Run.

40

You don't hear any snarls, any more gunshots, any screams of agony. You don't hear the moment Minho takes his final breath, but a part of you feels it. Or perhaps imagines that you feel it. Like your heart knows that there's a new, gaping absence in this world.

This world that will never be the same now.

The truth cuts you like a knife, slashing you straight to your core. A cavern yawns before you, opening up and threatening to swallow you whole. You feel yourself tumbling down, down into it.

This can't be real. He can't be gone. No one was supposed to die. We were supposed to be safe, safe on my parents' farm...

You feel dizzy, feet dragging in the snow as you're pulled further and further from your friend. You go limp in Jungkook's arms, every ounce of strength leaving your body as this new reality crushes you until you can't breathe.

Jungkook stops for a minute, hoisting you up and over his shoulder before he continues running. Snow-covered trees hurtle past, blurring in your periphery till the world is streaked a dull brown and white. The sounds of running feet, crunching in the snow, and labored breathing are all that fills the air. No one dares speak for fear of monsters lingering nearby.

The further you run, the more apparent it becomes that Minho's plan worked. Nothing chases you as you move further and further away from where he last lay. You're free.

But the price of that freedom was much too high.

In your bones, you know there's now a piece of you that's been irrevocably taken. Snatched from you in an instant, never to be seen again.

All around you, darkness begins to fall like the final curtain at the end of a disappointing show.

The sun sinks lower in the sky, taking with it your naive optimism, your blind belief that if you tried hard enough, everything would work out ok. Only now do you realize how foolish that really was.

It didn't matter how hard you tried, not really. Minho was still gone. No amount of effort could save him.

A cold, brittle ache fills your chest at the thought, slowly seeping and spreading through you, and you wonder briefly if it will ever go away. If you'll ever be whole again.  This profound ache somehow slowly numbs you, momentarily quelling your anguish and guilt. But you know they'll be back. How ironic that in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, you feel like more of a zombie in this moment than any creature you had seen.

An eternity passes before the boys finally come to a halt, trying to catch their breath. Jungkook gently sets you on your feet. In a daze, you glance around, just noticing that the trees have thinned considerably. You seem to be on the edge of what had started to feel like the never-ending forest. Before you, fields and hills stretch, reaching for the darkening skyline. You know you're getting close to home, but right now you can't bring yourself to the level of excitement you know you should be at.

Jungkook grips your shoulders tightly, attempting to pull you out of the dark cavern you can't seem to climb out of. The guilt comes roaring back, and all you can think of is your own blame in Minho's death. He was dead because of you, and you couldn't bear it. Your eyes sting as you blink rapidly, looking towards the ground, but the tears still don't fall.

You feel fingers lightly placed under your chin, pulling your gaze reluctantly up until you see big, doe eyes. His eyes swim with concern as they search yours.

"Y/n, I know what you're thinking. You can't blame yourself." He whispers softly, cupping your face as he runs his thumb along your cheek.

The numbness returns, an almost-welcome shield, protecting you from your overwhelming emotions.