Jin took a look at Jungkook while I talked with Namjoon and Yoongi. From where I hadn't been able to see, the first part of our plan to escape went seamlessly, with such ease that Jin and Namjoon made a detour to nab as much food and medicine as they could carry in their backpacks. It caused them to separate but they made it out of the same point of exit and found each other quickly.

Over his shoulder I could see the grimance on Jungkook's face when Jin pressed into his ribcage and swirled a swab inside of his nose to clean away the dried blood, counting him lucky that it wasn't broken.

For the first time we had no destination, no plan or direction. We didn't know where or if we'd find somewhere safe after leaving, and despite my lack of rest I still couldn't sleep. Nightfall darkened the building and I could only see their fair skin, cheeks pressed against old booth seats for cushioning as I passed through the restaurant blindly.

I pushed past the double doors that led to the kitchen, testing the sturdiness of the ladder that was positioned through the open entrance to the roof before climbing up, a ricketing sound following my every step.

Yoongi sat on the edge of the building, his legs swinging back and forth over the ledge with a rifle strapped arcross his back. It was so quiet that we would have heard a pin drop from any direction. I slung one leg over the concrete edge, leaning back so that I looked up at the sky, empty of stars but with the full moon illuminating the night.

"Did you get any sleep?" He asked, turning his gaze back and forth over the city.

"I can't. I'm too worried about everything." I confessed with a sigh. I yearned for the stars so that I had a million little bolts of brightness to wish upon.

There was an understanding between us that accompanied the shared silence. Though there wasn't a single star above, I made wishes until the sun started to rise, for Shelby and Taehyung, for the rest of us, for safety and solace, for protection and resources, and for life.

Yoongi giggled at me, neither of us able to keep calm through our morning sun salutation poses as he recanted the way I drifted between the lightest sleep, mumbling incoherent wishes under my breath. Our low laughter was interrupted by Namjoon as he popped his head through the entrance to lure us down to eat.

We ate very little, just enough to tide us over until the next meal and I left immediately after, returning to my place on the roof to look out for any sign of Shelby and Taehyung. Each of them switched out, accompanying me in my watch and urging me to get some rest. They went back and forth between expressing hopefulness that Taehyung and Shelby would join us to talking aloud about moving further inland or toward the coast.

I was tuning out Jin's repetitive debate on the thriving farmland that could exist to the west and the potential for fishing as a resource closer to the shore, taken off guard when he went silent, pulling me to lay flat on the rough concrete surface.

"Look." He whispered, peering over the edge of the building cautiously. I followed his eyes to where two large SUV's creeped quietly along the road. They stopped in the middle of the highway, every door opening until twenty armed men filed out. I spotted Gideon immediately, nearly blacking out with rage.

I didn't realize I'd raised the rifle I carried, lining it up to fire at him from much too far away until Jin gripped my shoulder, tugging me back down. "If we do something and they find us we'll have to leave." He held onto my face so that I looked at him, coaxing me back to rational thinking. "That means we'd have to leave without Taehyung and Shelby."

"The others." My eyes widened as the men turned to our direction, splitting into two groups to comb through every business in the vicinity.

Jin was sure, his faith in the others unwavering. "They'll have seen them too. Don't worry, they'll hide."

I was busy thinking of everything that could go wrong. The restaurant wasn't huge and it felt like there was a high chance that they'd be found. I imagined them finding Jimin curled tightly into a cabinet or Namjoon crammed into the back of the freezer, still filled with rotten food.

Though my mind was elsewhere, my eyes tracked Gideon and his men as they stormed from building to building. Jin and I crouched lower with every move that brought them closer. When there was only one building between us he crawled using his elbows to the square opening that led from the inside of the restaurant to the roof, moving slowly to lift the heavy metal for a peek inside.

He motioned for me to come over as he closed it with a small thud and put his weight on top of it. I moved in next to him, my listening perked as the sound of Gideon's men bustling through the front door of the restaurant sounded. The commotion of crashing tables and loud murmurs as they rummaged through the building had me holding on to my breath.

Jin grabbed onto my hand, his long fingers wrapping around mine and giving a squeeze. "They're hiding." He confirmed.

It felt like we stayed in our position forever and I ached to see the others, to make sure they were unharmed. I released a breath doused in relief when the back door opened, the thump of shoes against the sidewalk indicating that Gideon's men were moving on.

