pairing: BaekLay
length: 1457 words

“How many days has it been?”

Lay slightly turned his head, using the last vestiges of energy left in his emaciated body, to face the other poor and unfortunate soul who was stuck on this horrifyingly deserted island with him. “Dunno,” he managed to croak out, feeling the scratchiness of his parched throat as his vocal cords rubbed together. “I thought you were keeping count.”

“I think I forgot to add a couple of notches, but I don’t remember how many I missed, so I don’t think it’s accurate anymore,” the other boy admitted as he nudged a long wooden pole in Lay’s direction. “I was hoping you’d know.”

“Well, your guess is as good as mine,” Lay replied while wordlessly counting the number of notches that Baekhyun had remembered to add to their makeshift calendar.

Fourteen.

That meant they’d been stuck on this forsaken island for more than two weeks now.

More than two weeks of living off the land, rationing their food and water, huddling together in their makeshift hut, and trying to survive as they despondently waited for any sign of a rescue squad to appear.

Their families had to be looking for them at this point. It was impossible that they’d left the absence of their sons go unanswered for this long.

Right?

Lay honestly didn’t know anymore.

And had it really been just over two weeks since they’d first landed on this island?

Somehow, it felt longer than that. As if he and Baekhyun had been here for an entire lifetime at this point.

As if all they had ever known was this isolated island and its sparse vegetation and fresh water, barely enough to sustain two fully grown men who had minimal survival skills.

He really should have joined the Boy Scouts when his mother had asked him to during his childhood.

But Lay had been too busy playing video games at Baekhyun’s house to bother with camping, hiking, learning how to use a compass, and whatever else they taught young scouts. After all, when would he ever need these highly specific life skills?

It was like the universe was laughing at him.

Laughing at the irony of the situation.

Laughing at his completely idiotic decisions that had ultimately led him and Baekhyun to their current predicament.

A real stand-up comedian he was.

A minute later—or was it an hour? A day? Another week?

Before Lay could spiral even further in his foggy train of thoughts, his companion broke the silence once more and asked, “Do you think we’ll ever get back home?” Baekhyun’s voice was just barely above a murmur. So uncharacteristic of his usually boisterous self, but Lay knew he was just as weak as the taller male was. It was a wonder they were still able to string together coherent sentences when they were this starved and dehydrated.

Perhaps that was why Baekhyun was asking him the same question for the umpteenth time. They had discussed this topic to death at this point.

But as he teetered on the brink of death, Lay couldn’t find it in himself to care. Especially when he could barely remember what their prior discussions had entailed. For all he knew, they could’ve blabbered on and on about nothing before.

Not that this time would be any different.

Or would it?

And after a pregnant pause, Lay hoarsely replied, “I dunno…”

It was his most eloquent answer to date.

“We’re almost out of flares,” Baekhyun said, eyes briefly glancing up in the direction of the slope where their rescue fires burned.

“Should I—” Lay grunted as he suddenly pushed himself up, elbows shaking tremendously in his struggle to keep himself upright. “Should I go and light up another round? Maybe we’ll be lucky this time around.”

“We’ve only got three flares left,” Baekhyun slowly reiterated, scooting over to catch Lay in his arms as the taller male collapsed in a heap, limbs too weak to carry him anywhere at the moment. “Wait here while I get some food from my backpack.”

Unable to protest, even if he wanted to, Lay obediently remained where he was and blearily watched as Baekhyun staggered to his feet.

Using another wooden pole as support, Baekhyun’s steps were measured while he dragged himself to their half-empty backpacks that sat near the entrance of their makeshift hut. A pained groan escaped his cracked lips as he stooped down to reach into the battered knapsack. His thin fingers curled around a half-empty plastic bag of beef jerky and pulled it up as Baekhyun straightened up as well, trying to ignore the spasms that shot through his bones.

“Baekhyun—”

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” the shorter male reassured Lay while dropping down onto the floor, letting the wooden pole noisily clatter next to him. “Besides, it’s dinnertime now, right? We’re gonna have to eat anyway.”

Was it already time for dinner?

It was still light out and Lay was too sluggish to bother leaving the hut to check the sundial they’d constructed outside. In any case, it didn’t matter what meal it was. Not when his stomach was in a perpetual state of stinging hunger.

So Lay accepted the strip of dehydrated meat and began nibbling on it, huddling close to Baekhyun to conserve what little body heat they had. Even thought nightfall hadn’t fallen yet, the drafts were getting stronger each day and their makeshift shelter did little to shield them from the cold wind that swirled around them.

