Do Not Leave Me

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“You’re such an idiot…”

< Kian >

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“RUN!” Max shouted, clenching his arm. Run. That’s all we can do. A low snarl echoed through the city—once full of bustling life, now a barren wasteland.

My breaths came ragged and painful as I searched the chaos for Kael. He was always the slower twin, so naturally, I worried.

“KAEL! Where the fuck are you?!” I yelled, my voice almost giving out. Kael grinned at me. “I’m running, Kian. Calm down!” He hollered, with a laugh.

I glanced back at Max, who was running quite fast with an injured arm. He was dragging Piper, who looked like she was seconds away from bursting into tears.

I heard Ashlyn ahead of us shout. “Come ON! We’re almost there! The entry is just up ahead!” She points at an old bunker. It had been abandoned in panic, which we stumbled upon and set up as our base.

“Ashlyn! Play the alarm!” I barely choked out. “On it!”

As me and Kael rushed under the heavy doors, we whirled around to Max and Piper. Max’s arm was bleeding out at an alarming rate, as Piper began to cry. Ashlyn quickly turned the alarm on and a loud, shrilling screech echoed through the town.

“MAX! Piper! HURRY! IT’S COMING CLOSER!” Ashlyn cried, her hands trembling on the close switch. I glanced behind them, my eyes catching a glimpse of something.

There it was. A Proxy. It still looked mostly like a woman—the “survivor” we thought we saw earlier. But its eyes glowed a deep red, blood dripping from its arms. The blood quickly twisted and formed into a long, sharp blade. Fuck—they need to hurry.

“MAX—” Ashlyn’s panicked shout was cut off by Max’s ragged voice. “CLOSE IT—NOW!” Without hesitation, Ashlyn slammed the switch down, causing the door to quickly begin closing. “Fifteen seconds!” Ashlyn shouted.

The Proxy lunged forward. Its blood blade scraped the concrete, leaving a messy trail. With seconds to spare, Piper and Max slid under the door, relief washing over their faces. A loud slam filled the bunker as the door closed on the Proxy. That was too close.

We all caught our breath, Max closing his eyes for a moment to breathe, Piper looking terrified for Max, Ashlyn sighing in relief.

I turned to Kael, who was lying on the floor, catching his breath. “You okay?” He paused. Then, he got up, grabbed my shoulders, and looked at me seriously. “I’m not Kael, I’m a Proxy.” Oh. My. God. I smacked his head, not hard enough to hurt, but hopefully enough to knock some sense in him.

He recoiled back, placing his hands on his head in defense. “Ow..! Kian! I was just joking! I’m fine!” I rolled my eyes. I grabbed his hands and yanked him up off the floor.

I turned back to the others, Piper was sobbing, while Ashlyn and Max hovered over her. “It’s my fault Max got h-hurt! I’m sorry!” She choked out, her voice small and full of guilt. “If I had watched out, he wouldn’t need to p-push me out of the way!”

Ashlyn tried to explain it wasn’t her fault at all, and she shouldn’t be too hard on herself. Max awkwardly patted her head and muttered, “Don’t cry, Piper. It doesn’t even hurt that much, I’m fine.”

Kael piped up. “Yeah, it wasn’t your fault Piper! If it was anyone’s fault, it was all that stupid Proxy’s fault!! They should all die in a stinking hole…”

Kael’s strangely comforting words made Piper giggle, her crying subsiding. I huffed, feeling somewhat relieved at Kael’s stupid remark. “Oh my God Kael, you stupid—” I muttered, a small smirk tugging at my mouth.

I noticed Max’s heavy breathing as he slid down a nearby wall, shoving his injured arm behind his back. The moment he sat down, blood began pooling beside him, where his arm rested.

“Max?!” I gasped. His breaths were shallow and ragged, as if he’d ran for hours. Ashlyn quickly rushed to his side. Piper’s face went pale, her eyes fixed on the blood as if she couldn’t look away. Ashlyn moved fast, her arm reaching for him.

