The Survivors

Chapter 6

The two bikes stopped short in front of another convenience store, the old neon sign still blinking even after years of neglect. 

"We were supposed to stop by this mart after refueling the bikes. It's more remote, so we've had better luck with the stock room." Jungkook said, flipping the kickstand and pulling a key from his front pocked. "We've kinda been gatekeeping it since we found the keys under the register." 

It unlocked with a crisp click, and the boys gestured for the girls to follow them through the minimart doors that still gave out its telltale ding. Following them straight back into the storeroom, the two girls couldn't believe the amount of food before their eyes. 

"Damn, I can't believe the expiration dates on some of these things." Mia gawked, turning over some cans of Spam before dropping them into her pack.

"Dude, they have Nutella!" exclaimed Sam triumphantly, waving the jar at her friend.

"That has to be rancid by now," she wrinkled her nose.

The two boys seemed to be looking for something specific, eyes scanning the fairly stocked shelves intently. Suddenly, there was a ruckus at the front of the store.

"Someone's picking the lock." Tae stated. "Must be raiders again."

"Raiders?" the two girls asked.

"Don't worry, just stay in the back of the store," ordered Jungkook, giving Tae a look. Taehyung exited through the storeroom door slowly, before crouching down in the aisles. Jungkook kept the storeroom door slightly ajar, keeping an eye out for the storefront.

"Will we have to fight them?" Mia asked, feeling too weak for anymore combat.

"Tae's going to check it out." Jungkook said, gesturing for them to get low. "We'll protect you guys, don't worry."

"Wait, he can't go alone." Sam protested, as the rattling became louder. She ran towards the front, drawing her swords.

"Sam--!" Mia cried as the door burst open. Determined to keep her from doing something stupid, Jungkook clamped his arms on either side of her, trapping her against the wall next to the storeroom door.

"Don't do anything you'll regret," he whispered in her ear before peeking through the door once more. Mia trembled beneath him, terrified of losing her last friend.

"Where are my babies?" a distressed man called from the front. No struggle could be heard, as Tae called back them.

"False alarm!" Jungkook rolled his eyes at his words, releasing Mia from his hold.

"Obviously," he muttered, taking Mia by the wrist and leading her to the front.

"There you are! I knew it was stupid to let you guys go alone!" the owner of the voice exclaimed, pulling the two boys into a hug.

"Hyung, we're fine." Jungkook whined, struggling to escape his grasp. Mia and Sam shared an awkward glance as they watched the reunion.

"Is this the rest of your group?" Mia asked as they finished.

"Right!" Tae grinned, bright as ever. "Let me introduce you two to our hyungs! This is Namjoon, Jin, Yoongi, Hoseok, and Jimin!"

"Hyungs, this is Mia and Sam." Jungkook added as the two groups acknowledged each other.

"Nice to meet you two!" Hoseok said immediately, putting out a hand to shake. The two obliged one after the other with words of agreement.

"Where did you find them?" asked Namjoon, looking over them in slight suspicion.

"We found them on their own on the outskirts of the city, scuffling in from the desert." Jungkook answered, glancing at their dirtied weapons that remained strapped to their owners.

"Has it been just the two of you? Must be hard, poor things." Jin cooed with sympathy in his eyes. Mia and Sam exchanged a glance at his words, debating how much they could trust these strangers.

"Well, it hasn't always been just us two." Sam confessed.

"It used to be the four of us." Mia said, the weight of their loss beginning to bare down upon their shoulders once more.

"Four? What happened?" Jimin asked, eyes wide.

"What do you think, dumbass? You shouldn't ask so many questions." Yoongi hissed, slapping him in the back of the head.

"Oh, you poor things." Jin said, wrapping the two in his arms, completely engulfing them with his large wingspan.

"What are you planning to do?" asked Namjoon, cutting to the chase.

"They'll join us, of course!" Taehyung jumped in, swinging an arm around Sam's shoulder.

"Excuse me?" questioned Namjoon. "Who's the leader here? Who are you to decide this without consulting me?"

"Namjoon!" cried the mother hen. "What do you want us to do? Throw them out for them to be killed when we can help?"

"Listen. You two seem like nice girls, but let's face it," he sighed, dark circles prominent under his eyes. "We have no idea who you are, and have no reason to trust you. I need to look out for my boys, and I'm not threatening their safety for two random chicks with a sob story. That kind of thing's a dime a dozen these days."

"Hyung..." Jimin whispered, bracing his arm.

"Hyung, there has to be something we ca-" fought Jungkook before being interrupted by a hand on his upper arm.

"No, he's right." Mia said, "You have no reason to trust us, and we're lucky you even took the risk bringing us here. We will be forever thankful for that." The girls shared a look, and Sam nodded. All the boy's eyes shot to their leader, imploring him to say something. 

Sam's hand was milliseconds away from the door handle when he budged.

"Welcome to Bangtan."