Jimin sulks as he walks away from the darkened brick building. He tried to track the tire markings the truck left when it drove away but they had already washed away. His head hangs low with defeat as a tight knot of anxiety forms in his stomach. His eyes slowly fill with tears at the thought of losing Taehyung and Jungkook forever.

Deep regret begins to torment his mind, repeating the events of his last moments with his brothers over and over like a broken record.

Jimin screamed until his throat was raw as they dragged him away.

He can't forget the terror shining in his brothers' eyes as the cage door slammed in front of his face. He can't forget the sharp taste of metal in his mouth. The smell of wet cement, gasoline, and disinfectant were strong enough to make him dizzy.

I can't leave them there! I have to help them escape before they are sold as well. I pray they aren't being punished on my behalf.

Jimin shivers as he continues to walk through the snow. His shoes are soaked through and he can no longer feel his toes. His hair is damp with snow and sweat, his jaw is clenched to keep his teeth from chattering. He scans the empty darkness of the street before focusing back on the McDonald's across the street with a grim expression.

He already checked that area in hopes of finding tire tracks but all traces of his captors have disappeared. It was a dead-end and all it did was bring back unwanted memories. Memories of Eden lying half-dead in the snow, being shot in the side, being dragged away...

His gaze wavers as a sinking feeling of dread filled his mind.

I hope Eden can forgive me for earlier. She has to understand why I did it... she just has to.

Eden appears to understand the pain he feels even if she has no idea what happened to him. She seems to truly care about him, despite only knowing each other for so little time. He admires her loyalty but fears this attachment will only get them in trouble.

That's why she has to stay behind.

He grimaces at the memory of her panic-stricken face before she fell asleep. Jimin feels terrible about the whole situation but there was no other way to keep her from following him. She doesn't need to be involved in this. She needs to stay behind until he can rescue his brothers.

All he asks is that she waits for him to return.

These men are far more than dangerous. They are vile, disgusting human beings who have lost their humanity. They kidnap people off the streets to turn into laboratory experiments, to turn them into hybrids to sell on the black market.

Taehyung, Jungkook, and Jimin were kids when it happened.

Jimin sighs loudly and watches a quick puff of cold air escape his lips. He runs his hand over the side of his head only to find an empty space of skin where his human ears used to be. He shudders as his cold skin touches the sensitive area.

His stomach twists as he begins to think about his transformation from a human into a hybrid. He swallows hard to avoid sending himself into a gagging fit. He doesn't want to remember any of it. He doesn't want to remember how his ears shriveled up and fell off his head or the deafness that followed while he waited for his hybrid ears to grow. He doesn't want to remember the pain of growing a tail. He doesn't want to remember the blindness as his eyes changed. He doesn't—, he doesn't want to—, oh God.

Jimin's hands move to his eyes, shielding them from the night surrounding him. He continues to shiver violently as the cold attacks his exposed skin. He shakes his head quickly, suppressing a quiet cry.

I can't do this now. I can't do this here. I have to find them before it's too late!

A small voice in his head scolds him for not taking Eden's help. She could have helped him in ways he didn't think of. Maybe he'd be warmer. Maybe he'd have an extra set of eyes to find the tire tracks in the sludge-like snow. Maybe Eden could coax him from his mental hellscape.

But she isn't here.

She's safe, he reminds himself. What matters is that Eden is safe. I'm keeping my promise to her by forcing her to stay behind.

He stops at the edge of the street and looks across it to focus on the yellow glow of the McDonald's sign. The snow in the air shifts into freezing rain, chilling him straight to the bone. His body aches from running and all he wants to do is return to his new home.

Unfortunately, he made a promise to find his family tonight. He can't face Eden again until he has helped his brothers escape, otherwise, she may never forgive him for what he did.

"HEY! HEY GET BACK HERE! FUCK! GET BACK HERE! STOP! HOBI! HOSEOK, GET UP!"

Jimin jumps at the harsh shouting coming from across the street. His ears flatten against his head, terrified by the panic in the guy's voice. Jimin's tail flicks nervously as his hands form tight fists. What's going on?

