Humans, Kyuhyun has concluded, are inherently stupid lifeforms. And it’s not just the ridiculous fight over supplies he only narrowly escaped from a few minutes ago that triggers this revelation. The proof is everywhere he looks: in the few scattered plants struggling to survive, in the Clusters of desperate people trying to do the same, in the noxious yellow-brown clouds of radiation that still linger on the horizon. Really, ever since a group of button-happy politicians two years ago had decided that sure, nuclear war was a great solution for everybody, Kyuhyun has witnessed nothing to prove his statement wrong.

When the warheads had made contact with civilization, the world hadn’t seen it coming. There was no dramatic buildup, no sealing them up inside nuclear shelters or vaults, no time to say goodbye. Just a chain reaction of -there’s-a-warhead-maybe-I-should-launch-mine-too until “oops, we sorta blew up the world.”

Not that the bombs were the end of the story, of course, or else the other survivors wouldn’t be here for Kyuhyun to eternally judge and passive-aggressively avoid. It just means that most people are dead, most cities are leveled, the only way to get from one place to another (the merchants and their oxen-pulled wagons aside) is to walk, and getting too close to any residual radiation means a slow and painful death. But other than that, it’s just peachy.

Kyuhyun absentmindedly draws his key out of his pocket, fitting it into the lock and swinging the door to his home open with a creak. For a moment, the bag of purchased supplies balanced in his free arm begins to slip out of his hold, before he readjusts himself with lightning-fast reflexes, saving the food and water from an unwelcome meeting with the ground. Kyuhyun can’t help the cocky smirk that appears on his face; contrary to popular belief, all those hours of gaming pre-nuclear apocalypse haven’t been for nothing.

Speaking of the apocalypse, where was he? Ah, right, the self-inflicted near-extinction of the human race. Suffice it to say that the political scene hadn't gotten better in the two years that followed. The only difference was that the idiots in power are now less so idiots and more so highly-networked, power-hungry scumbags.

The ones Kyuhyun knows about, that is. Communication and transportation were, for the most part, unsalvageable after the destruction the bombs had wreaked, so he only knows about what goes on in the irradiated area around him, part of which used to be southern South Korea. Clouds of radiation prevent land travel beyond what he can see on the horizon, and with the ocean irradiated as well, somewhere out of view, no one risks overseas travel. The people here are effectively stranded, left with nothing other than the Capital and the few Clusters  of Outsiders who refuse to live within the Capital’s walls, like the one Kyuhyun calls home.

As for the government in the Capital...there’s a reason Kyuhyun isn’t living with his parents. They’d both been dragged away by a group of the city’s policemen over a year ago for reasons Kyuhyun still didn’t know, and he’s never really forgiven “Mayor” Park, the head of the Capital snake.

Kyuhyun sets his bag down on the table inside, not needing to walk far to get there. His residence is more like a shack than a house, hastily fortified with material from the ruins of some pre-war settlement. He doesn’t mind; it ensures that no one ever asks to stay. Because if there’s one thing Kyuhyun generally can’t tolerate, it’s━

Bang! Bang! Bang!

...other people. Kyuhyun aggressively rolls his eyes. Who thought it was even remotely a good idea to pound on his door in the middle of the afternoon? Screw it; he’s not going to let them in. Whatever it’s about, it can wait at least until after he puts his food and water away.

The pounding ceases, Kyuhyun lets out a relieved sigh, and everything is back to normal.  That is, it would be, if the telltale creak of the door opening wasn’t echoing through the shack a few moments later, making Kyuhyun halt in his movements.

Very quietly, he reaches behind his back to slide open the drawer and curl his fingers around the handle of a knife, a weapon he always keeps on hand for self-defense. He’s only used it once in the past, and even then it was only to threaten some idiot who’d tried to steal from him...but history might have to repeat itself a little more violently today. Weapon in hand, he slinks over and presses himself flat against the wall that separates the kitchen and the front entrance. If the intruder comes through the open doorway, he or she will be very unpleasantly surprised.

