struggled to get Youngjae to stand correctly, Youngjae saw a zombie coming up from behind the man and he pulled an arrow from the crossbow and stabbed the zombie. The man turned around, squatted, and gestured for Youngjae to get on his back.

“What is this?” Youngjae asked and the man rolled his eyes.

“It’s a ing piggy back ride. Now get on before I change my mind and leave you to die.” The man said coldly, and Youngjae quickly jumped on his back. The man adjusted Youngjae before taking off in a fast sprint, immediately losing the herd of zombies.

Youngjae held the man’s shoulders tightly as he ran. The sun had set a long time ago so Youngjae had not yet seen the man’s face. He didn’t know where they were going, but he couldn’t stop all of these questions from rising. Was he dangerous? Would the man kill him when he gets the chance? Is he going to rob him then leave him to die with no supplies? Youngjae’s questioning ceased when the man came upon another abandoned building, this time across the town, and kicked open the door. He had stopped running when he went up the stairs to the roof where Youngjae saw the man’s supply of guns, ammunition, canned foods, a sleeping bag, medical kit, and a burned out fire.

The man set Youngjae down on the rolled out sleeping bag before walking over to the medical kit where he took out pre-wrap and tape.

“There’s no ice but I still have to wrap it. It might get swollen but what the hell.” He said as he pulled off Youngjae’s shoe and sock harshly, sending his ankle to throb in pain. Youngjae hissed as the man wrapped the pre-wrap around his ankle and taped it much less like a pro. His fingers were very cold though. “There.” The man said as he stood up and turned around to start another fire.

Youngjae remained silent. He was waiting. He was waiting for the man to tell him to leave, for the man to turn his crossbow on Youngjae and shoot an arrow into his brain. But neither came. What came instead was a warm bowl of beans and water. Youngjae took both with uncertainty. The man dished food out for himself. They ate in silence. Youngjae forced himself to eat slowly and not look like a savage, but he thought it unnecessary when he saw the way the man ate. He ate like he hasn’t seen food in years.

When they finished, Youngjae sat there on the sleeping bag in silence as he watched the man look out at the town over the building’s ledge, holding his crossbow. Youngjae struggled to stand and hopped over to the man’s side. He needed to see what he looked like. The man didn’t acknowledge his presence until Youngjae asked him a question.

“What’s your name?”

“None of your business.” The man simply stated, eyes still staring straight forward. The pale light of the moon shone on his face, and Youngjae was finally able to see his face. The man had black hair styled in an undercut, his complexion was slightly dark, his nose was fairly big, and he had a mole underneath his right eye where heavy eye bags were apparent. All in all, the man was handsome.

“I just want to know what your name is.” Youngjae pushed, the man glared at him.

“And I just said it was none of your business.” The man looked forward again. Youngjae looked forward too, an awkward silence overcoming the two until Youngjae spoke up.

“Thank you, by the way.” Thank you for ruining my chance to end this all. He said to himself. The man looked at him.

“It was nothing.” He said.

“How could it be nothing when you save a life? Why did you save me?”

“A man once told me that the world isn’t a nice place filled with the nicest people, and if you can’t find a nice person, be one.”

“So I suppose you live off of that?”

“No, he was a crazy man. I do nice things because I get bored.”

“Oh,” Youngjae said. “Sorry for asking.” He said before hopping back over to the fire and sat next to it. The man went back to looking out at the town. He was tough.

“So, how’d you end up here with all of this stuff?” Youngjae asked and the man grunted.

“None of your business either.”

Youngjae has finally had enough of this man’s bull and y attitude.

“Please could you just say something in a nicer tone? I’ve been alone for too long, and now that I’ve found another person, I’d like to have a decent conversation. So, hi, I’m Yoo Youngjae. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?” Youngjae said that last bit in a sarcastic tone. When he received no reply, he scoffed and lay down on his side, his back facing the other. First thing in the morning, he’s gone, despite his ankle and his decreasing supplies, and complete what he was about to do just a while ago before this man interrupted him. He closed his eyes ready to sleep when the deep, Busan accented voice broke through the tensed air.

“Daehyun. My name’s Jung Daehyun.”

Youngjae turned around and sat up, looking at the man named Daehyun who was still looking out at the town.

