September 7, 2245

Location: University of Warsaw, Health Sciences Building, Warsaw, Poland.
Dr. Kim Namjoon and Dr. Kim Taehyung

"Shit!" Namjoon exclaimed.

Taehyung looked up from his seat on the counter that ran under the windows and saw Namjoon stripping off his white lab coat and crossing the room towards the sink. The desk Namjoon had been sitting at had a tipped-over mug on it and was dripping instant coffee on the floor. Taehyung ignored the sting of disappointment in his stomach as he thought about the wasted coffee. They had been lucky the other day when they found it amongst some other provisions in a professor's office.

If they rationed themselves properly, they wouldn't need to leave the Health Sciences Building until help came. If help came that is, Taehyung could only really call their radio call a half success – sure, they reached someone, but whether or not the base was going to send aid was another question altogether. He had recognized the name of the IPB - Baku Base - and was fairly certain that it would be about four days if someone was coming. That was fine, Taehyung was a little worried about what would happen when they were found anyways, and besides with Namjoon for company, it was unlikely that he would be bored.

"How does it look?" Namjoon asked, holding up the lab coat. There was a splotch of brown that Taehyung could still make out on the sleeve.

"Maybe try using the soap bar – there's some in the left pouch of our duffle bag." He replied, moving off of the counter he was on towards Namjoon's desk.

"Right," Namjoon replied, and he began to dig around in their shared duffle for the soap they'd found some time ago. Even if Namjoon was unable to remove the stain, Taehyung knew that he would still wear the cliché lab coat. They had been much further south when they had received that urgent message and there had been no time to gather warm clothes before they'd left for Poland. Now they were stuck in a country where the weather was starting to drop to below 10° at night (and was getting colder) with the lab coats as their only available option.

"What have you been working on?" Taehyung asked as he examined the detailed charts that Namjoon had drawn out. His hyung might be clumsy sometimes, but he definitely took care in the organization of his notes, charts, and graphs.

"Eh? Oh, that. I was just trying to track the behaviour of the zombies that we've been able to observe for the past few days."

"Right, let's see then," Taehyung adjusted his glasses and read out loud,

"September 5th, 2245. Observed three zombies devouring another; unable to say whether they were Sharks or Abnormals. Four other Amoebae zombies behaved as expected: dumb and unaware.

Why the zombies cannibalize is beyond me. Why are some eaten and others aren't? Do the cannibalized zombies share a similar trait to humans? If so, what is it? Zombies always try to devour each other completely when they cannibalize, even as the body is rapidly decomposing. It differs in how they devour humans. Sometimes the human is eaten completely; other times, humans will be bitten and changed.

"I think they were probably Sharks, you know. The Abnormals I've observed tend to change their minds about things." Namjoon said as he scrubbed at the lab coat. "There's an entry, from about a month ago."

Taehyung flipped back to the page and read out loud again,

"'August 9th, 2245. In terms of ratios between the three types of zombies we have encountered, it seems like there are more Sharks than Amoebae or Abnormals. If I was to estimate a percentage per type, I would hazard that about 65% of the zombie population are Sharks, 25% are Amoebae, and 10% are Abnormals.' You're probably pretty close with that guess."

Taehyung skipped past part of the passage and found the area that he figured Namjoon had been talking about.

'The Abnormals are arguably the most fearsome of the zombies.

However, the Amoebae shouldn't be underestimated. Amoebae can still do a lot of damage, especially in large quantities and if you see one in your area you know that there are likely the other types to follow. With their vacant expressions and pathetic will, it is difficult to grapple with the fact that they were once human.

Sharks are much more dangerous. They are significantly stronger, faster, and have greater stamina than the average human. I have seen a Shark punch straight through the windshield of a car. How long does their tireless energy last? The namesake they have earned for themselves is fitting. Like how a shark will become frenzied and attack if it smells blood in the water, the moment a Shark knows a human is around it will not stop. What part of the human is attracting it? Blood? Pheromones? While sometimes you might get lucky and be able to dodge or hide from an Abnormal or an Amoeba; if a Shark latches on to you the only thing you can do is pray that you die quickly.

