WHO ARE YOU?|ATEEZ FANFIC (In Editing Progress)

Chapter 3|between sun and sand

For hours and hours they walked aimlessly straight ahead. The midday sun was beating down on them mercilessly and despite them trying to keep the direct sunlight off their bodies by covering themselves with blankets from inside the backpacks, or the backpacks themselves, it didn't make much difference. They were suffering under the extreme heat and could feel their bodies dry out with every step. San had done an excellent job of taking all off the eight backpacks they had prepared for leaving, but what was inside them would not last for long. Each of them had a small amount of energy bars and two water bottles. Under the constant heat they'd barely make it for two days with those conditions. All the water they had worked hard for the whole morning was lost when the building sunk. The prospects were not good. Terrible, even. But they didn't let that pull them down. With the weird map in his hands, using the sun to orientate himself, Hongjoong lead the group through the merciless desert. What other choice did they have? They didn't know, if the map would actually lead them to anything, but so far it was the best chance they had. When the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon, Hongjoong stopped and took a deeply exhausted breath, before turning around to face the others.

"We should probably rest here for a while, we'll keep walking... later." He could barely finish the sentence before the seven boys behind him dropped to the ground with exhausted faces and a relieved sigh. They were extremely tired and not able to walk another step for a while. A sad expression came across Hongjoong’s face as he watched the boys sit on the sand. He saw Mingi opening his backpack to grab the cool water bottle and press it on his sunburned skin, hissing and whimpering quietly, while the others found themselves a spot to lay down comfortably. Yunho fell asleep almost the second he layed down. A sigh left Hongjoongs throat and he looked up in the sky that slowly turned darker and darker with every second. He'd let them sleep for a few hours, but they should keep walking while it's still dark. It would still be exhausting, but at least the sun wouldn't make it even harder for them. When Seonghwa came over to Hongjoong to lay down next to him, he looked at the younger boy with a concerned look on his face.

"You should sleep too, Hongjoong." He said, but Hongjoong shook his head. It wasn't, that he was not tired, but he was afraid that if he fell asleep now, that he'd loose track of directions and would lead the group the wrong way.

"I'll keep an eye on everyone. I'll sleep tomorrow." Not quite satisfied with this answer but knowing, that he wouldn't be able to convince Hongjoong to sleep, Seonghwa just shook his head and placed his head on his backpack.

"Good night then." Was the last thing Seonghwa said, before peacefully falling asleep. Wooyoung had found himself a somewhat comfortable spot in the dune. He snuggled himself into his blanket, laying on his back and staring up in the sky. Relaxed he took a deep breath and took in the sight unfolding above him. It was beautiful. The sunset colored the sky in a mix of orange, pink and dark blue tones and more and more twinkling stars covered the sky. A smile grew on Wooyoungs face. For the first time since he woke up beside the fountain, he felt comfortable for a moment, despite the cold that slowly embraced him as night fell. San, who was laying a few meters away from Wooyoung, saw him facing the sky. It brought a smile to San's face, until he noticed Wooyoung trembling under his blanket and decided to get up and move closer to him.

"Are you cold?" San asked and sat down on the sand next to Wooyoung. A little startled by the sudden voice beside him, Wooyoung looked at San and furrowed his eyebrows, watching him open his backpack and taking the blanket out.

"What are you doing?" He asked, when San took the blanket, spread it over Wooyoungs body and then layed down, slipped under the blanket and moved closer to Wooyoung, which made it a little warmer for both of them. Slightly shy of San’s gesture, Wooyoung hesitated slightly and looked away.