wish upon a dead star || taekook || completed

Chapter 26: Return

All the boys left their base around noon, not being able to push the time back any further, desperate to find their maknae. Taehyung took the lead, Jimin right behind him and the others following close behind the pair as they back-tracked their steps to the last place they saw Jungkook.

All Tae could think of was getting the younger back. He missed his bunny smiles and shining eyes. He missed his comfort and warmth late at night when they would fall asleep in each other's embrace and he missed his beautiful voice and musical laugh that would fill up the room whenever it seemed fit. The idea of losing him seemed too much for him to handle as his mind battled itself, thinking of every way Jungkook could have been tortured or killed since he had been taken. Taehyung knew it would break him if they found the boy he had so much to say to, dead or injured but he realized it would be so much worse if they didn't find him at all. With those thoughts, the boy picked up his pace, needing to find the missing boy.

"Taetae," Jimin called, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder and squeezing lightly. "We'll find him, don't worry."

"How can you be so sure, Jiminie?"

"Because," the older said, a small smile dawning his features, "we need to. Simple as that. We've all made it this far together, so we have to finish it out together." Tae just nodded, returning his gaze to the street. As much as he wanted to believe Jimin was right, his mind wouldn't ease up on the negative thoughts swirling around his head.

The streets were oddly empty and there was a chill in the air with several clouds littering the otherwise blue sky. The breeze that blew through the city swept it's cold fingers through Taehyung's hair, lifting it off his forehead gently before setting it back down. His clothes were drawn tightly around him, not necessarily because he was cold, but more since he needed somewhere to express the tension that was curling in his gut and folding his clothes around himself seemed like the best outlet as he pulled and played with the cloth around the zipper of his coat.

"This way," he murmured, ducking down the side street Jimin and he had been in the last time they saw Jungkook. "This is where we say him last. The people took him into the alley over there," he pointed, "and then the horde came and we couldn't see where they went from beyond that." The others nodded and headed towards the opposite side street, ducking into its shadows as the brick walls rose above them. They were in an older part of the city, brick more prominent than metal, and broken shards of glass littered the floor while tall strangling vines climbed the walls, trying to reach the sunlight that was just out of their reach.

Jimin couldn't help but pause before squinting his eyes and walking over to a certain part of the wall. He tore something off the brick before sauntering back over to the group, shoving the paper in their faces with narrowed eyes. "Isn't this that poster that you guys brought back?"

Hoseok frowned and walked towards it, taking the paper into his own hands. "Yeah, this is it," he murmured, running his hand over the strange writing and symbols.

"I've noticed those are around a lot more the further into the city we go," Namjoon murmured, taking the poster from Hoseok's hand and throwing it away. "And as interesting as that is, we need to focus and look for out maknae-"

"Don't you think," Jin interrupted, looking at the crumpled poster that lay on the concrete floor, "that It looks like a cult made it. And doesn't it sound like Jungkook was taken by a cult? Dressed in black cloaks and shit." Namjoon blinked at his boyfriend for a second before gasping, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Oh my God, my boyfriend is a genius!"

Yoongi rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, okay so they might have a correlation with the group that stole our maknae. If they're getting more prominent than maybe we are getting closer, yeah? Either way-"