The swarm that had gotten into the pharmacy ferociously pounded on the door to the supply room as Jin strained to hold it shut on the other side, intending to keep the infected out for as long as he could while he and Jungkook made their escape through the back door. He reached over and grabbed a nearby table, dragging it in front of the entrance to barricade it, and then leaned against the table while turning to the younger, who had dashed straight to the back door at the other end of the supply room to check if they had an easy way out.

They did not, unfortunately, as Jungkook discovered by trying to turn the knob of the door only to find that it was locked. He let out an annoyed sigh and began to repeatedly bash the knob with his hockey stick, hoping to break it off. Watching the other, Jin immediately caught on to the situation and groaned in frustration, but he was not surprised.

“I assume we’re locked in?” He called out, and then looked back to the door he was keeping shut to see splinters starting to form on its surface, a clear sign that it was not going to hold for much longer.

“Yeah,” replied Jungkook, stepping back when all that hitting did not seem to be working. He then back further away, getting ready to charge at the door. “I’m going to ram it.”

“What? Wait, don’t-” Jin cut himself off, flinching as Jungkook launched his weight at the back door only to have it barely budge. The former rolled his eyes at the failed attempt. “You- Look, kid, now’s not the time to get yourself injured.”

Jungkook slid down the door while clutching his shoulder, grunting through his teeth at the throbbing pain from the impact. “I’m trying, okay?! It’s not like we have much time to think!”

As if to emphasize that point, a bloodied hand punched an opening through Jin’s door, reaching just a couple of inches from his face. He shifted back from the grotesque, flailing limb in shock, and then took a deep breath to calm down before turning back to Jungkook.

“Alright, listen. Use your foot, strike it near the frame, on the side where it opens.”

“Fine, here I go…” the younger muttered, pulling himself to his feet.

Mustering his strength, Jungkook delivered a solid front kick to the back door at the recommended spot, causing it to swing open. He had but a second to process that the method had actually worked before Jin grabbed him while running past, practically dragging him out as the vicious horde broke into the supply room and swarmed after them.

They had made it out alive, but they were currently out in the open being chased by a group of infected, and it was only a matter of time before they attracted more. They turned into a narrow alley to slow the mob pursuing them, and emerged on the other side to see a train station up ahead. Without thinking further, the two headed straight for the structure and through the main entrance, swinging the large double doors shut after them. They twisted the locks at the bottom of the doors, securing them through the floor. The glass seemed sturdy enough to hold the horde out for a while, but it was not going to be a solution for much longer.

Both glanced around urgently for somewhere they could go as cracks started forming across the double doors. Spotting the enclosed passenger service booth positioned along the row of entrance gates to the platform, Jungkook nudged the older and gestured to its open door on the side they were on. They darted into the booth and heard the glass doors behind them shatter just as they shut the opening to it. It was only a moment later when they could hear banging on the door they had just closed and see infected trying to get to them through the security screen at the counter facing the entrance. They had to think of something else, and quickly.

It was going to be some time before Namjoon could break the window he was working on, and it was time he did not have. Taehyung was aware of this when he heard the horde break into the site office, and reached over to pull his brother back behind the cabinet while he hung up the phone. Listening to the footsteps and growls of the infected wandering about the enclosed area, he wondered why he had even bothered to do that. They were dead anyway, were they not? They were going to be found soon, and there was no way out. It was apparent that Namjoon thought the same when they turned to each other.

The process of them accepting their fate was interrupted, however, by a sudden movement at Taehyung’s feet. Yeontan had darted out from behind the cabinet and caught the attention of the mob inside the office. Taehyung nearly called out after the dog, but clamped a hand over his mouth to stop himself.  The two peered around the cabinet to watch as Yeontan manoeuvred around and under furniture while the infected chaotically clambered after him. He eventually escaped out the door, taking the entire swarm with him.

Namjoon and Taehyung exchanged looks of disbelief at what they had just witnessed, and then snapping out of his stunned state, the former proceeded to continue breaking through the window. Although the doorway of the site office was currently open for them to leave through, it was still safer for them to exit by another way, or so they thought.

The window was smashed after another minute or so of repeated hitting, and the two climbed out into an open area, extremely relieved at still being alive after being in such a situation. There was a chance that Yeontan was fine even after pulling that stunt to save them, but they were not getting their hopes up. Up ahead was a large pile of dirt and rocks covered with blue tarpaulin sheeting, and behind it was a section of the noise barrier enclosing the space. They headed towards the soil mound, figuring that they could use it to climb out of the site.

However, as they made their way there along the bare structure of an incomplete building, the familiar, dreaded shrieks reached their ears once again. A new wave of panic washed over the brothers before they turned to see numerous infected lunging at them from the ground and lower levels of the unfinished building. Each one that emerged from a level higher than the ground one hit the floor with a sickening crunch before scrambling to its feet and rushing at the boys. Namjoon and Taehyung were fortunately already at a position where the building did not end too far in front of them, but a couple of the creatures managed to land in front of them, obstructing their path.

With the bat still in his hand, Namjoon swung at them while gesturing to Taehyung to run ahead. The latter complied, but glanced back to check if his brother was alright just as he stepped onto the edge of the tarpaulin sheeting, only to find out that it was lining a shallow ditch flooded with clear water, possibly due to a tap left running inside one of the site offices. He stumbled into it with a splash, but quickly stepped out and continued on up the soil pile towards the noise barrier.

Namjoon saw Taehyung’s little accident as he followed right behind, and his attention was also caught by the strobing light coming from a large standing work lamp near the ditch. The insulation of the cable connected to the lamp was damaged near its head, giving him an idea. He toppled the lamp over as he passed it, causing the exposed wires to fall into the water while he leaped over the ditch, avoiding it completely. Any of the infected pursuing him and Taehyung that stepped into the ditch were promptly electrocuted, as well as those that came into contact with them. However, there were several that escaped the trap, and continued to chase the two as they made it over the noise barrier into a ground carpark.

That was not a worry for long, fortunately. They suddenly heard the sound of a moving vehicle accompanied by gunshots, and turned to see a mess of bloody corpses on the ground behind them. A military jeep was quickly approaching, and it was clear who had fired at the infected pursuing them when they saw someone holding a rifle in the front passenger’s seat. A familiar individual leaned out of the rear compartment of the jeep and urgently waved to them. Namjoon and Taehyung looked to each other in pleasant surprise before running towards the vehicle, which slowed down just enough for Jimin to help the brothers in through the back.

As it sped up again, Jimin pulled Taehyung into a firm hug. “You guys are alive! Oh, thank goodness!”

“It’s nice to see you both,” Hoseok called out from the driver’s seat. “I’d give you a hug too, Joon, but as you can see, I’m kind of busy right now.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever been happier to see you guys,” Namjoon replied in relief.

Jimin then broke his embrace with his friend at a sudden realization. “Tae, where are Jin hyung and Jungkook?”

Taehyung exchanged an awkward glance with Namjoon and hissed in apprehension when he remembered what had happened. “Right, we’re uh… not actually sure…”

“What?!” Hoseok and Jimin exclaimed in unison, and the former then continued with a question. “Wait, who’s Jungkook?”

“He’s another one of Tae’s friends,” Namjoon answered. “We were separated back at the pharmacy, so our best bet is to probably start searching from there.”

“I assume that there’s no way for you to contact these other friends of yours?” The rifle-wielding front passenger inquired.

Taehyung thought for a bit, and then shook his head. “Jungkook dropped his phone back at the university campus, and Jin hyung lost his in the car crash.”

“Fantastic…”