Seventeen Zombie Apocalypse AU

🧪Thirty seven🦠

Surprisingly, the building they were in had little amounts of food and other supplies but they deemed it would be enough to last them a few days or up to a week and decided to head back to the cabin. They didn't want to stay too long in an area they weren't familiar with.

As they were heading back, an unusual amount of sweat beaded on Joshua's forehead and the back of his neck. It was definitely a hot day but he was sweating profusely, a noticeable amount more than the others. His throat burned and his whole body itched, as if he had bugs crawling on the inside of his skin.

He glanced around at the other males, wanting to see if anyone else was experiencing the same thing. To his dismay, they weren't. He racked his brain to try and figure out why he was feeling the way he was, ultimately deciding it was the consequences of dehydration and lack of food over the past few days.

"Hey Shua are you okay?" Seungcheol asked as he noticed his friend's condition. Joshua nodded weakly and waved him off.
"I'm fine" he croaked out, his voice hoarse.
"I just need to eat something or drink water" he reassured. Seungcheol nodded but kept his eyes on him the rest of the way back to the cabin, a few of the other boys glancing over at him every now and then as well.

Once they arrived back, relieved sighs were heard around the room when they noticed the males that walked through the doors had their hands full, everyone happy that they were going to survive for a few more days at least.

Everyone was huddled around the table, sorting through the supplies that the others found. Due to them being distracted, no one noticed the constant coughing coming from behind them until a small voice that they hadn't heard in days spoke up.
"Joshua..?" Y/n asked, her voice filled with worry.

Soonyoung turned around at hearing the girls voice and looked towards the male on the opposite side of the room. He was leaning against the wall to support his body which was hunched over and heaving with every breath he took. He lowered his hand from his mouth once he finished coughing to reveal that it was covered in a dark crimson. Y/n instantly ran to his side when she saw him drop to his knees, blood smearing the floor where his hand landed.

"oh my god what happened?!" She asked frantically, her arm draped around his shoulders, pulling him close to her. By now, everyone's attention was on the pair huddled on the floor. Jeonghan rushed over at the sight of his best friend who seemed and looked sick. Very sick. He brushed Joshua's hair away from his face and only then did he notice that his veins were very prominent and visible across his entire body. His brows furrowed as he searched his friend for the cause of his sudden illness.

His face paled and he felt a lump form in his throat as he looked down at Joshua's arm. Soonyoung's eyes widened when he noticed what Jeonghan was staring at,
"Y/n..get away from him" he spoke carefully as he grabbed her arm and pulled her up and away from the boy sitting on the floor. She gave him a confused look,
"what why? we need to help him.." she said, not understanding why Soonyoung pulled her away.

"He got bit" Jihoon stated. Everyone's eyes widened and instinctively took a step away from Joshua.
Y/n froze in Soonyoung's hold. She looked down at Joshua and then looked around the room for her brother. His eyes were glued to the floor and his fists were clenched by his sides as he bit his lip, trying to suppress whatever emotion he was feeling.
"No no no no.... that's not true, right Shua? it's not a bite.. you're fine right?" Jeonghan's eyes were desperate as he searched Joshua's eyes for any sort of an answer that wouldn't have things end badly. Joshua slowly lifted his head to look at his best friend in front of him. Jeonghan's breath hitched.

Blood shot and extremely dilated eyes started back at him. A drop of blood slid down from his eye and down his cheek, dropping onto the floor next to him.
"Shua.." Jeonghan's voice was soft, his voice cracking as tears escaped his own eyes. He broke eye contact with Joshua and looked around the room,
"Someone do something!" He yelled. He stood up and grabbed Minghao's hand,
"Help him! Why are you all just standing there and watching!" He cried, his face red and damp from the endless tears running down his face. Minghao shook his hand off of him,
"I- I can't...there's nothing we can do.." he muttered, unsure of what to do in this kind of situation.

Joshua suddenly fell forward, coughing up more blood onto the floor in front of him. Jeonghan turned around and watched his friend as he writhed in agony on the floor. His heart shattered at the sight. He suddenly felt a soft hand on his shoulder,
"Jeonghan.." Seungcheol called his name. His tone said a lot. Too much. Jeonghan instantly shoved Seungcheol's hand off his shoulder,
"No! we're his best friends! we're family! w-we've grown up together...i...can't, we can't!" he shouted. Seungcheol struggled to hold back his own tears but he knew what needed to happen. His childhood friend was dying in front of him, suffering in such a violent and inhumane way.

"p..pl..ease" Joshua's broken voice pleaded from the floor. Y/n tried to run to him but was instantly pulled back by Soonyoung. She was sobbing violently as she watched everything unfold in front of her. Soonyoung held his arms tightly around her body, pulling her into an embrace where he cradled her head against his chest. Joshua was like a brother to her and she wasn't ready to lose him.

"I'm sorry but we need to do something before he turns and kills one of us..." Jihoon said as he stepped forward with a gun in his hand. Seungcheol held him back. He shut his eyes and let the tears fall before taking the gun from him.
"Let me do it at least" he requested.