^Jungkook's POV^
I grabbed my gun and dagger as Yoongi and I rushed out. Jimin had informed us of the incoming danger. Informing the King and Queen of Serek through a phone call, Yoongi and I rushed towards the water. Being submerged underwater would buy us time since they would look at homes on land first.
We swam as fast as we could, trying to reach the occasional air bubbles that were aloof underwater. Although Yoongi and I were given drinks mixed with a plant that allowed us to see, talk and breathe underwater, it limited us to consume the amount of oxygen that fish consumed, which was not enough for us. So the air bubbles were a necessity, especially when we were working our muscles and going against the water whose pressure increased as we swam deeper. We were still in the underwater city, which was good. We could find a hiding spot in the city while the Southern were-dragons drank the plant mix to allow them to breathe underwater.
I let out a yelp when I was roughly pulled by a strong person. I struggled to escape as I was being pulled into a house. I saw Yoongi being pulled into the house as well by a merman, so I calmed down and let them drag us inside, their hands over our mouths so we didn't yell.
I gasped for breath as the mermaid, who was pulling me, let me go. She quickly created air bubbles for Yoongi and I.
"Quiet. They're checking underwater first," she said. "Come here."
She guided us to a staircase. "Why do you have a staircase if you just swim?" I asked.
"It makes the place look better. Also..." she trailed off, single-handedly lifting up the heavy marble to reveal a very small room. "A good hiding place."
"Well anything better than a closet," I mumbled as I followed Yoongi into the hiding spot. It was really cramped, barely any place to fit two people.
"It's soundproof. There is a hidden num pad behind you, embedded in the wall. 5670," the mermaid informed.
"Thank you," Yoongi said, while I punched in the numbers to reveal a bigger room. I stared in confusion at the room that lacked water in it. It was an underwater room, and it wasn't filled with water?
"Some weird physics. It won't last long, go in now, get dry. There are clothes in the closet to your right, wear them. It's soundproof. We'll get you out when they're gone." she instructed. I nodded and crawled in. The door was small, so we had to crawl into it. I helped Yoongi get through and closed the door. The loud thud of the staircase hitting the floor sent waves of relief through us.
"What if they find us?" I asked.
"They won't. And even if they do find the area under the staircase, they won't be able to come in," the orange-eyed male replied. "We're safe for now."
^Seokjin's POV^
"They're hiding," Jimin informed.
"That's good," I said, standing up. "Walk with me."
He looked confused, but complied anyways. I wrapped an arm around his waist as we walked through the hallway.
"Why are we walking?" He asked.
"How is the search party preparations going?" I asked. I picked up on the shift in certain staff members as they subtly turned their heads to hear better. Taking a note of the staff members, I turned my attention to Jimin. Fortunately, he picked up on my intentions and played along.
"After the memorial, there will be two search parties sent out every round. One will cover the Red region and the other will cover the Blue region," he said. We had mapped out regions on maps based on colors when we were searching for more life forms and resources. Red = dead region; Blue = few hints but not enough; Pink = resources; Orange = hints of life forms; Turquoise = heavy and strong hints/availability of resources and life forms. "If the Southerners are in Serek searching for him, why are we?"
"Yoongi may not be in Serek. We don't know much about Serek, and we haven't exactly reached out for anything since they came here for Nighter," I said.
"What if he doesn't come back?" Jimin asked, his voice slightly cracking. Barely noticeable. He wasn't faking his concern. If the Southerns found Yoongi, we would never see him again.
"He has to. They know that Yoongi could die without contact with at least one of his mates," I said. "Let's hope Nighter is not with Yoongi. He may just end up being caught up in the crossfire."