Chapter Eight

Jin POV

Today would be a day to catch up on sleep, eating, reading, maybe more sleep, and whatever else I felt up to. The guys had just left to go do their hiking, leaving Yoongi, Hobi, and myself here to our own devices. Yoongi lounged on the chair closest to the fireplace, a blanket pulled up over himself, and his body wedged as far into the pillows as possible. Hobi sat on the couch next to him with headphones on as he used his phone. I was gonna go upstairs and run myself a hot bath. I hadn't had a chance to relax like that in a long time.

I wondered if Namjoonie was having fun hiking through the freezing cold sludge and pine needles outside. I poured extra bubble bath liquid into the running hot water. Jimin was probably complaining about being cold. I lowered myself into the bubbles and sighed as I leaned back. Jungkook liked nature, but always seemed to get himself into trouble. I picked up my teacup and breathed in the fragrant aroma. Taehyung was probably glued to Jiminie's side, listening to everything. And here we were, relaxing in the warm cabin in the peace and quiet. I drank some of my tea and closed my eyes, relaxing into the warm water.

Hobi POV

Jin had disappeared upstairs and now the water was running. He was probably taking a shower. I put my headphones back on and restarted my music. Yoongi was fast asleep on the chair across from me. He was much closer to the fireplace than me, yet I felt it was too hot. I didn't know how he could stand to be that close with a blanket on as well. But he was peaceful on that chair, so I let him be. I had already texted Jungkook a picture of his sleeping form. I was happy we didn't have to join Namjoon on his expedition this morning. It was just too cold outside to stay out for long. It looked like it was going to rain again anyway, by the looks of the dark clouds forming. Hopefully they were back before then.

Yoongi POV

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't sure what time it was. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep either. I felt so much better, however, and I stretched my arms over my head. The fire coupled with the blanket had made me pass out right away. It was so warm, I didn't want to leave this spot. But my stomach was grumbling at me. I lifted the blanket off and sat forward on the chair. I looked back at Hobi, who was half asleep on the couch next to me. The sun was much lower in the sky now. I glanced at my phone and blinked in surprise at the time; 5:34 pm. Namjoon and the others should have returned by now, unless they were really taking their time out there. I stood and stretched my back more.

"Yoongi, come here and help me." Jin's voice said behind me and I turned to look at him. He was standing in the kitchen dishing up something. I moved into the kitchen still in my socks and he handed me several plates to put on the table. He had made enough food for everyone, but had only dished up mine, his own, and Hobi's. After setting the plates down, I walked over to Hobi. I gently pushed his shoulder to wake him, but he still jumped anyway.

"Dinner's ready." I said as he met my eyes. He nodded and unplugged his headphones.

"Where are they?" Jin asked, concerned. I looked out the window at the setting sun. The temperature outside would be dropping along with the sun.

"I don't know, maybe you should call Joon." I said and took my seat at the table next to Hobi. Jin pulled out his phone, took a bite of his food, and waited for the call to go through. But he lowered his phone with a frown right away.

'It went straight to voicemail." He said and began typing into the phone. He set it down and continued eating. Hobi was nearly done, while I was only halfway. My nerves were growing more frayed with each passing minute. It was not like Namjoon to be late or miss calls.

By the time the sun set, and we were finished with dinner, Jin was nervously pacing. He was on the phone with one of our managers. It wasn't like we could go out and look for them right now. It was dark, we had no car, and the hiking trails they probably went to were well over an hour away at least. I hoped they only had car troubles and were delayed.

Jin POV

There was nothing we could do for tonight. I had called our managers and reported Jimin, Taehyung, Jungkook, and Namjoon all as missing. They were panicking just as much as we were. No calls or texts I was sending out were being answered, by any of the boys. I was sitting on the couch now, sick to my stomach with worry.

"Hey, you should get some sleep." Yoongi said, stopping to stand next to me. His hand settled on my shoulder and gave a light squeeze. "Sitting up all night a wreck isn't going to help them."

"Where could they be, Yoongi? Did the van break down? Did they crash? What if they're lost?" I rambled on but Hobi sat down next to me.

