Gore, violence, zombies, mention of drugs and drug dealing, weapons discharge in self defense, main character death, zombies, course language, zombies, drinking, did I mention zombies?
Summary:
They were the top of their game, known throughout the city as the smartest and most dangerous crew to ever hit the Daegu streets. But what’s going to happen when this group of young men encounter something right out of a horror film?
Gore, violence, zombies, mention of drugs and drug dealing, weapons discharge in self defense, main character death, zombies, course language, zombies, drinking, did I mention zombies?
Summary:
They were the top of their game, known throughout the city as the smartest and most dangerous crew to ever hit the Daegu streets. But what’s going to happen when this group of young men encounter something right out of a horror film?
Gore, violence, zombies, mention of drugs and drug dealing, weapons discharge in self defense, main character death, zombies, course language, zombies, drinking, did I mention zombies?
Summary:
They were the top of their game, known throughout the city as the smartest and most dangerous crew to ever hit the Daegu streets. But what’s going to happen when this group of young men encounter something right out of a horror film?
Gore, violence, zombies, mention of drugs and drug dealing, weapons discharge in self defense, main character death, zombies, course language, zombies, drinking, did I mention zombies?
Summary:
They were the top of their game, known throughout the city as the smartest and most dangerous crew to ever hit the Daegu streets. But what’s going to happen when this group of young men encounter something right out of a horror film?
The kitchen erupted into a surge of chaos at the sound of Jin’s voice. I’d rerouted the audio to my cell phone, which Taehyung had rigged long ago to double as a receiver so we could communicate during missions and various outings.
It was a chorus of shouts and sobbing as the boys scrambled to be heard over each other by their elder.
“How did you survive?”
“What the fuck happened?”
“Where are you now?”
“Are you hurt?”
“I saw you get shot, what the hell?!”
Even Yoongi seemed shaken, which was hard considering.
That windshield wiper laugh sounded through the receiver and I crumpled to the floor, sobbing with relief as I clutched the phone to my chest.
“Aww, come on now boys, look what you did to her.” Even at a distance and fresh from the grave he still managed to find a way to scold his younger brothers.
Jungkook helped me to my feet and I placed the phone on the counter, angling it so that everyone could hear and be heard before burying myself into the crook of his arm.
“Hyung, seriously, how did you manage to survive that shot?” Jimin squatted down at the counter across from me, arms crossed on the metal surface so he could rest his chin on them and still be able to see the phone.
“Same way Hoseok did. We had our vests on.”
This sent another wave of relief and cheering through the group. Even Jeanette and Rose were sobbing off to the side when they heard Hobi’s cheerful hello on the other end of the line.
“Fuck sake man!” Namjoon sniffled as Taehyung wiped his nose on his shoulder. “You both had us half way to grieving over you.”
“Seriously though, what exactly happened?” Junkgook demanded, though he couldn’t hide the tears that clung to the back of his own throat.
And so Seokjin filled us in.
After he’d been shot and Jeanette and Yoongi had been taken away, he’d played dead for a bit. Long enough to watch as the helicopters took off without him.
He’d made his way to the front of the house, almost losing it when he spotted Hobi’s unmoving form on the ground. He’d quickly realized though that the blow back of all those shots had simply rendered the bodyguard unconscious. The bulletproof vest had done its job perfectly.
“We had him checked out, nothing broken, but the ceramic plates in his jacket and vest are fully toast.”
“What do you mean…we?” Namjoon interrupted. His curiosity caused his voice to crack slightly as he spoke, eliciting a snicker from the others.
“Well, you see…”
Jin was interrupted by a voice that had my blood running cold.
“They had a little help from a friend.”
“Eun Kwang!”
A chorus of voices rang out, drawing the attention of several nearby civilians. I smiled at them sheepishly, to which most shrugged and ignored us, though a few seemed to now have at least half an ear turned in our direction. It didn’t matter though, I had more important and pressing matters to attend to.
