Chapter 20

(Do Monsters Make War?)

Jungkook’s Point of View

For the first time in a long time, I woke up feeling rested, warm, and comfortable. There was no ache in my back from sleeping on a floor, or someone screaming at me to get up and grab a gun. It was quiet, and peaceful-- a welcome change.

I woke up slowly, stretching out on the bed. I snuggled closer to Desi, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

It felt so good to be able to hold her, to finally call her mine. Despite the hell we’d all gone through, all the times we nearly died… This made it worth it. I had been so close to giving in, too. If we hadn’t been too busy running for our lives back in that building, right after I thought I’d lost her, I would have caved. But it’s over now, and damn am I glad it is, and more glad that I won. I was never going to let her live that down.

I shifted closer to her again, turning my head to bury my face in her hair. I breathed in the smell of her freshly washed hair, wrapping my arm around her to pull her tighter against my chest.

That was when I first noticed that something was off.

The hair didn’t feel like Desi’s. It was too short, not as soft. As I began to wake up more, I realized several other things that were slightly off. The shoulders my arm was around were too broad, and the body beside me definitely didn’t belong to Desi. It was too tall, and lacked the curves that I loved so much. In fact, it felt more like…

Taehyung threw a leg over my waist, and let out a horrifying snore.

My eyes snapped open and I let out a yelp, shoving Taehyung away in a scramble to get off the bed. Taehyung tightened his grip on me, refusing to let go and whining quietly as he held me in place. I shoved at Taehyung’s face and chest, wrinkling my nose in distaste.

“Hyung…” I growled. “What the hell are you doing?”

Taehyung didn’t say anything but clutched me tighter, mumbling in his sleep. I sighed and grabbed Taehyung’s arm. I peeled it off of me, then reached down to do the same with Taehyung’s leg.

I sat up and kicked free of the blankets, yawning widely. I rubbed my eyes and glanced around the room, looking for Desi. What time was it? Did she get up already?

Hoseok was curled up in the next bed over, cocooned in blankets with his feet sticking out at the bottom. On the other side was Taehyung’s now empty bed, and Jimin’s beyond that one. Hollyn and Jimin were tangled together on his bed, arms wrapped around each other and legs overlapping. They were both out cold, still exhausted from the day before.

I eyed Jimin’s freshly dyed orange hair. It was hard to get used to, but it actually looked pretty good on him. Not that I would ever tell Jimin that. The older boy would never leave me alone about it if he knew.

I stood up and yawned again, then shuffled away from the bed. I ran a hand through my hair and looked around, peering up at the top bunks in search of Desi. I was starting to get a bad feeling, and more red flags went up when I saw what was in the beds-- or rather, what wasn’t in the beds.

All of the top bunks were empty, most of the beds still freshly made. Even Yoongi’s bunk was empty, which surprised me more than anything. Yoongi almost never willingly got out of bed. Not unless he was forced, or he had something to do. Uneasiness pooled in my stomach and I turned slowly, looking around the room. I had to have missed something.

But there was no sign of Desi, or Yoongi.

I spun again and stumbled toward the bathroom with my heart in my throat. They have to be there somewhere. They wouldn’t have just disappeared… Right? Where would they have gone?

“Desi?” I called, stepping into the bathroom. The lights were off, and there was no sound coming from inside. Goosebumps rose on my arms. Part of me knew Desi wasn't in there, but I was slow to accept it. It wouldn’t have been the first time she’d pranked me. But this time felt different.

“Desi,” I called again. “Quit hiding. You’re not funny.”

There was still no response. The only thing I could hear was the steady snores coming from Hoseok and Taehyung, and the steady drip of the tap in the sink. Fear crept down my spine, and my hands curled into fists.

“Desi,” I said louder. My voice echoed back, and I could hear how tight my voice was. I sounded scared. I was scared. She had to be here somewhere. She wouldn’t have just run off. Not without me.

