-Can't catch me now-
Olivia Rodrigo
01:43 ━━━━●───── 03:50
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Jungkook's lashes brushed against the skin under his eyes and a soft smile grazed his lips as he sat on the porch of the house. A breeze wafted across the empty field, pushing a strand of hair out of his face and filling his lungs with the scent of grass. The sun was peaking over the horizon, casting a warm glow onto his face and making his smile appear golden. The strands of light warmed his skin and made the air around him feel serene. For once, he enjoyed the silence encasing him.

The door behind him clicked open and the sound of approaching steps nudged at his ears. Jungkook's eyes fluttered open and he turned to look at Carol as she sat down next to him. The woman offered him a glass of orange juice and then placed a box of medicine between them, "Found a box of juice in the pantry, hope it's not spoiled." Carol murmured as Jungkook reached out to take the glass from her hand, "I also found some medicine, thought maybe you should drink some considering you've been running around with wet clothes." She lifted her hand and pressed the back of it against Jungkook's forehead, "You're warmer than usual but not burning."

Jungkook swallowed down a mouthful of orange juice, his tongue curled at the citrusy tang and his belly shifted in agreement to the taste, "The sun's warming me up." He mumbled against the rim of the glass.

Carol pulled her hand away and offered him a shrug, "Shouldn't risk it." She picked up the box of medicine and started reading the label at the back, "You need to drink two spoonfuls a day, let's do one for now and if you get sick I'll give you two." Carol ripped the box open and pulled out the plastic spoon and bottle, she dropped the carton box on the stairs and screwed the lid open before pouring it into the little spoon, "Open up." She wore a teasing grin as she hovered the spoon before his lips, prompting him to part his lips with a scarlet blush on his cheeks.

"I'm not a kid." He grumbled before wrapping his lips around the spoon and gulping down the bitter liquid. His face scrunched as the medicine crawled down his throat and he immediately drank another mouthful of orange juice.

Carol rolled her eyes playfully and put the medicine back in the box, "I met you when you were a kid." She muttered into the air, "Back at the farm when Rick told us he had met you and wanted you to join us, I was skeptical, especially with Randall being there. I didn't know if we could trust you but when I brought you those scrambled eggs and you looked at me for the first time with those big, innocent eyes, I understood why Rick wanted you to be one of us."

"Do you often think about it?" Jungkook asked with a small glance at her out of the corner of his eye, he could see Carol's smile dim and eyes become cloudy with sadness, "The farm?" He mumbled hesitantly, not wanting to overwhelm the woman with the past.

Carol exhaled through her nose and gazed out at the field, "I try not to." She whispered eventually, offering a small grimace, "I know that for the others, the farm signified simpler times in their lives but for me, the farm was a dark period filled with anxiety and grief. Even before that, I can't think of a good moment in my life without Ed looming over me, but at least then I had my little girl by my side." Carol sighed, allowing her shoulders to slump and arms to curl around her waist, "The only comfort I have is knowing that Sophia was too bright and innocent for this new world, and I didn't have to see her lose that light to survive."

Jungkook swallowed the lump in his throat, rolling his words around his mouth in search of a proper response, "I don't know what to say to make you feel better." He blurted, wincing as soon as the words left his mouth.

Carol cracked a short laugh, "You don't have to say anything, I've grieved my little girl a long time ago. The pain remains but it's gotten easier to live with it." She nodded at the door to the house, "Mika reminds me of her, or rather who she could've been if Ed hadn't been in our lives."

"What about Lizzie?" Jungkook dared to ask, observing the way Carol pressed her lips into a thin line and furrowed her brows.

"I can't figure her out." Carol murmured with a small shake of her head, "Two days ago, I saw her playing outside with a walker and when I killed it, she started screaming about how I had killed her friend. She thinks they're her friends and doesn't want to kill them. That's what that conversation yesterday was about." Carol looked torn and puzzled about it, Jungkook could see it in her eyes that she wanted to help the girl and fix her way of thinking but she didn't know how, "I think she's starting to understand though, seeing her sister be in danger yesterday must've shown her that they're not friends."