They ate in silence, completely hyper-focused on their pitiful snack, and Lay almost wished he didn’t have to swallow the last bit of jerky, just so he could enjoy the savory meat a few moments more. While his hunger was slightly curbed, a dull and vacant sensation still remained in his core as a perpetual reminder that the last time he’d had a proper was over two weeks ago.

“How much food do we have left?” he throatily asked, staring at the dwindling beef jerky packet that lay above Baekhyun’s head.

“Enough for a few days at most if we’re lucky,” Baekhyun sorrowfully replied. “If we can find some fruit and somehow hunt a few rabbits or squirrels, we might be able to last a bit longer. Otherwise…”

“We still have water though, right?”

“Not much…”

Lay let out a hollow laugh and briefly held up his arm, bony and feeble like the rest of him, “Well, I just want to let you know that if I die, I give you full permission to eat whatever meat is left on me. I can’t promise much, in substance or taste, but it should be enough to tide you over until a rescue craft arrives.”

“What?! No way! I’m not gonna become a…a…a cannibal!” Baekhyun spluttered. “That’s messed up! And you’re not gonna die before me either!”

“I mean, better to have one of us survive and live out the rest of our life like a normal person than have both of us end up as skeletons here,” Lay pointed out. “And if we’re running out of meat… Well, gotta make do with what we have, right?” he added with another weak chuckle.

“Stop joking, Lay.” Baekhyun’s fingers dug into the taller male’s side. Not enough to hurt, but enough to emphasize his point. “It’s not funny.”

“Okay, okay,” Lay relented with a small smile.

They continued laying there, heads empty and chests barely rising with each laborious breath they took.

It was simultaneously agonizing yet incredibly peaceful.

Calm.

Like the ocean waves that rolled against the shore.

Ramping up in intensity before slowing to a gentle push and pull.

As the sun gradually set, casting dark shadows all around, Lay felt Baekhyun nestled up against him even closer. The winds were growing stronger and the evening chill was beginning to set in.

“We won’t be stranded here forever, right?” Baekhyun asked again in a low whisper.

Lay’s grip around him tightened. “I hope not.”

And soon, they were completely swallowed up by the silence and darkness.

--

The sun circled into the blue sky, rays as bright as beacons.

A white ship appeared in the distance. Red and blue lights blinked in rotation.

It loomed closer and closer to shore.

After what felt like ages, it finally landed.

A man stepped onto the white sandy shore, feet crunching loudly amidst the silence.

“Hello? Is anyone here?”

A pause.

“One of our aircrafts spotted some smoke signals earlier, so we were dispatched to retrieve anyone who might be here.”

Another pause.

“We’re here to help! You don’t have to hide from us! I promise we’ll bring you to safety!”

And he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But there was no response.

♈♈♈

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! It’s my sixth anniversary of being an EXO-L, so I’ve returned with another triple update! Apologies again for not updating sooner and thank you so much for being patient! My life has been really busy this past year due to a huge career pivot and I'm currently juggling four jobs. There was a fifth before, but I was lucky enough to drop that, especially since it was such a toxic work environment, even though my wallet is pretty sad since it was the job that provided the most income. OTL But my mental and physical health took a HUGE dive when I was there, so I'd rather be healthy and happy than have money. ^^; As usual, I'll have more updates by EXO's anniversary and I'm going to try my best to squeeze in as many updates as I can for that because it's such a momentous occasion! But I'll save my spiel for then, hehe. ^^

Anyway, another year has come and gone, and it's admittedly a quieter one than most due to everyone being in the thick of enlistment era. But even so, we got an amazing comeback in Don't Fight the Feeling (with Lay!) and another season of EXO Arcade! And our wonderful leader, Suho, has finally returned! Only a few months left until Chen also comes home and I know I'm going to bawl my eyes out when he's back. And of course, we can't forget the madness of the KyoongTube videos disappearing and all of us BBH-Ls freaking out until SME brought them back onto EXO's channel, HAHA. What a wild time with a good ending, hehe. I miss the boys a lot, but we'll get through the second half of enlistment era with just as much faith and strength as we did during the first half! We're in this FOR LIFE and I will always be grateful for these boys impacting my life in the best way possible.

Again, thank you so much for reading and sticking with me for so long! Subscribe, comment, and/or upvote if you're enjoying these fun little short stories! And if you'd like to join my crowdfund, I'd really appreciate the support! See you soon with the next update!