Chapter Text
Gally pulled his collar down with two fingers as he walked, feeling his nerves fray with every step. Minho, however, was a few paces ahead and seemed to be entirely calm and composed.
The blonde didn’t realise they had stopped until he felt a hand nudge his shoulder, “I’ll go in first, then you.”
“Minho,” Gally swallowed, looking down at the older boy, “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
A small frown tugged at Minho’s lips, “What do you mean? I want my friends to at least know that I’m going, even if they don’t want to join us-“
“We’re being watched.” Gally cut him off abruptly, hands clenching.
“..What?”
“Wicked, they’ve got cameras and speakers on every corner, who’s to say there’s not one in there?”
Minho’s face hardened, “Are you saying that Wicked have been spying on our meetings? Please, they would’ve stopped us if so.”
“Or, maybe they want to watch and see or something like.. this happens.” Gally stepped towards him and grabbed his shirt, yanking his head up so he could whisper in his ear, “We tell them that we’re planning to leave through the back exit in one month.”
“But that’s not-“
“Do you want to get out of here or not? Trust me.”
Moving away, Minho sighed and nodded his head slowly, “Okay, okay. Still, if I can’t say the details to my friends, you’re not to say a word to anyone. No bragging about it at all. Got it?”
A grin slipped out onto Gally’s face, “Fine by me.”
“Good that.” Minho clapped him on the back and reached out for the door, turning his head to glance back at him with a small sense of uncertainty.
Gally raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.
***
Minho’s friends were nothing like Gally expected. He’d actually gotten his hopes up beforehand, if they snuck out all the time like this then maybe they hated Wicked just as much as him, or maybe they were smart.
But they turned out to be neither. He almost even lost his cool when talking to them, because their questions were plain ridiculous.
“I’m out.” He muttered, turning on his heel after some girl called him an idiot. Minho, without even looking, moved backwards with him and put a hand on his chest whilst still holding eye contact with Newt and Alby.
“Guys, please, do you really want to stay here for the rest of your lives?” Minho raised his tone slightly, his words almost turning into pleas.
“We have it so much better here than out there!” The girl, Teresa, stood up, her eyes flaring with anger.
Newt quickly got up and tugged at her sleeve, “I’m sorry Minho, but I’m with Teresa for this one. What if Wicked catch you out again? I doubt they’ll let you off the hook like last time.”
Gally tensed under Minho’s hand and faced him, confused. What did Newt mean by ‘last time’?
His eyes flicking to the others in the room, Minho dropped his arms to his sides, “Alby?”
…
He swallowed, “Thomas?”
Thomas’ face was stormy and his eyes looked absent, as if he was seeing right through him. “I..” Thomas whispered, then subtly looked over to Newt, “sorry, Minho.”
Minho clenched his jaw but stood up straight, falling into line with Gally, “Right.” However, there was still one more person in the room, “..Chuck?”
The younger boy had been silent the entire time and perked up when he heard his name, but he fidgeted restlessly with his hands, “Uh.. well, I want to, Minho. I really do. But…”
“It’s fine,” Gally found his voice again, “we don’t need any of you. Still, we are going. Minho?”
Staring around at the people he’d known for most of his life, Minho felt a deep sense of betrayal.
“Yeah,” he muttered, eyes zoning in onto Newt and Alby once more, “I hope you enjoy being lab rats for the rest of your miserable days.”
“I hope you don’t bloody freeze to death out there in the wilderness, with no food or shelter.” Newt spat back, striding across the room.
Gally went to step up to him but Minho waved him back, “I won’t, don’t worry.”
Newt looked like he wanted to throw a punch, “You’re seriously leaving us then?”
“You’re seriously staying?” Minho lifted his chin, attempting to look taller.
“What you’re planning is insane. You should know that.” Alby tapped his foot on the floor from where he was sat in the corner.
With a scoff, Minho glared at him, “Well I would rather risk my life out there than spending the rest of it in here. Gally, let’s go.”
Without a second thought, Gally backed into the door and slipped out of it quietly. Minho took one last look at everyone, then bowed his head and followed Gally. He couldn’t force them to join him, but it still hurt.
It hurt a lot.
***
The day came far too soon for Minho’s liking, and he’d barely talked to anyone apart from Gally for a long while. Instead of leaving in ‘a month’ like they’d told the others, they had planned to go in no more than a week.
The boys positioned themselves in an uncharted storage cupboard that evening, checking through the supplies they had gathered.
Minho took a deep breath, “Food?”
“Mhm.” Gally gently unwrapped some cans of peaches and bread slices that he had stolen, “Enough for I’d say.. a bit under four days. Have you got water?”
Holding up a large flask, Minho grinned, “Stole it from Miss Fletcher.”
Gally blinked, his eyes narrowing, “Minho, just why?”
With a proud shrug, Minho stopped sitting on his heels and slumped down against the wall, “I can’t lie, I’m scared.”
“Same. Don’t let that distract you, though. We need to stay ahead of the game.” Gally began repackaging the food, sticking the flask in his makeshift bag too.
He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Minho had actually done a good job with creating “bags”. The guy had cut up his bedsheet and folded it up into two small hampers, one of them even had a strap so it could be carried easier.
“Wait oh shit do you have any extra layers?” Minho groaned, rubbing his arms. Gally chuckled and pulled a ratty, dark navy cardigan out of his hamper, lobbing it straight at Minho’s face.
Minho cursed him out in a hushed tone but added a small thank you at the end. He slid it onto himself before grabbing the strap-bag, “I’ll take this one..”
“Hey, no fair! That one is lighter!”
“I made it so I choose. And hey, you do maintenance stuff, you’re strong enough to carry the other one.”
Gally grumbled, pulling the heavier bag towards him, but he couldn’t deny feeling a bit satisfied by Minho’s hidden compliment. He was the strong one out of them, and Minho had no problem admitting it.
