bite me | markhyuck

22

— Chapter Twenty Two —

And chaotic the next days were, Mark had not lied. Not only did both men got scolded by Akira – Mark had been pissed, Donghyuck had just been embarrassed – but also they were now making plans to leave the Neozone. Actual plans in where they marked safe spots on a map to travel to to make their way out.

At just that map Donghyuck was looking right now. They said they would go tomorrow, early morning, which was why both Mark and Akira were already asleep. Donghyuck could hear Mark's soft snores from behind him from the bed, the steady and regular sound buzzing in Donghyuck's mind like white noise.

With his fingers he traced over the route, not knowing how to feel. Sure, he was glad that in a way something was finally happening but on the other side, he was scared. Very scared. Not only did they only have a vague idea of how big the Neozone actually was but also their safe spots were mostly just locked buildings like banks and grocery stores. If one of them failed to hold back the zombies that were bound to follow them, well... Donghyuck didn't even want to think about it.

The past days he had put all his trust in Mark's and Akira's abilities and skills as agents and Donghyuck had to admit that it somehow felt good to know he didn't have to do this alone and Akira and Mark were trained for situations similar to this. But doubts were still there, deep in the back of Donghyuck's mind, shoved so far away that they would only crawl back out late night when the other two were already asleep. Just like now, Donghyuck's eyes tearing because they wanted to shut and rest for the next few hours while Donghyuck's brain was the opposite, wanting to work and overthink each and every single step in their plan.

The lines on the map blurred together, making an abstract painting that Donghyuck could not possibly decipher. He let out a low whine, closing his eyes just to pry them open again, constantly reminding himself that he should go over the plan once more, should check if they had done everything right.

Mark had taken a picture of the plan right after they had finished it, so had Akira and Donghyuck so now they all three had it on their phone, however they were still going to take the map with them. Donghyuck let it slip into Mark's backpack, finally giving up. Not that he had much of a choice, his body was screaming at him to go to sleep.

The floor was too cold under his bare feet and Donghyuck let out a hiss, quickly going over to his side of the bed. It must have been a little too loud as Mark stirred in his sleep, only being satisfied when Donghyuck cuddled into his side, caressing Mark's side with his fingers while whispering "It's all okay, keep sleeping."

And soon enough Mark's breathing pattern became regular again, his chest heaving in a steady rhythm. Donghyuck, too, could feel himself slipping off into his well deserved sleep that he only rose from when a loud thunder shook the air around them.

Mark hadn't woken up from it but Donghyuck, after a quick look on his phone telling him it was six in the morning, pulled the covers away and hopped out of the bed. He knew he couldn't get more sleep than this anyway, not when it was thunderstorming so hard. So he left the bedroom for a quick bathroom visit before tiptoeing out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. He could see Akira sleeping on the couch a few meters away and so decided to not make himself coffee with one of the cups but instead just settle for orange juice.

And like this, hair a mess from sleep and with a glass bottle of orange juice in one hand he stood before the big glass windows which were now getting penetrated by thick drops of rain. The noise was relaxing but it couldn't possibly calm down Donghyuck's rapidly beating heart.

"Mark does that." Donghyuck heard a voice from behind. He turned to see Akira, hair dishevelled but looking good regardless. Donghyuck knitted his eyebrows, tilting his head and asked "What does he do?"