Chapter Thirty Four

Jin POV

We had been walking through these woods for a while and I wasn't sure where Namjoon was leading us. The sun was about to rise, its faint glow casting everything in an eerie dull blue light. Namjoon was ahead of us, Yoongi in the back.

"Joonie, where are we going?" I asked, panting as we marched through the trees and rocks.

"Somewhere we can lie low for a moment, but close enough to town." He huffed, ducking under another large branch. He was wanting to get close to town in order for us to still find help. But finding help was dangerous, especially now that everyone knew we had been lost for so long. Jungkook, Jimin, Taehyung, and Hobi were safe at least, but that meant everyone was anxious to find us. It was a double edged sword. Go into town and find people, but then risk exposing us to more who want to use us. I heard Yoongi stumble behind me as rocks scattered and an audible thump.

"Seokjin," Yoongi panted through ragged breathing, down on his hands and knees. I stopped immediately and turned back, crouching down next to him. "I can't…"

"Namjoon, hold on." I called out. Yoongi's arms were shaking and he could barely hold himself up. I reached out and cupped a hand around the back of his neck, reaching out with my other hand to wrap around his side. I lifted him back into a sitting position.

"We need to keep moving, we can't waste any more time-"

"Namjoon." I said sternly, seeing him stop abruptly now at the sound of my tone. He looked back at us and then quickly moved over to us. Yoongi had his weight leaned against me, his eyes fighting to stay open.

"We'll make camp here." Joon said more softly now and stood quickly. He moved out into the area, picking up large sticks for a fire.

"This place isn't safe…" Yoongi said weakly, trying to sit up. He got halfway up before he collapsed backwards again, too weak to try again. "We're out in the open."

"Let us worry about everything." I said quietly, scooping him into my arms. I moved him to a softer spot in the sparse grass, leaned up against a large tree root. His eyes drifted shut and I knew that he had passed out. I reached out and took his wrist, checking his pulse. His heartbeat was fast and uneven. I pressed my hand to his forehead, realizing that he was running a fever. His faded green hair flopped in front of his eyes as I pulled my hand away.

"How is he?" I heard Namjoon behind me. I turned to look at him. He dumped an armload of firewood to the side, and started to arrange a fire pit.

"Not good, he's got a fever. He's burning up."

"We'll make a fire, and then I'll go into town to try and find some water bottles." Joon sparked a light into the tinders, catching a flame with ease. I nodded absentmindedly. It was a risk we needed to take, Yoongi was in rough shape. At this rate he would need medical attention as soon as possible. I sat next to him and crossed my legs, leaning my head into my hands. I had a pounding headache and I was exhausted.

"I'll be back." Namjoon said and squeezed my shoulder lightly. "Keep him safe." I watched him head out into the woods, the sun just now peeking out. I shivered and then looked down at Yoongi. The fire wasn't very large, he was probably freezing too. I unzipped my hoodie and pulled it off, laying it over Yoongi carefully. I inched closer to the fire, hoping Namjoon had some good luck. My eyes were heavy and I fought to keep them open. Eventually I couldn't anymore and I leaned back against the tree root, letting my eyes close.

…

"You'll never believe what happened." I heard Namjoons voice and it startled me awake. I sat up instantly, looking around. The sun was about halfway up in the sky and the fire was nearly snuffed out. Namjoon was walking up to us through the trees. I rubbed my eyes and looked over at Yoongi. He was awake, but looked very distant. His clouded over eyes met mine hazily.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked, sitting up to face him. He blinked as he nodded very slowly, still beyond exhausted. I reached out and took his hand gently, giving it a squeeze.

"I talked to a woman, she helped me out." Namjoon sat next to me and handed me a small paper bag. Confused, I looked inside. It was a small sandwich and a few peanut butter crackers and a water bottle. Namjoon had two more, one for himself and Yoongi.

"What happened?"

"She was a school teacher, she gave me these." He said and set one bag next to me. "She also let me use her cell phone."

"Did you call Hobi?"

"He didn't answer, none of them did. I don't think they have their phones." Namjoon sighed. "But I did make it through to Kelly."

"Kelly? You still trust her?"

"She's our best bet at getting out of here." He took a bite out of his sandwich and closed his eyes. "Damn, I was hungry."

"Me too." I admitted as I bit into my sandwich. I turned to look over at Yoongi, his eyes closed again. His arms were folded loosely in front of his thin chest and he breathed shallowly. "Hey, you should try to eat."

"Not hungry." Yoongi mumbled quietly, his eyes opening a little. He grimaced as he tried to shift more towards his left side. "Everything hurts…"

"You're sick, you should really try to eat. At least drink something?" I moved to his side and helped him sit up enough to take a water bottle. He took a few sips but then needed to lay down again. He was weak and exhausted. I looked over at Namjoon worriedly and he nodded, looking out into the woods again.

"What did she say?"

"She's about a day's drive away."

"We need to wait another whole day?" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Yoongi had passed out again. "He can't wait that long."

"If we absolutely need to, I'll get someone from town. But until then, we have to hold out a little while longer." Namjoon said and rubbed his face.

"Kelly isn't going to be enough. Even if she gets here, she can't do anything for Yoongi!" I said, raising my voice slightly. Anger and frustration were building in my chest. "She'll need us to drive to wherever your next big plan is!"

"What would you rather have us do?" Joon was equally frustrated now.