Footsteps marched past the door just then unexpectedly, and both of them immediately held their breath, eyes going wide. However, they didn’t stop and soon faded out.
Pressing his ear to the rickety old door, Minho listened intently, “I think the coast is clear, but we shouldn’t take any risks.”
Gally chewed his lip thoughtfully. The large front door stood only a few metres from the cupboard they were inside of, but there were most likely guards on patrol nearby. It was a quick way out, but the chances of getting spotted made it treacherous.
With a grunt, he began yanking at the metal grate attached to the wall beside him. After tirelessly mapping the building out with Minho’s help, they’d spotted this small room and seen it had an accessible ventilation shaft.
Noticing the younger boy’s struggle, Minho crawled over and started tugging at the grate too, yelping as it flew off.
In unison, they comically tumbled backwards, Minho landing on top of Gally in the tight space. They stared at each other for one breathless moment, then started laughing in hushed voices.
“Okay, uh, let’s go.” Minho sat up onto his heels and extended a hand out to Gally, helping him off of his back.
The dark, winding tunnels undeniably made Gally feel nauseous, so every decision when turning a corner took longer than necessary. Not to mention the fact he kept hitting his head on the tin roof.
Minho snickered every time he did, which was starting to get on his nerves. “Can you pack it in for five minutes, Minho?” He growled, trying to remember which direction the next turn was supposed to be.
“Sorry man, but I can’t help it!” Minho clicked his tongue, crawling along behind him.
At long last, they rounded a final corner and felt a cold wind spill down the tunnel. It was refreshing for the first minute, but the feeling of the icy coolness against their bare hands soon became mildly painful.
Gally made it to the end first and pulled out a screwdriver from his jacket pocket, fiddling around with the hinges. Minho watched him in part awe, part boredom.
But the sound of a screw dropping and echoing down the claustrophobic shaft sent a shiver up his spine. Freedom was right before him, he could practically taste it.
Gally removed the grate as slowly as he could, placing it to the side with great care. He then looked back at Minho sternly, flipping a compass into his gloved hand.
“We’ll run east along the snow until we make it to the trees. From there, we continue on for another few paces before going back on ourselves, then south west.”
“Sounds like a lot of walking.”
“Running,” Gally corrected him, “and it will hopefully get us some more time if they send out a search party. They’ll think we went directly east and then disappeared.”
“Still sounds like a lot of running.”
Gally’s eye twitched and he put away his compass, “You’re the one who does extra-curricular stuff, not me. So if anything, I’m more likely to struggle with this.”
Minho waved a hand at him, “Well it doesn’t matter now.. Go on then. Take the lead, Captain Gally.”
“Captain?” Gally wrinkled his nose, shuffling closer to the drop outside, “Where did that come from?”
“Dunno.” Minho followed him, already feeling exhausted just by thinking about what they were about to attempt.
Cautiously, Gally dropped out of the chute, and Minho heard his boots crunch against the crisp snow below. He threw down Gally’s bag, then slid outside himself.
Light was scarce, the only source from a spotlight a few metres above them. As the heavy darkness swirled around them, Minho tried to walk a few paces but crashed into something.
“The hell-?” He rubbed his face, pain shooting through his nose.
He felt a hand whack the side of his head, “You idiot, there’s a wall here. Barbed wire on top. We have to climb over it, not walk through.”
“You could’ve mentioned that before, bitch.” Minho shoved him and looked up. True to Gally’s word, a dark grey wall was towering over them, “How are we getting over this?”
Crouching down, Gally put his knee up and intertwined his fingers, “C’mon, I’ll give you a boost.”
“I don’t need a boost.” Minho kissed his teeth, but planted his foot on Gally’s palm anyways.
“Be careful, Minho. The wire up there is sharp-“
“Just get on with it will ya?”
Snapping his mouth shut, Gally grunted before giving Minho a harsh push upwards. Despite not being too tall, Minho was nimble, so he managed to hook himself onto the top ledge and pull himself up with ease.
“Right, I’m up.” Minho called down after he’d steadied himself, perching awkwardly in order to avoid the pointed wires.
“‘Kay, catch!” Gally swung his arm and threw up his bag. Minho caught it and set it down over his knee, briefly glancing to the land outside of the wall.
A snowy plain spread for what felt like forever, and an ominous array of dark pine trees stood in the distance.
Minho swallowed the large lump in his throat. He could run right now, with all of the supplies, and leave Gally hanging. He could. That didn’t mean he was going to, but did Gally know this?
Did Gally already trust him enough not to stray?
“Minho?”
Snapping his head back, Minho mouthed out a ‘Sorry’ and held his hand down, gesturing for Gally to grab on.
Their fingers brushed, once, twice, until Gally hopped up and got a good grip, stretching himself as far as he could.
“Three, two, one-“ Minho started hauling Gally up, using all of his strength as he did so. Gally wasn’t heavy, but he was struggling with keeping himself balanced.
But he managed to, somehow, and he laughed with a slight wheeze as Gally perched down next to him. He passed his friend his bag, “Break a leg, or maybe don’t. I’d have to leave you if you did.”
Then he dropped down, tucking and rolling in the soft but freezing snow below. Gally fixed his jacket collar and went to jump, but something was holding him back.
He frowned, lurching back and forth, until he realised that the bag had snagged on a piece of wire. Cursing, he yanked it a couple of times before it loosened.
“Please don’t rip, please don’t rip..” he whispered to himself before throwing himself off the ledge.
Thud.
Gally bit his lip hard enough to bleed as he landed. He had fallen onto his side and his arm was throbbing in pain.
“Shit, Gally.” Minho grimaced and rushed towards him, trying to help him up.
“No,” Gally snapped as he staggered onto his feet, “start running!”
