atlas; bts au

four

FOUR

the ground was shaking— namjoon was sure of it. it was trembling beneath his feet, and he was three hundred percent certain jimin could feel it too as he looked down, almost stumbling over. his face was contorted into a confused expression, twisted in with panic and what the older believed to be recognition. he reached out to the boy as he suddenly collapsed, arms over his head to drown out the noise. he noticed the stray bracelet thrown on the floor and the taller crouched down, uncertainly laced in his words.

"we need to get out of here. i think there's an earthquake." namjoon frowned at his own words; this was different. it was too off, along with the fact that the weather forecasters had to have predicted it before. if not them, than the genius himself, and he had never calculated a natural disaster anywhere near. "it's not an earthquake.." jimin bit out through grit teeth, quivering as if he were in pain. "it can't be.."

the older glanced towards the window and terror washed over him. he fell backwards, scrambling behind him as his companion lifted his head, sweat dripping down his face. "namjoon?" "cover your mouth." he hissed, pushing him behind one of the shelves and sliding in beside him. "what? that's stupid—" namjoon pulled his shirt up to his face, jerking jimin's to the same position.

the younger didn't argue anymore after that, eyes wide and cheeks turning a frantic red. the older looked over it, not even registering it as a wave of green light exploded behind them, the color washing over the two boys in a flurry of sparks and fragments of energy. he barely heard the small scream of fear jimin let out as his sense of sight was overwhelmed, turning into a blank sheet of white as he felt his nerves fire up faster than he could think.

he forced himself to push through the blinding image, regaining spots of color before the building shook once again, pulsating with the resonating blast that joined in with flares of red, orange, and yellow in a canvas of white. "jimin," he extended a hand, grasping onto the smaller's and hauling him up to his feet.

"oh god, what's happening?" the shorter looked like he wanted to cry, silver hair piled atop his head in disorderly tresses. he let out another scream in unison with namjoon's yell as a whirl of fiery whips slashed through the windows, shattering glass into shards and outstretching towards them. the flames brought a thick coat of smoke into the air, billowing around the vast fire, dancing on a stage of building remains and ash.

jimin thought faintly of the girl who had been behind the counter, another flutter of terror rippling through him. explosions raged behind the thin comfort of a crumbling wall of brick and glass, not enough to withstand the rampaging storm of fire outside. he stepped back, flinching as the sensation of heat swept over him and seared its warmth into his skin. his mouth parted as the wall of the inferno broke into the room, and he shifted and ran to the back of the shop.

namjoon stood beside him and jimin's gaze locked into the strip of plastic that had been wrapped tightly around his wrist not even twenty minutes ago, lying aimlessly on the breaking floor beneath it. the older grabbed him, racing out the back exit door and jimin caught a glimpse of the blaze enveloping the item, reducing it to a smoldering pile. triumph that didn't belong in this situation engulfed him and he released a quiet sigh of relief, turning his back to the place.

his seconds of slight peace were immediately diminished as the previous events settled in his mind and his grip on the stranger tightened. his head was clouded with hysteria, and all he wanted to do was pull him back and demand him to explain. but he had no time for that, and he knew it. even if he did, namjoon couldn't provide him any type of information nor comfort. it would be useless and a waste of time to even attempt it.

ash marked his face as they continued to run through the streets, ragged breaths falling from their lips but they didn't dare to stop running. the older's fingers were deathly rigid onto his wrist and jimin pushed back the urge flinch from how similar it was to the restraints they often used to tie him to the hospital bed. it didn't matter now, he repeated to himself in his head, legs aching, it didn't matter now.