The Abnormals are still the most fearsome however as they are unpredictable. They will bounce between behaving like a Shark or like an Amoeba in an instant. I have observed a friend being consumed today, only for the Abnormal to seemingly change its mind and walk away. My friend was not dead yet, but bleeding out and in our situation, we were not in a position to help him pass on. Perhaps I was hasty in saying that the Abnormals switch between Sharks and Amoebae; the behaviour of the Abnormal that ate my friend was something else entirely. If it had been behaving like either a Shark or an Amoeba it would have finished the job.'

Namjoon had finished washing his coat and had moved to the window to look down at the zombies who had been mulling around for the past few days.

"Where was I when you saw this?" Taehyung asked. "August 9th - we would have been heading west out of China at the time."

"Correct – we were travelling with that supplies expedition at the time. I think our company had split in two directions. You went with one group and I went with the other. Do you remember that Russian man? Pyotr Mozgovoy?" Namjoon asked and Taehyung nodded slowly.

"I remember him, big guy," he waved his arms to illustrate the size of the man, "laughed with a smokers' wheeze – used to carry a picture of his wife in his coat?"

"That was him," Namjoon said with a smile. "He-"

"He didn't make it back, I remember." Taehyung lowered his arms to his side. "That was him then? Left to bleed to death or wait until he turned into a zombie too."

"Yeah," a brief silence fell between the two. Taehyung looked down at Namjoon's notes again. In the corner of the August 10th page, KSJ~ Han River, 2238 was written in the corner. Taehyung almost wanted to ask what it meant, but the date indicated that it was pre-incursion and that meant it was a memory. Usually, those memories were best left untouched. He moved on to the next page.

"Hyung! Do zombies defecate?" He said with a laugh as read the words scribbled in the margin.

"It's a pressing question! Have you ever seen a zombie poop? What nutrients are they looking for when they eat humans? Is it different from when they just eat brains? They must be digesting it, where does the waste go?" Namjoon defended, though he was laughing a little as well.

Taehyung continued to laugh even though he knew his friend had a point and the considerations had merit (most of Namjoon's observations and ideas were worth listening to).

"All the same Hyung, I'll happily observe and record zombie activity with you, but I'm drawing the line at searching for zombie poop."

Status report for: KNJ and KTH
Location: University of Warsaw, Poland
Crew Members: Kim Namjoon, Kim Taehyung
Status Report: Currently stranded. Low on food supplies. 0 Zombie Encountered, 8 Zombies Observed.
Objective: Wait for help. Three days left.

September 7, 2245
Location: Pushkinskaya Street, Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast, Russia
Captain Min Yoongi, Communications Officer Jung Hoseok, Private Jeon Jungkook

Amid the wreckage of a street that was once a booming city site, the statue of a Russian poet stood tall on its layered marble steps. The statue was covered in many different types of filth, from human remains to bird poo and weather wear. Despite its condition, the statue's expression was serious and confident as he sat perched upon a rock. Not that Yoongi had expected it to change, but he couldn't help but wonder what the expression would reflect if it could see the city now and all of the death that had occurred around the street.

According to Hoseok, the poet had been alive in the early 19th century and had been exiled for what he wrote about. Yoongi had never heard of the man or the poem, and he doubted that there was ever a Korean translation, but he supposed he could respect a person who had fought to be heard against a sea of 'no'. When Yoongi asked Hoseok how the hell he knew so much about some random Russian poet, he had several tourist brochures thrown at his head.

Yoongi had been unenthusiastic about going this far into the city, but they had had a string of bad luck, and going to a more metropolis area had been necessary. Once they had gotten a few hours away from the Baku IPB, they realized that the Humvee they had commandeered (as Hoseok put it) was low in all levels of supplies.

Humvees were the military standard truck; the name came from the acronym HMMWV which was short for High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle. Typically a stocked Humvee can sustain 4 people for two weeks – with medical supplies, rations, fuel, and two water purifiers.

