wilted flower ─ changlix ✓

seven

the village was smaller than they expected. even if it had looked small on the map, if was practically miniature in real life, and they could almost see where the forest began again on the other side. the smoke still rose in it's steady pace and changbin watched it suspiciously. where were all the people?

"what do we do?" felix whispered in changbin's ear, leaning to peer over his shoulder. changbin was growing agitated and extremely worried, but he didn't want to show his fear to felix, knowing that it would unnerve the younger even more.

he knew that they could not trust anyone, not with everyone turning on each other like starving hyenas for scraps of food. he bit his lip and let out a sigh, "there's only one thing we can really do. we'll have to go through, but just try and move as fast as we can. it shouldn't take more than half a day to get to the other side."

"let's go then."

the two of them nodded at one another and they pushed forward through the branches and into the open. no trees to shelter them.

it seemed like they had been walking for years, and so to pass the time, changbin tried observing the houses around them. it was eerily silent, and he couldn't help the goosebumps that prickled across his skin.

the houses were creaking and crumbling, mould and mildew creeping up the sides of the walls like ivy. abandoned bicycles lay scattered on the pavements, rusted and useless. just as useless as any cure for the disease thought up by scientists.

it seemed almost empty. almost.

"there's something off, binnie," felix said quietly, not willing to disturb the silence, "where is everyone?"

changbin only shrugged in response. he couldn't tell where the smoke was coming from, but he knew that it could possibly lead down a bad path if they tried to find out. under the blazing heat of the sun, he felt as though he could barely think right, and tried to focus on walking.

he turned to look at felix, and noticed the younger straying away. he opened his mouth to yell, but immediately thought better of it and jogged lightly after him. "what are you doing? we can't wander around!"

"look-" felix whispered, trying to squint through a dust caked window into the house inside. it was difficult to see inside, but ultimately, it looked empty. "maybe we should go inside and see if we can loot anything?"

changbin sucked in a breath, looking around them. he wasn't sure they should be wasting time, but he had been the one to suggest looting in the first place. "okay, but we can't stay too long."

felix nodded seriously, and immediately went around the house, making a beeline for the door. he noticed that it was nearly falling off its hinges, and opened it gently. or at least, tried to. to his despair, it let out an alarmingly loud screech, and changbin winced as the sound bounced off walls, sounding especially loud in the silent streets.

looking around, he nudged felix into the house. luckily, there didn't seem to be any movement from the houses around them, so he closed the door behind them. it was difficult to see around the room, as the faint sunlight only barely pierced through the dust on the windows.

"look around for anything useful," he said quietly, glancing at felix, "i don't want to stay here longer than needed."

"agreed," felix nodded in response, his eyes flickering with nervousness.

parts of the wall flaked off, which were in desperate need of a paint job. changbin looked at the abandoned furniture, which lay useless in the room. two couches were nestled side by side, making changbin feel cold. he could almost imagine a couple living here, sipping tea and enjoying each other's company in the comfort of a cozy, crackling fire. instead, the fireplace was empty, only a whisper of possible memories remaining.

his eyes caught on a metal rod leaning against the wall next to the fireplace. he went over to pick up the fire poker, weighing it in his hands before nodding in satisfaction. it was certainly better than nothing.

just as he tucked it under his arm, he heard a small celebratory whoop, and looked up to see that felix wasn't in the room anymore. walking in the direction of the voice, he passed through the kitchen, and made sure to open the drawers, taking out a meat cleaver and hammer, both of which seemed relatively useful.

finally he found felix, and was met with a sight that almost put a smile on his face. felix was standing in front of a pantry, filled to the brim with unopened packets and cans of god knows how many different types of food.

"look what i found," felix said with a grin, twirling around to show his excitement. changbin's eyes shone as well, not only at their luck, but at the sight of felix's happiness.

"look at you, being all helpful!"

"you say that as if i'm not helpful all the time."

"glad you caught on," changbin replied jokingly, narrowly dodging the can of beans that came flying towards his head, courtesy of felix. changbin only chuckled and slid the bag off his shoulder and passing it to felix, "try and shove as much food as you can into this, then we can leave."

felix nodded and got to work. changbin gingerly ran his finger across the blade of the cleaver, testing it's sharpness. wincing as he pierced his skin, he made a silent prayer.

please, let us not have to use these weapons. let us get out of this safely.

─ author's note 🌻

y'all so i listened to 'the village' by wrabel while writing this story, so honestly idk why but i thought it really helped me shape this chapter. either way, i hope you had fUN with his chapter hAHahHAhahHAh.

─ love from melelel !