Jimin seated himself in the passenger seat. He needed to calm down. He shouldn't even be here. He should be somewhere safe, indoors, waiting for it to be announced that the military had handled the situation or that the government had come up with a plan.
He shouldn't have been sitting in one of the coolest cars he had ever laid eyes on, taking part in a rescue mission that could lead to his and others' deaths. Ah, seriously! What kind of situation am I in right now? He clutched his head in silent despair. Before Yoongi started the engine, he rested his hands on the wheel.
"So how are we going to do this? You're not planning on just going in on this blind are you? 'Cause you'll most likely die from that." He said bluntly. Jimin said nothing, waiting for Jungkook to speak.
"There's a couple of back entrances that are less populated than the ones on the main street. One in particular isn't used very often because it practically starts from a dead end. It's such a long winding path up a hill and the pavement is really uneven due to the huge tree roots that grew too big. Really, it's more of a fire escape than an entrance." Jungkook began.
"It's early September, so the trees have a lot of leaves still. If we could get to that grove, then we'd have a place to hide the car while we get the others."
"If it's such a long path doesn't that mean that we'll be in the open for much longer? I've seen how fast those things can run, Kookie. They're at least as fast an average young man." Jimin winced at the memory of the events that had only taken place earlier that day. Yoongi was quiet.
"Let me ask you a couple of questions so that we can have a better plan. What's the nearest building that this path leads to? Will you need to cross the school campus in order to reach the building your friends are in? Once you get to the building, how will you get in and out without being noticed by the zombies that are in the school?" He finally asked.
"That path is closest to the woodwork workshops, which are behind the gym. It's a really quick run from the workshops to the back of the gym." Jungkook leaned back in his seat and cocked his head to look out of the window at Jin's car and what he supposed was the car that brought Jimin to Yoongi's place.
"I was only ever in the workshop during freshman year so I'm not entirely sure but from the times I've been to the office, there is a window in that room that faces the fire stairwell. They put it in because students were smoking in the building and stuff there." Jimin shut his eyes. That was quite the distance they would have to travel. Why was Jungkook's school so freaking big?
Nodding, Yoongi started the engine and they were off, moving down the side streets Jin had traversed through when they had made their way to his apartment. The Wrangler purred as they cruised to Jungkook's school, taking long and winding back streets as they went.
"Call them." Jimin instructed. Nodding, Jungkook took out his phone and called Mingyu's number again. The line rang once before Jaehyun picked up.
"Hello?" The whisper was even quieter than before and Jungkook felt his hackles rise when he heard a faint thudding in the background.
"I'm so sorry, the phone rang didn't it?" He immediately apologised. Jaehyun let out a shaky exhale, almost a laugh even.
"Yeah. What... what happened?"
"Jae, we're coming to get you." Jungkook knew his lips had lifted at the thought of getting his friends out.
"Are you nuts?!" Jaehyun's voice rose for the first time before he hushed himself. He continued.
"Exactly how are you going to 'get us', hm? This place is crawling with those things and I don't doubt that they're outside as well." Jaehyun was beginning to sound hysterical, as though the hopelessness of the situation had really dawned on him.
"Jae-ah, I need you to listen to me, okay? Are you listening?" Jungkook's tone became firm as Yoongi cruised into the deserted school district. Jimin's eyes flew around for any sign of life, surprised to see not a single one roaming about. Hm. Jaehyun silenced on the other end of the line and Jungkook could hear him take a very soft deep breath. Jaehyun made a sound of confirmation before Jungkook continued.
"You need to get to the woodwork workshops. You need to get into that building and make your way to the dead-end fire exit as fast as you can."
"How're a group of five people going to make it unnoticed?" Jaehyun challenged. Jungkook rolled his eyes at the logical question.
"Take it in turns Jaehyun-ah! You have to try. We can't get you out if we don't all work together." Jungkook pleaded. Jimin and Yoongi sent each other surprised looks. Jungkook hadn't planned on making them do a lot of work after all. After a mild silence, with the sound of murmuring, Jaehyun's whisper reached over the line again.
"Okay, we're going to give it a shot. If we all make it to the fire escape, then what?"
"We'll bust you out of school, what else?" Jungkook grinned, heart beating faster.
~*~
When Yoongi, under Jungkook's guidance, brought the Wrangler to a smooth and silent halt under the cover of a large tree that had long drooping branches bursting with leaves, Jimin turned around to face Jungkook in the back seat.
"Okay, it's good that you told them to try and meet us halfway. Here's what needs to happen. Just like you suggested, we're going to bring them to this car two by two. One of us will need to stay with those still in the building in case things go south, alright? We need to move quiet and we need to move fast. Got it?" He instructed. Jungkook nodded and the pair slid out of the Wrangler.
Tilting his head back as he tapped the steering wheel, Yoongi thought carefully about what they wanted to do. Jin, Taehyung and those Namjoon and Hoseok guys were looking for materials to blockade the station gates with.
