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restrained — part 1

masterlist | part 2

a/n | this is my first time posting so im really nervous but i hope u like it🥺🥺

—

The chaos was slow. It was too quiet. No one would have suspected the world was reaching it’s end at first glance, but the chaos didn’t have to be ragingly physical to be there. Everyone was dying and they didnt even know. Everything was a slow burn—and that’s what made it horrifying.

No one knew where the disease had come from. All they knew is that there was no cure; and it started with a simple nose bleed. Victims would feel dizzy and nauseous for a few days. But after that, things would seem to get better. That was the worst part. It seemed as if all of the sudden, they were in their own utopia—they were always clean, had full bellies, and were fully rested. The world was a safe haven. Everyone was a friend. But the thing was, it was the exact opposite. Their brains only made them think they were never hungry—so they starved. It made them think they were never tired—so they became insomniacs. It made them think the world was perfect—so they were careless. The disease was a virus that blinded victims with a false euphoria that took over their minds and drove them insane until the sickness demolished them from the inside out; and they were dead.

Except for the Generation Z—or just the Z, she heard people call them. Suspicion rose like wildfire when the world realized: the disease didn’t affect the young. They were immune. She was immune. The youth were thriving, and the millennial were dying; and they were going to do all they could to save themselves.

•

It had been a month since her parents died. She would never be able to forget that day, simply because of the looks on their faces: it wasn’t horror, or pain. There was no sadness, tears, or goodbyes. They were laughing. First it was her mother, who she’d found curled in a ball on the living room floor. Her cheek was smeared with blood from the constant nose bleeds, giggling to herself like a child in their sleep—but this time she didn’t wake up. When she had rushed to tell her father about it, he didn’t budge a muscle, not much to her surprise. He simply continued his eerie drawing of messy scribbles as if it were his life work, telling her not to worry about it. Her father was an artist before the disease—so part of seeing him do something he did before the chaos made her feel normal. But when her father collapsed not long after, spitting out the familiar deep red tint of the blood she would never get used to—it was over. She was alone. Broken.

When the disease first broke out, many people evacuated the city—and even the country if they could, trying to avoid getting sick. But her parents were urged to stay, thinking it ridiculous to run from a sickness. It just wasn’t possible—it could be anywhere. Even if they were right, being at home was just as dangerous as being anywhere else—and their deaths were to show for that.

She hadn’t dared to leave the house since then. It was too dangerous to go out alone with all the Crazies (the infected that you should definitely stay away from), especially by herself. There was enough food to suffice, although she knew it wouldn’t last forever. Fortunate enough, soldiers from a nearby facility managed to scout her out, along with some other kids from the area. They promised to take them somewhere else. Somewhere safe.

Seeing no better option, here she was. Leaning against the worn leather seat of the half empty school bus. Most of the kids looked around her age; no older than 18, she guessed. She caught glimpse of a young girl who couldn’t have been older than ten, and almost felt her heart break. Where were her parents? Did the little girl have to see the things that she saw? The little girl’s parents weren’t with her anymore, and now she was alone. Nothing was familiar to her anymore. Or anyone.

The engine sloppily roared to life, vibrating the vehicle and everything inside of it. She leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes as she tried keep her mind clear. She didn’t want to think about anything. She didn’t want to be scared, or sad, or even excited. She just wanted to get there. She couldn’t bring herself to admit it, but she didn’t want to be alone anymore.

After nodding off for the fifth time, the school bus came to an abrupt stop, jolting her from her sleep. The engines hissed and the doors opened as a tall, redheaded woman walked onto the bus, clutching her metal clipboard to her chest.

“Hello,” she plastered on a tight smile. “My name is Lillian. I’ll be your guide for today, so if you could just follow me, I would be more than happy to show you around the facility.”

She stepped off of the bus without another word. One by one, the kids on the bus followed behind Lillian’s trail, murmuring among each other as they emptied the bus.

As her feet hit the gravel, her eyes met the modernized facility before her. The center of the building was a massive four stories high, holding nothing between her and the inside but tinted glass windows. On the left and right sides, the building branched off of the first and second floors into more secured buildings with cement walls and much fewer windows. The building structure reminded her of a bird spreading it’s wings. It was less broken down than any of the other buildings she’d seen lately, too.

“Welcome to the Youth Repository Facility,” Lillian spoke over her shoulder. She walked through the first set of automatic sliding doors, leading everyone inside the facility. “This is your home now.”

It wasn’t empty inside, but it wasn’t exactly buzzing with life either. An old lady with overly-rosy cheeks took place at the front desk, flashing a half-hearted smile before returning to her book. A few sofas accompanied the spacious lobby, occupied by chattering teens, some elementary kids scattered across the floors, a few girls playing with dolls and a young boy reading a picture book.

Seems homey enough.

“This is the lobby. You can come to our receptionist, Mrs. Lynn, any time you have a question. The entire second floor contains the kitchen and cafeteria, where you will be served three meals a day,” Lillian pointed to the black spiral staircase in the center of the room that lead to the second floor. She turned back to the small crowd. “And the east wing is where you will be sleeping. I apologize if it’s an inconvenience, but eventually everyone will be put two per room, for obvious spacial reasons.”

Her robotic tone gave the impression that she had practiced this speech one too many times, yet still not enough. She continued, “As said before, this is your home now. And as all homes have them, we do have a few rules.”

She returned her backside to the group, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she trotted towards towards the east wing. “For one, the west wing as well as the third and fourth floors are completely off limits. You can’t operate the elevators or open the doors without access to a key, regardless. Two, we do have a basic schedule. Breakfast is at 9 AM, lunch is at noon, and dinner is at 6 PM. Curfew is at 9 PM and you’re to go back to your rooms until morning.”

The automatic doors leading to the wing slid open, allowing the newcomers to pour in. Lillian led down the wide hall before taking another right. The new hall was lined with more tinted glass, and if it weren’t for the lights on on the other side, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to tell what was behind it.

What was on the other side of the glass surprised her—a bunk bed pushed against the wall of the, astoundingly, but barely spacious area. The room contained a tall dresser, a small table, and even a tiny sink pushed in the far corner. It was far from dazzling, but it wasn’t bad. Duplicates of the room were lined down the hall on both sides. Only a thin, back wall separated the rooms side by side; but it was better than more glass.

Her group waited for further instruction as Lillian came to a halt. She pointed to the small lights above the glass doors. “Two green lights means the room is completely vacant. One green light means someone is still in need of a roommate. You may also look for rooms in the opposite hall, so pick and choose as you please. You’ll have time to get yourselves situated before dinner. There will be a bell to signal when it’s time to come up. Any questions?”

She wasn’t surprised when no one spoke up; she’d spit so much at them in the span of five minutes … it was hard to process everything at once. With a simple nod, Lillian gestured for the group to get to business before exiting the hall with her busy pace.

Being near the back of the group, she trudged behind slowly, waiting for others to pick their rooms. Her eyes scanned the green lights. She already told herself she was going to look for one with only one green light; she didn’t want to take a vacant room from someone who might want to share with someone they came with. She, however, wouldn’t know her roommate regardless.

A few turned to curiously search down the other hall, and others had already called dibs. Her eyes found a door on the left—it only had one light. 515 was labeled beside the green glow. Letting out a breath, she politely pushed past a few people and grabbed a hold of the metal handle. Slowly pushing the door open, she glanced around as she slipped inside.

A young boy sat up from the bottom bunk, his dark and messy hair falling into his eyes. He looked a little caught off guard. “Oh, uh, hi.”

“Hi,” she pursed her lips. “Is it okay if I room with you? If not, I can find another—”

“No, no,” he shook his head almost too quickly. “It’s fine. Really. You, uh, want the bottom bunk or anything? I can switch if you want.”

“I’m fine with the top,” she assured him. He nodded awkwardly, and she let her eyes wander around the room. It was identical to all the other ones she’d passed, with the exception of some junk on the dresser and a pair of plain white shoes in the middle of the floor.

“What’s your name?” the boy asked, and she told him.

“I’m Mark,” he said as he held his hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she took his hand with a smile. “How long have you been here?”

“A couple of days. Not long, really.”

“Do you like it?”

“I guess so. I mean, it can be kinda weird sometimes, but overall it’s better than being out there,” he scratched the back of his neck.

“You’re not wrong,” she admitted. Anything had to be better than watching the world she once knew decay before her; all while she hid for her life from the Crazies that wanted nothing but blood. “What kind of weird?”

“Well,” he hesitated. “I guess … some buddies of mine think people are being taken from their rooms at night. We thought maybe they’re being moved to another facility since we’re filling up pretty quick here. But …”

“But?” she raised an eyebrow, curiouser.

“I dunno, it’s kinda dumb,” Mark brushed it off, clearly antsy. An electronic ding sounded from the intercom, and Mark jabbed his thumb at the ceiling. “You hungry?”