Still, we kept our bodies pressed against the rooftop until they were farther away before creeping back to the edge to watch their movements again. Jin pointed to the sky, darkening with every passing second as a group of clouds moved from the edge of town toward us. The air changed with the misty rain that approached, mixing with humidity and painting our skin in freckles of water.

Gideon and his men didn't let it deter them immediately and we watched them through rain sprinkled eyelashes until a fog developed, coating the city and blurring our line of sight.

We lost them through the cloud of vapor and between buildings, picking up on them every now and again in the mist. They finished with the businesses on one side of the street before returning to their trucks, the engines roaring to life as they left us alone again.

They drove fast back toward campus despite the haze, bright headlights disappearing as the treeline thickened. Jin wiped his hands on his damp pants, gripping tight to keep his fingers from slipping as he lifted the door to the roof. With the ladder we used to get onto the roof gone he held onto the edge, lowering himself down feet first. His shoes squeaked against the floor as he jumped down from the space between.

"We're clear!" He called out immediately, stretching out his arms to help me down and keeping me from giving in to the slick of my shoes by holding onto my hips. The clanging of doors and cabinets opening sounded from all around the restaurant, Namjoon emerging from the bathroom area and Jimin from a thick tile that he'd pushed out of the ceiling. Jungkook popped out of a industrial sized trashcan in the corner of the room and an empty liquor bottle clattered against the floor as Yoongi crawled from a space beneath the bar.

"I'm sure they'll be back tomorrow to check the rest of the area." I pushed away the hair that stuck to my face, grabbing an old kitchen towel from a nearby counter to wipe myself off.

Yoongi stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his aura one that would refuse any dissent. "We'll be gone by then."

I didn't care about the message that his body language gave, shaking my head. "Not until Shelby and Taehyung are here." I challenged, just as firm in my stance.

"We don't even know if they're out there and every second we spend here we're in danger. We need to put distance between us and the lunatics in that town." He gritted in response.

"I'm not leaving without them." I insisted. The dynamic had changed since the we met and I didn't want to use it against them, but I knew they wouldn't go if I didn't.

Yoongi stared me down before letting out a long huff and pushing back through the double doors to the front of the restaurant. He stomped out of the building, cursing in Korean and with Namjoon following after him to diffuse his temper.

The others seemed even more unsure than when we talked on the roof during the day, their eyes cast down as they herded out of the kitchen until only Jungkook and I were left.

"Alena," he slid down from the prep counter he was perched on to get closer to me, "maybe you should think about it more."

"You're telling me you'd leave Taehyung?" I crossed my arms as a barrier between us.

He sighed. "No, but today was too close. I made it in the freezer with a second to spare because I remembered the ladder was right below you. Gideon has more people than Leon and you know how that turned out."

"You don't have to remind me." I spoke past the lump that clogged my throat.

He tugged at one of my forarms so that they unfolded, trailing his fingers down until they were wrapped around my hand. "If we decide to go we'll leave something behind for them, to tell them where we'll be." He nodded. "Sleep on it."

"I haven't been able to." I shook my head. Every instance of fear clouded my mind, the closet, Hobi, Taehyung and Jungkook fighting, and the last moment I met Shelby's eyes before we were separated again. It was humorous that when I thought of fear I didn't think of the undead. They scattered the earth as a constant threat, but real fear lay with people.

"Come on, I know you want to dream of me." He smirked. I rolled my eyes at him as he led us out of the kitchen, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and neck in a playful gesture.

I stretched out on one of the outside benches where customers would have waited for their table with my head resting on Jungkook's thigh, letting the soft rattle of rain and reimagination of my favorite moment, laced with terror and exhiliration, lull me to sleep.

I woke to a different commotion, the rainfall over and Jungkook moving involuntarily as he peered out to the road. Jin jumped over the two steps that led to the restaurant in a rush that made me snap my head to the direction he ran.

Jungkook and I stood at the same time, our eyes set on where Jin had just made his way to Yoongi and Namjoon. One of Taehyung's arms was slung around Yoongi's shoulders, the other dangling limply while Namjoon supported him by the waist, drenched in a blood-soaked cloth that wrapped around his shoulder. Shelby was beside them, a step behind and looking around with paranoia, her once pale pink dress stained in red.