So they had driven as far as they could from the IPB but were now temporarily stranded in the formerly famed Pushkinskaya Street of Rostov-on-Don while they looked for supplies. Tearing his eyes away from the statue, Yoongi did a quick sweep of his area to scout for any zombies. The one good thing about this location, he noted, was that there was a lot of open space – which meant should be no surprises then. Once he was convinced that his side was void of any life (dead or living), he walked back to the Humvee and saw Jungkook returning from his sweep as well. Hoseok had stayed with the Humvee to assess just how low their supplies were.

The hatchback of the Humvee was open, and he could see Hoseok rummaging through their supplies containers. Once Hoseok noticed the other two approaching, he stopped and sat down on the edge of the bumper. Yoongi and Jungkook moved to sit on either side of him.

"Alright, give us the damage," Jungkook said. "How screwed are we?"

"Pretty screwed, but maybe not as screwed as we could be," Hoseok replied lightly, kicking a small pebble with his foot.

"Ever the optimist," Yoongi muttered, earning a shrug from his friend.

"We've got enough food for one more meal and the water purifiers seem to be in good condition. This city is on a lake so water should be available easily enough, and hopefully, we can find some more food around the city." Hoseok gestured his arm out towards the street as he talked. "Our ammunition supplies could be better, but that's always the case. Our biggest concern is the lack of fuel. I wish I knew what happened to the Humvee's HEM-Ref Kit. Hopefully, we can find a car with fuel in it to syphon some gas."

One of the greatest inventions of the 22nd century was the perfection of something called Hydro-Electric Micro-fusion Cubes, which worked similarly to hydropower from the early 21st century but functioned much more efficiently. Processing the cubes technically could be done on one's own, which is why Humvees came with HEM Cube Refining Kits (called HEM-Ref Kits). However, the processing job was rather dangerous; before the incursion, citizens would usually just buy a 20-pack of factory refined HEM Cubes and be set for a year of driving. Gasoline was still used sometimes, but improved technology meant you didn't need nearly as much gas to go a far distance.

The HEM Cubes worked to varying degrees when it came to powering houses and cities, if they were poorly refined you could count on frequent power outages and it would be unpredictable how long they would last, if they were well refined they would work quite efficiently. Humanity had finally solved the pollution crisis that had plagued the world since the industrial age and nobody gave a damn because they were all running for their lives from zombies. Yoongi didn't think the irony was lost on anyone.

"Think we might be able to find a HEM-Ref Kit here in the city?" Yoongi asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah right, Hyung." Jungkook snorted. "Those were some of the first things to be looted after the initial incursion."

"One good thing," Hoseok piped in, "there's a hose in the supplies that we can use for syphoning; one less thing for us to have to look for."

"Yay..." Jungkook said weakly, and all three of them sat for a moment in stewed silence. Suddenly, a noise from the left broke their reverie and they were instantly on their feet, guns aimed and ready.

"Oh, it's only a pigeon," Hoseok said with relief as he voiced their collective thought.

"Should I kill it? You know, for dinner?" Jungkook asked, keeping his gun aimed as the other two backed off.

"Gross," Hoseok replied, "Eating the winged rats? No thank you. Have you done it before?"

"Yeah, back when I was in Bulgaria." He replied, his gun still at the ready.

"I have too," Yoongi said, staying on subject though a part of him immediately wanted to ask Jungkook about Bulgaria, "They're gross and don't have enough meat to make it worthwhile. I have a feeling a gunshot in this area will attract Sharks, so let's live and let live for now. We still have some rations." Jungkook complied with Yoongi's comment and lowered his gun.

A half of an hour later and the boys had managed to find a couple of cans of food in an abandoned house and a car that was parked down an alley with some gas in it. The alley was empty except for the car, a dumpster, and a few crates of empty glasses and jars that had likely been left out for a recycling truck that would never come. After a game of rock-paper-scissors, it was decided that Hoseok and Jungkook would do the syphoning while Yoongi kept watch. Their position in the alley was a precarious one as they were surrounded by high walls and faced a dead end. If they were overwhelmed they would be screwed.

There wasn't any noise, but the hairs on the back of Yoongi's neck stood on end as he peered down the silent alley towards the main road. It had only been about five minutes since they had come down the backstreet, but he still moved back towards the entrance and raised his gun with his finger on the trigger.

