From the Darkness

6. The Shovel

Since it was a touchy topic, Wooyoung didn't drill to find out about San's infection and how he survived it. The image he painted was terrifying enough. Getting infected in the first place and then suffering as his body rotted until the mysterious antidote became available. Wooyoung never heard of one. Those infected were lost, always, but San's people saved him in time.

Either way, San had been incredibly lucky to make it through with a rash. The memory was painful, as was losing his humanity. Yet, he lived, and he didn't intend to stop. From everything Wooyoung saw, he had a passion for life.

Now that he knew about the secret, Wooyoung wanted to hear more about San. Where was he from? What were his people like who helped him so loyally? And what was he doing out here instead of with them?

He shouldn't care. All they teamed up for was to make up for a favor. Yet, Wooyoung slinked with San through the sand the day after the revelation and his thoughts spun around the mysterious stranger. Nothing in San's body language changed, and he chuckled when he caught Wooyoung staring at his hand in the morning. When Wooyoung whipped his indignant head away, he was oddly giddy at San's deep snicker.

It was a dangerous game, but Wooyoung told himself it was only because he needed to divert his paranoia that Yunho was gone. San was an easy distraction, but he would disappear with the desert wind soon. Once Yunho was back by Wooyoung's side, they could concentrate on recovering and finding shelter at the cliffs.

Though preoccupied with his spinning thoughts and needless curiosities about San, Wooyoung's step was steady and eager to reach their destination. Soon, the landscape looked familiar and other buildings they visited came into view. Miraculously, those hadn't crumbled. The stroke of misfortune struck them specifically in that place that night.

San observed his surroundings with vigilant eyes. He was no less adept than Wooyoung in detecting the dangerous crannies in which fouls could gather. Although, now that Wooyoung knew about his peculiar secret, perhaps San didn't care? Survival was a challenge, but the fouls were easy to avoid if one was prudent. Or did San's run-in with the fungus grant him a privilege of kinship that would have saved many other pitiful souls?

The thought that San had almost become a drooling, mindless hunter himself...

Wooyoung's fingers tingled, and he snapped his gaze from the man's bandages.

"We're here," he announced loudly when no life dared show itself around them. The long shadow of the nearby water orb chased them across the sand. Avoiding its loom, Wooyoung pointed at the ruins of the building. They hadn't shifted anymore after the initial collapse. The same edges peeked from the lifeless sand, suffocated by its masses.

Wooyoung's heart jumped into his throat. Looking at it now, it seemed like a death trap. Nothing escaped from those masses. Entire cities sunk to ruin to the hunger of the desert.

Stubbornly, he tugged his scarf over his mouth to protect himself from the whirling sand. It crunched between his teeth anyway as he caught San's eyes. The other raider had followed Wooyoung's beckon and his step slowed.

"There?"

Wooyoung didn't like the pause in his voice. As if he misheard. As if it was impossible. It clutched Wooyoung's guts in a vice and crushed at them, agreeing with what he stubbornly refused to consider.

He drew his brows together.

"Yes. It was a tall building, so it goes deep. Maybe it was for the best to take you along. We need to cover lots of ground."

San stared at him silently, but he didn't halt. They neared the sinkhole, blending with the rest of the desert if not for the crooked ruins. Wooyoung lowered his bundle and shoved the shovel into the ground so it stood by his side. He allowed himself the tiniest sip of water against the scratch in his throat. The rest was for Yunho.