Chapter One

Fire

Leeteuk cursed under his breath, as the open fire he had been slaving over had diminished to nothing but smoke as raindrops poured down from the sky. He kicked over the charred wooden logs angrily and left the courtyard with bitterness. Entering the small space of the Sanctuary, Leeteuk had to call his own, he was lucky to have a sturdy roof over his head and fully erect walls. This was more than he could ask for, at least in what remained of the Sanctuary, or known by outsiders as “the Ruins”.  Of all of New Earth, the Ruins were the last place that anyone would want to settle in. Food was scarce and any kind of protection from the elements was hard to come by. Leeteuk pressed tightly up against the brittle walls of his rooms, trying to keep any of the water from seeping in as it had a few days ago. It had been hell to have to clean up, as he had had to use his clothes to absorb the puddles, leaving him cold and practically until his clothes dried a few hours later.

Being part of the New Generation, Leeteuk had never actually seen the Sanctuary as it had once stood, grand and the best place on Earth for a human. Now, as it was desolate and forsaken, it was considered a small niche of hell that very few were willing to endure. There had once been many that Leeteuk had believed he could trust, however they had turned against him and decided they were better off being slaves, as they were likely to die out in the Ruins anyway. The Chosen did not even try to look for the few remaining free humans in the Ruins, they did not expect them to last much longer. There had been a few humans of the Old Generation that had settled there as well, however they had been old and weak. They did not provide any help for the inexperienced, and as they died, several of Leeteuk’s closest friends had decided it was better to just give themselves over to Chosen. If they were lucky, they might get to live in the Gates. At that point, however, they were even willing to live in the terrifying Slums.

“Hyung.”

There was a figure lingering in the doorway and Leeteuk knew who it was immediately. While there were others in the Ruins, none wanted to align with Leeteuk but one. And that one was Lee Donghae. The boy was almost like a puppy, in his mannerism and even his perhaps his looks, as he was youthful and full of innocence. Donghae was a few years younger than Leeteuk, however they had grown up together so they were very close. Of all of his friends, Donghae had been the only one to loyally stay by his side in the Ruins. He came to sit on the floor next to him and smiled, despite there being absolutely nothing happy about the situation they were in.

“Where have you been?” He asked. As Donghae was the younger one, Leeteuk had always believed that he was responsible for him. Neither had parents, Leeteuk’s were somewhere in the Slums and Donghae’s were dead, however it was clear that Donghae was the one that had much more of a need for guidance.  The younger one combed his fingers through his hair, trying to dry the strands that had gotten particularly drenched in the increasing downfall of rain. He glanced up towards Leeteuk and shrugged, inching closer to Leeteuk as he tried to get warmer. However, Leeteuk always knew when something was up and kept eye contact with the boy until he would cave – as he always had before.

“Fine, Teukie-hyung,” Donghae’s eyes cast downward as he broke eye contact, and he confessed, “I overheard a few of the others talking about Gina.”

Leeteuk’s first instinct was to scold Donghae. He had tried his best to warn the boy away from the others, as they would find he would be easy to take advantage of because of his kind nature. They had their own family, and had all fought for the little food that could be found in the Ruins. He knew they would have no problem hurting Donghae over such things either. However, at the mention of Gina, his attention was directed to something else entirely as his stomach clenched.

“What happened to Gina?” He asked cautiously, not so sure he wanted to know. Gina had also once been part of the New Generation living in the Ruins. He had never been as close to her as he was to Donghae, however she was his first girlfriend. Gina meant a lot to him in that respect. Leeteuk remembered all too well when she had begged him to come with her. She had believed they would be able to find a better life outside of the Ruins.

Donghae’s eyes rested on his lap the entire time. “Hyung, she…” He faltered in trying to form the words on his tongue, “They killed her. The Chosen that, er, owned her beat her to death… on accident.”

Leeteuk bit back the endless tirade of curses lingering on his lips, not wanting to scar his dongsaeng. Instead, he focused on taking deep breaths as Donghae watched him with concern. This was why Leeteuk knew better than to seek out Chosen, this was why they had to live in the Ruins. Either way they would die. Leeteuk wanted to die free of any kind of master.

“Hyung…” Donghae reached out and patted his shoulder supportively, “New Generation will be able to beat the Chosen. We’ll be able to go back to how things should be-”

Leeteuk cut the younger off, “Donghae-ssi, do you really think you and I could save the world? It’s just the two of us.”

Donghae stood up defensively, his hands on his hips as he looked down at his hyung. “Hyungnim,” He started strongly, “Who was the one that constantly reminded me when we grew up that it’s us against the world, that together we could accomplish anything we set forth to do, hmm?”

Leeteuk hesitated just a second too long in answering, so the boy continued, “It was you, Leeteuk-hyung. And you’re right. We can do this.”

“How?”

Donghae scoffed, “How should I know? You’re the one with the answers.”

Leeteuk shook his head at his dongsaeng, however in more of a teasing fashion than a degrading one. Donghae’s outburst had done some good for him though. It gave him hope – hope that they could once again reclaim the world. 

Author's Note:

Sorry it's short. I don't normally write short chapters, but it's kind of a two-parter and I wanted to get this up as quick as possible. Please feel free to leave comments. I like them ^.^. I might secretly sniff at critcism, but it will make my writing stronger, so don't be shy! 

~*Carissa*~