Avery

Taehyung and I sat in the small room staring at each other like foreign objects. Yet we felt like we had seen each other before. His skin was almost translucent like
mine. His eyes that of a milky gray.

We were ghastly-ghost like humans. That somehow managed to stay alive even with the bone breaking coughs that splintered our souls. Taking our friends and family away in waves. Whether it be the virus or the sheer depression that shoved a pistol in their mouths.

"How?"

He asked me the same question I was wondering, myself. How were we still alive? How, when so many others were gone? My answer remained the same.

"I don't know."

"How were you able to travel for so long without your friend catching it?"

"My best friend just died..." I mumbled. Taehyung's face fell.

"So, I was right..."

"What?"

He looked up at me, his eyes filled with tears.

"No one is safe."

I shook my head solemnly. No one was safe. We needed a cure.

"Melanie will be in soon."

"Who?"

"She's the scientist working on a cure."

I looked at him skeptically. What's one lone scientist going to do? That so many others have not been able to.

"She is the best we have. We trust her completely."

I just nodded.

Three taps at the door sounded, followed by a woman with curly red hair that fell past her shoulders. She wore a white lab coat, covering a yellow dress with delicate flowers on it and little white flats.

"Oh, hi." She smiled softly, moving to sit on the bed next to Taehyung. Quietly she pulled out a pen and notepad, preparing to take notes.

"Melanie, this is Avery... he too received the vaccine."

Like all the others, her eyes grew wide. Shortly after she bounced a little in place, excitement taking over.

"This could help tremendously."

Taehyung smiled, squeezing the excited woman's shoulders.

"That's good."

She looked at me, taking in every inch that she could. Jotting down notes while her eyes scanned. We sat for what seemed like hours while she wrote down things in her small green notebook, before she said another word.

"How are you feeling right now?" Melanie asked, tapping the pen against her chin. Taehyung looked at me expectantly as well. Like dude, aren't you in the same shit creek as me?

"Like I got hit by a bus and dragged down the street for a while."

"That bad, huh?"

I nodded. She looked over at Taehyung.

"Same."

Melanie sighed, writing some more notes down in her notebook. She then turned to her little purple fanny pack on her side that I hadn't noticed before and pulled out two tubes. Gently laying them on the bed beside her, she went to pull more medical supplies from her bag.

"What's that for?" I moved closer to the newspapered window.

"To draw blood, so I can test it. Then hopefully come up with a cure."

I hate needles. If my face wasn't already so friggin pale it would be at this precise moment.

Taehyung held out his arm with a sigh. He didn't seem to mind being poked at all. Either that or he was just used to it by now. I cringed watching the blood rush into the little vial.

My head felt a bit woozy, so I turned around to look at the white walls.

"Bit squeamish around blood, Sweetheart?" She had a comforting tone. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw her carefully placing the blood filled vials back in her purple pack.

"Seen a lot of it lately is all." I muttered. Taehyung held a cotton ball to his arm, watching me as I went to sit opposite of Melanie.

"You get used to it."

"Sure."

I sat there with my eyes squeezed shut. Melanie's soft warm hand rested gently on my forearm while the other hand cleaned the area for the needle. A slight pinch from the needle and a grimace from myself later, blood worked its way into a similar tiny vial like the one she used for Taehyung.

"Okay, that should do it." Melanie gave my shoulder a squeeze. Then she left us in silence.

Y/N

"You just leave him in there all alone?" I shouted at Namjoon who stared at me like I had a second head coming out my neck.

"His choice."

"It's stupid! You need social interaction! He needs someone to talk to!"

"Stop yelling..." Yoongi grumbled, shoving a pillow over his head on the couch. I shot him a dirty look. Which he didn't see, obviously. My head snapped back to Namjoon who threw his hands up.

"He just wants us to be safe."

I let out a deep sigh. He was right, it was safer. However, Taehyung just snatched the only friend I had into that room with him. Rather the only friend I had left.

Jimin stood with arms crossed leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen. His face seemed perplexed.

When he spoke, his voice broke like he was on the verge of tears.

"D-did you k-know him long?" His soft eyes drifted to Lucas' body on the floor.

"A good while."

He pushed off the wall closing the gap between us and hugged me. If it wasn't for the circumstances I would have been squealing.

But I wasn't.

"I'm so sorry..." he cried softly. I patted his back while watching Namjoon pace back and forth. 

This has been hard on everyone. The fact that all of BTS has survived felt like a beacon of hope for me. Jimin stood there hugging me for a little longer, before releasing me to follow Jungkook into the kitchen.

"Are you getting banana milk?" He asked as they disappeared. I heard Jungkook mumble something about the apocalypse then nothing.

Hobi sat down on the sofa, his legs crossed, tapping the top of Yoongi's pillow with his index finger.

"Stop it." Yoongi's muffled angry voice growled from underneath. I stifled a laugh.

It was so surreal to be in this room with them. I am quite happy and yet utterly heartbroken from the loss of a friend.

Melanie

"There are two of them!"

"What?"

I rocked back and forth on my heels as I whispered into my phone.

"Taehyung isn't the only one!"

Silence from the other end. Either she didn't believe me or she lost focus again.

"Corkey?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear me?"

"Yes... I uh... who is it?" I could hear her clicking her thumb nail. She did that when she was upset or nervous.

