Seokjin went towards the boxes he had brought and started rummaging through its contents. He pulled out a roll of paper from one of them, unscrolled it and sat next to Yoongi. He then took the flashlight and let the light fall on the huge sheet of paper.

Yoongi, who still had the frying pan in his hand, was astonished to see what it was.

"A map... How did you...?"

"We're in a supermarket, did you forget?", Seokjin said as a soft smile lit up his face while his eyes scanned the map, forcing a smile out of Yoongi too.

It was a map showing all the local streets and shops in and around Busan, probably meant for tourists. Seokjin's eyes searched for the name of their refuge, 'Dul Set Supermarket', while Yoongi just sat there blinking, his poor eyesight not helping him.

"Ah-ha!", Seokjin exclaimed when he finally found the name after a few minutes of searching. Yoongi looked into map even though all he saw were colourful dots and lines.

"We're here now...", Seokjin said as he pointed at the part of the map where the store's name was written. "And we have to reach...", his long index finger traced a small distance from the initial point and stopped.

"Here!"

Yoongi looked closely. The point where Seokjin had his finger now had been clearly marked with red in bold letters, might have been an important building, he thought.

"So do we have to walk a lot?", Yoongi queried, that was his biggest fear as of now. His injured leg was practically numb due to the pain.

"I guess about a mile...", Seokjin said as he scrutinized the map closely for the exact location of their rescue-spot and the way to reach there.

"Oh...", both Yoongi's face and voice dropped, he couldn't even walk around the room in which they were stuck, how was he ever going to make till a place that was one mile away. He thought it would be better if Seokjin ditched him here and left on his own.

"Don't worry, I'll carry you."

Seokjin didn't lift his face off the map, while Yoongi sat there, his eyes wide, looking at Seokjin.

Before Yoongi could say something, Seokjin took one of the boxes, emptied it's contents and tore it open. Yoongi was confused as to what Seokjin was doing, he just watched him while Seokjin continued his actions until all of the boxes became cardboard sheets.

"This is for protection.", Seokjin said as he took one of the cardboard pieces and wrapped it around his left arm, securing it with the duct tape he had brought.

"...from bites and all, you know..."

Yoongi now understood the significance of each and every single thing Seokjin had brought, this was a brilliant idea. Yoongi mentally appreciated Seokjin's wit, but didn't say anything.

Seokjin tested his make-shift armour by trying to dig his own nails through it and felt proud to see that his invention was a success. While trying to take off the cardboard, he caught a glance of his watch to see the time.

"It's late, you should sleep. We gotta leave early in the morning."

Yoongi nodded.

"I'll stay awake. You should get some rest, I'll wake you up in the morning.", Seokjin said as kept all the cardboard pieces away, making space for Yoongi to lie down.

Yoongi kept silent. Even though no words came out of his mouth, his heart brimmed with gratitude. He was grateful that he was not alone, that Seokjin was here and he knew that he will never leave him alone. No words could explain what he felt and he knew that, so did Seokjin.

July 3 | DAY 9
04 : 03 am

Yoongi opened his eyes to Seokjin slowly shaking him awake, the flashlight making him squint his eyes and his head feeling heavy. This was it, their last day here, the day where they were going to get rescued, the day where all their suffering was going to end, one way or the other.

After his eyes adjusted to the light, Yoongi looked at Seokjin to see his fatigued eyes. He knew that Seokjin hadn't even slept a little, purely based on the fear that he would over-sleep.

"We gotta leave fast. Come on, get up!", Seokjin spoke with the little energy he had, trying to tape a piece of cardboard onto his leg, while Yoongi helped himself to some water.

Yoongi noticed that Seokjin had the backpack at the ready, the cardboard sheets cut into usable pieces and also that he was covered in cardboard from head to toe, his arms, shoulders, neck, torso and legs.

After Seokjin was done with himself, he moved onto Yoongi, taping cardboard around all his vulnerable areas, mainly the arms and neck. They were done in a few minutes and Seokjin's watch now showed half-past four.

Seokjin pulled Yoongi up, put his arms on his shoulders supporting all his weight, gave him the frying pan, took the backpack, the map, looked around the bathroom for one last time, took a deep breath and opened the door.

It was dark, it was calm. There were no movements or sounds. Seokjin checked the whole area with his flashlight and when he was sure that it was clear, they stepped out.

Each step was cautious and each sound made them stop but there was nobody inside the store. It took them a few minutes to make it to the backdoor which had been secured by the vending machine. Seokjin made Yoongi sit down as he pushed it off the door, revealing their doorway to hell.

Seokjin pulled Yoongi up again and placed his hand on the metal door handle. A sudden bolt of hesitation sparked through his body, his heart pacing, making him second guess himself.

