Sanctuary | Chanbaek

Chapter Two

"Yixing, Sehun, open the damn gate!" Jongin yelled as they approached the large fence. Baekhyun could see two men with guns on the other side quickly approaching. They unlocked the fence from the inside and opened it just enough for the two to squeeze inside the compound, locking and barricading it behind them. One of them turned to run inside while the other looked toward Baekhyun wearily. "Jongin, who is this?"

"It's okay, Yixing." Jongin's voice is laced with exhaustion, body leaning as much as he can on his uninjured side. "This is Baekhyun, I injured my leg and he helped me get back."

Before Yixing could get another word in they heard a loud gasp and looked up to see a doe-eyed man running towards them. By the way Jongin handed his gun off and started limping forward, arms opening, Baekhyun could tell this had to be his boyfriend. The way Jongin affectionately said his name and took him in his arms just confirmed it even more. Baekhyun didn't know how to feel. It was sweet to see love despite the world ending around him, but it was also bitter to him. His mind couldn't help to drift to how he used to feel when Jinho's arms wrapped around his waist, nausea growing in his stomach as the fond memories started to flood his brain.

"What the fuck." The words pulled Baekhyun from his train of thought and he looked over to see Kyungsoo and Jongin, now separated from each other as Kyungsoo held the candy bar in one hand, the other pointing accusingly at his boyfriend. "If you dare risk your life for something stupid again. Fuck Jongin. I... I appreciate the candy but I just want you to be safe. Let's get you in to see Sana so she can check your wound."

Baekhyun felt anxiety build up inside him as Kyungsoo helped Jongin towards the building. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to follow. He felt so out of his element that he couldn't help starting to question if this was even a good idea after all. He feared he was going to be the odd one out, everyone seemed to already be so well acquainted with each other. Did wrapping up Jongin's leg really mean that everyone would accept that their food supply should now also go to him?

"You can go up the stairs on the left to the second floor." His head whipped to the side to look at the man from earlier, Yixing. He didn't mean to stare blankly but his brain felt too overwhelmed to take in the information. Yixing repeated it calmly, easing Baekhyun's anxieties even if just slightly. "Go up the stairs on the left to the second-floor ICU. Find the nurses' station. Usually people are hanging out there and they can figure out a room for you. There should be signs you can follow once you get out of the stairwell."

Baekhyun whispered a soft thanks before he scurried off nervously towards the doors labeled 'Emergency Room' in big white lettering across the top. The motion sensor doors didn't work and he had to manually slide them open with his hands. Even though they had power according to Jongin, he figured they had disabled the doors so that the infected couldn't just come waltzing into the building if they managed to get past the gates. There wasn't anyone on the main floor as far as he could see and it looked pretty abandoned. There was a receptionist desk and a few chairs scattered around but mostly it was barren and cold. Remembering the instructions he had been given, he looked towards the left for the stairwell and found a closed metal door with a sign that depicted stairs screwed onto it.

He hesitated at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, unsure of what to do. There maybe was still an opportunity to turn around and run out of the building. He could ask Yixing to open the gate back up for him, and explain that he wouldn't tell anyone what he had seen. He would explain that he just did better on his own. He had just started to accept his destiny of being alone forever, it didn't even make him sad anymore. Food, water, and safety were ridiculous to turn down.