*This chapter is dedicated to dragmystyle and Igotsmiles1

- Your comments make me laugh! Anyway, let's get back to the story!

Chapter 14

(Battle Pt. 1)

Hollyn’s Point of View

Surprisingly enough, we made it to Rochester. There were countless times these past months where I didn't think we'd actually make it. We'd been chased, terrorized, shot at, surrounded, covered in zombie blood, and almost killed.

Okay, about half of those things came from waking Yoongi up, but it still counted. He was as deadly as any zombie if you got him angry enough. I swear it was like looking in the face of death every time.

Yoongi, Jimin and I stood on a hill a about a mile out of town. The city of Rochester, Minnesota lay spread out in front of us, the distance giving it a deceptively peaceful look. It wasn't a huge city like New York or Los Angeles, but after staying away from big cities for so long, it looked endless.

The outskirts of the town was made up of suburbs-- the roads lined with middle-class family homes. At one time, there might have been kids running across the lawns and playing in the small backyards, but now it was empty. A wasteland.

Toward the center of the city, suburban homes turned into apartment complexes and towering skyscrapers. That was where most of the town's night life would have been, along with its grittier, more dangerous streets. Somewhere down there would be small shops and restaurants, and buildings that had been empty long before the apocalypse.

Directly in the center of the city was the very place we were trying to get to. A massive glass dome peeked out from between the skyscrapers, the sunlight reflecting off of the surface and acting almost like a beacon. Beneath the dome was a high wall that looked like a duller material-- probably concrete. From my viewpoint, it looked like there might be buildings inside of this dome, but I couldn't see that well beyond the glare.

“I’m guessing that concrete dome-thingy in the center is the safe house. Looks pretty government official to me,” Yoongi said. He was taking a closer look through the binoculars from where he was leaning up against a tree. He continued to study the city, and I bit my lip as I scanned for movement down in the streets that were too far for me to really see. I felt a twinge of apprehension.

We had no idea how many zombies were down there, but we had to assume that the city was crawling with them. It was going to be a dangerous trip, no matter how we went about it.

Someone grabbed my hand and I looked over at Jimin, who was staring back with a small smile. He squeezed my hand, and his smile widened a bit.

“You ready?” He asked. I managed a smile and turned to face him fully. I avoided glancing back at the city, and focused on his comforting smile.

“Ready as I'll ever be,” I said. Jimin laughed quietly, and turned his head to look at the skyline in front of us. His expression grew wistful, and I could see the hope written across his features. We were so close to finding his friends, and safety. We had finally made it to our end goal. It was hard not to feel a bit of relief at the sight of the safe house in the distance.

“Jin and Namjoon are in there somewhere,” he added, looking back at me. He tugged me closer and slipped a hand behind my back, then trailed his fingers up and down my spine. “It would be really nice to introduce you guys.” I smiled and squeezed his hand.

“I can't wait to meet them,” I said sincerely. I had heard so much about Jin and Namjoon over the past months that I already felt like I knew them, but I was really looking forward to meeting them in person. They sounded like the kind of people you would want to be friends with, and if even Yoongi cared about them, then there was no way they could be bad.

Jimin leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. My heart jumped in my chest like it always did when he kissed me, and my smile widened.

Yoongi pushed off from the tree and strode over to us with his binoculars in hand. Jimin and I broke apart, but he held onto my hand.

“So what’s our plan of attack? The truck will draw too much attention, so we should probably go on foot from here,” Yoongi said, crossing his arms. He let out a sigh and looked back out over the city.

“That would be best,” I agreed. I didn't like the idea of attracting the entire zombie population of Rochester, and the truck could only do so much to protect us. I followed Yoongi's gaze and nodded toward the city. “If we take that main road, it shouldn't take us too long.”

Yoongi nodded thoughtfully, then grimaced.“Only problem is... it seems like the streets don’t go straight to the center of the city. We’ll have to cut through a bunch of side streets to get there. All while not running into zombies and making a scene, or else we die.” Yoongi sighed. For someone talking about the high possibility of us walking in toward our death, he sounded far too flippant. For some reason, he didn't seem to be scared.Jimin spoke up from beside me.

“Are you sure about this, hyung? If you lead the way, we’re trusting you to not kill us.”

Yoongi made a face. “Come on, when have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Well, there was that time in--”

“Shut up, that was one time.”