***
The field of snow was stretched out for less than a mile, but with minimal protection from the harsh weather and heavy bundles in their arms, the route seemed to go on for ages.
At some point, Gally fell behind a few steps and Minho was becoming increasingly anxious, “Hurry Gally! We can’t slow down until we reach the trees!”
“I know,” Gally groaned, pressing a firm hand against his arm, “I’m trying, okay? And I’m the one who’s meant to be dishing orders out, not you.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, Minho offered him a smile and turned away again, focusing once more on the trees ahead.
Every footstep started to become increasingly difficult as the boys marched on. Exhaustion was etched into their bones already, but they needed to get as far from Wicked as possible before they could even think about resting.
Which meant possibly running all through the night.
Just as the first trees came towards them, dappled in various places, Minho heard Gally stumble.
“Gal, for the last time-“ He froze, mouth hanging open.
The right arm of Gally’s jacket was entirely soaked with blood. Not only that, but droplets had fallen by every footstep he had taken.
Minho’s fingers twitched, “Gally-“
“It’s nothing.” Gally bared his teeth, walking again, “I’ll do something about it before we go south, but it doesn’t matter for now. Go!” He rushed past Minho, leaving the older boy in a state of shock.
“Hey, wait!” Minho found himself and ran over to keep up with Gally, “Are you dim? You’re hurt! We need to do something now!”
The foliage around them was becoming more dense and Gally stopped abruptly, stomping his foot on the now solid ground.
“Fine!” He dropped his bag and ripped off his jacket, momentarily inspecting the deep gash on his arm before he casually swept some blood away. He dropped his stained gloves next, kicking them to the side.
Minho watched in disbelief as Gally tore a strip of fabric off of his jacket and thrust it into his hands, “Tie.”
“..What are you doing? Your jacket-“
“Forget the damn jacket, it’s ruined!” Gally slapped the bare skin on his arm above the wound, “Tie that here, tightly mind, so it restricts the blood flow.”
“Gally I’ve got a med kit, I can-“
“Minho.”
His hands shaking slightly, Minho held his breath and did what he was being asked. He shut his eyes as he tightened the slip of fabric, not wanting to look at the blood for too long.
The second Minho finished, Gally ducked away and grabbed his bag, “We continue for three hundred more yards, then go back two hundred and turn south.”
Slowly slipping his bag off of his shoulder, Minho held it out to Gally, “Swap with me. It’ll be faster this way.”
Gally didn’t argue, he only obliged with a shocked expression. Setting the bag over his shoulder, he looked down at the forest floor, “..Thanks.”
With a huff, his breath curling through the freezing air like smoke, Minho started jogging once more.
Surprised, Gally watched as his own breaths became visible before his eyes. The night was dragging on, meaning the temperature wasn’t going to increase any time soon.
***
Unnatural silence.
There were no owls, no mice, no sounds of nocturnal life anywhere. In their lifetime, there never had been, really. Frail twigs snapping under their feet were the only reminders that they were still alive.
Sniffling, Gally bumped his shoulder against Minho’s, hiding a wince at the impact. The bitter cold had rendered his body numb, so he’d almost entirely forgotten about his injury.
“What’s up?” Minho whispered, his throat dry and croaky.
Turning his compass over in his hands a couple of times, Gally held it between his fingers, “Here.” He tossed it up into the air.
Minho snatched it defensively without blinking, and he cupped it in his hands, staring at the side of Gally’s face with uncertainty.
“We turned back a hundred and seventy yards ago. I want you to figure out which way is south.” Gally rolled his shoulders back, eyes fixed ahead.
The compass was warm in Minho’s palms, likely from how Gally had been gripping it previously. He frowned down at it thoughtfully.
Something didn’t feel right. Gally had been raving on about this piece of weird metal for ages, it being the only thing left from his family and all.
Why was he suddenly entrusting him with it? He’d never allowed anyone to even touch it before. Minho turned it over in his hands, squinting in the darkness.
“Uh.. the S?”
Gally chuckled, his tone anything but amused, “No, the N. Yes the S! S stands for South. Now go on, which way do we go?”
Scoffing, Minho held up the compass and followed the small arrow inside with his eyes, “This.. this way.” He turned slightly, guiding them to the right.
“Good that.” Gally didn’t double check, he trusted Minho’s word.
Minho was quiet for a moment, then he held the compass out towards Gally in his palm, offering it back. But Gally simply reached his good hand out and closed Minho’s fingers with his own.
“Keep it.”
The shorter boy was stunned for a moment, “..Huh?”
“I said,” a smile pulled at the corner of Gally’s mouth, “keep it.”
“I know but..” Minho blinked a couple of times, unsure how to continue, “why? It’s yours. I don’t need it.”
“You might do.” Checking his watch casually, Gally obviously didn’t want to breathe another word on the subject.
Reluctantly pocketing it, Minho trained his eyes onto the floor, “But why? So long as we stick together, you can tell me where to go.”
“Yeah, well.” Gally shrugged. He didn’t continue. Minho knew what he was implying though.
Gally wanted to make sure he could navigate by himself in case.. something happened. He wanted to crack a joke at Gally actually caring about him, but out in these woods, he didn’t have the heart for it.
Instead, he reflected Gally’s worry onto something else. “We should really do something about your arm y’know.”
He got waved off immediately, “I’ll be fine, and we can’t waste anymore time-“
“Gally.” Minho stopped him, “If we don’t patch it up, it’s gonna get infected. If we keep your circulation cut off, then your arm might fucking fall off! Please.”
Taking another step, Gally tried to make his legs keep moving but he couldn’t break free from Minho’s anxious gaze.
Leaves rustled around them, adding to the tense atmosphere. Finally, Gally exhaled and glared back at him, his voice going quiet, “I’m fine, Minho.”