"It must be hard growing up in this world," Jungkook commented with a scowl, "Carl was younger than her when everything started, it was easier for him to adjust to the change, he probably doesn't even remember how the world was before. For Lizzie the change was a drastic shift, she didn't have time to get used to losing her friends, school and even things like watching the tv, or going to a playground. Her brain must've tried to find another way to adapt - replacing the fear she feels towards walkers by viewing them as friends instead."

"That's an interesting way to look at it." Carol hummed in agreement, "I was concerned about her mental state and I always wondered if she was in a normal world, would a psychiatrist help."

"Probably." Carol's shoulders slumped at that and Jungkook quickly parted his lips to make her feel better, "But we have to work with what we got and I think you're doing an incredible job with guiding them into their teenage years."

Carol thanked with a grateful quirk of her lips before brushing her hands against her pants and pushing herself up to her feet, "I'm going to start making breakfast, any special requests?" She paused, waiting for an answer.

"Sushi?" Jungkook beamed up at her with a twinkle in her eyes.

The woman snorted and tapped the back of his head, "Sushi, he says." Jungkook stood up and followed her into the house, the glass of orange juice still in his hands, "You'll get porridge and maybe I'll give you a dollop of jam on top."

Jungkook snickered and plopped down at the table in the kitchen, setting the glass of juice in front of him. Carol started rummaging through the cabinets until she found the box of oats, then grabbed one of the pots and placed it on the stove. She grabbed a bottle of water and poured some into the pot before flipping the switches and causing a ring of blue flames to light up on the stove.

As Carol was pouring the oats into the pot, the sound of shuffling steps reached their ears. They looked up just in time to see Tyreese enter the room with a sleepy Judith propped against his chest, and Lizzie and Mika shuffling behind him. Lizzie's braid had untangled during her sleep with strands of blond hair puffed up in a tangled mess, while Mika looked a bit more tamed but was busy rubbing her eyes and yawning into her hand.

Tyreese opened the pantry to take out a jar of apple sauce for Judith, "What's for breakfast?" He asked as he unscrewed the lid and pulled open one of the drawers to fetch a spoon.

"Not sushi," Carol sent a pointed stare at Jungkook, "Porridge." She answered Tyreese's question when she noticed the look of confusion on his face.

Mika perked up, gifting the world her first smile of the day, "I love porridge!"

"We had it yesterday." A sleepy Lizzie murmured but Jungkook didn't detect any complaint in her voice.

Mika rolled her eyes and frowned, "Carol makes it taste good."

Jungkook glanced between the girls with a quirked brow and a smile he hid behind his fingers, "Carol also promised jam." He whispered to them, earning himself two bright smiles.

Carol huffed a laugh, nodding at Tyreese to pull out the raspberry jam they had found at the back. Tyreese placed the spoon back in the jar, wiping the apple sauce off Judith's lips before reaching out to open the pantry and grab the said jam, "When's the last time you had jam, girls?" Tyreese asked the pair.

Mika brushed her messy hair out of her face as she pondered over the question before her eyes lit up with a sudden memory, "Mr.Dixon brought it to prison that one time, it was really good."

Jungkook choked on the juice he was drinking, forcing it down before releasing a noise that sounded like a laugh and a cough, "Mr.Dixon." He choked between laughs, making Carol snicker and her eyes glint mischievously as if she stored this moment in her head to tease Daryl later.

Carol turned the fire off and started pulling five bowls out of the cupboards, "Alright, girls, what do you want to do after breakfast?" She raised a curious brow as she started filling the bowls with porridge.

While Mika seemed to think about it, Lizzie was struck by an idea, "What about a picnic? I found a large blanket in the closet." She suggested with a tint of nervousness seeping into her words and Jungkook brushed it off as insecurity of being shut down.

"That's a fine idea." Carol hummed in agreement, placing the bowls of porridge in front of the girls, then Jungkook, "Now, who wants jam?" She wiggled the jar in the air, grinning when the girls straightened out and shut up their hands.

