-Chemtrails over the country club-
Lana Del Ray
01:43 ━━━━●───── 03:50
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By the time the morning came, Bob's condition had worsened. The group could no longer afford to prolong the inevitable, hence why they had all squeezed into Gabriel's tiny office to say their goodbyes. Jungkook and Taehyung had already shared a few words with him, and the latter didn't know how to feel about it. Bob clearly was sickly pale, sweaty and weak, he looked like he was mere seconds away from delirium, yet despite his appearance and weakened state, he was smiling at them.

The things he had said to Jungkook were of hope for a better future, of not losing the humanity he had seen in Jungkook when he first came to the prison. Bob's beliefs clung to him and made him wonder if he was already delirious or if there was a certain level of peace he found in the thought of dying. Jungkook hadn't rebuked anything Bob had said, he didn't have the strength to do so, not when Bob had been looking at him with a smile so light and gentle it made Jungkook feel like something was wrong with him for thinking Bob was wrong.

So, Jungkook had smiled back and had nodded his head as he squeezed Bob's hand before allowing someone else to step forward to say their goodbyes. When Taehyung had stepped forward, Jungkook had listened in and realised that Bob had told him something similar. Jungkook didn't dwell on it, not Bob's words or his outlook on the world because the current situation was too glum for him to consider what Bob had said.

Maggie was the last to go and when she was done, the group began to trickle out of the office. When Rick was about to leave, Bob stopped him with a simple call of his name. Jungkook peered over his shoulder as he left the office, watching as Rick was about to hand Judith off to Carl, only for Bob to stop him and ask for both of them to stay. Sasha left too, saying she was going to be right outside before she shut the door, leaving Rick and Bob alone.

Jungkook exhaled, slipping his fingers through his greasy hair to push the strands away from his forehead. His boots clicked against the wooden floorboard as he walked through the church. He walked through the parted doors and eyed the grey church bus parked in the yard. Abraham and Glenn were carrying backpacks into the bus, Taehyung was engaging in a conversation with Rosita and Tara, while Michonne and Carl were sitting on the porch steps.

Jungkook approached the pair from behind and easily cut into their conversation, "Do we have any shovels?" Michonne and Carl turned to look up at him.

"I'm not sure, you should ask Gabriel or Abraham." Michonne offered the suggestion while Carl questioned why he needed them.

Jungkook's eyes shifted away from the teenager to meet Michonne's, he offered her a look and the woman instantly understood. Jungkook hummed and walked down the steps of the porch, reaching out to flick Carl's hat over his eyes and dodging the playful punch the younger tried to throw his way.

Jungkook approached Abraham, causing the sweaty man to pause, "Do you have a shovel?"

"Rosita pulled one out of the shed back there." Abraham wiped the sweat off his forehead and jerked his head to the said shed. Jungkook hummed and turned around to leave, only to be stopped by Abraham, "No hard feelings about yesterday?"

"No," Jungkook paused and peered back at him, staring him right in the eyes as he uttered, "But I did want to bash your face in at the time."

Abraham's brows lifted before his lips stretched into a grin, "It takes balls to say that to my face and to start fights without knowing if you'll finish them."

Jungkook snorted, "Oh, I'd finish them."

Abraham huffed an amused breath, hoisting the bag further up his shoulder, "I like fights too." Jungkook hummed and began to leave, shaking his head when Abraham called out to him, "Hey, want to come with us?"

"Nah, I'll wait for my group!"

Jungkook continued to walk until he reached Rosita, "Hey, Abraham said you found shovels in the shed?" Their conversation ceased and Taehyung, Tara and Rosita turned to look at him in slight confusion.

"Yeah, what do you need them for?" Rosita trailed off with a hand placed on her cocked hip. Jungkook merely had to glance over at the church for the trio to understand and Rosita's eyes saddened around the corners, "Come on, I'll help you before we leave."

Jungkook shared a lingering look with Taehyung before following Rosita to the shed. The pair didn't speak as they walked, allowing the wind and the rustle of trees to fill in the gaps of silence. They reached the shed and Rosita pulled the door open, stepping into the musty space and reaching behind a wheelbarrow to grab two dusted shovels. She used her hands to swipe away the cobwebs that had formed around the handles before handling one of the shovels to Jungkook.

