Day 850

Jimin's still in a lot of pain. Despite the time he's had to recover, a gunshot is something that's more like a permanent injury. So imagine his horror when he hears a loud 'bang' followed by screams and gunshots. Jimin's wandering the back of the camp as Jihyun requested him to do. He's been put on basic patrol duty with an actual loaded weapon. Ves is with him since they're both at the same level of trustworthiness.

He was patrolling the back walls and whistling as he did so. Now, his plans drastically changed. He grabs Ves and pulls him behind him, springing his pistol forward and checking to make sure it's loaded. After confirming, Jimin creeps forward and holds Ves right behind him. One hand on Ves, the other on his pistol, he continues his trek. Jihyun is no where in sight, Jimin's heart hopping to his throat at the thought that Jihyun could be hurt.

The thoughts force themselves away, Jimin searching the yard. All he sees is the peaceful life this place is supposed to be. The dirt beneath his shoes, the dust swirling from the gentle breeze, the homes made out of spare shipping containers that didn't go into the walls, some of the homes made from wood and bricks, boxes made of metal fence for prisoners. Jimin and Y/n once resided inside one of them.

Jimin frowns at the thought of her. It's been weeks now. Weeks since he's last seen her. Almost 3 weeks, and he has no way of knowing if she's safe or not. He shakes it off and continues, bringing Ves with him the entire way. The two of them stay eerily quiet, traversing the land as screams echo all around them. He swallows whatever's left inside his mouth, clicking off the safety to his weapon and pressing his back against the nearest home.

This one is made of bricks and one story high, Jimin and Ves hiding there while another screech rips through the air. Jimin trembles and bites his lower lip, counting to 3 before peeking. He hops out from the corner, luckily feeling no pain at the action. His jaw drops, his eyes expanding. The first thing he sees is fire. After Jimin told them about the Howlers trick, they gathered what little flame fuel they had and got the only flamethrower available. One flamethrower versus possibly multiple Howlers. Great plan.

Regardless, the flamethrower is out and blasting at the zombies covering the front gate. The destroyed front gates. Jimin covers his open mouth with his free hand and resists the urge to drop his pistol. Ves stays behind him, holding Jimin's arm as a way of reminding him that he's there. Jimin gulps and holsters his pistol, eyeing all the zombies and guards going to stop them. As much as it kills him to think something like this considering his brother is the leader, Jimin's only thought is of escape.

"Any chance this is Y/n's genius plan?" he asks.

"High chance. But I imagine the Ranglers have a lot of enemies too. Might be someone else."

"Either way, what do you think about escaping tonight, kid?"

Ves's smile says it all, and Jimin brings him around the vicinity, staying in a crouched position and moving as fast as possible against the walls. Their best method of escape is through the front, but there's zombies there. So they'll have to get creative. Jimin glances at Ves to see he's wearing a baggy long-sleeved shirt, dark pants to contrast the white he has up top. Jimin has a tawny jacket thrown on over a ragged t-shirt with nerdy patterns on it, gray sweatpants on bottom. Well, he's not as fashionable as he used to be, but it's not like it matters. Their clothes are about to get a bit... dirty.

"Alright, here's the plan," Jimin says as he guides them around the massive Ranglers camp. The soldiers are all focusing on the zombie threat, so no one's on their scheduled patrol posts. That means they can slip by the back walls easy. "It's a tough one, but it's a plan nonetheless. We're gonna get near the front gates and bait a zombie toward us. After that, we kill it out of sight, put guts all over us, and sneak out."

"What if Y/n's here looking for us and we screw up her plan?"

"Not sure what else we can do, bud. It's either we wait and risk losing our chance of escaping, or we go and hope she makes it out."

"You know her, she's not gonna leave without us," he says, pulling on Jimin's hand to stop him. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, his eyes casting down at Ves. The kid crosses his arms over his chest. Jihyun gave Jimin a gun, but not Ves, so Jimin's the armed one. The only armed one. If they get company, Jimin's not liking their odds. "Just stop and think for a second. Why don't we get a zombie and cover ourselves, then use that to our advantage to wander the camp without the fear of zombies getting us? That way we can search for Y/n, and if something goes wrong, we can slip out anyway. Do both plans at once."

