{unlikely encounters}
It was only an hour ago the blackness of night was absolute. Against a backdrop of faded pinks and purples the city skyscrapers were nothing but silhouettes, still as an oil painting and darker then the ravens. The sky lit up in a peachy glow as the cold air of the night seemingly slipped away. It was the perfect dawn, one to be savoured instead of squandered. Under the radiant beauty of the rising sun Jungkook found his eyes flicker open, gaze falling out the front of the van and onto the now clear path ahead of them.
Rubbing his eyes from his sleep, Jungkook let out a yawn, arms stretching high above his head as he stretched his tensed muscles. It wasn't everyday he managed to sleep in a chair, he wished that he had taken the time to pull out a roll up mattress and sleep on the floor at least, but yet again- that would mean sleeping beside Taehyung. At the simple thought, Jungkook found himself turn towards the back of the van, eyes trailing over to meet Taehyung. To his surprise, the scientist wasn't asleep, instead he was seated in the exact same position as last night, tin of soup in his hand as he continued scanning over his endless pile of seemingly important notes.
"Having fun there?" Jungkook chuckled, swinging his legs around to the side of the front seat as he stood to his feet. Jungkook found himself stumbling a little on sleep before regaining his composure, shuffling towards the food create beside Taehyung.
Taehyung huffed, placing his can of soup down as he swept the loose strands of hair from his eyes, "At least I'm being useful." Taehyung spoke, rolling his eyes at the younger male.
Jungkook frowned in offence, "I can be useful too you know." Jungkook remarked, pulling out a tin of spaghetti for himself, cracking open the lid, "I'm smarter then you might think, I just haven't shown it yet." he spoke confidently, wrapping the cold pasta around his fork before feeding it into his mouth.
"Yeah, Yeah, whatever you say." Taehyung groaned, tapping his pen against the makeshift table as he avoided eye contact with Jungkook. The younger male could tell Taehyung was in a bad mood. Usually he would fight back against someone as rude as Taehyung, but due to the situation, he would rather not get on anyone's bad side at the moment. He was the squad leader after all, everyone was his upmost responsibility.
A loud noise of rhythmic knocking sounded against the back of the van, cutting through the intense silence Jungkook had created between himself and the scientist. Ruffling his bed hair, Jungkook made his way over to the back of the van, placing a hand against the cold metal handle and swinging open the back doors. Jungkook's hand dropped flatly to his side, lips parting and eyes widening at the male standing before him, "Hoseok?" Jungkook spoke. It seemed Taehyung was also surprised, freezing up as he turned to the orange haired male entering through the back of the van, "Why are you here? Isn't Namjoon our designated driver?" Jungkook looked left and right, "And where's Daisy?" he asked, knowing that it was quite rare for Hoseok to ever separate himself from his curly haired counterpart.
With a stern expression, Hoseok stepped up into the van, turning back around to shut and lock the backdoor behind him, making it known that there was no one else coming through the doors, "We need to back up and go the opposite way." Hoseok begun explaining, wrapping his arms around his form as he begun to shiver, making his way towards the front drivers seat, "The streets are too narrow for one of us to overtake so as the navigator it's safer if I travel up front." he spoke, sitting himself down in the drivers seat and placing his keys in the ignition, "Daisy was still asleep, so I decided to leave her with Namjoon... she'll be fine in his van, after all, she's got Jimin and Yoongi watching her back, and they did a great job at protecting her before." Hoseok spoke, softly smiling as he recalled back to the first night he spent with Jungkook, Yoongi and Jimin. How the horde swarmed them, and despite all odds, Yoongi was able to hold them back with the assistance of Jimin's surprise appearance.
Twisting the key in the ignition, the engine of the van roared to life. The floor vibrated underneath Jungkook's feet as he joined Hoseok up front, stretching his seatbelt over his form as Hoseok switched the gears into reverse, backing up the vehicle before switching the gears back into drive, ensuring first that Namjoon was following closely behind before stepping on the accelerator, driving forwards on their newly decided route.
The scenery became blurred as the van picked up its speed, heading east. Piping up from the back, Taehyung was curious about the situation, "Hoseok?" Taehyung spoke, earning a hum from Hoseok up front, "What's the real different between this route and the original path?" Taehyung asked, elbow against the table and head leaning against the palm of his hand as he awaited Hoseok's reply.
"Basically, the other route was the fastest route towards the city centre... this new route is the only other way through. We'll be driving around a very built up area so we'll almost certainly have a run in with infected along the way. It's an hour longer, so you may wanna rest up while you can." Hoseok explained, eyes not leaving the road in front of him. Taehyung sucked in a breath as he nod his head in acknowledgement, eyes falling back down to his work.
