Minho cocked his weapon as they slid through the bush. He and his platoon of two other people—two boys—brushed past burnt bushes and scorched patches of earth. So far, this area was looking pretty empty. Not a good sign.

"Guys, you may want to load up," one of the boys, a bulky man nicknamed Rain, murmured as he cocked his gun. His muscles seemed to slide like oiled machinery as he hid himself in the brush surrounding the inhabited area. He'd done his military duty. He knew what it meant to be a soldier.

"What's in there?" Rain's younger brother, Chang Sun, hissed softly. The boy was barely an adult, barely old enough to hold the gun, despite his fit build and mature face. Rain rolled his eyes as he looked towards the small enclosure. Honestly, his brother was a pain sometimes.

The "colony" of humanoids was a collection of slapdash houses, a few logs piled together, each with a few leaves spread over the top. Minho swallowed his nervousness and checked to make sure his gun was loaded. The fact that four other small groups were surrounding the area made him feel a little better.

"On the count of three, we infiltrate. Don't shoot unless you know what your target is," Rain whispered, giving his subordinates a stern glance. Minho nodded silently as the man's deep voice dropped even lower. "One... Two..."

"Three!" Chang Sun yelled, jumping from his spot before Rain could stop him, playing hero like the boy he was. Rain, always the military man, swore out loudly and followed his brother. Minho leapt from the bushes and saw every other soldier leap from the bushes, jump from trees, land on their feet somehow and start searching the houses.

"You ing idiot, you listen to me next time!" Rain snarled at Chang Sun, who was pulling back the fronds that covered the doorway of a small house. Rain grabbed his shoulder, forcing Chang Sun to look at him. "Do you understand? Or do you want to get killed?"

"Damn it, I get it! , you're worse than mom!" Chang Sun shouted as Minho jogged over with his gun resting in his hands. The rest of the troops were trying not to pay attention as Rain gave Chang Sun a rough shake.

"Listen, you little brat, I promised mom that I'd—" The venomous retort was cut off by a rustle from the bushes. Suddenly, the two brothers had each other's backs again, their fight forgotten. The atmosphere tensed as Minho stuck close to his platoon-mates, his gun's muzzle pointed at the air. Amidst the hissing of orders from TOP, Minho tried to just listen for sounds of movement.

"Choi, behind you!" someone shouted, and Minho turned just quickly enough to shoot something in the chest. The human-like creature fell to the ground, blood seeping from its half-rotten face. Everyone flew to high alert and fired at the trees, bushes, houses. Any crevice was soon filled with bullets, and the shrieking of shot zombies filled the air.

"Spread out! Get all of them, damn it!" TOP shouted, sweeping his arm to indicate that no ground be left uncovered. "Platoon by platoon, I want this area completely secured!"

"Yes sir!" everyone shouted, even Minho. Rain and Chang Sun stuck together, hip to hip, as Minho trails them into the thick brush around the small enclosed "colony." Minho could almost see the thoughts passing between the brothers.

"Watch out!" Minho shouted as he shot a shape in the shadows. He approached and brushed away a broad leaf, revealing a half-eaten female zombie. He turned his face away in disgust, looking back, instead, at the two siblings who were poking around in the bushes around them.

Suddenly, four shapes leapt out at once. Minho barely heard the leaves rustle, barely saw the branches whip back and fourth, before he opened fire into the air. Two dropped like stones, brains leaking a sickish purple color on the ground. The next two were taken out by Rain and Chang Sun, almost simultaneously.

"Good shot," Rain said with a broad grin at his two juniors. Minho smiled back until something jumped out at Chang Sun. Before anyone could react, Chang Sun's neck was being torn open by something, some creature so wasted away that it looked held together by sheer will. The young man shouted and roared as he wrestled with it, but the struggling only made things worse.

