There were a few straglers from the herd. We took them out quietly as they approached and when it was soundless again we sat on the bed's edge of the pickup Yoongi and I had found safety under. I sighed as we kept our eyes focused on the empty road in front of us before laying back to let my gaze drift to the sky. I wondered about galaxies beyond and if we were the only life left, allowing myself to fantasize about being on another planet. We'd run into aliens who surely had to be kinder than the humans we met or perhaps the filthy rich, having escaped the apocalypse in tiny pods that landed in a world I couldn't fully imagine.

Jungkook and Yoongi looked over their shoulders at the sound of my giggling, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"What's funny?" Yoongi questioned. Jungkook followed my sight as if it would lead him to the origin of my humor, leaning onto his elbows and craning his head.

"Maybe we should go to NASA. We can find a rocket or something." I chuckled. "At this point it'll probably be easier than finding a car."

Yoongi still looked at me with a perplexed expression, shaking his head as he turned his attention to Jungkook. "She's losing her mind." He smirked.

"Not yet." I sat up, plucking the back of his neck.

Jungkook laughed when Yoongi ducked his head so that his shoulders raised to his ears. "We'll find a car." He assured me, returning to his stare down the path that we'd find ourselves traveling the following day.

We sat until there was the smallest amount of light in the sky, casting a faded gray that we used to guide our way back into town. It was just as quiet as before, the herd having passed through or changed direction. We kept away from the open visibility in the road, sticking to the edge where we could disappear into the small patch of trees lining the highway if needed.

Yoongi spotted the restaurant first, sighing with relief as he noticed Namjoon waiting on the steps and standing when he heard the crunch of our shoes against the ground.

"I was worried about the swarm of undead that came through." Namjoon exhaled. Yoongi reached his arm out and they gripped each other's forearm for a moment before Namjoon pulled him in for a hug. Yoongi groaned at the gesture but gave in within a second, wrapping an arm around him in return.

"No car." I reported when he embraced me.

He shook his head over my shoulder, replying as he moved on to Jungkook, squeezing the youngest a little tighter. "As long as you're all okay. We'll go on foot. Hopefully that herd will head right into Carolus and delay them coming after us."

We moved quickly after that. Taehyung hadn't fully recovered, but he was alert and could move enough for us to feel comfortable heading out. With only one hand and an injured shoulder he wasn't as capable of protecting himself, Jimin and Jungkook taking to his front and rear to keep him covered. I fell in line next to Shelby with Jin on my other side, Namjoon and Yoongi guiding us a few steps ahead out of the city and toward the unknown.

We hadn't walked for more than half a mile when the gunshots started, too far away to be directed toward us. Still, it didn't stop us from scrambling away from where we walked along the ditch into the trees.

"Everyone good?" Namjoon called out, eyes darting around to meet every pair of eyes with nods that affirmed his question.

"That's the sweet sound of justice people! Those bitches in Carolus will either die or waste all their ammo trying to live!" Yoongi cheered, thrusting his middle finger into the air.

Jimin and Jungkook chuckled but I caught the way Shelby glanced over her shoulder. Her bottom lip was caught under her teeth in concern and I didn't miss the swift swipe of a tear at the corner of her eye. I wasn't sure if she felt sorrow for the city or Gideon, but slipped my hand into hers with an apologetic squeeze for the celebration she had to witness.

Even so we kept moving. If Gideon survived it'd only delay him from searching for Shelby and if he didn't we still faced the high probability that the noise would lead to more of the undead.

The latter consequence proved itself as we made our way East, encountering more small groups of them. There were usually only enough for a few of us to break off and when there was only one or two I urged Shelby to practice using the machete she carried with discomfort.

We walked until sundown, directionless and tiring with the change in light. I wasn't surprised that Shelby was the first to give out, not being as accustomed to trekking so far, especially since we found ourselves keeping a path parallel to the street through the woods.

She yelped when another branch scratched her leg, everyone falling out of step when I paused next to her. "We should find a place to camp for the night." I suggested.

