Day 833

"God dammit, get me a map."

Julia does as she's told, Y/n sliding down in her chair while Jungkook watches with no single expression on his face. He's not sure which mask to put on now. The sad one, the hopeful one, the neutral one - whatever. No matter what, they'd be fake. So Jungkook opts for a scowl intertwined with some grimaces here and there.

It's been 2 days since Jimin left, and the impact still sits in the back of everyone's minds. Y/n is miserable and barely eating, and she certainly hasn't showered these past 2 days. Jungkook did the operation with Yoongi and Ves yesterday under Y/n's orders. Something about wanting to continue the plan since Jimin would've wanted it. So, Jungkook cut into Ves under Yoongi's orders. Katherine was there too, guiding Jungkook through the whole process. Jungkook wishes he could do a surgery on his own, but it feels impossible to do anything on his own anymore, let alone the thing he's terrified of.

Yoongi is analyzing his findings currently. It's been almost a full 24 hours since the operation, and Ves has a couple scars on his body from it, but nothing that won't eventually heal. He's still young, after all. Hopefully that will factor in. Jungkook still doesn't know how to process Ves being immune. After all the craziness that's happened, it's like the immunity took a backseat compared to the rest. Jimin and Namjoon leaving, Fiona's death, the Howlers having a weakness, Yoongi and Taehyung becoming new members of their little clan. So much has happened, and yet so much hasn't too. It's a weird situation to be in.

Ves hasn't said anything about the operation and/or how he feels about it. Mostly because he's locked in his room with Sky right now, probably speaking with her in a futile attempt to get his mind off his missing father figure. Even Jin's devastated over Jimin's departure. It's an interesting time to be alive. And Jungkook would be lying if he said he doesn't miss Jimin already. The eye smiles and the little moments where they're questioning their sexualities. Jimin was fun. Charismatic. Intelligent. And most importantly, he gave Y/n happiness. Now all Y/n does is frown.

"What do you need the map for?" Jungkook asks, stepping away from the window of Namjoon's office. It was supposed to be Jimin's office, but obviously that's not happening anymore. And of course, Namjoon is gone too. Two leaders, gone just like that. What if that happens to Y/n too? She'll sacrifice herself in a heartbeat for them. Is this their plan? To one by one take their leaders until there's no one left? If that's the plan, the Ranglers are doing well so far.

"I'm gonna find him, Kook," she says, her eyes on the wood in front of her. He comes over and places his hands on the desk, his palms digging into it. "Don't try to stop me."

"Who said anything about stopping you? I know you love him, and I wouldn't want to take that away from you."

She brings her gaze up to him in time for Julia to return, handing the map off to her. She takes it, dismissing Julia, who leaves without complaint. Luckily, she shuts the door behind her. Jungkook remains the same distance away that he was before, only this time, his stare is more intense. Y/n doesn't notice.

Her finger traces down the territory they marked. Yoongi helped mark some of the stuff on the outer parts, near where he lived. Now their map is almost complete. Jungkook places his hand on the map in front of her fingers, and that's what finally makes her peek up at him.

"If you're not stopping me, then why are you here? To help?"

"Well, you're not going to be able to find him alone. We need to do this together, don't you think? Come on, why don't we look over a plan together. There's no way you go to the Ranglers and break Jimin out. That's not happening, so we need a better plan. If we go to their front gates, they'll capture us. Or kill us. One of the two."

"Or you can bring your rocket launcher. They didn't take too kindly to that last time," she says, and Jungkook brushes his hand through his hair at the idea. "Kidding. Mostly. We should have big firearms when the time comes, but not like this. There's no way I can think of to get Jimin out except for pray he comes out himself during a riot. How fucked is that? How are we, a band of misfits, supposed to take out the new government?"

"Well, the late 1770s to early 1780s disagree with you."

"Jungkook, I'm not a nerd. Translate please."

Jungkook keeps his hands pressed against the desk, his eyes peering at Y/n's. "The Revolutionary War. You think facing a whole empire was easy on those colonists?"

"Forgive me, I'm no history buff, but didn't the French help?"

"Doesn't change the accomplishments made. They had spirit and believed in what they were fighting for."

Y/n rolls her eyes and gives him a glare. "Are you about to tell me the power of friendship will save my boyfriend?"