A simple nod was all Mark needed before he was pulling her out of their room. She followed him the way she came, backtracking through the halls and the sliding doors that lead back to the lobby. The two of them fell into rhythm with the small crowd kids that were making their way to the second floor as well.

The second floor felt huge—it was a large area in general, but especially because it was surrounded by nothing but glass. The round lunch tables were spread evenly across the entire floor, and there surely had to be enough seats to fit half a thousand. It was bright and busy; a feeling she still hadn’t gotten used to. But she liked it.

She followed Mark into the lunch line, letting the employees behind the counter fill their plates with the best food she’d smelled in months. Since her parents had gotten sick, she’d mainly relied on canned vegetables and packets of cold meat. She could only handle so many meals of cold hot-dogs and carrots before she decided she would only eat when she thought she was going to starve.

“This looks amazing,” she voiced barely above a whisper.

“Right?” Mark laughed. “When was the last time you ate?”

“It’s been a few days,” she admitted. “But only because all I had was canned veggies and refrigerated meat for the last few months. Hot-dogs, bologna, all that. Just the smell makes you wanna puke after a while.”

“Dude, no joke,” he shivered. “Entire months? I would’ve died the third day. Hot-dogs are fine, like, once a week, if even that. But for months straight? I don’t even wanna imagine.”

A small laugh escaped her lips as she shook her head. It almost surprised her, given how long it had been since she’d heard herself laugh. “Don’t. You’ll be scarred for life.”

When the two finished filling their plates, she followed Mark to a small table near the window. He slid into one of the metal chairs, next to two other boys she hadn’t seen before. Taking one of the vacant seats, she placed her tray down next to Mark.

“Ooh,” a boy with fading pink hair flashed the brightest smile in her direction. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Depends,” the blonde next to him raised an eyebrow. “What do you think it is?”

“A pretty girl, a new friend,” the first boy held his grin. “Mine, obviously. Not yours. No one wants to be friends with a three foot gremlin—”

“A three foot—“ the second boy didn’t hesitate to pull the other into a headlock, playfully ruffling his hair. The first boy let out a noise that sounded like a mix of struggle and laughter—and she couldn’t help but smile. She glanced at Mark, who was smiling to himself as well.

“This is Jaemin,” Mark pointed to the one in a headlock, then to the one initiating the torture. “That’s Renjun.”

The boys retreated from their manhandling, and turned their attention back to their friend and the newcomer. Jaemin attempted to fix his mess of a head, but there was definitely no use trying. Renjun seemed satisfied at that.

“Ah, nice to meet you!” Renjun beamed after she introduced herself. “Are you new?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m Mark’s roommate.”

“Dude, how did you get stuck with a girl?” Jaemin wondered.

Renjun elbowed his arm. “She’s literally sitting right there. Everyone picks their cells, dimwit.”

“Cells?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh … yeah, according to Renjun, that’s what they call our rooms or whatever,” Mark rolled his eyes. “He said he overheard doctors talking one time. They kept calling them ‘sleep cells’ and 'cell five-oh-whatever’. Like, what is this, a jail?“

“Or a science research lab—which it is,” Renjun held a finger in the air.

Jaemin groaned. “He never stops with the conspiracy theories. Renjun, your life isn’t a science fiction novel! Dude, give it up.”

“Listen,” he turned to her, bluntly ignoring Jaemin. “Don’t you think it’s weird that we can’t go into the west wing? Or the top two floors? Or that we can’t go out past 9 o'clock? That they lock us in our rooms until morning? And people are going for 'checkups'—” he quoted with his fingers. “—in the west wing; and some of them aren’t even coming back! Not to mention this place is literally called a Youth Repository Facility. Like they think we don’t know big words. They’re acting like we’re objects! Don’t you think it’s a little weird?”

She pondered. He was convincing, but she’d only been there for no longer than an hour. What would she know? Not to mention she didn’t know any of them well enough to tell if he was just a kid that played way too many video games before the break out.

“Dude,” Mark deadpanned. “It’s called authority. Yeah, maybe they’re being extra, but did your parents not give you a curfew? And a dinner time, and a bedtime, and a playtime? Weren’t there things you were and weren’t allowed to get into at home? See? You’re just paranoid.”

“At least people didn’t go missing when I was with my parents,” Renjun muttered.

“Missing?” She looked between the boys as they visibly tensed.

“They’ve been taking people from their cells at night,”’ Renjun didn’t hesitate to inform. “None of them have came back. Not even—”

“Renjun,” Mark sighed.

“What? Why can’t we talk about it? I watched them take Chenle, and he still hasn’t come back. He was our friend, so why do you keep pretending like it didn’t happen?”

“You wouldn’t even be on about this if you would have just taken your pills like you were supposed to …” Mark added.

“What pills?” she asked.

“Sleeping pills,” Renjun said, lowering his voice. “They make us take fucking sleeping pills. Every night! They say it’s for our health, but health my ass. If I didn’t skip them, no one would know anything about Chenle.”

“Look, we don’t know what happened to Chenle. There’s as much of a chance that something good is happening to him as there is something bad,” Jaemin tried.

“Automatically assuming it was something good doesn’t make it something good,” Renjun huffed.

“Neither does assuming it’s something bad. There’s nothing we can do here, Jun. We just have to wait,” Jaemin said softer, easing the tension in the air. He pinched his ear. “For now why don’t you lay off those evil scientist novels you hide under your bed, huh?”

Renjun flicked Jaemin’s hand off, pouting. “I hope they take you next and dissect your brain.”

As the two boys bickered on, conversation eventually drifted off into lighter subjects. She found out that Renjun and Jaemin had been classmates before the breakout, and that they came here together. Mark had met the two the day they all arrived. To her surprise, Renjun and Jaemin shared a cell only four doors down from hers and Mark’s. It made her feel better knowing she had people she could trust around her. After going months without speaking to a single sane person—this was a breath of fresh air.

She stood to place her tray in the window of piling dirty trays, where a man with graying hair washed the dishes. After flashing a friendly smile, she returned to Mark and the others. Jaemin continued babbling something about something 'being so cute’ and Mark would constantly scrunch his nose and reply with, “Dude …”

Making their way back to the lobby, the four friends decided to take lounge on two nearby couches that sat face to face, divided by a small mahogany coffee table.

“So,” Jaemin plopped onto the seat across from her. “Do you like the facility so far?”

“It’s okay,” she shrugged. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say; only being there for about an hour didn’t give her a lot of time for everything to sink in. As for first impressions went, it was a nice place. It was clean, organized, and there were a lot of kids her age. She felt comfortable. But … she couldn’t shake the eerie feeling off from what Renjun had said earlier. “I’m just glad I’m not alone anymore.”

She hated the feeling of being alone in her dark, cold house. The electric didn’t work, and neither did the heat—so it being late September, she clung to layers of blankets and the few candles she had left like her life depended on it. She locked herself in the bathroom, too horrified by the sight and smell of her parents rotting bodies. She wanted to move them—she did. She wanted to bury them and say proper goodbyes. But she couldn’t make herself do it. She couldn’t handle it. Everything was too quiet. Too empty. She was too alone.

Renjun frowned, noticing the change in her expression. “Even if this place weirds me out sometimes, I do think they did something good by saving us all and putting us together. Now we all have each other.”

She smiled. Now she has them.

“Yeah!” Jaemin chirped. “Let’s make it a promise.”

“Make what a promise?” Mark raised an eyebrow.

“Go like this,” Jaemin crossed his wrists over each other, holding out his pinky fingers. Everyone followed. “Let’s promise to always be there for each other, yeah? I, Na Jaemin, swear that if any of you need anything, I’ll be there for you.”

She shared a glance with Mark and Renjun, who didn’t seem opposed to Jaemin’s antics. Personally, she liked the idea. She felt safe knowing she had people she could count on. All she wanted was to feel safe again.

“So do I,” she said, linking her pinky with his. Renjun and Mark followed suit almost immediately after, much to Jaemin’s satisfaction.

“Good,” Jaemin smiled as they released the small pinky promise circle. “With that being said, someone find me some ice cream—“

Renjun shot across the coffee table almost immediately, pulling the giggling boy into another headlock. “Rule number one, every time Jaemin says something dumb, Renjun is obligated to beat him up.”

Mark raised a hand. “I’m all for that.”

Rolling her eyes, she let out a laugh. She wasn’t sure how she got stuck with three idiotic boys—but she wasn’t going to complain. After the four had been goofing around for what seemed like forever, mentions of a shower came up. When Mark saw her eyes light up, he informed her where the showers were, and an extra change of clothes in their room. Thanking him, she head off to grab them.

It didn’t surprise her when she opened the bottom drawer of the dresser and found nothing but black sweatpants and the same URF logo t-shirt she’d seen everyone else, including Mark, Jaemin, and Renjun wearing. At least the facility had a sense of comfort; they could’ve put everyone in boxy uniforms or prison jumpsuits.