Surely if they wanted to provide a safe hiding place, they would need tools? Jungkook had said that the closest building to their location was the woodwork workshop. There would definitely be tools in there.
Peering over at the mostly empty backpack on the ground in the passenger side, Yoongi made up his mind, grabbing it before exiting the car and leaving it unlocked.
Hopefully it would in one piece when he came back, and hopefully he would make it back to the vehicle before the others did.
~*~
Jungkook and Jimin made quick work of the fence that blocked the school off from the path, moving silently when they landed. Jungkook led the way up the hill to the woodwork workshop building, eyes fluttering around in anticipation of any sudden appearances.
Reaching the fire exit with no problem, he unlatched the lock and pulled open the door as gently as he could manage, peeking in warily. Entering, Jungkook made sure Jimin was right behind him as he proceeded. Walking past the stairwell the led further up into the building, Jungkook nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the three figures seated underneath the stairs.
"Ah, that scared me- yah!" He whisper-yelled, clutching his chest as he held back tears at the sight of Seokmin with Eunha and Mina huddled together behind him. Seokmin breathed out a sigh of relief before holding out his hand to him. Jungkook pulled him up and then helped the girls to stand too. Jimin finally spoke up from behind him.
"How did the three of you make it here?" He asked. Seokmin swallowed.
"When Jaehyun got off the phone with you, he got a text from Eunwoo saying that he and Yugyeom managed to get out and were hiding with some of our other classmates outside of the school, so we were all at a little more peace. Then je told us to go by climbing out of the window on the side that faced the workshop building, but I couldn't leave him to defend two girls alone when we'd made it here sucessfully so..." Jimin resisted the urge to slap his hand to his face.
"So reckless generosity runs through your friendship squad, huh?" He glared at Jungkook. Jungkook sent him a sheepish shrug, hand still gripping Seokmin's as if he feared that his friend would disappear if he let go. For his part, Seokmin looked like he wasn't about to pull away either. Exhaling, Jimin decided to set things in motion.
"The coast was clear when we came, so two of you come with me and one of you stay with Jungkook. Wait for the other two to come and then we'll all get out of here, alright?" He commanded. Seokmin, Eunha and Mina swallowed, nodding silently in agreement. Eunha raised her hand.
"I-I'll stay, M-Mina needs to get out of here more urgently than I do right now and she needs someone who can move her if she can't move." She stammered, clearly terrified but trying to be logical.
Recalling the crying voice they had heard over the phone, Jimin didn't argue, didn't bother to think past the next step, which was getting out of here and back to relative safety. Cocking his head to the side as he began walking to the fire exit, Jimin scanned the area around the door. We have to make it out of here okay. I'll make sure of it. Jungkook released Seokmin from his grip and pushed him toward Jimin.
"Ah, Kook-ah-!" His friend protested quietly but Jungkook hushed him with a shake of his head.
"Keep Mina company, Jimin hyung will have to leave you two alone after he drops you off." He said. Hesitating, Seokmin finally nodded before following Jimin and Mina out of the stairwell.
Turning to Eunha, he encouraged her to scuffle back under it and sit down again. Though he was nervous, the fact that they hadn't encountered any zombies gave him a little reassurance, so he sent Eunha a small smile.
"Now we just need to wait for Jaehyun and Yuju and we can get out of here."
~*~
Yoongi moved with measured steps as he crept down the corridor. His journey up the back stairs of the woodwork building had been uneventful so far but he was gearing up for the noise he would no doubt make when grabbing tools.
Breathing out through his nose, he squared his shoulders and entered the main corridor on first floor. Confirming that the coast was clear, he paced faster into the first classroom he came across, sliding the door shut behind him after entering.
Waiting for a few seconds, Yoongi made sure there was no sound from outside the room before moving forward. The classroom was large and open plan, with desks that had vacuum tubes hanging overhead and mechanisms for fastening materials to the table, likely for sawing purposes.
Glancing around, Yoongi tried to think of the type of equipment that would be handy. Hammers and nails, screwdrivers and screws, a saw maybe? Blanking out for a second, he shrugged. How should I know? I'm a musician. He snorted to himself before grabbing anything that looked like it might come in handy. With his backpack now filled to the point of not being quite burdensome, Yoongi made sure it was secure on his back before walking back to the classroom door.
Stepping out into the corridor, he made to close the door behind him before something ticked in his mind. He knew this sensation well, he had experienced it just a few hours ago. Stepping back into the classroom, he closed the door to the point that only a small sliver of the corridor could be seen.
Peering out, Yoongi felt his skin prickle at the sight of the lone female zombie dressed in tattered school uniform limping down the hallway. Shifting back ever so slightly with utmost caution to prevent the tools he had thrown haphazardly into his bag from clinking against each other, he internally facepalmed.
Well, shit.