✔️ STARGAZER | jilix

❾ ; broken concrete, broken heart

[ listen to the song above with headphones! it sounds like a live concert in your ears, and the song i've chosen fits the story well - it enhances the reading! ] 

alarms sounded in central.

they sounded in district 1, where shopfronts lined the streets and places selling knick-knacks were squeezed into corners and piled on top of one another.

they sounded in district 2, where people paused their meals to look around in confusion, and the smell of hot food started to stop as chefs paused their work.

they sounded in district 3, where children who were young started to cry and children who were more mature abandoned their classwork in favour of trading whispers with their desk-mates.

they sounded in district 4, where office workers were startled out of their focus, and popped their heads out of their cubicles with bewildered looks at their coworkers.

they sounded in district 5, where factories paused in their production and mining equipment automatically drew itself up from the depths of the earth.

they sounded in district 6, where the gardeners and botanists stopped their work and took off their gloves as the watering systems shut off for the first time in years.

they sounded in district 7, where people cried in anguish as their loved ones' life support shut off, and operations were put on hold, patients put into incubation to preserve a stable condition.

they sounded in district 8, where row upon row of residential housing stood, with families and people inside who looked at each other in confusion and fear.

and they sounded in district 9, where they woke up one nervous han jisung with the realization that today was the day. today was the day that bang chan and lee felix, his lee felix, would lead a rebellion to break out of the dome once and for all.

everything held its breath. everything waited.

after a moment, the siren stopped. replacing it was a robotic voice. 'border breached.' and everyone fell into chaos.

jisung was calm. he knew what to do. he wasn't a rebel, and didn't know about their plans, but felix had still given him instructions to keep him safe; get to the border in central as fast as you can, and take as many people with you as possible.

'border breached. structural integrity decreasing.'

jisung panicked. "structural integrity decreasing"? what the hell did that mean? on the bus to central, he forced himself to stay composed, even though the civilians around him did the opposite.

structural integrity must mean the strength of the dome. as long as you're out before anything happens to the building, you're fine, jisung.

you can do this.

[ ☾ ]

felix had been so wrong.

so, so wrong.

if only they had anticipated the dome collapse. if only he'd told jisung to leave through the greenhouse exits. if only they had more time.

everything had been moving quickly.

sirens.

screaming.

gunshots.

collapses.

disasters.

but when he saw jisung, everything turned slow.

the look in his sunshine's eyes from afar as he realized he was there, that there was only about one hundred meters between him and the rebels, him and felix, him and freedom. that look was in slow-motion.

the loud crack from above, as the concrete and thick glass started to shift and break, raining dangerous shards of man-made material. that crack was in slow-motion.

the step forward that han jisung, the one person he loved more than anything else, the boy he would sacrifice everything for in an instant, took to to carry him one step closer to what he thought was safety. that step was in slow-motion.

the scarlet that stained the ground after han jisung was crushed and trapped underneath a slab of concrete from the domed ceiling.

that loss was in slow-motion.

[ ☾ ]

no.

no, no, no, no, no, no.

he barely heard the yells of his brother, his leader, ordering him to leave.

his vision was obstructed by tears, blurring the face of the one he loved.

he knew that even though jisung was still breathing, it wouldn't be for long. the rock that rested on his legs and part of his stomach would make sure of that.

shallow breaths. hands and fingernails scraping and pushing at a heavy object in a futile effort. loud, ugly sobs.

jisung was screaming in agony. felix was screaming jisung's name.

'i was supposed to be the one who could die, not you! you never did anything wrong!'

'felix, come on! we have to go!' chan yelled.

he couldn't move the boulder, but he kept trying. he couldn't breathe - the tears choked him.

'lixie. lix. felix. stop, it's not going to work, please, stop,' he begged.

the redhead paused.

'you need to leave.'

'i can't leave you behind-'

'there's no way i'm going to survive! even if you can get this thing off me, i'm going to die!'

his words brought a fresh bout of tears from the younger boy. jisung winced.

'i love you,' the rebel hiccuped.

the dying boy replied, 'i love-'

'felix!' his brother screamed. 'everything's about to collapse!'

'when you look at the stars, think of me,' the navy-haired boy groaned.

'no! no, no, no,' felix repeated the word over and over, scrambling again to try and push the concrete off his boyfriend. when a pair of strong arms lifted him up and away, he started to scream again. chan had to drag him away. he hated it, but he had to. or felix would die too. he kicked, and screamed, and tried to fight his way back to jisung. and then the dome collapsed, with felix and bang chan and rebels and civilians outside it.

lee felix was hysterical.

and han jisung was dead.