Annihilation

Capture

"Jungkook, we have everything we need. Let's try to get a car and we'll get back." Hobi never stopped moving while he talked, bypassing the kitchen and disappearing through the front door so quickly that Jungkook had to jog after him.

Yoongi continued packing toiletries in the bathroom while I made my way to my old bedroom. I left the door open, picking through my dresser drawers for clothes more suitable than the dresses I'd been switching out of. My favorite t-shirt was still there, worn in and still soft. I pulled it on along with the most comfortable pair of jeans I could find, going to the closet to grab the one pair of combat boots I owned, barely broken in after only one wear.

My head snapped toward the door, crouched down to lace my shoe when the sound of several footsteps and the front door banging as it swung open captured my attention. I scrambled into the corner of the closet, tugging a couple of crates I'd yet to unpack around myself to provide cover.

There were six pairs of footsteps, men's voices echoing through the apartment without concern for making too much noise.

"Let's get this case of water."

"Looks like those boys we got already wiped out the place pretty good."

The steps got closer and I kept a hand over my mouth to cover the sound of my breathing, wondering where Yoongi was hiding and knowing he'd be listening too.

"Maybe there's some pretty lady panties somewhere around here." One of them chuckled, dresser drawers clanging against the floor as he pulled them out forcefully.

My heart beat was so strong as I listened that I feared they could hear it. I held my breath, waiting for the moment one of them would open the closet door. "Leon says we've got to get back to camp," another man sounded a little farther away, from the front of the apartment, "but this might be a good place to stay once we clear it out."

I stayed crouched in my position, their chattering muffled together as they stomped out of the apartment. A minute later Yoongi was calling out for me in a whisper, opening the closet door fully when he heard the shuffle of boxes from around me.

He squatted in front of me, wiping at the tears that pooled in my eyes. "No time for that. We have to go fast and quiet." He held onto my hand, pulling us to our feet and moving as quiet as a mouse through the apartment.

"They have Jungkook and Hobi." I muttered, keeping carefully in line with his footsteps as he looked back and forth down the hallway, guiding us to the apartment at the far corner of the building with a better view of the parking lot.

We ducked down in front of the window, peering over the edge to the parking lot. Around thirty men bustled about, carrying supplies on their shoulders with guns propped along their forearms so that they were prepared to shoot at any given threat.

Yoongi spotted them first, Hobi and Jungkook shepherded by two men who held onto their arms, their wrists tied behind their backs. They looked unharmed, keeping their eyes forward as they moved along.

"They're going west." Yoongi noted, pointing so that I brought my sight to Hobi's fingers, three stretched out to form a "W" in a message to us. We kept our eyes on them but stayed low enough that we wouldn't be seen until they left, the group of men picking up a pace in the opposite direction of the prison. When they were out of sight Yoongi cracked the window, listening for the bunch of cars that started a few minutes later.

As soon as I was sure they were gone I sprinted down the stairs of the apartment building, bursting from the doors and to the parking lot with Yoongi on my tail. He reached out to grab my arm but I jerked away, racing into the middle of the street to see the direction they'd gone.

Yoongi was as focused as ever, laying on the ground by a car and pulling three bags from underneath with a smile on his face. He sighed in relief when he tugged back the zippers, finding the additional guns and ammo we scavenged, the other filled with bottled water.

The fuel tank still held the siphoning tubes they'd been using, and when Yoongi hot wired the car it roared to life with nearly a full tank.

I was tempted to yank the steering wheel in the opposite direction when he took a right turn out of the lot. "They went that way!" I yelled, already coming out of my seat and turning around to look behind us through the rear window.

"We have to go back to the prison." Yoongi ignored me, drifting to the side of the road where we'd stashed the rest of our supplies to pick up on the way out of the city.

"We have to save them." I insisted as he collected bags from the ditch to toss into the trunk. When he didn't respond I slammed the car door, getting out to walk in the other direction.

He grunted as he flung the last bag, turning back to grip my wrist. I fought against him, pushing at his chest until he let me go with an exasperated groan. "Going after them now will only get us killed. There's too many of them. Once we're at the prison we'll find a way to save them."

It was enough to get me back in the car, and he wasted no time pushing his foot onto the gas so that we flew down the road faster than I cared to know. It was a straight shot to the prison, Yoongi keeping his eyes on the road and hands clutched on the wheel so hard that the veins showed more than usual.

I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or trying to build his own assurance. "Hobi and Jungkook are smart enough to not get themselves killed." He risked a glance over to me, reading the terror behind my eyes. "Go ahead and have whatever emotions you're holding back, but I need you ready when we get back to the prison."

His words were the cue to the panic attack that ensued. It started with trembling and became a combined mess of sobbing, struggling for breath, and punching the dash. He rolled down the window, letting the outside air in until we pulled up to the gates of the prison. With my head between my knees I regulated my breathing and wiped my bloodshot eyes on the back of my hand just as Namjoon and Jimin opened the gate for us, their smiles fading when they processed that only two of us returned.

They snatched our doors open before the car could come to a complete stop, Yoongi jumping out and answering their immediate question. "They're not dead."

We left the supplies behind for the time being, walking through the door nearest to the unit we occupied. "The group Jungkook and I saw in the forest got them. They took them." I stalled, pausing as I said it aloud.

Jimin held onto my arm, dragging me back into step, Namjoon's brow pulled so tightly that I knew his calculated mind was both listening and working up a plan.

"Thirty or so. More at the camp I'm sure. Heavy weaponry." Yoongi briefed them in broken sentences, no time for filler words or anything outside of the task.

As the others came into view their eyes widened, Namjoon yelling for everyone to gather for a night of planning a rescue that we feared would be impossible, but dreamed would somehow work.