Slipping back into the hallway, she recited Mark’s directions to the showers. It was only two turns from their hall, but the facility was huge—she couldn’t help but feel like she was getting lost; and when she’d taken her fourth turn and still hadn’t came across the showers, she let out a defeated sigh. I’m such an idiot.

Before she could turn to backtrack her steps, she heard a deep voice call from down the other hallways. “Hey, can I help you?”

The slightest amount of panic surged through her body. Was she somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be? Was she going to be in trouble? “I—No, sorry … I was just looking for the showers.”

As the soldier approached, she noticed that he was definitely not as old as she thought he was going to be. Or should be. He was the youngest soldier she’d seen since the disease broke out; most soldiers were around their fifties—they were always older. That’s how it worked. The younger ones were controlled, and the oldest ones controlled. So seeing a soldier so strangely close to her age felt odd. It was like an army of wolves controlling a crowd of bunnies—but, for some reason, one of the bunnies happens to be in the army of wolves, helping them control the other bunnies. It didn’t make sense.

“This way,” the soldier said, leading her back down the way she came at a strictly fast pace. She eyed the gun attached to his him, an uncomfortable feeling washing through her. He wasn’t the only one armed like that—they all were. There were soldiers in the lunch room, the lobby, and at one point Jaemin had mentioned that they sweep the halls every night. And they were always armed.

Glancing at the boy’s face, he didn’t seem like the type to shoot someone, let alone an innocent kid. His eyes were big and dark, nose soft and curved. Underneath the hard mask he wore to be a soldier, he more or less looked like a decent person.

“You look a little young to be a soldier,” she blurted out. He blinked, not bothering to glance at her as he continued down another hall she hadn’t taken before. “How old are you?”

They came to a stop as they approached what seemed to be the showers. She could hear the heavenly sound of water splashing behind the metal doors, and just the thought of finally being able to scrub herself until she felt brand new put her in cloud nine.

“The facility has rules,” he finally replied, voice monotone. “Soldiers, staff and guests aren’t to have personal interactions. Enjoy your shower.”

With that, the boy walked away, leaving her baffled. What was that? “It was just a question,” she mumbled before pushing into the showers.

Nothing could describe the pure bliss she felt when the warm water hit her skin. She immediately tended to scrubbing a months worth of grime off of her skin, watching everything that happened before she arrived wash down the drain. After doing the same to her hair, she got to brushing her teeth with the extra toiletries they so kindly offered.

When she was done brushing her hair, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her skin had gotten a shade lighter after scrubbing everything off, and her hair felt two times softer. She felt brand new—and she took this as a chance to start over. This was her new beginning.

Mark was lazed across the bottom bunk when she returned to their room, fiddling with something too small for her to see. He looked up when she entered, greeting her with a smile. “Feel better?”

“A lot,” she nodded.

“You look better,” he almost laughed, making her wonder if he was trying to tease her.

She stretched her back. “You have a crush on me now or something?”

“What? No!” He said defensively, reminding you of a little kid. He leaned back on his pillow. “Next time I’ll just call you ugly.”

She almost laughs. “You know, I’m glad you’re my roommate and not some weirdo—oh wait.”

“And I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that,” he replied.

“You do that,” she grinned as someone knocked on the glass door behind her. The two turned their heads as a nurse took it upon herself to open the door, letting herself in.

“Time for your meds,” the nurse smiled, holding up a tray with two white pills laying on top. “Don’t worry, everyone takes it. It’s a vitamin to sustain your health and make sure you’re getting the right amount of sleep.”

She thought back to Renjun. Vitamin my ass.

Mark looked between her and the nurse, being the first to take the pill. “Thanks.”

She took the remaining pill, rolling it between her fingers. When the nurse didn’t leave, she looked to Mark in confusion. He popped his pill in his mouth, swallowing, then opened his mouth for the nurse to check with her mini flashlight. He looked to her, and she did the same. She slid the pill in her mouth, swallowing it without seeing much choice. She opened her mouth for the nurse, lifting her tongue.

The nurse hummed contently. “Now, it may take a tiny bit longer for the medicine to kick in for you, since you’ve never taken it before, but I assure you a good night’s sleep will be with you soon enough.” One nod was all the nurse needed before she took her cue to exit the room.

She and Mark shared a look before he returned to his spot on his bed. “So, Renjun wasn’t lying about all that stuff? Was that a sleeping pill?”

“Lying, no,” he admitted. “Exaggerating, maybe. And yeah, the pill pretty much knocks you out.”

“Exaggerating, only maybe?” she asked, crawling onto the top bunk. Exhaustion washed over her.

“I don’t know,” he said. The lights in the room dimmed, along with the ones in the hall. She could barely see anything. “He can be extra.”

Was he being extra, though? Or were the others being too oblivious? Everything Renjun said added up—it all made sense. But it wasn’t something anyone would be worried about until it was pointed out. The facility was good; they saved lost, innocent kids that somehow ended up alone. They put everyone together, where they can connect and be stronger. They gave everyone a chance to feel normal again—like a part of a family. But the question was; were their motives as good as their actions? Did they have different intentions like Renjun thought? Or was all of this just too much overthinking?

She rubbed her eyes. It was only her first day—she shouldn’t be worrying about so much that she didn’t know. She should be thankful, and happy that she can go to sleep not having to worry about people invading her house, trying to steal things or putting a gun to her head. It felt nice to know she wasn’t alone anymore; everyone in the facility had gone through, and was going through, almost the exact same as her. All of them had lost someone. All of them were alone. All of them were found. All of them were immune. She felt like a part of something again, and she didn’t want to lose that feeling.

A sudden click made her jump out of her thoughts. Her eyes fell to the digital clock on the top of the dresser. 9:00 PM. Renjun was right again.

It’d only been roughly 20 minutes and Mark was somehow already snoring—and although she was feeling drowsy herself, her curiosity kept her awake. She shuffled out of bed, her bare feet meeting the cold ground as she tiptoed her way to the thin, glass door. She gripped the icy, metal handle and tugged. It was locked. What was the point of locking them inside if they were asleep? It’s not like they didn’t just give everyone a sleeping pill to make sure of that.

She lazily glanced at Mark, who was peacefully snoozing. It made her even more tired—but she didn’t like it. She felt like she was being forced down; forced to close her eyes to sleep. It didn’t feel right. When she spun back to the door, her eyes met with another—the young soldier that she met earlier. She jumped back in surprise, proud of herself for only letting the slightest squeak escape her throat.

The soldier only looked at her, motionless. She slowly lifted her hand, mustering a small wave.

“What are you doing?” he asked, surprisingly audible through the glass. She could tell he was trying to be intimidating, but his round eyes and soft lips betrayed him. Kind of.

“Nothing,” she replied, hazy from the pill. In all honesty, if it weren’t for how much she’d been over-thinking, she probably would’ve been fast asleep already.

“You were trying to open the door,” he glanced at her hand, gripping the metal door handle. She immediately released it.

“I was just curious,” she admitted.

“Didn’t you take your pill?” he asked, sounding a little more casual.

“Yes,” she felt herself wobbling, her knees almost failing to keep herself upright. She didn’t feel as tired as her body made her out to be, which annoyed her to the core. Why couldn’t she keep her eyes open a little longer?

“Hey,” the soldier said, putting his finger to the glass. “Go lay in your bed. You’re gonna—“

“Why are you being so secretive about your age?” she tilted her head in confusion. She could only squint at this point; trying to keep her eyes open was a lost cause. She caught glimpse of the name tag attached to his uniform. His name was Lucas. “It’s just a question.”

“A personal, unimportant question,” he stated, annoyance tinting his voice. “Now seriously, go lay in your bed before you fall over or something.”

“Fine,” she pouted, turning to return to her bed. If he wanted to be difficult, he could be difficult; but she was on the verge of passing out and she found that she could care less at the moment.

Much to her misfortune, as she took her fourth step, everything in front of her faded into black, and she couldn’t hold herself up anymore. She let herself sink to the cold floor, curling into a ball as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Damn sleeping pill.

—

masterlist | part 2

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restrained — part 2

masterlist | part 1 | part 3

a/n | sorry it took so long to finish this part!! the next one wont take as long i promise<33

—

A deafening electronic beep sounded from the intercom that she laid painfully close to, forcing her to pry her eyes open from the heavy sleep that consumed her. The irritating noise slipped through the fingers covering her ears, the blanket, and even the pillow; everything she tried to use to shield the noise from her precious ears seemed invisible. Frustrated, she sat up with a groan. She held her throbbing head as she glanced at the clock. 8:03 AM.

She blinked. How did she end up on her bed? As hard as she tried to think, it was almost impossible to focus with the noise blasting from the ceiling.