“My name’s Daehyun. I had two younger siblings and a widowed mother who were overrun by a herd of walkers.”

“Walkers?” Youngjae asked.

“Zombies. We called them walkers.”

“Oh, what did you do then? When you lost your family?” Youngjae asked, feeling accomplished that he got the man to talk.

“I moved on. Went out on my own.”

“How long ago was this?”

“A few months ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing.”

Daehyun turned around slightly, glancing at Youngjae before focusing his gaze back to the town. “What about you? What’s your story?”

“Well, I had two other friends. Himchan and Jongup were their names. I was with them when the world started going down, we were camping in the mountains when we got the news. My family died, and Himchan and Jongup eventually did too when our small camp got overrun by walkers. Before the world went down, I was a Sherriff in a small town.” Daehyun tensed but then relaxed knowing that laws didn’t appeal to him anymore. He may or may not have committed a few felonies here and there, enough to land him in jail.

“Sorry about your friends, kid. Get some shut eye. We have a long day tomorrow. I’ll take you as far as the next town then I’m on my own.”

“Alright.” Youngjae said as he laid back down and covered himself with his jacket, falling right to sleep from all of the exhaustion he underwent, and from the fact that he was able to sleep without worrying if he was going get eaten during the night because he had the man named Daehyun there keeping watch. He fell into a blissful sleep he hasn’t ever been able to have in a long time.

+++

“Hey kid. Wake up. We have to go. That herd from last night is slowly making its way across town.” Daehyun shook Youngjae awake. The younger yawned and stretched as he watched Daehyun gather the supplies and pack the guns and ammo into a huge duffel bag before storing the food into another huge duffel bag.

Youngjae slowly moved, but stopped once he felt an immense pain in his ankle to the point where he couldn’t move at all. He hissed and Daehyun walked over to see what the other was crying about.

“What is it?” Daehyun asked.

“My ankle. It feels like it got worse.” Youngjae said through clenched teeth. Daehyun squatted down next to Youngjae’s foot and clicked his tongue.

“Your ankle looks ugly as hell. I don’t think you’ll be able to walk for a few days. Good thing we won’t be doing any walking today.” Daehyun said before standing up and sliding the duffel bags on either shoulder. “I’m going to take these down there and I’ll come back up.” Youngjae nodded and watched Daehyun exit the rooftop.

What did he mean when he said they weren’t going to do a lot of walking today? How else are they going to get away from the town? He must have car. At the thought, Youngjae smiled with relief. At least they have transport. Youngjae slowly slipped on his sock and shoe over his throbbing purple and blue foot with great difficulty. Then he put his jacket back on and grabbed his bag. By the time he had finished, Daehyun showed up and walked over to Youngjae.

“You ready to go?” Youngjae nodded and the older swooped down and picked up Youngjae swiftly in a bridal style. As Daehyun carried him down, Youngjae had the opportunity to get a better look at his face. His eye bags looked worse than they did last night. I wonder if he slept at all last night.

Daehyun noticed Youngjae’s eyes on him and sighed. “What?” He asked.

“Did you sleep last night?” Youngjae asked as Daehyun kicked open the door that was the exit to the building.

“Does it matter?”

“Uh, yeah it does, if you’re going to be leading the way.”

Daehyun sighed again. Sighing must be his favorite thing to do. “Yes, I did. For about a good three hours.”

Youngjae was about to say more until he spotted their form of transportation and his jaw dropped in awe. It was a Harley Davidson’s motorcycle. The duffel bags were strapped to the sides and Daehyun’s crossbow and gun sat comfortably on the leather seats. Daehyun set Youngjae down, roughly if Youngjae might say, on the back seat before grabbing his crossbow and gun and slung them around his shoulders. Then he got on. He handed Youngjae the helmet and revved up the engine.

“Hold on.” Daehyun said as the motorcycle took off. Youngjae, having never ridden a motorcycle before, quickly wrapped his arms tightly around Daehyun’s thin waist. He slowly opened his eyes that had automatically closed and he looked around. The sight of passing trees, the chilly wind blowing passed him, and his arms around Daehyun, calmed him greatly. He smiled and closed his eyes in bliss. He felt free and for once, he forgot all about loneliness and zombies and what the world was like now.

