#i didn't know you weren't supposed to open car air fresheners all the way when you first get them

[sampegger]

fucked up asshole my friend got me as a joke a few days ago that stinks up my car

[saniiieee]

Hope for Humanity

hi guys so this was actually the story that i submitted on the ateez board so i just thought i'd post it here for u guys to read :^) i hope u enjoy it!

word count: 2.1k

genre: sci-fi??? im not sure but it's something like that ㅠㅠ

warnings: kidnapping, near-death experience

After the catastrophe occurred, everything changed.

The skies never became blue again, the grasses never grew back to its green shade, the stars that were once twinkling brightly were nowhere to be seen, and even the sounds of the noisy cicadas at night were never heard from again.

A year passed by but nothing seemed to change.

Is all hope really lost for humanity?

--JULY 7, 2021--

The rays of the sun kissed his soft skin as the waves nearby crashed to the shore. Birds were chirping melodies that rang beautifully in his ears. A waft of the seawater brought by the winds caught the attention of his nose that calmed him down.

His body laid still, enjoying the warmth that the sun brought after a long year of living under a grey sky.

A long haired figure walked towards his direction and sat down beside him.

“Seonghwa-ya,” the figure whispered.

His eyes slowly opened and was met by a pair of brown eyes that belonged to a woman. Her scent reminded him of the freesia flowers that his mom used to gather from their garden back home.

"No matter what happens, you have to find mom. Okay?" She said in a gentle tone, her eyes welling up in tears as she took his hand and handed him a silver bracelet.

Lips quivering, she smiled at him one last time. She got up and slowly retreated, fading into thin air.

Noona. His eyes shot open as he came to his senses, a stray tear falling down his eye. A cold object was clasped in his hand--his older sister's bracelet.

Even though it was a dream, the scent of his sister still lingered near but slowly faded away.

Seonghwa was separated from his sister back in the rescue camp when they had to segregate the men from women.

As if having an amnesia, he doesn't remember her name, but he knows it was her older sister.

He scanned the place and realized that he was alone, sitting up on a couch, inside his friend's cabin.

It was the usual quiet night with the cold breeze of July brushing on his cheeks, sending chills down his spine.

Standing up while rubbing his hands together to make his hands warm, he freshened up and tidied his outfit before heading outside to see if the others were there.

He stepped out and admired the view of the campfire in the middle of the forest, surrounded by carved logs for people to sit on.

"Hyung!" A voice called out. He looked at the source of the voice, sitting on one of the benches.

"Oh Yeosang! I didn't know you were here too!" He joyfully replied back. 

Yeosang was one of his best friends. They met at a rescue camp after the pandemic died down a year ago.

He has blonde hair that matched his complexion and brown eyes that always had a sparkle in them.

"Do you know where everyone went?" Seonghwa asked, walking towards his direction.

The blonde boy shrugged and replied, "I just got here a while ago but I heard that something happened to Yunho's brother so he told me to stay here until you wake up."

Seonghwa nodded in agreement and looked up to the sky only to be met by darkness--no stars; just a dim glint of the moonlight. It was as if he was staring at a blank canvas.

With a lamp in hand, Yeosang offered Seonghwa to take a stroll in a nearby logging area to get some wood for the campfire; and Seonghwa gladly agreed. 

As they were walking, Seonghwa asked, "Did you know that if you looked at the one of the brightest stars at night and make a wish, it will come true?"

The blonde boy looked at the sky for a while and replied with a shrug. Yeosang was legally blind since he was little.

He cannot see anything far away from him so he didn't know what stars really look like except for the ones he saw on story books.

"It's kinda sad because there's not even one star right now and I wanted to make a wish so bad," Seonghwa sulked as they walked quietly to their destination, Yeosang looking at the ground the whole way there.

At the logging area, there was a comfortable silence looming over the two boys while they were picking up wood for the campfire.

The silence was then broken by a sound of footsteps, someone huffing and puffing as if they ran a mile.

"Seonghwa, Yeosang!" The person called out with their shaky voice.

The two boys looked at the source of the voice and it was a woman.

"Haneul noona!" Yeosang exclaimed.

They two boys ran over and helped her sit down on a log. Haneul looked disheveled as sweat ran down her forehead, her eyes swollen for crying so much.

"Please help me find San. We were supposed to go back to the cabin after getting some things for the camp when suddenly someone took him to a truck and fled away," the woman said between sobs, wiping her tears away with her trembling hands.

"Did you see where the truck was headed?" Seonghwa asked as he pat her back to calm her down.

"They were headed northside." Yeosang and Seonghwa looked at each other and helped her up to take her back to the cabin.

3 Hours Ago

"Choi San! I told you to help me pack up food and water for the camp. What on earth are you doing?" San's sister, Haneul, said, clearly irritated by her younger brother's actions.

San was at the doorstep, sitting down with his hands on either side of his cheeks, contemplating his life choices.

Should I still go out with them? He thought to himself.