"No, I'm about to tell you big guns and guerilla warfare is what'll save your boyfriend. You thought I was about to get sentimental on you? Me? Jeon Jungkook? I used a rocket launcher to save your life. This isn't My Little Pony, get the damn flamethrower and listen to what I'm about to say." She stands up straight, her shoulders set and her hands knit behind her back, preparing for instruction. Wow. She's grown up, hasn't she? Y/n certainly isn't the kid he knew during his childhood. Sometimes he wishes for those days to come back, but now, seeing her here? He couldn't be prouder.

"First thing's first, we need to draw them out and hit them. Hit and run tactics first. Have Julia go there, pretending to be injured, and when they come to help, the rest of us peek in from the trees and blast their asses. Kill some guards and do some damage. There's plan one. Plan two is infiltration. This may be a long game, L/n. After all, the Revolutionary War didn't take a couple days," he says.

"I understand. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to bring him back. What's the infiltration plan?"

"Ves."

"Oh hell no-"

"I know you don't want to involve him, but he's the best chance we have at getting into the Ranglers camp. Ves is reliable and one of the best fighters we have, and he's younger than all of us. That's saying something."

"He's immune," she says, "we shouldn't do anything with him until Yoongi finds a vaccine for the virus. Isn't he coming farther along in his research?" At Jungkook's nod, she holds her hands up as if she's the victor of their conversation. "If he's close, we shouldn't risk anything."

"I hate to say this, but he's one man. A smart, capable man, but one man nonetheless. If we hand Ves over to the Ranglers under the notion that he's immune, he'll be the most trusted one there right off the bat. He's the golden child, he'll be allowed everywhere, and he can spy on their affairs and figure out a way to get Jimin back home."

"But how will he relay that information to us?"

"That's the difficult part. How do we have communication with him. They'll likely pat him down and check for weapons, so what's something discrete we can use to speak with him?" Jungkook asks, stroking his chin.

Y/n furrows her brows, then, she lights up. "I got it. Writing."

"Writing?"

"At night, Ves can walk around and throw a curled up paper outside the walls. From there, we pick it up and see what's going on. That way he can blame it on being a kid and throwing rocks at the walls if he gets caught, and it's discrete enough that no one will question why he wants paper. After all, like I just said, he's a kid. He can ask for crayons and a notebook so he can color."

"Y/n, he's not that young."

"What does Ves do when he wants something?"

Jungkook sighs. "Starts crying because he's dramatic."

"Exactly. He's a great actor because he's the most stubborn bitch in the world," she says, and Jungkook has to admit the spark in her eyes is adorable. And hopeful. It's the first glimmer of hope they've had in days, and Jungkook will be damned if they lose it now. "He can make the case that he wants to feel like a kid again, then when he asks for childish things, no one will question it. This plan might actually work. But a lot of it depends on what Ves finds while he's in there..."

"Our entire plan revolves around a kid." Y/n hangs her head, placing her hands on the table. Jungkook smiles, resting his hand on her shoulder, causing her head to snap back up. At his bunny grin, her posture relaxes. "Good thing he's one helluva reliable kid. He'll be alright. And since he's immune, they'll protect him with their life. Do you trust me?"

"Not even a little, but I trust Ves. So you know what? Yeah, let's do it." She pauses, letting out a breath. "But I need something from you, Kook."