“You doing alright back there?” Daehyun half yelled to Youngjae. Youngjae opened his eyes and looked at the man in front of him. Daehyun’s black hair blew perfectly in the wind, making Youngjae want to run his fingers through it, but he refrained himself from doing so.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Youngjae answered and Daehyun nodded.

They drove for a long time until Daehyun pulled over next to a deserted gas station. The sun was lower than it was this morning. It must’ve been the afternoon. Daehyun parked the bike and turned it off.

He got off the bike. Youngjae took the helmet off and followed the man, untying one of the duffels. After the duffels were taken off, Daehyun covered the bike with a tarp and they both walked into the gas station cautiously, Daehyun holding up his crossbow and Youngjae took out his gun.

They walked down aisles full of scattered foods and trash littered floors. Their only light source was the sunlight shining through the windows. They reached the checkout desk, and when Daehyun peered over, there was a walker lying down on the floor, its legs were chopped off and it growled fiercely. Daehyun shot an arrow through its head and the growling stopped. He walked around the desk and took his arrow out of the walker’s head and put it back with his other arrows.

“Let’s get more supplies and wait around for a bit.” Daehyun said to Youngjae who was already looking through the aisles, so Daehyun went to the other end of the gas station. Youngjae picked up more canned food and he found a bag of his favorite chips. He exclaimed and Daehyun came running.

“What is it?” Daehyun asked in a worried tone that made Youngjae’s attention turn to him. He held up the bag of chips and Daehyun’s worried expression went back to being one with no emotion. “I just found a bag of my favorite chips.” Youngjae said.

“Don’t yell unless there’s a walker or someone dangerous.” Daehyun said with annoyance before walking away.

“Wait, were you actually worried?” Youngjae asked and Daehyun, with his back still facing the other, shook his head before answering.

“No, why would I be?” Daehyun walked away and Youngjae just smiled a small smile.

After taking what was left of the gas station’s food and water, they sat in the front looking out of the huge double doors. Youngjae sat cross-legged eating his chips while Daehyun’s back leaned on a shelf, his left knee pulled up and his hand resting on it. He sighed and Youngjae looked over at him, really looked at him. Daehyun was noticeably exhausted, his eyes were a light but darkish blue, his black uncut hair stuck to his forehead, and a sad expression was plastered to his face, etched into his aging features. Daehyun looked older than Youngjae, but that didn’t stop the younger from thinking he was extremely handsome.

“How old are you Daehyun?” Youngjae asked, and Daehyun looked over at him. There was a short silence between them before Daehyun spoke.

“22.” Daehyun wasn’t that much older than Youngjae expected.

“Oh, I’m 20.”

Silence overcame them once again. Daehyun wasn’t much of a talker nor was he much of a nice person. One moment, he would talk and be friendly before his kindness went away and it was replaced with someone who always seemed angry at something. This only made Youngjae more intrigued by him. He wanted to know this man’s story. He wanted to know who Daehyun was before all of this. He wanted to know what troubled the man. What made him the way he was. So with all of the courage he could muster up, Youngjae spoke.

“Daehyun, who were you before all of this?”

There was a silence and Youngjae saw Daehyun was contemplating the question.

“You want to know who I was before all this. I was nobody . . . nothing.” Daehyun looked down as if he failed at something, and Youngjae couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the older man.

“I want to know,” Younjae suddenly said and Daehyun looked at him inquiringly.

“Know what?” Daehyun asked and Youngjae looked away.

“About everything you went through before you ended up here, by yourself.” Youngjae spoke with uncertainty and he waited for the man to tell him to leave, but it never came, what came was a story he’s wanted to hear since last night.

“My family and I were holed up in a small camp with other people. Nice people, but they couldn’t kill; they were too weak to kill. I was the only one who knew how to shoot a gun, how to hunt. I tried to convince them that we needed to carry weapons and learn to shoot, but no one listened. I taught my little twin brothers to shoot, my mother didn’t approve because they were barely young teens but nevertheless let me continue. One day, during a lesson, a woman came running screaming that there were walkers that broke through the gates. My brothers and I ran over to help thinking it was only a few, but a huge herd of those bastards broke through. My brothers and I started shooting at them until there were too many to hold off. We started running. We ran to the house we were staying in only to see that it was broken through by walkers. We heard the screams of our mother.”

