Dark Waters ✓ tk

THIRTY

Jin was utterly nervous as they neared his hometown. He didn't want to bother anyone by showing his feelings, but he was certain his anxiety had already been picked up by both the werewolf and the kitsune on board. Jimin sat next to him and was giving him suspicious glances but Jin merely gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and forced himself to hum a happy tune.

It didn't quite concern Jimin all too much, knowing Jin was probably worrying about seeing his parents- either dead, alive, or mutated. He too would be nervous, if he had any relatives left, so instead of focusing on the anxiety scent coming from the male next to him, he tried focusing on something else.

He noticed Yoongi was dead asleep, his face leaning on the backseat window, while Namjoon and Hoseok where discussing something in hushed whispers. He figured they were being silent so they wouldn't wake up Yoongi – everyone knew that would be a death sentence if anyone but Jimin would wake him – and were probably discussing boring science stuff. If he would try, he could pick up their conversation, but he really didn't want to bother using his powers.

They passed by forests and towns, the houses looking worse and worse the more they moved towards their destination. Jimin wondered how many people were still alive, or if the population had merely simmered down to the folks living in Pohang.

"We're almost there", Jin mumbled and Jimin wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or not. He decided to merely hum as an answer and leave it at that. He too was nervous for what they would see in the facility- that is if they would be able to get in.

"It's best to go on foot from the entrance of the city. The car engine will make too much noise and could attract strangers", Namjoon spoke up once he realized they were close. He said strangers instead of mutants, because those were not the only dangerous creatures that lurked around anymore. Every person they would see was a threat because no one could be trusted. Meat had become meat, even if it had once been human.

"Alright, we're here", Jin said, turning off the engine. The group proceeded to leave the car and take their belongings. They couldn't risk losing their medical kit and food. Jungkook heaved Taehyung out of the van and walked over to the rest of the group. "What's the plan?"

"We'll walk towards to facility and scout the area before making a move. We don't know if there will be security and how heavy it will be secured if so. Namjoon can check from the sky when it turns night and if the roof is safe we can start from there", Hoseok explained, slinging a backpack over his shoulder, "If necessary, I'll dig us a way through the ground, but it will make a lot of noise so the chances are high we'll get noticed".

Jungkook nodded and secured Taehyung in his arms, "Alright, sounds good to me. Let's go then".

And so the group moved towards the facility that was built on the outskirts of the city. Jin sighed deeply when he passed by places which were once his childhood memories but had become nothing but bad nightmares stuck inside of his head.

The old playground he used run around with friends, playing pretend and acting as if the wooden play boat was their pirate ship. The supermarket he worked at in the summer and where he got offered a full time job as soon as the boss noticed more customers started coming in just to see the pretty cashier.

It had been such a good childhood, but it had been dulled into vague and numb memories. The faces of his parents were blank in his head and he liked to keep it that way. He didn't want to face the pain of remembering.

"You okay?" Taehyung asked from where he was being held in Jungkook's arms. Jin merely shrugged and continued to gloomily walk on, his eyes too busy being stuck on the sidewalk so he wouldn't see any more of the city.

Taehyung frowned but decided to leave it. He knew how painful it was for Jin, he too hated being reminded of his childhood- if you could call it that way. Being dumped into the ocean by your mother as toddler and then transforming into a fish wasn't something people would normally see as any kind of childhood.

He snuggled into his mate's chest, not willing to let the thought of his mother put him down. They were going on a adventure! And he was a part of it. No more lonely swimming in the sea and chasing after fishes or destroying sandcastles to keep himself from being bored. He was actually a part of something, and for once he didn't feel completely helpless.

Sure, he still had a tail so technically he would be a dead weight. But if his hopes would turn into reality, his tail might change into legs once they'd take over the laboratory. Maybe it was something too impossible to dream of, but Taehyung had never had anything but dreams. But now, he could finally do something about them. Now he had people who cared about him.

"What are you getting so excited about?", Jungkook asked, waves of Taehyung's feelings hitting him and confusing him at the same time.

"Just thrilled to infiltrate the lab", Taehyung smiled all giddy like. He was grinning like a goof, and his smile was so contagious the werewolf smiled along.

"I'm glad you are enjoying yourself at least", Jungkook spoke, "The rest are looking like they are walking towards a funeral".

"Probably because there's a chance us mere human beings could actually die, wolf", Yoongi muttered, fidgeting with the belt of guns around his waist. He wasn't in the mood for enthusiastic behavior and smiles. He just wanted to get this over with.

"We'll camp here", Namjoon spoke once they were close enough to the facility. They hadn't run into any suspicious beings on their way to the lab, which was suspicious of itself. The city was quiet, something that had been impossible when the earth was still free of mutants.

No cars were being driven, no phones were buzzing anymore, the once busy streets were empty, the people who used to walk them, dead.

"I'm getting the chills from this place", Hoseok said, an actual shiver running down his spine.

They were sat in an alley nearby the laboratory, huddled behind trashcans. Rats were the only creatures the city seemed to have. And they made an awful lot of noise.

"I wish I could just shoot those fuckers", Yoongi grumbled, kicking a rat that was gnawing at his shoe, "But unfortunately a gunshot would attract too much attention".

"Good thing you at least know it yourself", Jimin said, listening in on what the rats were talking about. He nodded at the rat that was sat in front of him. The animal was big & grey and probably had some infections Jimin didn't want to think about.

"What's it saying?", Jungkook asked, looking down at the squeaky animal.

Jimin gave him a pointed look and then ushered the rat away. "First of all, it was a she. And second of all, she was telling me about how she had seen a group of people pass by not too long ago".

"What kind of people? Mutated or ordinary ones?", Namjoon butted in.

Jimin shrugged, "She hid away when they came. She only knows they were making a lot of noise. But she obviously doesn't know if they were actually speaking to each other or just gurgling zombie noises".

"I don't know what I'd rather face, alive humans or mutants", Jungkook muttered, sitting himself down onto the ground with Taehyung in his lap.

"She did offer us something in exchange of food though", Jimin said, remembering the request the rat had made, "She said she could send a group of rats to the facility to go snoop around, but only if we can repay them with lots of food".

"Do we really want to risk starvation because of rats though?", Jungkook asked, growling at a rat that tried nibbling on his mate's tail.

"They are small and like rotten things. We can just give them the things that have expired already", Hoseok replied, beginning to rummage through his backpack.

"Rats do raise less suspicion than an actual human flying around the building", Jin hummed, propping one foot up against the wall to lean against it.

Namjoon looked around the group and noticed most of them were in favor of going along with the rat's plan. "Alright. Call that rat back then. Seems this might be easier than we thought".

Oh, will it be easier Namjoon? Will it? Mwuahaha the authors thinks not.