Minho took his body language as permission and abruptly spun Gally around, reaching into his bag and pulling some things out.
Slightly bewildered, Gally swatted him lightly, “No need to get all pushy.”
The shorter boy ignored the grumbling and popped open the cap off some antiseptic spray he’d stolen, “‘Kay, deep breath ‘cause this is gonna hurt like a bitch.”
“I’m not some naive kid, Min. I know that.” Yet Gally obliged, inhaling the best he could and shutting his eyes.
It didn’t help much and he cursed under his breath as the liquid made contact with his wound.
Swiftly, Minho unknotted the fabric he’d tied around Gally’s arm, all whilst murmuring out reassurances, “Hey, it’s okay, I know, shh..”
Gally wanted to tell him to, “Shut the fuck up.”- he wasn’t an amateur when it came to pain, but he was too busy trying to hold back tears.
“You should sit down- holy shit your arm needs some stitches, that cut is deep.” Minho started dragging him over to a fallen tree.
“If I get down, there’s a big chance you won’t be able to get me up again.” Gally muttered, and still, he listened and slumped onto the cold trunk.
A needle, “Minho where the hell did you get a needle from?”, glinted in the moonlight.
“I nicked one of those medical packs the nurses carry around, remember? They’ve got everything in them.” Minho threaded it, casting Gally a pitiful look.
Rolling his eyes, Gally held his arm out, bracing himself for what was to come. Minho knelt down in between his knees, studying the wound once again, “Okay, I’m sorry in advance, so don’t kill me.”
“Just get it over with.”
The first stitch hurt the most. Gally couldn’t muffle his cry fully and refrained from looking in Minho’s direction, biting his lip as hard as he could.
It began to bleed like earlier, the familiar taste of iron spilling into his mouth. Minho repeated the action again, as quickly as possible this time.
Gally wanted desperately to hear Minho’s voice at that moment. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed someone to reassure him, tell him it was all okay.
Sadly, he couldn’t afford to distract Minho, so he kept his thoughts to himself. Still, he put his other hand on Minho’s shoulder, squeezing it as hard as he could.
“You’re meant to be the strong one outta us, c’mon man.” Minho commented shakily, his fingers intricately moving as he sewed Gally’s arm up.
“Yeah? Well I’d like to see you have your flesh pierced over and over.” Gally snapped back through gritted teeth.
With one last tug and the sound of a snap, Minho put his hands up quickly, “Okay I’m done, I’m done. You’re okay.. just breathe.”
Focusing on Minho’s voice, Gally flexed his fingers, “Shit.”
Minho smiled sheepishly up at him and removed his cardigan, “You did great.” He then slowly got to his feet and draped the knitted sweater over Gally’s shoulders.
Peering up, Gally didn’t respond or argue, he just tried to calm his still racing heart. When Minho offered a hand up, he took it.
“Wait.” Minho tapped on Gally’s shoulder as he turned away. Gally raised an eyebrow, facing him once more.
Reaching his hand up, Minho wiped away the blood pooling from Gally’s lip onto his chin away with his thumb. Then, he turned Gally’s head side to side gently with his finger, “You need to be more careful, douche.”
“..Sorry?” Gally was glad it was dark, because his face felt like it was getting hotter. He didn’t like the sensation at all. When Minho started walking again, he watched him go for a moment, feeling his chest tighten.
The next time Gally checked his watch, three more hours had passed. Despite continuing on to walk in a straight line, it felt like they had been going in circles, as every tree looked the exact same.
Exhausted, Minho fought to keep his legs moving. The sky was getting lighter, meaning that Wicked would soon discover that they’d disappeared.
Next to him, Gally hadn’t said another word. His demeanour wasn’t standoffish, just a bit different than before. Minho couldn’t blame him.
In one night, they’d already faced almost unbearable pressure from both the elements and their own minds together. Minho wouldn’t be surprised if they came out of this hell bonded emotionally by trauma.
He started falling behind a bit, and rubbed his arms to keep himself warm. It barely did anything. To keep himself focused, he dug around in his bag for something to eat.
Gally watched him from the corner of his eye, so Minho tore a slice of bread in half, offering a bit to him. The blonde accepted politely and ate the food slowly, drawing out every bite.
On the other hand, Minho scoffed his bit down, fishing around to grab the flask next. “Min careful, there’s not much water.” Gally warned through chews.
“I’ll only drink a little bit don’t worry.” Minho huffed, twisting it open.
***
Casting gleaming rays of light over the dampened tree leaves, the sun stood proudly in the mid morning sky. The hours of sleep the boys had lost was slowly catching up to them.
“Minho,” the first word to be uttered in a long time, “how are you feeling?”
“Been better.” Minho yawned, his arms swinging by his sides, “But god, I’m tired. When are we stopping?”
Switching his bag from one shoulder to the other, Gally muttered out, “Realistically, we don’t want to stop really.”
A loud groan was the only response he got. Gally kissed his teeth, looking at his watch, “I’ll tell you what, if you can find a good tree for us to climb up then we can rest there.”
“Tch, a tree? Why may I ask?”
Waiting for a moment, Gally looked at Minho. He got a blank stare in return. “For the love of- in case Wicked send out people to search for us! A Berg won’t be able to spy us, and any on foot troops hopefully won’t notice us.”
“Oh.”
It took a lot of self control from Gally not to whack Minho, yet he still gave him an annoyed glare. Minho noticed and snickered, “No need to get so pressed about it, man.”
“I think I’m gonna die prematurely out here if I spend any more time with you.”
“Oi! What does that even mean, dickhead.”
“Your stupidity might rub off on me, and I’ll forget where we’re going and eat all of the food.”
“I’m not stupid!” Minho clenched his fists, feeling defensive, “You weren’t making any sense.”
