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starbandit · 1 month

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The World In-Between (CH. 4)

Preview: “Don’t make a noise.” A voice whispered in your ear. “They’re blind, but not deaf.”

WARNINGS: graphic depictions of dead animals, guns, mentions of vomit, death, m*rder, zombies, slightly triggering topics

word count- 2.7k/unedited

A few weeks had passed and you had begun to grow closer with the boys as time went on. In the beginning, you tried to stay out of the way, eating as little food as possible, keeping your room and everything super neat and tidy. You didn’t want to be a burden to everyone because in the end, they were doing you a massive favor. One small slip up and you feared you would be cast out into the dense forest, left to become a monster.

Seokjin began inviting you to help him prepare dinner. It started with him just asking you to help him turn on the sink while he was cooking one night, and soon grew into giggle fests while he showed you how to prepare different dishes. You pretended not to notice the way he would look at you, with a small smile and pride in his eyes, as you grew out of your shell around him.

The sun was shining through the lightly lined windows, casting the most angelic glow over your tired face. Your hair fanned out over the pillow, the soft frizz framed your face. Seokjin could feel his heartbeat through his entire body as he stepped into the room. He had planned on letting you sleep for as late as you wanted, correction, needed, but when Namjoon and Taehyung said they were going out into the forest to look for firewood and maybe grab some foragable foods, he couldn’t let you miss out on the bonding opportunity.

Seokjin slowly sat on the corner of the bed, trying not to disturb you too much. He raised his hand and gently placed it on your back, rubbing big circles over the covered skin. He couldn’t help but smile a little as your eyebrows furrowed together and you stretched out, cracking your eyes open slowly.

“Good morning,” He greeted and placed his hand back in his lap. “There’s some breakfast in the kitchen. Joon and Tae are gonna go out soon, if you would like to join them.”

You grunted and nodded, going out and helping them with whatever would be a better way to pay them back than sleeping all day. “Okay.” You whispered, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. “I’ll come down in a few minutes, just let me get somewhat decent.”

You groaned as Seokjin shut the door to your room and turned over, pushing your face deep into the pillows. As much as you didn’t want to get up, the promise of food and fresh air was too good to pass up. Even if it meant leaving the warm sheets you had gotten oh so comfortable in.

You dragged yourself out of bed and to the bag that you had thrown in the corner when you arrived. You plopped down on the floor, shivering slightly at the cold wood and the feeling of it seeping through the fabric of your pajamas. You pulled out almost every article of clothing in your bag, soon opting for a basic outfit of some jeans and a large tshirt. A pair of fun socks decorated your feet, but they would soon be covered up by the boots you were going to put on when you left.

You grabbed the small toiletries bag you had brought and dug through it. You quickly swiped on some deodorant and grabbed your toothbrush. You may be going up against zombies in those trees but you weren’t trying to have the breath of one, that was for damn sure.

After freshening up a bit, you made your way downstairs. Jungkook was relaxing on the couch, scrolling through his phone in some sweats and a loose t-shirt. He looked up and smiled at you, giving you a tiny wave as well. You smiled back and headed into the kitchen. A small bowl of soup and rice was set out with kimchi and a glass of juice. You sat down and began to dig in.

It didn’t take long for you to eat and finish chugging the juice. You placed your dishes in the sink with the other plates and set off to find Namjoon or Taehyung. Namjoon was the first one to be found. He was sat in a chair in the corner, glasses perched on his nose and a book settled in his hands.

“Ah, Y/N.” He peeked over his glasses at you. “Are you joining us today?”

You nodded. “Yeah, figured I could at least learn a few things, maybe help a little.”

“We’re just waiting on Taehyung,” He closed the book and set it on the table next to him.

You two fell into a comfortable conversation as you waited for Taehyung to finish whatever he was doing. Namjoon told you all about his studies, the interesting data he had collected and the experiments he had conducted before everything happened.

“Here.” A deep voice sounded from above you. You glanced up. Taehyung was dressed, in your opinion, a little too nice. A button up shirt, with the sleeves slightly rolled up, dark slacks, and heavy boots. In his hand was a black pistol with a silencer.

