Chapter Thirty-One: Why Are You Kicking Me?
*******Namjoon's POV*******
I watched Taehyung and his unit talk as they walked to where I was standing, outside of Isaac's medical tent.
"Did you find anything?" I asked him.
He frowned and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hyung. Just like yesterday, his scent ends at the side gate to the base. They must have put him in a car to take him somewhere. And what bit of his scent there is...it's fading fast."
I turned and kicked over a trashcan next to the sidewalk. "Damnit, that's not good enough! You're not doing enough! There has to be more that you can do!"
"We're trying, Hyung," Tae told me.
"Then try harder!" I yelled at him.
Tae hung his head. I could tell from the bags under his eyes that he must be just as exhausted as the rest of us. It had been three days since Isaac disappeared, and we hadn't been able to find a single trace of him.
"I'm sorry, Taehyung," I told him. "I am. I know that this isn't your fault. I'm just frustrated and scared out of my mind."
Tae took two steps towards me and wrapped his arms around me. Whatever he had in his utility vest and belt were biting into my skin, but I didn't care. I hugged him back, trying not to cry again.
"We'll find him, Hyung," Tae said against my shoulder. "We will."
I blinked back the tears that were stinging my eyes. "We haven't, yet. We have no idea where he is, no idea who took him, no idea if he's even still alive."
He pulled back to look at me. "You're here and still semi-functional. So he's still alive. Take what little comfort you can in that."
As I hugged him again, I felt something kick me in the foot and pulled back.
"Why are you kicking me?" I asked him.
He frowned at me. "I...I didn't. What're you talking about?"
I turned around to see who was behind me, but nobody was there. Then I felt another kick and looked down. There was a tree root next to my foot, which was confusing, since there weren't any trees on the field. I looked at it, then watched as it moved and hit my foot again.
"Tae..." I said, pointing down at it.
"What?" He looked at where I was pointing. "Did you step on the root or something?"
"No, it hit me."
He looked at me and cocked his head to the side, worry etched into his handsome features. "Hyung, I think you need some sleep."
"I'm not imagining it, Taehyung," I said as it did it again. "There! See!"
"I didn't see anything, Hyung." He looked down at the root again. From the corner of my eye, I could see the shock on his face as the root moved again. He jumped back like it was going to try to hurt him. 'What the hell?!"
"I...I think it's Isaac," I told him.
"What do you mean 'it's Isaac'?" he asked me,
"Isaac is a witch. Maybe he did a spell to help me find him."
He tore his eyes away from the root and stared at me. "Your mate is a witch? I thought he was a werewolf."
"He's both, actually," I told him. "His dad was a werewolf, but his mom was a witch."
The root hit me again, then began moving away. When it got a few feet away, it looked like it stood up and stared at me, then started moving again.
"I think it wants you to follow it, Hyung," Tae told me. "Come on. I'll go with you."
"We all will," Jin told me as he walked up to us.
All of the guys were there. Most of them had been, already, but it took some work to get Yoongi and Taehyung here. However, being who we are and all, they were eventually allowed to come. And I couldn't be more thankful for them. I would never have gotten through the past three days without my brothers.
Jungkook moved over to us and pointed at the root that was watching, waiting for us to move. "That's so cool!"
"Let's go," I told them, then started following the root. I didn't know where it was going to take me, but if my mate was there, I'd follow the damn thing to Hell if I had to.
It led us off base and down the street. Eventually, it stopped, and I looked around. We were in the middle of the road and there were no buildings nearby. Then the bushes along the road started shaking, knocking off some of their berries. We followed the fallen berries down the road. I felt like I was in the middle of Hansel and Gretel.
But, instead of trying to find my way home from the witch, I was trying to find the witch that has become my home.
"It stopped," Yoongi said, when there were no more berries to follow. "Now what?"
We were looking around, wondering where to go next, when Jimin pointed across the field next to the road. "Look at the tree!"
We watched as a tree seemed to grow 30 feet in height in under a minute. It was next to some old factory. It looked like it had been abandoned a long time ago. We all ran across the field towards it, and when we got closer, I noticed that some of the branches had smashed through the windows at the front of the building as it grew.
I smelled the air and got the faintest hint of pine needles and cherries.
"He's here," I told my friends. "I can smell him. He's in there."
Tae pulled a gun out of his belt and motioned with his head for us to all follow him. "Get behind me. I'm trained for this a lot more than the rest of you."
"But he's my mate!" I said in frustration.
"Yes, Hyung, and I plan on making sure that you stay alive long enough to find him," he told me. "Now get behind me."
We all moved into a clump behind him as he walked to the front door with his handgun raised. He reached out with one hand to try the doorknob, and then pushed the door open when he realized that it was unlocked. He stepped inside and looked in all directions to make sure it was safe, then motioned for us to follow him again.
I was suddenly regretting joining the military band and not taking a position, like Taehyung, where I would always have a gun on me. I felt helpless in the moment, and all that I wanted to do was storm in and rescue my mate. Tae was moving a little too slow for my liking.
"Relax, Hyung," Jimin whispered, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Tae knows what he's doing. He's just making sure that it's safe. Be patient. We will find your mate."
I scowled at him. "It's really annoying the way you can always read our minds, Jimin-ah."
He shrugged at me. "You say 'annoying', I say 'useful.'"
I rolled my eyes at him, but continued to follow Taehyung, because I knew that Jimin was right. Tae trained for stuff like this. And I knew we were getting close, because Isaac's pine needles and cherries scent was getting stronger.
I heard Tae yell for somebody to stop and looked over to see him leveling his gun on somebody. I looked further up and my eyes locked on the person his gun was aimed at.
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A/N: 'But instead of trying to find my way home from the witch, I was trying to find the witch that had become my home.' I think that this might be my favorite line that I've ever written. -------Kat
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