Jungkook chuckles, giving her a smirk. "Name it."

~~~

Alright, admittedly, Jungkook wasn't expecting this when Y/n said she needed something from him. After hugging Y/n goodbye and sharing the plan with the others, Jungkook finds himself walking outside at night. They wanted to move as quickly as possible, so nightfall it was. Only Jungkook is with Ves. Alone. Just those two.

Night and day are about the same when it comes to safety anymore. Jungkook is carrying a Glock and a flamethrower strapped around his back in case the Howlers actually are in this area. At least they have a way to destroy Howlers once and for all. Regardless, the streets are empty, not a noise sounding off in the area.

Y/n told him that she needs him to escort Ves there. Sending a whole team might have attracted too much attention, and this way, Ves has a reliable fighter and doctor by his side in case of injury or zombies. Jungkook is also her most trusted. He'll scout the back walls to ensure it's a safe space for them to exchange messages. The current plan is the back wall, but if Jungkook sees something suspicious, he'll report back to Y/n with the news.

Ves trots by his side with his hand on his pistol. There isn't much hope that he'll be able to keep it, but it's worth a shot. Jungkook is about as paranoid as Ves, each twig snapping in the distance alerting Jungkook more to the possibility that there could be a horde waiting out there for them. The wind blowing by makes him shiver, his hands rubbing his arms.

"Don't you have enough muscle that you'll never be cold?" Ves asks, pointing to the sleeves of Jungkook's leather jacket that he's rubbing.

"That may be the nicest thing you've ever said to me, but to answer your question, no. Come on, let's pick up the pace."

"Do you remember where we're going?"

"I do, actually. While on the run, I wasn't really looking at the roads. But luckily for us, we have two people who know the area well. Taehyung and Yoongi, they helped mark the Ranglers on the map. I made sure to look at the path and memorize it before we left."

"As a doctor, did you have to memorize a lot of stuff?" Ves asks, Jungkook humming and falling into his memories.

"All the time. Every day I was on Quizlet learning a bunch of technical terms, not to mention reading my textbooks to find out more about how to do certain procedures. A lot of medical is experience and hands-on activities, but there's also the memorizing so we can do the practices, y'know?"

Ves agrees, and the two continue their trek down the road. Twenty minutes of silence passes, no activity on the road. It's at this point that Jungkook is concerned. Not a single zombie? Not even a basic one? Jungkook holds him and Ves up, realizing they're only five minutes away from the Ranglers. That means life isn't far. Noise. Are all the zombies there?

Jungkook's suspicion is confirmed when he hears a distant gunshot, and Ves hops back from the noise. "What the fuck was that?" Ves asks.

"Gunshot. I'm guessing that's coming from the Ranglers. Maybe a scavenging team coming back to base-"

'Bam!'

The gunshots keep ringing out, and Jungkook hyperventilates as the wind brushes by, pushing the leaves of the trees nearby in the air. Some snap off their branches and soar over to Jungkook, landing on his leather jacket. "There's two problems. One, there's probably zombies in the forest. Two, we have to go towards the gunshots."

"Shit," Ves mumbles, Jungkook grabbing Ves's hand despite the heaviness of the flamethrower dragging him down.

"Let's go. Faster, before any zombies catch up-"

Jungkook is interrupted by growling coming from the trees. Great, the gunshots woke them up. Jungkook keeps himself quiet as he pulls Ves along, rushing down the dark street and attempting to keep his heaving to a minimum. Ves does the same, covering his mouth when needed as to keep the noise to an all time low. However, it doesn't work. Runners spring free from the trees, locating the duo and snarling. Of course they had to be runners, didn't they?

Regardless of their luck, regular zombies come out too, but the runners are a big enough problem. Ves takes out his knife, Jungkook letting go of Ves's hand to do the same. Jungkook peeks over his shoulder, noting how they're only three to four minutes away now. Runners are sprinting at them, and more are becoming part of the pack by the second. More basic zombies, more runners. At least over a dozen by now. Jungkook swallows, holding his knife as tightly as he can.

"Ves, you have to run." A runner comes to them, Jungkook stabbing it in the head and kicking it down with his leg. "I'll hold them off. I'm not important anyway, you need to get to the gates. I can't risk you getting bitten or torn apart in this fight, got it?"

Knowing there's no time to argue, Ves agrees. He keeps his knife out as he runs away, Jungkook gritting his teeth and staring down the horde forming in front of him. He would run with Ves, in fact, that seems like the smartest idea. But the runners are faster than them. Maybe not Jungkook, but Ves for sure. So, Jungkook plants his feet and stabs the next one, grabbing his flamethrower and swinging it forward. More zombies are pouring out, more gunshots sounding off. They shots are closer, too. The booming noise is attracting more, and Jungkook isn't sure how to feel about sending Ves towards those sounds. But on the bright side, Ves has a gun and there will be more people there to help him. Or if not, he'll just come running back to Jungkook. Probably. Risks must be taken for rewards to come, and it's either fight a dozen here on their own, or send Ves to the Ranglers that (hopefully) have more firepower.

Jungkook twists the nozzle of the flamethrower, checking to ensure it's on and at max fuel. When he sees that it is, he holds it up and glares at the runners preparing to pounce on him. He chuckles, his finger about to press down on the trigger. The odds aren't in his favor. There's over a dozen and more coming in, and the flamethrower will attract more. But Ves is safe.

No matter what happens to Jungkook, as long as Ves is safe, that's all that matters.