Jimin ruffles Ves's hair. "Not bad, kid. Maybe I should listen to you more often. Come on, we have a zombie to catc-"

"Jimin, the hell are you doing? We have an invasion!" a male voice says.

He shifts his attention to where the voice came from. It came from behind them, Jimin turning to find a man he barely recognizes standing there. His name is Nathan, and he supervised Jimin a couple days ago. Why he's over here is beyond Jimin, so he stands straight up and in front of Ves protectively.

"Am I not allowed to flank? Shouldn't I be asking you what you're doing?"

Another two guards come, panting and sprinting. They stop by Nathan's side, turning toward where they came from to shoot. Jimin glances over, but there's a house restricting his view. No wonder why he didn't see or hear Nathan coming, but that still doesn't explain why Nathan's here.

Nathan snorts, raising his gun. "Flanking."

Shit. They can see through his lie. Jimin holds his arm back to keep Ves out of the gunfire, sighing before raising his weapon too. Well, it's been a good life. Jimin's a great fighter, but not a 3-on-1 fighter. Especially not when they all have guns pointed at him. But it's worth a try. For Ves.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Jimin says, but Nathan only shakes him off.

"I knew you were trouble. Jihyun's blind to it since you're his blood, but we know the truth. I'll just say you were killed in the raid. Or maybe I should tell the truth and tell Jihyun his dear brother was trying to escape. Do I break your brother's heart, or do I spare him the pain? Which would you prefer?"

"Spare him the pain. Don't do that to him."

Nathan chuckles, tilting his head back and forth. "I'll think about it. We have a raid to get back to, so if you'll excuse me-"

'Bang!'

Nathan's forehead pops in a sea of carmine, the gun dropping from his hand and his eyes bulging out. Half his nose is disintegrated, a hole replacing what should be the top of his face. Smoke blows out of the hole, Nathan's body dropping to the ground with a loud 'thud' that shakes the ground. Jimin jumps, then takes the opportunity to shoot one of the two guards while they're distracted. Another gunshot, presumably from the person who saved Jimin, takes out the second guard. And when he looks, he holsters his pistol and runs, not caring about the searing soreness that brings him.

He sweeps her up into his arms, the girl laughing and smearing zombie guts all over his front. He doesn't care, and neither does she. Ves comes up behind him, but Jimin's selfish for the first time in his life. He holds his woman close, grabbing her hair and stroking it. With a smile, he brings his hand to the disheveled braid in his locks. The one he'll never take out. It's amazing it's lasted this long, and truthfully, it looks like shit, but he refuses to take it out. Not until they're safe, and she can make him a new one.

Jimin backs away and places a hand on her cheek, sniffling and shaking his head. "You're okay," is all he manages to say, Y/n smiling at him with a twinkle in her eyes.

"We missed you. Now give me my son." Jimin laughs and obliges, turning to see Namjoon, Hoseok, and Sky there. They give him a little wave, him returning it before going up to a confused Namjoon.

"How long have you been here?" he asks, Jimin furrowing his brows.

"You didn't know I was here? I've been here like 20 days now. Almost 3 weeks. Jihyun said he didn't want us to meet quite yet, but I thought he told you I was here."

"Never. Just assigned me to more patrols so he could gain my trust. I barely spoke with him, it was mostly my assigned supervisor. I'm glad to see you and Ves are alright. It's good to see you, you fucking moron."

"That's not very nice."

"Dumbass, selling yourself to the enemy," Namjoon says, snorting. "Who would do that?"

Jimin nudges Namjoon, snickering. "Only an idiot." Namjoon flashes a grin that shows his dimples, Jimin dipping his head in respect. To his amazement, Namjoon returns it, his eyes glistening in the moonlight. Jimin hides his awe and hopes his gratitude shows in his eyes.

