Sempiternal: • Contaminated • || BOOK 3#

4. Harvester ants

"Alright, we will go to the village and return in four hours" Namjoon announces with an empty backpack on his back, a pistol in his pants and a pocket knife in the side pocket of the backpack. "Until then and when you hear the signal, open the doors. If it doesn't happen, even if we have a horde behind us, don't open." he clarifies pointing to those who remain. Most of them.

He doesn't want to have everyone on top of them to search either. They don't even know if there's going to be what to take. It may be an already looted location.

"Understood." they say in chorus with some wheezing. Namjoon nods and hops down. Yoongi pats Hoseok on the back.

"I'll try to bring you what you asked for."

"Thank you." the smiling dancer says goodbye. Yoongi, Jin, Jungkook and Taehyung get off the train after Namjoon; after them, six other people and the doors close. They start walking down the hill. The snow is soft and easy to walk through despite how deep it gets. Taehyung is constantly poking a stick. In this way, he checks whether there are corpses or not.

Jin looks at the sky with a wrinkled face. It is the first time in months that he sees the sky clear and blue, without snow. Ironically, the temperature is exaggeratedly low. It's impossible not to feel like you're freezing cold. You are afraid that any of them will get sick from being exposed to this low temperature, plus the dampness of walking in the snow.

However, there is no other way. They must go for supplies to continue the journey.

"Well, it doesn't look so bad" Taehyung says as soon as they reach the village and the snow is so little that there is no way not to notice any infected on the ground. "I say" He leans on the long stick. "At least there's no blood on the walls and corpses nailed to cars and pickaxes." he points out turning up his lower lip.

"It looks like a ghost town." opines Jungkook looking around.

"That means the infected will be in alleys and enclosed places." says Namjoon settling his backpack. "Try not to make too much noise and if you do, stand in the sun."

"Aye aye captain." ironically Taehyung goes off to the right, Jungkook goes with him; Yoongi goes his own way and Namjoon stays next to Jin.

. . .

Yoongi clicks his tongue in annoyance, having to stick his stomach in and crawl through the small opening of the tent until he is finally inside. He is very lucky that it is a transparent façade that lets in light. He taps a couple of times on the wall and in the absence of movement, Yoongi continues his way inside.

He takes out of his pocket the list that Hoseok gave him:

- writing paper [if it has little lines on it, all the better].
-pens
-stickers
-batteries
-player
-hair scissors
-hair ties
- threads [of any color you can find, it doesn't matter] -paint
-paint

Yoongi whitens the eyes. This looks like a student's supermarket. He doesn't know what he wants it for, but he's not going to say no. Why do it anyway? It's harmless and with how little they have to do, maybe it's a way to keep him entertained.

And to give your dogs a good haircut. Those poor animals that have lived most of the time with the best of care, are agonizing over having no way to go to a groomer.

Yoongi is amused to find one of those stationery packs made by bighit. There are stickers and pictures of them on each paper sponge. He keeps it because he thinks it's funny and little by little, hopping from store to store, he gets everything Hoseok wants, plus what's necessary for the group in general.

~ * * * ~

"I wish that at least for once, just once, there wouldn't be tragedy everywhere we set foot."