A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

23: Sixth Sense

Despite the eerie silence and the creeping loneliness, Mara would attempt to get a full nights rest. Unfortunately, she failed on the first night, her mind forcing her to wake up at random intervals and odd hours of the night in alarm. Jin had asked her to lock her door at night, hoping that it would make her feel safer, but the suggestion only further fed the paranoia.

Besides sleep, the girl was beginning to feel slightly better. Though she was still weak, Mara felt her energy slowly recharge throughout the meals she was being fed—still only soups and water (as per Jin's advice). Jin seemed to know a lot about taking care of people, and upon asking him about his experience, he simply stated:

"I've just been around this long enough to know a thing or two. I'm no doctor but I'd be more capable than any of these idiots." Jin then rolled his eyes, gesturing behind him to what Mara assumed was the rest of his group. It was amusing for Mara to watch Jin break from his generous and caring self, but Mara guessed it was a kind of friendship where he was allowed to tease.

Mara grew envious of this.

Simply thinking of how she could've been surrounded by good people the whole time, yet wasn't, made her slightly bitter. She didn't blame Jin, however.

This brought up the question,

"When will I get to meet everyone else? I think there's a lot to address. I feel like I've been overstaying and tip-toeing around any kind of accountability," Mara stressed, concerned gaze meeting Jin's hesitant one. He leaned back against the wall as he laid on the other bed, contemplating for a second.

"You're not overstaying. At least not to me. We couldn't possibly throw you out with you being so weak," he replied, "And as for them. I don't know how they'd react to you, or you to them. Not all of them are...as polite as they should be."

Mara hadn't brought up leaving, but for Jin to mention it as if it would eventually happen was making her nervous.

"I'm sure I can handle it. I've met literally the worst people probably on this entire planet. The bar is set low," Mara joked. Jin tried to smile, but it twitched into a frown as he stared at Mara, eyes shifting between hers in what seemed like deep concern.

"Even though I'm not joking, don't pay too much attention to that. I don't, and it helps me cope when I make light of it. But I really don't think your group could be that bad, right? I mean, if you're one of them, then that should reflect what everyone else is like? Right?"

"I wish it was like that. It's just that," Jin sighed in frustration, "Everyone here has their own personality and sometimes even I can't handle it. And I want to be completely honest with you," he looked straight into her eyes, and this caused worry to bubble at the pit of her stomach.

"It's not my decision whether you stay here indefinitely. And I don't want to get your hopes up either. I've managed to buy you some time to get better, but that's all I can do for now. I can't promise anything," he spoke sternly. Mara's heart dropped, and she paused for a second to collect her thoughts. Ultimately, she somberly nodded in agreement, "I understand."

"I'm not entitled to stay here just because of what happened, but I do thank you for keeping me here this long," Mara gratefully spoke, receiving a smile from Jin.

"You're very mature for your age, I can tell," He lightly muttered.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't have to be, ya know?" Mara pensively said. Mara absorbed herself in Jin's words, starting to realize that perhaps the safety she was growing too comfortable in would not last very long. The fleeting nature of safety was exposed in each of her endeavors, but Mara wondered what it was like to be able to walk freely inside impenetrable walls that surrounded you and sheltered you from the danger than ran rampant in every nook and cranny. To not have to worry about fending for oneself when instead it was a team effort to stay alive—that was the dream. Mara would do anything be a part of a group she could keep safe and whom which could keep her safe. Having to throw herself out in the darkness head first was the last thing she wanted to do, but from what Jin was saying, it seemed to be an imminent possibility.