The squealing of tires sets Jimin on edge. He glances up and down the street and runs across it, heading straight for McDonald's. He breathes hard as exhaustion begins to weigh down on his aching body. The icy rain falls harder than before making it difficult to see.

A sharp scream sends Jimin's mind into panic mode.

That's Eden. That's her scream.

He arrives on the scene only to witness the end of it. A black SUV turns its headlights on, momentarily blinding Jimin's sensitive eyes. He hears the car doors slam and the SUV is sent into reverse before speeding out of the parking lot like it was possessed. It is already speeding down the street and disappearing around a corner by the time Jimin reaches the person on the ground.

Please, please don't be Eden!

Lying on the ground is a boy who cradles his head in his hands. His body is illuminated by another set of headlights from a nearby car. He moans quietly in pain before slowly looking up to see Jimin running towards him.

The boy's expression falls with disappointment. He fists one hand and smacks it against the icy pavement, "Fuck!" he shouts roughly. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," he continues to hit the ground, cursing as rain begins to soak his clothes.

"What happened?" Jimin asks quickly, his voice trembling from the cold terror rushing through his body. "What's going on? Was—, is-, what happened?"

"Those fuckers kidnapped my friend!" he shouts, struggling to his feet. Jimin pales when he sees the blood smeared over the guy's face. "They shot him and dragged him and that girl into their car!"

"A girl?" Jimin suddenly feels lightheaded. "What girl? Did you see her? What did she look like?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" the boy sighs, exasperated. He limps towards the other car, "I've got to chase them, I have to catch up to them."

Jimin stares at the boy, horrified. "Did—, did she have blonde hair?"

"I already said that I don't know!" the boy snaps, throwing his hands up.

"My friend—, she might have been here..." Jimin struggles to form the words, "Did you see who kidnapped them?"

The guy reaches his car and leans against the front for support to balance himself. He takes a few shaky breaths before looking back at Jimin with a grim expression. "The guy that tried to bash my head in was wearing a face mask. He said something about interrogations and witnesses. They were pissed as hell."

"And the girl?" Jimin tries again, desperate for a real answer. "Did she seem—, was she hurt? Already? Like... bruises all over her before they got to her?"

The guy pauses and slowly nods. "Yes... she looked pretty rough." His eyes finally soften with understanding, "Guess we're in the same boat. You should come with me, we can chase them down together."

"Chase them?" Jimin glances at the car he is leaning on. "Aren't they too far gone?"

The guy forces himself to stand up straight and rounds the car. He opens the driver's seat with a look of determination, "They will be. Get in."

Jimin is taken aback by the guy's sharp decision-making attitude. It all feels too fast. His mind doesn't have time to even process the disaster that just took place. All he knows is that he has to save Eden. He has no idea how she got here so quickly, or why she decided to leave the house in the first place, but she's gone.

This is all his fault. And he has to fix this.

Now.

Jimin nods and hurries to the car. The two guys get into the vehicle and settle in their places. The guy double-checks the rearview mirror as he buckles up, "Did you see which direction they went in?"

Jimin points towards the street, "They took a right at the first street. We need to hurry if you want to catch them."

The guy nods firmly and shifts the car's gear. The car lurches forward with a burst of power and screeches out of the parking lot. Jimin sways in his seat, bracing himself against the car door, but isn't fazed by the wild driving.

"My name's Min Yoongi, who are you? Who's the girl you're trying to find?" he asks as he focuses on driving like a madman.

"Park Jimin. I'm... I'm Eden's hybrid. We met a few days ago, I saved her life."

A brief look of surprise crosses Yoongi's face as he passes under a streetlight. He glances over Jimin for a moment. "You saved her life?"

"I did. I escaped and she was being attacked because of..." his voice hitches at the confession. Jimin grimaces as the guilt hits him like a hammer. This is all my fault. "She adopted me today," Jimin finishes, changing the subject before his regret could overwhelm him.

