I woke with my head leaned against the bench where Shelby and Taehyung sat up to sleep the night before. My head throbbed, still feeling full of water and picking up on several sounds around me.

Namjoon and Yoongi ripped apart the inside of the camper, tossing out the table, chairs, and cabinets to make more room for sleeping. Branches cracked outside as the others prepared a small fire to keep us warm and if I wasn't mistaken someone was fighting.

My legs were stiff from being bent to fit in the cramped space, Yoongi offering a hand as he urged me to get moving as everyone else had.

"You should let the sun dry your clothes the rest of the way. If not they'll mildew and you'll smell just as bad as the undead." He teased, flicking my ear as I passed him on my way out of the camper while I rubbed my eyes.

"Shutup prick." I mumbled, squinting against the glare of sun that sprayed through the trees, giving the impression of a brighter day.

Jimin's voice called out. "Again!" He sparred with Shelby to my left. There was a familiarity in the line of frustration above her eyebrows as she stood from where she'd fallen to her knee with his jab, resuming a stance that showed she was ready to attack.

I took a seat on the ground next to Taehyung, his hair fluffed out and frizzy. He was still as handsome as ever under the wiley mop.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, his eyes heavy and unrested.

"Everything's sore, especially my shoulder. Hell, it feels like there's a right hand there that's sore too." He lifted his arm to show me his uncovered forearm, absent of a hand and the skin scarred from the sloppy removal. "I'm wiggling my fingers at you." He laughed, tilting his head so that it fell against the tree that supported our backs.

I giggled at his ability to always remain goofy even at his worst. Shelby groaned a few feet over as Jimin wrapped an arm around her in a headlock and she tapped his arm as he instructed. "Stop getting distracted."

She pushed Jimin when he let her go, huffing in annoyance and diverting her attention from where she took a second to look at Taehyung and I.

To the other side Jin whined, thunking Jungkook on the top of the head with the small branch he'd dropped. "You too." Jin iterated, the pair heading from the edge of the trees into the clearing with firewood balanced on their shoulders.

"She's going to be great." Taehyung seemed lost in another world as he watched her, mouth slightly agape as he took in every move. She was doing well, picking up on some of Jimin's patterns though he never made training easy.

"Lets gather up." Every conversation and motion halted as Namjoon stepped down from the camper with Yoongi trailing behind. He held onto a few planks of wood, broken up cabinets that he threw in along with the pile of branches that'd been collected.

We sat in a circle around the small fire Jungkook sparked and fanned, small flames growing slowly to mask the area of the cold air.

"I think we should stay here to rest for a few days. It feels pretty secure for now and it's near water. Some of us can make a run to scavenge for food and clothes. The others will do some hunting and figure out where to go from here." Namjoon relayed, rubbing his hands together and holding his palms up to the fire.

I wondered if it'd be like this from now on, settling in the safest place until it wasn't then moving on and scouring for any scraps left behind by time.

Namjoon pulled a map from his back pocket, the pages thin and susceptible to tearing as he unfolded it to lay on the ground. He pointed to a spot that marked our general area based on the direction we traveled.

"These towns on the outskirts of the capital may have more suburban areas that haven't been taken over. We'll start with Knightdale to see what we can find and head further out into Wendell if we need." He had everyone's ear.

We spent time going back and forth over who would go on the search or stay behind, splitting the group in half. Jimin insisted that Shelby should join for her first official run and while I worried for her I didn't protest, trusting that she'd be well taken care of with him, Namjoon and Yoongi at her sides.

In dire need of physical and mental rest after the grueling day prior, we sat around the fire sharing the last of our food and listening to Jin retell stories that simultaneously carried humor and pain. He told of pranks they pulled on each other, recalling leaving Hobi behind during a run to an old convenience store, leaving him momentarily worried that he was in the world alone before returning and stealing all of Jimin's clothes while he washed in a stream. We laughed until we cried and our eyes glazed over with remembrance of better days.

Though we'd all slept at the same time the night before, unable to keep ourselves from succumbing to exhaustion, tonight we resumed shifts of keeping watching for any signs of danger. A trail of smoke still rose from the fire that'd been put out and the metal roof of the camper was cool against my calves as they hung over the edge.

It hadn't been long since Namjoon headed back inside for some rest, checking that I was okay and letting me know he'd send someone in his place. I hadn't slept yet, something about the quiet of night being both a comfort and making me want to scream.

I giggled at Shelby's censored cursing from below as she climbed the rickety ladder up the side of the trailer. It creaked as she made her way up and she fussed about my teasing.

"You could have offered me a hand." She chided, poking her tongue out as she took the spot next to me. Even more of her legs were exposed by her ripped dress than mine and she sucked in a breath at the touch of chilled aluminum. A small blanket was tucked under her arm, just enough to spread over our legs.

We sat in silence for a while, my arm looped around hers while she rested her head on my shoulder. The air was crisp and our breaths came out in tufts of white.

"So what's the deal with Jungkook?" She wondered when she spoke again. Even without seeing her face I would tell that she was grinning with coy curiosity.

"Nothing. What's the deal with Taehyung?" I countered, arching an eyebrow in question when she lifted her head to look at me.

She chuckled at my deflection and something about it didn't sound full, only a tinge of amusement laced with hopelessness. "Same," she replied, "and it's kind of soon since I'm still on the run from my ex."

"But you're open to it one day?" I questioned.

"You're not?" She retorted quickly. "Obviously it'll take a lot of time to get over all the Carolus and Gideon stuff, but he's nice and incredibly easy on the eyes."

"That's an understatement." We bit back our laughter to avoid disturbing the others.

She nudged me, rolling her eyes when I looked at her in query. "You ignored my question. I mean, I know you said before that there isn't really room for romance out here but I see the way you are with Jungkook. It's different than the others." She iterated.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. I don't think I'll ever want to be with anyone again." I confessed. I wasn't oblivious to the feelings that he drew forth within me, but there was too much I couldn't give him.

"Because of what happened at the prison?" It seemed like she asked the question before thinking, the tone of her voice changing at the instinctual reply. "You left out a lot when we talked before. Taehyung told me more when we were out there together. I don't think he meant to say anything he shouldn't have. He was half-conscious and I kept making him talk so that he didn't go completely out. He talked about finding you." She rambled in an attempt to clarify.

"It's fine, it's just hard for me to talk about." Every muscle in my body tensed.

Her hand felt heavy as it covered mine and I thought that any more pressure would make me burst. "You don't have to."

It was all that needed to be said to lift the weight from my shoulders. I turned to her, swinging back around to the question that started our conversation. "We kissed."

Somehow she knew the statement was about Jungkook, her the whites of her eyes showing more as they widened against the dark. Before I could explain the circumstances further Yoongi's voice sounded out in the night, calling up to me from the few feet below.

"Alena, shift's up. Go to sleep." He spoke in what was a combination of a whisper and shout.

"I'm not sleepy." I refuted him in the same fashion. The ladder clanged against the side of the camper as he stepped onto the first rung.

Shelby backed him up. "He's right. At least go in to warm up. It's alarming that you aren't more affected by the cold."

I was already standing by the time Yoongi made it to the top. Just as he'd greeted me in the morning, I flicked his ear as we passed each other. He grabbed onto it as if I'd punched him with all my force but I caught the corners of his mouth lifting when I bid them goodnight, referring to the pair as my best friends before lowering myself to the ground.