Chapter Text
'Invulnerable nothings.
We decay like corpses in a charnel;
Fear and grief convulse us and consume us day by day,
And cold hope swarms us like worms
Within our living clay.'
-From Adonis by Percy Shelley
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The world wasn't always in ruins. It used to carry the fundamentals of society and humanity, the intricate designs of sky-high buildings and cozy cabins in the woods. The lime-green grass was cut just below the ankles and trees were planted to benefit the humans roaming the planet.
Some people used to believe that the human race took what they had for granted and that one day, they'll be the ones to destroy the luxurious lives they had. Those people weren't wrong. The humans were the ones who created the deadly virus and spread it from person to person until the whole world was left to fight the consequences of a simple mistake.
Yet others believed that the human race is the only saviour this planet has, and that earth would perish along with it. But Taehyung didn't believe that. Sometimes he felt like their time had run out and it was time for another species to take over. Just like the dinosaurs were wiped out, now they had reached the end of the line and it was their turn to release their grip on this world.
But Taehyung wouldn't go so easily, even if he felt like a cockroach roaming this planet and hanging on it by the end of a thread. A part of him wanted to let go - give someone else the chance to make the world a better place and allow it to flourish - but a selfish part of him allowed himself to stay walking side by side with the rotten corpses of what was left of the human race.
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A deep crack ran along the pavement, surrounded by swaying, emerald-green trees. A small ant rushed out from the nest next to the empty road and scrambled across it to the other side. The clicks of horse hooves intertwined with the melody of the wind and the tales of the birds. A single hoof lifted off the ground and rose into the air before smacking against the ground and stomping on the little ant.
The horse neighed, shaking its raven mane and the small braid tied between the long strands. A tan hand reached out and slid along the neck of the horse, followed by a deep hum, "We're almost there, Uranus, don't worry-"
"Are you really sticking to that name?"
A head full of raven locks lifted to reveal the devilish grin on a symmetrical face. A bead of sweat rested on Taehyung's temple that soon began to roll down the side of it until it reached his jaw. Taehyung's raven hair had grown to his jaw and was pulled up into a half-bun - allowing the sun to shine down on his glistening forehead and the slope of his nose. His face had become slimmer and jaw more defined, his facial features had matured - resulting in his narrowed, dark brows and the sharpness of his cheekbones.
"I find it amusing." Taehyung offered Michonne a wink before turning his head to face the road ahead.
Taehyung's grip on the reigns tightened and he pulled them back as they came across an abandoned car on the side of the road. He guided the raven horse towards Michonne and walked behind her as they rode past the car. Taehyung lowered his head and pressed his chest against the horse's back as he peered into the car to see if there was anything useful inside of it.
"Nothing." He grumbled in distaste, followed by a small huff. Taehyung straightened out and rolled his shoulders, trying to ignore the ache in his bicep from the slash he had received previously this week.
Michonne hummed at Taehyung's words and tightened her legs around her grey horse's ribs, prompting it to move faster and break out into a small gallop, "I'm sure the group will be content with the stuff we bring." She called out from behind her shoulder.
A perfectly shaped brow rose on Taehyung's forehead and his pitch-black eyes followed Michonne. The clear sign of the challenge of 'who will be the first one to reach the prison' hung above his head by a string of pride. Taehyung sucked in his cheeks and eyed the familiar sign that warned them about the possibility of prisoners masking as highjackers before shaking his head and blowing away a loose strand of raven hair.
"Yeah.." Taehyung muttered, digging the heels of his boots into Uranus' sides to push him into a gallop of his own, "...hopefully it'll be enough for being gone for three months."
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The fences of the prison were just like Taehyung remembered - wires intertwining and mingling with each other to create the intricate designs that protected them from the walkers outside. Yet the entrance to the prison had improved since the last time he had seen it.
Two bright orange container doors were placed in the shape of a V right in front of the entrance. Around the orange doors were long wood logs, sharpened until the tips were almost glistening in the sun, despite the material being wood. And as Taehyung watched the entrance creak open for them, the walker that previously slammed its fists against the metal got pushed to the side and impaled on the wood spears.
Taehyung urged Uranus to gallop faster, past all the stray walkers and into the safety of the prison. His eyes briefly caught onto Rick's as he galloped past him before tightening his grip on the reigns and pulling them towards his stomach. Uranus' legs began to slow down until his hooves were firmly resting on the ground.
Taehyung sat perched on top of the horse as he lifted his head and eyed the small changes in the prison. He could see the Woodburians, that were now considered a part of their group, standing between the outer and inner fence. Weapons of all kinds, varying from machetes to metal poles, were grasped in their hands and shoved between the fence to kill the walkers pushing against it. Taehyung noticed that the walkers seemed to gravitate towards one part of the fence because of the noise, which resulted in the fence bending inward.
