A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

39: Monks on a Mission

"That's a major interstate freeway. With how congested it is, there's very little room to squeeze through with horses. This might be one we do on foot," Namjoon sighed. He looked through the map with a frustrated frown and looked at Hoseok.

"Should we go around?" He asked him. Hoseok leaned down on the table with a pensive expression, subject to scrutiny by Taehyung and Yoongi, who watched him draw a path with his finger.

"If we want to avoid this horde then I suggest we do. We don't know why or for what these freaks are being gathered for. Might as well avoid it at all cost," Hoseok advised. He leaned back, crossing his arms and looking at the three, "If interstate 35 is the fastest route to going around downtown, I say we take it."

"We can't just avoid them for the rest of our lives. Especially not if they set up camp there," Taehyung rebutted.

"Who would set up camp near fifty thousand freaks?" Yoongi chuckled. Taehyung shrugged.

"Someone who's really good at managing hordes. Just like what we saw," he said.

"We can't risk the chance of getting killed just because we want to make new friends," Hoseok ridiculed.

"There's nothing wrong with setting boundaries," Namjoon proposed, "We introduce ourselves and make useful alliances. That way if things ever go south, we know where to turn to."

"That is if they're willing to," Hoseok challenged.

"You said there was just one?" Namjoon looked at Taehyung, who nodded.

"That I saw. We'd seen him the night prior alone as well. He didn't try to shoot anyone, he seemed like he was just chasing us off," Taehyung mentioned, "No guns drawn or anything." Namjoon, now somewhat resolute, gave Hoseok a pointed look. The latter only shrugged, shoulders sagging with a blank stare.

"You're the leader. Whatever you say, I'll listen," He sighed. Yoongi stared at the side of Hoseok's face, eyeing his slouched posture analytically. Yoongi crossed his arms, mirroring his posture.

"Let's watch from afar, and if things don't look right we can always back off without drawing attention to ourselves," Yoongi piped in, earning a grateful look from Hoseok. Namjoon seemed to like the idea, and it didn't take long for the plan to be put into action.

Before the afternoon sun could reach its peak, the group of men had gathered their weapons and belongings for another trip into the blankets of snow. Hoseok wore his new long sleeves and thick socks, as did everyone else who got even the slightest chill down their back. After a warm breakfast soup to keep their body temperatures high, a bid of hopefully temporary farewells and gathering the three horses, the group headed out for the day. It had been a couple days since the incident, and though Namjoon had originally planned to avoid conflict at all cost, they ultimately decided to test fate for a better chance at survival. The four had ambitious goals for the day, ranging from forming alliances, to evading fifty thousand freaks, all the way to scouring for a new radio. Signals had worsened over the passed few weeks, leaving Namjoon and Yoongi to decipher choppy receptions from Dong-Seok and Evan with minimal success. From what they could make out, the pair was doing just fine, only moderately inconvenienced by the failing radio.

Mara patted Jimin's shoulder, comforting the lad who had grown sullen at the sight of Taehyung disappearing in the distance, in tow of a well warmed Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi. This was a task for people much more capable than Mara, so she wasn't the slightest bit of butthurt when she wasn't chosen for the day. She was still a bit shaken up by their encounter with the cloaked stranger. However, after Namjoon had clued everyone into their conclusions plan, she didn't remember it with too much fear. She did feel nervous for the group of men whose only guarantee of returning was solely dependent of their greatest efforts. She didn't say this to Jimin, no that would not have reassured him. Or maybe it would've? She wasn't sure how highly Jimin regarded his brothers' skills.