DAY 801
Jimin doesn't know what to feel. All he knows is that his heart is both beating a million times a minute, but it's stopped at the same time. His eyes are wavering in and out of focus as he stares at the blood on Ves's sleeve, the bite mark on his wrist making Jimin wish to vomit. Out of fear, he doesn't. He isn't sure if that's a good thing or not.
"Kid... let me see, okay?" Jimin says, taking cautious steps closer.
Ves continues to back away, shaking his head while the tears pour down his face. "I don't want to hurt you. I didn't even want to come back, but I wanted to see who I love one last time."
"Let me see, Ves." Jimin comes closer, Ves staggering back. "Now."
At the sternness in Jimin's tone, Ves finally gives in and treks over, holding his arm out. Jimin rolls up Ves's sleeve, a chunk of his skin missing and replaced by the teeth marks. A zombie bite, and everyone knows what that means. "We got overwhelmed with runners while escaping," Ves says, casting his gaze to the ground.
"I'm sorry, Jimin, I tried to save him," Fiona whispers, her voice a shell of herself.
Jimin ignores her words, instead keeping his grip on Ves's arm. He doesn't mean for it to get tighter, but it does, his knuckles going pale. "How long ago did this happen?"
"I don't know, two hours? Three?"
"Did you pass out?"
Ves glances at Fiona, who shakes her head. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I know you don't want to hear this, but there's a way to stop bites that happen on our limbs. Arms, legs. Feet and hands especially. I ran with a lot of groups, kid. Each one we got bites, and each time, we cut the limb off." Ves is quick to back away, forcing his arm out of Jimin's grasp. "I'm sorry, but it's the only way to save you. But we don't have much time, we have about until you pass out for the first time, that's how it was with my camps. That means the infection spread too much in you. And with infection rates varying, we need to do this now."
Jimin goes over and takes Ves's hand, about to storm off, but Ves holds his ground, fighting back against him. "You're not taking off my hand, I won't let you!"
"Ves, I'm trying to save you!"
"Just let me die in peace!" Ves shouts, making Jimin halt his actions. "Just let me..." Ves bites his lip and trails off, Jimin dropping the kid's hand. "I-I don't want to die," he says in a whimper, his voice cracking. "I don't want to... What do I do? I'm so scared. Jimin, please tell me there's another way. Please." Jimin embraces the boy, who shakes and sobs in his arms. He shushes Ves, stroking his hair and allowing the kid to stain his shirt with tears. It goes like that for a full minute, then, Y/n's voice fills the air.
"Fi, Sky?! Oh my God, you're alright! Is Jimin hugging my baby boy?"
Jimin closes his eyes and kisses the top of Ves's head, lowering his tone. "No matter what happens, be strong. I'll be right by your side through it all," he whispers.
"What if I bite you?"
"It's okay." Jimin keeps stroking Ves's hair, Y/n's footsteps approaching.
"Jimin? Can I have a turn, or am I not allowed?" No answer. "Namjoon? Fi? What's going on? Someone talk to me."
Jimin takes a breath before parting from Ves, turning to Y/n with his eyes full of tears. He sees her gorgeous face go from relieved to devastated, Jimin shaking his head in a minuscular manner. She catches on and brings her gaze to the bitten Ves, the kid stumbling forward to greet his mother.
"Ves..." she mutters, kneeling to inspect his face. "What's wrong baby? Show me." Ves shows the bite, and Y/n takes his wrist, staring at the gory sight. She kisses next to it, but not quite on it, giving him a plastered smile that brings more sorrow to Jimin's gut. "It's okay." She kisses it again, rapidly nodding her head, "It's okay. It'll be okay."
"But-"
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up. It's okay."
Jimin brushes his tears away, going over to Fiona and dropping his voice to a murmur. "Get inside and clean up, both of you. I'll handle this." Sky and Fiona reluctantly agree and head inside, Jimin motioning for Namjoon to come closer, and he does. "Get an axe. If you don't have one, fucking find one. Start a fire in your office fireplace and heat up a knife so we can cauterize the wound. But we need something like an axe to get the hand off easily. A knife would work, but let's not put Ves through a minute of torture, rather a couple seconds, okay?"
Namjoon agrees, rushing off to fetch the tools Jimin asked for. And now it's time to handle the beast: Y/n. Oh lord, how is he gonna convince her this is the best play? Only one way to find out.
Jimin approaches from behind, Y/n holding Ves's hand and bringing him inside. Jimin follows, tapping Y/n on the shoulder. She freezes, meeting Jimin's stare. "Yes?" she asks, her smile bringing goosebumps to his body.
"Hey kid, go to Namjoon's office, we need to talk to you there. Let me talk to mom for a moment, alright?" Ves hesitates, but he gives in after a beat, rushing up the stairs. Jimin waits for him to be out of eyesight and earshot, then, he takes Y/n's hands and kisses both of them. "We're gonna save him, honey."
"Save? But he doesn't need saving."
