Louder than Bombs

Chapter 4

There was a light breeze flowing through the cabin. Jimin leaned back, trying to enjoy it. There were so many people jampacked into this one space and he was finding it hard to breathe. He still had to wear parts of his uniform, though thankfully not full gear. Jin glanced at him.

"You good?" he whispered.

"Mmhm."

Jimin was sweating. He took a deep breath.

They were finally doing the one thing he feared the most. His unit, together with another one, were shoved into this plane and they were heading right to the war. Jimin wanted to see some action, sure, but he was terrified. He wished he had never joined.

But as he looked around at the others, he felt his nerves calm. They were all going to be together. How bad would it be? He decided he was going to take it one day at a time. Everything would be fine.

The others around him were in various states of disarray. Some were sleeping. Some were sleeping with their mouths open (Jungkook). Some had little notepads open and were hastily scrawling down ideas and thoughts. Some were looking around nervously. But most of them were having conversations with one another, each one growing in volume. A steady din had come over the place, filled with the voices of hundreds. It only made Jimin uncomfortable. He couldn't hear himself think.

On top of it all, the roar of the engines groaned in his ears.

Taehyung and Namjoon weren't near him. He knew they were in here somewhere, but not having them nearby was frustrating. He only had Jin to talk to.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Me?" Jin shook his head.

"Same."

Jimin nestled into his seat again. He closed his eyes and fought to get a wink of sleep. Jin was silent, the crowds were loud. He really wished he could get some rest.

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When he woke up, he was still on the plane. Jimin groaned. Jin had been nudging his arm to get him to wake up. They were handing out food now. Real, hot food. Jimin nearly jumped at the excitement. He set the tray down on the foldable stand in front of him and took a spoonful of it. Real chicken, real rice, real potatoes. He sighed happily. The rice was a bit stale, but he didn't mind.

The atmosphere seemed to calm down after the arrival of the food. The conversations died down. Jin nudged his arm again.

"This is the best meal I've had in ages," he said.

Jimin nodded. "I know."

Jin grinned. He lifted a spoonful of chicken to his mouth.

"I really wish we had a fork," Jimin said.

"Be thankful for what you got," someone said. Jimin glanced up. It was one of the officers. Of course. He nodded before quickly bowing his head down.

Jungkook stole a glance in his direction.

"Careful," he said.

Jimin nodded again. He shoved more food in. Yes, he really should be more thankful. This really had been the best meal he had had in ages. Who knows, maybe it would be the last hot meal in a while.

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The first thing that Jimin noticed was how run-down everything was. He had seen pictures of what the area looked like, but seeing it in person was very different.

A thick fog hung over the city. There were no tall buildings left. In some parts, nothing was standing, just piles of rubble and dust. Utility poles had fallen over, the power lines snapped. Some of the structures had collapsed inwards, the concrete and building material caving in on itself. They were just large coffins for the people inside.