No Going Back

29

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
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The Art of War
Sun Tzu

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Waking up from being knocked unconscious was not like what they showed in the movies.

There was no jolting upright, no dramatic gasping for air. There was no sudden recollection of everything that had happened moments before falling into that still, silent, and shadowy void. And there was no instant awareness of your surroundings, no immediate fight-or-flight response that triggered one into action.

No, there was none of that.

Instead, Jungkook's eyes slowly fluttered open, finding nothing but blurry darkness before him. An odd jostling sensation irritated a dull throbbing at the back of his skull, adding to the uncomfortable feeling of blood rushing to his head. It appeared he was upside down, dangling helplessly as he moved through the mild night air.

Well, technically he wasn't moving.

Jungkook was draped over the shoulder of a bulky man, whose labored breathing added to the cracks and snaps of the branches underfoot. An unrelenting grip around his thighs held him in place, though his unsecured arms flapped lifelessly against the guy's back. They weaved through the woods at an effortlessly fast pace - dodging trees and following a zigzag path - which was surprising considering his added weight.

It took twenty more seconds for Jungkook to remember why he was in this position in the first place, and when he did . . .

Taehyung.

What had happened to Taehyung?

Vivid images flooded Jungkook's mind as he remembered in perfect clarity the moonlit walk that ended with gunshots. He remembered the bite of Taehyung's nails against his skin as they frantically scrambled through the trees, fleeing from their unknown and violent aggressor. He remembered the burn of his lungs and the strain on his muscles as they headed deeper and deeper into the shadows. He remembered the sting of bark digging into his palms as he was forced to hide, watching as his love melted into the cover of darkness with his weapon raised. And he remembered witnessing a hooded figure slowly emerge, gun aimed and ready to shoot an unmistakable target.

Jungkook had not hesitated.

He'd hurled himself at the person, thoughts consumed with protecting his love at all costs. He didn't stop to think about what might happen if he failed; he just knew that failing was not an option. But as he attempted to throw a punch to immobilize the attacker, a thick pair of arms had wrapped around his stomach. His terrorized plea for Taehyung to run was cut off as a harsh blow connected with the back of his head, reducing his vision to bursts of stars before it inevitably faded to black.

And then there was nothing, nothing but a soundless and colorless solitude that temporarily transported Jungkook somewhere very far away from the countryside of Daegu.

It wasn't evident how long he lost consciousness for, but now that he was alert once more, a gnawing urgency to locate Taehyung overtook his senses. Lifting his head and swallowing down the waves of nausea, he surveyed the shaded and muted scenery. The dim lighting made it difficult to see much of anything, but he realized they were nearing the woods' edge and approaching open farmlands. This was where he and Taehyung had come from minutes earlier, which thankfully meant he wasn't knocked out for too long. Hopefully, that also meant he didn't sustain any extensive brain damage; on top of everything else going on at the moment, he couldn't exactly afford to deal with a concussion.