He was two steps away from the brick corner when the weight of a body pounced onto him and he was greeted with the snarling aggressive face of a zombie snapping incessantly at his head. He flew back to the ground with a shout and instinctively pulled the trigger of his gun. The hands of the zombie clung to his shoulders as its head was repeatedly blasted backwards. Finally, the zombie's grip loosened as it died and he kicked off the dead remains moments before they dissolved in a flash of light.

"Shit!" he scrambled to his feet, prepared for another attack. Amoeba zombies were making their way towards the alley down from both sides of the road. The zombie he had dealt with, he realized, was the first of many. He fired in the direction of the closest zombies; at the moment these all seemed to be Amoebae with their slow movements, not much faster than a living human.

Out of the corner of Yoongi's peripheral vision, one of the Amoeba's vacant expressions became much sharper and alert as it broke into a run and rushed at him. He turned to face the Abnormal and he was too late; the zombie was half of a pace away. But then gunshots rang behind him and a line of bullets exploded into the zombie. Yoongi glanced behind and saw that Hoseok had left Jungkook to the syphoning and was providing cover.

"We need a plan!" though as soon as the words were out of Hoseok's mouth, a hand full of zombies packed further inwards and towards the two soldiers.

"I haven't seen any Sharks yet!" Yoongi replied quickly, as he continued firing at the approaching zombies. He intended to say more, but then another hoard started to try and break through his and Hoseok's line of defence.

"Jungkook, how long until we have that gas?" Hoseok called over his shoulder.

"Done!"

Yoongi glanced behind and saw Jungkook running flat out towards them with the gasoline container in one hand, his gun in the other, and the syphoning hose wrapped around his arm. Yoongi had heard from other soldiers on the Baku IPB of Jungkook's military achievements. His fitness level and ability to achieve results that nobody had thought possible had even earned him the nickname "Golden Soldier". He could see this skill in action now, as Jungkook hit every mark with almost complete accuracy as he fired his gun with one hand as he ran.

The moment Jungkook caught up to Hoseok and himself, a terrible clattering came from further down the road and the three of them saw a batch of Sharks charging towards them from both sides.

"There's more in the direction of the Humvee. We have to go the other way!"

"We can't abandon the Humvee!"

"Fuck the Humvee!"

"What are you going to do? Run to Warsaw?"

"We'll circle around."

"Fine!"

Yoongi wasn't too sure who had said what or to whom in that moment, but he figured that Hoseok was the one who said fine as he was the one to move to action. Hoseok turned on his heels and snagged the gasoline container from Jungkook, then ran several paces back picking up several of the glass bottles.

"Cover me!"

Yoongi barely had time to glance behind him before the Sharks were on them. He could hear Jungkook curse as they tried to hold a steady line against the sea of Sharks. Their faces wild with rabid expressions beyond what he could imagine a human's could be. Then there was the smell and the state of their bodies, rotten and rancid: worse than foul meat on a hot day. It was in these moments that Yoongi felt his strongest conviction to live.

Just as one of the Sharks lunged for him, Yoongi switched his gun to one hand and pulled out his knife. He then slashed upwards slicing a large opening in the zombie's stomach. It was a gamble that paid off, as several of the Sharks seemed to realize that there was 'fresh meat' right in of them and began to devour his gutted attacker.

"Incoming, back up!"

Yoongi and Jungkook took several fast steps back as Hoseok moved past them and threw two bottles filled with some of the syphoned gasoline and with burning cloths tucked into the necks of the bottles. As they smashed to the ground they erupted in flame and engulfed the zombies that were in the direction away from the Humvee.

Using fire to fight zombies was usually frowned upon because it was uncontrollable and usually posed as much of a threat to the people using the fire as it did to the zombies. Also, zombies had to burn for a long time in order to be properly dead. It was useful in this situation, however, as the zombies battled two different instincts: their leftover mangled survival instinct versus their overdrive kill and consume instinct. Survival instinct meant that they would run from the fire, kill and consume instinct meant powering through the fire for their prey.