“Hello? Anyone here?” the intruder calls from very close by, and Kyuhyun immediately narrows down his assortment of mental images. The intruder is male, probably a few years older than Kyuhyun is, and his voice is slightly muffled ━ a face mask, maybe? That’s strange; Outsiders don’t wear them because they hardly ever leave their Cluster, so there’s no risk in coming across stray radiation. Who would…?

Movement catches Kyuhyun’s eye, and he lunges, aiming to pin the stranger to the ground. He definitely makes contact, but what he isn’t expecting is resistance. Before Kyuhyun can fully process the situation, he’s lying on the floor, knife yanked out of his hand and wrists held in a sturdy grip. The intruder is still hard to make out, his facemask covering all but his eyes and a mop of brown hair. But really, Kyuhyun has more pressing questions, like, for instance…

“What the hell are you doing in my house!?”

The grip on Kyuhyun’s wrists loosens, and the intruder at least sounds apologetic when he says, “Sorry. I didn’t want to attack you, but you did just try to kill me.”

“Not kill. Just neutralize while I figure out, once again, why you’re here. Now if you could please get off…”

“I will, okay? I don’t want any trouble.”

“Says the one who broke into my house.”

The intruder doesn’t respond, seeming to realize that arguing with Kyuhyun was a useless venture. Instead, he stands, finally allowing Kyuhyun to regain control of his limbs, and offers a hand so the other man can do the same. By the time Kyuhyun is back on his feet, he’s surprised to see the intruder had taken the liberty of removing his facemask, uncovering the rest of his features.

“Lee Donghae,” the intruder ━ Donghae ━ says with a smile. “I’m with the Resistance.”

And alright, for the sake of full disclosure, Kyuhyun may forget to respond for a brief moment, because the radiant smile on Donghae’s face temporarily short-circuits his brain before he gets himself together. He blames the radiation.

The moment of weakness over, he holds out his hand for the other man to shake. “Cho Kyuhyun,” he says. “I...wait, what’s the Resistance doing so far outside the Capital?”

Donghae’s face turns serious, which would have more of an effect if Kyuhyun hadn’t started finding him rather endearing. Puppy-eyes like that do things to people. “There’s going to be a raid,” Donghae tells him, all traces of lightheartedness gone. “We got word of it on one of the government frequencies; there’s going to be Drones all over this place in an hour.”

“You mean the police?”

“They can’t really be called ‘police’ when they’ve been literally brainwashed into submission. Haven’t you been keeping up with the news?”

Kyuhyun’s eyebrows furrow. “Brainwashed? What are you━?”

A loud commotion from outside catches his attention, and he breaks off mid-sentence. Next to him, Donghae presses a button on his earpiece, saying “Hyukj ━sorry, Eunhyuk━ what’s going on?” Kyuhyun can’t hear the response, but a few seconds later Donghae swears and asks, “What do you need me to do? ...Yeah, I did...Got it. Good luck.”

Donghae turns to Kyuhyun, a determined look in his eyes. “The Drones are here early. We need to hide.”

“And they’re going to do what? Drag us all off to be brainwashed?” With a sudden twist in his gut, Kyuhyun thinks back to the fate of his parents. At the time they’d been taken, he’d assumed the worst case was them being killed, but now...now isn’t the time to linger on that thought.

“Not right away.” Donghae doesn’t even look at Kyuhyun when he answers, his eyes instead darting around the room. “They’d imprison you first, and eventually they’d inject the serum, implant the microchip. It might take days of waiting in one of their prisons, or it might take years. But more importantly right now...is there anywhere we can hide?”

“Umm.” Kyuhyun is a bit too preoccupied fighting against his impending panic to think straight. “There’s...I don’t know? The cupboards?” He can almost feel the metaphorical lightbulb switch on above his head. “The storage compartment in the other room is under a trap door. If we take some of the junk out, it might work.”

