One Night

05 • I Got You

Mikayla Marks • May 2, 2019

Mikayla stared at the body belonging to the man she barely knows. He paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, trying to find a way off of the rooftop. He looked over the same edge for the hundredth time, scanning the long drop below him.

Frustrated, he turned and walked further down, where he looked over the edge, to the front of the building. Mickey's eyes stayed on him, not once leaving his thin, but muscular form.

He's so kind to her, so strong, so calm.

That only makes an unfamilar feeling bubble up in her chest every time she looks at him.

After looking over the edge, Jimin turned to face her. He looked at her for the first time since they came up here. His face says it all: he's frustrated. Mickey quickly looked away from him, terrified of looking at him any further. She sat there, with her back pressed against a wall. Her eyes stayed straight, and that's when she heard him approach her.

Once he stopped in front of her, she looked up at him. He took a deep breath, then he took a seat beside her. Silence overtook the air surrounding them, but it didn't last long, as the zombies from inside of the building started banging on the door once again.

"Should we wait until they leave?" Mickey quietly spoke, glancing over to him.

The light from the newly rising sun lit up some of his face, which gave it a shiny effect. A long pause went by as he thought about how to answer the younger girl's question. "No," he answered. "They're not gonna leave, therefore we have to find another way down."

"Well, we're ten stories up," Mickey pointed out.

Jimin looked over at her with a blank face, clearly annoyed. "Obviously," he replied, sarcastically.

"Are there any fire escapes?" Mickey asked him, feeling embarrassed after hearing his first response.

Jimin gave her a small nod. "Yes, but there's a big drop between the fire escape, and the alley below it," he responded.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a scream came from the streets. Mickey quickly hopped to her feet as fear settled into her chest. She jogged over to the edge, then she peaked over, to the main road below them.

A woman is running as fast as she possibly can, but not very fast, as her leg is injured. At least seven of the infected dead people are chasing her. She screamed as she tripped over a dead body, then she flipped over and looked at the zombies, which are right in front of her.

Panic built up inside of Mickey. She slammed her hand over her mouth as tears formed in her dark eyes. The woman doesn't have enough time to stand back up and run. Jimin's hand rested on her shoulder as they watched the events unfolding right in front of them.

One of the zombies tripped over the body she fell over. It reached forward and started grabbing at her ankle, which caused the woman to cry out. Jimin turned Mickey to face him, not allowing her to watch any further. She clung to him, wrapping her arms around to his back.

Mickey cried into his chest as she heard the woman scream again, and again, and again. "I-I-I-," she stuttered. "Sh-She-," she sobbed into his chest.

Jimin gently rubbed her back, attempting to calm her down. He didn't speak at all, probably because he knows there's nothing he could possibly say. Once Mickey started to calm down, Jimin slightly pulled away. He looked down at her, and scanned her face, clearly worried.

"We have to go," he finally spoke, allowing his hands to rest on her elbows.

Mickey instantly shook her head. "N-No," she told him. "I'm n-not going down there. I c-can't — I'm not," she stated.

Jimin gave her a funny look. "What do you mean, you're not?" he questioned.

Mickey walked by him without another word. She returned to her spot, against the wall, near the door leading into the building. Jimin followed her. She crossed her arms across her chest, and stared at his legs as he stopped in front of her.

"You're really gonna stay up here?" Jimin asked. "With no food, no water? You'll die if you don't come with me," he pointed out.

"It-It's better than being ripped open, and eaten alive," she told him, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

Jimin sighed, running his fingers through his hair, glancing around. "Fine," he finally spoke. "You wanna stay here? Go right ahead," he said. "I'm not wasting my time on some little brat who doesn't want my help," he snapped, and with that, he turned and walked away.

Jimin returned to the edge of the building, where he prepared to hop down, onto a fire escape. Mickey watched him, and fear built up in her chest. She doesn't want to be alone. Just the thought of being alone terrifies her, it makes her heart hurt.

Mickey quickly stood up, and ran after him. "I'm-I'm sorry," she told him, stuttering. "I'm just sc-scared."

Jimin glanced back to her, giving her a small once over, then he nodded. "I know, and being scared is okay, but you have to trust me if we're going to get through this," he told her. Taking her hand, Jimin pulled her closer to the edge. He looked down for a moment, to the fire escape, then he looked at her. "Do you trust me?" he asked, and she gave him a small nod in respond. "Okay, I'm gonna drop down, then you'll drop down, too, okay? And I'll catch you," he said.

Mickey looked up at him for a moment, then she reluctantly nodded. He must have noticed her reluctancy, because he gently squeezed her hand.

"You don't have to be afraid," Jimin assured her.

Without wasting anymore time, Jimin let her hand go, and lifted his legs over the concrete edge. Jimin twisted himself around, so his hands are the only thing holding him up. His legs dangled below him, and that's when he let go. Mickey immediately looked over the edge, finding Jimin down on the fire escape. He looked up at her, held his hand up, and motioned for her to come.

Mickey carefully lifted her legs over the edge, and she kept her bottom half firmly planted against the concrete. She looked down at Jimin, and took a deep breath, obviously terrified. "I don't think I can do this," she whispered.

Jimin simply stared at her, waiting. "It'll be okay," he told her. "Do what I did, and I'll grab your legs," he said, holding his hands up for her.

A long, shaky breath escaped her lips. She simply sat there, debating on whether or not she trusts him enough. "C-Can you say that again?" she shakily asked.

"What?" Jimin flatly asked, almost getting annoyed.

"Th-That it'll be okay?" Mickey finished, allowing some tears to escape her eyes.

"It'll be okay," Jimin repeated himself, melting at her request. His voice is so confident, so calm, so believable. It was more than enough to get her moving again.

Mickey twisted herself around, and struggled to hold herself up. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt herself slipping. But the feeling slowly disappeared as Jimin's strong, stable hands gripped her soft, squishy thighs.

"I got you," Jimin whispered, holding tightly onto her. Mickey let go of the edge of the building, and Jimin slowly lowered her to the ground. His hands are so gentle.They moved all the way up her thighs, and to her sides as he lowered her to the fire escape.

And they lingered there for far too long.

It was as if they froze there, unable to move.

A small breath escaped Mickey's lips as her heart sunk to her stomach. The feeling is so unfamiliar, so different for her. "Thank you," she quietly spoke, moving away from him.

Jimin's hands left her sides, and she turned to face him. His attention was taken elsewhere as soon as she left his grasp, and he started to walk down the stairs on the fire escape.

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A/N: Thank you for reading! Please vote, comment, and add to your reading list for future updates!

S. C. Keener

07/05/19