The explosions had the desired effect and drove enough zombies out of the way to clear a path for the boys. The three had to move quickly, the flames had caught on some of the zombies but there wasn't anything else particularly combustible so their window of opportunity was a short one. Luck was on their side for the moment, and they got around the corner with an opportunity to continue straight down the road. Hoseok threw his third (and final) bottle behind him to create a wider gap between themselves and the rest of the hoard.

When they made their loop around the block and reached the Humvee, Yoongi and Jungkook covered Hoseok while he filled the Humvee tank with what remained of their syphoned gasoline. It wouldn't take long for the Sharks to catch their human scent again and just as Hoseok was recapping the gasoline tank the Sharks that had run from the fire of the bomb were now moving right towards their location.

"Let's go!"

The Sharks made a valiant attempt to catch up to the Humvee, but they had too much of a head start. Hoseok was in the driver's seat and Yoongi and Jungkook were in the backseat, both half hanging out the windows in case any sharks made a final attempt to catch their vehicle.

They carried on driving for another hour and once they were at the peak of the lake they had been driving alongside, Hoseok pulled over. Now the three sat huddled inside the Humvee, passing around two cans of food they had found in the city. Yoongi felt his heart lighten a little as they filled their stomachs and could sit comfortably knowing that they had some mobility. He was happy, but it was a cautious happiness. He glanced at Jungkook's face and the five long red scratch marks that cover the right side of his cheek, that was the only type of happiness people really could allow themselves these days.

Status Report For: Unsanctioned Expedition
Location: an hour outside of Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast, Russia
Crew Members: Captain Min Yoongi, Communications Officer Jung Hoseok, Private Jeon Jungkook
Status Report: Zombie Encounters: 1. Humvee was not stocked as previously reported; current stock: 0 HEM Cubes, half a tank of gas, 1 rations package left. Minor Injuries, no bites.
Objective: Find more HEM Cubes, find more food, rescue the doctor from the Health Sciences Building at the University of Warsaw.

September 7, 2245
Location: Northern tip of Kortelahti Lake, Finland
Captain Kim Seokjin and Lieutenant Park Jimin

Kim Seokjin was having a dream that was both very good and very heartbreaking at the same time. Everything was home and familiar in it. The room that he and Namjoon were in was the one from the apartment they had shared in Seoul. The blue sheets on the bed were as soft as ever on his bare skin and the light from the window above the bed was a mixture of artificial city light and waning daylight. He could hear the familiar sounds of city life several stories below.

The cacti and the succulents - two of each - that lined the windowsill were the only plants in the apartment. The plants were well-loved and cared for even though neither one of the house's inhabitants had much of a green thumb to boast about.

And then there was Namjoon, he was the most familiar aspect of this dream. The way the other man's hands had felt on his sides, the familiar weight of his body above him, it was all just so him. And then there was Jin's hands on him; tracing the lines and curves of Namjoon's body - more familiar than his own. Then dream rushed forwards a little and Jin was as familiar with this part as well, the rush of it all, the amatory movements and quickened breath, his own gasp as he could taste Namjoon's name on his lips.

"Captain! Captain!" Lieutenant Park Jimin was roughly shaking him awake. For a moment Jin wanted to get mad at his junior for waking him, but reality came rushing back to him and he knew that the urgency in Jimin's voice was almost certainly not misplaced.

"What is it? What's up?" He asked, trying to put more alertness into his voice. They had driven for about 10 hours the day before until they finally stopped for a long rest at the tip of Kortelahti Lake.

During the time they had both driven a Humvee each and they communicated and kept each other company through the radios that connected the Humvees. However, sleeping in separate vehicles was unwise as it reduced their response time to any attacks. So, Jin had taken the first watch and had woken Jimin in the middle of the night to swap. Now, at the early break of morning, something was wrong and Jin could guess what.

"They're arriving. I don't think there are any Sharks yet, but I haven't seen this many Amoebae gathered in a long time." Jimin said in a whisper. And course any number of these Amoebae could actually be Abnormals, Jimin didn't say it out loud, but the thought had definitely passed through both mens' minds. Jin glanced out the window to see for himself.

