All Ara could focus on was the warmth of Jimin’s hand as he led her out of the cell.  She followed him blindly, his hand being the only thing anchoring her down with the last bit of sanity she had left.  The dried trails of her tears were soon wet again from new ones that fell involuntarily.  

She glanced at Jungkook, who bore a dark expression.

Jimin squeezed her hand gently.  “Hang on, Ara,” he said as they hurried down the hall.  “We’re going to get you out of here.”

“This way,” Jungkook said, turning down another hall.  “There’s a back exit that feeds straight into the forest.  We’ll be well covered.”

“But just where will we go after that?” Seokjin shot.

They reached the door, and Jimin jumped in to help Jungkook turn the valve to open it.  

“We’ll run to the North,” Jungkook answered through clenched teeth.  “Believe it or not, there are more people we can trust there than here.  Besides, that’s where the others are already.”

“The others,” Ara echoed quietly.

Taehyung.  Hoseok. Yoongi.  Baekhyun.

“Stay close to me,” Jungkook said, locking eyes with his sister.

Her cloudy gaze seemed to clear the more she focused on his eyes.  They flashed gold, and she blinked, her eyes mimicking the same shade.  She pursed her lips and nodded.

He gave her a small smile before pushing the door open.

Ara’s senses flooded with the sound of the alarm.  Without thinking, she ran, following her brother with Jimin and Seokjin close behind.

“There they are!”

“Don’t let them escape!”

Gunshots rang out in the night air, making flocks of frightened birds fly as the four dashed into the forest.  

They moved swiftly.  Ara focused on putting one foot in front of the other.  She felt the leaves crunching under each step, and the branches of the short trees whipping her cheeks.  Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and it stayed that way, making her dizzy and her limbs heavy and clumsy.

Eventually, the shots faded, and they were left with the sound of crunching leaves and their breathless pants.  

“Over here!”

The four tensed at a small whisper coming from across the border.  As the moonlight shifted in the clouds, Ara exhaled shakily as she saw Taehyung waving them over, the rest of them behind him in the shadows.

Once over the fence, Ara couldn’t help but collapse into Taehyung’s arms.

Taehyung squeezed her frame gently.  “You’re okay…you’re okay…”

She stifled her cries, burying her face in his jacket.  “They…they’re monsters…Chanyeol…he killed…”

“Hush,” he said, holding her head close to him.  “It’s okay.”

--

At that point, Wendy wasn’t even surprised to see them at her door.  She welcomed them in with a sweet, concerned gaze, leading them to the living room where everyone collapsed on the couches.  Though they were tired, the atmosphere seemed as tense as ever, no one wanting to say a word.

Wendy handed Ara a cup of tea, and the girl accepted it with a bowed head.  

“So Namjoon’s gone,” Yoongi concluded quietly.

Jimin nodded, his gaze to the floor.  Jungkook’s eyes shifted towards the fire.

Ara was lost in space, trying to remember his last words to her.

“Look around you.  You have people…people that care about you…” he coughed.  “They’ll protect you. I…I was wrong…there are no sides.”

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