The night had deepened into a heavy silence by the time they reached the outskirts of the town. The moon hung low, veiled by drifting clouds, its pale light spilling across broken rooftops and streets littered with abandoned cars. The air smelled of rust and damp earth, tinged faintly with the sour stench of rot.
Namjoon raised his hand, signaling the group to slow. Their footsteps softened, their breaths shallow. The town stretched before them like a graveyard, every building leaning like a weary sentinel, every shadow whispering of danger.
Y/N felt her chest tighten. The silence was wrong. It wasn't the emptiness of a deserted place — it was the silence of something waiting.
As they moved deeper, the echoes of the town pressed against them. Broken shop signs swung in the wind, their faded letters spelling out names that once meant comfort: bakeries, cafés, bookstores. Windows were shattered, doors hung open, and the streets were littered with fragments of lives abandoned in haste.
Jimin whispered, his voice trembling. "It feels like they all just… vanished."
Taehyung's gaze swept the buildings. "No. They didn't vanish. They were taken."
The words sent a shiver through Y/N. She remembered the early days of the outbreak — the screams, the chaos, the way entire neighborhoods had been swallowed overnight.
Jungkook walked close beside her, his hand brushing hers. "Stay sharp," he murmured. "This place isn't empty."
Soobin crouched near a rusted car, his eyes narrowing. "Tracks," he whispered. "Fresh."
Namjoon joined him, studying the faint marks in the dirt. Footprints. Human.
"They're not infected," Namjoon said quietly. "Too organized. Too deliberate."
Yeonjun's jaw tightened. "Survivors, then. Which means trouble."
Jin's voice was grim. "Humans are worse than the infected. Desperation makes monsters."
The group exchanged uneasy glances. They had all seen it before — survivors who had traded humanity for survival, who had become predators in their own right.
It happened quickly.
From the shadows of a collapsed storefront, figures emerged. Five of them, ragged and hollow-eyed, armed with makeshift weapons — pipes, knives, a rusted crowbar. Their clothes were torn, their faces gaunt, but their eyes burned with hunger.
The leader stepped forward, his smile chilling. "Well, well. What do we have here?"
Namjoon's voice was calm, steady. "We're just passing through."
The man laughed, a sound that scraped against the silence. "Passing through? No one passes through. You're carrying supplies. Food. Water. Weapons. We'll take them."
Jungkook's grip tightened on his bat. "You'll try."
The tension snapped like a wire pulled too tight.
The two groups faced each other in the ruined street, the air thick with threat.
Leader: "Busan, is it? I've heard the rumors. Lies. There's nothing there but death."
Namjoon: "Maybe. But it's our choice."
Leader: "Your choice is survival. And survival means giving us what you have."
Y/N's heart pounded. She could feel the weight of her brother's hand on her arm, grounding her.
Y/N's Brother voice was sharp. "We won't give you anything."
The man's smile widened. "Then we'll take it."
The clash was brutal, raw.
Jungkook swung his bat, the crack of bone echoing through the street. Beomgyu lunged with his knife, his movements quick and precise. Y/N fought beside her brother, adrenaline surging, her knife flashing in the dim light.
Jin fired a shot, the sound deafening, dropping one of the attackers. Jimin screamed as a figure lunged at him, but Taehyung pulled him back, his blade slicing through the air.
The fight was chaos — shouts, grunts, the metallic clang of weapons.
Y/N's breath came in ragged gasps as she shoved an attacker back, her knife cutting deep. Her brother's voice rang in her ears. "Stay with me! Please"
Finally, it ended. The attackers lay broken on the ground, their bodies twisted in defeat. The street was silent once more, but the silence was heavier now, soaked in blood.
Aftermath
The group stood panting, shaken but alive.
Jin's voice was grim. "Humans are worse than the infected."
Namjoon's gaze swept the fallen figures. "Desperation makes monsters. But it could have been us, if we'd lost hope."
Y/N wiped blood from her cheek, her hands trembling. She looked at her brother, her voice barely a whisper. "We keep moving."
Y/N's Brother nodded, his eyes hard. "We don't stop. Not here."
As they left the town behind, the echoes followed them. The broken buildings, the hollow-eyed survivors, the blood on their hands — all of it clung to them like shadows.
Jimin's voice was soft, trembling. "Do you think Busan will be different? Do you think people there will still be… human?"
Soobin's reply was quiet. "I don't know. But we have to believe it."
Taehyung's gaze was distant. "If we don't believe, we're already dead."
Y/N walked beside Jungkook, her heart heavy. He glanced at her, his voice steady. "We'll make it. Together."
She nodded, but the weight of the town lingered. The Town of Echoes had shown them what survival could become — and it terrified her.
The night stretched on, the stars hidden behind clouds. Their footsteps echoed softly against the broken streets, carrying them away from the town and into the unknown.
Y/N whispered to herself, barely audible. "Please let Busan be real."
Her brother heard, his hand brushing hers. "It will be."
And so they walked, leaving the Town of Echoes behind — but carrying its shadows with them.
As the group was walking, Y/N found herself walking beside Jungkook, the night air heavy with silence and the faint rustle of wind through building; his bat in his hand, forgotten for the moment, and when he turned to her, his eyes carried the weight of exhaustion and something deeper, something unspoken — "I know you're scared," he murmured, voice low and steady, "I am too, but every time I look at you, I remember why I keep fighting," and Y/N felt her chest tighten, the fear and fatigue pressing against her ribs, yet his words carved out a fragile space of warmth in the cold, a reminder that even in a world of ruin, connection could still exist; she whispered back, almost afraid of breaking the moment, "You can't promise we'll make it, but you can promise you'll stay," and Jungkook's jaw clenched as he nodded, his hand brushing hers in a fleeting touch that carried more weight than any vow, a silent agreement that whatever waited in Busan — salvation or ruin — they would face it together.