Daehyun paused, Youngjae expected there to be tears tugging at his eyes, but the man was an unemotional wreck. Daehyun continued.

“I told my brothers we had to leave. So we took what we could and left. The only way out was to climb over the walls. I got my brothers over then I went over, but one of my brother’s pants leg got stuck on the wall. Lord knows I tried, but we just couldn’t get him free. A walker came by, grabbed his leg, and took a big chunk out of it. We tried to pull him over but he was pulled away from us by the herd. So my other brother and I took off running, never looking back once.”

Youngjae looked at Daehyun who stayed unemotional. “I’m sorry for your mom and brother. But how did you lose your other brother?” Daehyun sighed.

“We walked all night until we came across a huge place called Terminus. We thought it was a safe haven, but turns out they were carnivores. Those sons of es took my brother while we were sleeping, slit his throat, and ate him. Later, that place got overrun and I barely made it out. I rolled around by myself, until a man found me, barely alive, and took me in. He took care of me.”

Daehyun paused again and Youngjae spoke up again. “Who was the man?” Daehyun chuckled softly, and Youngjae thought it sounded absolutely beautiful, before continuing.

“He was a cheese maker and the son of a loved books. Had a ing library full of them. His name, if I can recall, was Bang Yongguk. Our place got overrun and he sacrificed himself so that I could live. Brave son of a . One book in particular I liked to read was Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss.”

Youngjae snickered behind his hand and Daehyun looked at him. “Hey kid, don’t laugh at me. So ing sorry for being the least illiterate person ever.” Youngjae continued laughing and he noticed the small smile tugging at Daehyun’s lips and he pointed at it.

“Is that a smile I see?” Youngjae teased and Daehyun turned serious again. Man he really goes from 100 to 0 real quick.

“No, anyway, the reason I liked the book was because it described me perfectly.” Daehyun said.

“How so?” Youngjae asked, suddenly interested in the fact that maybe Daehyun had great memory and could quote the book.

“Well, the story goes a little something like this; You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” Youngjae had to hide his snickers.

“Go on,” He said and Daehyun continued.

“I don’t remember the whole book, so I‘ll be skipping some pages. You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

“You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump. And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

“You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

“And IF you go in, should you turn left or right . . . or right-and three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

Youngjae’s smiles and laughs stopped when he realized why this book was Daehyun’s favorite. As Daehyun kept reciting, Youngjae’s mind wandered off in realization. The book, it had so much more meaning to Daehyun than to any other reader. That book was meant for someone who was on the rough road to success, but for Daehyun, it described his way of living currently. Daehyun’s voice came back to Youngjae’s senses.

“I’m afraid that sometimes you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

“All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

“And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

“But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.”

Daehyun finished with a distant look on his face, and Youngjae stood up on his good foot and hopped over to Daehyun. He realized now that Daehyun was someone just like him. Someone who pondered why he still had life when his loved ones were dead. Someone who wondered just exactly how he managed to survive for so long while his mind wasn’t all there. Youngjae could only feel sympathy for the kind and caring man Daehyun actually was.

Youngjae hopped over to Daehyun’s side and set himself down next to the man closely. Their knees and thighs were touching, and Youngjae expected Daehyun to move away, but he didn’t. His knee and thigh were tense before finally relaxing. They were quiet before Daehyun’s Busan accented voice filled the empty space between them.

“Why do want to know so much about me? What’s so interesting about a murderer?”

Youngjae furrowed his brows. “Murderer?” He meant to say that to himself but accidentally said it aloud and Daehyun turned to look at him, their faces closer than necessary.

“I’ve killed people kid. I don’t even know how many by now. But I know why they’re all dead. They’re dead because it was my foolishness and anger. I wanted to die, but these people, these murderers didn’t deserve to walk this dying earth, so I killed them. And even now I want to die because I turned out just like them. But you, Youngjae, you’re making me rethink that decision.”

Youngjae looked at Daehyun’s fallen expression and his sad, screaming-for-help eyes. He looked away from the other’s gaze. If Youngjae thought he was sad and pathetic, then Daehyun was even more so.

