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~ Raven / Jiminbiasnim

DAY 787

So this is going well.

After killing three runners and two Divas, things are still looking grim for the group of survivors. A Behemoth on top of about five Divas and ten undead all swarming around them. Sixteen zombies, six of which specials, versus two terrified adults, one kid, and one survivor. This will be interesting, won't it?

Jimin grits his teeth and gets closer to Ves. "If anything happens, get behind me. I'd rather me get bit than you," he says.

Ves glares. "We're in this together." Ha, Jimin had that determination two years ago. When the apocalypse first started, he told his brother the same thing. Now his brother is gone, most likely dead. Most likely dead for a while, maybe even over a year.

He shakes the thought off. This isn't the time to be emotional over his brother. Focus is the only thing that'll get him through the night. "I think we need to use our guns here!" Fiona says.

"Wait!" Jimin replies, holding his ground. One Diva pounces, its roar almost terrifying Jimin despite the amount of time he's spent in the apocalypse. Regardless, he stabs it, letting the thing fall to the ground. Fifteen zombies.

The Behemoth leads the charge, not very fast due to its size. "Run!" Jimin shouts.

"What!?"

"Run!" he repeats, turning on his heel and grabbing Ves's hand. "We don't have enough firepower to defeat that thing! And even if handguns take this thing out, we'd lose too much valuable ammo in the process!" Without rebuttal, they run, the zombies following. Y/n manages to take out a Diva, Fiona doing the same. Thirteen. Two Divas left and one Behemoth plus ten regular zombies. Okay, this is getting a little better, but still not perfect.

The zombies shriek as they rush after the fleeing group, Jimin making the decision to throw his knives. Thank the lord he brought extra. He sinks one into a regular's head, killing it. Nine. He misses his next shot, grunting as he does so. He knows he can't hit every shot, but it sure as hell would've been nice.

Jimin focuses on running, taking two knives out and holding them by his side. The Behemoth is in the back now, slower than the other zombies. The Diva is leading, hissing and snarling as it pounces toward them. Fiona pushes Jimin aside and takes the thing out with her knife. Jimin pants. "Nice one."

"Archer," she replies with a grunt, pushing the zombie's body to the ground. Eight left, only one special. They can outrun the Behemoth, but those normal undead are catching up.

"This way!" Jimin says, leading them down an aisle they haven't touched yet. They follow, Jimin stopping in the middle.

"Are you insane?" Fiona asks, stopping with him. Ves and Y/n reluctantly do the same.

"Very, but I have a plan," he replies, glancing at the untouched goods on the shelves.

"Care to fill us in? We have about ten seconds until those things get here."

"Get out of here."

"Excuse me?" Y/n asks in disbelief.

"Get out of here," he says. "Get to the car and start it, drive it over here so I can get in."

"We're not leaving you!" Fiona shouts.

Jimin turns to look at them as the group of zombies goes down the path. "Just go! I'm trusting you'll be outside when I need you to be!" The other three appear hesitant, but eventually nod.

"You better come back to us," Y/n says.

Jimin only huffs in response, planting his feet. "Go before it's too late." Without questioning him, they dart away, Jimin glaring down the beasts coming his way.

As soon as the others are out of the aisle, Jimin strikes. He needs to distract them as long as he can to make sure that his newfound friends don't have to face a God damn Behemoth by themselves. If they don't even know scavenging rules, then they're not gonna know how to defeat a Behemoth.

But Jimin does.

Jimin kills three zombies, jumping back before the next one can bite him. Five left. Four undead, one special. Jimin stabs the next one in the forehead, using his other knife to stab the one next to it. Two undead, one special. He grunts and backs away, the Behemoth starting to get bloodthirsty and gain speed. Dammit, he has to use his plan and he has to use it now. He doesn't even have a gun. But he does have a plan.

He rushes back, holstering his knives and grabbing as much of the undamaged goods as he can take. He waits and waits until they get close enough, about to grab him. Then... he pulls. He throws all the goods on the ground, the wires snapping. At least four wires snapped. Jimin yelps and sprints back, knowing he has three seconds at most. He takes three steps, panting. One second. Another step, he almost trips. Two seconds. At the last second he jumps as far away from the blast zone as he can. Three seconds.

'Boom!' 

The explosion rocks his body, sending him flying to the ground. He heaves, glancing up and seeing the remaining undead even, well, deader. His eyes widen, hope filling his body. Then the smoke clears, and he sees the Behemoth still standing strong. Well... fuck.

Jimin shouts and dashes away, the thing gaining speed and using its big hands to help propel it. Although Behemoths don't bite or infect, they can still kill. He zips as fast as he can, but it's not enough. The Behemoth catches up and hits him right in the back. Jimin screams as he goes flying, hitting one of the shelves with an ear-shattering 'thud'. He groans, grabbing his knife. He didn't come this far to die now.

