Chapter Nine

Jimin POV

Taehyung held onto my shoulder for support as we hobbled through the mud and rain. Namjoon and Jungkook were already at the front of the cabin desperately trying to get in with shaky and numb hands. Tae hissed in pain as he barely got up the small stairs of the porch. Soaked to the bone and freezing, I kicked the door closed behind us, and let Tae down onto the floor.

"Quick, get the fire going." Jungkook said through chattering teeth and Joon quickly began to arrange tinder and logs. I pulled off my soaking wet coat and hung it up once again. I helped Tae remove his and did the same. I sat next to him stiffly and watched as he pulled off his sopping wet shoes. His left ankle was swollen, like he had sprained it pretty bad. His breathing was shaky from shivering so hard, but seemed to be calming down some. I saw the flashes of light as Namjoon struck matches into the fireplace.

After several minutes of the fireplace going, we all finally began to warm up. Our clothes began to dry, but I still felt horrible. Stiff, cold, exhausted, hungry, I wasn't sure how this endeavor could get any worse for us. But as we sat around the fireplace, the shivers beginning to subside, a small light winked on in the corner of my vision. I automatically turned to look for the source, my eyes locking onto a tiny black object underneath the lip of the kitchen counter. Namjoon saw my gaze and nudged my arm with his.

"What is it?" He asked as I stood and moved towards the object. He followed me. Jungkook watched from his place next to Tae with tired eyes. I reached out and touched the small object, my fingers tracing around it flat and square shape. I pried it off the lip and a tiny wire snapped, its light fading.

"A camera." I whispered, and Taehyung grew more anxious.

"If there's one, there's probably more, Namjoon." He breathed and Joon nodded. He began moving around the kitchen, reaching under things, into cabinets, anywhere small and inconspicuous.

"Do you think they're here to monitor hikers?" I asked and Jungkook stood up. He moved closer to the fireplace and reached up behind one of the loose bricks of the chimney. He pulled out another small black device, only this one looked more like a microphone. "This place is bugged all over, what are they watching for?"

"No idea." Namjoon sighed, standing by the kitchen table deep in thought.

"Should we leave?" Tae asked quietly, his brown eyes wide.

"And go where?" I asked, irritated. "We're lost."

"I don't think so. They would have known we were here right from the beginning." Namjoon said and moved towards the couch. He sat down and Jungkook handed him the small mic. He looked it over as I sat down on the ground next to Taehyung again. He was looking over his ankle now. The fire crackled loud in the fireplace and the rain beat down on the roof and walls of the cabin. It felt eerily comforting but also unnerving. I wondered what Jin, Yoongi, and Hobi were doing right now. We had been gone for almost two days. Were they even looking for us?

"We should go back to the van tomorrow, try your signal again." Jungkook sighed, flopping himself onto the ragged couch. He looked completely worn out. His eyes were barely half open, his movements were slow and stiff, and he was limp on the couch on his back. I crawled up to the couch where Namjoon was sitting and lay down on one end myself. Everything hurt, and I just couldn't seem to get warm enough. Taehyung carefully stood and hobbled over to Jungkook, where he lay down beside him.

"Get some sleep, guys. We'll make a plan in the morning." Joon leaned onto the couch himself and closed his eyes. I closed my own eyes and tried to focus on something to help me fall asleep. Either the crackling fireplace, the rain outside, or the wind against the window panes. My stomach interjected with its own deep growl that I felt resonate through my body. I grit my teeth. All this running around and constant energy sapping cold left me starving. I was sure the others felt the same, though they all ignored it too.

A loud clap of thunder shook the small cabin, making me jump up with a small gasp. I groaned and rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands, willing this scenery away. I squeezed my eyes closed and covered my ears as another viscous thunder clap rolled through. I jumped again as I felt gentle hands on my back. I opened my eyes and saw Namjoon up, his hand rubbing slow circles into my back. He didn't say anything, just moved his hands, easing the tension from my shoulders. I relaxed some and felt him pulling me slightly. I lay down next to him on the couch, feeling a little safer with him being next to me. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing.

Jane POV

Clearly these four boys were very close. They'd been here in this cabin for a couple days now, coming and going only twice. I could only understand some phrases from them, but I was sure they were lost. My cameras and microphones showed that they were asleep now, for the most part. It seems one of them was woken up by the loud thunder. I watched as what seemed like the oldest, comforted him and let him lay down beside him. They all looked so familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I opened another tab on my laptop and began searching keywords.

"Who is it now?" My daughter, Kelly, asked over my shoulder. She eyed the cameras and watched the sleeping boys. In this business, you had to take whoever you could, but it was a plus if that someone was important. There were only a handful of us, but we all had the need for laborers. Unsuspecting hikers in the woods, tv show survivalists, even a passersby, we would take.

"I'm not sure, honey." I said as I continued my search. She frowned and zoomed in on one of the cameras. "This one is dead, what happened?"

"That one," I pointed to the boy who had jumped from thunder. "He found it. His friend got one of the mics."

"That one?" She looked close. "He looks like Jimin."

"Who?"

"Jimin," She said again and looked at another boy. "That's Jungkook! You have BTS here!?" She said excitedly. I stared at her confused. She rolled her eyes and pulled up my tab, typing in BTS. She stepped back and let me look.

"BTS, a South Korean boy band." I said. "This is good?"

"Yes, they are popular all over the globe. And from the looks of it, you only have four of them here. That's Namjoon, Jimin, Jungkook, and Taehyung."

"I don't know or care how you came to learn all this. But great. Get the yard ready. We'll go get them tonight. We'll welcome them in." I eyed the four sleeping boys. They all looked exhausted.