Yoongi stares ahead with a hardened gaze. He races down the main street, swerving expertly around other cars, and does everything in his power not to slow down or stop. "Hobi is my roommate," he explains, sounding guilty as well, "I was supposed to pick him up from work tonight... but they took him away. Do you know why they took them?"

Jimin looks straight ahead as he begins to feel sick from the swerving. He hasn't felt carsick in a long time. "I think I know..." Jimin explains the whole situation including the hybrid smuggling ring, the attack on Wednesday, and how he might have drugged her in order to leave the house without her following him.

"That's sort of fucked up, drugging her to force her to stay behind." Yoongi gave him a pointed look, and then it softened. "But I can tell you come from all kinds of fucked up. That's rough, buddy," he finishes in disbelief.

Jimin hangs his head in shame. "I can't believe this happened. I told her to stay behind. Why didn't she listen to me?"

Yoongi smirks as he makes another left turn. "She sounds fun."

"Urgh this is all my fault," Jimin complains, rubbing his hand across his eyes. "If I had just let her come with me, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Probably. But don't kick yourself over it. You're going to save her. Alright?"

Jimin watches Yoongi doubtfully. "She's my responsibility, I'm supposed to keep her safe—"

"Who said that?"

Jimin frowns at him, "I did. I owe that to her. I got her attacked in the first place."

"It sounds like you're blaming yourself for something you regret happened, not that you regret doing. That's not a good way of thinking, maybe you should reconsider your reasons."

Jimin sits up straighter in his seat and openly glares at Yoongi. "Who gave you the right to say that?"

Yoongi smirks and chuckles quietly as if Jimin's emotions were amusing. "You can't blame me for finding it weird. You're being very dramatic. It's like you're living inside a drama instead of reality. What's all this talk of 'responsibility and blame' when you don't have the right to either of them."

"So I shouldn't care what happens to her?" he asks sarcastically.

"I didn't say that. I'm saying you should take a second to sort out your emotions before we kill those motherfuckers."

Yoongi has a point. There's no use in dwelling on what could have been or what should be. All that matters is finding Eden and saving her from those monsters. Jimin can't show any hesitation, or he will risk dooming Eden, and himself.

He escaped once, now he has to free Eden, his brothers, and Yoongi's roommate. At least this time, he has a little help.

Jimin nods once, staring ahead, and tries to see through the slanted freezing rain. "You're right. I need to focus."

Yoongi smiles momentarily before returning his hard stare. "We'll give them hell for this. We'll do what the police failed to do."

"The police?"

Yoongi scoffs at the mention of them. "They have been chasing themselves in circles for days. I assume you're the hybrid they're after?" He casts Jimin a doubtful look, "If they couldn't find you when you were just across the street, I doubt they can help us rescue Eden and Hobi from a smuggling ring. The police are dumb, and it's their stupidity that allowed this sort of thing in this city. We're doing this ourselves. Agreed?"

Jimin blinks in surprise and nods a few times. "Yeah, agreed." Honestly, Jimin wasn't thinking of the police.

Yoongi is quiet for a beat and adds, "And my phone's dead but that's beside the point."

Jimin nods and focuses on his internal thoughts, sorting them out as Yoongi said. We are going to save them ourselves, Jimin tells himself. We'll return home by morning. Just hold on Eden, I'm coming.

"We'll show them crazy," Jimin says in determination. He juts his chin and sits up straighter.

Yoongi notices it through the corner of his eye and smiles in satisfaction. He drives on ahead and continues to follow the fresh tire tracks in the snow. They drive on in silence but their minds are on high alert.

We're coming, guys. Just hold on.

A/N: Sorry this update is late! Tax homework is always a killer for me. I don't want to do the whole "Jimin's POV" at the beginning of the chapter because I personally think it's messy so I am not labeling them. This story is taking a turn~ I hope you guys are still enjoying it! What do you think of Jimin and Yoongi? Are you Yoonim or Vmin? I'm just curious! I don't ship the members romantically, but I like some combinations more than others (granted I love all of them).