Smoke Song

Nightmares

The flames licked up his arms. He shouted for help, flailing and trying to put them out, but they just became worse, no matter how much he tried to smother them, rolling around like a dog and screaming in pain. The angry faces of the crowd hovered in his vision, watching him. He was going to die, he was going to die, he--

"Dang it, wake up! I can't sing lullabies!"

Jungkook's eyes flew open and he tried to sit up, whimpering when his arms throbbed and prickled. He heard an exasperated sigh and rough hands pushed him back down.

"Why'd he have to leave me with the invalids.... Lunch ain't that important, I could've grabbed it for him..." the man above him muttered, running his hands through his mohawk. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Jungkook stared up at him dimly. He tried to speak and failed. When he tried again, the best he could manage was a quiet moan. He reached to touch his arm and realized it was wrapped in thick bandages.

Had they really saved him?

"In pain, huh?" the man ran his hands through his hair again, looking around. "What'd Jin do last time, he gave you a pill, right? Which one was it?"

Jungkook turned his head to watch as the man got up and stomped over to a cabinet, pulling it open to reveal dozens of bottles. "Dang it, why's he gotta write it all in that stupid code of his... enough is enough..." He picked up bottle after bottle, squinting at the contents. "You know what, i'm just gonna get him. You. Don't move." He shook his finger at Jungkook and shoved the bottle back in the cupboard, slamming it shut and stomping out the door.

Jungkook turned his head the other way and spotted a shock of orange hair in a sea of white. "H-Hyung!" he coughed, trying to move again and screaming through his teeth when the pain in his arms worsened. "Taehyung--agh!"

Taehyung didn't respond. Jungkook gulped, closing his eyes. He remembered Taehyung screaming and wondered what had happened to him. Was he hurt that badly? Was he in a coma?

And why couldn't Jungkook feel his hands?

He laid in bed for a few more minutes, trying to breathe through the pain, before he heard voices in the hallway, coming closer to him.

"You know if you would focus I could teach you to heal as well!"

"For art's sake, I break everything! Healing ain't an option!"

The door slammed open and Jungkook jumped, flopping back into the bed. A man with floppy brown hair stormed over, looking incredibly irritated. "What's your phone for, then? You couldn't just call me-- look, he tried to get up!"

Jungkook frowned, brows creasing. The voice was familiar... wasn't it Jin? The one who had soothed them before? Why had he left?

"I told him to stay where he was!" the other man said, throwing his hands in the air. Jungkook squinted at him, trying to place the voice, but his head began to ring instead. He sighed, leaning back in the pillows and closing his eyes.

"Why the..." Jin sighed, shaking his head and moving to the medicine cabinet. "How do you expect him to trust you after last night?"

"He was hurt, I figured he wouldn't--"

"Sit down and watch the other one," Jin ordered, pulling out a bottle of pills and picking up a water bottle from beside the bed. The first groaned, grabbing a stool and dragging it over to where Taehyung laid, unnaturally silent.

Jin helped Jungkook sit up, muttering encouragement when he whimpered from the pain. "Don't mind Namjoon, he's just... being himself, I guess," he said, "I'm Jin. What's your name?"

"Jungkook," Jungkook muttered, looking over at Taehyung, "H-hyung--"

"He's got some pretty bad burns, we had to give him a sleeping pill," Jin said. His voice dipped and cracked, and he cleared his throat, glancing back at Taehyung. "He'll be fine, don't worry. C'mon, swallow this?"

Jungkook took the pill without thinking, swallowing hard and jumping when Jin chuckled, pressing the water bottle to his mouth. It took another two swallows for the pill to actually go down, leaving a sour taste in his mouth that the water didn't quite erase. Would Taehyung really be alright?

The silence in the room stretched, becoming awkward, then downright unbearable. Jungkook cleared his throat a few times before he was able to speak.

"Why..." he coughed, leaning forward, "Wh-why are you--"

"Helping?" Jin said, smiling when Jungkook nodded. "Honestly, we've had an eye on you two for a while. You were careful, but everyone was worried for you. And your buddy, Jimin, too... Yoongi went to pick him up yesterday. He's a danger to himself, singing in the street like that."

Jungkook nodded, swallowing. "Where are we?"

"At our hideout, of course!" Jin grinned, patting his back gently, "You'll be fine in a few weeks; until then you're stuck in here. Mostly because the other agents will be so excited to see you."

"Agents?" Jungkook said, wincing as pain flashed through his throat.

"Aish," Namjoon laughed, "when ARMY hears about this..."

"They'll survive," Jin said sharply, "It's a miracle we did it, did you hear about the boys who almost died last week?"

"No."

"Exactly. I ran into one of their agents," he shuddered, "She was bleeding but she still insisted on heading back--" he broke off, shaking his head and staring at his hands. Jungkook frowned.

What are they talking about?

"I don't blame her," Namjoon said softly. "You know how they feel about--"

"Ah, give it a rest!" Jin groaned, and the two started arguing. Jungkook leaned back against the pillows, watching them for a bit and glancing at Taehyung every few seconds. Was he really alright? Would he really be alright? Would their rescuers act this way if he wasn't? The worries spun in his head, disappearing and reappearing every few seconds.

Taehyung didn't move.

Jungkook closed his eyes and sank into another nightmare, shadows thrashing around him as he kicked and screamed, fighting the grip of an anti whose face was hidden behind a white mask. The pain returned and was sucked away, returned and was sucked away. Music began and screeched to a halt. Dimly, he thought he heard Taehyung singing, deep voice breaking every few notes. Was he awake? He twisted, trying to get away, trying to see where his friend was, but it was no use. There was only the dark, and the anti.

Jungkook howled in pain as the anti's knee smashed into his, setting it prickling like it was on fire again. The anti pressed a hand over his mouth, and he bucked, twisting away. He was falling, the anti shouting unintelligibly behind him, and then he felt nothing but the fire, the smoke rolling over his skin as it exploded with pain and slowly went numb. He couldn't feel his hands. He couldn't feel anything.

His scream for Taehyung was choked off by the blackness.