Mark was already up, brushing his teeth at the small sink in the corner of their room. He seemed used to the routine already; which didn't really come as a surprise to her. She wondered how long he'd been there.

After climbing down from her bed, she returned her hands to her ears, looking to Mark desperately. “Does it ever stop?”

“Two minutes,” he stated through the foam of toothpaste in his mouth.

The following two minutes were absolute hell. But, once it was over, she finally managed to shake off a bit of the headache that lingered from the moment she woke up. In fact, she didn't feel refreshed in the slightest. She didn't understand how she had gotten a full eleven hours of sleep—but still felt like shit.

She tried to backtrack the night before: the doors locked like Renjun had told her they would. She was curious and got out of bed to see if the door really wouldn't open—and it wouldn't. Then Lucas came. She couldn't recall the conversation, but she honestly didn't think it mattered. Then . . . she fell asleep on the floor. But how did she get back on her bed? Did Lucas move her? She wondered how in the world he would manage to get her back on the top bunk.

She shook her head. He didn't seem like the type of person to care, given her first impression. He seemed like the type to stiffen at a single touch because it's 'too personal'. She almost scoffed. And she still didn't understand why he was being so secretive about his age. In all honesty, she shouldn't care so much. But she was curious, and it annoyed her that he was being stubborn over a stupid question.

“Why do you look like you're going through an internal midlife crisis?” Renjun eyed her curiously as they met up in the hall to head to breakfast.

“You have to be forty-five to go through a midlife crisis, dumbass,” Mark bopped Renjun on the head.

“Are you not seeing this?” Renjun jabbed a finger at her.

Jaemin threw an arm around her. “Relax, she's probably on her period or someth—“

She abruptly cut off his sentence with an elbow to the ribs, earning a holler of laughter from the two other boys. Renjun barely caught his breath. “I like this girl.”

Just before they reached the familiar staircase in the lobby, a guard carelessly shoved through the crowd. She would have been knocked over if Jaemin hadn't steadied her. Walking up the stairs, she glanced below her, noticing the guard wasn't alone—he and a second soldier were on either side of a young girl, who's sweatpants were rolled up thrice and her UCF t-shirt to her knees. They were taking her into the elevators. To the floors that were prohibited.

“We're not the only planet, let alone solar system, let alone galaxy! It's literally dumb to think we're the only form of life living out of billions of planets,” Renjun rambled as the four tumbled into the courtyards after breakfast.

Jaemin insisted on showing her the courtyards, given it was probably the only part of the facility that wasn't plastered with endless white walls and pristine glass. Although the courtyard was more or less just a simple rock garden, it was spacious enough—especially considering the fact that she and the boys were almost the only ones out there. Why everyone else would want to restrict themselves under the cold, white florescent lights for the entire day was beyond her, but she was glad that it wasn't crowded at least.

“Proof?” Mark raised his brows as everyone took a seat at one of the round, stone glass tables placed beside the mini waterfall that hid in the bushes.

“Scientific research and common sense?”

“What if they're, like, worms that crawl up your nose and infect your brain,” Jaemin grinned. “How's that for forms of life?”

“Gross,” Mark scrunched his nose.

“It's still a form of life, idiot, so I would be right and you would have a worm in your brain,” Renjun shrugged contently.

“Dude, he's getting desperate,” Jaemin whispered to her. She couldn't help but giggle.

“Listen,” she put a hand on Renjun's shoulder. “I believe in aliens, Renjun.”

“Suddenly she's my only friend,” he announced, Jaemin sticking out his tongue in response.

If it weren't for the rain that began to dribble from the sky after a few hours, she was sure they would've stayed out longer. It was the fresh air, she thought, that put everyone in a good mood. No one appreciated being crammed in one spot for too long. Especially not her.

“You wanna grab some lunch?” Jaemin asked, shaking the water from his bangs.

When everyone's growling stomachs agreed for them, the four of them headed up to the cafeteria, paying no mind the the damp clothes that stuck to their skin. As they took place in the bustling lunch line, her eyes found a familiar face. Lucas was standing off to the left side of the room, alert and stiff as every other soldier that patrolled the floor. Soldiers had always been spread across the perimeter of the floors since she'd arrived at the facility, but she had never noticed him there before. And the fact that the facility always felt the need to have even the cafeteria guarded and crawling with soldiers gave her an uncomfortable feeling.

“What about you?” Mark asked her as they sat at their usual table. “What was your life like before the breach?”

“Breach?” she raised an eyebrow.

“You don't know about the breach?” Jaemin asked. “It's what started the whole disease.”

“Really?” she asked. No one had ever informed her much about the details—their cable stopped working, so there was no news—and she knew her parents always felt the need to protect her from the smallest things. But, she thought, maybe if they didn't do that then, she wouldn't feel so weak now.

“Yeah,” Mark nodded. “Some laboratory got bombed and I guess whatever chemicals they were brewing up inside got mixed up the wrong way. And here we are.”

Her jaw almost dropped. “Why would someone do that?”

“Maybe the scientists had different opinions on a project, or maybe some kind of discovery,” Renjun said. “And so they split up. What if they were doing something dangerous and the only way the others could stop it was by destroying the whole lab?”

“Talk about extra,” Jaemin piped in. “'Hey I don't like your idea for the science project so I'm gonna blow the entire science lab up'.”

Mark snorted. “Sounds like Renjun.”

“I like how you assume I'd be partners with either of you for a science project,” Renjun deadpanned.

“Anyways, back to the original question,” Jaemin leaned towards her, shining with interest. “Tell us about yourself!!”

“Um . . .” she wasn't sure where to start. “I didn't ever do anything cool, really. I went to school, had a few friends, went out sometimes. Nothing special. I'm an only child, so it was just me and my parents most of the time.”

“What were your parents like?” he wondered. Mark and Renjun immediately shot him a glare, and he quickly realized his mistake. “I—I mean you don't have to talk about them if you don't want to! I know things are hard for everyone right now . . .”

She couldn't manage to swallow the hard lump that had formed in her throat. 'Were' he said. What were her parents like. She wasn't sure if she had enough power to talk about her parents without choking up yet. She had never had to say anything about it before. She had no one to tell.

“It's—“

Before she could finish her sentence, a different—but also very deafening—alarm sounded from the intercom. Everyone stood from their seats, looking around as confusion glazed their faces.

“There's a fire on the third floor! Everyone head out front immediately!” one of the soldiers shouted above the commotion. “I repeat, head out front immediately!”

Exchanging worried glances with the boys, she did as she was told and followed the bustling crowd of panicking children towards the exit of the cafeteria. She caught sight of Lucas again, who seemed to be frantically discussing something with a few other soldiers. Did he know what happened?

She heard the static from a walkie talkie on a nearby soldier, followed by a frantic voice. “Sir, the patients are overheating—“

“Take them to the west wing,” he interrupted, murmuring into his walkie. “We'll figure out the rest later.”

When the person on the other line buzzed out, the soldier looked up—his icy eyes meeting hers. She continued walking, but felt frozen, as if she'd just got caught hearing something she wasn't supposed to hear.

“Come on,” Renjun tugged her arm, picking up the pace.

When everyone had finally made it outside, she noticed how many people there actually were at the facility—including the staff and soldiers. They almost filled up the entire damp, muddy field under the pouring rain. Everyone hugged themselves under the wetness of the raindrops; and a few kids screamed when it thundered. She enjoyed the rain, but it would've been less painful if it wasn't so cold.

“Clear!” Someone finally called from the entrance. They'd been standing there for about seven minutes, and Mark swore if he had to stand there another minute he would die from hypothermia.

“Finally,” Renjun mumbled to himself, shivering as he waddled back towards the warmth of the lobby.

Murmurs of everyone gossiping about what might have happened echoed through the lobby, trailing into the east wing all the way to the showers as everyone hurried to change out of their wet clothes.

“Ahh, gross,” Mark watched as his soaked socks trailed mud behind his every step—just like everyone else. “I can't stand wet socks. This is disgusting.”

Jaemin wiggled his toes. “Really? I think it has a nice feeling.”

Mark whacked him in the arm. “I hate you.”

“You could never,” Jaemin grinned as they continued their way back into the east wing.

She and Renjun followed closely behind, but she came to a halt when her eyes found Lucas again, who had began to mop up the slippery lobby floor. “I'll catch up,” she absentmindedly notified Renjun before making a beeline for where the soldier stood, busy cleaning up the water.

“Looks like someone was demoted from soldier to custodian,” she hummed as she approached him.

He glanced around, then looked back at her. “Real funny. Do you need something?”

“Well, no, I . . .” she paused. Why did she go over there? To finally get an answer to her question? To thank him for not letting her sleep on the floor the entire night? It was kind of weird when she thought about it.

