“Do any of you ever think the Endvirus is an ordeal?” Woohyun once asked. “You know, a test for humanity sent by some higher being to see who survives the end of society as we know it?” They were camping out in an abandoned grocery store, huddling up in a small circle in an aisle with rice bags and their own backpacks for cushions. Sometimes, they lived in grocery stores for days. Most stores still had some semblance of their old selves, including food, which was more than what most abandoned houses could offer. They often ended up eating things that people hadn’t grabbed in their final rush before the End: jars of mayonnaise or packets of icing. This particular store was in an area that had been hit hard by the Endvirus, so it offered a larger variety of foods. Woohyun washed a chunk of waterlogged carrot down with a swallow of soup. Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. Again. He had been ecstatic to see the lonely, dusty can on a dark shelf.

“What?” Sungyeol said rudely.

“Geez, don’t be so harsh. I was just asking,” Woohyun said, putting his hands up. “It’s just been bothering me. Where did the Endvirus come from? Don’t viruses evolve from each other or some like that?”

Hoya grabbed the can from Woohyun and took a sip before passing it to Sungjong’s outstretched hands. “That’s true. Maybe it mutated on its own into the Endvirus.”

“I don’t think so,” Myungsoo said. “I mean, I haven’t studied virus mutation very closely since I’ve only worked as an epidemiologist—“

“A what?” Sungyeol, squinting his eyes and shifting on the rice bags.

“An epidemiologist.”

“Can you speak English please?”

Myungsoo rolled his eyes. “It means I deal primarily with the transmission and control of virus infections,” he said, “but even I know that something like the Metavirus doesn’t just mutate out of thin air. There are known oncoviruses, but they don’t cause cancer right away. And none have modified DNA to the extent the Metavirus has.”

“What are you trying to say?” Sunggyu asked. Myungsoo looked at him in surprise. Sunggyu had been lounging on his backpack, quietly listening to the conversation. He usually never talked much—everyone knew he was always uptight and on edge. Sungyeol once joked that if the End hadn’t happened, Sunggyu would’ve joined the military.

“What I mean is that I think someone purposely engineered the Metavirus.”

Woohyun frowned and took back his soup can, finishing it off. “Why would someone ever do that?”

“I have no idea,” Myungsoo admitted. “But you don’t release a virus and bam, suddenly the whole world is infected and billions of people die, especially not with obvious symptoms like that. Governments would’ve noticed and put a stop to it through quarantine or something. Someone controlled its spread very carefully. Or maybe more that one person did.”

The whole group fell into a stony silence, and Myungsoo rolled over and closed his eyes. “I don’t know,” he said; “just food for thought. Good night everyone.”

“Good night,” Sunggyu said.

Now that Sunggyu thinks about it, if someone purposely engineered the Endvirus, why couldn’t they have made a different strain of it? A more controlled, safer version? Why did they have to make one that brought about the End?

He lies on his side in the bed and pulls the blanket closer to his chin. It’s thin, cheap, and blindingly green, but anything is better than sleeping outside or on the floor. He hasn’t slept in a bed for a while, and it feels good to have something soft and springy under his back. Whenever they stay in a deserted house, he always lets the younger members have the privilege of comfort. Or well, used to. He has no one anymore.

Comfort isn’t necessary for survival, and neither is human interaction. But even Sunggyu misses having a companion, a presence to comfort him. He nestles his head deeper into the pillow and thinks more about the Endvirus. If properly constrained, it could open up the door to a world of infinite possibilities.

Just some food for thought.

-

Dongwoo slinks through the front door and pads silently up the stairs until he reaches the bedroom. He tests the doorknob. Locked. What a clever boy, remembering to lock the door! It makes him smile in the darkness. But a lock can’t stop him, and in under a minute, he picks it with a spare bobby pin and cracks the door open.

He steals into the bedroom like an unlit dream, all dark and black and navy blue. Then he crouches and watches the boy on the bed. Dongwoo feels rather proud of himself for following him this far without making any direct contact, not even when he shot his companions. But the city is near. It won’t make a difference if he does anything now.

Sunggyu’s mouth trembles from the cold in the faint moonlight, his breath silver.

He touches the back of his hand to Sunggyu’s cool face. His hand burns feverishly against his cheek.

Sunggyu in a shuddering gulp of air. Dongwoo smiles and leans his face in closer, blowing air across his cheeks. His breath is hot and rank from eating raw meat, and it seems to bring back a little colour in his ashen face. His eyebrows furrow like he’s in pain. Dongwoo finds it endearing.

“What are you dreaming about?” Dongwoo asks, grinning. “Is a big, bad dinosaur going to eat you?”

Sunggyu’s mouth opens and closes. He can’t seem to get any words out.

Dongwoo decides that this much is enough for now. He stands up and bends down to whisper, “Keep running away, okay? You’re almost there.”

Then he pushes the blinds aside and leaps out of the window.

sorry for being MIA for the past couple days. I unexpectedly stayed over at my host family's house (the school year is over nowww yay), so I couldn't write or update. but ta-dah! I just finished the second part today. lol to be honest I'm not sure if I can finish this in time for the deadline, but I'll try my best.

if you didn't know already, I changed the first chapter (twice). it might be helpful to skim over that if you only read the story when I first put it up. Sunggyu gets a personality change. 

also, uh, I know barely anything about viruses. I did some quick research to make the Endvirus/Metavirus sound a tiny bit more legitimate, but honestly...it's not real at all. hahahaha. I have no idea what I'm talking about.

thank you for reading!! C: I hope you enjoyed!