"Me!"

Carol unscrewed the lid and grabbed a spoon, walking around the table to plop a spoonful into their bowls. Jungkook smiled gratefully when Carol filled his bowl, "Thank you." He mumbled, earning himself a hair ruffle.

The girls already dug into their food while Tyreese was busy feeding Judith and Carol only now sat down to eat at the head of the table. Jungkook mixed the jam into his porridge before raising it to his mouth, his tongue melted against the roof of his mouth and his stomach grumbled at the weight of the food.

They were eating in comfortable silence until Mika voiced what was in her mind, "We could make it a tea party, Griselda would love that." She spoke around the spoon in her mouth.

"Don't eat with your mouth full." Carol pointed her spoon at the younger girl while Jungkook eyed the room in search of the missing doll, "Where is Griselda anyway?" He lifted a brow, snorting when Mika's face dropped for a moment before her eyes lit back up.

"She wanted to sleep a little longer." She shot back her response, creating a swirl of pride in Jungkook's chest from her quick response.

"Alright," Carol cleared her throat and caused their attention to bounce towards her, "Finish your food and wash your plates when you're done, I'll braid your hair, then I'll check Jungkook's jaw while Tyreese helps you set up the picnic outside."

Everyone voiced their agreement and Jungkook couldn't fight the smile tugging at his lips when he noticed how the girls started eating faster.

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The scratches on Jungkook's jaw still burned from Carol cleaning them. He tried not to lift his hand to his face to scratch them but couldn't fight the scrunch of his face at the itchiness. Carol noticed but didn't comment on it, only sent him a pointed stare to warn him not to touch the injury.

The three of them, Carol, Tyreese and Jungkook had left the girls at the house while they scoured the area. That's what they told the girls but, in reality, they wanted to discuss what they were going to do next. They had made sure to lay a blanket on the ground in front of the house and had brought out a few cups for Mika to play tea party.

They traveled further away from the house, enjoying the peaceful walk. Jungkook was glowing under the gentle caress of the sun and his ears perked up at the sound of the crickets hiding in the grass, he inhaled a lungful of fresh grass and blooming flower scent. Carol seemed just as at ease but as Jungkook peered over at Tyreese, he noticed the cloudy expression on his face.

"The girls like it here." Carol spoke through a serene smile, not noticing how silent Tyreese had been this entire time, "We could build it up, plant some food. We could find a car for an escape route, just in case." Carol sucked in a deep breath and turned to face Tyreese, "If you don't want to go to Terminus, we could stay."

Tyreese stared back at her, bags dark beneath his eyes, before he forced a heavy smile onto his face, "We could." Carol nodded at that and turned to Jungkook, only for Tyreese to continue speaking, "It doesn't mean we can't go someday. It's just.." His words got stuck in his throat and he looked down, neither Carol nor Jungkook said anything, waiting for Tyreese to compose himself, "When we were getting closer and closer, I realized..." He looked up at them with exhaustion clear in his eyes, "..I'm just not ready to be around other people yet."

"You don't have to." Carol offered softly, turning around to take a few steps away from them. Jungkook's eyes flickered between her back and Tyreese's glum expression.

Tyreese swallowed and placed his hand against the oak tree next to him, almost slumping into the tree as he uttered his next words, "I dream about Karen, I see her every night and every time I forget she's dead." Jungkook's face dropped at that and Carol was forced to face them, "Sometimes we just talk, sometimes I see her in a crowd, in a city I've never been to and it's back before everything happened. And then..." Tyreese choked on his words, blinking rapidly to fight away the images he saw behind his eyelids, "Some night, bad ones, I see someone kill her. Some stranger. Then I...I lose her all over again."

Tyreese patted the tree before pushing himself away from it and dragging his feet closer to Carol. The woman turned around to face him, staring at him with tear-filled eyes, "That's the deal, right? The people who are living are haunted by the dead." Tyreese eyes flickered over to Jungkook and the man couldn't face the heaviness of his gaze so he turned away, "We are who we are and we do what we do 'cause they're still here. In our heads, in the forest, the whole world is haunted now and there's no way of getting out of that." Tyreese looked around as though he could see the ghosts of his loved ones hiding amongst the trees, "Not until we're dead."