After Ves and Y/n are done with their reunion, Ves goes for Hoseok and Sky, and Y/n goes back up to Jimin, rubbing his arm. "We need to get you and Ves gutted up. No worry though." She pauses, using her hand to rub zombie guts on his cheek. He grimaces and gives her a playful dirty look, her smirking. "It'll be no dirtier than you are now."

"It's bully Jimin day, I guess."

Y/n whistles at Ves, who gets the hint and comes back over. "We don't have time. As nice as this is, let's celebrate when we get back out, okay?" she says, the others agreeing. "Let's go around and find a zombie, lure it over, and cover Jimin and Ves up. Sound like a plan?"

The others agree, and together, finally reunited, they trek the land. It takes them a minute, but they find the front gate. They stay in the corner around 30 feet away, Y/n creeping forward and instructing the others to stay back. She gets closer and closer, Jimin leaning on his toes even in his crouched position. She manages to get one, but it ends up being two. Regardless, she brings them back, Namjoon using the butt of his pistol to knock them both down once they're in the shadows. Him and Jimin use their weapons to bash their heads in, huffing and puffing after the deed is done.

Jimin notices the front gate, seeing how many zombies are pouring in. Ves is already getting lathered up while Jimin watches, no one speaking to him as he falls into his thoughts. The zombies... they seem slower. In fact, they seem like they're turning around. His eyes widen. And then, a shriek like no other sounds off.

His group goes still as silence fills the air. Even the gunshots and screaming come to a quiet that brings chills. One second passes. Then two. Three. Four. And then...

'Scree!'

A Howler breaks into the camp, claws drawn and ready for blood. The night sky masks its dark body, Jimin covering his mouth to stop a scream. Another Howler comes after it, and they groan and growl as they hop over the zombies, rampaging the Ranglers until the screams become wails of horror. Wails that snap Jimin's spine with grief, his heart going with it.

"We need to go, now!" Jimin says in a whisper-yell, sliding over to the second dead zombie to cover his body with guts. Y/n helps him with shuddering hands, him not commenting on it like his normal boyfriend self is telling him to. However, he can't focus. Not with his worst nightmare only a couple dozen feet away. And those images bring him the motivation he needs to splash blood all over him, Ves doing the same.

They finish in record time, hopping up and sprinting. "We have others in here. The rest of the group. Jin, Katherine, Julia, Yoongi - Jimin, Taehyung's here. We can't leave them behind," Y/n says, Jimin fighting the urge to sob.

"I don't want to lose them, honey. Especially not Taehyung. But we'd be foolish to go in looking for them. They'll find their way out. Do you trust them?"

"More than anything."

"Then we should leave while we can, otherwise we risk ourselves too. It's better for some of us to survive, as much as it pains me to say that."

"But Jungkook's still missing," she mumbles, Jimin and Ves's eyes popping open.

"Jungkook's gone?!" Ves says, his voice nearing a shout.

Jimin shushes him, fighting back his panic. "Let's talk about it back home. We need to go. Now," Jimin says, and the others agree despite their concern. They make it to the front, where none of the gunfire is. They're all focusing on the Howlers now. The zombies are the least of their worries. Jimin pauses by the broken gates, peeking back to see the Howlers pounding their claws through houses and making dents on the shipping containers. The flamethrower is shooting out at one, the creature whining and backing away. So, it looks like they'll survive the Howlers. But at what cost?

He follows Y/n out only for a gunshot to ring out. It grazes Hoseok's shoulder, and he throws his hand over his mouth to prevent a scream. Namjoon grabs him and pulls him back behind a row of zombies. Jimin tries to go for him, but the horde is too thick. Y/n holds his hand and keeps him in place. They stay together, Ves staying with Sky and giving Y/n a nod from a few feet away. The zombies keep crashing into them with no sense of where they're going, Namjoon, Jin, and Hoseok sticking together.

Wordlessly, it's agreed that they should keep going at their own pace and worry about meeting when they're free of the horde. If they can get free, that is. Jimin keeps his pace with Y/n, eyeing Ves, but as the number of zombies increase, his visibility decreases. And eventually, he loses sight of Ves.