The morning view would have been beautiful if it hadn't been so damn terrifying. A few stray meteors were visible in the dark until they blended in with the rising sun. It stretched across the sky to create layers of light pink, burnt orange and shifting blue colours as daylight moved further up into the sky, all silhouetting the trees that stood in the distance.

Jin couldn't give more than a moment of appreciation for the view, as he saw what caused the urgency in Jimin's voice. A group of zombies were crossing the grassy land that was to the east of where the boys were parked along the lake.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed. Jin had thought he and Jimin had been smart in their preparation to ensure that they had a way out if they were ambushed. But now as the zombies surrounded them he could see the inherent flaw in their plan – ultimately he had underestimated the number of zombies that would likely ambush them.

"Captain, I think we have to clear the area," Jimin said in the same quiet voice he had been using before.

"Right," Jin replied as he slowly found the car keys. "We abandon the second Humvee for now. Hopefully, we can come back to collect it." Jimin slowly moved into the passengers' seat.

"Ready when you are." He said and Jin started the engine. The effect was almost instantaneous. It seemed that most of the Sharks that had been about 200 metres back rushed towards the Humvee, closing the distance faster than humanly possible.

Jin put the car in drive and stomped down on the gas pedal, engine roaring as they accelerated and slammed into zombie after zombie. Jin almost laughed as one of the zombies flew through the air and landed spread eagle on its butt. Running over zombies with a car was very satisfying, even though he knew that this method of inflicting damage was ineffective as the zombies usually didn't wind up dead.

More importantly, however, it was having the desired effect as it put distance between them and the Amoebae, the Sharks gave a much harder chase, but that was where Jimin's role came in.

Using the momentum of the hill, Jin pushed the Humvee to go faster, and just as they reached the bottom of the hill there were roughly four metres between their car and the first of the Sharks. Jin spun the wheel hard and hit the breaks to force the Humvee to spin and come to halt so Jimin's side was facing the Zombies. Jimin opened his car door and fired a wall of bullets in the direction of the Zombies. Then, before they got too close, Jimin shut his car door and Jin sped off, once they created a decent distance again and they would repeat the process.

One by one they went down. Jin and Jimin had probably 15 Sharks on their tail and it took about eight twist and shoots (as Jimin had named them) to have no more following them. It would be difficult to say if they were all actually dead too, some of them might have just been damaged by the bullets, but it would too dangerous for them to go back and check.

"Good driving, Hyung!" Jimin said somewhat breathlessly.

"Good shooting!" He replied, scanning the terrain for any surprises in the soft earthy turf that they would drive across until they reached the road again. Jimin groaned as he checked his bullet supply.

"The twist and shoot is effective, but it sure uses lots of bullets."

"Are we low?" Jin asked.

"Nah, we're fine, but let's not do it too many times."

After another few minutes of driving over the grassy terrain, they made it to the road. Stopping only for a moment to switch positions so that Jimin was driving and Jin was in the passenger seat. It was protocol to wait 24 hours before they could circle back in the direction of the second Humvee.

They had barely driven a kilometre before a small green four-door car appeared on the side of the road. Three figures came up from behind the vehicle and were waving their hands in their directions; a man, a woman, and a boy who look to be about thirteen.

"Slow down," Jin said to Jimin as he raised his gun to eye level, "they look clean, but let's be careful."

The group of people seemed overjoyed, hugging and laughing as the Humvee pulled up closer to them and Jimin rolled down his car window.

"Who are you?" Jimin asked in English once they were close enough. Jin kept his gun trained on the man, but he was pretty certain that these people had no ill intentions. The man was tall and balding from the crown of his head; the woman, who Jin assumed was probably his wife, had lots of long blonde hair, and the boy who was likely their son had inherited his mother's blonde hair.

"I am Artur Ivanov," the man said in English as well. Jin could only really speak basic English, but even he could tell that the man was speaking with a thick accent. Artur then gestured to the woman and the boy, "My wife – Irina; Son – Maksim."

Jimin replied in Russian and the man seemed surprised but nodded so he continued speaking, Jin heard Jimin mention their names and assumed it was an introduction. He lowered his gun and examined the state that this family was in. While definitely travel-worn, they had two large travel backpacks sitting on the ground propped up against the car; they looked tired, but not starved or desperate.