Jungkook rolled his tongue over his cheek, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing down at the crushed flower beneath his shoe, "Tyreese." Carol's voice was meek as she uttered his name, causing Jungkook's brows to furrow and eyes to flicker up at her. Emotion after emotion zipped across Carol's face, her eyes flickered and a tear rolled down her cheek before she pushed out, "Maybe they're not haunting us, maybe they're just teaching us. Helping remind us so.." Carol wiped the tear away with her sleeve and tore her eyes away from Tyreese, "...so that we can live with what we have to do."

"Hey." Tyreese leaned down and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to meet her eyes while Carol was wiping her nose into her sleeve, "Don't you ever be ashamed of who you are, Carol." Tyreese's eyes flickered over her shoulder to make sure his words were also aimed at Jungkook before looking back down at Carol, "You did right by those girls, you did right by everyone." He nodded before opening his arms and pulling Carol into a hug.

The woman sniffled and huffed out a breath against Tyreese's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his back. Jungkook turned away from them to give them some privacy, blinking away the sting of tears in his eyes and flicking the tip of his nose to force away the snot filling his nostrils.

They hugged for a few more minutes before Carol pulled away and wiped her snot into her shirt. Jungkook dared to turn around yet didn't dare to break the silence that had fallen upon the group. He observed Carol's slumped shoulders and the way she couldn't lift her eyes from the ground, wondering what they went through before Jungkook had found them.

Tyreese was the person who popped the little bubble of tension encasing the group by clearing his throat, "Do you still want to go to Terminus?" He asked Jungkook and the latter could see it in his eyes that he already knew his answer.

"I do." Jungkook whispered - voice raspy from staying silent, he cleared his throat and glanced between them, "I'm not asking you to go and I'm not judging you for staying. I wouldn't want the girls to be in danger if something goes wrong." Jungkook paused to go over his scattered thoughts, "Maybe it's for the best," he offered with a weak smile, "I'll go there and find the others before bringing them back here. At least then we'd have a place to return to, though we should agree on a meeting spot in case you have to leave this place."

Carol nodded with a leftover sniff, wiping her hands against her pants, "Let's go back to the house, I have a map, we can agree on a meeting place then." With those words, she started trudging towards the house - being followed by Jungkook and Tyreese who shared hesitant smiles.

"Mika and I saw a deer, we should go hunting soon." Carol started the new conversation, pulling at the strap of her gun when her shoulder started to ache.

Jungkook quirked a brow, "So, you have enough food to stay here until I return with the others."

Carol seemed to hesitate for a moment, only to shake her head a second later, "Mika didn't want to shoot it and the deer ran away." She grimaced, just as they walked around the shrubbery and allowed the White House to slip into their line of sight.

Tyreese waved her off with a short laugh, "We'll get one yet, probably not even deer season."

Jungkook didn't even feel irritated at the news, only felt fondness towards the girl and her soft heart, "Me and the others will probably gather some supplies on the road too, we'll be fine."

Carol hummed, trampling through the heavy grass and kicking away the branches that tangled around her ankles, "My husband used to hunt, he'd tell the same stupid joke every year." She dragged out with annoyance.

"You gonna tell it?" Tyreese prodded and Carol rolled her eyes, while Jungkook groaned playfully, "Please don't tell me it's a Taehyung-type joke."

Carol laughed at Jungkook's words before answering Tyreese's question, "Well, I guess I have to now, right?" When the others hummed eagerly, she presented the joke, "Okay, what's the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts? Beer nuts are around 1.79 and deer nuts are just under a buck."

Tyreese wheezed a laugh, "That's a good stupid but in no way is it stupid good."

Jungkook snorted, "That's a Taehyung-style joke, imma remember that one and tell him." He nudged at Carol's back, "You don't mind me stealing your jokes, right?"