“You know, you're not really subtle about staring,” he continued mopping up the puddle that sat by his heavy boots. “I can feel you looking at me every time we're in the same room. I'll just go ahead and break it to you—it's not going to happen. Quite frankly, you're not my type—“

“I'm sorry, what?” she gaped at him incredulously. She shook her head. “That's not—“

“Come on,” he almost scoffed. “The personal questions, the staring, following me everywhere. If you know what's good for you, just go slide in bed with your roomma—“

His words were cut off with a cold slap to the cheek. The sound echoed through the room, and she was partially thankful that everyone had already left the lobby. Who did he think he was? She wasn't even sure they would go as far as being friends, let alone anything else. She'd just wanted to know more about him; she was curious. And he made her out to be some desperate girl that wanted to get some. What a jerk.

“I wasn't trying to get in your pants, dickhead,” she fumed. “You look mad and lonely all the time, and you've payed me two favors so I . . .”

“I don't know what I was doing,” she deadpanned, pure irritation surging through her veins. “Now that I know what you're really like, I don't think I care anymore.”

With a hard glare, she turned back towards the east wing and nearly stomped the whole way to her room. When she pushed inside, Mark was relaxing on his bed, completely dry, but sat up when she entered.

“Whoa,” Mark looked her up and down. “What happened with you?'

“Nothing,” she huffed as she dropped to the bottom drawer of their dresser, fishing out a dry set of clothes to change into.

“It doesn't look like nothing,” he hummed cautiously.

She shook her head, forcing her voice to soften. “Really, don't worry about it.”

“Okay. . .” Mark drug out, eyeing her as he returned to his spot on his bed.

Letting out a relieved huff, she headed out to the bathrooms to change her clothes. She was glad Mark didn't ask any more questions—she really didn't feel like explaining the situation. Not because she didn't want to talk about it, but because she was starting to wonder if she really did look like the idiot.

Successfully making it to the bathrooms, she praised herself for not having another lost-in-the-maze episode. Immediately after pushing through the stall doors, she peeled the damp clothes off of her body, replacing them with the dry set she brought. She paid no mind to herself in the mirror, tossing the wet clothes on the overflowing laundry basket as she made her way out of the bathrooms.

As she stepped into the bright hall, she met a familiar set of sparkling eyes that were making their own way out of the men's bathroom. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Renjun met her in the middle of the hall, wearing his own fresh pair of clothes.

“That was weird,” she commented as they walked together. “What do you think happened?”

Renjun shrugged. “No idea. What I wanna know is what the hell they have on the third floor and how they managed to start a fire up there.”

Her mind flashed back to the soldier that passed her, and the voice through the walkie talkie. The patients are overheating, the voice said. Take them to the west wing, he had replied.

“Actually,” she said slowly. “I heard something earlier. When everyone was going outside. Someone was talking to one of the soldiers through the walkie talkie.”

“What did they say?”

“Something about patients overheating? And moving them to the west wing I think,” she recalled. “But it was kind of hectic back there.”

Renjun stared at her with wide eyes, filled with a mix or horror and relief. He came to a stop. “Really?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

His brows creased as his eyes scanned their surroundings. They were alone in the big, cold hall, but she assumed Renjun was one who believed someone could never be too careful.

“Did you hear anything else?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“So he's on the third floor—no, he's in the west wing now?” Renjun began to walk at an even slower pace.

“Chenle?” the name sounded hollow coming out her mouth, like it was a name that shouldn't be spoken.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “What do you think they mean by 'patients'?”

“I don't know,” she kept her eyes low. “Maybe they're sick.”

“Chenle wasn't sick,” Renjun frowned. “Anyone could tell that. He was almost too healthy. Too much energy, too bubbly, too . . . happy. But that was just Chenle.”

A gentle smile pushed onto her cheeks. “He sounds fun.”

“He was,” he grinned a little. “I miss him. But if you ever meet him, those words never came out of my mouth.”

She snorted. “Of course not.”

After a moment of silence, she wondered. “So . . . he just . . . randomly disappeared?”

“Well, not really,” Renjun explained. “That's what everyone else thinks, but I saw them take him out of his cell.”

“How did you even manage to skip the pill?” she asked. After thinking about it, her eyes widened. “You didn't make yourself puke it up did you?”

“No,” he almost laughed, shaking his head. “I put it between my gum and my cheek. I noticed they only really check under your tongue, so go figure. I only did it because I was tired of feeling like I never really got any sleep, you know? You take the pill and you're out for a split second, then you hear the alarms. You don't get time to relax, or fall asleep, or think about things, or be alone. I don't even have dreams anymore.”

She hummed, understanding everything Renjun was saying. She'd felt the same that morning; she didn't feel refreshed or like she had a good night's sleep either.

“But,” he continued. “Jaemin and Mark don't really care. They just take it like they're supposed to. Sometimes I think deep down I really am just paranoid about everything. I think maybe Mark and Jaemin are right . . . but when I think about the night I watched them take Chenle in his sleep and not bring him back . . .”

“That is weird,” she agreed. “But at least now we have an idea as to where he might be.”

Renjun slowly came to a halt, eyeing the ground in deep thought. “I wonder . . .”

She stood by him patiently, waiting for him to gather his thoughts. She didn't know Chenle, or much about him, but she could clearly tell he was important to Renjun. Even if he wasn't, the sole idea of grown adults taking an unconscious teenager from their room at night and never returning him made her feel icky. The fact that it was scaring Renjun made her feel worse.

“What if we could get into the west wing?” he looked at her.

“We?” she raised her eyebrows.

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I meant me. What if I can get in there somehow? And look around, maybe? Even if I can just see him to see that he's okay.”

“But the doors are locked,” she reminded him. “And there's soldiers and doctors everywhere.”

“I just need a key card,” he thought. “Or maybe I can pretend there's something wrong with me and they'll take me for a checkup.”

“I thought you said the checkups aren't actual checkups? What if you disappear too?”

“It doesn't matter,” Renjun shook his head. “At least I'll know what they've been doing with Chenle.”

“Renjun, that's dangerous,” she frowned. “And if you're going, I'm going. So think of a way we can both get in, okay?”

Renjun looked at her for a moment. Pursing his lips, he nodded. “Okay, I'll think about it tonight. We can talk more about it tomorrow, but I wouldn't say anything around the others yet.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “I won’t.”

They continued the remainder of the walk back to their rooms quietly, and when she entered her room, it was surprisingly empty. She assumed Mark went to bug Jaemin, but she wasn’t going to complain. After talking to Renjun, she had a lot to think about.

Why did she agree to sneak into the west wing? There was no telling what could happen if they were caught. But then again, she couldn't help herself. Not only did she feel like someone was being wronged, she was curious. If what was behind the doors wasn't so bad, why couldn't they go inside? Why was so much of the facility a secret?

She tried to imagine what Chenle looked like. She thought of someone happy and smiley. Someone that was so bright that they made people happy just by being in the room. That's what she imagined him to look like based off of what she had heard so far. A part of her wanted to help Renjun for Chenle. Another part wanted to help for Renjun. And the other part for herself. So she decided she would. She was going to help Renjun find Chenle.

But how, she wondered. There was no was they would both be sent into the west wing at the same time for being pretending to be sick, was there? Not when they had an entire separate medical clinic outside of the west wing. What about the key card? There was no way they could get close enough to a soldier to get a hold of their key card. Especially without them noticing. She hadn't even talked to a soldier since—

Her eyes widened. She did know a soldier; and he was their only way into the west wing. They needed Lucas.

—

masterlist | part 1 | part 3

restrained — part 1

masterlist | part 2

a/n | this is my first time posting so im really nervous but i hope u like it🥺🥺

—

Except for the Generation Z—or just the Z, she heard people call them. Suspicion rose like wildfire when the world realized: the disease didn't affect the young. They were immune. She was immune. The youth were thriving, and the millennial were dying; and they were going to do all they could to save themselves.

•

It had been a month since her parents died. She would never be able to forget that day, simply because of the looks on their faces: it wasn't horror, or pain. There was no sadness, tears, or goodbyes. They were laughing. First it was her mother, who she'd found curled in a ball on the living room floor. Her cheek was smeared with blood from the constant nose bleeds, giggling to herself like a child in their sleep—but this time she didn't wake up. When she had rushed to tell her father about it, he didn't budge a muscle, not much to her surprise. He simply continued his eerie drawing of messy scribbles as if it were his life work, telling her not to worry about it. Her father was an artist before the disease—so part of seeing him do something he did before the chaos made her feel normal. But when her father collapsed not long after, spitting out the familiar deep red tint of the blood she would never get used to—it was over. She was alone. Broken.

When the disease first broke out, many people evacuated the city—and even the country if they could, trying to avoid getting sick. But her parents were urged to stay, thinking it ridiculous to run from a sickness. It just wasn't possible—it could be anywhere. Even if they were right, being at home was just as dangerous as being anywhere else—and their deaths were to show for that.