“Please don’t touch me.” Max huffed, out of breath. He clutched his arm as blood quickly spread across the cold, grey floor. A strong, metallic scent filled the air.

I felt sick. I was never good with blood. My head spun as I shifted my hands to cover my mouth. Ah.. I don’t like this… Shit. I feel like I’m going to throw up.. I thought, stumbling backwards.

“Kian—careful!” I heard Kael behind me. He reached out to steady me, and covered my eyes. “I’ve got you Kian, I’ve got you. Remember what we do? Breathe. Here, drink some water.” His voice was gentle, and comforting.

“Piper, go get the medical kit. Kael, try to steady Max.” Ashlyn commanded. Without a second thought, Piper ran down a hall. Kael roughly shoved one of Max’s baseball hats on my head, blocking the view of Max.

“Don’t look, Kian. I’m going to help them, ’kay? Just. Stay. Here.” He said, his voice serious. “Mmm…” I replied weakly, my knees curled into my chest as I sat on the floor. I’m so useless… I bitterly thought, biting my lip. I only heard frantic voices as I closed my eyes and buried my head into my arms.

“I’m here, what do I do?”

“Hold Max.”

“NO—! No. You don’t need to… I’ll stay still.”

“Max…..You—Fine….”

“Here! The medical kit!”

“Thank you Piper.”

Their voices continued to fill the bunker. I heard soft rustling of clothes, the medical kit opening, and their voices.

I heard the disinfectant wipe packet rip open. “I’m going to disinfect it now Max. Ready?” Ashlyn whispered. “....Yes.” Max replied, with a slight tremor in his voice.

Max sucked in a sharp breath. I heard his tense hiss of pain, and the way he clutches his clothes. “Gngh……Augh…..”

I could tell that Ashlyn felt guilty as she whispered to Max, “I know it hurts Max, sorry.” I was surprised at how well Max was handling it. He’d barely shown any pain. Suddenly, I heard a pained gasp. “AH—! Careful.” To which, Ashlyn replied with a quick apology.

After a moment, they were finished. Kael pulled the hat off my head, and as I opened my eyes, I was blinded by the bright lights of the bunker.

I was met with an exhausted Max, sitting on the floor. The moment he saw me, he quickly unrolled his sleeves, covering his bloodied, bandaged arm. Piper, who had been silent this whole time, whispered meekly, “I’m sorry Max…. Does it hurt..?”

Max stayed silent for a couple moments before coolly replying, “No, I’m fine Piper. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” His heterochromic eyes flickered with something we couldn’t figure out.

As we all settled down, Ashlyn broke the tense silence. “Piper, please don’t be too hard on yourself, but next time, please watch out, okay?” She smiled warmly. “Alright…. I’m so sorry Max…”

“Mm.” He muttered. I cautiously walked to Max, who tensed as I approached. “Hey, Max… are you sure you’re alright?” I asked, glancing at his arm. He carefully hid his arm behind his back as he nodded. Ah, he’s back to being reserved.. He never talks much.. I thought, my eyes meeting his mismatched ones.

“Wow. You look like you have high cortisol right now Max.” Kael blurts out. “Kael—” I start.

Suddenly, Kael, Piper, and Ashlyn start giggling. Max looked genuinely confused, glancing between the giggling group.

After a short session of laughter and calming down, Ashlyn pushes herself up, and sighs. “We got lucky.” She glanced at the heavy door before adding, “That one was a slower one. Still fast, but better than the others me and Max have seen.” Max nods.

Ashlyn continues, “We shouldn’t go out for supplies for a couple days, Piper, check our supplies. We should last a couple days before we need a supply run. And Max, you rest. I can handle things here for now, okay?”

Max seemed hesitant, but ultimately nodded, making his way to his room, gently clutching his arm. I heard Kael approaching me from behind, his voice exhausted, yet delicate. “You okay Kian?” I smiled, lying through my teeth. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

I knew he didn’t believe it, but he didn’t push any further.

Kael smiled, but not a second after, drooped his head down. His breathing was still ragged and short, despite the action being over.