"Steal away, there's more where that came from." She waved him off with a smile, twisting back around to face the house they had reached.

Jungkook grinned, only to pause in his steps when Carol stopped walking, causing him to nearly bump into her back. His smile quivered and his eyes flickered up to look over her shoulder to see what she was staring at. And when he saw, his smile crumbled and a spear of horror slammed through his chest. His world tilted and breath got knocked into his lungs, he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet or his own body holding his soul hostage, it felt like he was floating above the ground, looking down at the scene before him.

Because at the front of the house where they had left the girls, stood a beaming Lizzie. Blood stained her hands and dripped down her fingers. A pocket knife dangled in her right hand and behind her, lay the lifeless body of Mika.

Jungkook was pulled forward when Carol and Tyreese started sprinting towards her. He couldn't feel his feet slam against the ground, nor could he tear his eyes away from the scene. He could only spectate from the deepest corner of his mind, watching as they skidded to a stop in front of Lizzie, watching as the girl's smile widened into a grin and her hand curled tighter around the bloody knife.

"Don't worry, she'll come back! I didn't hurt her brain." He could barely hear the girl's chirp - feeling as though his head was shoved into a bucket of water.

Slowly, he dragged his eyes towards Mika and felt his breath get knocked into his lungs when he saw her pale complexion and the splatters of blood on her cheeks. Her chest wasn't moving and her shirt was torn at the hem, revealing the stab wound in her belly. And next to her dead body lay a doll with bright red hair. Jungkook stumbled back on trembling legs, falling into a crouched position when they gave out under his weight. He pressed his hands against his face and exhaled his first quivering breath into his palms.

His next inhale came with a flood of emotion, they crashed down on his chest, squeezing so painfully it was hard to breathe or think about anything else. He sucked in a shallow breath, trying to breathe through the ball lodged in the back of his throat yet failed when a sharp wail threatened to bounce past his lips.

It felt like an eternity spent in hell when he lifted his face out of his hands, for a moment he hoped he was trapped in a nightmare and desperately begged to break out of this reality, but when his eyes latched onto Mika's lifeless body, the reality breezed through him like a knife carving through butter. For a split moment when he blinked, Mika's body quivered and in her place, he saw Marley. Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut and dug his fingers into his eyes, forcing away the urge to claw them out.

He could hear the sound of Carol's pants and her attempt to grab the knife from Lizzie's hand, only for the click of a gun to echo through the air. Jungkook's eyes snapped open and dragged over to the girl, he didn't blink as he watched her point the gun at Carol, "No, no, no, we have to wait! I need to show you. You'll see, you'll finally get it. We have to wait!" Lizzie called desperately - her eyes blown wide and bloody fingers wrapped around the gun.

Jungkook's heart was empty as he stared at the girl, his breaths slow as they slipped through his parted lips. He shook his head and smacked his palm against the side of his head as if it would snap him out of it but all it did was make his head throb and stomach swirl with vomit. Next to him, Tyreese took a cautious step forward and lifted his hand as if to ease the girl, "Lizzie, put the gun down." He breathed - voice heavy with emotion and features still pulled tight with shock.

"I just want us to wait." Lizzie cried out as she held the gun up to Carol's chest, her voice cracked and eyes zipped between them in desperation for them to see her side.

"We can wait."

The sound of Carol's quivering voice grabbed a handful of Jungkook's hair and ripped his head out of the water. He felt dizzy as he pressed his hands against his knees and stood up. His legs were numb and eyes were slowly filling with tears yet he still turned to look at Carol. She looked worn down with her pale skin and trembling lips, her eyes were red from a rush of oncoming tears she kept blinking away and her hand shook as she extended it towards Lizzie.

"We can wait, just give me the gun." Carol tried to reassure her through watery eyes and plastic eagerness, "We can wait, I swear." She promised with a weak quirk of her lips - the smile appearing for a second only to fall just as quickly.

Lizzie hesitated.