“I’ve never-” You started as he placed the gun into your hand. “I don’t-”

“You aim, you pull the trigger.” He stared. “Don’t shoot yourself or us. You ready?”

The three of you made your way into the forest. You followed closely behind Namjoon who was picking mushrooms from the ground and mumbling about which ones were safe and which ones were poisonous. Every little noise made you jump, the crunch of the leaves beneath your feet was just loud enough to make you anxious.

“Shit.” Namjoon stopped dead in his tracks. In front of you was a small clearing of a few small fallen trees. In the middle was a deer carcass with hundreds, maybe even thousands of flies buzzing around. Maggots crawled in and out of its mouth and eyes. The sweet stench of rotting meat filled your nose.

“What?” You questioned softly. You tried to step next to him, but he put his arm out to stop you.

“They did this.”

You stared at the deer. Wild animals die all the time, no? It could have been natural. Hell, you had seen plenty of dead deer back at home, just on the side of the road.

“Look,” Namjoon pointed at the body. You continued to stare. That is when you saw it. Teeth. There were a bunch of teeth lodged in different parts of the deer, human teeth at that. Large pieces of deer were torn out of the animal, you could see where someone had dug their fingers into the flesh and pulled out the chunks. Your heart, and maybe some bile, jumped into your throat as you continued to stare.

“We need to go back.”

You nodded and turned on your heel, immediately stepping on a large branch the second you took a step. The crunch echoed through the forest. “Fuck.”

Taehyung stared at Namjoon over your head. “We gotta go. Now.” He grabbed your wrist and began pulling you with him. He had a death grip on his gun, scanning the woods as he led the way back to the house. Your hand began to go numb from Taehyung gripping your wrist, you were sure you would have a bruise later.

You froze as you heard a screech from deeper in the trees. The sound of feet sounded from all around you. It didn’t take long for it to find you. Panic rose through your body and you began to rapidly assess your surroundings.

Namjoon and Taehyung had seemingly disappeared into thin air, leaving you completely alone in the trees. Your hands began to shake as you lifted the gun up, trying to aim for the thing that was after you. It peered through the branches and began taking steps in your direction. It turned its nose up in the air, sniffing like a dog.

You were frozen in your place as it took steps closer to you. The smell of death washed over you. It took everything in you to not gag at the smell. As it got closer you began to notice just how decayed it was. Colorless skin was sloughing off, strips hanging down like curtains. Its eyes, or what were left of them, were somehow both milky white and seemed to be bloodshot. Maggots inched in and out of the open wounds of its cheeks and neck. Fingers were barely being held on by exposed tendons.

Its face twitched as it stepped closer to smell you. It lifted an arm up and reached out towards you, a deep groan leaving its throat. You watched as the fingers dangled and shook in the movement.

It only took a second for more to appear around you, almost as if the original one had summoned them. They were all in varying stages of decay, some crawling out of the bushes and some that looked like they could have been alive yesterday. Was this how you went out? After all the days, weeks, however long it had been. Alone, in the woods, after stupidly following a stranger to a mansion in the middle of nowhere?

You nearly screamed as a hand wrapped around your neck and covered your mouth. A broad chest met with your back, the warmth seeped through your thin clothes. You were almost positive they could feel your heart beating through your skin, your entire body heaving with deep breaths out of fear.

“Don’t make a noise.” A voice whispered in your ear. “They’re blind, but not deaf.”

You nodded, eyes wide as you watched the creatures begin to stumble around, still sniffing the air. The original one seemed to be controlling whatever the others did. You weren’t sure if you were seeing things right though.

“Aim the gun.” Taehyung whispered. “The middle one is the one you want to shoot.” He placed his hands over yours, correcting the angle. He cocked the gun. “You just need to pull the trigger.”

Your hands shook under Taehyung’s. He gripped your hands a little tighter, steadying your shot. You placed your finger over the trigger and prepared to shoot. The original zombie had stopped wandering in circles and was now standing with its back to you.

“Aim for the brain.”

You nodded and took a deep breath. You pulled the trigger. Your entire world slowed down as you watched the bullet zoom out of the gun and straight in front of you.

The zombie's head exploded onto the tree in front of him. Black and red goo splattered instantly as the body crumbled to the floor. You watched as chunks of rotten, maggot infested brain slid down the tree. You gagged and hunched over as bile rose in your throat and out your mouth.

