"We really should get off this bus.", Hoseok said after shaking hands with Seokjin, in an unusually loud voice, that everybody in the bus heard him.

"Get off the bus?! Are you kids crazy?", a voice came from behind them.

They turned around to see all the people on the bus staring at them and the owner of the voice, an old man, standing in the middle.

Almost everybody had wounds on their faces, big and small, but there were no major casualities. There were no children on the bus, or else the situation would have been more serious.

"Ahjussi, it's not safe on the bus... We have to get to someplace safe.", Hoseok said and he continued. "Look at the windshield. It's completely shattered... It's not safe at all."

"We should stay on the bus until someone comes to help us. That's what we should do.", said a lady from the crowd.

"Do you think somebody will come and help us? Look around... There's nobody outside...", Namjoon suddenly stepped to the front.

"Our only chance... is if we get off the bus.", he said with emphasis.

He asked the people to move out of his way to the back of the bus. Seokjin followed him, he didn't really know why. Seeing Seokjin following Namjoon, Jungkook joined them too, followed by Taehyung, then Jimin, then Yoongi, but Hoseok didn't.

Namjoon quickly grabbed his bag and walked back to front, to the door. The main door of the bus was jammed due to the crash, so he went to the driver's side door. He pushed it open and paused for a moment.

"Now, who's coming with me?", Namjoon asked.

Hoseok was standing in the front, near his seat. He got hold of his bag which lay on his seat and walked to Namjoon.

"Please understand... It's not safe on the bus. We can find a shelter, outside, in one of those buildings.", Hoseok said pointing out, but the people seemed to be adamant.

Yoongi slowly pushed Seokjin over, took his bag and walked to the front, without a word. Jimin looked at Yoongi walking away and slowly grabbed the bag from overhead.

"I think what Hoseok says is right. We have to go.", Jimin said softly to Seokjin and Seokjin looked at him with thoughtful eyes.

Jungkook turned to Seokjin.

"I'm going too.", he said.

He grabbed the strap of his bag and looked at Taehyung. As soon as Jungkook had grabbed his bag, Taehyung had too and they both walked hastily to the front.

Seokjin looked down and slowly sat down on his seat. His mind was conflicted. He didn't know what to do. Should he leave the bus or should he stay? He really couldn't make up his mind.

"I respect your decision.", Namjoon said as he shared a short glance with Seokjin.

Namjoon followed by the rest of them, jumped out through the side door. The front part of the bus was pretty much battered but they managed to get out.

Seokjin stood up and watched them walk and disappear around a corner, through the big glass windows of the bus. He sat down again, listening to the rest of the passengers bickering about them, and something suddenly struck him.

He had to get out. He should've gone with them.

Seokjin suddenly stood up and took his backpack and ran through the aisle to the front of the bus.

"Wait son, don't go out! It's dangerous.", said the same old man.

"It's dangerous if we stay in here. I'm going.", Seokjin shouted out so that the whole bus would hear him, he wanted to see whether there was anybody who had changed their mind.

But no one said anything.

Seokjin jumped out of the bus and ran in the direction the others went. He turned around the corner and couldn't see the bus anymore. He hesitated for a while, but continued walking.

June 26 | DAY 2
10 : 49 am

He had been walking for the past five minutes and still couldn't find them. He called out their names one by one, without using much voice, but there was no response. He was afraid whether someone or something else might find him, what if Jungkook's zombie theory was true?

He began to feel lost as he walked forward through the abandoned streets. He felt his heart beating at an abnormal speed and yes, he was scared.

Suddenly, the wound on his forehead started hurting as if it was signalling something. He quickly sat down on the side of the road on a pavement, pressing the side of his head tightly.

The smooth breeze brushed past Seokjin's face but he felt uneasy. The breeze had a stench of blood. He looked around him, into the buildings that surrounded him. He couldn't see anybody but he felt like he was being watched, by someone or something. He gulped, the only sound he could hear was the fluttering of paper pieces on the ground and the sound of his own breath.

All of a sudden he felt a hand on his shoulder. He let out a high pitched scream, jumped up and stood in a fight stance.

"Whoa! Calm down, it's me.".

It was Jimin.

"Oh... Thank God.", Seokjin heaved a sigh of relief. His breathing became steadier but his heart was still beating hard.

"Oh Jimin... Where are the others? Did you get lost too?", Seokjin asked him in a moment after catching his breath.

"Oh no no... I'm not lost... I just felt like you would change your mind.", Jimin smiled, "And I was not wrong."

Seokjin blinked his eyes and smiled.

"Come on! Let's go.", Jimin took Seokjin's hand and led the way. They walked on the same road for a few minutes and then turned into smaller ones.

Jimin looked really confident as to where they were going but Seokjin felt lost.

"Have you been here before?", Seokjin asked after following Jimin for almost ten minutes.

"No... But I'm really good with directions. Trust me. We're not lost.", Jimin said after seeing the concerned look on Seokjin's face.

Seokjin nodded his head.

"Now we have to take two more lefts and a right.", Jimin said as they walked through the narrow alleys.

It was a network of small streets and alleys. Anyone could get lost here. But Seokjin decided to trust in Jimin's confidence.

As they walked further into the town, things started to look different. It was still empty but all the glass windows were smashed and it looked like a tornado had swept everything away. There were small shops along the road sides and they were full of clutter. Everything on the shelves were lying down on the floor or on the road, something really big had gone down here.

Seokjin found dark stains on the grey concrete pavement on which they walked. He stopped to look at one such stain and squatted down to take a closer look.

Jimin saw him doing so and stopped walking.

"It's blood.", Jimin said.

Seokjin suddenly stood up and Jimin continued.

"It's all over the place...", Jimin looked around, "We have to get to the others quickly, it's not safe."

They started walking again with Jimin in the front. He turned around a corner and Seokjin followed him.

"We're here.", Jimin stopped walking.

Seokjin found himself standing in front of a super market, a huge one. The big board on its top said 'DUL SET HYPERMART'. It looked safe but one can never be sure.

~~~

Hi guys... This is where the real story starts. I'm sorry for any mistakes (English is not my first language). I have drafted upto 20 chapters of the story by now, I guess it's gonna have like 25 chapters.... Anyway I hope you're enjoying it.

Next update on 17 July 2020.

Love,
PAPRIKA 💜