In the Dead of Winter || •PJM• ✔️

Ves

"I can read the labels, thanks," you say, shoving them in your pocket. "And stop laughing, it's not funny."

"You and Jimin?"

"Fuck off."

"What? I'm just asking," she says with a snicker, closing up the cabinets and leaning against them. She crosses her arms over her chest, scanning you up and down. "Well, you don't have that many bruises. What happened, he didn't discover you're a masochist yet?"

"I'm gone. Bye." You swivel on out of there, her laughter echoing down the halls as you go. You grumble to yourself, taking out the medicine to glance at it. However, what she gave you makes you stop in your tracks. She didn't just give you antibiotics. This motherfucker gave you birth control and a box of condoms. You take a deep breath.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!"

"Love you too!" she shouts back.

You grunt out a curse, deciding to conceal and not feel your wrath. Not worth it. Now, you have other priorities. With that in mind, you shove everything back in your pocket and walk away...

~~~

Jimin taps his fingers against the wall, peeking at Namjoon. He's overlooking the school from his window, maps laid out on his desk. "I don't know what to do," Namjoon whispers, keeping his hands on the windowsill. "Do you? Please tell me you do, you used to be the one I trusted least, but now I fear you're my only hope."

"I was hoping my smile alone would make you trust me, I'm slightly offended," Jimin replies, approaching and standing next to him. "But to be honest, I'm not sure what more we can do. Rebuild our fortress, make sure the greenhouse is 100% operational, recruit other people if we have to. Whether we're a team of 20 or 5, we'll make it. You don't have to worry about that."

Namjoon shifts his attention to Jimin, their eyes locking. "How would you feel if I asked you to supervise that?"

"Fine with me."

"What if I asked you to take over?"

Jimin opens his mouth, then, he realizes what Namjoon means and widens his eyes. "What? You mean... take over the school? Be the leader?"

"That's exactly what I mean. Jimin, I know I'm a good leader. I don't doubt that, I've kept us alive for years. But you came in and gave us something even I didn't have. Experience. Now we have a newcomer locked in his room, our gates busted open and begging for Howlers to come and attack us, maybe eve- Jimin?"

Jimin stumbles back, panting. Namjoon holds his shoulder, but it's already too late, he's fading in and out of himself. "How... Howlers..."

"Hey, Jimin, what's going on?"

The man doesn't let go of Jimin, and Namjoon's hand turns into a claw in Jimin's eyes. What was Kim Namjoon becomes the body of a Howler towering over him, and a carmine hue covers its teeth. Jimin's breaths became more than pants. They're desperate pleas for the beast to leave him, disappearing from sight forever. He tries not to scream, whimpers passing his lips until he almost passes out.

Jimin gets shook harshly enough to bring him back to reality, Namjoon's eyes expanded and on Jimin. "What the hell was that?" he asks, Jimin backing away from him.

"I... nothing. Nothing." Jimin places his eyes on the outside of the school, Namjoon's gaze burning into the back of him. "I get memories sometimes, okay? Howlers trigger that. I remember the ranch, and what happened to my friend, and..."

"You don't have to explain. You worry me, that's all."

"I'm worried too, but not for myself."

"The kids?"

Sky and Ves, two people he cares about deeply. Not to show bias, but he literally loves Ves like he's Jimin's son. Sky is competent and adds a lot to their team, not to mention she's fun to be around. The two kids that Jimin misses dearly. He'll do anything to have them back in his arms.

"If something happens to Ves, I don't know how Y/n will react. And that scares me too," Jimin says, keeping his gaze on the snapped front gates. "We're going to need supplies to rebuild, you know that, right?"

"I know. Where do you suggest we get it?"

"In town. There's a probably a Home Depot or something of the sorts around. We're gonna need more everything."

"Katherine was telling me earlier that they're running out of supplies. We still have basic medications and plenty of bandages, but little to no surgery supplies. But that's found in hospitals."

"And the hospital near us..."

"Is locked off. No light inside, it's like walking into a vampire den. There's um..." Namjoon trails off, biting his lip. "There's zombies inside."

Jimin feels all his air rob itself from his lungs, his posture cracking. "Howlers, right?"

"It's a Howler den, there has to be dozens inside. Last time we tried, we almost set them free."

Jimin faintly remembers being told about the Howler den of a hospital that's not far from here. If someone gets shot, how are they going to patch them up without supplies? It'll be much harder, if not impossible. Jimin rubs his lips together, his hands forming fists. There's a couple problems with that. For starters, Y/n will be on that mission. His woman. The hospital has to be the most dangerous mission they'd ever go on, and his woman would be on it. He knows she wouldn't dare back down from a mission like that. And that leads to the second major problem: Jimin would.

Despite Jimin's courage, he knows he would not have the mental strength to handle that. Howlers. Just seeing them again would make him freeze and have an episode. He wouldn't even know if it was real or not. Jimin only hopes it never comes to that, and he isn't on the frontlines when the Howlers come. And that's exactly why he needs to do what he's about to do now.

"Namjoon," he says, the man shifting his gaze to Jimin's side profile. "I can't be the school's leader. I'm not good enough for that."

"You've been our voice of reason since you showed up, and do I need to mention all you've done for us already? Jimin, you've been here... what? 20 days? Not even? Yet here you are as the most respected man here because of your talents. How are you not good enough?"

"I'm not ready," Jimin whispers, his hands flattening themselves and pressing against the smooth material of the windowsill. "And I doubt I ever will be." Namjoon goes to reply, then, he halts, his jaw falling open. Jimin is about to question him when he sees what Namjoon does. Three figures limping through the front gates.

Fiona's back.

Right away, they sprint out of the office, Jimin too high on adrenaline to find his girl and tell her Fi's back. They break free to the outside merely a few moments later, Namjoon and Jimin rushing to the trio. Fiona has Sky and Ves in her arms, their faces covered in muck and grime. Tears cloak their faces, Fiona cradling Ves the most.

"Ves," Jimin says, coming over. However, the kid backs away with a quivering lower lip. Jimin doesn't stop his eyes from showing his heart shattering, his posture deflating at the rejection. "Kid, please, talk to me, what's going on?" Ves rests his head against Fiona's side, none of the three speaking, only feeling. Snot and tears are cleaning off the dirt stained on their faces, Namjoon and Jimin panting from their run.

"Christ, will someone fucking talk to me?!" Jimin shouts, not meaning to raise his voice, but he can't take this silence anymore. The three newcomers halt, all noises they were making freezing with them. Jimin softens his gaze, observing Sky's terrified eyes and Fiona's sorrow. And finally, his stare lands on Ves, who separates himself from Fiona and the others. He keeps stepping back, Fiona mouthing an apology while Jimin attempts to approach. But Ves backs away. "Ves, please kid, please..." However, that gets him nowhere, and Ves wipes his snot with his left hand. And that's when Jimin sees it: the blood. Jimin's pupils expand, his pulse feeling more like a hammer bashing his skin.

Ves got bit.