3R [chapter 7]
Title: 3R [chapter 7]
Pairing: Chansung/Junho
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2705
Author's note: I want to remind you that this is an AU and it's not South Korea, so some things might not make sense (like geography ant stuff). If you read this fanfic - please leave a comment ;_____; Thanks @egle0702 for editing!!!!
They keep off the main road as usual and turn left by Chansung's instruction, while he looks at the map spread out across his legs and the truck panel. It's been a while since anyone drove through this road, because it seems rather secluded with dirt and leaves covering most of the asphalt. They need to find a place for the night; it's more dangerous to drive when you can‘t see that much into the distance.
"There should be a gas station not too far away." Chansung says, looking at the small icon on the map. "I miss GPS."
"Me too," Taecyeon agrees sighing. "We're such technology junkies though."
"Says the biggest nerd of the squad." Chansung chuckles at him and earns a playfully menacing glare. "Just stating the fact."
"Easy to judge for you, when the only thing you care about are books. They're not that hard to get in the zombie age." Taecyeon sulks as he recalls the glorious days filled with modern technology.
"Books? What kind?" Junho asks grinning. That's brand new information.
"What do you think?" Asks Taecyeon, smiling broadly after glancing briefly at Junho's curious expression.
"Hmm..." He thinks for a bit. "Erotica?" Taecyeon cackles like a hyena, while Chansung raises his eyebrow, pretending to be slightly offended.
"Excuse you." The Sergeant says calmly and a grin spreads across Junho's face.
"Erotica aside, I'm pretty sure he's also up for some deep books," Junho continues. "Food for mind and soul, no?"
"Bingo." Taecyeon winks at him. "Our Sergeant loves some deep thinking." He slaps Chansung's thigh. "And that erotica."
"Oh shut up, I've never had a book like that in my office."
"Doesn't mean you don't hide any under your bed." Taecyeon wiggles his eyebrows, getting an annoyed growl from his boss.
"I'm not you, Taec. What about that time when I caught you reading that hent-"
"Woah woah woah!" Taecyeon protests. "Nothing happened!" There's a short silence as Chansung and Junho grin at Taecyeon like two vultures about to eat their prey.
"Also, I prefer doing the real thing instead of reading porn." Chansung adds with a wicked smirk and it looks like Taecyeon is about to puke. Junho's gaze, on the other hand...
"Here it is," Taecyeon's voice changes into business-like immediately and the previous carefree mood is gone.
"Alright. Stay in the car, I'll grab Junho and a couple of the other guys to check it out." Taecyeon nods at Chansung's words.
The wind blows strong when they get out of the truck. The gas station seems to have been abandoned a long time ago; there are a few broken cars as well, complementing the overall gloomy view. Chansung gets to the back of the truck, Junho behind his back.
"Khun and Namyong, come with us. Also," He looks at Wooyoung, whose eyes widen in surprise. "Grab your device, you're coming too."
"Very well, Sergeant." Wooyoung grins, grabbing the zombie detector. "And here I was wondering when you'd need my services again." He says while jumping out of the truck, deliberately staring at Chansung longer than necessary.
That little shit, Chansung remains calm though. Wooyoung is full of shit at the moment, but Chansung knows better than to give in. They have more important problems to handle right now.
"You'll go first." Chansung says and Wooyoung's smug expression drops.
"Why me? I don't have a gun." He protests.
"You have the device." Chansung glances at the object in Wooyoung's hands. "You'll know if there's any danger waiting for you, won't you?"
"I will..."
"What's the range of it anyway?"
"I'd say around 30 metres."
"So, you'll be safe." Chansung concludes staring at Wooyoung's bitter face.
"Yeah, we will cover you anyway, no need to crap your pants." Nichkhun adds smiling. Wooyoung sighs annoyed.
"Fine."
Wooyoung walks first, Chansung's right behind him with Namyong and Nichkhun on both of his sides a bit further and Junho at the back. He stares at the device screen, waiting for a dot to appear. So far so good. Wooyoung's startled slightly when a bird emerges from a broken car. The building isn't very big, just a regular gas station. Windows are covered with planks, but the door seems to be slightly open. Wooyoung gulps as he gets closer and then he halts, when he sees a dot appear on the screen. He looks back at Chansung and the latter comes closer, staring at the screen.
"Good job," he says quietly. "Stay here." Chansung glances at Nichkhun and points at the door, signalling that both of them are going in and the rest should stay outside with Wooyoung.
