A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

7: Stuck

"I just wanted to go out and find them myself."

"But you're hurt!"

"I dont care."

Mara looked down on Jimin, who sat against the wall at the base of the second floor stairwell. There was only a bit of light filtering in, so both individuals were covered in a slight darkness. Mara's machete lay on the floor, covered in gooey black blood, brain matter scattered in the ground and on the walls. Brutes were laid against the exit, the exit that Jimin had tried to leave through in the hopes of finding his group once more. Mara had hurried once she'd caught sight of the open door she always left tied closed. It had been the exit at the other side of each floor, left closed to prevent anything from unfavorable from wandering in. Finding the rope on the floor, then hearing the scream of a struggling Jimin, fighting for his life a second time? It had Mara's heart dropping to her feet a second time.

It had Mara wondering when she'd ever get a break.

"Can you stop being such a brat for one day? I'm sorry I'm worried about you!" Mara exclaimed, her heart still racing and her breathing shallow from anxiety.

"Don't act like you care!" Jimin shouted, his voice carried by the empty stairwell.

Mara blinked, caught off-guard.

"If you go around, parading an injury to a vengeful world, you'll get cornered again and this time, eaten alive," she sternly said.

"It beats being stuck in here with you!"

Mara shut up, staring at Jimin, who seemed to regret the quick reply that came out of his mouth. However, he didn't seem to regret them enough to apologize.

Jimin remained silent.

Mara clicked her tongue, tone decievingly nonchalant, "Then by all means, go out there and get yourself killed. It's better than sticking around with someone like me, right? Be as naive as you want. I won't be here to save you anymore," Mara scoffed, turning around to walk away.

"You know what I meant," Jimin muttered. This caused Mara to come to a halt, her frown prominent as she turned back around to face Jimin. He struggled to get up to his feet, but Mara decided that lending him a hand at the moment was not on the table.

"Did I?" Mara squinted her eyes at Jimin, who rolled his own. He refused to make eye contact.

"Yes, you know exactly what I meant," he said, his disregard making Mara's insides boil. Her anger bubbled until she inevitably burst.

"What did you mean to say, Jimin? At this point I'm extremely confused. You're like a damn seesaw at this point! I don't get you! One day you're fine, the next you're not — what do you want me to do?! I want you to find your group, but I can't magically make them reappear! I want you to heal faster but I'm not a doctor, okay?! I'm not some miracle worker, either! I'm Mara! I'm still a damn child, just waiting for the parents that will probably never show up! Spare me some damn patience, Jimin. Please."

Mara didn't know when she started crying, but once she noticed, it was too late. She'd always found herself tearing up when extremely frustrated — it was something she couldn't help. One glance at Jimin and Mara could see the look of regret on his face. He looked guilty for making Mara cry, something that the girl always tried to keep to herself. However, she refused to let him see her cry, so she turned her back to him. Plus, she'd been told once that she was an ugly crier, and she didn't want Jimin to see her ugly crying face.

She had hoped that by now, Jimin would be used to her, but she guessed that he was more desperate to leave, while Mara was desperate for some company.

Mara sniffled, "And you can get back up the stairs the same way you got down. That is, if you want to come back. You're not obligated to stay here. You're not obligated to do anything. I just thought you would know better."