“You see, everyone we know is dead,” Daehyun continued and the younger interrupted him.

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. Or we would’ve found them by now. But what am I talking about? I’m just a crazy son of a who’s ranting my problems to a stranger like you like a high school . I was nobody before all of this, and I’m still nobody . . . just nothing waiting to happen.”

Daehyun stopped talking and finally, the tears that should’ve been falling earlier, escaped his eyes. Youngjae looked back at him, and his expression softened. He had no other thought than to pull the broken man into an embrace. Youngjae wrapped his arms tightly around Daehyun’s thin frame and tucked his head between the crook of his neck. Loud sobs wracked Daehyun’s body and Youngjae held him tightly, his own tears threatening to fall because never has he ever seen anyone as broken as Daehyun.

After a while, Daaehyun quieted but he stayed snug in Youngjae’s tight embrace. For a reason unknown to him, it felt so right to be in Youngjae’s arms and he didn’t want to leave them just yet. But he didn’t want to be attached to someone, didn’t want to fall in love because it would mean more pain.

Would if he were to lose Youngjae? He couldn’t risk it. There were too many dangerous people besides the walkers. Would if someone were to murder Youngjae? No, Daehyun would be there. He vowed to himself not to show his feelings, but he would do all he could to protect this man. Be there when the younger needed him, come running if he were being attacked no matter how far away he was, kill people if he had to. He was tired of being alone. It was time he started to have something, someone to live for.

With that thought, Daehyun fell asleep in Youngjae’s warm embrace. It was barely the afternoon, but he was tired as hell. Youngjae heard the even and soft breathing of the man he was holding and realized that Daehyun was sleeping. He smiled a small, sad smile as he Daehyun’s hair before lying him down and covering him with a blanket he found in one of the duffels.

“Sleep well, Daehyun.” Youngjae whispered as he sat down next to the man sleeping peacefully. Youngjae fought to keep his feelings away, but Daehyun has been nothing but kind to him although his moods may change. And Youngjae could tell, from the stories, that Daehyun was a caring man. And Youngjae can also conclude that Daehyun is giving him hope in the scarce humanity. Now Youngjae thinks all people may be just like Daehyun, dangerous on the outside, but very warm-hearted, it just takes the right words and people to bring it out.

+++

Daehyun woke with a start. He looked around and saw that he was still in the gas station and Youngjae was next to him. Youngjae. He forgot about the younger, and then he remembered all that he told the younger and he cursed at himself. Why did he have to be so stupid and look weak in front of a stranger he barely knew? He cursed himself again when he realized the time when he looked at the sun as it began to make its descent. They were supposed to be in the next town by now, he was supposed to be on his own now, but Youngjae hindered it from happening.

“Hey wake up, kid. We have to get moving.” He shook Youngjae harshly and the younger stirred before his eyes slowly opened. Daehyun stood up and folded the blanket before putting it back into the duffel. Then he took the tarp off of the motorcycle then he tied the duffels to either side. Youngjae gathered his things and waited for Daehyun to come and carry him again, but Daehyun never came, all he received was a yell from outside telling him to hurry his up.

Youngjae got up with great difficulty and hopped his way out, the swelling went down, but it still hurt to walk on it. He saw Daehyun sitting impatiently on the bike and he slowly got on before putting on the helmet.

“Thanks for the help.” Youngjae said and Daehyun only shrugged.

The bike ride was silent and cold when the sun went down. Youngjae shivered and buried his face into Daehyun’s back while tightening his arms around the other’s waist. Daehyun was tense for a long while before he finally relaxed. After God knows how long, they finally reached the town.

Daehyun pulled into an abandoned office, parking the motorcycle inside, and boarded up the door with the desk. He unloaded two cans of peaches and gave one to Youngjae before pulling out a bottle of water that they shared.

Daehyun’s been quiet the whole time since the gas station and it became unbearable for Youngjae.

“Say something.” Youngjae said as Daehyun finished his peaches.

“Get some sleep.” Was all he said before taking his and Youngjae’s empty cans and throwing them somewhere in the office. Youngjae scoffed.

