author: jwhong005 / written: 20121215 / pairing: u-bomb / rating: pg-13 (language) / cr: tumblr

As the clocked ticked by they wondered how long they had left. With guns clutched to their chests and eyes wide open, there was no escape from what was to come. All they could do was anticipate and prepare for the worst.

Minhyuk didn't know how they got like this. He doesn't want to know and Yukwon for sure does not remember. The poor guy got the of a rifle slammed against he back of his head, opening up the wound that had just scabbed over lightly. That er was dead the moment he laid his hands on Yukwon. Minhyuk wouldn't have it. Nobody would hurt Yukwon if he had anything to do about it.

The shed they hid themselves in was dank, dark and dirty from the walls to the floor. Each inch of the place was covered in dust and Yukwon could've sworn he had seen a few cockroaches skamper on by, trying to find their own kind of refuge in the wastleland they once called South Korea. Yukwon looked over at his friend who was doing his best to sleep, a weapon within his hand and a gun in reach while a sweater with several holes was placed on top of him. He would've liked to wear it but they pulled it off a dead homeless man and wasn't sure what kind of germs were on it.

From the corner of the room a small beagle whimpered, its ears flat against the sides of his head as he listened intently to their surroundings. It didn't hear anything coming just yet but the very thought that there could possibly be something outside waiting there, waiting to kill them all, was enough to make the pet skittish.

"Come 'ere boy." Yukwon urged, holding his hand out with a small slice of bread in his hand. It was only half though. He refused to waste perfectly good nonperishable food on a mere mutt when they could get more use out of it. "I won't hurt you. C'mon."

Cautiously, the dog came forward, limping since its back leg was bent awkwardly with a makeshift splint was tried around it. The dead owner must've done that. However, at the smell of food that wasn't contaminated, the dog rushed forward as quickly as possibly, throwing away whatever thoughts of his old master that lingered in the back of its mind. A new master would be found. One that wasn't dead. One that could be strong enough to live through the death around them all.

Yukwon fed the animal the rest of the slice that he chose not to eat, glancing at Minhyuk who was feigning a pleasant sleep. No matter how hard he tried, sleep was impossible. He felt antsy and staying in the same place for more than twenty four hours was much too dangerous now. Their numbers were growing while Minhyuk and Yukwon were just two people. A dog, and an injured one at that, was useless. But at the same time, he had no plan to get out. They attempted to go north and they were cut off, intercepted by an attack that they didn't see coming until they lost their friend Jiho. 

Death was slowly becoming inevitable. 

-

It wasn't a good idea to bring a dog with them at all. Yukwon promptly named the domesticated animal Sparky, taking a quick liking to having someone else accompany them during their travels to find other people that weren't infected. The Mayans were right but not in the way that everyone else had thought. It wasn't the end of the world. Not just yet.

An infection broke out, starting with those in America who ate the contaminated food, who in turn shipped it off to other countries they often communicated with without knowing what would come of it all. Peaceful homes were torn apart and the physical being of each and every person that got the infection became distorted. Skin turned a ghastly color and their eyes would roll back unnaturally while their teeth would rot and fingernails would cease to grow but fall off instead. Minhyuk had come face to face with these creatures—no longer people anymore—as well as animals that had gotten the disease.

Each and every beautiful thing was being drained and turned into something ugly. 

That's when Minhyuk found him. He went back home to raid the rest of whatever he could carry, taken aback when the door was shut tight and barricaded. With the ax he had found, he chopped down the hard door, walking inside to see someone else had invaded his home. The stench of death lingered in the air so heavily that Minhyuk nearly felt sick, tempted to empty the contents in his stomach. Albeit, that was impossible for he had nothing in his stomach to begin with.

Standing in his kitchen was a male he found beautiful. Minhyuk went several days without seeing another human being. He did his best to find his neighbor Jiho but there was no luck in that search. Suddenly the concern for Jiho nearly disappeared for the moment since he was so absorbed with the revelation that he found someone. Someone just like him.

"I think there's someone in there." Yukwon said, snapping Minhyuk out of his daze.

"I doubt it's anyone of importance. We should keep on moving. If we keep at this we may be able to get far enough away from this stupid town." Minhyuk grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the broken down building that made the shed look like a palace. Glass was broken and blood stained the lettering of the shop. The door appeared to be thrown off its hinges as shown by how a person was laying face down on the door, a gnarly chunk of flesh missing from his back clad in a ripped shirt.

"What if it's one of our friends?" Yukwon pressed, stepping to the place, setting down Sparky so that he had full use of his hands. "We can find someone else in here maybe!"

A growl left Sparky's throat to which Yukwon ignored and Minhyuk flinched to. "We can't," the older male answered with a stern tone, backing away from the possible danger. "We don't know what's in there and we shouldn't take our chances. Let's just go. It's already been ransacked so let's go."

But Yukwon didn't listen. Minhyuk was too far away to hold him back. Plus, even if he did want to, it was suicide to do so. The place was too trashed to have any form of human life inside. It was too dangerous. Going inside would mean death. Stepping even a foot closer would be like stepping off the edge of a cliff.

The end of life and beginning of death.