They eventually found a tree, after relentless back and forth bickering over the span of more than an hour. However, Minho calmed himself and gave Gally a helping push up because of his arm.
That was the weird thing with them. No matter how hard they seemed to argue, it mostly got swept under the rug sooner or later.
“I’m not too pumped about sleeping in a tree.” Minho grunted, pulling himself up.
“Don’t be a baby.”
“What if I fall out? What if I need the toilet but I have to climb all the way down, then up again?”
Gally shut his eyes, leaning against a nest of small branches, “Quiet down, princess. You’ll live.”
Minho swung himself up fully and perched down next to Gally, trying to find a comfortable place to lie down, “Princess? That’s a new one.”
He managed to settle, Gally keeping a weary eye on him the whole time. Then, practically as soon as he leant his head back against the trunk of the tree, his breathing evened out.
Shifting uncomfortably, Gally was not a big fan of the silence that formed around him. He chose to focus on listening to the gentle sound of Minho breathing, using it to ground him.
Living surrounded by obnoxious boys for years meant he hadn’t felt peace for as long as he could remember. There was always snoring, muttering and the creaking of people moving around in their beds.
Those sounds came at him no longer. It was unsettling. But the only thing that mattered to him truly was having Minho there. The company, as much as it bothered him at times, was keeping him tethered to his sanity.
“You gonna stare at me for the next thirty minutes, or are you gonna sleep?”
Jumping, Gally rubbed a hand over his face and realised that Minho was looking directly back at him. “Sorry, zoned out.”
“Sure.”
Gally turned his face away, slightly embarrassed. Minho didn’t. He kept his eyes solely fixed on Gally’s side profile. “I can’t sleep.” He whispered.
“Neither. Want to keep going?”
“No!-“ Minho blurted out, “No, I’m glad to be resting. It’s just that.. my mind won’t turn off, y’know?”
Nodding his head, Gally studied his worn out shoes, “Yeah, I get that.”
“..I was taller than you last year.”
Gally glanced at Minho, eyebrows furrowing. Minho smiled at him with hooded eyes, “I remember you were too scared to talk to me when we first met.”
“That was because you had lots of friends, and I hated people. And to be honest, you still scare me.”
“What’s there to be intimidated about? Is it my good looks? Or just the charisma in general.”
“The way you ignored every teacher and doctor if you could, that was pretty scary, cause when they yelled at you, you didn’t flinch. And your weird personality in general is quite frightening.”
Minho snorted with amusement, eyes drifting to look at the leaves above them, “Don’t worry about that. When we get to this safe place, we can go our own ways.”
A small sting hit Gally’s heart. He hadn’t really planned past surviving the trek to his cousin’s base, let alone what he wanted to do from there. But Minho’s words hurt him a bit.
Obviously, he didn’t let it show, but he kept a secretive eye on the boy for a little while.
***
Chapter Text
A hand clamped down on Minho’s mouth, lurching him out of sleep. He almost cried out in shock but he quickly saw Gally leant over him, a finger pressed to his lips.
The sun was still in the sky, meaning not too much time had passed. Minho almost asked how long he’d been out for, but heard footsteps crunching on the soil below.
He froze, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up without a warning. Someone was there. That was bad, bad news.
Slowly, Gally moved his hand away from Minho’s face but didn’t dare back off entirely, afraid that even a snap or a creak from the wood they were perched on could give them away.
Minho allowed himself to breathe, barely, and heard a radio crackle from below. “Officer two fifty-one speaking. Commander, I don’t see the point in all this searching. Over.”
Another crackle followed, “Commander Grahams speaking. It’s not my decision, two fifty-one. But Dr. Paige insists that we need every immune-“
“Didn’t anyone tell you about the tracks? There was blood, a ripped coat, and then their footprints stopped. They were obviously found by Cranks or snatched up by something at least. Over.”
With their faces still mere inches apart, Minho wetted his lips and gave Gally an impressed nod. All of the younger boys planning had worked efficiently. Wicked didn’t know their whereabouts.
Gally didn’t smile, but his expression appeared to be chuffed at least somewhat. Still lying awkwardly in the tree, Minho wanted to peek over the edge to see who was down there, but Gally was blocking his way, with hands leaning on the branches both sides of his head.
With narrowed eyes, Minho jutted his chin to the side, gesturing to the ground below. To his disappointment, Gally only shook his head and mouthed something, “Too dangerous.”
Then there was a yell.
Both of their faces dropped in unison, hearts pounding harder than before with extra adrenaline coursing through their bodies. Minho shoved Gally’s chest back and forced himself upright, staring over the edge.
Worried, Gally grabbed Minho’s shoulder and tried to pull him backwards, but the older boy didn’t budge. Instead, he clapped a hand over his mouth in shock. Gally slowly copied him and looked down, scared but curious of what was happening.
He soon wished he hadn’t.
The guard was wrestling with someone, but it appeared to be more like a something. “Crank..” Minho whispered. Without thinking, he found Gally’s hand and gripped it tightly. He got a small squeeze in return.
The guard managed to kick the creature hard enough to buy him time, before aiming his gun and blowing off its head. Gally let go of Minho’s hand and wrapped his arms around his neck, yanking him away as the guard shakily got to their feet.
“Commander Grahams speaking. Two fifty-one, are you alright? What was that? Over.”
“There was a Crank, my apologies.” The guard murmured through grit teeth, staring at a new gash on his hand, “Those kids aren’t going to be alive, I’m telling you. I have sustained an injury, so I’m heading back to base. Over.”
A sigh came through the radio, “Okay, good call. I’ll tell the rest of the troops to come back to avoid any further trouble. I’m sure Dr. Paige can try something else to get more immunes. Over.”
The boys remained silent until they were sure that they were completely alone. Gally found his hands were shaking. Watching a bullet enter the brain of a creature, Crank or not, wasn’t pretty. Minho on the other hand was staring almost lifelessly at his shoes, either very shaken or entirely unbothered.