"Thanks, you don't have to do this." Jungkook uttered as they stepped away from the shed, trying to find a good place to start digging the grave. There was a large oak tree growing by the church with white daisies scattered around the roots.

"I want to." Rosita offered him a smile, "It's interesting, no matter how many times you do it or how well you know the person, it never gets easier."

Jungkook pushed the shovel into the ground, scooping out a bucketful of dirt and throwing it behind him, "Feels like it's getting harder." He whispered, repeating the action with Rosita shovelling simultaneously with him, "Maybe it's because we hope that this is the last time we would have to do this, only for that hope to get crushed when we end up back here, digging another fucking grave."

"How many have you lost?" Rosita asked with hesitation, "You seem young, I was a bit surprised to see that you were the one behind what happened at Terminus."

"I haven't counted." A bitter smile curled around Jungkook's lips as he responded before following Rosita's change of topic, "It was Carol's idea but I'm twenty now, I think. I was seventeen when this started, eighteen when I met Rick."

A flash of surprise zipped across Rosita's face, causing Jungkook to huff out an amused breath, "Killing is easy, blowing communities up is too, watching the ones you love die, that's the hard part." Jungkook rolled his lips together as he continued to shovel at the dirt, "Many of the ones who died we didn't get to bury," Jungkook's mind twisted back to the past, back to Hershel, "So, I guess even this is a privilege nowadays."

Jungkook turned to look at the woman, "What about you?" He dared to ask unapologetically.

"Originally it wasn't just me, Abraham and Eugene. We met people on the road, even groups who wanted to join." Rosita recounted softly, focusing on jabbing the shovel into the ground, "One way or another we lost them until it was just us three, it's a bit daunting meeting more people because it makes me wondering if we'll bond, if I'll learn to care for them and if I'll have to bury them too." Rosita looked up at him, then at the group lingering by the front of the church, "But I see what Abraham sees and I understand why he wants you to come with us so badly. You're strong, you're survivors and if we'll get to Washington, it's only if we're together."

Jungkook bobbed his head, offering her a quirk of his lips, "We'll join you when Daryl and Carol comes back. Hopefully that will be soon because weirdly enough, I want to see how this entire save the world thing plays out."

Rosita laughed at that, "Save the world, that sounds conceited."

"No," Jungkook shook his head with a grin, wiping the sweat off his neck with his sleeve, "Just like a bad superhero movie."

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An hour later, Tyreese carried out a body wrapped in a bedsheet. The group gathered by the grave Rosita and Jungkook had dug, remaining silent as Tyreese lowered Bob into the grave. A minute later, Sasha came out of the church - a dazed look in her bloodshot eyes and her face hardened to the point her features had become numb. Jungkook averted his eyes and tightened his grip on the shovel. As he was about to start dumping the dirt into the grave, a hand curled around his and took the shovel away from him.

Jungkook snapped his head to the side and peered into Taehyung's eyes, he nodded him away with a nudge of his chin and Jungkook didn't protest, only took a few steps back and fell in line with the group. They all watched as Rick and Taehyung buried Bob, only stepping forward one by one to dump a shovel-full on top of the grave. When Bob was covered, Sasha was the first to leave. She ignored her brother's attempts to stop her and stumbled into the woods with the rest of the group following her with their eyes.

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When Sasha came back, she had gathered and sharpened two pieces of wood. She approached Bob's grave and sat down next to it before pulling out a shoelace from her pocket and tying the pieces of wood together until they formed a cross.

Jungkook tore his eyes away and focused on what was happening in front of him. It was time for Abraham's group, Maggie, Glenn and Tara to depart for their trip. Jungkook had already hugged the pair extra tight, uttering to them promises of reunion and begging them to prioritise their safety over Eugene's. Tara had even offered him a fist-bump, which Jungkook had given her with slight confusion while Taehyung eagerly fist-bump her and did a little sound affect, pretending his fist blew up.

"This is our route to D.C. we'll stick to it as long as we're able, if not, you got our destination." Abraham gave Rick a map,  "Once Eugene gets to the big brains left up there, things are gonna bounce back." A smile lightened Abraham's face as his eyes scurried over the group, "This group should be there for it." Abraham's attention settled onto Rick, "You should be there for it."

"They will be." Maggie spoke up, unwavering confidence clear in her tone.

Michonne nodded her own agreement, "Yeah, we will."

