In the Dead of Winter || •PJM• ✔️

Absence

"Y/n, he's not that young."

"What does Ves do when he wants something?"

Jungkook sighs. "Starts crying because he's dramatic."

"Exactly. He's a great actor because he's the most stubborn bitch in the world," she says, and Jungkook has to admit the spark in her eyes is adorable. And hopeful. It's the first glimmer of hope they've had in days, and Jungkook will be damned if they lose it now. "He can make the case that he wants to feel like a kid again, then when he asks for childish things, no one will question it. This plan might actually work. But a lot of it depends on what Ves finds while he's in there..."

"Our entire plan revolves around a kid." Y/n hangs her head, placing her hands on the table. Jungkook smiles, resting his hand on her shoulder, causing her head to snap back up. At his bunny grin, her posture relaxes. "Good thing he's one helluva reliable kid. He'll be alright. And since he's immune, they'll protect him with their life. Do you trust me?"

"Not even a little, but I trust Ves. So you know what? Yeah, let's do it." She pauses, letting out a breath. "But I need something from you, Kook."

Jungkook chuckles, giving her a smirk. "Name it."

~~~

Alright, admittedly, Jungkook wasn't expecting this when Y/n said she needed something from him. After hugging Y/n goodbye and sharing the plan with the others, Jungkook finds himself walking outside at night. They wanted to move as quickly as possible, so nightfall it was. Only Jungkook is with Ves. Alone. Just those two.

Night and day are about the same when it comes to safety anymore. Jungkook is carrying a Glock and a flamethrower strapped around his back in case the Howlers actually are in this area. At least they have a way to destroy Howlers once and for all. Regardless, the streets are empty, not a noise sounding off in the area.

Y/n told him that she needs him to escort Ves there. Sending a whole team might have attracted too much attention, and this way, Ves has a reliable fighter and doctor by his side in case of injury or zombies. Jungkook is also her most trusted. He'll scout the back walls to ensure it's a safe space for them to exchange messages. The current plan is the back wall, but if Jungkook sees something suspicious, he'll report back to Y/n with the news.

Ves trots by his side with his hand on his pistol. There isn't much hope that he'll be able to keep it, but it's worth a shot. Jungkook is about as paranoid as Ves, each twig snapping in the distance alerting Jungkook more to the possibility that there could be a horde waiting out there for them. The wind blowing by makes him shiver, his hands rubbing his arms.

"Don't you have enough muscle that you'll never be cold?" Ves asks, pointing to the sleeves of Jungkook's leather jacket that he's rubbing.

"That may be the nicest thing you've ever said to me, but to answer your question, no. Come on, let's pick up the pace."

"Do you remember where we're going?"

"I do, actually. While on the run, I wasn't really looking at the roads. But luckily for us, we have two people who know the area well. Taehyung and Yoongi, they helped mark the Ranglers on the map. I made sure to look at the path and memorize it before we left."

"As a doctor, did you have to memorize a lot of stuff?" Ves asks, Jungkook humming and falling into his memories.

"All the time. Every day I was on Quizlet learning a bunch of technical terms, not to mention reading my textbooks to find out more about how to do certain procedures. A lot of medical is experience and hands-on activities, but there's also the memorizing so we can do the practices, y'know?"

Ves agrees, and the two continue their trek down the road. Twenty minutes of silence passes, no activity on the road. It's at this point that Jungkook is concerned. Not a single zombie? Not even a basic one? Jungkook holds him and Ves up, realizing they're only five minutes away from the Ranglers. That means life isn't far. Noise. Are all the zombies there?

Jungkook's suspicion is confirmed when he hears a distant gunshot, and Ves hops back from the noise. "What the fuck was that?" Ves asks.

"Gunshot. I'm guessing that's coming from the Ranglers. Maybe a scavenging team coming back to base-"

'Bam!'

The gunshots keep ringing out, and Jungkook hyperventilates as the wind brushes by, pushing the leaves of the trees nearby in the air. Some snap off their branches and soar over to Jungkook, landing on his leather jacket. "There's two problems. One, there's probably zombies in the forest. Two, we have to go towards the gunshots."

"Shit," Ves mumbles, Jungkook grabbing Ves's hand despite the heaviness of the flamethrower dragging him down.

"Let's go. Faster, before any zombies catch up-"

Jungkook is interrupted by growling coming from the trees. Great, the gunshots woke them up. Jungkook keeps himself quiet as he pulls Ves along, rushing down the dark street and attempting to keep his heaving to a minimum. Ves does the same, covering his mouth when needed as to keep the noise to an all time low. However, it doesn't work. Runners spring free from the trees, locating the duo and snarling. Of course they had to be runners, didn't they?

Regardless of their luck, regular zombies come out too, but the runners are a big enough problem. Ves takes out his knife, Jungkook letting go of Ves's hand to do the same. Jungkook peeks over his shoulder, noting how they're only three to four minutes away now. Runners are sprinting at them, and more are becoming part of the pack by the second. More basic zombies, more runners. At least over a dozen by now. Jungkook swallows, holding his knife as tightly as he can.

"Ves, you have to run." A runner comes to them, Jungkook stabbing it in the head and kicking it down with his leg. "I'll hold them off. I'm not important anyway, you need to get to the gates. I can't risk you getting bitten or torn apart in this fight, got it?"

Knowing there's no time to argue, Ves agrees. He keeps his knife out as he runs away, Jungkook gritting his teeth and staring down the horde forming in front of him. He would run with Ves, in fact, that seems like the smartest idea. But the runners are faster than them. Maybe not Jungkook, but Ves for sure. So, Jungkook plants his feet and stabs the next one, grabbing his flamethrower and swinging it forward. More zombies are pouring out, more gunshots sounding off. They shots are closer, too. The booming noise is attracting more, and Jungkook isn't sure how to feel about sending Ves towards those sounds. But on the bright side, Ves has a gun and there will be more people there to help him. Or if not, he'll just come running back to Jungkook. Probably. Risks must be taken for rewards to come, and it's either fight a dozen here on their own, or send Ves to the Ranglers that (hopefully) have more firepower.

Jungkook twists the nozzle of the flamethrower, checking to ensure it's on and at max fuel. When he sees that it is, he holds it up and glares at the runners preparing to pounce on him. He chuckles, his finger about to press down on the trigger. The odds aren't in his favor. There's over a dozen and more coming in, and the flamethrower will attract more. But Ves is safe.

No matter what happens to Jungkook, as long as Ves is safe, that's all that matters.