“!” I ran back into the main room, my heart pounding. I stopped beside Hoseok’s bed and shook the older boy. “Hyung,” I said. “Wake up!” I shook him harder, pulling the blankets off of him to get him to respond.

Hoseok groaned in protest, reaching out to slap my hands away. I grabbed him by the wrists and tugged on him, trying to make him sit up. “Wake up!” I snarled. “Desi and Yoongi are gone!”

“What?” Hoseok squinted up at me, propping himself up on one elbow. He struggled into a sitting position and ran a hand through his bedhead, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “Gone where?”

“I don’t know, but we have to find them,” I said. I released Hoseok’s wrists and bounded across the room. I hit the light switch and the fluorescent lights flickered to life, bathing the room in a sickly, blinding white light.

Taehyung, Jimin, and Hollyn all cried out in protest, and ducked beneath their covers.

“What the hell?” Hollyn grumbling, squinting as she peeked out from beneath the blanket. She stared down at me, her hair sticking up in every direction.

“Desi and Yoongi are gone,” I repeated.

Taehyung flipped his blankets down and sat up, his face scrunched up as he looks at me. He rubbed his face and frowned. “What do you mean gone?” He asked, his voice thick with sleep. I threw up his hands in exasperation, half-ready to strangle someone. What weren’t they getting about Desi and Yoongi being missing?

“Are you sure they didn’t just go exploring a bit?” Hoseok asked. He pushed himself to his feet and started looking around, checking all the same places I did to make sure the two weren’t just hiding somewhere. I clenched my fists, trying to keep a lid on my anger.

I shook my head. I had no idea. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. Desi wouldn’t have just left me behind like that. Not without a good reason. And even if she had gone to check out the rest of the building, she would have been back by now. She’d have found something cool and wanted to show the others, or she’d have gotten bored and gone to crawl back in bed and sleep. I knew something was wrong. I just didn’t know what.

Hollyn sat up, untangling herself from Jimin, and rolled out of bed. She stood up and looked around too, pulling down into a frown. She crossed her arms and turned to look at me. “Where would they go though? If those two went wandering by themselves they’d get lost in a heartbeat. And how could none of us hear them leave? Desi’s not exactly… quiet,” she said.

Taehyung rubbed his eyes with a sleepy pout. “I heard Yoongi crash into something I think, but I fell back asleep right away. Then I woke up again and went and crawled in bed with Jungkook,” he admitted. Hollyn and I stared at him in disbelief.

“And you didn’t bother to see what he was doing?” Hollyn asked, her eyebrows raising. My hands curled into fists for a moment before I dropped my head in my hands. Un-ing-believable.

“I was tired,” Taehyung said with a shrug.

“They had to have snuck out, then. Desi wouldn’t be Desi if she didn’t try to find some dirt on the freaks keeping us here,” Hoseok said, getting to his feet as well. I felt my heart sink. Desi really had run off. That must have been it. And she wasn’t back yet, which could only mean bad things. She could be lost. Captured. Dead.

I shuddered. “We need to go look for them,” I said immediately. Hollyn nodded in agreement, and we started for the door. Jimin scrambled out of bed after us, not wanting to be left behind, and Taehyung hopped up as well. Hoseok brought up the back of the pack, his mouth pressed into a grim line.

Just as I reached for the door, it flew open. I stumbled back, nearly toppling into Hollyn. Hoseok grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back, steadying me, and Jimin reached for Hollyn.

My heart leapt. It had to be Desi and Yoongi. They were back, and they’d explain everything, and I would smack Desi upside the head for not letting me go with her. It had to be them.

But when the door opened wider, my hopes plummeted. Six hulking shadows filled the door frame, nearly blocking out all of the light filtering in from the hallway. All of them held their assault rifles across their chests, not pointed at the group, but still threatening. I stumbled back another step and the guards started filing into the room, taking up positions on either side of the door.

Once they were in place, a much smaller form stepped through the doorway.