Taehyung chuckled from behind you and rubbed your back. “I did the same thing my first time.”

You wiped your mouth as you stood up. There goes the breakfast Seokjin had made for you. The first thing you noticed when you stood up was that all the zombies had fled, every single one was gone.

“W-where did they go?” You questioned.

“You killed the hive brain.” Taehyung motioned to the crumpled body next to the tree.

Hive brain? What the hell did he mean by that? You had so many questions, but none of them made their way out of your mouth. You continued to stare at the body for a bit longer before Taehyung nudged you. “Come on, can’t stay here all day staring.” He began to set off into the woods and back towards the house.

You took a deep breath and trailed after him. “Sorry…” You whispered to the body. There wasn’t much left of the thing, no no, the person's head, just a pile of goo and rotting flesh. You felt sick looking at it but swallowed down the sour taste and rushed off. You shivered at the thought, you had just killed someone. Someone who, at one point, had a life. Maybe a family, kids, a partner. A whole life just gone.

Taehyung hummed quietly as you followed behind him. The image kept replaying, the way the body instantly crumbled, the brain splatter, the sound. You sighed in relief as the house came into view. It was almost over.

Namjoons boots were sitting inside the door when you walked in. A sense of relief washed over you, thank god he made it back safe. You don’t know what would have happened if he didn’t. You were almost positive Yoongi would find a way to blame you, and you would probably end up like the creature you had just brutally murdered. Was it really murder if they weren’t fully alive though?

Taehyung reclaimed the gun he had given you the second you stepped back into the house. He made quick work of locking the doors and sliding the metal shutters back down. He gave you a pat on the shoulder before sauntering off, going deeper into the house and leaving you with your thoughts once more.

You left your mud soaked boots on the mat next to the door. You still felt sick, the smell of death felt like it was stuck on you. The sickly sweet scent of the deer, the rotting meat and flesh from the creature, everything was stuck on you. Your hair, your skin, your clothes, you needed out, and fast.

You rushed through the living room, ignoring Hoseok and Jungkook as they tried to say hello. You nearly tripped going up the stairs. You rounded the corner, nearly running into Yoongi on your way. You paused for a moment before trying to mutter a quick apology. You tried to move by him, but the second you took a step, Yoongi blocked your path.

“I told you to stay out of the way.” He grumbled. “You nearly got Namjoon and Taehyung killed.” He stared down at you, his eyes piercing your soul. He leaned down next to your ear, your entire body tensing up as his breath hit your exposed skin. “If I had my way, you would have been gone before you even got into this house. Don’t forget that, little one.”

You shoved past Yoongi, pushing his body back with all the force you could muster and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind you. You clicked the lock before bracing yourself against the sink, head dipped down. Your chest heaved as you tried to catch your breath, a seemingly impossible task at the moment.

You didn’t recognize yourself when you looked in the mirror. Your hair was disheveled, frizz creating a messy halo around your head. Your skin had drained of all color, leaving you a sickly gray color. Your eyes were dark, teary, and sunken in. You gasped for a breath as you got closer to the mirror.

What was happening to you? You felt like a monster, you had killed someone and almost gotten your saviors killed in the process. Sure, it was in self defense, something to save yourself, but was that a selfish decision? You stared at yourself until your face started to distort in the mirror, transforming before your eyes into some horrifying creature.

You hiccuped as the image continued to distort before your eyes, bile rising up in your throat as you stood there. It burned your throat as you dropped next to the toilet, head in the bowl. A sob left your mouth as you threw up, sweat beading on your hairline.

Once you were positive it was over, you stood up and flushed. A shower was in order. You turned on the shower water and went to rinse your mouth and brush your teeth while the water warmed up. You brushed your teeth until you spit blood, and stripped down to get in the shower.

The hot water burned your skin and left hot red marks all over your body. You scrubbed the skin, the smell of death, off until it hurt. The steam of the shower was thick and hard to breathe in, but you didn’t care as you stood under the scorching water. You felt the burn on your skin as you stood alone with your thoughts. Were you truly any better than them? Or were you both just trying to survive?

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