Survivor

Rainism

"Hyung, get up," Jungkook said, trying to shake Hoseok awake.

The sun was starting to set all around them. Hoseok's stomach was hurting with hunger. There was practically no food left. As he looked around at the others, he realized they must also feel the same. There was just no hiding from this everlasting misery.

The pilots still weren't back yet. Hoseok briefly wondered where they'd gone. They said that they'd be back soon.

"They might have gotten lost," Yoongi said, as if he was reading his thoughts. "You know, this place doesn't exactly seem navigation-friendly."

It was true. The forest clearing was only a few meters wide. Trees dominated the landscape all around. The horizon was impossible to see.

"Don't pilots have to be good at navigation though?" Jungkook asked.

Yoongi shrugged. "Probably."

"They probably aren't that good," Hoseok found himself answering. Despite everything, he still found it hard to trust them. After all, their actions probably led to this disaster.

It probably wasn't right to be so harsh, he knew. But before he could contemplate on how to express his feelings to the others, Yoongi suddenly stood up.

"I need to make sure they're okay," he said before turning to check on Jin and Namjoon.

Namjoon was as alert as ever, his face still slightly pale, but he managed to give Yoongi a small smile.

"Do you want some water?"

"I'm okay," Namjoon mumbled.

Yoongi could tell the smile was forced, but he returned nevertheless. If Namjoon could be positive in spite of all the hardship that he'd faced, then he could be too.

Namjoon was propped up, his back resting against Jungkook's bag. The position seemed to relieve some of his pain.

Satisfied, Yoongi - the self-proclaimed nurse of the group - moved onto his next patient.

Jin's eyes were closed again. There was dried blood encrusted on his clothes, especially on his shirt. It stained a deep red. Yoongi tried not to focus on it. They had cleaned up the wounds as well as they could. With the limited resources and expertise they had, it was a bit of a challenge. Every single bit of the bandage roll in the first aid kit had been used.

Yoongi took a deep breath. Some stains would remain. That was natural.

He tapped Jin's forehead. Jin's forehead was abnormally warm. When Yoongi felt it again, he sensed the clear heat that was radiating off of Jin. He was feverish.

Fuck, did that mean one of his wounds was infected? Panic bloomed through Yoongi.

"Hoseok!" he called. The only other fully healthy person. His stomach flipped. "Hoseok, get over here!"

Hoseok did as he was told. He came tumbling over, his eyes wide with concern.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Jin, he-"

"Don't tell me that-"

"He's running a fever," Yoongi said.

Whatever Hoseok had been expecting must've worse because he visibly deflated at Yoongi's words. But as soon as he realized what that meant, he went back into high-alert. He nervously glanced over at Jin.

"Infection?"

"Yes," Yoongi said. "I mean, maybe."

"Maybe it's just because he's tired or something?"

Yoongi highly doubted that. But thinking about Jin having an infection was much worse than thinking that he was just tired. He nodded. He just wanted to accept Hoseok's explanation.

But he knew that Hoseok wasn't that stupid. He knew that he was thinking the same thing, even if he didn't express his thoughts.

Bless his poor heart. He was just trying to stay positive.

"Hyung?" Hoseok asked. He crouched down next to Jin.

Jin was laying flat on his back. He couldn't move from that position at all.

"Hyung," Hoseok said again. Louder. Clearer. He tapped Jin on the forearm. Again and again. Harder and harder.

"Hyung," Hoseok said again, panic overtaking his voice. "Hyung, answer me."

Yoongi crouched down as well. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. If anything happened to Jin, he would lose himself.

He found himself to be the voice of reason.

"Hoseok, he's probably fast asleep. I can see that he's... well, alive. If that's what you're worried about, don't be."

"Why isn't he waking up?"

"He needs his rest."

Hoseok met his frightened eyes.

"Hyung, one of his wounds is definitely infected. I can tell. He would always wake up if he was alright. He isn't, which means that there is something wrong."

Yoongi pretended not to notice the blind panic in Hoseok's voice. He also didn't acknowledge the panic flowing through his own body. If anything happened to Jin, he would never be able to deal with himself.

"Maybe he just needs some rest," he told Hoseok.

Hoseok looked like he was about to cry. Carefully, Yoongi pulled him in for a hug. Hoseok had been the strongest out of all of them. By nature, he was sensitive and emotional, but he'd pushed that all outside and been brave for all of them. But he was just one person, and he also needed someone.

Yoongi tried not to burst into tears himself when Hoseok started to cry. There was so much despair in all of their minds. Their future was up in the air. They had no food, their water was running out, they were in the middle of nowhere, and people were so injured.

"What if... what if hyung doesn't-"

"Shhh," Yoongi said. His heart thudded in his chest. Never. He wouldn't even think of that alternative.

"Do you have any medicine? Any fever meds? Anything?" Hoseok blubbered.

"They won't help. He won't be able to swallow anything unless he wakes up."

Hoseok was silent for a moment. He took in a big shuddering breath, his tears glistening in his eyes.

"I want to go home, hyung," he finally said, his voice small and shaky. "Enough travelling. Home now."

"I know, love, I know. Me too," Yoongi said.

They must've forgotten that Namjoon was listening because both of them jumped out of their skins when he spoke.

"This might not be the best time, but does anybody have some clean socks?"

------

1014 words