DAY 801
Jimin's silent as he searches the school, you observing him and leaning against the wall. Louis is stabilized from what you hear, but that doesn't change how Jungkook refused to do the surgery. He's always been like this ever since that one time all those years ago. You wish he'd let go of the past, but for some reason, he can't. But that isn't your priority now. The waiting is the hardest part. Obviously, assuming Fiona got out, her, Ves, and Sky are still traveling by foot. That means they're slower. Regardless, it's been almost a full day. How can that not worry you?
But there's something else on your mind. Something you didn't really think about until... now. But you're interrupted by your dog trotting down the halls of the school, you grinning and kneeling to greet the German Shepherd. "Hey bud," you say, stroking the dog's ears. "I'm glad you made it."
He gives you a smile, barking in response. Jimin's eyes ask permission, and you grant it, motioning him to come closer. He does, stroking the dog's head and giggling like a baby. It's nice to have a moment to relax. It feels as though ever since you met Jimin, life has both gotten better and harder. But also easier because whatever problems pop up, Jimin has a solution for them. At the same time, you wonder if his PTSD is ever going to catch up to him. He's been having trouble sleeping, not to mention that one night on watch when he had an episode, and you had to stop him from screaming. Unfortunately, the worst part about that is you can't do anything to help.
"Hey, can you keep searching? I have to go talk to Katherine, talk about what happened while we were away," you say, standing.
Jimin flashes you a charming grin you'll never get tired of. "Sure honey, be safe."
You come over and peck his lips, ruffling his hair. "Only if you do the same, Min."
He keeps his smile as you trek down the stairs, pitter-pattering across the structure. Those Ranglers didn't actually do too much to your interior. The outside is a mess, but the school itself is pretty intact albeit littered with bullet holes. The walls are being plastered with fresh paint by Omar and Julia, the pair working together to make this place more presentable. When Fiona gets back with the kids, you're hoping this place will be able to rebuild. Without half of the campus though... what are you going to do? You'll have to speak with Namjoon about it. Now you'll need Jimin's 'friend' Taehyung more than ever. He has connections, Jimin said. At first it was to help with survival, but now, you could use more people in case the Ranglers come back. Dammit, this is getting more complicated by the minute.
You approach the nurse's office, slipping inside and not surprised to see Katherine already in there, treating an unconscious Louis. She's refreshing his bandages, humming while doing so. Jungkook is no where to be found, probably scouring around outside or something. You aren't sure. Regardless, you approach, Katherine peeking up upon hearing your footsteps.
"You look like how I feel," she says, you flipping her off before eyeing Louis. She sighs, brushing her hands off on her shirt. "He's stable. When Fiona gets back, I'm sure she'll love to hear that. Or maybe she'll beat him to a pulp for getting hurt, never know with Fi."
"Not really," you reply, leaning against the wall.
Katherine halts her movements, noticing your hesitation and straightening her posture. "You weren't hurt in the attack, were you?"
"No... but I do need something." She raises both her brows. "Don't laugh."
"As a nurse, I'm offended you'd think I'd laugh at your suffering."
You let your head hit the barrier behind you. "I need medicine for a UTI," you mumble.
And just like that, Katherine stifles her laugh, throwing a hand over her mouth and going over to the medicine cabinet. You resist the urge to flip her off again as she rifles through it, snatching a couple things from the cabinet before handing them to you. "You know how to use them?"
"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.