The Sergeant tries to open the door, but it seems like there's a rope attached to it from the inside. He gets the knife and gets rid of the rope swiftly. Then, he enters the building first and, using the flashlight mounted on top of the gun, points it at the counter. There's a very poor looking roamer there, barely able to walk. It clearly hasn't fed in months. Nichkhun gets to it first and grabs it by the hair, but he pulls too strong and the hair comes off the scull with the scalp. "Shit, it's nasty!" Without much thought he drops the hair and skin to the corner, meanwhile Chansung throws a knife before the roamer can attack Nichkhun. The throw is so powerful the zombie's head gets nailed to the wall.
"Hey, no matter how ugly that thing is don't lose your focus." Chansung warns his subordinate and Nichkhun nods, learning the lesson.
With the main obstacle gone, they make sure the rest of the building is danger free and call in the rest of the squad. Seulong carries out the dead body, while everyone stares at Nichkhun kicking the scalp on the shovel and carrying it out ceremoniously. "Is that your supper?" Namyong teases and everyone chuckles.
Someone finds the key and they lock the door. Chansung decides that it's best for them to sleep instead of patrolling one by one. They're all tired; however, probably not all of them will be able to sleep that well after what has happened. You always sleep with one eye open in this environment anyway.
Everyone makes themselves as comfortable as possible in their sleeping bags, scattered all over the floor and in-between the shelves. Chansung lies by the door with Taecyeon on his right and Junho on the left. "We will check the situation with the gas in the morning and come up with our further plan." Chansung informs his right hand man.
"Sounds good to me," Taecyeon agrees sluggishly. "Good night, bro." He turns away. Obviously, this one won't have any troubles sleeping as he's already snoring softly. Chansung turns at Junho who's still awake.
"Get some sleep." Chansung whispers and is about to close his eyes when Junho mouths, gazing at him.
Love you.
Chansung's heart feels caged all of a sudden. Junho can be very affectionate behind that ambiguous exterior.
There's a friendly chatter in the morning, everyone seems to be refreshed, more or less. Upon closer inspection they find some gas leftovers and a few other useful things. It's much colder today though and as Chansung stares at the date, he realises it's already calendar winter. And even though they're moving south, they can't escape the changing seasons. This is not a tropical climate zone after all. Everyone gathers in the yard and Chansung places the map on one of the broken cars’ hoods.
"Undoubtedly, we need more supplies before venturing further on our trip, because we used quite a lot while staying at the house. We also need Wooyoung to make more devices, so we have to find a proper shop for electronic parts."
"Going to a city is something we want to avoid..." Nichkhun notes.
"Right. That's why I've been staring at the map like a mad man this morning. Apparently, there's supposed to be a big shopping mall around two hundred kilometres away. It's outside of the city. Seems perfect, yeah?" Everyone murmurs in agreement.
Soon, they head out for the shopping mall. Chansung's up front again, with Junho and Taecyeon behind the wheel. It gets cloudier when they drive further South. Chansung stares at the abandoned places, wondering if there are any survivors left at all. It feels like it's only them who are still alive and breathing. Ever since the explosion at the facility, they haven't met a single survivor.
Many people think they can survive when adisaster hits them, but reality is different. With no proper training and good physique, your chances of survival are very slim, almost non-existent. The way people were always taken care of by big corporations and their products: people have been doomed since the first day of such dependence. They were so used to receiving the final product that didn't require any effort from the user, they forgot how to make things with their own hands. In a way, they have been living like birds in golden cages, and when you finally get the freedom, you usually become chaotic and reckless.
"Woah, it's snowing." Taecyeon expresses his surprise, leaning forward while holding hard onto the steering wheel. The snowflakes are dancing slowly, putting a hypnotising effect on everyone marvelling at their beauty. "Chansung, what do you want for Christmas?" Taecyeon asks merrily.
"For everyone to stay alive." He blurts out without even thinking and realises that's not the answer Taecyeon has been expecting to hear. But Chansung doesn't correct himself. That is his only real wish. Junho just looks at him worriedly for a few moments.
They stay silent for the rest of the trip, drowned in their own thoughts. By the time they reach the shopping mall, everything is covered by a thin layer of snow. The truck stops in the parking lot, about 50 metres away from the building.
The engine quiets down and Chansung analyses what's in front of them. This place feels different. The shopping mall, surprisingly, is in a good shape; the parking lot is empty, not that much garbage lying around and the most important: the glass door seems to be blocked and covered from the inside. Chansung grabs binoculars to get a better look. Indeed, the door is covered, he cannot see the inside. Then, he glances at the rooftop and for a brief moment he sees movement.