“You skeevy bastard what the hell?!” Jungkook was nearly purple with rage and I could tell he was on his way to saying something stupid.
I stepped in, touching his arm and gently taking the phone to redirect his attention.
“Easy there killer, not the place or time for all this.” I smiled softly to him, handing the phone over to Namjoon and placing a hand on Jungkook’s cheek.
“Let’s have Namjoon find out what happened. There’s too many people around to have you going full mafia boss rage mode.”
He snorted, though the sound was not one of amusement and we turned our attention to the ongoing conversation.
“We were on our way over to negotiate a peace treaty to be frankly honest.” Eun Kwang’s tone was mocking to say the least, I could almost hear the sneer in his voice.
“Hyun sik heard the chopper first so we hid until the shots died out and the bird took off again. Found your boys barely breathin’ when we managed to get there. Don’t worry though little dongsaeng, we made real sure to secure your property, get everything valuable to a nice an safe place.”
“Mother f…” Jungkook inhaled. I could feel the rising tension in his form, the muscles in his arms writhing beneath my fingertips as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
“Boss?” Namjoon whispered, eyes scanning his younger brother’s face as his brows creased with concern.
“What do you want Eun Kwang…” Jungkook asked, words clipped as he struggled to keep his temper under control.
“Well, I know you and your crew are in a bit of a bind. Trapped on that American base with no way out and surrounded by rabid bodies? Not a good look man.”
“And?!”
“I’ll help you escape, sure. But on one condition.”
Jungkook growled, throwing his hands up in the air and turning away with a huff.
“Of course there’s a fucking catchin!” He slammed his fist on the counter, causing Jeanette to yelp from the corner. I sent her a half hearted and apologetic smile.
“What do you want Eun Kwang?” I muttered into the phone when I took it from Joon.
“I want Daegu.”
“What?!”
“If I send my crew out there, I’m risking their lives to get you out. I need to know that the risk is worth the reward. Daegu is my reward.”
“But Eun…”
“Yes yes, I know. How is that going to work if you all are still in Daegu when this is all over? Simple. I want you all gone. I don’t care where you go or what you do. But Daegu is mine.”
Namjoon stepped up, waving for me to hand him the phone again. I obliged, passing it over and turning to watch Jungkook as he began pacing again.
“Why not just leave us here then? Why not just let the Americans deal with us or kill us or whatever it is they have planned for us?”
“Because if anyone’s gonna kill Jungkook, it’s gonna be me. You damn well best believe I’m not letting any other mother fucker have that satisfaction.”
***
Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by a commotion at the kitchen door. I grabbed the phone quickly, lowering the audio volume as much as possible while shushing the men on the other end of the line.
“We’ve got company.” I muttered, hoping that whatever this could be, it wouldn’t spell disaster for our escape plans.
“Daddy!” The shout echoed across the kitchen as several soldiers walked in, startling us to no end as one of the nearby children rushed over and nearly tackled one of the soldiers to the ground.
The sight would have been heartwarming if not for the fact that as soon as the two hugged it out the young boy began whispering to his father while pointing back at us several times.
“Fuck…” Jungkook grumbled. Apparently he’d been watching the exchange as well.
“There’s nothing we can do about it now Boss.” Namjoon moved to block our sight of the two, pulling our attention back to him as he shoved his hands in his pocket.
“If we draw attention to it now they’ll know or at least suspect that something’s up. Just watch and wait for now, see where this takes us.”
It didn’t take long for the commotion to become organized.
The group was divided into two lines, children at the front and adults split into two groups that were led out into the darkness of the bowling alley.
After hurriedly ending the call and shoving the phone in my pocket I joined the groups. Half of us were led to the front of the building, Rose, Jeanette, and myself included, while the others were instructed to stay put.
“They’re taking us to the bathrooms.” The little girl that had taken a liking to Namjoon and Jeanette whispered up to me.