“Kael?”

Kael muttered some response, but I couldn’t understand a word. “Use words, please.” His hands went to grab my sleeves. “I…… cough… Just need to rest….. I’m not…. hurt though.” Kael’s hands subtly came up to his chest, gently clenching his shirt. Ah. Not again.

Without hesitation, I guided him to my room, right across from his, but he tends to be in my room more than his own.

“Sleep.” I ordered, with fondness betraying my tone. I left him alone to rest, and made my way to Ashlyn and Piper in the kitchen. The bunker was silent, the metallic scent still lingering in the air. “Sorry, Kael’s feeling sick again.” I muttered with a sigh.

“Again? Is he alright?” Piper asked, worryingly.

“Yeah, he’ll be fine with some rest. It’s been more frequent though…” Ashlyn frowned slightly. “More frequent..?”

I sucked in a breath as I continued. “Yeah, it’s usually after runs. He says he’s fine and it’s nothing, but…” I trailed off. Ashlyn and Piper shot a worried look down the hall, where my room was. Piper whispered quietly, “Should we do something?”

I thought for a moment, remembering what our parents did to care for him when they were alive. God, I miss them. “He does have some medicine. But I don’t think it will last long…” I muttered, rummaging through the medicine cabinets. I finally pulled out a small, orange pill case. “Plus, he hates taking pills.” I added.

“We can at least try…. He’s more likely to listen to you when you two are alone. Me and Piper can check on Max.” Ashlyn suggested.

I made my way to my room, and slowly creaked it open. “Kael?” I said, my voice soft, as if it would break him.

“Kian.” He replied. His usual hyperness was gone. He glanced at the small case and the glass of water in my hands, and protested before I could even explain. “I don’t want them.”

I sighed, settling down onto the edge of the bed. “Kael… You know you need to take them.” Kael slowly sat up, and stared at the case. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I’ll take them.” I sighed, exasperated.

“Kael…”

“No.”

“Kael, please.”

“Shut up, Kian.”

“It’ll hurt more if you don’t take them now.”

Bingo. He fell into silence. I shifted a little closer to him and added, “You know it will, Kael.”

“....Fine. I’ll take them.” He sighed, finally looking me in the eyes. His soft, golden eyes met mine as he whispered, “Stay. While I take them.” I smiled, my eyes softening. “Of course Kae.”

He grinned, his usual mood returning. “Oh? Using nicknames now? I’d better start calling you Ki then…”

“Do whatever you want.” I snapped, my voice lacking any anger. I gently grabbed his hand as he prepared to take his medicine. He slowly lifted the pill into his mouth and quickly drank the water. His fingers dug into the palm of my hand, his grasp verging on painful. His hands trembled against mine, but he still held a firm grip. After he finally swallowed the medicine, he closed his eyes and slumped against my shoulder and choked out, “Can…. huff…..I sleep here ....huff…. tonight?”

A soft smile tugged at my lips, as I closed my eyes and whispered, “Of course. When have I ever said no?”

“Two weeks ago you did...”

“Hm. I wonder why.”

“Just because I stole your bracelet and necklace doesn’t mean you had to lock me out of your room for a week!”

“Yes, I did, and you literally have your own room.”

“So?”

God, he’ll be the death of me. “Go to sleep.” I huffed, though there was no bite in it. He slumped down onto my bed while grumbling under his breath about something being “stupid.”

When his grip on my hand finally slipped, I set the medicine and cup onto a nearby nightstand.

Silence filled the room as Kael settled in. After a long while, I shifted on the edge of the bed, and whispered, “Kael?”

No response.

I glanced at his face and saw his eyes were shut, his expression relaxed, yet still in pain.

I slowly made my way into the covers of the bed, lying right next to him. For once, he looked peaceful and calm. And quiet, goodness.

His breath hitched slightly, before evening out. It was probably nothing. I thought, before lying back down.

“Good night, Kael.” I whispered, before closing my eyes, succumbing to my dull, aching tiredness.