The Hunt

34

After dinner, Jimin and Jungkook guided me across the backyard and into the wooded area located behind the house.

"Why are you carrying a lantern if we aren't going to use it?" I asked Jungkook after tripping over a tree root.

It was very dark. The moon and stars were obscured by a thick layer of clouds.

"We'll turn it on after the lights from the house are no longer visible." Jimin quietly said and took my hand, pulling me closer behind him.

"We don't want the neighbors to think anything weird is going on and call the cops," Jungkook added.

We continued walking through the trees and once the porch light from the house was no longer in sight, Jungkook turned on the lantern. I let go of Jimin's hand after my eyes adjusted to the light.

"So, we shouldn't stay out long. Like you said earlier, Y/n, it is a school night," Jimin said with a grin in my direction. He pointed to a tree up ahead. "You see the yellow stripe on that tree up there?"

I nodded. There was a thin strip of yellow plastic wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Kind of like a flag.

"That's the border, stay inside of it."

"If you go past it, you risk getting too close to the houses. While the neighborhood is mostly hybrids, there are some humans. It is private property, so we should be the only one's out here, but it's best to be safe." Jungkook smiled over his shoulder at me.

We continued walking for another few minutes until coming into a clearing. A large canvas hunting tent stood near the far edge of the clearing. In the center was a fire pit flanked with logs and camp chairs.

"I'll change first," Jungkook volunteered and disappeared into the tent, taking the lantern with him. A faint glow emanated from the tent.

I brushed some leaves out of one of the camp chairs before taking a seat.

"We stash our clothes in the tent when we go for runs. There are a couple cots in there, and we'll sleep out here on occasion. It's peaceful."

Jimin took a seat in the chair next to mine.

It was peaceful, but also slightly chilly.

My hair was still a little damp. Taehyung had let me borrow his hairdryer, but I felt rushed and didn't do a very good job. Jungkook had gotten very excited when Jimin announced at dinner that we would be going on a run. I didn't even have time to change back into my sweater from the shirt Jimin had let me wear to dye my hair. In his impatience, Jungkook had tossed his own hoodie at me to wear and ushered us out the door.

A rustle inside the tent caught my attention, and I looked over just in time to see Jungkook emerge.

He was terrifying.

I froze as I watched a nightmarishly large rabbit shuffle closer to the fire pit. He was at least four and a half feet tall at the shoulder, and his eyes glowed amber. Instead of cute little bucked rabbit teeth, he had large, sharp fangs. His fur was a dark black-brown and shiny.

"I'm gonna have nightmares," I whispered while staring at the monstrous rabbit.  

"Understandable." Jimin nodded and stood up. "Go on, Kook. Meet back here in about half an hour. I'll set an alarm."

The rabbit's ears twitched a little and he hopped away.

To my utter surprise, he was nearly silent. I only heard the snap of a twig as he bounded out of sight.

Giant, stealthy, battle bunny. I'm glad we're on the same team.

Jimin had retreated into the tent only to emerge shortly after. I had been so distracted by Jungkook's rabbit form, that I hadn't noticed Jimin had already changed.

I felt a warm breath hit the back of my head and turned slowly to face Jimin. Instead, I was standing eye-to-eye with a giant red fox.

"Jimin? You're huge!"