Taehyung lifted his ebony eyes towards the green crops planted in the field - immediately noticing how the once small, green shrubs had grown into puffy bushes with all kinds of juicy vegetables hanging off the stems. Further away from the crops, Taehyung was able to see the wooden hut that belonged to the mother pig they had found five months ago. The pig was pregnant with little piglets and Taehyung was sure, that by now, she had already birthed them.
The raven horse bellow Taehyung neighed and shifted its weight, it rose its foot and stomped it into the gravel ground, causing a few rocks to fly back. Taehyung clicked his tongue and threw his leg off of the horse before jumping down to the ground. He pressed his hand against the round belly of Uranus and patted his side before turning around in the direction of nearing footsteps.
Taehyung was met with the sight of Rick approaching him with a growing smile. Rick's hair was a bit longer and was combed to the back, a small scruff rested along his jaw and his skin adored a healthy glow.
Rick approached Taehyung and wrapped his arms around the man, "I'm glad you're back." Rick muttered, patting his palm against Taehyung's back.
The raven head couldn't help but smile at the warm welcome before returning Rick's hug. Even though Taehyung enjoyed the freedom of exploring the ruins of the world he once knew, he still missed interacting with people that weren't Michonne or weren't trying to kill him. Rick was one of the people that Taehyung missed and he found his hug refreshing among all the chaos he had experienced in the past week.
Rick pulled back and hooked his hands around his hips, he turned his attention to the bags attached to the horses and nodded gratefully at Michonne and Taehyung.
"Oh." Michonne spoke up, pressing her lips together to suppress a smile. Her eyes briefly connected with Taehyung's as she reached into the bag and pulled out a beard trimmer. Taehyung snorted when Michonne handed the trimmer to Rick with a playful comment, "Your face is losing the war."
Rick's lips curved into a smile and a breath of amusement rushed through his nose. He nodded at Michonne - the two sharing small smiles before Rick glanced in Carl's direction.
Taehyung turned, too, only then noticing the young Grimes. Carl had grown taller over the past year and looked like he had matured mentally too. He still wore his father's sheriff's hat, but his hair was almost reaching his shoulders and his face was in the process of losing his baby fat. Not to mention, he went from reaching Taehyung's ribs to grazing his shoulder with the top of his head.
Michonne almost beamed at the sight of the young boy as she gestured for him to come over. Taehyung watched Michonne pull out a pile of comics with a fond look before she offered them to Carl. The latter seemed ecstatic at the comics filling his arms before thanking Michonne and rushing off in the direction of the prison.
Taehyung's eyes followed after Carl until the boy reached the prison and left his sight. Yet Taehyung's gaze never strayed from the prison and the plastic grin seemed almost stuck on his lips. A loose strand of his locks swayed in the breeze and his wool sweater flared at the bottom before his fingers grabbed a hold of it and shoved it into his jeans.
The weight of Rick's stare nearly made Taehyung slump into himself and shift from foot to foot, but he refrained from doing so by exhaling sharply and caressing the neck of Uranus with the tips of his fingers, "How's everyone?" Taehyung was hesitant to push out the question or look in Rick's direction. He was scared of the answer, yet, at the same time, hid behind the loose question.
Rick simply rose a brow and kept staring at the side of Taehyung's face. He lifted his arms and crossed them over his chest - even ignoring Michonne as she grabbed the reigns of both horses and guided them away to the stables with a small smirk.
Taehyung's hand slipped away when Uranus trotted along with Michonne. He exhaled deeply and cursed under his breath before reluctantly turning to face Rick, "Fine." Taehyung grumbled in defeat, lifting his hand and pressing it against the back of his throat as he uttered the next few words with a small wince, "How's...how's Jungkook?"
"Jungkook's fine." Rick nodded slowly, turning his head in the direction of the prison. The look on his face was calm and fond, while his voice remained soaked in honey, "You should be lucky if he punches you one time."
Taehyung winced at the words and dropped his hand to his side, "It's that bad?" He questioned Rick a bit more confidently now that he knew he won't receive a lecture for leaving so abruptly.
Rick offered him a shrug and a tight smile, "You should've seen the fit he threw when he woke up and found you gone." Rick snorted and shook his head, looking off to the prison as he reminisced the day, "I think he nearly scared away the newbies with the way he was cursing and muttering threats to himself. I actually thought they might leave after they saw him start to throw your stuff out of your cell."