Eve had her hands clasped in front of her, and a wide smile threatened to split her face in two, though it looked more like a grimace to me.

“Good morning, survivors,” Eve greeted cheerfully. “How did you sleep?”

We all ignored her question.

“Where is Desi?” I demanded, my hands curling into fists. “And Yoongi!” Jimin added with a growl.

The guards shifted warily as we moved toward Eve. They tightened their grips on their guns and moved forward slightly, ready to jump in front of Eve if need be. I watched them out of the corner of my eye, my muscles tensed for a fight. I was ready to beat the answers out of Eve if I had to.

Eve’s smile tightened until it looked more like a grimace. She held up her hands for peace. “Please, be calm. I will answer your questions, but I don’t want to have to ask my friends to tell you to keep your distance,” she said. As if on cue, the guards all took a step forward.

I narrowed my eyes, and Hoseok grabbed me and Taehyung by the arm, and pulled us back away from the guards. I may have been ready for a fight, but Hoseok was rational enough to see that we were way too outnumbered to stand a chance. We wanted answers, but we would have to cooperate to get them.

Once we were far enough away for Eve’s liking, the guards relaxed. She smiled wider, and clasped her hands together.

“Thank you. Now, I’m afraid I have some...bad news. I regret to tell you that your friend, Yoongi,” she said with a pointed look at Jimin, “has been quarantined. We found pathogens in his blood that require further testing, and we would like to keep him away from the rest of you in case he has contracted the virus.”

There was silence for a beat, and then the room exploded into noise.

“What the do you mean, quarantined?” Hollyn yelled, lunging forward. Jimin grabbed her around the waist and held her back, but the glare he sent at Eve was as venomous as I had ever seen it.

“You can’t just take him!” Hoseok bellowed.

“Quiet down!” A guard snarled and lunged forward, lifting his gun to point it at the nearest person. That person happened to be me. I bared his teeth at the guard and took a step forward, the barrel of the gun nearly brushing my chest.

“That’s enough!” Eve snapped, her voice high and strained.

After another few seconds, everyone went silent. I glared at Eve and the guard, my hands curled into fists. I was furious. They couldn’t lock Yoongi up like that, without telling us. Screw if he had the virus or not. He was our friend, and it was up to us to take care of him if it came down to it.

And Eve still hadn’t said anything about Desi.

“Please, please, calm down. I am not here about your friend. It is unfortunate, but we are certain he will do best under our constant care and supervision,” Eve says. Her smile was wavering, but she refused to let it fall. She was so dead-set on maintaining her calm, cheerful disposition that she almost couldn’t let go of it.

“...What are you here about if you’re not here about Yoongi?” Hoseok asked suspiciously.

Eve turned her attention to Hoseok, and she stared at him for a moment. She blinked at him, almost like she didn’t understand the question, and then turned to look at Hollyn. She waved a hand toward the younger woman and the rest of the group’s gaze followed.

Hollyn froze beneath our stares and looked around, her eyes wide. She pointed to herself and glanced at Eve, her face paling slightly.

“You’re here about me?” She asked. Jimin looked at Eve and tightened his grip on Hollyn, pulling her closer to him. I glanced at her, worry pooling in my stomach. Desi was already taken away or missing, and now they wanted to take Hollyn? What was going on here?

“Yes. We need you to come with us, my dear. There are a few more tests we would like to run on you, along with Desiree. Then you will be free to do as you like within the facility.”

“You’re testing Desi, too? Why only them?” I asked, glancing around the guard to glare at Eve. I didn’t understand why Eve would only want the girls. Were they more susceptible to the virus?

“There are certain factors we study in female survivors that pass through. It’s far too complex to explain, but you can trust that what we’re doing is for the best,” Eve explained, clasping her hands again. We all stared at her in disbelief, none of us willing to trust her enough to send Hollyn with them willingly.

“No,” Jimin said sternly. “You’re not taking Hollyn.” He pulled her behind him, out of Eve’s line of sight. He glared at the guards darkly, as if he was daring them to try and take Hollyn from him. Hollyn gripped his arms, her feet rooted to the ground.