I reached around to the backpack I wore, tugging a small cloth from a pocket to wipe at the drip of blood that trailed down her calf.

"I'm sure her royal magesty can make it a little longer since we're running for her sake." Yoongi was the first to begin again.

"Stay here." I didn't have to worry about her being left behind. Taehyung was already coming to check on her and I caught the end of her apologizing to him. The others lingered between them and wanting to follow Yoongi, holding their place while I sped up to catch him.

Namjoon was already there, trying to reason with him when I grabbed onto Yoongi's arm so that he turned to face me.

"Find somewhere for us to camp." I demanded, adding before he could cut over me. "I need it."

He smacked his lips, waving two fingers toward Jimin so that he joined us. "Stay here, we'll find an area to sleep for the night." He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, he and Jimin branching off further into the forest without a sound to their footsteps.

Namjoon and I took the few steps back toward the rest of the group and I grabbed the opportunity to rid myself of my backpack, taking a small sip of water from the canteen tucked inside. We registered our actual tiredness when we slowed down and I watched as one by one we sank against tree trunks, eyes drooping with the urge to rest.

None of us heard Yoongi or Jimin return until they made their presence explicit. Jimin cleared his throat softly and if we'd been in a scary movie I imagined that their silent pop-up would count as a jump scare.

"There's a clear spot a couple of minutes out." Yoongi reached out a hand to help me up and based on the look in his eyes I could tell it was his way of trying to mend the moments of bickering we kept running into.

We mustered up enough energy to make it to the small clearing in the trees they'd discovered. It formed an oval that was perfect for us to sleep and keep an eye on our surroundings without much obstruction.

Yoongi was always in charge when it came to creating a secure place, evident in the way he started to delegate tasks.

"Jungkook, get some firewood. Jin come help me set up a perimeter and Jimin keep lookout." He knew that everyone would be listening to him, speaking aloud while he dug into the bottom of the bag he'd discarded on the ground.

He pulled up a reel of fishing line, nudging his head so that Jin would follow him. Jimin was busy gripping his fingers into the divot of the largest tree to climb, protruding out from the rest. Taehyung and Shelby remained together while I beat Jin to helping Yoongi, grabbing the reel from him just as he measured out a piece long enough to stretch from one tree to the next.

"Ease up on Shelby." I said, watching as he wrapped the line twice around the tree we stood closest to. He waited to reply until he took the roll from me, beginning to stretch the line to the next tree within the oval so that it created a barrier a foot off the ground.

He didn't really need my help, winding around the back of the tree and moving on to the next. He wound it back and forth in front of trunks until there was a full perimeter, chatting with me while he worked.

"I don't trust her." He responded.

"You don't know her." I challenged, our tones matching and fired with our first thought.

"Exactly." He was so quick that I scoffed.

When I countered him again he finally looked up at me, his mouth pinched together as he considered my reply. "You didn't know me either."

"That was different." He retorted.

"It's not." When I noticed the deep furrow of his brow, a silent disagreement, I explained. "It is and it isn't. Shelby has been through something too but the person mistreating her also convinced her that he loves her and probably that he's the only one who can love her. So maybe it's a lot to ask but I need all of you to show her that's not true."

There was a hint of disbelief behind his chuckle. "You want us to love her?"

I took the reel back from him as we moved on to the tree we started at, squatting to link the end of the line with the beginning. I did want them to love her, to care for her just as much as they did for me but Yoongi couldn't fathom that right now, not when she still mourned and cared for the city we had to escape.

"You could try not to hate her at least." I negotiated.

"I never said I hate her." He was still on edge as he tested out the tightness of the border we created to trip anyone, undead or alive, that attempted to cross into our camp. "She'll hold us back, put us more at risk because she doesn't have a clue how to survive out here."

I leaned against the tree, desperate for him to understand and give her a chance. It was always difficult to get him to let down the walls that kept him from caring. He gave glimpses of it with me and the others, but seemed impenetrable when it came to giving it to someone new. So I did the only thing I knew to, turning it back on the rest of us so he couldn't argue anymore.

"So teach her, the same way you taught me."