They say healing comes with time. But Nari believed that healing came with perspective, with logic, and attitude. You could sit, sulk, and reminisce on what happened, who’s gone, and what they were like. Or you could get up, keep moving, and strive to live when another could not. It was how she dealt with the loss of her father. She cried and cried, and cried some more. She stayed in the same destroyed house for what felt like years. She didn’t eat or drink. She didn’t do anything. It wasn’t until she finally left her cave of sorrow and saw the man falling without a scream for life. He committed suicide. And staying in that cave was suicide. She looked forward and looked back occasionally to see how far she had come. And boy had she come a far way.

“Let’s start moving,” She announced, getting up and picking up her worn pack, slinging it on her shoulders. The other survivors solemnly stood to their feet, looking more dead than alive. She sighed to herself when she saw the tear stricken face of Yixing, who stumbled out from under a rock and the red-rimmed eyes of Park Chanyeol. She walked up to Yixing and placed her hands on his shoulder, making him look up at her with bleak eyes. Her eyes were hard and determined. She gave him as much time as she could, knowing that it wasn’t much, but he had to adapt and learn to lock away that grief if he wanted to survive.

“Tao didn’t die so you could sit around and cry, he died so you could survive and make a life for yourself in this new reality. He died so you could live, now start living.”

--

Nari’s words hit Yixing hard. He hurt first, than grew angry with her, and finally, took them in and figured out that she was right. She was always right. It was something Kai and Baekhyun, the two that had known her longest, learned pretty quick. Nari was sharp. She knew how to survive. It was as if she were trained for this, for the apocalypse. And she was.

It was obvious that Yixing took in her words. He didn’t cry at night. His complexion regained some of its colour. He smiled, albeit they were small and nothing compared to his smiles a week ago. The others noticed the change in Yixing’s attitude too. They took after him, which made Nari nod in support. Forward is the only direction one can move in life. And it was time they start moving.

We moved as a pack, never separating and always looking out for each other. It was just on of the many effects Tao’s death had on everyone. No one wanted anyone else to end up like Tao or the rotting bodies littering the city.

Nari moved at the front of the group, eyes sharp and her hand on her knife. Kai and Baekhyun flanked her sides. Chanyeol trailed at the back, he hadn’t talked to anyone but Sehun since he joined their group. Not that he would ever admit it that he was afraid to care for anyone. The best way to prevent pain was to avoid caring about anything or anyone.

  And Park Chanyeol was doing just that.

Baekhyun was lost in his thoughts, his mind trailing back to life before war, to life before this. There was something…strange about Byun Baekhyun. He told Nari he lost someone yet he did not cry. He showed no indications of loss or grief. He smiled but there was no warmth behind it. He was hiding something.

Kai was still smiling. But it was obvious that Tao’s death brought back some unhappy memories. He was a cheery person. He smiled the most out of all of them. But they were not truly one hundred percent genuine. He had death behind him, but who’s death was unknown. And how much grief he felt was unknown. Like Nari he was good at hiding it. Like Nari he was good at lying.

Kyungsoo and Suho did not speak to anyone other than themselves.