The boys made their way through the edge of the city, hiding behind every corner when they saw walkers.

"Okay, you see that building over there? Once we passed that, we have to go right and then the woods will come into view. It won't be much longer till we reach the house once we're there." Hoseok whispered to Jeongguk, who had no idea unlike the other boys where they were headed.

Nodding, he said, "Alright. I'm right behind you guys, let's go then!" and he added a smile.

They jogged their way towards that building, going around the cars that were scattered everywhere.

"Fuck!" One of them hissed, making all of the others turn around to see what was happening.

Their eyes widened seeing a walker crawl out of a car, its hand dangerously close to grabbing Taehyung by his collar. He was pressed up against another car, not having anywhere to run off to for the moment.

Jeongguk flew into action again. Gripping his selfmade weapon tightly in his hand, he used it to puncture the creature right through its skull, knowing that that was the only way to kill it.

Unfortunately, he hadn't used enough force. He pulled the knife out, now using both hands, and took a step back, now slicing it down.

"Dude, you're cool as hell!" Taehyung grinned, swinging one arm around the boy who just saved him by cutting the being's arm off.

"We protect each other, right?" He smiled, mimicking Hoseok's words from earlier.

"Thank you for saving me."

A big smile was planted on Jeongguk's face, proud of himself and happy about the fact that he proved to the others that he would help provide protection.

"Tae! Are you alright?" The shortest figure rushed towards his side, checking for any injuries.

Taehyung patted him on his head, brushing his blonde locks out of his face. "I'm fine, Jiminie. Thanks to our new friend." He sent a wink Jeongguk's way.

"Alright, let's keep on going!" Namjoon said.

It began getting dark. And they all knew what that meant.

They passed the building and now turned right, heading straight for the woods.

"Ouch!" Someone shrieked, something crashing loudly.

"Namjoon, for fucks sakes! Mind where you're going!" Yoongi spat, pushing the man forward.

"Not my fault it's dark! It's not like I carry a flashlight!" He fired back.

"Let's just hope no walkers have heard it.." The sound of a softer voice next to Jeongguk made him turn his head.

What was there about that certain boy that was just so..
So...

He dug into his backpack and pulled out his flashlight, making way for everyone.

All of the boys turned their heads, eyes wide.

"God, where were you all this time? You come in handy." Seokjin joked.

They chuckled, picking up their pace.

"Jeongguk, can you hold up the flashlight to that way?"

He did as asked, seeing a house in the distance. In about seven minutes they'd be there.

"That's it! Pretty cool, huh?" Taehyung nudged the dark haired male's shoulder. "Yeah, it is. The house looks huge!"

"Yknow what's bigger? My d-"

"If you don't zip that mouth close right now young man, I'll shout. I'll shout and throw you to the walkers." Seokjin smiled innocently, but sent a glare towards Taehyung.

Not that he could see it in the darkness, but he could feel it. He knew, he just knew.

The boy shrugged, a playful smirk on his lips.

Jeongguk chuckled, shaking his head.

"You liked that, huh?" Taehyung teased the boy next to him.

"What? No I didn't. It was funny, that's all." Taehyung pushed the boy to the side, staring in his eyes.
Jeongguk pushed back, laughing.

That continued for about three rounds, until Yoongi, the annoyed man he was, had enough of it and took it upon himself to stop them.

He kicked Taehyung in his leg from behind, the boy stumbling over and collapsing on the ground.

Jeongguk quickly shone his flashlight in Taehyung's direction, all of them freezing at the sight.

The male was laying flat on the dirt, hands on the ground, having direct eye contact with a walker that was in the exact same position as him.

"Tae! Shit!" The boy was frozen on the ground, face drained from all its color.

His eyes couldn't leave the thing in front of him. Teeth fallen out, the rotten smell that hit him like a truck. One eye missing and the other grey-ish, scratches all over its terrifying face with blood all over it. A part of his 'skin' was missing, cheekbones and jaw on full display.