Rick shifted to look at them, turning his attention from one person to the next until he saw all of their agreement, "Yeah, we will." He gruffed, turning to smile at Abraham as he waved the map between them.

"Let's go!" Abraham called out through a smile, pivoting around on his heel and marching his way over to the church bus.

Jungkook noticed the dubious, almost saddened look Glenn and Maggie shared before Glenn placed a hand on Maggie's back and nudged her towards the bus. Jungkook's smile slipped away, being replaced by a frown as he watched the pair climb into the bus and find their seats. They looked back at the group through the window, trying to seem hopeful as Abraham started the bus and shut the doors. Jungkook managed to share one last lingering smile with Maggie and Glenn before they began driving away.

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Without Maggie, Glenn and the boisterous Abraham, the group was more silent than the night prior. Perhaps the stiffness was also connected to the grief visible in Sasha's eyes and the grave resting near the oak tree. Jungkook could no longer handle the stiffness in the church, hence why the second Michonne volunteered to go watch the area, Jungkook pushed himself away from Taehyung and followed behind her.

Michonne took a note of his presence yet didn't comment. The pair made their way outside, making sure to shut the door to not let the coldness inside and sat down on the porch. Jungkook dug into his pocket for the pack of cigarettes he had pick-pocketed from Taehyung when the man hadn't been paying attention.

"You're smoking a lot." Michonne commented, eyeing the thing with some disdain.

Jungkook shrugged, lighting the cigarette, "Blame Taehyung." He uttered with the cigarette between his lips, "And only when bad shit happens, I'll stop when bad shit stops happening." He mumbled through the cloud of smoke, making Michonne shake her head.

"One day you and Taehyung will wake up and you'll find your cigarettes replaced by lollipops." She taunted lightheartedly, causing Jungkook to exhale a laugh.

"Good luck finding that many lollipops."

The door behind them creaked open and they turned to look, unexpectedly finding Gabriel lingering in the doorway, "Bad dreams, pastor?" Jungkook couldn't help tease, flicking the ashes off the cigarette.

Gabriel's face twisted and body became tense, he looked like a deer ready to bolt after hearing the comment, which only made Michonne jab at Jungkook's side.

"I can't sleep." Gabriel confirmed after collecting any leftover courage in his body, fully stepping out of the church. When neither of them said anything, Gabriel stepped closer and eventually sat down on Jungkook's other side with some hesitation. Gabriel glanced down at Jungkook's cigarette and swallowed but didn't dare comment on it, "And now, sitting in there..." He trailed off instead, "The quiet."

Jungkook dug his tongue into his cheek and chose to fill his lungs with smoke, instead of a potential response to Gabriel's words, "It isn't just what happened last night." The smoke burned at the back of his throat and crawled down into his lungs, "Saying what happened before, out loud, I see it all over again." Jungkook's face scrunched, feeling his stomach twist at the words Gabriel uttered, realising it was eerily similar to what he had felt yesterday after he had confessed what he had done to Taehyung. But what Jungkook had done was much worse than Gabriel passively standing by, but maybe it wasn't, maybe it was worse.

"It's like you're breathing life back into them." Jungkook puffed out the smoke, causing Gabriel's eyes to whip towards him before the priest nodded hesitantly.

"I hear them."

"Yeah." Michonne pushed out, "That won't stop." Jungkook clenched his jaw and looked at Michonne, as did Gabriel. Michonne glanced between them, only to settle her gaze on Jungkook in the end, "But it won't be all the time."

The nearby bushes crunched and rustled - Jungkook and Michonne recognising it as a sound of someone stepping through them. The two were up on their feet in an instant, Michonne pulling out the Katana she had gotten back the previous night after slaughtering Gareth's men, while Jungkook stamped out the cigarette and tugged out his dagger.

They approached the bushes, while Gabriel rushed back into the church. With their weapons raised and ready, and the rustling becoming louder and closer, they waited for the walker or person to step out. Jungkook didn't even realise he was holding his breath until the bushes parted and Daryl stepped out.

All of them froze before Jungkook's lungs filled with relief at the sight of him and a rare smile bloomed along the seam of his lips. His dagger lowered, just as Michonne's did and together they smiled at the man's return, that's until their eyes flickered behind Daryl and the lack of Carol's presence made their smiles falter.

"Where's Carol?" Michonne and Jungkook questioned in unison.

Daryl's face darkened before he turned to look over his shoulder and call out,

"Come out!"