I smiled down at her gratefully, heat rising to my cheeks when she slipped her tiny hand in mine and squeezed it tightly.
“I wish they would take us more often, but Mommy said they do it so that the ones with guns can keep us safe from the monsters.” She glanced toward the front door, eyes wide as her gaze darted across the dusky twilight of the sky.
I squeezed her hand, bringing her attention back to me so I could shoot her a reassuring grin.
“It’s brave of them to want to protect us, don’t you think?” I asked as we made our way into the imposing darkness of the women’s bathroom. A few of the sinks had lanterns on them, but it really did little to dispel the gloom that prevailed in the entirety of the large space.
“Well…I guess it’s brave. But really they’re just pretending. Grown-ups do that a lot.” She shrugged, letting go of my hand and making her way to one of the toilet stalls.
I wondered at her words as I did the same, finishing my business as quickly as possible so I could spend a moment or two longer at the sink.
I glanced to the side after finishing with my face, smiling and letting out a small chuckle that echoed slightly when the little girl had reappeared beside me with Jeanette, Rose, and her mother in tow.
Reaching her hand out once more she quickly pulled me into the group, giggling the whole way back to the kitchen at the new friends she’d made for herself.
When we got back I broke away from the others, making my way over to Jungkook who’s eyes were on the dad and son duo we’d been watching earlier. He frowned when the adult glanced our way, his fist clenching at his side when the man began walking over.
“Kookie, you’re gonna end up with arthritis if this keeps up.”
He glanced down at me, face full of confusion as I wrapped my hand around his fist and brought it up to gently brush my lips over the knuckles. “Relax baby. I know this is tough but please, ease up on yourself.”
I wasn’t even sure if my words registered in his mind as the man in uniform stopped before us, hand on the holster at his hip as he sized us up.
“My son tells me you all have a plan?” His clipped Korean sounded foreign on his tongue, though the pronunciation was immaculate.
“Couldn’t possibly begin to know what you mean, Sir.” I replied, giving him my most charming smile possibly.
“Mmm, no I get it. With everything going on, what reason do you have to trust me?” He shrugged, leaning his hip against the counter and finally moving his hand away from his holster to cross his arms over his chest.
I tilted my head, smile still in place as I attempted to sooth the seething beast that was Jungkook by tracing my fingers over the bulging muscles in his forearms.
“We weren’t exactly given a choice to leave our home, safe as it was and out of the way of the chaos. Two of our family members were shot and killed, and by YOUR people at that.” I shook my head, eyes brimming with tears to emphasize the point.
The soldier sighed, nodding and frowning as he turned to look out at the group of civilians loitering around the spacious kitchen. “Sad fact is, people tend to do stupid shit when they think they’re saving people. Get high and mighty in their authority and think they’ve become god when they’re the ones holding the guns.”
I hummed in thought, curling my fingers over Jungkook’s knuckles and placing just enough pressure to encourage him to loosen his fingers so that I could slip my hand into his.
“Seems that’s a universal fit. People with authority want to keep their authority, no matter who or what gets in their way.”
The soldier pursed his lips, eyes finding the young boy who’d called him Daddy earlier. He was now playing with the young girl and Namjoon, smiles bright as he told them one of his many stories while balancing each of them on either of his knees. The man was good with kids, there was no doubt about that.
“I’ve seen the type of people my so called superiors are. The way they run things around here? I’d rather have my kid out there on the streets than have them in this dingy ass kitchen until whatever’s left of the world’s governments decides to figure their shits out.” He turned back to use, face determined for a moment before softening into a look of sad resignation.
“Look, whatever it is you and your people are planning, me and mine are in. Just say the word and we got your back, there’s more of us than them. In the end you can’t lose.”
I reread this and made my own self cry over my own writing Gawd I hope one day they get to hear what I wrote here from someone. If not from me then from…someone, anyone. I hope they know how appreciated they are. ARMY sees their hard work. We love them so much. These boys…so precious..I just..