Her eyes flickered between their faces and then the gun, her hand shook and expression cracked with fragile trust before she took a step forward and cautiously placed the gun into Carol's hand. The greying woman dropped her hand to her side, clinging onto the gun with so much force her bones threatened to crack, "You and Tyreese should take Judith back, you know it's not safe for her." Carol spoke numbly - her expression of horror contrasting the firmness of her voice.

Lizzie's brows furrowed at her words, "But Judith can change, too, I was just about to.." She trailed off with a weak glance towards the toddler lying on the blanket.

Jungkook sucked in a sharp breath, pressing his hand against his mouth to keep his vomit locked behind his teeth, while Carol cut her off, "She can't even walk yet." her voice finally cracked after hearing what Lizzie was about to do the innocent baby.

Lizzie seemed to think about it before bobbing her head in agreement, "Yeah, you're right." And then a smile like a flower bloomed along the seam of her lips.

Carol exhaled a slow breath as she gestured at Judith, "So you two take Judith back to the house and we'll have lunch." She forced her lips to form a smile but it came across as a painful grimace, "And I'll just, I'll.." Carol choked on her words, only to quickly clear her throat and peer over at Mika, "I'll just tie Mika up, you know, just so she won't go anywhere."

"Promise that's what you'll do?" Lizzie asked with a hint of hope, blinking innocently up at Carol.

Carol rolled her lips together, creating a sound that resembled a hum, "I promise." She stated and then looked down at Mika, "I'll use her shoelaces." Her voice cracked once more before she tore her eyes away and turned to look at Tyreese and Jungkook. The corners of her lips trembled as she tried to fight against the emotion wreaking through her chest and attempted to force a smile onto her face.

Tyreese cleared his throat and took a cautious step forward, so stiff it felt like his boots were encased in concrete. He took another, then another until he reached the edge of the blanket and was able to bend down and pick Judith up. The girl emitted a noise of complaint but Tyreese quickly bounced her to make her relax. He stood up and faced Lizzie, hesitating before stepping up to the girl and nudging her to move towards the house.

As they were walking away, Lizzie peered back at them over her shoulder and seemed to eye them before forcing herself to turn her back on them. Jungkook watched every step they took with a bated breath, counting the growing distance between them. And when they were far enough, Jungkook witnessed Carol break. Her face scrunched with so much agony that the emotion drifted over to Jungkook and pierced through his ribs. Tears welled in her eyes and poured down her cheeks as she curled into herself - gripping her knees before hurling Lizzie's gun against the ground.

The woman straightened out, swaying on her feet as she pushed the gun off her shoulder and reached down to pull out her knife. That's when Jungkook's tongue pressed against the back of his teeth to form the call of her name, "Carol." But the woman didn't hear him, only gripped onto her knife with trembling fingers and released wet wheezes, "Carol." Jungkook repeated and slowly approached her until he shielded Mika's body with his chest.

"Give me the knife." Jungkook exhaled and reached down to brush the tips of his fingers against Carol's knuckles.

The woman's eyes snapped up, revealing the grief hidden behind her lashes and the pain filling her eyes in the form of tears, "No." Carol choked out, pulling her hand back, "You need to...you need to go, I'll..." Carol released a hushed sob, immediately clamping her lips shut to force the sound down.

"You don't have to." Jungkook exhaled, softening his eyes and trying to force his lips upward but the smile was so fragile it crumbled under the weight of his sorrow, "Please, let me do this."

Carol sucked in a deep breath, not meeting his eyes as Jungkook slipped the knife out of her hand and into his own, "Don't look." He mumbled, feeling his throat clog and his hand become limp from the weight of the knife in his hand. He didn't blink or look away from Carol's scrunched, tear-stained face until she gave him a barely-there nod and stumbled around. 

She didn't witness the way Jungkook's own face shattered to reveal the grief and sadness squeezing through the cracks of his facade. It filled his eyes with tears as if a dam had finally broken in his chest, allowing his body to flood with the emotion he kept locked away. He pressed his lips together to not release a sound as he hesitantly twisted around on his heel. He didn't dare look down at Mika's body, instead chose to stare up at the trees as he shuffled forward.