"Are you okay?"

"Trolls in the dungeon." Then the line went dead.

Fear rushed through me. What if they finally found us? They had been trying for months now to capture us. They didn't want the cure. They said the population was still too high.

But it's been radio silent for weeks now. No one dared come out of their houses. Everyone lived in fear. How I ended up here in the Penthouse of BTS. I wasn't really a scientist. I just knew how to decipher things better than most people.

My phone chimed.

::My Love:: Bebee, I'm okay. It was just Amber asking if we had toilet paper. False alarm.

I heaved a great sigh of relief as the machine whirled to life. Tapping some keys on the keyboard, I started the grueling process. I felt terrible for testing these things out on squirrels, but they seemed to be the only animals we could catch.

Petey, he was a sweet one. He would sit on my shoulder while I worked. I didn't want to test out anything on him. But as time goes, my specimens ran low and he was my final hope. Him and Toffee that is.

Hours passed by when the light finally turned green.

"Impossible..."

According to the labs, Avery was already dead. But he wasn't. He was very much alive.

I pulled out a circular disk and dripped a drop of blood inside. Followed by the 031B mixture. Then slid it under the microscope.

"Hmmm..."

My phone chimed again.

::My Love:: Another wave is coming. Hey did you know the president was in Korea?

We had the waves down, thanks to an algorithm Corkey had come up with. It was a few seconds off, however it was enough to allow us to prepare.

I pressed the purpled button on the wall. An alarm went off throughout the house. I can't believe I forgot to do this last time.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Perfect!"

I cheered. I think I finally figured it out!

Looking around I found two monitors. Picked Petey up off my shoulder, pet him for a few minutes then placed him inside a clear box. Toffee soon followed. Quickly I fed a tube through a hole in the back of each box. Prepping it for the mist that would administer what I hoped would be the cure.

Toffee received 031A while Petey received 031B. Both the same. However, 1A was a long shot.

Adjusting my glasses on the brim of my nose, I called Taehyung on my phone.

"Avery was the missing link."

"Really?" His tone sounded hopeful.

"Yes!"

"So you have a cure?"

"We'll know in a few hours."

I could hear him talking to Avery. Both boys seemed ecstatic about the news. I just hoped I was right. If not, this would be the last round of waves for Taehyung and Avery.

Avery

"Melanie says we'll know within a few hours." Taehyung smiled at me. I guess at this point all we can do is pray.

"I hope it works."

"Same."

I chuckled. It was weird having someone you could relate to. Who understood the pain you felt.

"Maybe we can go outside this room for a little bit."

Taehyung looked at the closed door. How long has he been in here?

Slowly he stood up, making his way to the door. His hand hovering over the door handle. Then he looked back at me.

"I've been in this room since the first outbreak after my vaccine... if I am to die. I want to see them one last time. If not. Well I still want to be with my brothers."

I understood.

"What are you waiting for?"

"The fear to go away." He sighed.

"Here..." I walked over, placed my hand on the handle pushing the door open. A cool wave of fresh air hit us, followed by the smell of cinnamon rolls.

"Oh, that smells so good!" Taehyung and I breathed in the sweet aroma. My mouth watering from its warm sweetness. We both hurried down the hall, back through the corridor and straight into the kitchen.

Everyone froze.

My eyes landed on her sweet face. Her eyes growing wide at the sight of us.

Taehyung giggled, Jungkook followed by all the other members engulfed him in a hug. While a small petite girl wrapped her arms around me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked looking up at me.

"I'm fine, now."

I really wasn't. But, at this moment. I felt fine.

After everyone settled down from seeing Taehyung. We surrounded the table with two plates covered in giant cinnamon rolls with icing dripping off the sides.

This is great, I thought as I took a bite of the warm roll.

Y/N was busy talking to Jungkook, while Taehyung was deep in conversation with Yoongi. Namjoon and Jin whispered back and forth.

Then there was Hobi. He would not stop staring at Y/N. Had it not been for the words that came out his mouth next. I probably would have confronted him.

"Are you Army?" He asked Y/N. She beamed at him shaking her head yes. Jimin smiled, his eyes disappearing into crescent moons.

"You'll never guess who her bias is though." Jimin said all bubbly. The rest of the boy's eyes fell on a now red faced Y/N.

Jimin just continued to smile. If I didn't know better I would say it was him.

"You." Yoongi grumbled. Jimin shook his head no, giggling.

"Jin?" Namjoon asked, looking over at the boy.

"Not Seokjin."

"It's Tae." I blurted out. Jimin pouted, clearly I ruined his fun.

Taehyung stared at me, then at Y/N.

"Really?"

Y/N covered her face in embarrassment right as an alarm sounded throughout the house.

"What's that?"

"Waves are coming!"

All the boys scattered.

Yoongi ran and hid under the same pillow from before. Jungkook sat underneath the table with a plate of cinnamon rolls. Namjoon went to his room. Jin went into the pantry. Jimin skipped into the bathroom. While Taehyung, Y/N and I stood staring at each other.

That's when it started. Y/N's face went from red to pale in a matter of seconds. She looked like she wanted to choke.

"No!" I cried out. Taehyung stood frozen. I wrapped my arms around her and the first round of the waves struck through her.

Melanie

"Perfect!" She exclaimed, deep within her lab.