pairing: BaekLay
length: 3827 words

Blood was no longer pouring down Baekhyun’s left arm in streams, but dark red drops continued inching downwards towards his scuffed fingertips. The sun was at the highest point in the sky and it beamed down relentlessly; there was nary a cloud in the sky to provide even the slightest bit of shade.

His breathing was labored as he kept his uninjured right arm pressed to his chest, which was marked with a nasty slash. There was dried blood caked around the clumsily stitched wound; Baekhyun had tried bandaging the cut, but acid had eaten away at the cloth strips. The only reason his stitches hadn’t dissolved in the acid as well was due to the steel covering; this specific thread had been manufactured especially for victims of the nuclear war several decades ago, so it was tough enough to endure the corrosive elements of the zombie acid.

Baekhyun winced as he dragged his feet through the scorching sand. While the barren land meant that the zombies wouldn’t try to follow him, at least not until nightfall since they were unable to withstand heat and sunlight for extended periods of time, it also meant that he was essentially stranded in the middle of nowhere. His supply of water was running dangerously low after foolishly wasting copious amounts on trying to flush out the acid from his wounds and Baekhyun hadn’t eaten properly in days.

A purplish-black bruise had formed over his left eye, causing the eyelid to swell shut, so his spatial orientation was off. Not that it mattered, since the landscape was the same for hundreds of miles in every single direction. As he continued trudging onwards, Baekhyun could feel his pale skin start to peel wherever it was exposed to the harsh sun. His tattered clothing was doing an abysmal job of keeping him covered, so more and more pink skin flaked away as he hobbled along. He hissed whenever a small sandstorm whipped up and peppered his exposed skin, relentlessly carving into him like newly sharpened knives.

At this point, Baekhyun was ready to die.

If he didn’t die from his open wounds laced in acid, starvation and dehydration, or profuse blood loss first, then the sandworms would eventually get him. Although he had never seen one, Baekhyun had read enough about them to know that they were drawn to weak creatures like him. He was practically a living corpse himself at this point; the only difference between him and the zombies was that he hadn’t actually died yet—nor would he ever stoop low enough to mindlessly feed on others.

There was no escape from this despair.

Perhaps it would’ve been better if he had perished along with his older brother when the outbreak first began. At least Baekbeom was at rest now; Baekhyun had been forced to smash his skull into smithereens when the elder brother rose from the ground after being reanimated by another zombie’s kiss—his wife who had eagerly tried to Baekbeom’s brains out after viciously ripping his heart from his body.

The shattered remains of the two lovers’ broken skeletons were mixed with each other for eternity, which was the only form of rest that Baekhyun was able to give his older brother. He hoped Baekbeom would forgive him in the afterlife, if an afterlife even existed in this godforsaken universe.

Life was just barely better than death after the outbreak started. The only outcomes left were either to be turned into a zombie and join a scavenging horde or perish alone while on the run; Baekhyun was very close to achieving the latter. While he would’ve liked to make his exit as a heroic as possible, this would have to do as a consolation prize. At least he’d leave the earth with his mind intact, which was more than enough for his pride at this point.

As he struggled through the sandy dunes, Baekhyun found himself thinking about how parched he was. Whenever he gulped, trying to recoup any remnants of saliva in his extremely dry mouth, his throat felt like sandpaper. He coughed several times, hacking blood onto the ground as he did, and that further caused the grating sensation against his throat. Then, Baekhyun’s legs decided that it required too much effort to stand, so they suddenly gave out underneath him and he tumbled lifelessly onto the sand. He groaned loudly, feeling the sting of blistering heat prickle all over his battered body.

Despite his injuries, Baekhyun forced himself to crawl now that he no longer had the strength to walk. His arms and legs screamed whenever the open wounds came in contact with the sizzling sand, and Baekhyun almost felt like giving up as his body burned with excruciating pain; death was definitely the better option in comparison to this self-inflicted torture. However, he needed to continue forward for as long as possible. He needed to put as much distance between himself and the zombies before nightfall. His bloody scent would lead them straight to him, but if he covered enough ground in the next twelve hours, he could catch a few hours of sleep without worrying about being attacked.

So he crawled and crawled and crawled. Baekhyun didn’t know how long he crawled for, but he kept his right eye trained on the horizon ahead of him. The sun gradually traveled towards the west while Baekhyun agonizingly swam through the sand. His small body began casting shadows on the ground and the air grew chillier as nightfall approached, but he ignored the streaks of pink mixing with cerulean blue above him.

He wasn’t safe yet.

As the sun dipped lower, Baekhyun’s right eye squinted to avoid the intense sunlight beaming towards him and he then noticed how the ground seemed to shimmer at the horizon’s edge. As he edged even closer, Baekhyun could see it rippling slowly, as if it were liquid.