"No! Chang Sun!" Rain shouted as he opened fire and shot at the creature. The beast-like thing shrieked in what Minho assumed was pain, but it clung on anyway. Minho pried the claw-like nails from Chang Sun's throat, and the aggressive zombie was turned into Swiss cheese by Rain's weapon as soon as it hit the ground.

"..." Chang Sun whispered, blood bubbling from the slashes in his throat. Minho fumbled for a bandage, but he knew that it was too late. Chang Sun's throat had been torn open, blood flowing like a river up his neck and leaking from under his chin. Still, Minho taped on the cotton swath, hoping for a miracle.

Too bad miracles stopped existing.

"It's no use, kid," Chang Sun whispered as the cloth quickly became soaked in blood. Minho tried to change it, but Chang Sun weakly stopped his hand, and Minho's fingers froze. Slowly, he lowered his hands with a sense that the world was drowning him with numbness. Chang Sun just smiled softly. "Bro... Can you c-come here?"

"I'm here," Rain said rapidly, shoving Minho to the side and kneeling by his brother. He cupped Chang Sun's cheek as he assessed the damage and shook his head, as if trying to drive away the truth for just a minute, jut a heartbeat—Oh God, this couldn't happen.

"I'm sorry... I stole your gameboy when we were eight. It's u-under the couch... And I-I was the one that t-took your twenty dollars... I'm the one who m-messed up your room and God, I love you, man," Chang Sun whispered, his hand coming up to grip Rain's arm. If he had the strength, he might have even cried.

"I forgive you, you ing little idiot," Rain whispered. He released Chang Sun's face and gripped it again, as if testing its realness. "I love you, kid. Don't die. I swear, if you die, I'll kick your ."

"You could never do to me, and you know it," Chang Sun laughed weakly before his eyes closed in pain. Minho had to look away, and then had to keep watching. He didn't know what to do, except be numb and kneel there, except be unfeeling and feel all of Rain's grief, Chang Sun's fear, and then the strange placidity in the dying boy's anguish.

"Hang on, buddy," Rain whispered, as if he believed that Chang Sun could really make it, but of course, he knew that he didn't believe. If he believed, there wouldn't be tears on his face.

"I'm really hurting, bro... I'm so close... Just one little push, please. For your l-little brother," Chang Sun whispered, and even Minho could hear the pain in his voice. Rain shook his head, hid hand tightening to grip Chang Sun's hair.

"I can't, do you hear me? Mom told me to stop hurting you. I can't do this, Chang Sun. Don't die, okay? This isn't.. I promised her. You promised him. You can't," Rain whispered, but Chang Sun smiled and just nodded a little.

"She'd be proud... Please... And could you tell him? Could you tell him?" Chang Sun whispered, and Rain took a breath that woke him up, told him that this was it. He Chang Sun's face, watched the boy's eyes close and a smile spread over his face.

"Look away," Rain murmured to Minho, as if only then realizing that the youngest boy was still watching. Minho closed his eyes, heard the gunshot, and felt a hand grab him and drag him up. Heard Rain's voice, tear-stained and broken and strong, in his ear.

"Let's get back."

"Where's Chang Sun?" some kid—Mir, everyone called him—asked curiously, scared and shaken, as the pair marched through the bush. Rain shoved his gun into Minho's chest and put an arm around Mir's shoulders, leading him a few steps away as TOP did the same to Minho. As if the small distance would matter, with an atmosphere so silent.

"You're the fastest out of all of us. I need you to—" TOP's orders were cut off by a shrill scream. Minho—everyone, really—turned quickly to see Mir sobbing into his hands, his body looking so small in his uniform.

"No! No, he... He can't! He promised me! He s-said that we'd... No! He can't be!" Mir screamed, and Rain wrapped two arms around him, crushing the boy to his chest to try and muffle the sobs. Mir's body heaved with the tears, and the whole area was misted over with the sound.

"They were engaged," TOP whispered, and Minho felt a lump in his throat that threatened to tear his neck open until he ended up like Chang Sun. A lump as large as his heart, and he felt a pain as sharp as Taemin's missing embrace.