Gally knew that it was the former.
“We should start moving again.” He said quietly, cautiously moving towards the way down. Minho looked at him, but it felt like his eyes were cutting through him. He didn’t comment.
***
They didn’t know how much time had passed, but the sun had fallen after hours of walking. They’d run out of bread and were scarce with water. Fortunately, according to Gally’s calculations, they were only a few more gruelling hours away from his cousin’s settlement.
Well, a day and a half technically, but his cousin had driven out into the wilderness for the week to meet them. In his head however, Gally was getting more lost with each step. Sure, he longed for an ounce of warmth, some pain killers and a bed, but he didn’t want to leave Minho’s side.
Not now, not ever. It was a scary thought that crossed his mind a gross amount, yet what was there to do about it? Nothing. For now, he would just have to manage with basic survival before he even attempted to dive into the mess he called his mind.
“How far?” A croaky voice came from his left.
Pulling out the flask and urging for Minho to take it, Gally stared up at the sky. They’d moved two more miles from when he last looked up, “If we keep going like this, we’ll make it there by tonight.”
Minho looked upwards too, slightly perplexed about how Gally worked this crap out, but he didn’t question it, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it.”
“Huh?” Gally scowled, “Don’t be so dramatic, we’re almost safe-“
He glanced at Minho, then had to do a double take. The older boy was deathly pale and hugging himself to fight off the cold. Gally felt guilt slap him and instantly started pulling the cardigan off to give it up, but Minho stopped him.
“No, keep it.”
“Minho you look freezing! You should’ve said something!”
“..Can we have a break?”
Glinting in the fragile light, Gally checked his watch. Seven pm. They needed to ideally walk until at least twelve. He couldn’t do that to Minho, though. It wasn’t right.
“Twenty more minutes, that’s all.” He said gently.
“Gally-“
“We need to find somewhere-“
“Can’t we just sleep on the floor tonight?”
A wave of fear crashed over Gally, “Didn’t you see that Crank earlier? We could get killed!”
To his surprise, Minho stood up a little straighter, “Look at me, Gal. I don’t care anymore.”
And those were the words that crushed him the most.
Minho started to drop his bag but Gally waved his hands at him, marching over, “No, you take both the bags.” He began sliding off his own bag, much to Minho’s confusion.
Gally shoved it at him expectantly, so Minho stepped back, “What?”
The faintest trace of a smile spread onto Gally’s face, “If you carry both of the bags, then I can give you a piggyback. Well? C’mon then.”
It took a couple of seconds to get through to Minho, “..You’re serious?”
“Deadly.”
So Minho found himself slumped over Gally’s back that evening, one bag on his back, the other hooked underneath his arm. Gally had to warn him to stay awake multiple times so he didn’t drop anything.
As they moved along, Minho rested his chin on the crown of Gally’s head and tightened his hold on the taller boy. The temperature had dropped drastically and he wanted to savour any warmth he could.
During the trek, Gally pushed himself as hard as he could. All of this walking, plus the extra weight on his back, proved to be a tough exercise, meaning he was slowly overheating. He managed to travel as far as his body would let him, until his legs almost gave way.
“Minho, we can stop here.”
…
“Minho?”
Gally’s eye twitched, “Minho! Get off now, or I’m gonna drop you.”
He heard a yawn and felt Minho worm free of his grasp, “M’sorry. I’m so tired.”
“You’re telling me.” Gally muttered, sinking onto the ground. Minho replicated the action and sat down beside him, dumping the bags to the side.
Being away from Gally had suddenly sucked all of Minho’s warmth away, much to his displeasure. He pulled his knees up to his chest and tried to create his own heat.
“Gally, can we make a fire? It’s freezing.”
“If Wicked see it, all of our work’ll be for nothing, so no.”
Rolling his eyes, Minho kept still and scanned their surroundings with his eyes.
In the back of his mind, he was truly worried about encountering Cranks, but at the same time he wasn’t. That seemed odd at first, but Minho was overall just bemuddled about the earlier situation.
Cranks were once people, and he knew that not many had lived in this area, so there couldn’t be many Cranks. The one earlier must’ve been a stray of some sorts.
But it was still unnerving. And it made him think of Newt.
Sometime later, Gally opened his eyes groggily. There was something bothering him, something that had wormed its way into his conscience in order to drag him out of sleep.
“You alright, sleepin’ beauty?” Minho cracked his knuckles, still sitting upright. Gally blinked at him from his awkward position laying on the floor.
“Have you slept yet?”
“No.” The black haired boy shrugged simply, eyes baring into the floor harshly.
A chilling breeze nipped at Gally’s nose and ears, rendering him frozen. And still, he was the one with an extra layer. He couldn’t even imagine how Minho was feeling.
With a groan, he glared up at the stars, “Remind me why I agreed to this?”
The foliage all around them rustled and Minho fixated his gaze firmly onto some trees up ahead, “This was practically all your idea, love.”
A beat rippled through Gally’s body and he choked on air, “…Love?”
“Newt used to say it.” Minho replied bluntly. Gally could see only then the singular tear that had ran down his face, “Did we do the right thing?”
“Depends,” Gally said cooly, “we did the right thing for us.”
“But the others-“
“Just imagine all of the complaining they would be doing right now. Don’t worry about them, Min. If they were as unhappy as us, then they would’ve said so.”
“But-“
“As long as you feel righteous, then there’s nothing to be upset by-“
“Newt..” Minho started, but then began second guessing himself. Gally forced back the bitter taste in his mouth, pity or jealousy, he wasn’t sure.
“He’s not immune. That Crank earlier could’ve infected him. What if.. what if one of us could be a cure? And we left him?” Minho steadied every word with precision.