I chuckled a bit, and shook my head. It sounded like a good enough plan to me. In situations like this, it was hard to plan for all of the possibilities of things going wrong. Sticking to something simple was best, and improvising as we went. It would definitely not be easy, but there really was no other way.  

“It sounds like a horrible, stupid, reckless idea,” I said. I glanced at Yoongi and he raised an eyebrow at me. I grinned. “Let’s do it and see what happens.” I finished, giving Jimin’s hand a comforting squeeze.

Jimin tipped his head back and groaned. I knew he didn’t really like the idea of going into a zombie infested city without the truck. I didn't either, but it was the only way we wouldn't get swarmed.

“Just kill me now. I’d rather be dead,” Jimin complained. Yoongi rolled his eyes and went to the truck. He grabbed our packs out of the back and tossed them towards us before slinging his own over his shoulders.

“Then I have some good news for you, sweetheart. Chances are we’ll all die before we even get to the halfway point. High chances, probably, but there is also a small chance that we will live. So shut up, follow me, and let’s YOLO the out of this and hopefully not die,” Yoongi said. He tightened the straps of his pack and raised his chin confidently. Then he his heel, and started down the hill.

I reached down and grabbed Jimin and I’s packs. Jimin took his and slung it over his back, scowling to himself. Left with no choice, we followed Yoongi down the hill.

“That wasn’t a very motivational speech,” Jimin grumbled beside me. He kicked at a rock and sent it skittering across the pavement. I laughed.

“Were you expecting anything different? Yoongi has always been pretty straight to the point, in a brutally honest kind of way. I think I was actually a little inspired there.”

Jimin looked at me and I winked. He relented and gave me a small smile.

“As long as I keep you safe, I’ll be happy.”

I stared at him for a moment. He was smiling, but I could hear the seriousness in his voice. He meant it. I didn't say anything, but I knew that I would do anything to keep him safe, too. I smiled and quickly gave him a peck on the lips.

“Yah! es! Stay close. We’re entering enemy territory. Zombies are all over the place. If you two get eaten, it's not my problem,” Yoongi called from farther down the hill, where he had stopped to wait for us.

Man, for someone so short, he certainly walked fast.

“We’re coming,” I called. I slipped my hand into Jimin's and tugged gently, pulling him after me as we continued our descent into Rochester.

Jin and Namjoon, here we come.

******

Everything . That building . That rock on the ground . Life .

What I thought would only take us an hour or two to trek through Rochester, turned into a three hour journey under the hot sun, roasting as we walked along pavement that was so hot, it was sizzling. My shirt stuck to my back with sweat, and the back of my neck was dripping. I could feel my face getting burned, despite the baseball cap that shaded me the best it could.

We had to move slowly and carefully, doing our best to keep silent. We had to check around every corner before we turned to make sure there weren't any zombies hanging around, waiting for the perfect chance to ambush us. I had gotten so used to plowing through everything that the agonizing slowness was killing me. I relied on having my gun, and the protection of the truck, and a lot fewer zombies to worry about. In the city, things were different. We were slow, careful, quiet, and very, very exposed.

It was exhausting. Not to mention we had a couple close encounters with the zombies, and barely managed to make it out alive. My heart wouldn't stop pounding, and my paranoia and frustration were starting to grow. I just wanted this day to be over with.

So far, Yoongi had been a great leader. It was amazing how this grandpa had been able to stay vigilant and alert this whole entire time, without complaining about needing to stop and rest. We made good time, despite our detours and the sweltering heat. I could see the dome clearly now, just up ahead. I could make out the buildings inside the dome, and see the guard posts, though no one inside would have been able to spot us at this distance. It was still a little ways away, but at least we were close.

The three of us were slowly making our way down those deserted, desolate streets, trying to stay as quiet as possible. There were car wrecks on the street corners, and scorch marks on the buildings. Dark splatters of what was probably blood painted the street and outer walls like graffiti. The closer we got to the safe house, the more obvious the signs of fighting got. The military must have really had their hands full trying to keep the zombies pushed back when they put up the wall. And some of the stuff was fresher-- likely from survivors fighting their way to the safe house, like we were trying to avoid doing.

The street we were on lead straight to the safe house. It wouldn't be long now. We walked in the shadows of the tower skyscrapers on either side of us. Wind whistled through the broken windows, and somewhere, it sounded like wind chimes were being rattled. I tipped my head back and looked up at the buildings, trying to imagine what they would have looked like when they were filled wit