“Get some sleep? That’s all you have to say to me after what you shared with me last night?” Youngjae spoke, angered that Daehyun was completely ignoring him.

“Yes, now get some sleep because I’ll be leaving tomorrow. Which means you’re on your own.” Daehyun spoke, forgetting the vow he made to himself last night. Youngjae was too precious for him to have and if Daehyun couldn’t protect his mother and brothers, then how could he trust himself with Youngjae’s life?

Youngjae looked as if he wanted to say something, but obviously hurt by the other, lied down, back facing the other. Daehyun sighed before lying down too, across the office, away from Youngjae. It was better if Youngjae, a strong man, survive on his own than to trust someone like Daehyun with his life. He had to let Youngjae go, even if he realized that he loved Youngjae. Call him crazy for falling in love with someone he barely met, but love is strange, unpredictable.

The two didn’t sleep at all last night and both were up, bright and early when the sun started to rise. Their nights were full of deep thoughts and regret. Daehyun sadly and guiltily regretted saving Youngjae, and Youngjae regretted letting Daehyun save him. But his harsh life seemed to have brightened up when he met Daehyun, same went for Daehyun. Though both men knew it, they refused to admit it in fear of losing one another.

So when it was time for them to part ways, it was hard. Youngjae showed his emotions, hoping that it would change the expressionless man in front of him, but it didn’t. Daehyun was incredibly torn up inside to leave Youngjae, but it had to be done. It was the right thing to do. He gave Youngjae a duffel bag with guns, ammunition, food, and water.

The younger took them and slung the duffel over his shoulder before he turned away from the man and started limping away. But he stopped, dropped the duffel, turned around, and tried his best to run to Daehyun where he gave him a tight hug. Daehyun hugged him back tighter. “Please don’t do this.” Youngjae said as he pulled away, and Daehyun only looked at him.

“I’m sorry,” was all he said before turning away, picking his own duffel up, and he started walking away, pulling his motorcycle along with him. Daehyun looked back only twice before he turned down a street, leaving Youngjae alone again.

Youngjae fell to his knees and began to cry. He cried until he heard running footsteps that caught his attention. Looking up in hopes that maybe Daehyun came back for him, he looked up only to see three men running towards him, dressed all in black. They were holding machetes and a black covering that covered half of their faces.

Youngjae scrambled to his feet, but was kicked back down by one of the men who got on top of him and held his machete to Youngjae’s throat. “Go through his bag and see what we can find.” The man said to one of the men, and then he gestured to the other. “You, go find the other man.” The two did what they were told and Yougjae struggled underneath the man.

“Well look what we have here. A pretty boy all by his lonesome.” The man ran his machete down Youngjae’s jawline while chuckling. Youngjae thrashed to move, but the man held him in place. “We would certainly enjoy having you around with us. How about you come with us and hang out for a while?” Youngjae shook his head. He wondered where Daehyun was. He wanted to yell Daehyun’s name, but the machete at his throat prevented him to do so.

The third man who was ordered to find Daehyun, found him. Daehyun’s bike was parked next a lamppost, his duffel sat on the seat, his weapons were on the ground, and he sat on the curb, head buried in his hands and tears slipping from his eyes.

“Aw, crying for your little boyfriend?” The man asked and Daehyun’s head shot up. The man chuckled.

“He’s a really pretty boy.” Daehyun’s blood started to boil.

“What did you do to him?”

“Nothing yet, but we’ll have so much fun with him.”

Daehyun’s fist clenched and unclenched before he lunged at the man, not caring for the machete. He would die protecting Youngjae. Daehyun tackled the man and made him drop his machete with a hard punch to his face. He punched the man’s face repeatedly before grabbing his machete and he stabbed the man dead.

Daehyun stood and he dropped the machete. Youngjae wouldn’t want him now, but then, he reminded himself this was for Youngjae. He wrestled with his self-loathing before the sound of his name being yelled by a voice he thought he would never hear again, caught his attention. Without thinking, he took off in a sprint down the street.

Youngjae had finally managed to kick the man on top of him in the worst part a man doesn’t like to be kicked, and he fell off of him. Youngjae stood up as best as he could, only to be pulled back down by the man and pinned down again.

“Daehyun! Daehyun!” Youngjae yelled desperately.