Just like water. Cool, fresh, clean water.

He didn’t want to get his hopes up and he wasn’t sure if the fever that had wracked his head over the past few hours was progressively burning away his brain cells, but Baekhyun’s dried up throat decided to take over at that moment. There was no room for rationality when the spring of salvation and hydration was right there. It wouldn’t take long for him to reach it. He just needed to crawl a few more yards and then he’d be at paradise.

And before he knew it, Baekhyun’s world went completely black, his fingers still stretching towards the glittering blue water.

--

As he dipped in and out of consciousness, Baekhyun could hear various voices murmuring all around him. He tried to pick out snatches of conversation, but there was a lack of coherence due to the unfamiliar accents and low speaking volume. Or maybe these were hallucinations induced by his rising fever.

He wasn’t sure what reality was anymore.

A fuzzy figure with dark brown hair soon appeared and bent over Baekhyun after motioning for the other blurry people-shaped outlines to exit wherever they were. Cool fingers lightly touched his burning face, as if trying to give him some sort of relief. The delirious male stared upwards with unfocused eyes for several seconds, blinking languidly as the fog in his mind thickened and more sweat beaded on his scraped forehead, before falling back into his comatose state.

--

Baekhyun woke up—truly woke up—after the third day. Light gray paste was spread on his bare chest, completely covering the gash, while his left arm was delicately wrapped with white silk and a pair of tan-colored pants was around his sunburned legs. There was a cool sensation covering his left eye, which felt somewhat numb instead of constantly pulsing with pain; Baekhyun lightly reached upwards with his fingers and felt the remains of a previously warm poultice on top of his bruised eyelid.

A groan escaped his pale, thin lips as he propped himself up with his elbows. The indigo blue quilt that had been covering him fell to the side once he was up and Baekhyun wearily blinked as he looked around the hut that he was staying in, utterly bewildered. All he remembered, aside from the strange mutters while he had been semi-conscious, was reaching towards the desert’s oasis and fantasizing over trying to scoop a handful of the precious, enticing water into his parched mouth; any memories past that were nonexistent.

But before he could dwell on this hole in his memory for long, the door of the hut slung open to reveal the dark brown-haired individual that had shown up sometime during Baekhyun’s feverish stage. He was dressed in russet brown garb from head to toe and a golden medallion rested on his chest. He smiled kindly as he carefully walked, taking purposeful and measured steps, towards the injured male. His right hand was held upwards with the palm facing forward in greeting. “I see that you are finally conscious,” the dark brown-haired male commented slowly, making sure that all of his words were pronounced clearly. It was apparent that he wasn’t completely fluent in Baekhyun’s language, but he was at least making an effort to communicate with the other man.

“Uh, yeah,” Baekhyun managed to articulate in a hoarse voice. “I’m…alive, right?”

The dark brown-haired male nodded, that soft smile still gracing his facial features. “We found you passed out near our lake and brought you to our village to be treated. How does your chest feel?”

“Better than it did when I was still in the desert,” Baekhyun answered as he traced the edge of the wound with his right pointer finger. He didn’t know what the paste was made out of, but it alleviated most of the pain caused by the acid. In fact, the acid seemed to have been flushed from his system, since the sensation of his insides burning up had disappeared. Baekhyun no longer felt like his body was being eaten away by the acid, which had threatened to consume him ever since the horde of zombies had projectile-vomited an acid bomb straight at his slashed chest as a last-ditch effort to kill him.

“That is good to hear.” The man extended his right hand forward with the fingers pointing towards Baekhyun while his left hand cupped his right elbow. A golden bracelet was clasped around his right wrist. “I am Yixing, the chieftain of the Zhang Clan. We live in this small village that you are currently residing in,” he introduced as Baekhyun reached over to shake his proffered hand. “What is your name, if I may ask?”

“Baekhyun,” he duly answered. Once the pair released their handshake, Baekhyun mentioned curiously, “You don’t sound like you’re from around here.”

“On the contrary, you are the one who crossed the border into our land in your escape from the zombies,” Yixing corrected as he sat down on the bed by Baekhyun’s feet. “Our humble desert oasis has been well-fortified against the zombies since we received word of the outbreak from a travelling messenger who was looking for help and shelter.”

The injured male’s mouth dropped open for several seconds before he asked in an incredulous tone, “You mean I’m no longer in Bugyeong?” Yixing nodded. “Then where am I?”

“Hansha.”

“But that’s impossible…” Baekhyun breathed out as he mentally calculated how far he must have traveled in order to cross the border into the desert nomads’ land. “I was half-dead when I left the heart of Bugyeong. Even if I had been at full health, it would have taken me at least a week to reach the outskirts of Hansha.”