Donghae gives him a relieved smile. “Good. Let’s get it done.”

~*~

Two minutes and one tight fit later, the pair are squished into the small space. Kyuhyun has managed to end up nestled in between Donghae’s legs, his back pressed up against the other man’s chest. Which, under other circumstances, he would have been more than okay with, but right now it’s just plain uncomfortable.

Sound is muffled by the covered hatch above their heads, blocking out everything aside from Kyuhyun’s own quiet breathing. It if wasn’t for the commotion earlier, he wouldn’t even believe there was a raid going on. He’s just about to ask Donghae if the threat has passed when he suddenly feels the other tense against his back.

“Our squad leader just radioed me,” Donghae whispers. “The Drones didn’t find him, but a group of them is heading our way.”

Kyuhyun nods before he remembers that they’re in total darkness. “Got it. You locked the door, right?”

“No, that would make it look like someone’s still here. I’m hoping they’ll think you ran away or were already captured.”

“Are you crazy!?” It’s more of a whisper-yell. “What if━mmph!”

Donghae’s hand clamps down over his mouth, cutting off his words.

“They’re here,” Donghae murmurs, barely audible.

Sure enough, if Kyuhyun concentrates, he can hear the sound of footsteps passing over the front door’s threshold. One set heads to the kitchen, and two others grow louder, approaching the back room. The sound of cabinets banging open and furniture being upturned is suddenly everywhere. Kyuhyun shrinks back against Donghae, hardly daring to breathe.

He doesn’t know if it’s seconds that tick by or minutes, but whatever the case, they’re some of the most tense moments of Kyuhyun’s life. At some points, he simply closes his eyes and imagines he’s somewhere else. A party, maybe, with a few unruly guests in the other room. A concert with an out-of-control mosh pit. A friendly game of hide-and-seek. Anything to stop himself from panicking.

“Kyuhyun, they’re gone. We can stop hiding.”

A soft voice breaks Kyuhyun out of his trance. There’s a slight tremor running through him, something he notices when he sees his hands shaking. “Okay,” he manages to get out, embarrassed at his own weakness.

Pull yourself together.

Holding on to what remains of his dignity, Kyuhyun reaches up to slide the hatch of the compartment open. His hands still shake, but he grits his teeth and tries to look confident as he pushes the odds and ends hiding the trapdoor out of the way before they can fall on his head. At last, light shines through to illuminate the small space. Kyuhyun has to blink a few times at the brightness, but he’s able to see well enough to push the trapdoor open the remaining few inches and get out, extending a helping hand so that Donghae can do the same.

In the silence that follows, Kyuhyun is at a loss for what to do. One look at his vandalized home has him grasping at straws. So when Donghae radios his squad leader ━ Eunhyuk, he remembers Donghae calling him ━ that they’re safe, and asks Kyuhyun to follow him, Kyuhyun reflexively agrees. What else is he supposed to do?

“The rest of my team is meeting in the center of the Cluster,” Donghae tells him as they walk. “The other two are bringing anyone else they could save, and I’m bring you.”

Kyuhyun can’t help himself; he lets out a short laugh, an attempt at getting over the shock from before. “So, what?” he asks. “Am I your damsel in distress? You’re going to show me off as proof of your chivalry?”

Donghae’s expression turns sheepish. “I didn’t mean it like that. You were the one who actually found us a hiding place, after all.”

Had he more time, Kyuhyun would shoot back with what he thinks is an incredibly witty comment, but too soon they spot the others a short distance away. Or, at least, Kyuhyun assumes they’re the others ━ the beat-up rebel look kind of gave them away, along with Donghae’s enthusiastic waving and call of, “Eunhyuk, Yesung, over here!”

The two turn at the sound of Donghae’s voice, quickly moving to close the distance between themselves and their third squadmate. Clustered behind them is a group of three Outsiders who Kyuhyun recognizes from the marketplace. They’re one of the groups that have been saved, he figures. No matter how much he insults the rest of the people here, it’s still comforting to see that not everything has changed, not everyone is lost.