Jealousy or pity, still not decided. Gally’s shoulders dropped, maybe it was both. He felt bad for Newt, most people did too in secret, yet he hated the fact he’d always had Minho’s unwavering attention.
Even now, for example. They were miles away from Wicked, and Minho was still thinking about him. “He’a safe at Wicked, don’t worry yourself.”
A metallic rumble buzzed in his ear after he concluded his words. Gally dug his nails into the dirt below him, “Minho, something’s not right.”
In the darkness, Gally saw Minho raise an eyebrow at him. They didn’t talk for a moment, then Gally heard it. “Oh- fuck, Minho lie low!”
“Uh, why-?”
In a second, Gally dived at Minho, making them both tumble flat onto the ground. Minho shrieked, caught off guard, “Gally what the hell? Get off!”
He fell silent shortly as the sound got louder. In a flash, a large object appeared overhead. Gally couldn’t see it, but he knew what it was. Minho could. He stared up at the sky as a Berg soared through clouds, large spotlights scanning the ground.
Neither one of them moved a muscle even after it faded away into the night. Their rough breaths echoed throughout the small glade around them.
Accidentally meeting Gally’s eyes, Minho cleared his throat, “Can you.. uhm, stay? Like this? It’s cold…” he stopped himself, cringing at his own words. Fortunately, Gally smiled.
“Fine by me.” The taller boy rolled off of him and hit the damp grass to his left. Minho sighed, trying to relax himself. His arm was pressed against Gally still, and the contact almost burned him. He wanted more.
Trying to stop himself from doing something rash, he focused onto the faint stars in the sky. The small splatters of light reminded him of something.
Was it the stained pattern on the roof of Wicked’s lunch hall? Or the reflection through their bedroom window every night of the spotlights?
Or, more simply, Gally’s freckles? Minho blinked a couple of times, forcing Gally’s face out of his mind. And still he turned to the boy.
“Gally?”
Gally was staring upwards too, concentrating firmly on the clusters of light way above, “Mhm?”
Flicking his eyes back up to the sky, Minho rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “How did you, y’know.. earlier, how did you figure out where we were by looking at the stars? Were they even out at that time?”
A quiet laugh huffed close by to his ear, “Yeah, they were visible, just. It’s something my mum taught me. Simple navigation.”
“Doesn’t look simple.” Minho muttered, smoothly glossing over Gally mentioning his mother. Talking about parents was always a difficult subject between everyone.
He felt Gally’s eyes shift onto him, but no further words were shared, only a whisper, “Get some sleep, hm?”
The taller boy rolled onto his side, tucking his hands under his chin. Minho smirked, slowly pivoting himself to be face to face with him, “Tch, not very chivalrous of you.”
An amusing flash of unclarity washed over Gally’s features, “Eh?”
“Can’t you see? I’m freezing here, Gal.”
“Shame.”
His eye twitching, Minho reluctantly grumbled and twisted himself away. To his surprise, an arm looped around his waist and yanked him backwards.
“I’m joking. But seriously, if you wanted someone to hug you, then you only had to ask.” Gally grinned. Minho could almost feel his smile.
“I don’t! I’m fine.” Minho groaned, folding his arms grumpily. But he didn’t pull away or lash out at Gally. He kind of just.. allowed the embrace, or whatever it was called, to happen.
And it was nice. Too nice, really. Minho wouldn’t call himself touch starved, but he truly couldn’t remember the last time someone had actually held onto him. However, in his mind, this right now was strictly due to the cold and the cold only.
Gally was helping him, that was all.
That was all.
All the while, Gally stared intensely at the back of Minho’s head, shocked at what he’d just done. What had gotten into him? He wasn’t brave, he wasn’t really that kind either, so what was he doing?
He was helping. Helping Minho, helping himself, fighting off the cold. Even if he drew Minho a little tighter to his chest when he was sure the other was asleep, because he was being a good friend.
He gripped onto those thoughts like a lifeline, not wanting to let them stray. In history lessons, they’d been taught about the past. Taught about the mess and the chaos.
Taught about people like him. People who didn’t fit in, weren’t ‘normal’, and most importantly not right. Well that was what they portrayed it as, not right. He himself didn’t see anything wrong with.. it, but they did. Minho probably did.
But who was Gally to deny himself of hope? Depriving himself of the only thing still driving him forwards? Because if he could get them somewhere safe, then possibly he could make sense of this feeling he was, well.. feeling.
Or Minho’d walk right out on him straight away. That wouldn’t be too bad. Then he could throw away the glow inside of his heart, bury it deep down where no one would find it.
That was probably more manageable anyways.
***
“You look like shit.” Minho smiled down at Gally, hands stuffed in his pockets.
The blinding morning sun beat down on Gally’s face, making him squirm uncomfortably. Minho chuckled, nudging the younger boy’s face with his boot, “Gally come on, I don’t know what way we’re going.”
“You’re chipper.”
“Well I want to get somewhere that has showers and a bed, and rather sooner than later.”
“Okay.. gimme a second though jeez.” Gally yawned, forcing himself upright. However, he noticed that there was only one bag. Minho saw him looking around and tapped his foot impatiently on the floor.
“We’ve run out of water and there’s only one can of peaches left. I put them with the other stuff so we didn’t have to haul around as much.” He pulled out the deflated, crumpled back that he had been carrying from his pocket.
Gally scoffed as he got to his feet, “How’d you fit that in there? And does this mean that you’re going bag-free for the rest of the walk?”
“Maybe. If you love me enough.” Minho flashed him a smile and slipped the fabric over his head and shoulders, “How do I look?”
“Like the ugliest damn girl I’ve ever seen.” Gally muttered and hobbled forwards, his legs still partly dead.
Matching his pace, Minho kept sneaking glances at him. It irritated him slightly, “Can I help you?”