She hadn't dared to leave the house since then. It was too dangerous to go out alone with all the Crazies (the infected that you should definitely stay away from), especially by herself. There was enough food to suffice, although she knew it wouldn't last forever. Fortunate enough, soldiers from a nearby facility managed to scout her out, along with some other kids from the area. They promised to take them somewhere else. Somewhere safe.

Seeing no better option, here she was. Leaning against the worn leather seat of the half empty school bus. Most of the kids looked around her age; no older than 18, she guessed. She caught glimpse of a young girl who couldn't have been older than ten, and almost felt her heart break. Where were her parents? Did the little girl have to see the things that she saw? The little girl's parents weren't with her anymore, and now she was alone. Nothing was familiar to her anymore. Or anyone.

The engine sloppily roared to life, vibrating the vehicle and everything inside of it. She leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes as she tried keep her mind clear. She didn't want to think about anything. She didn't want to be scared, or sad, or even excited. She just wanted to get there. She couldn't bring herself to admit it, but she didn't want to be alone anymore.

“Hello,” she plastered on a tight smile. “My name is Lillian. I'll be your guide for today, so if you could just follow me, I would be more than happy to show you around the facility.”

She stepped off of the bus without another word. One by one, the kids on the bus followed behind Lillian's trail, murmuring among each other as they emptied the bus.

As her feet hit the gravel, her eyes met the modernized facility before her. The center of the building was a massive four stories high, holding nothing between her and the inside but tinted glass windows. On the left and right sides, the building branched off of the first and second floors into more secured buildings with cement walls and much fewer windows. The building structure reminded her of a bird spreading it's wings. It was less broken down than any of the other buildings she'd seen lately, too.

It wasn't empty inside, but it wasn't exactly buzzing with life either. An old lady with overly-rosy cheeks took place at the front desk, flashing a half-hearted smile before returning to her book. A few sofas accompanied the spacious lobby, occupied by chattering teens, some elementary kids scattered across the floors, a few girls playing with dolls and a young boy reading a picture book.

Seems homey enough.

“This is the lobby. You can come to our receptionist, Mrs. Lynn, any time you have a question. The entire second floor contains the kitchen and cafeteria, where you will be served three meals a day,” Lillian pointed to the black spiral staircase in the center of the room that lead to the second floor. She turned back to the small crowd. “And the east wing is where you will be sleeping. I apologize if it's an inconvenience, but eventually everyone will be put two per room, for obvious spacial reasons.”

She returned her backside to the group, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she trotted towards towards the east wing. “For one, the west wing as well as the third and fourth floors are completely off limits. You can't operate the elevators or open the doors without access to a key, regardless. Two, we do have a basic schedule. Breakfast is at 9 AM, lunch is at noon, and dinner is at 6 PM. Curfew is at 9 PM and you're to go back to your rooms until morning.”

The automatic doors leading to the wing slid open, allowing the newcomers to pour in. Lillian led down the wide hall before taking another right. The new hall was lined with more tinted glass, and if it weren't for the lights on on the other side, she wasn't sure if she would be able to tell what was behind it.

What was on the other side of the glass surprised her—a bunk bed pushed against the wall of the, astoundingly, but barely spacious area. The room contained a tall dresser, a small table, and even a tiny sink pushed in the far corner. It was far from dazzling, but it wasn't bad. Duplicates of the room were lined down the hall on both sides. Only a thin, back wall separated the rooms side by side; but it was better than more glass.

Her group waited for further instruction as Lillian came to a halt. She pointed to the small lights above the glass doors. “Two green lights means the room is completely vacant. One green light means someone is still in need of a roommate. You may also look for rooms in the opposite hall, so pick and choose as you please. You'll have time to get yourselves situated before dinner. There will be a bell to signal when it's time to come up. Any questions?”

She wasn't surprised when no one spoke up; she'd spit so much at them in the span of five minutes . . . it was hard to process everything at once. With a simple nod, Lillian gestured for the group to get to business before exiting the hall with her busy pace.

Being near the back of the group, she trudged behind slowly, waiting for others to pick their rooms. Her eyes scanned the green lights. She already told herself she was going to look for one with only one green light; she didn't want to take a vacant room from someone who might want to share with someone they came with. She, however, wouldn't know her roommate regardless.

A young boy sat up from the bottom bunk, his dark and messy hair falling into his eyes. He looked a little caught off guard. “Oh, uh, hi.”

“Hi,” she pursed her lips. “Is it okay if I room with you? If not, I can find another—”

“No, no,” he shook his head almost too quickly. “It's fine. Really. You, uh, want the bottom bunk or anything? I can switch if you want.”

“I'm fine with the top,” she assured him. He nodded awkwardly, and she let her eyes wander around the room. It was identical to all the other ones she'd passed, with the exception of some junk on the dresser and a pair of plain white shoes in the middle of the floor.

“What's your name?” the boy asked, and she told him.

“I'm Mark,” he said as he held his hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she took his hand with a smile. “How long have you been here?”

“A couple of days. Not long, really.”

“Do you like it?”

“I guess so. I mean, it can be kinda weird sometimes, but overall it’s better than being out there,” he scratched the back of his neck.

“Well,” he hesitated. “I guess . . . some buddies of mine think people are being taken from their rooms at night. We thought maybe they're being moved to another facility since we're filling up pretty quick here. But . . .”

“But?” she raised an eyebrow, curiouser.

“I dunno, it's kinda dumb,” Mark brushed it off, clearly antsy. An electronic ding sounded from the intercom, and Mark jabbed his thumb at the ceiling. “You hungry?”

She followed Mark into the lunch line, letting the employees behind the counter fill their plates with the best food she'd smelled in months. Since her parents had gotten sick, she'd mainly relied on canned vegetables and packets of cold meat. She could only handle so many meals of cold hot-dogs and carrots before she decided she would only eat when she thought she was going to starve.

“This looks amazing,” she voiced barely above a whisper.

“Right?” Mark laughed. “When was the last time you ate?”

“It's been a few days,” she admitted. “But only because all I had was canned veggies and refrigerated meat for the last few months. Hot-dogs, bologna, all that. Just the smell makes you wanna puke after a while.”

“Dude, no joke,” he shivered. “Entire months? I would've died the third day. Hot-dogs are fine, like, once a week, if even that. But for months straight? I don't even wanna imagine.”

A small laugh escaped her lips as she shook her head. It almost surprised her, given how long it had been since she'd heard herself laugh. “Don't. You'll be scarred for life.”

When the two finished filling their plates, she followed Mark to a small table near the window. He slid into one of the metal chairs, next to two other boys she hadn't seen before. Taking one of the vacant seats, she placed her tray down next to Mark.

“Ooh,” a boy with fading pink hair flashed the brightest smile in her direction. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Depends,” the blonde next to him raised an eyebrow. “What do you think it is?”

“A pretty girl, a new friend,” the first boy held his grin. “Mine, obviously. Not yours. No one wants to be friends with a three foot gremlin—”

“A three foot—“ the second boy didn't hesitate to pull the other into a headlock, playfully ruffling his hair. The first boy let out a noise that sounded like a mix of struggle and laughter—and she couldn't help but smile. She glanced at Mark, who was smiling to himself as well.

“This is Jaemin,” Mark pointed to the one in a headlock, then to the one initiating the torture. “That's Renjun.”

“Ah, nice to meet you!” Renjun beamed after she introduced herself. “Are you new?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I'm Mark's roommate.”

“Dude, how did you get stuck with a girl?” Jaemin wondered.

Renjun elbowed his arm. “She's literally sitting right there. Everyone picks their cells, dimwit.”

“Cells?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh . . . yeah, according to Renjun, that's what they call our rooms or whatever,” Mark rolled his eyes. “He said he overheard doctors talking one time. They kept calling them 'sleep cells' and 'cell five-oh-whatever'. Like, what is this, a jail?“

“Or a science research lab—which it is,” Renjun held a finger in the air.

Jaemin groaned. “He never stops with the conspiracy theories. Renjun, your life isn't a science fiction novel! Dude, give it up.”

“Listen,” he turned to her, bluntly ignoring Jaemin. “Don't you think it's weird that we can't go into the west wing? Or the top two floors? Or that we can't go out past 9 o'clock? That they lock us in our rooms until morning? And people are going for 'checkups'—” he quoted with his fingers. “—in the west wing; and some of them aren't even coming back! Not to mention this place is literally called a Youth Repository Facility. Like they think we don't know big words. They're acting like we're objects! Don't you think it's a little weird?”

She pondered. He was convincing, but she'd only been there for no longer than an hour. What would she know? Not to mention she didn't know any of them well enough to tell if he was just a kid that played way too many video games before the break out.

“Dude,” Mark deadpanned. “It's called authority. Yeah, maybe they're being extra, but did your parents not give you a curfew? And a dinner time, and a bedtime, and a playtime? Weren't there things you were and weren't allowed to get into at home? See? You're just paranoid.”