With another groan, he uses the knife to hoist himself up, glaring down the Behemoth. The zombie shrieks and charges again. Jimin blindly reaches back, grabbing one of the objects on the shelf and pulling it. A wire snaps. Jimin wills himself to sprint despite the pain, the Behemoth knocking into the shelf Jimin was just against. Then, the explosion comes, Jimin getting thrown back again. This time he was barely far enough, his ears ringing and his vision blurring in and out. He hits his head with his hand, peeking up and seeing the Behemoth. Is it dead?

Jimin staggers to his feet, feeling for his knife, but not getting anything. So, he draws his last one. The explosion must've knocked his other knife away, but that's why he brings extra. He heaves, his lungs on fire from the smoke surrounding him. The Behemoth that appears dead stirs, getting back on its feet. "How the fuck are you still alive?!"

The monster swivels the little head it has and huffs. "Well fuck you too buddy!" Jimin shouts, limping back a few steps. Okay, so he's all out of tricks. Turns out badass loner survivor with a lot of knowledge can only get him so far. But he has a knife. A knife, ringing ears, and intense back pain. This is going great for him, huh?

His tongue dries up, his feet barely moving. It's like they're refusing to step when his brain tells them to. Jimin whimpers from the pain his skeleton feels, clutching the knife tighter. The Behemoth regains its footing, growling at Jimin. So Jimin's injured, panting and limping, only has one measly weapon left, and he pissed off the second most dangerous zombie in the world. Yeah, this is great. Wonderful. Life is fun.

At the very least, the others got away. This is exactly what he meant when he said he can't get attached. Here he is, sacrificing himself for a bunch of strangers. It doesn't feel wrong or right to be doing this. In fact, the only thing Jimin feels is fear. Genuine fear that strikes him to the core. 

He swallows his nerves, feeling like he swallowed his tongue with it. He lets out a shaky breath and clutches the knife as tightly as he can. Jimin doesn't want to die here. For months he was alone, and right when he meets people he can form amazing connections with, he dies? No, that's not how the story's supposed to go. He's supposed to overpower the big boss and go live happily ever after with the girl he likes, maybe one day he'll love her too.

Jimin almost cries at the thought of raising Ves with Y/n, holding hands with his girl and watching the kid grow up. Okay, so he likes her. Maybe it's not just loneliness and hormones after all. Regardless, he pays attention. He's probably going to die, but he can at least die trying.

The Behemoth snarls, its spores popping and making Jimin wince. What a disgusting, repulsive sight. The creature charges forward, the weight on its body bouncing as it does so. Jimin sighs. Time to die. He holds the knife in front of him, preparing to strike... but that chance never comes. Instead, the Behemoth whimpers, gunshots going off. In a pure panic, Jimin whips around to see who interrupted his sacrificial last stand.

Ves.

"What the hell are you doing, kid?!"

Ves fires another round into the Behemoth's head, stalling it. "Questions later, run now!" Well shit, Jimin's taking orders from a kid now. Who is he to judge? He dodges the swing from the staggering Behemoth, joining the kid's side. "Some badass you are!" Ves yells, pulling Jimin away.

"I'll have you know this move worked on all the ladies back in the day!"

"I get it, you're a flirt, but let's go!" Ves shouts, guiding Jimin out of the store.

The SUV is waiting for them, the door open. Just as Ves and Jimin jump in, the Behemoth jumps out. "Drive!" Fiona says, Y/n obeying and stepping on the gas. The driver tosses her pistol in the back while she speeds them away, Jimin taking it and clicking off the safety. Right away, he gets to work with shooting the Behemoth to slow it down enough for them to make a smooth getaway.

Jimin leans up against the side of the car, almost falling out two times, but he manages to keep his footing. The Behemoth stalls behind, the car gaining some distance. Jimin shoots it one more time for good measure, the thing groaning in defeat. And with that, they storm away.

He pants, closing the door so he doesn't risk falling out this time. Ves sits and buckles, Jimin doing the same seconds later. "Thanks for the gun," Jimin says, still trying to catch his breath.

"What matters is we're alive. Any bites?" Y/n asks.

"None," he replies, glancing over at Ves, who shakes his head.