He looked down and noticed that his fingers, which were only bones, still moved. Nothing else did, only the fingers. The pointy finger tried to grab onto Taehyung's sleeve, the thumb made contact with his hand.

"I think the walker is actually dead. Come on, Taehyung. Stand up." Jeongguk helped him back on his feet, still aiming the flashlight at the walker that hadn't reacted for as far as he could see.

Out of curiosity, he poked the creature.

Nothing.

He shrugged, turning his back towards it to check up on the still frozen male.

"Are you alright? This is the second time I've saved you." He chuckled, trying to somehow brighten up the mood.

"Yoongi, you moron, don't be so ignorant! See what you did?!" Hoseok fumed at him, noticing Taehyung's emotions.

Yoongi sighed, staring at the poor boy, not muttering a word.

"Thank god it's dead. It could've been a lot worse.." Seokjin said, everyone agreeing.

"Tae.." Jimin put his hand on his shoulder, turning him his way so he could look him in his eyes.

He looked traumatized.

"Oh, Tae.." Jimin sighed sadly, wrapping his arms around him.

Whilst they were distracted, Jeongguk didn't see the creature that he presumed was dead now moved its entire arm, slowly but surely nearing his foot to grab on to it.

"Watch out!" Jimin shrieked, who saw what was happening because of the way he was hugging his friend.

Jeongguk hastily turned around, eyes widening.

He raised his foot and stomped down on the walker's boney hand, loud cracks making them all cringe in disgust.

"That was a close call.." he pfew'ed.

"Let's just keep trudging on.." Hoseok said, pulling Taehyung together with Jimin with him, walking ahead.

Jeongguk together with Namjoon and Jin following closely behind, his flashlight making it easier to see.

It was pitch dark now.

They knew they had been loud, but luckily for them, they now entered the woods, far away from the center of the city where most of the walkers were.

"We're here!" Namjoon said, walking up the porch and opening up the front door.

They all walked inside, switching the lights on.

Jeongguk's mouth fell open, it was great.

"Okay, all of the windows are sealed off. So no one has to worry about anything other than human getting inside without us noticing. I'll lock the door right now, we can be a bit louder here since we're so far away. The walls muffle our sounds too, so for now we're safe." Namjoon commented, smiling.

"The kitchen is over there," Seokjin pointed, "the living room is over there -the TV unfortunately doesn't work though- and every other room pretty much explains itself. Upstairs are the bedrooms and the bathrooms. Sleep wherever you'd like!" He smiled at Jeongguk.

The boy nodded, "Thanks! Will do!"

They went separate ways, all trying to entertain themselves for the night.

Jeongguk decided to explore the house for a bit. It's the first time he has been in a home for a long time. He forgot how nice it felt.

God, I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't encountered these guys.

He walked up the stairs, glancing inside all of the rooms to see what bedroom he'd like. Most of them looked already occupied, so he went to look for one that wasn't.

He sighed in content once he let himself fall on a bed in some room he had chosen, closing his eyes.

He had missed this feeling.

"Thank you for saving me twice today."

The sudden deep voice made him jolt up. "You scared me." He laughed. "Don't worry about it! I'm glad I could save you. Although, you should be more careful! Wouldn't want you to get bitten or scratched."

Taehyung finally smiled again, entering the room.

"Yknow, JK, I'm glad we met you. Not only because you saved my ass twice and I probably wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you, but also because you said you were all alone. You have us now. Things will get better."

Tears welled up in Jeongguk's eyes. He wasn't going to cry, but his emotions had been on a rollercoaster lately. He went from the feeling of absolute hopelessness near ending it all to.. This. Whatever this was. It was in either case a hundred times better than what he had before, even if it was less safe than he was used to.

Taehyung squatted in front of the boy who was sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling gently at him.

"Call me whenever you need something, alright? I'm sure we'll be great friends! Oh, also, if you want to, you can come to our room! Jiminie and I share a room, there are three beds in it. One is unoccupied." He winked.

Laughing, he nodded.

"Sure! Why not?"