Taehyung gaped at him.
"Hyung, are you crazy?" He yelled, hushing himself when he noticed some of the children flinch at the noise. He came to stand beside Baekhyun, with Jin and Byunhyun following suit.
"The nearest station from here is Jamsil-" Taehyung began.
"Which isn't far at all." Byunhyun reasoned.
"If you could drive at a normal speed on a normal road! We had to take a crazy number of back roads so that we could get here undetected and even then we had some close calls in our car which isn't even that big. A big yellow vehicle moving around will definitely attract attention." Taehyung rebutted, looking exasperated.
"We can come up with contingencies. If we cover the windows properly, the kids won't look out, then they're more likely to stay quiet. We can oil the gears so that they make less noise and we can carry more materials that you can use in the bus. Come on, guys. We can't stay like this for who knows how long." Baekhyun pleaded, gesturing to the group with a sweep of his hand.
Sharing a look with Jin, Taehyung ruffled his hair in defeat. He knew that the kids couldn't stay here, but the journey would be rough. Would they really be able to stay still and quiet for long enough? Sensing Taehyung's doubt, Jin put himself back on teacher mode. Clapping his hands lightly to get everyone's attention, he spoke in a gentle manner.
"Alright everybody, my name is Teacher Kim. These are my friends Taehyung, Baekhyun and Byunhyun." He introduced. After a short pause, the children quietly bowed politely in acknowledgment, careful to be quiet since that's what their own teacher had said. Jin smiled at them.
"Oh my, what a polite group of students. It must have been scary having to hide in here for a very long time, am I right?" He asked, keeping a finger on his lips to indicate that they shouldn't answer him loudly. The students nodded, many of them beginning to leave the huddle around their teacher to sit on the floor and listen properly. Taehyung blinked at Jin's back.
"We want to get everyone to a place where we don't have to be so quiet, and where the scary people can't see us. Would you like that everyone?" Jin asked again, keeping his finger pressed to his lips. The other adults looked mortified at the thought of leaving their current safe space. The children nodded eagerly, desperate to leave the space filled with tension.
"In order for us to get to that place, we need to practice creeping around quietly so that the scary people don't find us. Can you do it everyone?" The children nodded once more. Realising what Jin was trying to do, Baekhyun tapped Taehyung away from the group and began to pick up the cards with tape on the side and grip them in his hands. He exited through the door that would take him to Byunhyun's smithy since the bus was closer to that entrance.
Following his lead, Byunhyun grabbed a can of car oil and left the same way, leaving Taehyung to assemble piles of wood and thin sheets of metal into bundles with rope, thanking God for the Byun brothers' tinkering habit as he went. When he managed to make a few bundles that held a reasonable amount of material but weren't unmanageable on his own, he grabbed two of the bundles and strode past Jin who was practicing actions with the children.
When Jin put his finger to his lips, the children clasped their hands over their mouths. When Jin held his hand flat in the air, everyone crouched down. When Jin patted his thigh twice, the children found a partner to cling to, still crouched down. Impressed with how quickly he had developed the signals for them, Taehyung felt some concern lift from his shoulders and left the smithy too.
~*~
Seocho station was utterly deserted. Nobody had come through in the time Namjoon and Hoseok had been there, which suited Namjoon just fine. Most likely once the news had come out, employees and commuters alike had rushed home to hide with their loved ones. The first thing the pair had done after checking that the main station was clear was go down to the platforms and manually lock all the gates that usually opened automatically when trains arrived.
Once the platforms were secured, the pair moved towards the main entrance. Hoseok was unsettled though. Seocho was a major station in the Seoul University district, did it make sense that there weren't other people there? Surely more people knew of the shelters. Perhaps they were in the shelter already?
"Ya, what if there are already loads of people in the shelter?" Hoseok whispered, grabbing Namjoon's wrist. The taller youth paused. It was a possibility. But if they were only bringing in a few more people then it shouldn't be an issue right?
