Annihilation

Five

Jimin was at the door in a flash and without a sound, his bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. If he had to use it I knew that he would strike like lightning, so fast that you'd miss it if you blinked and with a pointed accuracy that was fatal.

He pressed an ear to the door, trying to make out any sound through the thick wood. I hadn't heard Yoongi move to stand next to me, glancing over when I felt his arm brush against mine.

Jimin held up one and then two fingers as he counted the voices on the other side, stepping back and communicating with Yoongi using only a look.

"Stay with me." Yoongi whispered, his voice as quiet as a feather dropping.

He unsheathed his katana, keeping it level in one hand and clasping mine in the other as we tiptoed to the back of the building. I kept in line with him, sneaking around the right side of the church while Jimin took the left. We crept close enough that he could peer over the edge to the front and I leaned over his shoulder, cautiously glancing at the man covered in filth who was propped against the doors, barely enough life in him to remain sitting up.

We were all studying him, waiting for any movement. His chest moved up and down with his breath but he was otherwise completely limp. My eyes scanned from the curtain of dark hair that came past his neck to his face, coated with cracked, dried blood. He looked thin but I could make out the broad width of his shoulders, my eyes widening when I took in the shape of his hands, nail beds colored with dirt and his fingers bent at the joints in a way that made him unmistakeable.

"It's Jin." I breathed, Yoongi shouting at me when I took off running toward him, skipping up the stairs and kneeling by his side. I grabbed onto one of his hands first and reached out to touch his cheek while Yoongi and Jimin jumped onto the porch at my sides.

I brushed the hair back from his forehead gently but Yoongi had a different approach in mind, slapping at his cheek in an attempt to bring him to consciousness. "Jin, wake up."

When he was about to repeat his action I captured his wrist, shooting him a look of disapproval. "Go get some water." I rolled my eyes.

Jimin leaned forward, holding on to Jin's other hand while we waited for Yoongi to return. He was fast, prying away the slat that kept the door sealed so we didn't have to haul him around the back. Jimin sat behind him to support his weight, holding him up while I poured water over his face and past his drooping lips.

"That's good, keep drinking." I praised when I saw the gulp move past his throat.

His hand finally squeezed against mine, his eyes opening in slow blinks. "Namjoon." The name came out in a broken whisper, one of his fingers lifting to point further toward town.

"Go find him. I'll get Jin hydrated and fed." I glanced over Jin's shoulder to Jimin, he and Yoongi running together into town to search.

Jin worked up enough strength to balance himself on his elbows as I poured more water into his mouth, wiping away the dirt and blood smeared on his face while he drank. He tried to speak a couple of times but I shushed him, beckoning him to wait until he had a little more energy.

It didn't take long for Jimin and Yoongi to spot Namjoon, passed out in the grass as he sought out food and water for them. They carried him by his arms and legs past me through the doors of the church, coming back to bring Jin inside.

I occupied myself with getting Namjoon water, emptying one of the jugs between them while Yoongi cracked open a couple cans of food, spooning raw peas into Jin's mouth. They took some time to recover, clearly deprived of food and water, the only items on them an unloaded gun and blunt-edged ax.

The three of us stayed awake through the night while they slept, stretched out on the front pews. With them more nourished I moved onto my knees next to where they slept, combing my fingers through their damp hair and grateful that they ended up in this tiny church town.

I watched the transition from darkness to dawn in the light that cast through the windows, Namjoon groaning as the reflection of colors woke him.

Yoongi moved from where he was perched on the stairs by the pulpit, putting a hand on his shoulder as he attempted to stand. "Stay sitting Joon. We'll get you some more water."

Jimin was already on it, Jin's eyes fluttering open and his mouth spread into a cute smile when he met my eyes, reaching his hand up to cover mine as if making sure I were really there.

"We need to keep moving." Namjoon's voice was nearly hoarse. "We were running from a herd of them, coming down the highway."

"We will, but if they were going to come this way they probably would have by now." Yoongi responded, trying to ease Namjoon's worry.

Namjoon shook his head, his eyes wide with something I couldn't read, shock maybe. He stood, leaning against a wall to look through the window as he spoke. "They're moving in clusters more. We got pushed north when we left the prison and ran into another group, a good group. I thought we should try moving south but we ran into so many undead. There must have been at least a hundred of them. We barely made it out."

It didn't take a genius to put together that they'd been the only one's to make it past the herd alive. Namjoon was guilt-ridden and I learned that they all carried that feeling when someone was lost.

The room was quiet, a heavy feeling overflowing the room as they remembered every person from the time they left Cambridge to now. There was no smooth transition from mourning into our continued fight to survive for each other, but it was necessary, the silence broken when Jimin called for us to eat.

We were still low on food, Yoongi, Jimin, and I taking less as Namjoon and Jin needed replenishing. With more of us we wouldn't be able to stay much longer, our resources even scarcer, but with Namjoon's encouragement we also had a higher drive to reach our destination.

"Chapel Hill is a smart move. We were just trying to get somewhere safe first, but if Jungkook is alive, I know he'll try to get there too. He talked about getting you there all the time." Namjoon replied after Yoongi revealed our plan, looking over to me. There was a part of me that was hopeful, having the four of them back fueling the piece that imagined we'd all be reunited, but it also felt like a pipe dream, like there wasn't a chance we'd get so lucky again.