The Wrong Direction

Chapter Thirty

Adriana

Chapter Thirty

When we arrived at Larr's dirty old shack, I felt chills creep up my back.  Okay, so maybe it was stupid of me to come running back here.  Larr had terrorized me more than I'd like to admit.  But the thing was, I didn't want to come across as weak or a baby.  Larr was just a lonely, creepy old man.  He wasn't actually capable of killing someone . . . I think.

"Guys, what's the plan," whispered Niall, looking between Liam and me.

I shrugged, knowing my ideas would be ignored anyway.  Liam bit his bottom lip as he clearly pondered over what to do.  He leaned in towards Niall and me, beckoning with his hand for us to step closer.

"Adriana, I want you to sneak ahead and look through Larr's windows," Liam instructed.  At the mention of my name, I heard Niall suck in air between his teeth.  He looked tense, upset.  "See if he's anywhere in his house.  Make sure you check every last window.  We have to be sure we aren't walking into a death trap."

I nodded.  "Of course."

Liam stared at me for a moment longer, clarifying silently that I had heard his instructions and understood them perfectly.  To show him that I really knew what to do, I nodded once, barely moving my head, just enough for him to get the message.  We all knew we needed to be as quiet as possible.  Larr may be an old man, but that didn't mean he was deaf.

After making sure I perfectly understood him, Liam turned to Niall and focused solely on him.  "Niall, I want you to carefully venture around the meadow in search of Larr.  Be extremely quiet and careful.  Do not let him see you.  If you see him, back away and come find us.  If Larr's not in his shack, we're going to raid it for rope, and we need to be able to depend on you."

"Got it," Niall said.  "You can count on me."

Liam quickly bobbled his head, his way of nodding.  Niall and I started to walk away, but Liam grabbed us by the shoulders and yanked us around.  "One last thing," Liam said.  "If Larr is in the shack, you two need to create a diversion and distract him.  Like, do something to get him out and away from the shack.  Got it?"

"Yup."

"Uh-huh."

Liam looked between us one last time before sighing and saying, "Okay.  Go do your thing."

I took a deep breath of air to try and calm my nerves.  Don't get me wrong.  I was excited to do something to help the whole group.  Last time, I had to sit around and wait desperately for someone to rescue me.  I felt like Bella Swan.  When I say it really crushes your ego, I'm not even kidding.

I glanced at Niall, only to see him looking at me too.  He looked really pale.  Not sparkly vampire pale, but his face was drained of color.  I was a little relieved that I wasn't the only one who was anxious about this, but then I realized something.  If Niall was worried, then this is serious.

"Good luck," Niall finally whispered.  He placed his hand on my shoulder, trying in his own way to reassure me.  "Be careful," he added.  I was surprised by the serious look in his eyes.  Typically, Niall was always joking around, but not right now.

I released some air that I hadn't realized I had been holding in.  I nodded, biting my lower lip to prevent myself from saying something I would regret later on.  In the end, I had to resort to two, simple, almost meaningless words.  "You too."

And just like that, Niall turned on his heel and charged forward, leaving me behind with Liam.  As Niall walked, he crouched low to the ground, like that would somehow lessen the chances of Larr spotting him.  Truthfully, with his red t-shirt, he wouldn't exactly blend in no matter what stance he held.