"What about a hospital or something? I'm sure they have pretty tight knit security."

"And have our faces plastered all over the news? Have hundreds of people swarming the building just to take a picture? You saw what happened to the others!"

"The others are safe!" We were both standing now, close to each other as we panted. "We've been spending all this time hiding and not trying to get home!"

"Is everything alright here?" We both froze as we heard the unfamiliar voice. It was female. We both turned to look and saw a tall lady standing about 100 feet from us, carefully getting closer. Her eyes grew wider as she recognized us. "RM, Jin, Suga?"

"Hi," I said carefully, Namjoon taking a step forward. He introduced himself in English slowly. She was smiling at first, but then as she looked past us at Yoongi weakly sitting up against the tree root, she faltered.

"You guys have been missing for a long time…" She said and moved around Namjoon to kneel next to Yoongi. Namjoon and I shared a glance as she lifted her hand to touch him. Yoongi clenched his jaw and kept his gaze locked on me as she felt his forehead. "You're burning up with a fever."

"Can you help us?" I asked in very broken words but she seemed to understand. She nodded, but continued looking over Yoongi. She seemed to know what she was doing.

"I'm a nurse at the local urgent care here, I can help you guys." She stood carefully, Yoongi swallowing hard nervously.

"That's amazing." I breathed a sigh of relief and looked over at Namjoon. He nodded and looked back at Yoongi as he weakly leaned against the tree root again. His eyes fluttered shut again as he slipped away once again. "We need to hurry."

"Of course, here, follow me." She motioned for us to follow her. "I have my care here."

"We were so busy arguing we didn't even hear someone drive up." I whispered to Namjoon and he sighed.

"I know, but just be thankful that she's trustworthy." He moved over to Yoongi and knelt down next to him. He opened his eyes slowly, reaching out to touch Namjoon's shoulder. "Come on, you need to help me a little." He said as he lifted Yoongi into his arms. Yoongi hooked his arms around Namjoons neck weakly.

We walked towards the small blue car, the girl smiling as she opened the door for us. Namjoon and Yoongi sat in the back while I took the front seat. I glanced back at them, Yoongi leaned against Namjoon.

"My name is Jess by the way." She said and I saw Yoongi react to the name, pushing himself up weakly.

"Your mom's name?" He slurred in Korean and left Jess looking at us confused. "What is your mom's name?"

"Your mom, who is she?" Namjoon translated, looking worriedly at Yoongi.

"Elizabeth, why?" She said and Yoongi nodded, leaning back against the car seat, his eyes fluttering shut again. I looked over at Namjoon nervously. We would only find out after Yongi had recovered some.

…

The short ten minute drive felt like an eternity. I had nearly passed out along the way, I was so tired. She parked and I vaguely remember her opening the door for me before moving to help Namjoon carry an unconscious Yoongi. The boy was dead weight in Namjoons arms, not even just asleep anymore. Jess opened the door for us and we walked into a very small but cheery house. Colorful furniture, a large dining table, a TV, even a cat.

"You can set him down on the large couch, I'll go get blankets." She hurried off to the bedroom while Namjoon rest Yoongi onto the sofa. "Here," She handed Namjoon several blankets and then turned to walk off again.

"He won't wake up." I whispered nervously to Namjoon as he carefully lay the soft blankets over him. I was sitting next to the couch, holding his hand. He felt very hot to the touch.

"He's exhausted, Jin. He's sick too, let him rest." He brushed some of Yoongi's hair away from his face. "He's safe, don't worry." Jess returned just then with a small bag of things. She pulled out what looked like a bag of water and a lot of tubing and wires.

"You said you're a nurse?" Namjoon asked, sitting down on the smaller chair next to the couch.

"I am, I'm going to give him an IV for now, then we can get some sugars into his system." She explained and set the bag on a short metal rolling pole. I nervously sat there, still holding Yoongi's hand. I really hoped she knew what she was doing.

Namjoon POV

Jess had set up the saline drip and was now rolling up Yoongi's sleeve. Jin was anxiously sitting next to the couch, still holding Yoongi's hand. I saw the needle and Jin tensed right away, glancing away as she very easily established the IV line. She taped it into place quickly. I stood and moved next to Jin, leaning my hands onto his shoulders as I watched. She was very efficient at her job, working quickly and carefully. The saline bag was now dripping into the line, directly into Yoongi's bloodstream. He desperately needed it.

"You guys have been through hell, huh?" She said, continuing her examination. She lifted Yoongi's thin shirt and exposed the multitude of bruises across his chest and stomach. His visible ribs and concave belly was proof enough of his hardships. She reached out and gently touched a nearly healed bruise along his side. "This is almost a month old…"

"We've been through a lot these past few months." I said quietly.

"Where are the others?"

"Safe." We shared a glance for a moment. Her green eyes were full of worry and pain.

"I saw the news article on their car crash. I'm glad Hobi and Jimin's surgery went well." She said and my breath froze in my chest. Surgery?

"What do you mean surgery?" I asked, more tense now, and Jin reacted to it. He looked up at me quickly.

"They were injured in the wreck, and needed surgery to recover. Both are healing well." She said, and smiled to reassure me. Jess looked down at Yoongi again, reaching her hand out to gently touch his shoulder. "I was so worried for you boys when I heard you went missing."

"Are you ARMY?" Jin asked slowly and she nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek for a moment before she brushed it away.

"I always have been, since 2013."