“The human body is a miraculous thing when pushed to its limits,” Yixing stated softly. “You are an exceptionally hardy individual, Baekhyun. No one should have survived the life-threatening wounds that were inflicted on you, much less travel halfway across your land without being properly treated. It is nothing short of a miracle that you pulled through. You are very special.”

A young girl with midnight black hair tied into a high ponytail, dressed in similar sepia brown attire to Yixing’s, and wearing a bronze bracelet around her right wrist suddenly ran into the hut and made a beeline towards the chieftain. Tugging on Yixing’s hand, she spoke rapidly in their native language, so Baekhyun was unable to follow the conversation. After a few minutes, Yixing gently patted the girl’s back and motioned for her to leave the healing hut.

“What was that about?”

Yixing stood up from the bed and walked over to the wooden wardrobe that stood in the northwest corner of the hut. “I have duties to attend to as the chieftain. If you’d like, you are free to join us for our afternoon prayer,” he said as he opened the double doors to pick out a tan-colored shirt that matched the pair of pants that Baekhyun was wearing.

“Is it okay for me to be there?” the injured male asked as he swung his feet off of the bed and onto the floor. He flinched slightly when he felt the pants material rub against his healing sunburns.

“Yes, all of the village members know you are here, so there is no reason to question why you are attending the rite,” Yixing reassured Baekhyun as he shut the double doors to the wardrobe and brought over the shirt for the injured male to wear. “Once you are properly dressed, we shall head to the prayer grounds, which are nearby.”

--

They soon arrived at a raised platform overhanging the clear blue lake that Baekhyun had seen. He unconsciously let out a sigh of relief upon realizing that it hadn’t been a mirage; the oasis truly existed. Aside from the crowd of about one hundred people, ranging from children to middle-aged adults to the elderly, there were two black-haired men standing near the edge of the platform. One was dressed in white trimmed with gold while the other was dressed in black trimmed with red. They both bowed to Yixing, who smiled sweetly in return.

Baekhyun stood slightly behind the chieftain and briefly watched the three males speak to each other in their native language. He couldn’t help but feel lost again, not knowing what they were saying whatsoever, so he busied himself with observing his surroundings and looking down at the beautiful lake while he waited for Yixing to finish talking to the other two men.

“Baekhyun,” the chieftain called, bringing the injured male back to the conversation.

“Ah, sorry!” he answered, quickly turning back to the trio.

Yixing lightly chuckled at Baekhyun’s awkwardness before saying, “I would like to introduce you to my right-hand men. Haowei is our Master of Rites and Chief Priest,” he said while gesturing to the man in white, “and Mingen is our Master of Defense and Chief Warrior,” he added while gesturing to the man in black.

“Pleased to meet you,” Haowei politely greeted in Baekhyun’s native tongue while bowing slightly, which the injured male quickly mirrored. Meanwhile, Mingen held out his right hand while using his left hand to cup his right elbow; it was the same handshake that Yixing had offered earlier. Baekhyun murmured a greeting while shaking the Chief Warrior’s strong hand. Both of the chieftain’s right-hand men had silver bracelets around their wrists.

“If you need anything and I am not there, they can help you in my stead.” Yixing beamed brightly as he briefly patted each man’s shoulder. “Haowei and Mingen are both very reliable, so do not be afraid to reach out to them.”

Baekhyun nodded while feeling his cheeks burn; Yixing had been nothing but absolutely kind since they met. He figured that he owed it to the chieftain for saving his life, since Yixing must have given the order for Baekhyun to be brought to the village for treatment. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if the chieftain had decided to prioritize his people’s health by casting aside Baekhyun as a lost case, especially in his delirious acid-eaten state; there had been no one to speak on his behalf to disprove that he wasn’t infected or a zombie lying in wait like a carnivorous predator.

But Yixing had taken a wild chance on him, so Baekhyun wanted to prove himself as useful to the chieftain in return. “Um, I don’t know how often you encounter zombies here in the desert, but I’ve destroyed a fair number back in Bugyeong.”

Mingen raised an eyebrow in skepticism as he replied, “How so?”

Baekhyun gulped, because the first example that came to mind was Baekbeom, but he pushed past the ache in his throat to calmly relay the story of how his older brother had turned and the aftermath with his wife. Mingen looked half horrified and half impressed while Yixing silently placed his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

“How did you acquire your most recent injuries?” Haowei asked while staring worriedly at the puffy skin around Baekhyun’s left eye.