“That does it, now you’re really going to get it.” The man was about to sink his machete into Youngjae’s flesh until the man was shoved harshly off of him. Youngjae looked over to see Daehyun wrestling with the man. Youngjae looked back over to his duffel where he saw the second man pointing his Glock 44. at Daehyun. Youngjae moved as fast as he could and pushed the man’s hand away just before he fired.

Youngjae kicked the man down with his good foot, grabbed the gun and fired at the man, killing him. Without thinking, Youngjae pointed the gun to the man who was now mercilessly sending punches to Daehyun’s face, painting his once flawless face in blood, cuts, and bruises. He fired, killing the man, and sending his limp body to fall on Daehyun’s body.

Daehyun pushed the man off and immediately ran over to Youngjae and started checking to see if any harm was done to him. When he saw no harm anywhere, besides a small cut on his left cheek, Daehyun pulled Youngjae into a tight embrace. He tucked Youngjae safely into his firm chest. Youngjae was shocked, but hugged the man back nevertheless.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left you by yourself.” Daehyun said as he pulled away and Youngjae smiled softly.

“I’m glad you came back.” Youngjae said and it was Daehyun’s turn to smile a beautiful smile Youngjae has wanted to see.

“I’ll always come back.” Daehyun said as he started pulling Youngjae back to where he left his motorcycle, holding his hand protectively. They rounded the street and were met with a group of people going through Daehyun’s supplies.

“Hey! What the hell is this?” Daehyun yelled as he pushed a few people away from his precious crossbow and motorcycle. They pulled their guns on him until their leader told them to lower their weapons. Youngjae was about to go to Daehyun, but was blocked off by two of the men.

“We don’t mean any trouble. We’re just a group trying to survive just like the two of you. Look, we’re reasonable people and we want to pose a trade.” The leader spoke and Daehyun pondered his proposal.

“What did you have in mind?” Daehyun asked as the man pursed his lips before smiling ersely.

“How about we give you your supplies back along with some of our supplies in exchange for that nice looking fella you’ve got over there.” The man gestured to Youngjae and Daehyun glared at the man.

“No,” Daehyun said and the man stopped smiling before nodding to one of the men standing beside Youngjae. “I swear to God, if you touch him.” Daehyun said before one of the guys sent a punch to Youngjae’s side, making him fall. Daehyun ran over to him and punched the guy square in the jaw and pushed the other man away. The rest of the crew drew their guns once again to Daehyun who stood in front of Youngjae in a protective stance.

“You will not take him from me. I propose my own trade. I’ll give you my supplies, ammunition, and guns in exchange for me to keep him. I will not let any of you lay a finger on him in any way.” Daehyun said and the man chuckled.

“You’re clever,” The man paused before talking again. “I accept the trade, but this isn’t the end. Im Jaebum always gets what he wants.” He nodded to the men who took Daehyun’s duffels full of food, water, ammunition, and guns before leaving.

Once they were gone, Daehyun helped Youngjae stand correctly. “Are you okay?” Daehyun asked and Youngjae just laughed.

“I should be asking you that. Look at yourself. That guy really gave you a beating.” Youngjae limped to the motorcycle and sat on it before a silence overcame them. They had no supplies, limited on gas, and had a group of people planning to return. “So, what do we do now?” Youngjae said, ready to take on anything with Daehyun, even if it meant that he would lose his life.

Daehyun saved his life, gave up his supplies for him, and gave a damn about him. The least Youngjae could do, was give back to the man who gave him hope that not all people were bad. He knew he could count on Daehyun to be there for him, to protect him, so why not stay with him until this was over or until death steals them? Youngjae had a purpose to live in this world crawling with walkers, and Daehyun was a bonus to this life he now wanted to live. Little did he know that he also gave Daehyun hope as Daehyun did for him. So, why not?

Daehyun looked at him and smiled before walking over to Youngjae where he pulled the man into another tight embrace and pecked his forehead softly and sweetly before whispering ever so quietly, but loud enough for Youngjae to hear.

“Have hope, and survive.”        

A/N: Thank you for reading! I wasn't expecting it to be this long, so for those of you who read it all, thank you all very much and comments and upvotes are more than welcomed! Have a wonderful day/night! ^^