It was situations like these where Jungkook felt somewhat, well... useless. Taehyung was absolutely right, he was squadron leader yet he had failed to prove his worth to his newly formed squad. It was Hoseok who had led them all through thick and thin, the one who had saved him from certain death at camp Delta. It was Yoongi who willingly threw himself at a horde, knowing he was no match against it just to protect Daisy. Jimin was the one who decided to join the battle, not failing to put himself in front of everyone else during a battle, confidence not faltering in his dangerous actions. Namjoon abandoned his entire camp. He had left a peaceful and safe haven he had built with the slim chance and hope that a cure might be formed to save humanity. And Taehyung, he was working non-stop on trying to create something to cure all of humanity. Jungkook had yet to prove his worth, yet to show his full strength. He was yet to acknowledge himself as a squadron leader. Jungkook felt his shoulders slump as his eyes trailed mindlessly out the front windscreen of the van in a mournful gaze. His mouth was set in a semi-pout as he sank into his chair.
The journey continued for another half hour before the three males seated in the van began to notice the multitude of sky rise buildings surfacing around them. The further they drove, the more buildings seemed to appear, tormenting them in there small van as the columns towered overhead. Taehyung tried to distract himself from the sight, absorbing himself in his notes whilst Jungkook diverted his attention from the windscreen. Hoseok was seemingly the only one unfazed, silent as he drove over the rugged dry and cracked roads of the cityscape.
Jungkook felt himself begin to jitter in his seat as the van began driving it's way through unavoidable rubble. He didn't want to bite his tongue so he simply took hold of the dashboard to prevent himself from flying anywhere. But then- almost as if time had slowed down to a complete standstill, Jungkook saw a glint of light from the corner of his eye, flashing from the top of a small city building.
His eyes widened in realisation, mouth going wide as he sucked in a sharp breath of realisation, "FUCK HOSEOK! TURN THE-"
Too late.
A smooth wooden arrow, metal at the tip was quick to come into view, shot directly from the top of the building overhead. It pierced through the winds, cutting through the air with such speed and velocity that it was no surprise to anyone when it penetrated the front windscreen, smashing through the glass window and hitting Hoseok, directly in the right shoulder, propelling him backwards as his back harshly hit against the back of his seat.
Jungkook barely had time to scream before the vehicle swerved, falling on its side and knocking him back and sideways. The van skid against the worn out road with great speed, objects flying through the interior, glass shattering before landing smack bang against the concrete wall of a building, coming to an absolute stop.
Silence; it scared Jungkook more then the pain. Hoarsely coughing, Jungkook found himself laying on his back against the passenger window, the vehicle had flipped on it's side. Jungkook wanted more then anything to fall unconscious, because now that he was awake he could taste the coppery feeling of blood beginning to pool in his mouth, grazing his teeth and soaking his tongue. Glass littered his skin as speckles of blood emitted themselves from his cuts. A buzzing noise filled his ears, but he was quick to push away his pain the moment he recalled exactly what had happened.
Jungkook continued to let out a hoarse cough, pushing off the grazed palms of his hands as he placed himself in a sitting position. His body felt sluggish, head dizzy as he transferred his gaze to the back of the van. Taehyung had taken quite the hit as well, science coat torn against his slim form as he too began coughing on his hands and knees, cool blood seeping from the top of his head and trickling down his heated skin. Taehyung's eyes rose to meet Jungkook's as they exchanged a stare of pure disbelief and realisation. Jungkook watched as Taehyung's eyes fell elsewhere,
"Oh no..." Taehyung spoke, voice hoarse, almost sandpapery as he stumbled to his feet. Jungkook's eyes followed Taehyung, landing on the male passed out beside him- Hoseok. Jungkook momentarily forgot how to breath when he turned to the male laying behind the front passenger seat.
The male just lay there, breathing ragged and short. His orange hair was beginning to tie into the blood that seeped from his head, a sickeningly beautiful sight. Jungkook dizzily jumped over the front passenger seat, vision blurring a little with his fast paced movement. Taehyung leant over the orange haired male, "Fuck," was all he could say as he buried his head in his hands, scrunching up his brunette hair as he noticed the arrow lodged deeply in Hoseok's shoulder. A deep red was seeping into Hoseok's torn cotton shirt, mixing in with the blue colouring to create a maroon velvet colour.
Despite his injuries, Jungkook slipped his arms gently underneath Hoseok's broken form, grunting as he lifted the male and rose to his feet. Taehyung quickly stumbled ahead, clearing a path through the scattered objects of the van before making it to the back doors. Seeing as the van was laying on its side, it proved to be a lot more difficult to swing open the doors, but it was done none the less. Holding a hand against the deep cut on his head, Taehyung opened the back doors with one hand, allowing for Jungkook to stumble outside. The light seemingly blinded him, senses becoming painfully heightened as he dragged his feet towards the van parked behind them.