San stood up abruptly and went inside to help his sister with packing. 

After packing their things, San headed out towards the front of their house with a bag in hand, waiting for his sister to go out.

Suddenly, a truck stopped by and a man walked out heading towards San's direction.

The man's hand covered his mouth while the other hand took his bag and dropped it on the ground as he dragged him back to the truck.

San's sister got out and saw that San was getting dragged by an unknown man towards the truck. She dropped the things she was holding and ran for them but the truck already sped up.

She was left there, panic washing over her face, not knowing what to do.

The truck was speeding through the highway as hiphop music blasted out the stereo.

"Wooyoung! I told you to never to pick me up like that again, someone might have seen you!" San shouted above the booming music inside the truck.

"Yeah I'm sorry it's actually more fun that way," Wooyoung shouted back with a playful smile as they danced to the music.

Wooyoung is San's friend who happens to be a scavenger. He and his gang robs settlements for supplies such as food, water, and medicine--sometimes money if they are lucky.

San was forced to join the gang to pay back Wooyoung's boss who saved them after the pandemic died down. If it weren't for him, they wouldn't be alive and healthy.

San didn't really like the idea of robbing people so he ends up being the getaway driver instead of going out and fighting with the others.

On the way to the settlement they were about to rob, San's eyes were slowly shutting and without hesitation, he drifted into sleep.

San was tied up with chains to a chair.

He opened his eyes and all he saw was darkness. In the darkness, however, a man emerged, staring intently into San's eyes. His lips was sealed off with a chained mask, and an hourglass sat upright on his right hand.

"It's not the reality that makes you lose your dream, it is your decision. Choose well. Will you live like this until your last breath, or will you follow your dream?" The man said with his raspy voice.

All San wanted was to be free from all this mayhem. He wanted to live in peace without disrupting other people's lives.

He wanted to break free from the chains.

He was afraid that one day it will eat up his conscience.

"Choose well." The voice of the man rang through San's ears and he jolted awake, still inside the moving truck.

His heart was beating so fast as sweat dribbled down his forehead.

The thought of running off without anything but a switchblade in the back of his pocket made him ecstatic but nervous at the same time. 

"Hey Wooyoung I think one of our tires are flat, mind checking it?" The driver said as he pushed the hazard button, slowly parking on the side of the road.

I'm sick of this. Now's my chance to go back. San thought to himself.

As the car abruptly stopped, he jumped out of the truck and ran to the direction that they came from with great speed, as if his whole life depended on it.

The driver noticed San escaping and their other gang member tried to run to get him but it was no use, he was already meters away.

"Come on just let him be, guys, I bet he didn't even like this job anyway," Wooyoung said with a broken smile as the two gang members came back to him.

Hours passed, San was exhausted. He laid down on the side of the road, covered in sweat. His lips dry, his throat parched and in need of water.

Is this how I'm going to leave the Earth? Will I not see my sister again? Did I really have to leave Wooyoung behind?

All these questions were running in his mind, asking for answers that he hopes would be given to him.

Suddenly a beam of light came to his view, the purrs of a car engine made him come to his senses. He held up a hand as a signal, hoping for the people inside to see.

The car tires screeched to a halt and San sighed in relief, smiling as his eyes looked up to the dark  sky. Pairs of feet got off the car to go to where San was lying down and one of them was his sister's.

"Choi San! You idiot! Why would you leave your older sister like that?" His sister cried as she cradled him in her arms, tears flowing freely down her face.

San smiled at her and shakily breathed out.

A pair of hands offered to help him sit down and gave him water to drink. San gulped it down as quickly as he can because he craved for water after running for such a while.

Yeosang and Seonghwa were the other two people that his sister was with. Seonghwa took their village captain's car while Yeosang helped Haneul to get supplies for the long ride.

Thanks to them they got to San just in time before he passes out. 

The boys helped San up to walk towards their car to let him rest and get settled down, his sister taking out a blanket from the trunk of the car to keep San warm.

"Hey, we're moving to another settlement. It was raided by a gang and we got out of there just before everything turned into chaos," Seonghwa announced and they all nodded in agreement.

They all got into the car with Seonghwa driving, Yeosang in the passenger's seat, and the Choi siblings at the back. They drove off to another area in hopes that a settlement or village will let them stay.

A day of driving passed by and they stumbled upon the village where Yunho and his brother was living in. There were people guarding the gates in case scavengers try to rob them of their supplies.

Seonghwa drove the car near the gate and notified them about what happened to their settlement.

They were brought in and they were met with Yunho and his brother, welcoming them to their village. They lived there for good and it was a pleasing sight. Everyone was smiling despite the struggles that they've been through.

Yes, there might be some challenges such as shortages of food and supplies; however what matters the most is that they're together, living on and living forward to where life takes them.

Even if the skies will never turn blue again, if the grasses never grew back its green shade, if the stars will never show up in the night sky, and if the sounds of the cicadas at night will never be heard from again, atleast all hope is not lost for humanity.