Annihilation

Rescue

The alarm that showed through his gaze told me that my appearance must have been frightening, but he recovered quickly, holding out an arm as three other men filed into the small closet around him, beckoning them to wait.

"Get me some water." His tone was calm and assured as he grabbed the bottle that the man who leaned against the door handed him. He opened it, keeping the distance between us as he held it out in offering.

Though there were two who kept their place in the doorway, another squatted down in front of me, his jaw clenched as he looked at me, taking in the teeth marks that scarred my shoulder and dried blood on my inner thighs. "They did this to you." He observed, giving a single nod before he disappeared from the room, his boots clunking as he stomped down the hallway and out of earshot.

"Jungkook, wait." The fourth man pushed a dark mop of wavy hair from his eyes as he jogged to follow him.

"Can you walk? I want to get you somewhere safe." The man in front of me asked. I hadn't stood in, well I wasn't sure how long, and my muscles had become weak from starvation. He seemed to notice, asking for permission before making any moves toward me. "Would it be okay if I carried you?"

I nodded despite being a little wary, letting him slip one arm across my shoulders, tucking the other under my legs while I held down the hem of my tattered dress. "Namjoon, what are we going to—" The one who was left started. I noticed he held on to a sharp machete, the blade dangling toward the floor.

He'd been cut off by the sound of three gunshots, fired back to back. The sound echoed through the building, cuing the collective groaning of the undead from where the doors at the other end of the hall had been sealed off.

Namjoon, the one carrying me, shook his head with disapproval, looking over at the other. "Let's just get her cleaned up and checked out first." He walked swiftly behind the other man who moved through the hall with an expertise that told me he'd memorized the route.

I listened to keys jingling, several other voices and footsteps heard as we entered one of the units I barely had time to visit before the riot. I could hear a few voices that sounded argumentative, speaking in another language and I peered out from where I was cradled in Namjoon's arms, spotting another man who busied himself with studying a map that was spread in front of him.

He looked up, his eyes widening as he stood to make his way over to us. Namjoon took me into one of the open cells, setting me down on the thin mattress. The man who'd been walking with us stood at the edge of the cell's opening, and when Namjoon went to walk away I grabbed onto his forearm, a silent request for him to stay.

He seemed to understand, waving over the guy who'd been walking with us. "Hobi, get me a bucket with some water and Jin, some food." He instructed.

"We're pretty low on water." Hobi replied.

"Get me what we have. We'll have more once Yoongi and I fix the generators." It was evident that he was the leader of the group, the others moving quickly into action. He turned to me once they were gone, pulling a small box from under the bed that held a few medical supplies. "You have a cut on your forehead I need to clean." He moved slowly so that I could anticipate his every move, using an antiseptic wipe to disinfect the area.

Hobi returned with a small bucket of water and a bag a few minutes later, setting them in front of me and leaving quietly.

"It's not much but I'll leave you to get cleaned up. I won't be far." He said as he placed a bandage over the cut on my forehead. I let him get up this time, waiting until the space fell silent to peek from behind the bars, seeing that the entire unit was empty. If I listened hard enough I could make out the low murmur of several voices from another area of the prison.

I got on my knees next to the bucket and bag, pulling out a rag, brush, and clean pair of men's underwear. I left my dress on, lifting it to wash away some of the dirt, tears falling from my eyes as I ran the cloth over my shoulders and legs. I squeezed some water into my hair, using the brush to work through the matted mess on my head and tying it back up with a stretched out elastic tie. After washing between my legs I slipped into the pair of underwear I'd been given, sobbing into my hands as I sat back down on the bed.

Namjoon returned first, taking away the bucket and bag without a word and bringing a warmed can of soup that'd been poured into a wooden bowl. I ate too quickly, scarfing down the food in under a minute and chugging the small cup of water he had behind it.

"I just need to lay eyes on her." A voice echoed through the room and suddenly there were more voices, all speaking over one another.

"Namjoon said we shouldn't overwhelm her."

"He's making sure she's okay."

"You're being reckless."

They were light on their feet, the sound of their footsteps barely audible before they started to come into view, a good distance away from the cell I was occupying. Namjoon stood, sending a glare over his shoulder, but turned back to me when the one with wavy hair held up a hand to him, letting him know he had a handle on things.

"Kook, believe me, she doesn't need another pissed off guy in her space right now. You need to go cool off." He said and I watched them disperse over Namjoon's shoulder.

He kneeled in front of me again, setting the bowl and cup to the side. "Can I ask you a few questions?" He started with the most simple as I nodded in response. "What's your name?"

"Alena." I answered, realizing that it'd been a long time since I spoke to anyone either.

He smiled, two dimpled impressions on his cheeks. "Do you know how long you were in there?" He asked, his smile fading as he moved into his next question.

I shook my head, my brow pulled together as I tried to remember. "I started work at the end of February so since the beginning of March." I replied, curious about the change in his expression, his eyes dropping with whatever thought ran through his head. "How long has it been?"

He sighed, rubbing at his temple as he processed the amount of time I'd been locked away. "Jin's been keeping up with the date. It's the end of May." He admitted, a chill running down my spine at the realization that I'd been suffering, tortured for over two months.

My hands started to tremble. "My phone in my office stopped working during the riot. Do you have one I can use? I need to call my friend."

A puzzled look appeared on his face. "Alena, how much do you know about what's happening?" His eyebrows rose in question.

"Just that there was a virus spreading down the east coast when I started my job. There was talk of zombies. Shelby said it was rumored to be edited but I guess it's all real." I shook my head at how ridiculous it still sounded.

"It is," he turned to face me, "and I know you've been through something horrific, things I can't even imagine, but I need you to recover quickly. We've made sure this part of the prison is safe for now and we're working on securing the rest, but everything now is about survival. There are no more phones, no more government. It's just the people who have survived and the undead."

I took a few minutes to consider everything he revealed before nodding, accepting the small bits of information I had and understanding that there was a lot to learn. Namjoon's lips pulled into a half smile with his next query. "So are you ready to meet the others?"