Blood seeping from his lips, bruised and battered, Jungkook wouldn't of been surprised if someone ended up mistaking him for a walker, shooting him dead on sight. Squinting his eyes, Jungkook could vaguely see Namjoon jump out from the front seat of the van, tripping over his own feet as he dashed towards Hoseok, dust picking up in his hurried footsteps, "FUCK FUCK FUCK!" Namjoon hollered, gently taking Hoseok's form from Jungkook. Holding him tightly to his chest and running him back over to his van.
Muscles beginning to give way, Jungkook didn't feel too good himself. He felt like a puppet, ready to crumble with the cut of one string. But to his surprise, Jungkook suddenly felt more steady with the new feeling of warmth snaking around him. Eyes flickering to the male beside him, Jungkook had noticed that Taehyung had wrapped an arm supportively around his torso, guiding him towards Namjoon's van despite his own injuries. It felt so natural to Jungkook, the way his body moulded into Taehyung's just felt so right, so warm and comforting, it was as if his pain had vanished at Taehyung's simple touch. Jungkook turned to face Taehyung, but was quick to notice how Taehyung's gaze had drifted off to the side, head turned away from him.
He felt a firm hand press against his chest, holding him back from walking any further as Taehyung halted him in his tracks, "Taehyung? What's-" Jungkook followed Taehyung gaze until his eyes landed upon two unrecognisable people, non-infected people for sure. Slipping a hand into his pocket, Jungkook slipped out his handgun, clicking off the safety and aiming it directly at the two males standing before him, "Come any closer and we'll shoot." Jungkook spoke bluntly, spitting out the blood that had formed in his mouth as he spoke through bloodstained teeth.
The men simply chuckled as if Jungkook was holding nothing but a toy gun, "You wouldn't wanna do that." One of the men laughed, hand positioned over his belt, "You need us," he laughed, before he broke out into a devilish grin, "And we..." he pointed a finger at Jungkook, "Need you."
With the tone of the male's words, Taehyung slowly edged himself in front of Jungkook, placing a soft hand against the younger male's raised one, lowering Jungkook's gun, "What makes you say we need you, huh?" Taehyung spoke in his usual flat voice, the only difference this time being the hoarseness of his throat, clogged with stirred up dust from the accident.
The other unknown male smiled, "The arrow we sent through your friend... it wasn't any ordinary arrow," an evil smirk crept its way across the male's face causing Taehyung to pale, "It's an infected one."
There's a sort of broken heartedness that was akin to a smooshed ice-cream melting on a hot road; then there was the sort that was akin to lighting a match, enjoying the flame and leaving the ashes. Jungkook felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach, a feeling of nausea overcoming him as his eyes remained in a deadly lock with the smirking males standing before him. Taehyung seemed to have a completely different reaction letting out a string of curses as he unattached himself from Jungkook, pivoting on his tired feet and dashing back over towards his turned over vehicle.
"Looking for this?"
Taehyung swore he chocked on his saliva, heart skipping a beat as he turned back towards the unknown males. Only this time, he had a clearer view of exactly what they were holding. It was his famous metallic suitcase, polished metal almost blinding in the light as it was held higher.
In that suitcase contained the temporary antidote, along with all his notes and supples for making it.
The anger from Taehyung's eyes showed his fire from within, the boy who was taught to fight for humanity. Jungkook could see the pain beneath it, and his soul drowning in this persona he'd carved to fit in a world of the undead. Taehyung clenched his fists by his side, slowly stomping towards the two males, picking up his pace with every step he took towards them, "Don't. you. fucking. dare." Taehyung voiced, and for the first time in four years, Jungkook saw the old Taehyung.
As Taehyung took another heated step forwards, the male carrying the suitcase unclipped the top of the metal, opening it up to reveal the contents inside. It was at this moment Taehyung completely paused in his steps, eyes going wide and mouth parting in fear as he watched the male hold the temporary cure high above the ground, "Take another step and I'll drop this." he spoke.
"Dammit." Taehyung cursed under his breath, taking a step backwards and back towards Jungkook. The antidote was divided and housed in single glass test tubes, they would break on impact with the ground,
"We wanna negotiate." the males spoke.
Unlike last time, Jungkook found himself pushing Taehyung behind him, facing the two males himself, "It's not like we have a choice, do we?" Jungkook sighed, still feeling light headed from the accident.
The male grinned, "If you want the antidote back before your friend turns into a walker, we want just one thing..." they spoke. There smiles faded, replaced by a more serious stare as the males stared down over him,
"We want you, Jeon Jungkook."
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{Author Note}
Welp... we're back in the deep end again.
Update tomorrow xox
(unedited)