"They said to meet at Nambu Bus Terminal." Namjoon read the text aloud. Seulgi peeked through the gap between the front two seats from where she lay crumpled on the floor of the car. Since there was only one blanket and Hoseok and Namjoon were using it to to cover themselves, she had no choice but to hide on the floor of the vehicle to remain concealed.
"The terminal and not the train station?" She asked. Namjoon made a sound of confirmation.
"But what if the terminal gets attacked? It's isolated."
"It might be for the best that it stands alone- we wouldn't have to worry about zombies potentially coming through the rail lines because there aren't any. Also, the station is right in front, so if need be, we could make our way there with not too much difficulty." Namjoon reasoned. Seulgi hummed at the logic and returned to her original position.
The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Bus stations were even more equipped than subway stations as they provided food and necessecities for extended journeys. Plus, the walls were high to prevent theft, so there would be less threat of zombies piling up and spilling over. It made sense, but what if there were people there already? Would they have already barricaded themselves in? In that case, wouldn't that mean that they wouldn't be able to come in?
The sun had long since begun to set, since they had been travelling at a snails pace for so long, with only its afterglow casting light on the roads and streets. Hoseok swallowed. The streetlights would have to illuminate their path because no way could he put on the headlights without attracting attention.
They had already been outside for over three hours since leaving Yoongi's apartment, creeping around in Jin's little car to find a place to for Jungkook's friends and any other potential survivors to stay as they worked to avoid any potential confrontation with the zombified people. While he felt relieved to have found Seulgi so that she wasn't alone, he was also desperate to get back into a building himself.
Tenderly steering the vehicle in the directions that Namjoon guided him in, Hoseok felt a small exhale of relief breathe past his lips as signs indicating the way to Nambu Bus Terminal became more frequent. They were so close.
When Hoseok finally shifted the vehicle off the main road and they approached the gate, the entrance that would have lead to the car park had been sealed shut. It was supposed to be a grilled gate, but Hoseok could see that the gaps had been boarded up so he couldn't see anything past the gate at all.
Panic began to rise in his throat as his heart stuttered a little. Namjoon released a hard breath through his nose. This side road was a little darker than the main road they had pulled off of since there were no street lights. Normally, car drivers would be using headlights to guide their vehicles along this path. It was hard enough to gauge their surroundings when they had to semi-lay down for the journey but the darkness expanded the difficulty by a lot.
Looking around the vehicle, he felt a prickling feeling run across his arm. Hadn't Yoongi's group said to come here? So why couldn't they go inside? He hadn't seen any other entrances on their way here and as far as he knew, unless the front door was open, they didn't have a way in.
Seulgi lifted her head again and glanced out the window, tapping the back of Hoseok's seat as he continued to stare in the left direction.
"We have to go." She whispered.
"We can't, the gate-"
"No, no, we need to go. Just anywhere but here." Seulgi's interjection was harsh but still remained a whisper as she clutched Hoseok's seat. The two young men turned their heads to the right where she remained staring. Seulgi's tapping became incessant as her voice began to raise.
"Reverse! Reverse right now!" She cried, kicking him in gear as he finally made eye contact with the zombie that Seulgi had seen. The creature flashed him a pleased, bloody smile before leaping forward, straight toward them.
~*~
Earlier that day
Jin and Taehyung sighed with relief as they finally came to a stop, the yellow school bus creeping to a halt behind them. They had reached the Nambus Bus Terminal car park with little to no interaction with any zombies. From what they could hear on the phone call Taehyung had been running with Baekhyun during the journey, the children had done a great job of keeping quiet.
But now what?
Was it safe to just walk into the bus terminal? What if zombies had made it in there too? As the pair had these worried thoughts, a familiar vehicle also made its way into the car park from the entrance. Pausing to let two people out, the vehicle continued forward, stopping beside the school bus. Jin and Taehyung tensed before Jin blinked.
"Yoongi...?" As if in response to his call, Yoongi clambered out of the Wrangler after peeking out over the door. Excited to see his friend again after a nerve-wracking few hours, Jin hopped out of Hoseok's car to meet him.
"Ya!" He whispered. Yoongi looked over at him and a small expression of relief passed over his face.
"Hyung." Though his voice was calm, Jin could tell that Yoongi was a little emotional. Taehyung murmured from where he remained in Hoseok's car.
"Who got out of the car just now?" He asked. Before Yoongi could reply, there was a loud creaking sound which caused everyone to flinch as the gates that led to the entrance of the car park began to come down. Exhaling hard, Taehyung watched with wide eyes through the windshield as the events unfolded. Some zombiefied people had heard the gate coming down and manifested out of seemingly thin air, zooming toward the car park.
"Ya, ya, ya!" Baekhyun's harsh whisper came through on the phone that Taehyung hadn't hung up on and he was glad they hadn't let the kids out yet.
Heart thumping, Taehyung tugged at Jin's arm, yanking him back into the car in the same breath as Yoongi pushing Jin in from the other side before hopping back in the Wrangler. The gate closed, but not before three zombies made it in by diving. What's worse, it seemed like a few zombiefied people had already wondered inside the car park, and they came running towards the sound too.
The sound of two doors opened before two figures rushed at the oncoming zombies and one figure approached from behind them. Taehyung bolted upright and jumped out of the car when he realised that the figures were Jimin and Baekhyun, while the figure from behind was Jungkook.
Turning his head to the side, he noted that Byunhyun had closed the schoolbus' sidedoor but was peeking out through one of the flaps of paper he had pulled a little to the side. Pursing his lips together, Tae glanced at the group for one second before grabbing his saxaphone case.