There were a few ways that people could wind up stranded in the middle of nowhere in the zombie-infested lands; sometimes it was for an innocent reason, other times not so much. Jin figured that this family was probably trying to escape to a new IPC, probably had left with a convoy and planned to split from them at a certain point. Jin figured the family got stranded afterwards, he wondered which camp they had been intending to move to.

Folding a map he had pulled out, Jimin turned back from speaking with Artur to summarise for Jin what they had been talking about and Jin learned that his assumptions were more or less correct. The family had left from an IPC close to Vaasa along the Gulf of Bothnia and had been intending to meet with another group of travels further south near Kuopio before going as far south as they could. Their car had broken down in the night however and now the Ivanov family was stranded.

"What do you want from us?" Jin asked in English, the man answered in Russian and the both of them looked at Jimin to translate.

"They want food and a ride."

"We don't have the second Humvee right now, and we can't fit everyone into this car," Jin replied shaking his head. Irina and her son had come up to join Artur at their Humvee, the man and woman exchanged words while the boy stared at Jin's gun with interest before giving Jin a small smile. Jin sighed, "But, we can give them a ride if they're willing to kill a day to wait for the area around the second Humvee to clear."

Jimin translated and the family's joy returned to the state it had been when the two parties first met. Jin got out of the car and Artur came around to shake his hand.

"Thank you...thank you," He murmured. Then Irina gave both him and Jimin a big hug which made them both blush.

"Are you hungry now?" Jimin asked in English and then translated to Russian, and the next thing Jin knew they were pulling out food and water and sitting comfortably for a nice breakfast while Jimin further explained why they had to wait.

In the next few hours, stories were told (or mimed depending on what was trying to be said), and there was even some laughter as the members of the two parties connected. Jimin had been tactfully horrified when Irina showed them the baseball bat the family had brought with them for protection. Jin was surprised too; everyone knew that a bat was the worst weapon a person could bring to a zombie fight. They brought you too close to the zombie and you could only attack one at a time.

Jin found himself separated from Jimin and the parents when the boy, Maksim, appeared at his shoulder.

"You are...soldier?" Maksim asked in his accented English, and then gestured to the insignia that was on Jin's uniform, "The boss?"

"Yes."

"You are young," Jin frowned as he heard Maksim say this; he probably had more than 20 years on the kid. Before he could react any more, however, Maksim continued speaking, "Have you...have you fought them? Killed Zombies?"

"Yes."

"My parents- they do not like it, but I want to do this."

"Your parents are smart. It is no fun."

"But you can do something, make a change." He paused, "I want change."

Jin was about to reply that he hasn't done anything that felt like making difference in a long time, but then he made eye contact with the kid and paused. Maksim's eyes were shining with determination and he was reminded of another young soldier he'd known with all that enthusiasm and hope. Sighing, Jin stood up and picked up his gun.

"Here. Have you ever used a gun before?" Maksim shook his head. "We can start with it first."

For the next half of an hour, Jin tried in his best broken English to teach the boy: teaching him the names of the different parts of the gun, how to aim, and the proper way to hold it. It was more enjoyable than he had expected as Maksim proved to be an enthusiastic learner. They would have continued with their lesson, however once Irina realized what they were up it came to a quick end. The mother dragged the son off to the side and both spoke in loud vehement voices until Artur joined their conversation.

More time passed and Jin and Jimin were able to learn more about the family. They clearly had a divide in how they felt about fighting zombies. If nothing else, Irina's opinion of Jin was set, and she scowled at Jin at every chance she had as if he had been personally handing recruitment brochures to her son. The boy did not ask to try Jin's gun again, but Jin did see him approach Jimin several times when the boy thought Irina and Artur weren't looking. Artur seemed to be stuck in the middle between his wife and their son, trying to support and cool off each person.

Evening was starting to fall and the five people sat around a lamp for a meal of rations from the Humvee. Jin knew it was selfish, but a part of him hadn't wanted to offer any more food to the family. Three extra mouths to feed depleted resources quickly, but they were civilians and although formality had little meaning these days he knew he couldn't abandon his oaths and rules for putting civilians first.