“At least people didn't go missing when I was with my parents,” Renjun muttered.

“Missing?” She looked between the boys as they visibly tensed.

“They've been taking people from their cells at night,”' Renjun didn't hesitate to inform. “None of them have came back. Not even—”

“Renjun,” Mark sighed.

“What? Why can't we talk about it? I watched them take Chenle, and he still hasn't come back. He was our friend, so why do you keep pretending like it didn't happen?”

“You wouldn't even be on about this if you would have just taken your pills like you were supposed to . . .” Mark added.

“What pills?” she asked.

“Sleeping pills,” Renjun said, lowering his voice. “They make us take fucking sleeping pills. Every night! They say it's for our health, but health my ass. If I didn't skip them, no one would know anything about Chenle.”

“Look, we don't know what happened to Chenle. There's as much of a chance that something good is happening to him as there is something bad,” Jaemin tried.

“Automatically assuming it was something good doesn't make it something good,” Renjun huffed.

“Neither does assuming it's something bad. There's nothing we can do here, Jun. We just have to wait,” Jaemin said softer, easing the tension in the air. He pinched his ear. “For now why don't you lay off those evil scientist novels you hide under your bed, huh?”

Renjun flicked Jaemin's hand off, pouting. “I hope they take you next and dissect your brain.”

As the two boys bickered on, conversation eventually drifted off into lighter subjects. She found out that Renjun and Jaemin had been classmates before the breakout, and that they came here together. Mark had met the two the day they all arrived. To her surprise, Renjun and Jaemin shared a cell only four doors down from hers and Mark's. It made her feel better knowing she had people she could trust around her. After going months without speaking to a single sane person—this was a breath of fresh air.

She stood to place her tray in the window of piling dirty trays, where a man with graying hair washed the dishes. After flashing a friendly smile, she returned to Mark and the others. Jaemin continued babbling something about something 'being so cute' and Mark would constantly scrunch his nose and reply with, “Dude . . .”

Making their way back to the lobby, the four friends decided to take lounge on two nearby couches that sat face to face, divided by a small mahogany coffee table.

“So,” Jaemin plopped onto the seat across from her. “Do you like the facility so far?”

“It's okay,” she shrugged. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say; only being there for about an hour didn't give her a lot of time for everything to sink in. As for first impressions went, it was a nice place. It was clean, organized, and there were a lot of kids her age. She felt comfortable. But . . . she couldn't shake the eerie feeling off from what Renjun had said earlier. “I'm just glad I'm not alone anymore.”

She hated the feeling of being alone in her dark, cold house. The electric didn't work, and neither did the heat—so it being late September, she clung to layers of blankets and the few candles she had left like her life depended on it. She locked herself in the bathroom, too horrified by the sight and smell of her parents rotting bodies. She wanted to move them—she did. She wanted to bury them and say proper goodbyes. But she couldn't make herself do it. She couldn't handle it. Everything was too quiet. Too empty. She was too alone.

She smiled. Now she has them.

“Yeah!” Jaemin chirped. “Let's make it a promise.”

“Make what a promise?” Mark raised an eyebrow.

“Go like this,” Jaemin crossed his wrists over each other, holding out his pinky fingers. Everyone followed. “Let's promise to always be there for each other, yeah? I, Na Jaemin, swear that if any of you need anything, I'll be there for you.”

She shared a glance with Mark and Renjun, who didn't seem opposed to Jaemin's antics. Personally, she liked the idea. She felt safe knowing she had people she could count on. All she wanted was to feel safe again.

“So do I,” she said, linking her pinky with his. Renjun and Mark followed suit almost immediately after, much to Jaemin's satisfaction.

“Good,” Jaemin smiled as they released the small pinky promise circle. “With that being said, someone find me some ice cream—“

Mark raised a hand. “I'm all for that.”

Rolling her eyes, she let out a laugh. She wasn't sure how she got stuck with three idiotic boys—but she wasn't going to complain. After the four had been goofing around for what seemed like forever, mentions of a shower came up. When Mark saw her eyes light up, he informed her where the showers were, and an extra change of clothes in their room. Thanking him, she head off to grab them.

It didn't surprise her when she opened the bottom drawer of the dresser and found nothing but black sweatpants and the same URF logo t-shirt she'd seen everyone else, including Mark, Jaemin, and Renjun wearing. At least the facility had a sense of comfort; they could've put everyone in boxy uniforms or prison jumpsuits.

Slipping back into the hallway, she recited Mark's directions to the showers. It was only two turns from their hall, but the facility was huge—she couldn't help but feel like she was getting lost; and when she'd taken her fourth turn and still hadn't came across the showers, she let out a defeated sigh. I'm such an idiot.

Before she could turn to backtrack her steps, she heard a deep voice call from down the other hallways. “Hey, can I help you?”

The slightest amount of panic surged through her body. Was she somewhere she wasn't supposed to be? Was she going to be in trouble? “I—No, sorry . . . I was just looking for the showers.”

As the soldier approached, she noticed that he was definitely not as old as she thought he was going to be. Or should be. He was the youngest soldier she'd seen since the disease broke out; most soldiers were around their fifties—they were always older. That's how it worked. The younger ones were controlled, and the oldest ones controlled. So seeing a soldier so strangely close to her age felt odd. It was like an army of wolves controlling a crowd of bunnies—but, for some reason, one of the bunnies happens to be in the army of wolves, helping them control the other bunnies. It didn't make sense.

“This way,” the soldier said, leading her back down the way she came at a strictly fast pace. She eyed the gun attached to his him, an uncomfortable feeling washing through her. He wasn't the only one armed like that—they all were. There were soldiers in the lunch room, the lobby, and at one point Jaemin had mentioned that they sweep the halls every night. And they were always armed.

Glancing at the boy's face, he didn't seem like the type to shoot someone, let alone an innocent kid. His eyes were big and dark, nose soft and curved. Underneath the hard mask he wore to be a soldier, he more or less looked like a decent person.

“You look a little young to be a soldier,” she blurted out. He blinked, not bothering to glance at her as he continued down another hall she hadn't taken before. “How old are you?”

“The facility has rules,” he finally replied, voice monotone. “Soldiers, staff and guests aren’t to have personal interactions. Enjoy your shower.”

With that, the boy walked away, leaving her baffled. What was that? “It was just a question,” she mumbled before pushing into the showers.

Mark was lazed across the bottom bunk when she returned to their room, fiddling with something too small for her to see. He looked up when she entered, greeting her with a smile. “Feel better?”

“A lot,” she nodded.

“You look better,” he almost laughed, making her wonder if he was trying to tease her.

She stretched her back. “You have a crush on me now or something?”

“What? No!” He said defensively, reminding you of a little kid. He leaned back on his pillow. “Next time I'll just call you ugly.”

She almost laughs. “You know, I'm glad you're my roommate and not some weirdo—oh wait.”

“And I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that,” he replied.

“You do that,” she grinned as someone knocked on the glass door behind her. The two turned their heads as a nurse took it upon herself to open the door, letting herself in.

“Time for your meds,” the nurse smiled, holding up a tray with two white pills laying on top. “Don't worry, everyone takes it. It's a vitamin to sustain your health and make sure you're getting the right amount of sleep.”

She thought back to Renjun. Vitamin my ass.

Mark looked between her and the nurse, being the first to take the pill. “Thanks.”

She took the remaining pill, rolling it between her fingers. When the nurse didn't leave, she looked to Mark in confusion. He popped his pill in his mouth, swallowing, then opened his mouth for the nurse to check with her mini flashlight. He looked to her, and she did the same. She slid the pill in her mouth, swallowing it without seeing much choice. She opened her mouth for the nurse, lifting her tongue.

The nurse hummed contently. “Now, it may take a tiny bit longer for the medicine to kick in for you, since you've never taken it before, but I assure you a good night's sleep will be with you soon enough.” One nod was all the nurse needed before she took her cue to exit the room.

She and Mark shared a look before he returned to his spot on his bed. “So, Renjun wasn't lying about all that stuff? Was that a sleeping pill?”

“Lying, no,” he admitted. “Exaggerating, maybe. And yeah, the pill pretty much knocks you out.”

“Exaggerating, only maybe?” she asked, crawling onto the top bunk. Exhaustion washed over her.

“I don't know,” he said. The lights in the room dimmed, along with the ones in the hall. She could barely see anything. “He can be extra.”

Was he being extra, though? Or were the others being too oblivious? Everything Renjun said added up—it all made sense. But it wasn't something anyone would be worried about until it was pointed out. The facility was good; they saved lost, innocent kids that somehow ended up alone. They put everyone together, where they can connect and be stronger. They gave everyone a chance to feel normal again—like a part of a family. But the question was; were their motives as good as their actions? Did they have different intentions like Renjun thought? Or was all of this just too much overthinking?

