The Cataclysm {Stray Kids Chan}

Widespread

present.

We all met up in the main room and stood, looking expectantly at Chan. Woojin held the map up for him while he pointed to the areas we'd go and others we'd stop to rest at. "Once we reach here, there should be a town called Oldshore. We'll go and explore the area and see if we can find anything of use. The most important thing though is to be careful. We have no idea what's out there.

"After we find everything we need, we'll walk a couple of miles and stop and rest here at Barebrook," he says as he points to another town on the map. "Any questions?" He looks around at the members, nobody speaking up. "Alright. Are we ready?"

Most members nodded while others didn't move at all, staring off into space. I glance up at Chan and our eyes meet. I nod and he exhales, "Okay. Let's get going then. We have a long day ahead of us."

We all stand and Woojin hands Chan the map, Chan folding it and putting it into his backpack. I walk over to Changbin who seemed to be spacing out, "Hey. You good?" He snaps his neck in my direction then sighs.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. I'm just thinking about how if we find a cure to this thing and return home, I won't have anyone to go to. Where am I supposed to go, Rowan? You guys are all I have," he looks down sadly and frustratingly runs his hands through his hair.

I rub his back, "Hey- hey, Binnie. It's going to be okay. You're more than welcome to stay with my mom and I, and I'm sure any of the other members would welcome you to stay with them as well. You're not alone, Changbin."

"Thanks..." he replies. I take his hand and squeeze it reassuringly, "Let's get going, okay? Try not to worry too much."

He nods and he stands up. I let go of his hand as we make our way out of the house and out into the morning sun. The others were waiting for us as we caught up to them with our belongings in hand.

Chan leads our group-our family- in the direction of our first destination. He, Hyunjin, and Jisung all had some kind of knife with them, Woojin had a machete, Seungmin carried a sickle, Minho and Changbin packed a gun each with a few extra packs of bullets, Felix had a baton, and Jeongin had nothing except a bottle of pepper spray which probably wouldn't do much in the face of danger.

I, on the other hand, carried a gun as well but I wasn't that experienced with it. I only ever practiced when I went out to the range with my dad when I was younger, but that was a long while ago, a time before the world went to ruins and came tumbling down in disaster.

Before this... 'disease' took over the world as we knew it.

Before I worried about everything around me.

Before the end human life, as I saw it.

11 years ago...

"Yes!" I shout and jump up and down after taking my previous shot, the bullet striking close to the bull's eye of the target.

My dad pats me on the back, "Nice job, Pumpkin!" I giggle and glance up at him, quickly throwing my arms around his torso and burying my face in his stomach.

The sun begins to sink below the horizon and my dad rubs the top of my head, "Let's get going, it's getting late. We'll come back soon."

I frowned at first but it soon turned into a smile, "Can you buy me ice cream?"

He chuckled and responded, "Of course, Sweetie. Come on," he held my hand as we walked back to the truck with him holding the muzzleloader and me carrying the penetrated target. We put the things in the bed of the truck and I got in the passenger seat, my dad hopping into the driver's seat and starting the engine.

I reached over and turned up the radio, singing along to most of the songs that were played. I rolled down the window and shouted the lyrics out of it, the wind carrying my words as it passed. I let my hand hang out the window as my dad chuckled at my actions.

That was one of the best memories I have with my dad. We went to the shooting range every Saturday evening, sometimes on Wednesdays as it was my dad's off day. My mom always waited for us to get home with dinner ready on the table and we'd eat happily while sharing about our day.

It was tradition.

Until we got moved into the government-secured cite. We call them towns, Cardend is where I came from, but in all honesty, they're more like prisons. I later found out that there was extreme overpopulation and the government tried fixing it by giving people shots to "put them to sleep".

As you can tell, it didn't work out as planned.

At first, it was believed to be an allergic reaction. But when the symptoms got worse as days progressed and everyone who had the shot turned out the way previous subjects had, everyone realized it was a disease. An epidemic spreading and multiplying by the minute.

The government did nothing to stop it. Instead, they continued trying to create a vaccine to kill people as the disease continued spreading with each death. It's not contagious unless you are attacked by one of the creatures. If you're bitten or scratched, you're considered dead right away. As of now, there's no known cure for it.

I hadn't seen one of the creatures until recently and I have just now pieced everything together. They are the product of the vaccines. That's why Mom wanted me to run. Everyone put inside these said 'towns' was planned to be given a shot.

So what about my parents?...