"Is this the right choice?"

Seokjin paused for a moment, but Yoongi suddenly pulled the handle open and sighed.

"Let's get it...", he looked at Seokjin as he pulled up his fist waiting for a fist bump.

Seokjin felt his heartbeat calming down. He returned the fist bump to Yoongi and opened the door fully to see nothing but darkness. He flashed his torchlight around, the light reflecting off the window panels of the other forlorn buildings.

They stepped out of the supermarket together for the first time in nine days, into the devouring darkness, the blood stench still prevailing. Nothing moved and everything was still like a painting. It was quiet.

It was too quiet.

July 2 | DAY 9
05 : 10 am

They slowly made their way along the quiet streets that Seokjin had familiarised himself with last night from the map. They didn't have any encounters, fortunately, but that didn't mean that they won't have any in the future minutes, so they were alert.

The sky glowed in deep orange shades indicating that the sun was about to come out, eradicating the darkness to the ends of the Earth. Seokjin and Yoongi had made a stop in between in front of a building which used to be a cafe, to let Yoongi rest and for Seokjin to figure out where to go next.

Suddenly, a sound made both Seokjin and Yoongi startle, the map falling from Seokjin's hands along with the torchlight, the glass pane on it smashing into pieces.

Seokjin quickly sat down and looked around. He pulled out a small frying pan from the backpack, his trusty weapon. Yoongi already had one in his hand and he looked as ready as he can ever be to fight a 'zombie'. They moved inside the cafe after making sure it was clear and waited inside. They didn't want to take any risks.

They heard something, footfall it seemed. They felt it coming closer and closer until Seokjin saw the source of the sound. It was one of them. Seokjin felt as if he knew who it was, her hair and her torn red dress, it was the lady from the bus.

Seokjin held in his breath as the 'zombie' paused right in front of the cafe. He motioned at Yoongi to keep quiet. It looked around for a while and on seeing nothing, continued staggering towards the direction opposite of which they were supposed to go.

By this time, the sun was fully out, the skies were blue. Seokjin feared whether they'll make it to their destination on time, they had to quicken their pace.

July 3 | DAY 9
05 : 53 am

Seokjin glared at his watch and he sighed. They had come a long way from the supermarket by this time, but still seemed like they were reaching nowhere. He had been following the map, taking shortcuts to save time, but a few encounters had pushed them back and time was running out.

All he knew was that the place they were looking for was a tall building and he was surrounded by tall buildings, he just didn't know which one.

"Are we lost?", Yoongi whispered as he panted, he was tired.

"Of course not...", Seokjin said avoiding Yoongi's eyes, trying to sound confident. In reality, they were lost.

"I'm just trying to..."

Seokjin started but his words were cut off by a deafening shriek followed by the sounds of footsteps, groans and growls. They looked around quickly, there was nothing to be seen but they could feel the sounds getting closer. And from the sounds, they knew it was not just one of those creatures.

Seokjin and Yoongi continued their stride, pure intuition leading the way because the map was a lost cause. They kept on looking around for a signboard or the name 'BH' but nothing had come across their way.

They quickened their pace and walked until they reached a fork in the road and they were completely lost. The map simply refused to show them the right way and Seokjin felt that fate was against them.

"Let's just go straight.", Yoongi spoke softly, he knew they were lost. But he didn't want to bother Seokjin about it.

Seokjin nodded after which Yoongi initiated a step which was suddenly arrested by a movement in the side of his eyes.

And the sight made them wish they hadn't gotten out of the supermarket.

There were at least a dozen of them, standing almost ten metres away, staring at them without blinking, not that they had any eyelids to do so. One of them twitched and started advancing slowly, triggering the rest, until all of them started moving towards them.

Seokjin tried to move faster but Yoongi's leg was not helping, the decedents were gaining on them. Seokjin suddenly threw the frying pan in his hand at the creatures, picked up Yoongi on his back and started running, the fight or flight hormone definitely helping him in his flight.

He didn't know where he was running to, whether it was towards or away from their rescue point, but that didn't concern him. First, he had to make sure they stayed alive.

Unexpectedly, the street came to an end, a huge gate blocking their way. Seokjin paused, the creatures still behind them and Yoongi on his back with his eyes shut tight, saying his last prayers.

Seokjin looked around for some way to escape, he was not ready to give up. As he was searching, something caught his eye, something that brought back his dead hopes. It was a small metal plate nailed onto the gate, on which it was written in bold silver letters.

"BH TOWER"

~~~

Heyo! I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise (like always, ask @taekookedpotato). So here you go, DOUBLE UPDATE.