"Let's secure the entrance first. Then we can check around more freely." He advised after thinking briefly. Nodding in agreement, Hoseok followed him toward the main entrance, pausing in the corridor next to the sign that indicated the varying ways out of the station. Of course a subway station would have multiple entrances and exits for the convenience of communters. Damn it.
"We're going to have to split up to close each gate." Hoseok murmured, goosebumps running over his wrists. The exits were at least 70 yards apart, opening up on different streets. If they split, it would take a little while to meet up again. Namjoon swallowed. Hoseok was right though. If they wanted to secure the station then they would need to separate.
Nodding to regain his composure and to signal his understanding, Namjoon watched as Hoseok squared his shoulder before creeping away and turned to face his own exit. Exhaling quietly, Namjoon paced forward, wanting to get back into the main station as quickly as possible. He hadn't realised that the coolness of the empty station had been so reassuring to him until he began to feel the warmth of the late sun touch his skin.
The gates for the subway were sliding wrought iron gates instead of tall glass gates, causing Namjoon to cock his head with a slight frown. It would be a bit heavier to pull closed, might make some noise too. Bracing himself as he decided to just go for it, he grabbed one of the gates and began to slide it, freezing immediately at the loud sound of the gate joints scraping against the gate rails. There was an eerie silence before strained growls and pants began to reach his ears. Still, Namjoon couldn't move, even as he watched the mass of zombies began to dash down the subway stairs, right towards him with horror.
~*~
Baekhyun checked the street both ways before jogging lightly to the back of the bus, hopping in lightly. After quickly checking he confirmed that there was nobody in the vehicle and got to work. Pacing forward, he began to stick the sheets of card in the windows, making sure that the bottom of the windows were covered completely as the passengers would be visible from there. When the vehicle rocked a little from someone else stepping in Baekhyun spun around, relaxing when he saw that it was just Taehyung.
"It's okay, hyung is oiling the outside." Taehyung murmured as he began to load the materials in the luggage compartments above the seats. Though were storage under the bus, he didn't want to be exposed outside for longer than he needed to be. The two worked in silence, methodologically, with Baekhyun elegantly covering up the windows to the extent that only the light that peeked over the top of the cards made it into the bus.
It was as Taehyung was bringing the last bundle alongside a small crate of tools when he felt his skin crawl. Turning his head to the side, he saw someone with an unsteady gait and deranged eyes slowly approaching the school bus. Crap.
~
Jin glanced at the door leading to the smithy. Taehyung had gone a while ago to drop off the last of the materials he wanted to take with them, and he hadn't yet come back. It was strange because it hadn't taken him that long to go and return before. Was he okay?
Jin couldn't bring himself to go out and check while this group of children were looking at him so dependently. Sighing quietly to himself, Jin clapped his hands together lightly to get everyone's attention.
"Everyone, we're going to get ready to go on the bus. To do this we need to be in groups of three. Can everyone show me how many people need to be in a group?" He asked. The children all lifted their hands with three digits lifted. Jin nodded his approval.
"Very good. Now some of your groups can have a grown up in them, but some of you will have to be brave and be in a group without a grown up, okay?" When he made this statement the air seemed to freeze. Holding his hands in front of him, Jin attempted to calm the tension.
"Everyone, we have to take it in turns to get on the bus. This is so that we make less noise so that the scary people don't know we're here, hm? I will be walking with you to and from the bus but I can't leave you all without a grown up, not on the bus and not here either, so this is what we'll have to do." He explained. Looking over the group, he made firm eye contact with the other adults, who straightened up a little and nodded at him. Returning the gesture, Jin stood to his full height.
"It seems a little bit scary but we want to go somewhere where you don't need to be so scared. To do that, I need everyone to be brave for just a little bit longer, alright?" The children reluctantly nodded. Smiling sadly at them, Jin continued.
"Alright, if we understand, let's all get grouped up."
~
Hastly resting the materials and crate on a seat, Taehyung crouched down and walked in a squat to Baekhyun who was at the front of the bus putting some card on the edges of the wide windscreen.