“Donghae!” Kyuhyun guesses this is Eunhyuk, judging from the way he walks ahead of the others. “Good to see you in one piece.” Eunhyuk gestures to Kyuhyun. “This is who you were with?”

Donghae nods. “This is Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun, meet Eunhyuk,” he introduces.

And really, Kyuhyun would be a bit more polite under normal circumstances, but as he begins to bow, he’s suddenly hit with a horrible feeling of dread. So instead, he finds himself asking, “Is this...is this everyone who’s left? Three people?”

“We did what we could,” Eunhyuk tells him, expression darkening. “Yesung and I could only hide with so many on short notice.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be hiding like cowards!” Kyuhyun snaps at him. “Maybe if you’d actually fought them like heroes, or whatever the hell the Resistance is supposed to be, then the whole Cluster wouldn’t have just been abducted while you did nothing!”

Halfway through the rant, Kyuhyun realizes he’s being an ━ more so than usual. But at this point he’s really just looking for someone to blame for taking his consistent, if boring, world and turning it upside down in the span of less than an hour.

Eunhyuk, for a few seconds, doesn’t say a word. Then, with hands clearly struggling not to curl into fists, he says coldly, “Our team is Shadow Squad. We’re not prepared for a direct firefight, and the Drones didn’t exactly follow their own schedule. So we did everything we could to at least save some without throwing our and their lives away. You should take that anger and direct it at someone who deserves it.”

That’s when shame hits Kyuhyun like a punch to the stomach, only made worse when he catches the kicked-puppy expression on Donghae’s face in his peripheral vision. It’s the first time he bows a full 90 degrees in years, quickly apologizing before the situation gets even worse.

Eunhyuk says nothing, and Kyuhyun doesn’t raise his head. Though his back protests, Kyuhyun figures that if he looks respectable enough, he’ll seem much less like a brat who can’t control his temper. He deserves a better first impression.

Finally, Eunhyuk sighs, saying, “It’s...fine. I understand why you’re angry.” (Kyuhyun’s spine cheers as he’s free to stand up straight.) It’s not quite forgiveness, which Kyuhyun can understand, but the look on Eunhyuk’s face is at least less hostile.

The third Resistance member ━Yesung, was it?━ speaks up from behind the squad leader. “What if there was a way for you to redirect all that anger?”

“Yesung…” There’s a warning in Eunhyuk’s voice.

“I’m serious. After what happened, we need all the new help we can get. And all of the Outsiders we’ve come across so far...they’re not what we need. They haven’t been interested in fighting back.”

Eunhyuk lets out a huff, looking up at the sky as if to ask, Why me? He fixes Kyuhyun with a hard stare. “So...what’s your name, again?”

“Kyuhyun.”

“Right. So, Kyuhyun, you really want to protect these people, and you think you can do it better than me. Why don’t you prove it? Join the Resistance.”

Kyuhyun blinks, sure he’s misheard. “You...want me to join? I don’t think I’m exactly qualified.”

“You don’t have to be,” Donghae says, speaking up at Kyuhyun’s side. “None of us were when we first joined. You just have to be willing to fight, and…” He pauses a moment to squeeze Kyuhyun’s arm, and the latter would forever deny the sudden reddening of his face. “And you’ve got muscles,” Donghae continues with a smile, oblivious to the reaction. “Maybe not enough for Boom Squad, but we could use someone else on our team.”

“Umm…”

Not exactly how Kyuhyun had imagined his afternoon turning out. This morning, the idea of joining the infamous rebel fighters would have seemed laughably ridiculous. And yet, here he was. It would be perfectly easy to say no, but calling Eunhyuk a coward and then not backing up his words...he was a cynic, not a hypocrite.

“Okay, sure. I’ll join.”

The stupidly wide grin on Donghae’s face is totally worth it.