“I was ambushed. I’m usually pretty good at stealthily navigating any towns that have been taken over, since I’ve had to do it for so many years on my own, but my E-Map ran out of power that day. I started panicking, since I also didn’t have any batteries left, so I foolishly raided a general store for supplies and they scented me before I could escape,” Baekhyun explained with a grimace. “If I had died then, I most definitely would have turned into a zombie.”

“Then we shall thank the heavens for granting you the opportunity to escape with your life and humbly ask that they continue watching over you,” Haowei said while pressing his palms together in a praying stance.

Baekhyun gratefully replied, “Thank you. I appreciate it. I’ll try my best to help out whenever I can, even though I may not be able to do much.”

“Anything that you do will already be plenty. First, you must focus on rest. After the afternoon prayer concludes, I will stay with you in the healing hut,” the chieftain said, smiling comfortingly at Baekhyun. “Once your wounds are mended, you can move into my home as a permanent guest.”

“Yixing!” both Mingen and Haowei exclaimed in disbelief.

Baekhyun was also taken aback by the chieftain’s sudden proposal. “That’s very generous of you, Yixing, but I don’t want to impose.”

“You aren’t imposing,” the chieftain reassured him. “To finally meet and get to know someone from Bugyeong is a huge honor for me, and I will personally see to it that you are taken care of properly.”

“But that does not mean you need to offer him your home, Chieftain!” Mingen protested. “Haowei can have the acolytes watch over him. And with his combat experience, he can help my men keep the zombies at bay.”

“He can still do that while living with me,” Yixing replied firmly. Turning his head to face Baekhyun, the chieftain asked, “Are you opposed to that, Baekhyun? If you are, then Haowei can take charge of you. I do not want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

Even though he still felt like he was intruding, Baekhyun couldn’t deny that he felt more at home with Yixing. After all, he was in a completely different land after being on the run for more days than he could count. It was nice not having to constantly worry about being ambushed at any moment by dangerous creatures of the undead or where he’d shelter for the night, hoping with all of his heart that any establishment he encountered was completely abandoned.

It was heartening to know that Yixing, a completely stranger, was willing to take him under his wing and protect him from the horrors that he had experienced in Bugyeong. In fact, Baekhyun couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to rely on another person.

Baekbeom must’ve been that last person all those years ago.

Baekhyun smiled shyly and nodded an affirmative to Yixing’s question, causing the chieftain to grin widely.

“Wonderful! Now that we have that settled, Mingen, please Baekhyun to sit with the acolytes. Haowei, it is time to conduct the afternoon prayer.”

--

Night had fallen and Baekhyun shivered underneath the covers. The desert, while unbearably hot during the day, was arguably worse at night with its freezing temperatures. It was difficult for Baekhyun to comfortably arrange himself, since he had all of his injuries to consider; the paste on his chest, while very resilient, was still susceptible to cracking if Baekhyun curved inwards too much. Since he was used to sleeping in fetal position, it was a challenge for him to lay straight on his back so as not to aggravate any of the healing cuts.

The door softly opened and Baekhyun could see Yixing’s silhouette illuminated by the bright moonlight as the chieftain entered the hut. Seconds later, Yixing sat in a chair next to Baekhyun’s bed and he gently traced Baekhyun’s facial features with his fingers, taking care to avoid the injured male’s bruised left eye. “Still not asleep?” he murmured while moving his fingers to comb through Baekhyun’s tangled locks.

“Not yet,” the other male answered with a slight shake of his head. Several moments of silence passed before Baekhyun asked, “Why are you putting so much effort into taking care of me, Yixing? Don’t you have a Chief Healer or someone to do that for you while you get some rest?”

“I am the Chief Healer,” Yixing answered with an amused smile tugging at his lips.

“Oh.”

The chieftain laughed quietly before leaning down to look at Baekhyun’s flushed face. “I used to be of equal status with Mingen and Haowei. The three of us are brothers and we were destined to have high status within the clan. I was elected to lead the village when our previous chieftain passed away, but I decided not to name a successor to my position of Chief Healer. There was no reason to, especially since I still enjoy the work,” he clarified.

“Ah, I see.” Baekhyun didn’t know what to say afterwards, so he was about to close his eyes and fall asleep when Yixing spoke again.

“I mentioned this earlier, but you are a very special person, Baekhyun. Even if I were not the Chief Healer, I would still be here to make sure you are alright.”

Baekhyun could feel his cheeks heat up again and he mumbled, “Thank you, Yixing,” in response. Fortunately, it was dark, so the chieftain couldn’t see his face turning red.

“You’re welcome, Baekhyun. Good night and rest well. I hope we can talk more when morning comes,” Yixing whispered as he continued petting the injured male’s hair.

Baekhyun soon found himself breathing in tandem with every soothing of Yixing’s hand on his head while his eyelids gradually closed.

For now, he was safe.

♈♈♈