She rubbed her eyes. It was only her first day—she shouldn't be worrying about so much that she didn't know. She should be thankful, and happy that she can go to sleep not having to worry about people invading her house, trying to steal things or putting a gun to her head. It felt nice to know she wasn't alone anymore; everyone in the facility had gone through, and was going through, almost the exact same as her. All of them had lost someone. All of them were alone. All of them were found. All of them were immune. She felt like a part of something again, and she didn't want to lose that feeling.

A sudden click made her jump out of her thoughts. Her eyes fell to the digital clock on the top of the dresser. 9:00 PM. Renjun was right again.

It’d only been roughly 20 minutes and Mark was somehow already snoring—and although she was feeling drowsy herself, her curiosity kept her awake. She shuffled out of bed, her bare feet meeting the cold ground as she tiptoed her way to the thin, glass door. She gripped the icy, metal handle and tugged. It was locked. What was the point of locking them inside if they were asleep? It's not like they didn't just give everyone a sleeping pill to make sure of that.

She lazily glanced at Mark, who was peacefully snoozing. It made her even more tired—but she didn't like it. She felt like she was being forced down; forced to close her eyes to sleep. It didn't feel right. When she spun back to the door, her eyes met with another—the young soldier that she met earlier. She jumped back in surprise, proud of herself for only letting the slightest squeak escape her throat.

The soldier only looked at her, motionless. She slowly lifted her hand, mustering a small wave.

“What are you doing?” he asked, surprisingly audible through the glass. She could tell he was trying to be intimidating, but his round eyes and soft lips betrayed him. Kind of.

“Nothing,” she replied, hazy from the pill. In all honesty, if it weren't for how much she'd been over-thinking, she probably would've been fast asleep already.

“You were trying to open the door,” he glanced at her hand, gripping the metal door handle. She immediately released it.

“I was just curious,” she admitted.

“Didn't you take your pill?” he asked, sounding a little more casual.

“Yes,” she felt herself wobbling, her knees almost failing to keep herself upright. She didn't feel as tired as her body made her out to be, which annoyed her to the core. Why couldn't she keep her eyes open a little longer?

“Hey,” the soldier said, putting his finger to the glass. “Go lay in your bed. You're gonna—“

“A personal, unimportant question,” he stated, annoyance tinting his voice. “Now seriously, go lay in your bed before you fall over or something.”

Much to her misfortune, as she took her fourth step, everything in front of her faded into black, and she couldn't hold herself up anymore. She let herself sink to the cold floor, curling into a ball as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Damn sleeping pill.

—

masterlist | part 2

restrained — snippet

•

“Listen,” Renjun turned to her, bluntly ignoring Jaemin. “Don’t you think it’s weird that we can’t go into the west wing? Or the top two floors? Or that we can’t leave our rooms past 9 o’clock? That they lock our doors until morning? And people are going for ‘checkups’—“ he quoted with his fingers. “—in the west wing, and they aren’t even coming back! Not to mention this place is literally called a Youth Repository Facility. Like they think we don’t know big words. They’re acting like we’re objects! Dont you think it’s a little weird?”

“At least people didn’t go missing when I was with my parents,” Renjun muttered.

“Missing?” She looked between the boys who visibly tensed.

“They’ve been taking people from their cells at night,” he didn’t hesitate to inform. “None of them have came back. Not even—“

“Renjun,” Mark sighed.

“What? Why can’t we talk about it? I watched them take Chenle, and he still hasn’t come back. He was our friend, so why do you keep pretending like it didn’t happen?”

“You wouldn’t even be on about this if you would have just taken your pills like you were supposed to . . .”

“What pills?” she asked.

“Sleeping pills,” Renjun said, lowering his voice. “They make us take fucking sleeping pills. Every night.”

restrained — masterlist

status | ongoing

category | dystopian!au, post apocalyptic!au, angst, somewhat inspired by maze runner: scorch trials

characters | female 3rd person x nct dream + lucas (and possibly more)

warnings | swearing, violence (not gore), dark themes

synopsis | after an outbreak of a mysterious disease, more than half of the world population dies out. after witnessing her parents die first hand to the disease, she finds herself staying in a facility organized to shelter the youth—the only ones immune to the disease. she’s more than happy to make her first friends in months—Mark, her roomate. Renjun, the conspiracist. Jaemin, the happy-go-lucky. given three meals a day, a shower, a bed to sleep on, and new friends to call family, it seems like she’s finally in her safe haven. but when the four friends begin to uncover darker secrets about the facility, they begin to wonder if they were truly saved; or if they were brought there for something much, much worse.

a/n | this story will have 7 alternate endings, one for each member!! (a lot of members wont show up until later) also disclaimer: this fic is really long. there will be a lot of parts and they will all be pretty long lol. this is my first time posting one of my writings so i hope you like it<33

snippet — part 1 — part 2 — part 3

#nct au #nct dream #nct dream au #nct angst #nct imagines #jisung au #jaemin au #renjun au #mark au #jeno au #chenle au #haechan au #jaemin angst #chenle angst #mark angst #renjun angst #jisung angst #haechan angst #jeno angst

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winwinneedslines

[7:50pm] Taeyong drowns you in the bath tub and throws a plugged toaster in when he saw you writing smuts about Chenle and Jisung.

renjuninthecandlelight

{1:02 am} The love Renjun had for you was immense. And this was evident by the fact that he never refused to sing a song for you, no matter how tired he was

jaerkie

[00:04] As a time-traveler, you loved to jump, to different times and different places, to meet different people. Though, the year 2019 changes everything, when you meet and fall in love with another time-traveler, Huang Renjun. But here’s the thing — you jump forwards while he jumps backwards.

softblockwashere-deactivated202

can we get a real kdrama where all of nct dream is playing themselves and they’re all high school students that messed with the wrong things like an ouija board or sumn and now they’re trying everything to stop the spirits coming from the other dimension to haunt the school send tweet

incorrectnctposts

taeyong: why did i have to find out you got into trouble at school through kun?

renjun: because kun is a fucking snitch.

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incorrectnctposts

lucas, while drunk: i mean technically if humans fell out of trees long enough we’d evolve and grow wings

renjun, perfectly sober: does this mean i can push you off a cliff—

jenobeano-deactivated20190312

10:16pm

renjun’s head is in your lap and he’s rambling on about aliens and outspace. every once in a while he stops but once you encourage him to keep talking you soon realize you got yourself into something. but seeing the way his eyes light up when you ask him questions and how he squeezes your hand when saying something exciting just makes you want him to talk even more

ichorai

NCT as zombie apocalypse things:

Taeyong: *Runs over zombies with a tank* "Jisung, get in the damn car, I'm taking you to school."

Taeil: "I'm taking a nap. You better not be dead when I wake up."

Johnny: *Makes friends with the zombies*

Yuta: *Gets his arm chewed off without realizing*

Kun: *Zombies don't notice him at all bcs he doesn't get enough screen time cOUGH*

Doyoung: *ballistic* "whERE'S JENO?!"

Ten: *crying* "Take Johnny, not me!"

Jaehyun: *Shoots zombie* "Oh no, are you okay?"

WinWin: *Zombies fall in love with him*

Jungwoo: "I look hot in these camo pants and you know it."

Lucas: *Paints on his face so he looks like a zombie as a survival tactic*

Mark: Dies in the end bcs he has headphones on and can't hear the zombies.

Renjun: *Having a political conversation with a zombie* "-And that's why you should NOT eat me."

Jeno: Purposely becomes a zombie so he could protect Jaemin.

Haechan: *Straight up slaps the zombie*

Jaemin: *Places banana peels all around house* "They'll never get in!"

Chenle: *screams in dolphin* "EATING HUMAN FLESH IS UNHEALTHY. TRY THE VEGETABLES THAT DOYOUNG FORCES YOU TO EAT, IT'LL MAKE YOUR SKIN LOOK NICER."

Jisung: *Explaining to zombie* "Taeyong told me not to talk to strangers."

cherrymarks

Renjun: *walking up to the teacher, who is turned to the board*

me:

Renjun: *doesn’t touch the teacher, but only does a cute lil dance behind, waving for her attention*

Me:

jaeminesque

Chocolate Milk↬

I wonder what their lips taste like.

Synopsis: While chocolate milk stained your wrist, your hand stained his heart.

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: hhhh cussing??

Theme: soulmate au, fluff

Keep reading

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chanmv

i dont think i’ll ever forget how on one of the dreamies recent lives the other dreamies asked hyuck why he was so quiet and he said because some fans in the comments told him to be quiet because he was talking too much at the beginning… which is 100% fucked up. if you can’t support and respect each and every member and still call yourself a fan, you’re wrong. you don’t have the right to call yourself a nctzen.

nctme-nctu

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