ODDS OF SURVIVAL - TAEKOOK

CHAPTERSIX

Taehyung must have fallen asleep again at some point, because the next thing he knew he was startled awake by the sound of the car door slamming as Jungkook got out of the car.

They appeared to be on a poorly maintained gravel drive in the middle of a field full of uncomfortably tall grass, and he couldn't see the highway in any direction.

Jungkook had opened the hatch in the back and was pulling out the bag of guns and ammo, and Taehyung had a sudden, irrational fear that Jungkook had driven him all the way out here to murder him.

He took a few deep breaths to give his rational mind a chance to convince him of how ridiculous that was.

Jungkook could have just as easily shot him anywhere along the highway, or just saved the ammo by leaving him to die at any point, or simply not saved his life several times over.

Then again, Jungkook didn't always act based on what was rational.

"Get out," Jungkook barked, startling Taehyung again as he walked to the front of the car and spread several guns out over the hood.

As much as Taehyung still bristled at the idea of being given orders, he complied and went to stand next to Jungkook in front of the car. "What's all this?"

"We have a problem," Jungkook said vaguely, not even looking up at Taehyung as he methodically checked each gun to see that it was loaded and in proper condition.

Taehyung could feel the itch of annoyance creeping in behind his eyes.

No shit, we have several problems that I'm aware of, he wanted to scream, but he simply glared instead.

"And which problem are you planning to address with this arsenal?"

"The problem," Jungkook said in a tone conveying the sense that he was explaining something plainly obvious to a toddler, "Is that you have no idea how to use a gun, and you're complete shit at melee combat because you go all useless any time a zombie gets anywhere near you."

Taehyung's shoulders went stiff and the telltale heat in his cheeks informed him that his face was flushed with embarrassment.

Of course Jungkook would throw that in his face. The fact that he couldn't control his panic response was mortifying, and he was well aware it was likely to be the very thing that got him killed.

"I do have some idea how a gun works," he said, "It's a rather simple concept. And 'melee combat'- This isn't a video game, Jungkook!"

"Yeah, no shit. Otherwise I wouldn't bother to save your ass. I'd just loot your corpse and sell your shit back to you for an exorbitant finder's fee when you respawned," Jungkook said offhandedly.

Taehyung opened his mouth to retort, but all he managed to do was sputter unintelligently, so he closed it again and fixed Jungkook with a fresh glare.

Jungkook sighed and shook his head as he put one gun down and picked up the next. "So for now, you need a way to defend yourself. And as for the other shit...we'll work on it," he added, his voice strangely gentle.

This shift in the dynamic between them was not at all to Taehyung's liking. To set things right, he desperately wanted to find some flaw in the situation so he could point it out and feel superior again, but he came up with nothing.

He wanted to complain that firing a gun would attract any zombies in the area, but Jungkook had stopped them in the middle of an open field with hundreds of yards of open space in all directions, so they'd easily be able to see and pick off anything that came their way.

Regardless of how much he wanted to protest, he couldn't deny that Jungkook was, for once, being perfectly logical, and it would be advantageous to both of them if he learned to use a gun.