You pull away from Namjoon, smiling at him as he does the same. With new strength to keep you sane, you turn to watch Jae Hwa, trying to keep the huge waves of pain at bay as she hunches over, body convulsing.

  You squint your eyes as you realize she's muttering something, straining your ears. "No, no, no, no. No. No," the half-turned female stammers, mumbling and shrieking as she grabs her hair. "No," she repeats, yanking out a handful of bloody, tangled hair as you wince at the horrible sound. She licks her lips hungrily, tongue darting out at the fresh blood still there. "No!" she screams again.

  Turning away as you bring a hand to your stomach, you scan the four people huddled over Lisa's unconcious body. Taehyung is monitoring her breathing, keeping a knife in his hands as he presses on her bloody wound. Hoseok and Jimin are on the other side, gently murmuring amongst themselves as they glance at Jennie's trembling frame, her large eyes pooling tears.

  Behind you, you faintly hear the rest of the boys and girls discussing possible plans of actions, though you know all of the ideas will be pointless. You rub a thumb along the very hot vial in your pocket, trying to persuade yourself to be less distraught at the thought of the swirling golden substance. There is a way out of all of this.

  But it's almost impossible.

  If you can just get close enough to Jae to inject her with the Cure, she'll be free. But if you're even three feet in her direction, you'll be ripped to shreds before you can blink. And what about David? What will you do when he turns?

  Movement dashes across the corner of your vision, making your head jerk to the place where you saw the brief flash. Your heart stops as you watch, unable to move, as Jae Hwa hurls herself at the backs of Jimin and Hoseok, the two momentarily looking away.

  "No!" The scream rips through your constricted throat, sudden adrenaline gushing into your body as you sprint and jump, squeezing your eyes shut as you crash into Jae's body before her outstretched hands can touch the boys.

  "Mi Sun!" Dae-Jung's deep voice shouts, panic in every syllable.

  You keep your eyes closed, shaking at the thought of looking into your friend's gaping, bloody mouth. Her nails sink into your skin as you scream, her arms thrashing you around on the ground as her tears wash your face.

  "Stop, stop, please, stop," Jae is rambling, only cutting off as a sob escapes her when she twists her hands into your hair, pulling harder as you shriek. The pain is engulfing you, piercing nails drawing out your warm blood as tears stream down your face.

  "What can we do!? We can't let her die!" You faintly hear the shouts and crying of your friends, the sound of Hoseok's shocked sobs making your lips tighten.

  You jerk your head up just as Jae brings her's down, teeth bared. She howls and backs away enough for you to twist and grab the Cure from your pocket.

  This is it. You can save her, save them all. You can do it.
 
  But before you can stab the needle into her, Jungkook's powerful holler makes you stop despite the strong urge to move.

  "Get off!" His normally smooth and gentle voice is raw and rough, pain and wild fear making your heart squeeze as you open your eyes to see his figure tackling Jae off of you.

  Her nails drag through your skin before detaching, leaving your body limp and shaking on the ground, bloody and in tears. "N-No," you whisper hoarsely, more salty water leaking from your dull eyes. "Kookie, wait."

  But he doesn't hear you as he throws punch after punch at the barely affected girl, teeth gritted as he pants, streams of tears tracing patterns down his beautifully broken face.

  "Kook-ah!" Jin yells, voice thick. "No, please, help him!"

  Namjoon and Yoongi hold the elder back from throwing himself into the fight despite his cracking cries and pleas. Taehyung takes out his gun, biting his trembling lip as he holds it uselessly, knowing he can't risk hitting his friend, and that the bullet won't even harm Jae.

  You blink, time stopping as the world turns hazy. Jimin is at your side, his swirling eyes peering into yours as he brings you to Taehyung, who immediately turns to help you as best as he can while holding in choked sobs.

  You turn your head, watching with no emotion able to surface, as Jungkook and the half-zombie wrestle viciously, both covered in blood but you don't know who's it is.

  Sudden strength snaps into you when you watch Jungkook dart to the side a bit too slow, the light in Jae's eyes brightening as she strikes. Your heart thuds wildly, knowing what will happen.

  Ignoring everything, the pain and the yelps of your friends, you launch back to the two despite how your mind screams to run the other way.

  "Jungkook!" you scream desperately, huge waves of fear crashing into you as you realize you are too late. The male's painful shrieks pierce your heart like a dagger when Jae Hwa's animalistic teeth sink into his neck.

  The girls behind you screech, horrified, as Jungkook suddenly goes limp, his eyes rolling as his body convulses under the creature.

  No tears left in your eyes, you use whatever strength you have left to yank Jae away from him and into the wall. Whimpering, she drags herself to a corner, rocking back and forth as she sobs hysterically.

