Oblivion {n.h.}

Chapter 24.

EARLY WINTER

Cold. Everything is cold, my body numb and senses tingling. Sleep lingers in the truck, and not a word was to be said. It's only been a couple hours since the camp went down, and the dark night is still upon us.

Louis holds Fizzy in his arms just as he had when we left, her whole body white and a coughing mess. Gemma; who is soon to be gone if we don't deal with her soon.

Perrie, Zayn, Jade, and Liam took off before the rest of us had. They needed to tend to Jade's arm and get somewhere safe, far away from here. Greg, Alex, and Andrea were supposedly still on the run they'd taken; if they aren't already dead I sure as hell hope they won't come back to see what's happened to where we took off from.

The truck bounces along, my head bobbing along with it. Niall's soft eyes revert to mine every once in a while, and Jackson often stirs in his sleep.

"What's the plan?" I can hear Emily faintly whisper to Steven, up in the passenger seat, her voice soft and quiet over the sound of tires along the road.

"We need to find somewhere to stay. Somewhere probably high up and just for the night. We need to find the other's in Perrie's jeep." Steven orders her, and I've got a feeling a new sense of leadership has kicked into Steven's veins.

Pain of loss aches through my bones, and lightning streaks of soreness shoots up my muscles with every move I make.

The truck comes to a stop, and I can hear the faint conversation ending up front. Making my way out of the truck, Niall helps me from behind and walks close to me to wherever Steven had decided to check out.

"Here?" Carly squeaks, obviously speaking for the first time in a while. The building looks like an old doctor's office, two stories high.

"I think it's perfect. I know that some of us aren't in the exact position to fight-" Steven eyes Gemma, Louis, and Fizzy, giving them small smiles.

My eyes wander to Gemma, the poor girl still bleeding, her eyes a dark purple color in Harry's arms. As much as I'd not want to believe it, she's got very little time left.

Louis and Fizzy don't look too good either. Louis' bags under his eyes are the size of his whole head, and Fizzy seems to have fallen completely ill; coughing and sputtering like a hyena. If we don't find shelter this Winter, I'm afraid to say we're all going to end up in poor Fizzy's position.

"Carly, Jackson, Danielle, Niall, and I will go check it out; clear the dead if there's any in there, we can barricade the upstairs and watch from a window perhaps." Steven orders again, completely in charge of the situation.

The five of us to clear the building nod, before following Steven up to the doors. We wait outside them and I put my ear up to the window, eyes not leaving Niall's.

I take a peak through the window, covering both sides of my eyes with the cups of my hands to block any sort of glare from the moon.

The front desk room looks to be empty, so I flash a re-assuring nod to Steven before he opens the door slowly, trying not to make a sound.

He whistles loudly, and kicks the wall, allowing any walkers to wander out to the noise he's caused. None seem to come out, and the place seems to be unoccupied.

He turns the flashlight on, from the scope of his shot gun and proceeds to enter the building. The motion of his hand indicates for the rest of us to follow behind, my flashlight held between my teeth and gun held tightly in my hands.

The stairs, both on each sides of the front desk are long and dark, Steven deciding to go straight, through the hall.

Several rooms cover the hall, a 'U' shape, stretching around to lead back to the front desk area.

All seeming to be empty, We stretch back around to see what awaits us upstairs.

The whole place being empty, yet still filled with supplies in the middle of nowhere surprises me. The eerie sense of having this place to ourselves is almost too good to be true.

The upstairs had just been a kitchen and living space for the staff and faculty to escape to; the whole place clean and a complete score to stay for the night.

The men had taken large things to block every entrance and stairway there was, after the cold and sickly had made their way up to the living space.

Gemma lies on the couch, Harry kneeling down to brush some of her dyed purple and blue hair out of her face; while Louis sits in an armchair, Felicite in his lap, whom is still coughing terribly.

"A lot of food still in the kitchen, looks like it hasn't been touched." Niall walks out from the dark kitchen into the living space before he sits down right next to where I relax.

A can of beans in his hand along with a bag of chips, he sets it down in the middle of the circle of where our group now sits and he gets up to make a second trip to feed everyone; so I decide to provide another pair of hands.

Opening cabinets and what used to be the fridge, Niall whispers to me softly as he does the same thing.

"I'm sorry." Chills strike up and down my back as he rubs it.

"For what?" I turn around to face him, he now stands close; our bodies nearly touching as he leans on the counter, me trapped between his arms.

"For not being a good boyfriend, I should talk to you and hug you and-" he tries to ramble along in whispers before I bring a finger up to his lips to shush him.

"Boyfriend. That's what you think you are." I whisper back to him, the sadness in my face draining away by a smirk.

The priceless look on his face made me chuckle to myself, his surprise and hurt clear in the shape of his jaw-drop.

I softly press a kiss to his open lips before pulling away again and forgetting the sadness that once controlled my emotions.

"Boyfriend." I repeat his words, "I don't think that's been clarified yet." Our whispers so soft, I even had to listen closely to hear my own words.

"So," Niall's fingertips meet my waist, "Will you be my girlfriend?" His lips almost touching my ear, and I melt under his touch.

I press a kiss once again on his open lips, and not another word was to be said. Because that was enough.