"Y/n, he got bit. We need to amputate his hand and stop the infection before it spreads more than it has. We have until he passes out for the first time. We need to hurry, otherwise he's gone. Come on." He goes to leave, but she keeps him in place. He bites back a grunt and turns back around. "Y/n."
"He's fine."
"Honey, please-"
"I said he's fine, it's not a bite, it's just a scratch. Am I the only one with eyes?"
"Even Ves says he got bit. Why do you think he's so scared?" Jimin tries to brush her hair out of her face like always, but she backs away. His eyes crack with his heart, him lowering his hand. "Baby, we need to go save him. Please don't do this."
"Do what?"
He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Please let us save him. Don't try and stop us."
"But he's fine."
"He's not fine!" he yells, her flinching from it. His gaze eases, and he goes to hold her hand, but she keeps her distance. "Baby, I'm sorry, I just..."
"He's gonna die, isn't he?" she asks in a whisper.
Jimin hides the glass that is his heart. The glass that cracks more with each heartbeat. "Yeah babe, yeah, I think he will." Y/n doesn't react, she only keeps her eyes on her feet. "But I'm gonna fight like hell to make sure he doesn't." This time, she lets him take her hand, and he kisses it as an apology for yelling. At this point, she doesn't even seem to care. "Do yourself a favor... don't watch. Please."
Y/n doesn't agree or disagree, so he backs up and sprints up the stairs, entering Namjoon's office seconds later. Ves is by the fire Namjoon started, the man holding an axe and a knife as requested. "Found them fast, we have fire axes everywhere." Namjoon tosses the axe to Jimin, and he catches it, Ves backing away.
"Kid, this is the only way."
"I don't want to."
"I'm sorry, but do you want to live or not?" Jimin asks, gripping the axe in his hands. The idea of hurting Ves brings nausea swelling inside him, and Ves's terrified, and even hate-filled eyes has him wishing to die on spot. He'd rather die than hurt his son, but the truth is, if he doesn't do this, Ves will be the one to die.
Ves trembles in the chair he's sitting on, his breathing quickening until it appears as though he'll pass out. "I-I don't want to lose my hand, I'd rather just go out in peace than risk intense pain and maybe live." Jimin kneels, taking both of Ves's hands. "Please... dad, please."
The single word has a tear falling out of Jimin's eye, him rubbing his fingers over the backs of Ves's hands. "Ves, please. I'm begging you to let me do this. I don't want to do this either, I never want to see you in pain, but it's either this, or you die."
Ves doesn't answer, his grip tightening on the arms of the chair. Jimin traces his fingers down Ves's wrist, the light peeking in from the window illuminating the bite wound on his wrist. Jimin kneels and sets Ves's hand into a fist, tilting his arm to the side so he can get a better view.
Then, his heart stops.
Jimin releases Ves's hand, his lower lip quivering. Ves furrows his brows, "What is it?" Jimin can't find words to describe it, hell, he can't even utter a single syllable. A heavy sensation blasts through his body, stomping on his chest as if a Howler was crushing him. Jimin falls on his ass, his eyes widening and focusing on the bite. "Jimin, what is- oh my God."
Ves shakily brings his hand up to eye level, Namjoon creaking the floor as he steps back. Ves hops to his feet and goes to the window, observing his wound in better lighting. Jimin doesn't have the strength to stand. He merely keeps his gaze on the seat Ves was just in, his body shuddering.
"Why the hell did the bleeding stop?" Ves asks, Jimin peeking over his shoulder to see the kid poking the skin. "And why the hell is the skin... a-am I... regenerating?" Jimin finally gains the courage to get up, approaching Ves cautiously. When he gets to the kid's shoulder, he takes the wrist and stares, his breath coming out shallow and sharp. "Dad, what's happening to me?"
Jimin rips most of the sleeve off, noticing how what was a chunk of Ves's skin ripped off and replaced with a bite mark is now a bruise at most. The skin is back, bruising littering where the bite was, and the teeth are so faint, it seems unreal. Jimin drops Ves's hand and chokes, rushing out of the room. He holds his throat as he goes, bursting into the nearest bathroom and vomiting into the toilet, coughing and holding the sides of the seat.
He gags and pants, his eyes brimming with tears from both the stench clogging his senses and the realization hitting his core. Every cell in his body jumps at the sensations overwhelming him, his knuckles turning a shade of white Jimin's never seen before. Jimin has never seen that happen before. No bite victim ever healed. Ves didn't have bags under his eyes, or cold skin, or even a headache as far as Jimin is aware. Jimin almost slips to the ground, his weak arms barely holding him up. No one has ever done that before. Ves is displaying no signs of infection even over two hours after it happened. That's rare, especially for a kid. The smaller the size, the smaller the body. And often times, the faster the infection spreads. But not here. Ves shows no symptoms, and the bite fucking healed. Two tears fall off of Jimin's lashes and onto the seat of the toilet, him wiping the vomit off his lips. Holy fuck...
Ves is immune.