Annihilation

Real

Author's Note: Here we are with my first change in point of view for this story! I hope that this change will give me and y'all the chance to understand Shelby a bit more, and to keep up with what's going on while Alena's gone. Just know that if she seems odd or a little off at first, that it's intentional. She's still newly finding her way in this whole mess of a world.  All chapters that will be from Shelby's point of view will be indicted by her name being displayed in bold at the beginning of the chapter. Otherwise, the chapters will be from Alena's point of view.

... SHELBY ...

You would have thought there was an earthquake with how hard Yoongi shook my shoulder to wake me.

"Where's Alena?" He demanded, a panic in his voice as he moved on from me without waiting for an answer. He bypassed Taehyung, who stirred from all the noise to Jungkook, using even more force to rouse him from slumber.

Yoongi barked the same question at him, his next statement bringing us all to full attention.

"I heard a gunshot." He clarified, a hand shooting out so fast to grab Jungkook that we may have missed had we not been watching closely. "Where is she?"

Jungkook's brow pinched together for only a moment, his reply low enough that I craned my head to hear. "The sunrise." He muttered.

And he was off.

None of us were fast enough for Jungkook but we sped after, a line forming with Jimin trailing closest behind him but still out of sight. Our hair was still half mussed, the weapons we grabbed in a hurry out of place from the usual lot we carried.

Jungkook halted before reaching the area Alena most often designated for watching the sun rise, among the opening of bushels where we scavenged for berries. My heart was pounding, a constant, low thrum that hadn't ceased since I'd been outside of Carolus. Or maybe it was there before then too. I'd just become used to pretending when it came to everything, my mind a fortress of fantasy.

I hesitated while the others crowded around him, Namjoon's fingertips were smudged in magenta from the smushed berries he touched. They were almost imprinted into the ground and for the first time I witnessed him look utterly lost.

He didn't move from his spot until the others were well ahead, Yoongi taking over the lead. He held out a finger to trace the path he saw in the dirt, rambling in run-on sentences about spilled berries and multiple shoeprints.

From the rear, the scene became pure mayhem. Yoongi quickly tracked her movements to another, smaller break in the trees, their footsteps hurried when his assessment concluded that there'd been a struggle, a third person's path visible to him. It all looked like debris to me.

"They dragged her." He stated flatly, feet planted into the soil that he followed as if it were a map to Alena's location.

There were a few grumbles among them as they noticed jagged lines in the earth. She fought the entire time, leaving evidence of the attack for them to find. Yoongi lifted a floral printed cloth from the ground, the edges frayed and colors faded. Taehyung stood further to his left, lifting the black band that was always strapped to her arm from where it'd been tossed atop the grass, a few strands of bronze hair hanging from the end as if she'd discarded them at the same time.

Jungkook had just brushed his way to the front, squatting with slumped shoulders and limp hands that reached the ground before Yoongi was moving past him again. It was the fastest I'd ever seen him run, and we followed without question, the course only few could see clearly leading to the edge of the road.

He looked back and forth, turning in a full circle in search of a new destination. Dark eyes settled on tire marks skidded against the pavement, bewilderment crossing our faces as we processed the scene. Alena was gone, and we'd just stumbled upon the last traces of her.