Taehyung froze with his eyes wide open and lips parted. The steady puffs of air faltered in his lungs at what he just heard, his shoulders dropped and face scrunched up into a grimace, "Wait, wait, wait.." Taehyung rose his hands, taking a step towards Rick as if the leader had made some kind of mix-up, "He threw my things out of our cell?"
Rick snorted and patted Taehyung on the shoulder, "It's his cell now." And with those words, Rick brushed past Taehyung to head towards the prison.
Taehyung looked on with disbelief, he pushed the heel of his boot into the ground and whirled around in Rick's direction, "What the fuck, Where am I supposed to sleep?" He cupped his mouth between his palms and called out to the leader.
"Like Jungkook said 'that lying piece of shit can sleep outside with the walkers'"
Was the only response he got from Rick, followed by the sound of the deep rumble from Daryl's bike and two other cars. Taehyung's head swung up in the direction of the sound and his body straightened out in the middle of the road. He watched as Daryl rode his bike through the courtyard, followed by two other cars behind him.
Their wheels glided along the gravel road until they reached Taehyung and were forced to stop in front of him. Daryl turned off his engine and dragged his unimpressed gaze down Taehyung's body, "Look who's back." Daryl grumbled under his breath, leaning back on his bike. He followed Taehyung with his eyes as the latter huffed and stomped toward the cars.
"Shut the fuck up." Taehyung grumbled to Daryl while brushing past him on his way to the cars.
Taehyung trailed the tips of his fingers along the side of the white jeep and lowered his head to take a peek into the car. He was met with the sight of Sasha sitting in the front seat with confusion pinching at her features and a smiling man sitting next to her. The man raised his hand and offered Taehyung a wave, thankfully receiving a wave back before Taehyung's eyes slipped onto Glenn. The latter seemed to perk up at the sight of Taehyung, yet there was a hint of concern looming behind his smile as he stared back at Taehyung through the window.
Taehyung straightened out after making sure that Jungkook wasn't in the first car, and ever so slowly, his gaze drifted over to the last car. He watched the vehicle with a grimace on his face - already feeling the strength of Jungkook's knuckles making contact with his cheek. The last time had hurt but that was when Taehyung went away for a month, now it was three, and it made Taehyung wonder whether Jungkook would punch him three times or put the strength of three punches into a single one.
A stuttering breath slipped through Taehyung's nostrils and his legs began to lead him in the direction of the vehicle. His eyes were glued to the glass and his shoulders were hunched over in order for him to catch a glimpse of the people sitting in the front seats of the car. Taehyung noticed Tyreese and a teenage boy he didn't know, sitting in the car with nervous frowns.
Taehyung walked past their windows and bent down to look into the backseat, only to see no one there, "Where the fuck-"
A hand shot out and grabbed Taehyung by his wrist before ripping him away from the door. Taehyung stumbled back a few steps before catching himself and whipping his head in the direction of the person. The glare on his face crumbled in a split second as he saw Jungkook staring back at him.
Jungkook's once caramel hair had darkened into curly Raven strands, they curled around his head and fell down to his ears - neatly trimmed with a hint of an undercut peeking through the longer strands. The hint of chub on Jungkook's cheeks was nipped away, leaving behind slim, well-defined cheeks with sharp cheekbones. Jungkook's Bambi eyes had matured and now looked deadly as he glared back at Taehyung with his bulging arms crossed over his broad chest.
Taehyung's brow quirked up and eyes flickered down to Jungkook's muscular thighs straining against his skin-tight jeans, "Hey.." Taehyung trailed off, raising his hand and offering a small wave at Jungkook, yet the boy didn't utter a word and kept staring back at him blankly, "...You can hit me now." Taehyung smiled nervously, swaying on the heels of his feet as he turned his head to the side and presented his cheek to Jungkook.
But instead of curling his fingers into a fist and swinging it at Taehyung's face, Jungkook's lip curved into a sneer and a scoff fell past his lips. Taehyung's face fell into a look of surprise as he watched Jungkook not spare him a glance and, instead, pull open the door behind him and climb into the backseat of the car.
Pink lips parted to release a breath of shock and broad shoulders slumped in defeat. Taehyung kept staring at Jungkook through the window as the younger boy sunk into the seat and glared at the back of the seat in front of him.
A hand came down and smacked Taehyung on the back, earning a small hiss from the older. A pinch of pain rushed down his arm as Michonne accidentally brushed against the wound glued there. Taehyung's hand lifted and fingers lingered on his bicep, yet his eyes never left the side of Jungkook's face, not even when Michonne's slipped past him to head to the car,
"Told you to take him with you."