Jimin glanced at the stranger from the corner of his eye. He was small like Jimin, with short soft brown hair that flew behind him as he ran.
"Can you fight?" He asked as he continued moving. The stranger grinned and Jimin was instantly reminded of Taehyung.
"Don't worry about me, just focus on keeping your arm stable." He replied before dropping down and sweeping the nearest zombie off its feet. The zombie crashed to the ground, writhing. Jimin jumped high and kicked another before he saw another zombie approaching the stranger and Jungkook dashing behind it.
"Jungkook-ah!" He called urgently. Nodding, Jungkook landed a sweeping blow on the zombie's neck and it collapsed behind the stranger, who had turned around just barely in time. With three down and two to go, the three made quick work of them before stepping back, panting slightly.
"What should we do with them?" Jungkook asked, still on guard.
"We can't leave them be. What if they get right up again? We need to secure this space." The stranger said, looking down at the fallen zombies. All four creatures were still groaning on the ground.
Four?
Jungkook looked up in confusion and cried out, "Jimin-hyung!" causing Jimin's neck to snap around to come face to mouth, again, with a zombie that had risen already. Frozen, all the blonde could do was stare into the browning gummy depths of the being's mouth before it was jerked to the side with a hard thump.
Taehyung stood over Jimin as he took heavy breaths, saxaphone case clutched in hand. Jimin hummed out a chuckled in spite of the mild palpitations his heart was going through. That instrument case was really going through it today.
Quickly helping Jimin to his feet, Taehyung wasted no time in grabbing the wrists of the zombie he had just knocked down, a girl, and pulling her body toward the gate, trying hard not to think about the absent portions of flesh that had clearly been chewed off of her as he went.
He had spotted a doorway built into the gate that people could pass through when the gate had been shuttered as he had been running to the group. Pausing at a pillar to calm his nerves, he peered out. There were still zombies around beyond the car park, but they had started moving away from the gate. It was hard to gauge since the sun was starting to set but it should be fine.
Jumping a little when he felt a presence behind him, Taehyung breathed a sigh of relief. Jimin and Baekhyun had each followed his lead with Jungkook at the back dragging two of the zombies, one man and a lady with a larger build. Taehyung's eyebrows quirked. Strong kid.
While the zombies were still subdued, only making softer grunts at this stage, the group of young men crept to the door. Inhaling sharply, quickly, Taehyung reached out to touch the latch. The locking mechanism was a huge metal bar that rested across the door. He assumed that using a key would spring the latch from the other side so that it could be pushed open.
Unhinging the bar, he flinched in anticipation of the noise, but only the soft sound of metal moving could be heard. Still waiting, just in case, Taehyung used his case to indicate that the others should wait for a second. It would be better to go one at a time just in case the zombies outside noticed them.
Dragging the zombie out, Taehyung kept his head flying in all directions as he pulled her further away from the gate. Looking back briefly, he saw Jimin give him a panicked look. Releasing the zombie behind a set of industrial bins, he glanced around once more before jetting back to the gate.
"You went way too far. What if you had been seen?" Jimin and Baekhyun both hissed at him before blinking at each other in surprise. Not waiting for anyone, Jungkook bypassed both of them, travelling to the bins where Taehyung had deposited the zombie, dropping them before jogging back. Baekhyun blinked at him. What kind of kid...?
Jolting when Taehyung tapped his shoulder, Baekhyun realised that Jimin had also stepped out, but released his zombie out in the open. Baekhyun glanced at his arm, which was utterly still and realised that this guy was in too much pain to go any further.
As Baekhyun dragged the zombie in his grip forward, he felt and sensed movement just before a harsh screech entered his ears. Both his and Jimin's zombie's had recovered, as had the ones Taehyung and the strong kid's from behind the bin. The sound had alerted the zombies that had been a way aways from them.
"Shit." Baekhyun cursed harshly under his breath as he ran forward, just barely dodging a zombie that leapt at him. Dashing to Jimin, the two of them separated as Jimin's zombie lunged straight upwards at them. Sending it away with a kick, Baekhyun gave Jimin room to hurl toward the doorway before giving chase.
He could see Taehyung holding Jungkook still just behind the pillar by the doorway, urging them silently to come. Pumping his legs faster, he swerved around the zombies that leapt at his head and feet, kicking some and dodging others. Jimin ran forward with a pale face as he clutched his dislocated arm, leaving his back totally open in trust that Baekhyun wouldn't let him get attacked.
When Jimin crossed the threshold into the car park, Baekhyun felt a lot of tension leave his body, and in a last ditch effort to prevent himself from slowing down, he threw his body forward, somersaulting on the ground as the sound of grunting and bodies hitting metal met his ears.
Looking back over his shoulder, he saw that Taehyung and Jungkook were working to push the door shut against the throng of zombies trying to break in. I have to help, I need to help, he thought over and over in his mind as his heart struggled to find any sense of rhythm. There was no strength in his legs and he couldn't stand up from where he had landed on the floor.
Just then, several bodies ran past him toward the door. A bunch of high school boys had joined in the effort to push the door shut. A hand reached out in front of his face and he lifted his head to make eye contact with Jin who gave him a nervous smile. Gripping his outreached hand, Baekhyun was helped up onto shaking legs just as the door closed and the latch dropped with a satisfying sound of finality.
The car park was silent save for the young men panting against the door. Swallowing, Taehyung turned around and jogged over to Baekhyun and Jin, providing support for Baekhyun's other side.
"Did we do it?" One of the boys asked quietly, chest heaving after exerting himself. Baekhyun let out his own sigh as he looked over at the yellow school bus.
Please say we did, I'm exhausted.