"I think we found our first survivors." Chansung states as he puts the binoculars away. He turns around in his seat and opens the small window so the rest of the men could hear him in the back of the truck. "Joon and Seungho, I want you to stay here. Cover us if the survivors turn out to be hostile." Chansung takes the car key from Taecyeon and hands it to Joon. " This is our only chance, so let's not fuck this up."
"Do I have to go?" Wooyoung asks, his fears getting the better of him.
"Yeah, you look like a proper civilian, you might soften their hearts." Chansung smirks. "Okay, let's go."
"This is crazy, you don't know who they are and how many." Wooyoung tries to prove his point.
"That's true, but they also don't know how trained we are. Also, we don't really have another choice. Unless you're willing to go to the city." Chansung shrugs.
"Shopping mall it is then." Wooyoung says grumpily and stands up, everyone else doing the same.
"Such an attention whore." Junho mumbles leaving the car, but Chansung hears him and smiles, leaning close to Junho's ear from behind.
"If this mission turns out successful, you'll get enough attention from me tonight." Chansung cannot see Junho's face, but his ears become red instantly and the Sergeant chuckles satisfied.
"Shut up." Is all he can manage to say.
The thin layer of snow squeaks beneath their shoes and the group stops in front of the door. Chansung comes forward, ready to meet their leader. It's both exciting and scary to meet the living. Who knows what they have been through and what kind of people they are. Wooyoung was right, but Chansung knows that this is their only option at the moment. The wind blows harder and picks up some snow, making Chansung squint briefly.
The glass door opens slowly and three figures emerge from the building. There's a blonde woman up front with two men on her left and right; one of them has a German shepherd on a leash. She has a shotgun, but it doesn't seem like her acquaintances have any firearms. They only have machetes and baseball bats. Chansung wonders if that's just to throw them off. He glances behind them and notices more people staring from the inside. Maybe 10, he can't tell exactly.
The woman stops in front of Chansung, wearing a suspicious expression. "Hello." Her voice is raspy.
"Hello." Chansung responds. "Are you the leader here?"
"Yes. You don't seem like a bunch of random survivors." She eyes their uniforms and her gaze stops at Wooyoung. "Except for him."
"He got lucky to be saved by us." Chansung smiles, hoping this warms up the lady, but she still looks suspiciously.
"Are you soldiers?" She doesn't beat around the bush.
"Yes. Special forces."
"Are you here to save us?!" The man with the dog suddenly exclaims, his eyes full of hope.
"Jae." The woman tells him off and he steps back. "What are you doing here?"
"We were hoping to get some supplies." Chansung looks at her as she keeps quiet, thinking about something.
"If we provide you with supplies, we expect to get something in return." She finally says.
"Okay, what do you want from us?"
"Guns." Her face is fierce.
"How many?"
"I think 5 would be nice."
Chansung narrows his eyes. The amount she wants is too big. Of course, they could probably take what they want by force since they probably have more guns than them. However, Chansung doesn't want any casualties. They have to remain as humane as possible. He can see that from her face too, as he keeps on thinking about the possibilities. No one wants to shed blood here.
"I cannot give you 5 guns. We're on a very long trip here, so every gun and bullet counts. We also don't want to take those items by force; it's not who we are. Nevertheless, if you're willing to cooperate we promise we have only good intentions and the best I can offer you are 2 carbine rifles. Also, our technician could make you a device that can detect zombies. The choice is yours." Chansung decides that he has to be a bit tougher with them since they clearly don't know how hard it is outside the concrete walls. And this offer wouldn't harm their ammo resources too much. If she declined the offer, Chansung would just leave; he's not up to killing some civilians.
"Let me talk to my people." She turns around and disappears into the building.
"What if she rejects the offer?" Taecyeon whispers to the Sergeant.
"We will have to find another place then. And I doubt she will. I'm pretty sure they're out of options. 5 guns sound very desperate to me." Chansung explains and Taecyeon nods in understanding. After a while the door opens and she comes back with the two men and the dog.
"Fine. We accept the offer. I'm Yubin." She reaches out her hand towards Chansung.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Chansung." He shakes her hand and the deed is done.
"You can stay the night, it will probably take some time to make that device." She says and her stern expression grows softer. "I'm pretty sure your trip is exhausting."
"You can't imagine." Chansung smiles. He then presses on his earpiece."Joon, get Seungho and our stuff. We're staying for the night here."
"Got it."
When the two of them get to the rest of the squad, Chansung grabs two rifles and some bullets. Yubin's men take each gun and then he demonstrates the device. His part of the deal is done. Yubin's smile of satisfaction spreads across her face and she nods. "Welcome to our home."
They enter the building.