“It’s just a few tests. We won’t hurt her. Desiree has already gone through many of the tests, and she’s alright. You’ll see, Hollyn. I just need you to come with me,” Eve said. Her smile was wavering again, and her eyes were hard and flinty. It seemed less like a request and more like an order.

“I want to see Desi,” I demanded. “I won’t believe you until I see her.”

“Yeah! Let us see Desi!” Taehyung agreed angrily.

The group was inching forward again, our outrage driving us toward Eve and the door. I wanted to force the answers out of her, but with all the guards in the room, watching us… It would be impossible to learn anything.

“I’m afraid I cannot. We need to do further blood testing on both of the girls, and Yoongi. Until that time, you will be kept separate until we’re sure all of you are virus-free,” Eve said. Her words were quickly becoming shorter, angrier, like she was getting impatient with us refusing to trust her. She must not have had a lot of people come through this facility. Any self-respecting survivor should have known better than to trust someone like her right off the bat. I was getting some serious creepy vibes from the , and I didn’t trust her one bit. I knew better than that by now.

“Wait, more blood testing?” Hoseok asked, making everyone pause. Eve turned her dark gaze to him, and he glared back. “You never did any blood testing yesterday. There was no reason for you to break in in the middle of the night and take Desi and Yoongi, admit it! This makes no ing sense.”

There was another heavy pause. The room was completely silent, and the tension was electric, like a lightning waiting to strike. No one said anything, but no one had to. We all knew what was coming next. And we didn’t stand a chance.

“Fine. I’m through trying to negotiate,” Eve said darkly, her voice cutting through the silence like a gunshot. She turned toward the guards and waved her hand. “Take the girl to the labs. I’ll be waiting.”

With that, she her heel, and left the room.

As soon as she was gone, the guards lunged. The one with his gun against my chest darted forward, pulling his gun back know before swinging it forward as he tried to hit me across the jaw with it.

I saw the attack and ducked, driving my fist forward into the guard’s ribs. He grunted and turned, trying to grab for me, but I kneed him hard in the job and he stumbled. He doubled over just enough for me to straighten up and slam my elbow down against his spine.

He let out a yell and fell forward, his arms reaching out. Unfortunately, I was close enough that he managed to snag me. His arms went around my legs and he tackled me, his weight pinning me to the floor.

I had no idea what they were feeding those guards, but if I had a guess, I'd say it was a diet of wet cement and bricks. The dude weighed a ton, and once he had me down, it was almost impossible to get back up. I clawed at him, kicking and punching at whatever I could reach to try and make him roll off of me, but nothing was working.

His gun pressed hard into my chest, digging into me enough to bruise. I hardly felt it. I was pissed. These bastards were keeping me from my Desi, and I was not going to lie down and let them!

I roared as I thrashed, twisting and bucking beneath the guard’s bulk as he fought to grab my arms and keep me pinned.

All around us the fight whirled, a mass of kicking, punching, and cursing as my friends fought against the guards. Fists met jaws and stomachs, and knees connected with thighs and guts. Blood and spit speckled the white tile of the floor. The awful crunch of bones and the cries of pain and anger were deafening, echoing off of the walls of the room so loudly that it felt like my ears were ringing.

From where I was on the floor, I could see Jimin and Hollyn fighting two guards back to back. I knew they wouldn't hurt her at least, but she was their end game. She was the one they wanted. Which was why we had to fight even harder to keep her away from them. At the moment, she was doing alright on her own. The guard was taking it easy on her, but she kept him busy with punches and kicks.

Jimin on the other hand… was not being let off easy.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and from his nose, and the guard he was fighting had him by the front of the shirt, and towered at least a foot above him. The guard slammed blow after blow into Jimin, who did his best to block, but was still not going to last much longer against the big bastard.