"What IPB are you stationed from?" Artur asked in English between mouthfuls of food.

"Vorkuta," Jin answered honestly and Jimin looked at him, startled. Jin supposed that Jimin was concerned about who had that information, after all, they were breaking protocol by following the emergency call rather than returning to base. Jin ignored the look and instead focused on Artur's next question.

"How does the Korean Base interact with the Russian? The New City Incident was not good for either country." Irina asked instead of her husband.

"The Captain and I were in China at the time of the incident. We only heard stories about the explosion afterward." Jimin responded with a shake of his head.

"Had there been much support for the Loyalists from the Korean side?" Maksim asked. Jin felt waves of discomfort and wariness pass through him. What a dumb kid. It was a loaded question and the boy was old enough to know better than to ask it. There were huge implications if you supported the Loyalists and huge implications if you didn't, people usually avoided asking the question because all it really did was create further divides.

He knew what the answer was though; not only the one from the Official Military Notice that each Korean base had received after the incident but also the dissident whispers that had been passed between senior command and personnel alike. The truth of the conflicting attitudes had greatly affected the trust and functioning of their countries' military irrevocably. The military could no longer pretend that it was a unified entity, there were growing cracks in their system and Jin had seen the outcome of the distrust firsthand.

He snuck a quick look at Jimin, whose lips were pressed together in a thin line. It was clear that Jimin had no intention to answer the question, but then Maksim kept speaking and their response didn't seem to matter.

"They say when Loyalists blew up the city it was like the sun had touched the earth, Christmas lights while the militaries of the world slept and waited for Santa Claus."

Jin knew that neither he nor Jimin would engage in the discussion, but felt his insides curl in frustration all the same and noticed that Jimin's chin jutted out in defiance. This particular opinion of the incident, the opinion that the explosion was wrong or unnecessary usually indicated that the person was overestimating the strength of the military and blamed the militaries of the world for not jumping to action.

"Of course, it was still a necessary tactical move; the deaths – tragic, but could not be helped. Soldiers were needed everywhere." Irina quickly interjected, clearly trying to make up for her son's rash opinion.

"The soldiers were needed in New City. The situation was exactly what soldiers are needed for." The boy replied.

"Maksim-"

"If people can fight then they should fight."

"And you think you should be the one to do it?" Artur asked quietly.

"I will!" Maksim huffed and straightened his posture. "Our duty-"

But that was enough for Jin. He jumped to his feet quickly and caused the other four people to look up at him. "It's time to go to bed. Jimin, I'll take first watch. I'll wake you up a few hours before sunrise."

Jimin nodded and quickly translated. The tense mood of the meal slowly fizzled out as everyone went about their business clearing away their food and organizing for the night. Jin watched as the family moved a small distance away from him and Jimin. For privacy, he assumed.

He sat against the side of the Humvee with Jimin lying beside him; if he squinted to could just make out the outlines of the three members of the Ivanov family.

Maksim's attitude wasn't all that surprising really, especially given the boy's age. And if Jin was being honest, three million people were too many, he hadn't been in a position of power to mobilize any part of the military at the time of the incident, but he often wondered what would have happened if the events of New City had worked out differently.

The night wore on, and Jin primarily passed the time by honing his sense to listen for far-off noises or any signs of movement. He was pretty certain that they would be in the clear in the morning to get to the second Humvee and move on to find the scientist in Warsaw. He woke Jimin a few hours before sunrise, and they silently exchanged a nod while switching positions.

Then, for the second time in two mornings, Jin was woken up by Jimin shaking his shoulder.

Status Report For: Former Expedition 9-284
Location: Near Kortelahti Lake.
Crew Members: Captain Kim Seokjin, Lieutenant Park Jimin
Status Report: Zombie Encounters: 1. Humvee A currently not in possession (retrievable). Assisting civilians – Russian Family of 3 (currently in jeopardy). Some resources depleted.
Objective: Rescue Russian family's son, rescue the doctor from the Health Sciences Building at the University of Warsaw.

[A/N] Unedited

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