into the wilderness - h.s.

twenty-two

"Stay behind me. Don't you dare do anything you're not supposed to."

We were in the middle of a city and Harry had just stuffed a loaded and ready hand gun into the back of his skinnies. I had my duffel slung over my shoulder as I tried to follow his orders and walk as close to him as possible. Eleanor was walking behind us pulling a rolling trunk that she claimed was part of her latest technological experiment. 

We had parked next to an office building. It was about ten stories tall. The outside was composed entirely of glass panels, making it possible to see the reflection of the clouds in the windows. It looked like a normal building on the outside, one of the kinds you would see in the suburbs that housed a dental office or a law firm, maybe even both. The revolving doors at the entrance would provide hours of entertainment for the children that had been forced to come to work with their parents.

The only thing that was ab-normal about this building was its placement. There should have been a shopping mall across the street, and I should be able to see a neighborhood just beyond the trees surrounding the property. Instead, there was a smoldered skeleton of a building on the left. I could see the taller skyscrapers in the distance, but this building was by far the nicest one in its area. The parking lot was over-run with weeds and smashed soda cans. Every time I took a step, I had to watch and make sure that I wouldn't step on anything foul. Cigarette buds littered the ground every few feet.

I followed closely behind Harry. I could feel the heat radaiting off of him as his shoulders remained tense. I didnt want to be this close to him right now, especially after his refusial to answer my qiestion and the cold facial expression I had gotten instead of an answer. But the urgency in his voice had told me to stay close, whether I wanted to or not.

I wanted to make things right between Harry and I, but I also knew it would take some work. This was a side of him that I didn't know existed. I wasn't sure how to deal with it. Maybe he had anger issues, maybe he was just moody, but I wanted the carefree Harry back; the one who made bets over clothes and flaunted when he won. But I was beginning to see a stressed Harry. I should have noticed it when he had become frustrated with the traffic situation back in Utah.

My head whiped to the side when I heard a noise in the alley on my left. A trash can rolled back and forth in a semi-circle; the lid clattering on the ground. It hummed for a few minutes until it finally settled and stopped moving. I could see Harry's fingers twitching by his side, ready if he needed to pull his gun out. Nothing more emerged from the alley. He must have deemed it safe, because he grabbed my wrist and pulled me in the direction of the door.

Louis and Eleanor had made it into the building before we had been intrupted by the clattering from the alley. Once we made it through the revolving door, I spotted the two standing by the far wall, waiting for the lift. When we joined them, the light ticked to green and the stainless steel doors slid apart. We filed in, one by one, an automated voice saying our name after we crossed the threshold.

"Tomlinson, Louis."

"Calder, Eleanor."

"Styles, Harry."

After each name had been said in turn, the light had turned green. I took a deep breath. I wasn't quite sure what was making me nervous about entering a simple eleavator, I had done it numerous time with my father when we were at hotels. Oddly, I was nervous this time. And I soon figured out why.

"Kline, Harper."

The light went red. The steel doors slammed shut, trapping me and the others inside. Eleanor frantically tried to press a button to get us to move, but nothing was happening. A dull beeping sounded at regular intervals, indicating that an alarm had went off. Harry sighed and leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair. He rubbed his eyes momentairly before he used the same line he had used in the car only ten minutes ago.