“No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“You just seem really angry today. I mean you’re always angry, but I don’t know.. you’re grouchy.”
“Oh,” a pang of guilt hit Gally and he rubbed the back of his neck, “sorry.” He paused for a moment, thinking of a way to lighten the mood, “Did you sleep well last night?”
The words hung between them, something unsaid weighting the space between their bodies. “Pretty well, considering the fact I had some dickhead treating me like a teddy bear.” Minho cracked his neck casually.
Heat built up in Gally’s face and he spluttered out a quiet “What?”
Snickering, Minho clapped a hand on Gally’s shoulder, “Man, your face!”
“Shut up.” Gally hissed, pulling his shirt up to conceal his flustered expression. He was oblivious to Minho’s eyes, which dropped to his now visible stomach.
Minho’s mouth went dry and he immediately changed the direction of his gaze as Gally sheepishly unveiled his head. “Minho, you did basically ask for me to.. uh…”
“Cuddle me?”
“Don’t say it like that, you’re making it weird.”
“And?”
Finding himself lost for words, Gally glared at Minho. The shorter boy threw him his classic, cheesy smile, then looked away. God, he was a pain.
It didn’t take long for Gally to spot some signs of life. He was midway through getting Minho to read out the compass, when he saw something in the ground a few metres ahead.
He migrated over to it, then realised it was the marks from a car tire. His face relaxed from a frown, “Minho, c’mere.”
“Yeah? Wait what’s that?”
“Tire marks. My cousin’s got to be close by.”
“Really?” Minho’s eyes widened and he adjusted the fabric over his head.
“Yep. Let’s keep going.”
“No shit.”
***
Minho was the first to spot a vehicle. He grabbed Gally’s arm, pointing at the rusty car. Gally beamed, beginning into a run, but Minho quickly stopped him, “How do we know that’s them?”
Thinking, Gally furrowed his eyebrows, “Who else would be out here randomly, at the same time as us?”
“I don’t know, Wicked?”
With a grunt, Gally slowed his pace and walked a little further. A gruff voice made him jump, “Oi, you!”
He spun on his heel, facing the direction where it had come from, “Hello?”
“Are you Rowan’s cousin? Uh.. shit uhm.. Gally?”
Relief flooded both of the boys, “Yeah! That’s him!” Minho called out.
“Who’re you?”
“This is Minho, he helped me.”
A tall man stepped out of the shadows and looked them both up and down, “Are ya with anyone? Because if we find out you’re aiding Wicked..” his fingers danced around the handle of his gun.
“No sir, it’s just us.” Gally lifted his head proudly.
“Good.” Another man stepped out nearby, followed by a woman and a third man. Minho saw Gally’s mouth curl up into a smile, “Rowan?”
The man who Minho could only guess was Rowan grinned, pulling up his mask, “It’s been so long, kid. God, you’ve grown!”
“Well it has been five years.”
“I don’t want to end your little reunion,” the first man interrupted, “but Wicked owns these woods, and I don’t wanna get shot.”
The woman slung her gun over her shoulder, “Good call, put the kids in the back.” She nodded towards the car and started moving along.
Minho remained frozen for a second. Gally put a hand on his lower back, gently pushing him forwards, “It’s okay, we’re safe now.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Minho responded in a hushed voice, raising his hand to bite his nails. Gally pulled his hand back down, shaking his head.
Rowan loaded them into the back of his car, the woman jumping in beside him. The other man vanished, but the boys barely even looked up.
As soon as they sat down, they slumped tiredly onto one another, eyes drooping. “Here.” The woman passed a bottle of water back at them.
Gally grabbed it, taking a few much needed mouthfuls, until he remembered Minho needed some to. He handed it over, gasping for air.
Yet Minho only took a singular, measured sip. Gally regarded him for a second, confused, “You okay?”
The black haired boy stared at the water inside of the clear bottle as it sloshed around with every jolt. His voice lowered to a whisper, “Why are these people helping us?”
“Because I’m family to Rowan-“
“Isn’t it a lot of trouble for them to go out of.. their territory just to pick up a couple of stragglers?”
Meeting his eyes, Gally briefly saw how scared Minho truly was deep down. His face softened, “So.. we’re immune, right?”
“..Yes?”
“And a lot of people aren’t. That means we’re valuable.”
“To Wicked, yeah. Aren’t these guys just gonna sell us off? Back to them?”
“Minho,” Gally took his hand with both of his, holding it tightly, “calm yourself. The lady in front of us? That’s Mary. She left Wicked because she disagreed with their ways.”
Without any interjections, Gally continued, “She knows how to make a serum that keeps people sane for longer, but you need immune blood. If she has us, then they can keep their area safe.”
He felt his chest warm as Minho stared up at him, torn between relief and persistent unease. “You sure?”
“Very.”
With a nod, Minho rested his body fully on the seat, “Okay then.” His eyes finally began to close, and he felt calm press on his mind gently.
When he awoke, the sight around him was no different. Rowan and Mary in the front, the rumble of rough terrain underneath the car, and Gally next to him.
Only now, his head was heavily leant on Gally’s shoulder. He felt pressure on his head too, and realised that Gally was resting his own head on top of him.
Their fingers were still interlocked as well, and Minho felt an unfamiliar thump in his chest. Gally’s thumb then rubbed over his fingers soothingly, as if it was muscle memory.
The thump returned in Minho’s chest, this time louder and faster.
Oh.
Oh.
Many things piled onto Minho at once, giving his system a shock. Gally was a friend to him, someone he truly did respect. Yet he liked him, he liked him in a different way to his other friends.
How had he only just realised? Had it always been there? Surely not..
That didn’t matter. Because it was here now. And, it looked like it was here to stay.
“Minho?”
Minho smiled at that voice, feeling his body relax, “Captain Gally?”
“Please don’t call me that.”