What if he'd been the one to die?

"What do you need from me?" Minho asked softly. TOP sighed and patted Minho's shoulder, as if he could feel the same lump. Minho wouldn't attach such emotion to the stoic man, but then again, there were some things even an iron fist could soften for. Minho's hands tightened around Rain's gun, and for the first time, felt the blood on the muzzle.

"Run to the jeeps. Tell them that we have one down. Lee Chang Sun, to be buried with full honors."

The clean up was a blur. TOP gave his official report, Mir was wrapped up in a shock blanket, and Rain was silently led away. Minho and the rest of the guys boarded the jeeps. It'd been a long day. All anyone wanted to do was go home and sit in a corner. No one wanted to look at the white bag being wheeled to the medical jeep.

"Choi, ride with me," a soft, deep voice commanded. Minho looked up and saw TOP beckoning, a stern look on his face. Minho bowed to the rest of the guys and hopped off, following his commanding officer to a separate vehicle, a little two-seater camouflaged car.

"Why are you you treating me differently?" Minho asked as the car started and TOP led the jeeps back to base. Plenty of time to talk. The older man sighed, rubbing his jaw and then his brow as he mulled over his thoughts. Scarlet light from the setting sun illuminated the thoughtful creases in his brow.

"You think we're heartless," the man stated. He gave Minho a small glance before looking back at the unpaved road. The only indicator back was the flattened path of crushed shrubbery.

"Yeah, I do. What of it?" Minho said a little defensively. TOP sighed as he leaned on the window, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. His knuckles were white under his skin.

"We're not heartless, kid," he murmured finally. "We were all so different before all of this bull started. Take Youngbae, for example. He was just a normal college kid. All he wanted from life was a girlfriend, maybe a family someday. Then, this happens and suddenly, he's a rock. He's nothing like before."

"Yeah? So? Everyone's like that," Minho grumbled, looking out of the window and hearing his own voice in his head again, when he'd been in that cell with Taemin yesterday. The red sunset was bringing back memories.

"I can still be the same on the inside."

"Minho, you and I are a lot alike," TOP said finally as the redness of the sky made Minho sigh. The boy scoffed and looked at the man driving, watched his movements, saw how the light seemed to sink deeply into his face.

"Entertain me," Minho sneered sarcastically, not wanting to notice how TOP's eyes flashed with pain. But Minho did notice, and that was enough to take the edge from his voice as TOP spoke.

"I was quick to be a soldier too. I never planned on it, but during my military service, I climbed the chain of command really quickly. I didn't want to kill people, or kill anything at all. I just wanted to be a teacher," TOP sighed softly. Minho felt something clench his chest in a way he didn't want anything to.

"Why didn't you? You must've had some amount of time," Minho muttered, looking down at his feet as opposed to having to see that man with all of that hurt around him.

"I had a friend... A really good friend, who I loved more than anything. His name was Jiyong... He lived in the same orphanage as I did," TOP murmured. Minho's head snapped up to look at the man, watch the sadness that slipped over his face.

"You're an orphan?" Minho asked softly. TOP cleared his throat and shrugged, as if he was trying to clear his mind of that detail, and yet he smiled a little at the memories.

"You should've seen those kids at the orphanage, especially the little ones. They were as gentle as kittens, and they'd look so happy going down a slide or something... They made me laugh with everything they did," TOP mused. Minho smiled a little too at the thought. "Youngbae and I met there. He and I were roommates for the first four years. Seunghyun was another roomate, but he was never a real soldier. He was just... Happy. Happy before all of this happened."

"So, about this Jiyong," Minho said, now thoroughly intrigued and at the same time trying to get therefore, faraway look out of the older man's eyes. TOP seemed to snap back to reality, and he smiled a bit, his hands nearly caressing the steering wheel now.