Jungkook still didn't look at her as he crouched down by her side and lowered his hand until it made contact with her shoulder. He flinched away, hand flying back as if burned and eyes squeezing shut so tight they threatened to pop out of the sockets, don't make Carol do this, you have to carry this weight for her, he whispered in his mind, exhaling a slow breath and numbing his emotions with his next inhale.

Jungkook's eyes slipped open and then dragged down until they caressed Mika's pale, blood-splattered cheeks and her unmoving chest. An ocean of tears filled his eyes and the very first one dripped down his cheek, he could do nothing but watch as it fell and melted into Mika's shirt. He clamped his teeth around his lower lip and tried to breathe through the snot stuffing his nose.

Ever so carefully, he reached out and pressed his trembling fingers against the side of her head. The strands of her hair tickled his palm and for a moment, he imagined her waking up. Not as a walker. As a human who decided with her sister to play a cruel joke on them because this is exactly what it was - a cruel joke.

Jungkook lifted the knife to her head until the tip hovered over her temple and swung his eyes away before the sight could stitch itself into his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut and with his next breath, he plunged the knife into Mika's temple. He shuddered as he felt the blade cut into her skin and pierce through the bone. He didn't hesitate to pull the knife out and drop it onto the ground, treating it as a stick drenched in poison.

And then he fell onto his ass.

Tears still slid down his cheeks and his inhales turned harsher until they were replaced by pants. He peered over at Carol and found the woman sitting on the ground with her back turned to him, her knees were pulled to her chest and arms were wrapped around them. Jungkook could see her shoulders shaking and hear the occasional sound of a muffled cry.

Jungkook tilted his head down, eyes unblinking and chest empty as he looked over at Griselda. The doll's beady eyes were blank as if its life had been sucked out along with Mika's. An empty smile carved out a place on top of Jungkook's lips and he bent over Mika's body to grab the doll. Its dress was drenched with blood, staining Jungkook's hands and causing his mind to darken. He placed the doll against Mika's chest before curling his fingers around her wrists and gently wrapping her arms around it.

Jungkook spent a moment just staring at her - gaze caressing her button nose and chubby cheeks, gliding over the doll she hugged to her chest. The one thing that eased him was the lack of tension in her shoulders and the smooth line of her brow. Perhaps she was at peace, perhaps she was happier now. The thoughts were as gentle as a breeze hence why they were so easy to sweep away by much heavier ones. But how cruel that she wasn't even given a chance to fight, to survive and thrive.

"Jungkook." Carol whispered faintly, making him stiffen and drag his eyes over at her, only to find himself sinking beneath Carol's withered gaze, "Is it done?"

A string of tension snapped in his chest and a weight of something heavy slammed into the pit of his stomach, "Soon." He mumbled back, pressing his hands against the ground sit in a crouching position. He then slipped his arms beneath Mika's body and picked her up, choking out a sound when he realized how light she was in his arms. He didn't look down at her, just walked over to the blanket laid down on the ground and lowered her into it. He took hold of the corners of the blanket and curled them around her body until she was covered.

He then stood up and approached Carol until he was looming over her, "It's over." He watched as the woman's face cracked again, the way her eyes squeezed shut and lips rolled together. Carol gave him a jerky nod yet remained unmoving. The sight of her so broken made a needle of sorrow pierce Jungkook's lungs, causing them to deflate like balloons. He didn't say anything to her, only lowered himself down on the ground next to her and gazed out at the field.

It was twisted - the way the sun was shining so bright in the sky, the way the flies buzzed around them, the way the grasshoppers played their song, the way the wind swept the overgrown grass into a dance, and the way the flowers emitted their scent. It left a bitter taste on Jungkook's tongue and sprinkled the burning embers of anger down his shirt. Yet he remained silent and unmoving by Carol's side, hoping that at least his presence would soothe her grief.

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How are you feeling?

I've seen this episode a hundred times and I have never felt so....heavy, I guess writing it is different than just seeing it.