Acts of Contrition (12/20)
Chapter 12
He'll never get used to this suffocating heat, of that he's sure.
Nor these goddamn treks. Why they can’t take the landspeeder out on every occasion, he has no idea, but as he's the only one who seems to be having a hard time, he keeps his mouth shut, plasma rifle slung over his shoulder. Jaejoong and Yoochun are ahead of him, the ink on the former's shoulders visible through the thin tank. Changmin finds his eyes trace the letters, the action almost hypnotizing, so much so that when Yoochun holds up a hand, barks at him to get cover and get down, it startles the hell out of him, complying with the orders more out of habit than actual understanding.
He cocks the rifle, raising it and peering through the site, Jaejoong's breathing too loud in the space next to him.
***
They're not prepared for these conditions, for this climate. If Changmin crashed here without injury, if Yunho didn't hallucinate when he saw him, then the fighter should be up ahead. Its condition is his only hope right now. If it's more or less in one piece, then there's hope. If not... then he's gone mad.
Junsu is quiet beside him, hesitant smiles thrown his way as they walk through the dense forest. He's not in his comfort zone and he seems uneasy, but this isn't the time for chitchat. Later, maybe, when and if they make it through this.
Lasergun slick with sweat against his palm, Yunho almost allows himself to wish he were alone. The thought is selfish and unfair, but he can't quite hold it back. Junsu should never have come with him.
***
"I don't see anything," Changmin hisses, for a moment unsure where they are, though he's getting the strangest sense of deja vu.
Jaejoong glares at him, raising his finger to his lips, then another, jerking his head in the direction they'd been heading. Changmin knows better than to question him, staying silent and still.
Waiting.
***
The forest floor is slick with fallen leaves, some trampled on, some not. They're well and truly in the belly of the beast here.
"How much further?" Junsu whispers, even though they seem to be alone in this wilderness. He knows better.
Yunho checks his bearings. "Should be just up ahead."
Cutting through the foliage, they advance, their pace even, unhurried. What they find is not unexpected, but it is the final nail to the coffin. Scattered scraps of metal and burned plastic line a small, unexpected clearing. Nothing could've survived this crash.
***
He can hear it now, the rustle of footsteps in the leaves and suddenly, he realizes where they are. The craft. Meaning best case scenario, the security breach is nothing but Guard-loathing scavengers looking to make a profit. A look at the men beside him lets him know they're thinking worst case.
Actual Guards.
Changmin can't fight the small thread of hope that fills him at the thought, even though he knows if found in the company he's in, he’s as good as dead.
***
"So this..." Junsu's voice is chocked with tears. "This is it? This is where..."
Yunho can't bring himself to look at him. "Yeah. Yeah, this is it." This is what they came for. "Now we know."
Anger overwhelms him. Hot, red spikes skittering down his spine like needles. This isn't how a pilot should go. This isn't how Changmin should have gone. And it's all his fault.
Stalking towards the charred wreckage, he ignores Junsu's whispered plea. "I'm going to get his tags." At least that, if nothing else.
***
Jaejoong makes a circling motion, nodding to Changmin to go behind them, while he and Yoochun take the front. A silent agreement, shifting from where he's hidden, trying to make his footsteps as soundless as possible, hunkering behind branches.
Yoochun and Jaejoong are out of his sight by the time he looks back, reminding him how he hadn't even suspected their presence until it was too late.
He can see the backs of the two figures through the foliage, one of them moving towards the bombed-out craft
He knows the other two won't let him get there.
***
Yunho looks around, unaware of the figures slithering behind trees. All might when they're up in the sky but still just scraps of metal and electronics when you get down to it, really. Flesh and bones, and somewhere in this heap of materials are Changmin's. The reality of what he's seeing makes bile rise into his mouth.
Weak on his knees, he falls to the ground, not quite kneeling, not quite collapsing. It doesn't matter. None of it matters. Whatever brief hope he had is gone.
What does he do now?
The lasergun slips from his waistband to the ground. A silent answer. The hand of God? Yunho doesn't question it. Poetic justice, that's what it is. What other place could better serve as his grave?
***
It all happens so fast.
The figure walking towards the craft crumples to the ground, begins to raise his gun to his head and there's the sudden cry of "Yunho!" and the breath is stolen from his body, because that's Junsu's voice, he'd recognize it anywhere and what is he--they doing and fuck, they'll see the gun--
"Stop!" the shout rings out, weapon dropping, pushing through the dense undergrowth. "Don't!"
***
Yunho turns, two voices bleeding into one and for one horrible second, he thinks he hears, sees Changmin. It's a joke played on his mind, he knows it is.
Nothing could've survived an impact that tore a fighter craft apart quite this badly.
Junsu is running towards him, tripping, weeping and he wants to shake the other man. He's a soldier, not an old woman. But he can't. He just watches it unfold, finger trembling on the trigger.
The sound of a blast ripples through the jungle, startling a flock of birds into flight.