Grabbing him by the belt loop, Taehyung pulled him down, glaring at him with a finger pressed to his lips when Baekhyun made a small yelping noise. When he was sure Baekhyun wouldn't make anymore sound, Taehyung leaned over to the front door of the bus, looking around frantically for Byunhyun.
The older man was just rising from his position under the bus, exhaling a little before a fluttering action caught his eye. Taehyung was looking at him from the steps of the school bus, gesturing wildly for him to both get down and come over. Lacking time to wonder what this guy was even doing, Byunhyun immediately caught on and bent down, making his way onto the bus as Taehyung backed up. Taehyung gestured again for them to split, skin prickling again as the sound of snuffling began to grow louder.
The trio crouched between seats as the unstable panting and growling approached the bus. The zombie walked into the side of the vehicle a few times, pressing his head against the windows as if to look inside before slowly moving further along down the street.
Waiting until the zombie was completely out of sight, the three breathed out a sigh if relief. After a brief pause, the trio sprang up and ran into the smithy, with Baekhyun closing the door as quietly as possible behind him. Exhaling, he leaned against the door and tried to slow his thundering heart. The zombie had tried to look into the bus. It still had common sense!
"Aish, aren't zombies supposed to be completely instinctive beings?" He cried as he made his way to the back. Jin glanced over his shoulder at them. He had gotten the children and adults to line up in preparation. Thankful that they had come back, he turned to the schoolgroup.
"Okay, everyone, time for us to get going. Remember that we have to go one group at a time and we must be very quiet, understand?" He instructed. The children nodded. Byunhyun stood with the first group, since he was planning on driving the bus. Baekhyun stood with the last group without an adult, and Taehyung went to position himself by the smithy door. Before they moved out, Jin approached Baekhyun.
"I will be going with Taehyung because nobody should have to travel alone in this situation." He started. Baekhyun hummed in agreement. Jin proceeded to teach him the hand signals he had taught and practiced with the children. When Baekhyun had it down, Jin squared his shoulders and began to lead the way to the door.
It was a slow process getting a group out at a time. Each time Taehyung brought a new group to the smithy door, Jin who was standing just outside the door would check that the coast was clear before ushering the group onto the bus through the open back doors.
With Byunhyun going first and seating himself in the drivers seat as he figured out the controls, Jin personally ensures that the group was seated from the front before going back and repeating the process. When Baekhyun finally boarded with the last group of children and got them seated, Jin nodded. He moved to the front of the bus to stand beside Taehyung at the entry doors while Baekhyun silently closed and secured the back doors.
"Everyone." Jin spoke gently, his voice easily heard in the silence of the schoolbus.
"Well done on making it to the bus. All we need to do is keep quiet and let Mr Byun drive to the safe place, hm?" He got lots of tiny nods, some of the children feeling more relaxed since they had not seen any zombies when they came outside.
"Me and Mr Kim are going to be in a different car. We'll be the bodyguards for the bus so don't worry about anything, okay?" Jin concluding, giving the children a playful wink. Some of the kids beamed at him, loving the idea of being specially escorted. Nodding at Baekhyun and Byunhyun, Jin and Taehyung got off the bus and made their way to Hoseok's car.
Once they were seated, Jin gently pulled the car to a stop in front of the schoolbus, waiting for them to get moving. Taehyung lifted his eyebrow.
"As dumb as it sounded, Baekhyun hyung was smart to cover the bottom of the windows. If I didn't know that there were people in there I wouldn't even look twice at the bus." He commented, impressed. Jin agreed. With this, they should be able to get there with little concern.
It was that moment when the sound of hard revving made both young men jump. Lowering their bodies, they peered through the rearview mirror and saw the barely visible figure of Byunhyun gesturing apologetically. Breathing out, Jin waited for a good minute before deeming it safe to move before he tapped on the gas, pushing the car forward as the schoolbus lowly rumbled behind.