"He was all music, all heart and soul. He seemed goofy and adorable, but damn was he brilliant. He was just the deepest person I'd ever met," TOP muttered, and Minho couldn't help but feel a small inkling of pain his chest at someone else who fit that description.

"Sp what happened? Why couldn't you be together?" Minho asked, his throat tightening and his hands clenching the fabric of his pants. Why couldn't there be love in this world?

"He transformed, Minho, and I was the one who had to take him out," TOP murmured softly, and Minho's eyes widened. He looked up at the man, at his haggard expression, at the pain that shot through his face. Minho swallowed the painful lump that was clogging up his windpipe.

"How... How could you do that to someone that you loved?" Minho whispered, terrified and yet morbidly curious, but only because he couldn't comprehend—couldn't imagine—taking the life of someone like Taemin.

"He wasn't human," TOP whispered. His voice stuttered, as if he had to take a moment to even remind himself. "He wasn't human... God, I wanted him back so badly, but I couldn't... I couldn't save him."

"So what did you do?" Minho asked softly, shrinking away from the pain that was radiating off of the man's body. It was too intense, and even worse, it was infectious.

"I... I burned down the building. I got out all of the non-infected people, distracted the monsters with gunshots and rotting meat, and set the whole place on fire. Most of the orphans are the troops that you fought with today," TOP murmured, looking in his rearview mirror at the jeeps following them. Minho looked at them too, swallowing harshly. His throat felt torn.

"And then the others... Did you 'recruit' them like you recruited me?" he hissed. TOP let out a broken chuckle as he turned left sharply, onto cracked and dusty roads that looked like they stretched on forever. Open, uncovered. Secure and exposed at the same time.

"Kid, do you think we built an underground base? The army took us in, or what was left of the army. They let us use that base before they dispersed. A few stayed with us," he muttered softly. "And then there were stray kids that needed a home, needed vengeance and—"

"And you just handed them some food and a gun? Is that all that this world is coming down to? Is that all we can do?" Minho asked with a bristling edge to his voice. He realized how much he sounded like Taemin, but the younger's words were etched in his heart, and the cuts were leaking.

"Then what do you want? What can we do except protect what we love?" TOP demanded, his body shaking. Minho shook his head, looking down and taking a deep breath. He really didn't know. All he knew was Taemin's eyes and pleas, his beautifully broken voice, the only strength in Minho's world.

"I just want to look for change... Instead of driving it back," Minho whispered finally. He looked up at TOP, who was looking back in the last dying glimpses of light. Then, it was nighttime and the older man just sighed. All of the vehicles stopped for the night, and everyone prepared to sleep sitting up.

"Here, eat," TOP said gruffly, popping open he glove compartment in his car. Among the pistols and other handguns, there was a bag of dried beef jerky. Minho grunted his thanks and grabbed it, tearing it open and offering his companion some.

"Why don't you guys try to change this? There's got to be at least one genius among you guys," Minho said through a mouthful of half-chewed jerky. TOP sighed as he chewed with contemplation.

"Listen, it's not that simple. Nothing is that simple, okay? We can't jut take out a chunk of out soldiers to poke and prod at potentially dangerous monsters," TOP muttered as he grabbed some more food. Minho sighed as he leaned back and gnawed at his meat.

"But you'll let them out here, where Chang Sun's situation will happen time and time again?" Minho asked, looking over at TOP, who was squeezing the bridge of his nose in the dark. Both males sighed and dropped the tops for the moment as they put the food back and prepared to sleep.

"Maybe change isn't what we need right mow, Minho. Change takes energy, and right now, the world is tired," TOP muttered softly before closing his eyes and leaning his head back. Minho sighed and looked out of the window.

"Then I'll do it alone," he whispered before he did the same.

A/N—Keke... Things have been planned... *taps fingers together and grins deviously*

Anyway, sorry if I'm slow ":P I don't mean to be ;~; I'm just... School... Don't like school ;~;

More to come! Comments are love <3