I wanted to get up and help, but I had my own problems to worry about. The guard on top of me was reaching into the pocket of his cargo pants for something. I didn’t know what it could be, but I knew it wouldn’t be anything good.

My heart was pounding against my ribs, and I knew I had to act fast. This guy might have been bigger than me, but all it took was one good blow, and I could get away. The door was still open behind him, too. If I got out, I could go look for Desi. Chances were I’d probably get lost, but at least I’d be closer to finding her out there than I would be in here.

Just as I was wriggling my arm out from underneath the guard, he pulled the device from his pocket. It looked weird, like an oversized syringe, and it had a creepy red button on it that glowed like an angry cyclops eye. It freaked me out enough to make me hesitate, and just like that, I lost my chance.

“Tag ‘em quick and retreat!” My guard bellowed, his voice grating against my ears. Spittle flew from his lips, nearly hitting me in the face, and the veins in his neck stood out prominently. He looked about ready to hulk out, and I wanted to be far, far away from him.

After he shouted his orders, he turned back to me and reached forward with the weird syringe. I tried to dodge him, but he grabbed my arm and held it in a bruising grip, making it impossible to break free.

“Let me go,” I snarled, jerking against his grip. “Get the away from me--”

He jabbed the syringe into the underside of my forearm, and pressed down the plunger. There was a sudden, sharp pressure as the needle dug deep into my arm. Pain flared through my veins and a deep ache spread throughout my arm. I cried out, curling my hand into a fist as I thrashed, trying to break free.

The guard held me still and the syringe let out a small noise, like a beep, and the guard released the plunger. With a grunt, he yanked the syringe out of my arm. A thin spray of blood speckled the floor, and I was quick to reach over and clap a hand over my wound. The skin there felt tight, hot, and I could feel something hard just beneath the surface of my skin.

What the hell?

All around me, I could hear my friends crying out as the rest of them were ‘tagged’ with whatever the hell was in those syringes. After that, the fight was lost. We’d been beaten, taken now.

I wasn’t too happy about that, to say the least. I was never good at losing.

The guard on top of me moved to get up, and I made my move. I lunged forward and grabbed onto him, punching at anything I could reach. He was taken by surprise and I took him down with ease, until he wrapped his arms around me and rolled. We rolled for a few feet until he forced us to stop, pinning me to the ground for a second time. I thrashed as hard as I could, but he was bigger than I was, and stronger-- probably on steroids, too.

“Stay down, you ing brat,” the guard snarled. I snarled back at him, baring my teeth, but he didn’t take to it very kindly. He pulled back just enough to get an arm free, and then punched me hard across the face.

Stars exploded across my vision and the room spun. Pain flared through my jaw, nearly blinding. I was used to pain, don’t get me wrong, but it had been awhile since I’d gotten punched like that.

“Stay. Down,” the guard huffed. He shoved me into the ground and pushed himself up, staggering to his feet. I shook my head, trying to clear my vision, and I reached out to grab his ankle. I couldn’t just let him walk. I had to get out-- I had to find Desi.

With an angry grunt, the guard jerked his ankle free of my grip, then brought his foot forward in a savage kick, right to my ribs.

I doubled over, curling my arms over my stomach as I coughed, the wind knocked out of my lungs. The guard sneered at me and turned away, storming toward the door with quick, clipped steps. The other guards followed him, some still struggling to fight off my friends.

One of them pushed Hollyn out in front of them, her arm twisted behind her back to keep her from struggling too much. She was still struggling against him, thrashing as much as she dared, and dragging her feet. She was actually doing pretty well, until the guard that had been fighting Jimin put a gun to Jimin’s head.

“Nobody ing move, or I will smear your friend’s brains all over the floor,” the guard snarled, shoving the gun against Jimin’s temple and making him wince. The guard looked furious, his nose swollen and blood dripping down his mouth and chin. At least Jimin had managed to get a couple good hits in.

We all froze, our eyes locked on Jimin. He didn’t look afraid. He looked angry. I couldn’t b