Beast, Blood, & Soul

* 51 *

I blinked hard when the sun finally rose to announce the start of another day and I realized I had fallen asleep at my desk. I looked at the clock and saw that four hours had passed. Four hours lost that I would never see again.

My stomach growled and I wondered when I last ate. Oh, uh...I don't remember eating at all yesterday. I laid back in my chair and let my head fall back. I feel so numb from all the worry and fear. I can't go on like this.

Come on, Y/N, you cannot let that bitch get to you.

I shake out my hands, then my arms. Then I stand up and jump a little, trying to get some feeling into my body after ignoring everything and everyone yesterday. I even go so far as to slap my cheeks a little as I try to shake myself into some sense of normalcy again.

Ugh, I'm hungry. First order of business, food.

I open the door to find a tiger and dog sleeping at my feet. The tiger was draped over the golden retriever. They are both snoring. I smile at the cuteness before me. Oh, my guys. I love you. I bend down at my knees and run my fingers through Jimin's fur. A gentle smile on my face. I scratch behind Tae's ear and hear a deep rumble. Oh, my babies.

"Were you guys looking out for me last night?" I ask quietly. This show of support and love from them warmed my heart more than anything else in the last 24hours. Yes, I was hiding from the world, and from my problems, and yet, they were always with me.

A tear escapes my eye and runs down my cheek as I look at the sleeping babies in front of my door. I sit down on the floor and lay my head on their overlapping bodies.

"Thank you," I whisper. I rub my face into their fur, taking comfort from their quiet show of love. Suddenly I feel a tongue lick my face.

"Ewww," I pull back, only to see the tiger chuff in amusement at my reaction. My face is covered in tiger slobber. Good thing I'm immune. Geez. I try to wipe my face, but my shirt is too form-fitting to be of any help. "Okay, bathroom stop and then breakfast, okay?" I ask the tiger.

Tae huffs again and nudges Jimin awake. Jimin jumps awake like the excitable puppy he is and barks as he sees me sitting there next to him. I wrap my arms around him and give him a hug. "Thanks, you guys, for watching out for me." I may be terrified for my life, but I'm not oblivious to the fact that I'm also very very loved. "Let's get some breakfast, huh? I'm starving." Jimin barks again and I get up and head to the dining room in the dorms.

On our walk from the center to the dorms, I try to not think about what I'm going through. Jimin and Tae keep my company on my walk. Soon we're joined by a coyote and the tiger lopes off toward the forest. I watch Tae leave and ask, "Where's he going?"

Jimin just shrugs but doesn't answer. Yoongi just yips and I look at him. "So, you're gonna babysit me with Jimin today?" I ask him and he yips again. I smile, "thanks, Yoongi." I continue walking to the dining room.

I enter the dining room where everyone ate breakfast in the dorms. It was the first time I had been there in several days. I had practically lived at the cabin for the last couple of weeks and walking in with my two animal companions caused a bit of a stir.

"Look who the dogs dragged in," Mindy sneered. She had her body leaning against Marcus, snuggled in while they were eating. Yoongi growled a little, causing Mindy to raise an eyebrow. Everyone else stopped eating and stared at me and my companions.

Ceren turned around and grinned big, "Girl, you finally show up!" She got up and gave me a hug. She pulls back and looks me over, "Well, you don't look worse for wear after the attack. Bangtan has been taking good care of you, I guess." She patted my shoulder and then went back to the table, sitting next to Brendan.