Fiona lets out a breath of relief. "Then let's go home."

~~~

You're not sure how to feel right now. On one hand, you're pissed at Jimin. On the other, you're pissed at yourself. Your arms are crossed on your chest, Namjoon eyeing Jimin with curiosity. "So you still managed to get a lot of stuff?" Namjoon asks.

Jimin nods, observing Namjoon's office. "A lot more than you'd think. I got some fresh lettuce, meat too. Lots of snacks. Y/n? What did you and Fiona find?"

Although you want to ignore Jimin, you can't. "Not much. Fiona grabbed some empty bottles so we can fill them. Canned soups and beans, nothing interesting. We couldn't find any snacks."

Namjoon and Jimin accept this, Jimin stepping forward. "The Behemoth we encountered is still alive, but the Divas are dead. The less Divas the better."

Namjoon doesn't disagree. "You said they put traps on their food?"

"Especially the fresh stuff. Whoever set up that grocery store is using it to hide something. Probably a bunch of guns and ammo in one of the back rooms. It might be worth a try to go back and look for it."

"How do you know any of this?"

"I ran with a group," Jimin says. "They called themselves the Hounds. Nasty bastards that used pharmacies and grocery stores as places to hide their valuables. They put up tempting offers, like medicine and fresh food, rigging them. As soon as you take them off the shelf, a wire snaps and either an alarm rings or a grenade goes off. Most likely an alarm. Radios are a lot easier to come by nowadays than grenades. Whoever set that store up must be powerful. They'll have some of the best guns on the market if they can spare that many grenades."

You and Namjoon share a worried expression. "I doubt they'll notice the stuff we took," Jimin says. "I set off a lot of traps trying to kill that Behemoth. They probably think we're either dead, or the goods we took got destroyed anyway. I didn't see any cameras, so even if they do think we're alive, it's not like they can track us."

"Couldn't someone watch you?" Namjoon asks.

"Sure, but the whole point of setting up traps is so no one has to," Jimin replies rather dismissively.

"How much do you know about this world?"

"A lot. Not the kind of knowledge you want, trust me."

"Jimin saved us," you say, interrupting them. Jimin shifts to peek at you with wide eyes. Yeah, even you're surprised you're doing this. This is the same man who acted like you were oh so special only to act cold to you earlier. Like you're not what he said you are. Your feelings for him are a little mixed at the moment. Of course you want to like him, but not when he's acting like this.

"When I fucked up, he made a plan in less than a minute and saved our asses. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. Hell, that trap would've killed me if he didn't grab me and knock me out of the way. He's trustworthy in my eyes, Joon," you say. Namjoon and Jimin have the same expression, but it's Namjoon who relaxes first.

"Aright, in that case, Jimin I'd like to assign you as the leader of our scavenger team, if you'll take it."

Jimin nods. "I will. Thank you for trusting me, both of you."

"You protected Ves. Anyone who does that is good in my book," you reply. He gives you a look of gratitude, a look you don't return. He doesn't deserve to know your true thoughts. The thoughts that are plaguing your mind. The failure, the disappointment. You set off that trap and endangered everyone. You've been a scavenger for how long, and you didn't consider what Jimin did? Failure is honestly an understatement at this point. Your heart might break at any moment.

"Y/n, you can go now. I'd like a moment alone with Jimin," Namjoon says.

You do a small nod of respect before departing the office, trying not to cry. As soon as you leave, you're amazed to see Jungkook there waiting for you. He softly smiles, sensing your thoughts, "Ves filled me in. Come here, sweetheart." You go over to him, letting him hug you. He sighs, his warmth providing you with a comfort you haven't felt in a while.

"I love you, Koo," you whisper, holding him close.

"I love you too, pumpkinhead."

"Okay listen, just because I wore a pumpkin for Halloween once doesn't mean I'm a pumpkinhead."

He chuckles and pulls back, placing both his hands on your face. "It kind of does, love."

"No it doesn't," you say.

"It does," he replies, sticking his tongue out. You mimic his motion, him laughing at the sight. He holds your hand, guiding you down the hall. "It wasn't your fault y'know. How could you have known about the traps?"

"Jimin did."

"Jimin is an experienced survivor who's definitely seen it before. At the end of the day, he's right: we've barely been outside these walls. We've barely dealt with strangers all this time. We're inexperienced, and he's not. The best thing we can do is be grateful no one got hurt and learn from it. Okay?"

Jungkook squeezes your hand, your eyes locking as he slows to a stop. "Hey, sweetheart listen, I care about you too much to let you eat yourself up over this," he says.

The words mean a lot to you, but you can't think about it right now. You can get a deep, motivational pep talk later. But now? You need to hang out with your best friend. So despite all the pain resting in your heart, you smile. "Okay Koo. I won't."

He kisses the back of your hand, a pleased look radiating in his eyes. "Thank you, my pumpkinhead." You laugh, nudging him. No matter what, you'll always have your leather-jacket loving bunny-like best friend. 

Always.