  You whip your head back to Jungkook, heart squeezing so hard the pain knocks you to your knees. "Kook..." you whisper as you shake, not breathing as you're unable to tear your eyes from the sight of the boy's twitching form and his frothing mouth.

  "Jungkook!" Taehyung screams, rushing to his friends side with fresh tears. "Wha- What's happening to him!?"

  You look up as a hissing sound fills the air. The door separating the other room and this one is once again open, and the British man steps through.

  "Well," Burke muses as he strolls over to crouch next to Taehyung. "I'm not fully sure."

  No one makes a move to strangle the psychopath, no energy left as they watch Jungkook with terror.

  "See," he continues, blue eyes glinting with interest. "Last time, the process was smoother."

  "L-Last time..?" Namjoon croaks weakly, unable to stare at his youngest friend's body any longer.

  "Hmm," the man hums, getting up and fixing his suit. "I disposed of that one, but the turning was quick, flawless. Maybe she didn't bite deep enough this time?"

  You feel your mouth go dry. "He-" The words can't escape your lips before a rush of vomit escapes your mouth. Your chest heaves, throat burning as you vomit nothing onto the floor, stomach empty.

  "Correct. He's going to turn, perhaps slower, but he will."

  At Burke's words, Taehyung tightens his fist and punches the male straight in the face, rage on his every feature. "You piece of shit! Heal him, heal him or I'm going to beat the f-"

  "I-I can!" you yelp, eyes widening. "I-"

  Burke glares at you. "Can you?"

  "I..I-"

  Namjoon gasps, his body becoming rigid. "Everybody, grab Burke, now."

  At his powerful command, every ounce of fear saps from the rest, their movements strong and quick as the pounce on the protesting man.

  "Really, I- my goodness, please-"

  His pathetic cries are muffled as the angry members take hold of him and slap a hand over his mouth.

  "Mi Sun, please," Namjoon whispers, tears leaking from his eyes. "I have to ask you to choose. I- I don't know anymore."

  You look down slowly with wide eyes at Jungkook's face, watching as his skin starts drying and peeling from certain parts, the process beginning. You have to...choose.

  Him or her.

  Jungkook or Jae Hwa.

  Your friends.

  "J-Jungkook!?" Taehyung's hopeful voice pulls you to the said man's face.

  Jungkook coughs, blood leaking from his lips as his hard eyes meet yours. "N-No. Help h-her."

  The boys explode, Jin silently crying as you feel yourself unable to move, mouth dry. "I..."

  You turn to face Jae Hwa, watching with the worst pain and grief you've ever felt as your friend scratches her face harshly, ripping her skin info bloody shreds as she cries.

  You bite your trembling lip, warm tears pooling down your face as you kneel by Jungkook. You bring a hand to his cheek and tenderly press your lips to his burning forehead. "Hang in there," you murmur before gently giving him the whole dosage of the Cure. The needle goes through his arm, immediately making his eyes roll as he sinks, unmoving.

  For a second, there is silence. Your heart thuds, afraid you make the wrong choice of giving him all of it. It might've been too much, since he was only bitten by a half-turned zombie. But you couldn't risk it and had to give it all to him, but-

  The boy suddenly coughs again, eyes opening with clarity as Taehyung immediately gets to work on helping the shaking male, murmuring rapid words of thanks.

  Warm, shaking arms embrace you. Yoongi sucks in a long breath to keep his tears at bay. "Thank you," he says hoarsely. "Thank you for saving him."

  You don't respond, throat closing with sadness. You couldn't choose Jae because you knew she would never live with herself after knowing what she did, especially since she's being forced to see it all now.

  Staring into her eyes, you can see the shift between blurred and clear, knowing a part of your friend remains. What you don't expect is for her to call your name.

  "Mi Sun," she whimpers and you feel your body go cold. "I...I'm sorry. I love you."

  With her last chilling words, Jae Hwa closes her eyed tightly and plunges her outstretched claws straight into her own chest.

☆😳😳😳 well then.

  Heyaaa guys...I don't really know what to say after that but aha-

  Did any of you even imagine this book would become this-?

  Before I leave to start writing the next chapter (lol I have no time anymore so I write late at nights), please go check out MerakiWriters new holiday book! Yours Truly, Meraki is an AWESOME book filled with fun activites to help you countdown to Christmas. Even if you don't celebrate, you'll have a great time, I promise ♡ it will be fun contests and games with epic prizes...ik because I helped make it huehue ;)

  See you next week! Stay safe, warm and happy- winter break is almost here!

  -SugaKookies05 ♡