The fear pitter-patters up his spine, and he has to mentally pray that he doesn't hyperventilate. The more he acts human, the more likely he'll attract the zombies. Speaking of, they're all around him. No end in sight. Jimin continues, and they keep going for several minutes, doing their best not to crash into any of the zombies. He's about to try to step more towards the forest, but Y/n stops him.

He turns, but she's frozen in place, her eyes placed forward and wide. Jimin comes a bit closer, more zombies surrounding them. They're getting boxed in, and they need to move, but Jimin knows whatever Y/n is stopped for is important. So, he glances in the direction she's looking, and he freezes with her.

A leather jacket.

Jimin can't stop his breaths from coming out rushed, stumbling back and almost taking Y/n with him. His eyes trail up the legs of the man, leading to the leather jacket, and to the back of his head. When he turns, a tear falls out of Jimin's eye, and his hand slaps itself over his mouth to stop a sob.

Jeon Jungkook is there, growling and groaning, blood covering his body. His leather jacket is drenched in his own blood, his eyes void of any emotion they used to have. His eyes, that were once a chocolate brown, have faded to a gray Jimin never thought he'd see on the boy. His lips are chapped and cut, his mouth bobbing open and closed.

Y/n is staring, tears prickling at her eyes, but she remains quiet. No sobs. No screams. Not even loud breathing. She just... stares. She stares at the zombie that was once her best friend, and she doesn't utter a sound. Jungkook looks at her, but he doesn't at the same time. The slimy substance known as his irises are gazing right at her, but they're not at the same time. Jungkook gives her a groan, then, he stumbles away, the bite mark on his neck nearly dry, the injury turning black.

Before Jungkook can go, Y/n goes over and grabs his arm. He snarls but doesn't look at her again. She gently takes off the jacket, which is easier than it sounds due to the fact that his arms are skinnier than normal from what Jimin imagines has been a month without any nutrition. Y/n successfully takes it off, then, the boy stalks off. She steps back, still not bothering to say a word. Her eyes don't meet Jimin's, but he knows what she's thinking. What she's feeling. And he knows because he's feeling it too.

But before they can grieve, they need to get to safety. And that's exactly what they do. Jimin and her stay quiet and push through the horde. Only, it doesn't stop. The entire walk is a struggle. Worry that the zombies will find them hits, and thunder strikes the sky, clouds rolling in. Jimin didn't even notice the change in weather over the past ten to twenty minutes, but the thunder has him going faster, Y/n too.

They arrive at the school only to see the gates crawling with zombies banging on them, surrounding the area. Jimin's jaw almost drops at the realization.

They can't get in, and rain is starting to come down.

Out of fear that the guts will wash off, Jimin takes her away, pulling her into the forest. There are less zombies, but still enough that he remains quiet. The trees hide some of the rain, but more comes, washing off the blood and guts bit by bit. Jimin knows the perfect place to go, and silently, they agree, sharing thoughts. It takes them another ten minutes of careful maneuvering to avoid zombies, but by the time the guts wash off, they're at Yoongi's old stomping grounds.

Together, they make it to the safehouse he has set up, the speaker system still working even in the coming rain. When they make it inside, Jimin lets out the pants he wanted to before, his breath coming out in gasps. He barricades the door with the wooden desk next to him. There's a lantern on the desk, but nothing else, so it's easy enough to use. Back before the apocalypse, it was probably used as a place for a microphone and speaker so someone could announce the scores at the ball games. Now it's a shell of what it used to be. Like Jungkook.

He keeps the door closed and barricaded, backing away and turning to see Y/n has her cloak off and in the corner of the room, her on her knees. She's in the middle of the room, her eyes wavering between open and closed. Jimin comes over and kneels next to her, and the relief of seeing her after all this time is squashed by the thoughts they both have.

Wordlessly, she turns around and throws herself on him. He strokes her hair and holds her against his chest, tears staining his bloody shirt. "It's okay," he whispers, closing his eyes and resting his head on the top of hers. "You can make as much noise as you want. It's okay." She goes stiff in his arms, then, her body convulses into a fit of sobs.

And after, she screams.