"Take a breath, come on, let's get some sleep. We've done everything we can for the night." He said quietly and I swallowed hard, but nodded. I stood and let them both lead me to my room. I stopped just before my door and turned to go with Hobi and Yoongi. I couldn't be in there by myself tonight, not with this disaster looming over my head. I took the bed with Hobi and pulled the covers over my head. Feeling Hobi's presence next to me, and hearing Yoongi's calm breathing, it helped me finally close my eyes and fall asleep.

Sleep was fitful that night. I continued to wake up and sit silently, holding my breath, to listen for any sounds in the cabin. Many times I had thought I heard the main doors open and close, meaning the rest of the guys had returned at long last. But every time it hadn't been the doors, but instead maybe a cough from Yoongi, or a groan from Hobi. Eventually I saw the sun begin to peek its way into the room, and I was immediately up. I grabbed my phone and called our managers once again to figure out the plan. They had promised me they'd begin a search and rescue operation at dawn.

"What do you mean you have no vehicles nearby?" I groaned, pacing the kitchen in my slippers. "Didn't you have all night to figure that out? My friends are out there!"

"Jin? What's wrong?" Hobi asked groggily. I hung up the phone and tossed it across the table, sitting down in one of the seats.

"They won't be able to get anyone out here till evening." I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. "We're in too remote of an area."

"We can't go out and look ourselves?" Yoongi said now. I looked up at him as he leaned his hands onto the table.

"They went to hike somewhere that's an hour away by car. It would take us hours to even get there, let along search." I sighed. "The boys haven't responded to my texts or calls either."

"Maybe their phones are dead?" Hobi asked and I shrugged. I was just frustrated and scared and tired.

"How are we just supposed to sit around and do nothing?" I asked just as Yoongi tried to say the same. We met eyes for a moment.

"We don't have a choice."

…

Jungkook POV

I opened my eyes as another shiver ran through my body. I was wedged as close to Tae as I could and even that seemed to be not enough. Taehyung was just as cold as I was, I could feel his body vibrating too. Namjoon was waiting for the rain to calm down before we made our way back to the cabin, but it was getting dark fast. It had been a torrential downpour for the past several hours, and the temperature had only dropped further. We couldn't keep comfortable with just our body heat anymore. I inched closer to Tae and pulled the thin blanket over my head. I rested my head onto his chest and sighed, shivering again as I pulled my arms and legs even closer in. I could hear his hitched breathing as shivers shook his frame, his heartbeat faster than normal, either from fear, cold, or both. The granola bar had helped for maybe half an hour, but my hunger had returned with vengeance. I felt like I had an angry bear trapped inside of me.

"Is everyone awake?" I heard Namjoon's tired voice ask. I poked my head out from under the blanket to see that everyone was looking over at him. "We might as well start our way back. It'll soon be too dark."

"We're gonna get wet." Jimin groaned as he pulled the meager blanket off himself. His teeth were chattering loudly and his hands were shaky.

"Not for long, we can make it there quickly if we run." Namjoon said as he stuffed the blankets into his backpack. He took down the one in the window protecting us and a freezing wind blew into the van. I grit my teeth and closed my eyes tight as the wind chilled me to the bone. "We need to make this fast!"

"Go, quick!" Taehyung pushed me to open the door and I yanked it open. We piled out of the van and Namjoon led the way. The ground was partially frozen and muddy. Puddles were everywhere and it was hard to avoid them in the fading light. I glanced back to see both Tae and Jimin keeping pace. The elevation coupled with the freezing air made it almost impossible to breathe, and I soon heard myself wheezing. My heart was pounding out of my chest and I felt light headed. The rain continued to come down and I was pretty much soaked to the bone now. I ignored the pain and freezing cold, keeping my eyes locked onto Namjoon. He knew where the cabin was, I trusted him.

"Ouch, damnit!" I heard Tae stumble behind me. I slowed enough to look back and saw him being helped up from the muddy ground by Jimin. Namjoon had stopped as well. Tae was limping on his left foot now, he probably twisted it pretty good in the dark on some tree root or rock.

"We're nearly there, can you keep going?" Namjoon asked and Taehyung nodded through a grimace and clenched teeth. Just a little farther. My hands and feet were numb and I ached down to my bones. My lungs felt like a million hot pokers were stabbing me all at once. Just a little farther.