Battle Alpha • LT&NH

2 || O Death

"Are you absolutely, completely sure you're good?"

"I am. I promise."

"Niall, you have to be honest with me. If you feel like you're going to have an attack, let me know now."

"The medicine they brought me is good enough to sustain my lungs for this, Liam." Niall felt like he was being treated like a kid, but it was inevitable. He tried not to exhale in relief as Liam nodded, dropping the topic.

"Let's just hope we can sleep today so we'll be ready for tonight."

"We're coming to get you, Bradford Badboi!!" Louis yelled, and the rest of the boys whooped.

Jasper laughed at them, but shot him a look of concern. She leaned to whisper, "Here. You might want to take this."

With a trembling hand, Niall slid the inhaler inside his pocket. Precaution.

Breaking Zayn out of ONE had been one of the craziest adventures in his short life, and although he was just in charge of the getaway car, Niall thought it was enough to kill him. He would have bet his entire savings on the fact that a sniper somewhere was going to shoot him right behind the wheel the moment he parked the car. It was one thing to fight against zombies, but it was definitely insane to fight against real people with real, evil motivations.

That's why Niall knew that Liam's plan was a fucking trap. But he trusted his friend; he wanted to believe it would work. How could he refuse Liam anyway? He was a self-appointed leader. Everyone trusted Liam. Sure, he might have been crankier and something else... But he was still Liam Payne. And Liam Payne was always in control.

"I know they've played a huge part in keeping our community together these past few weeks. They've left for a better cause. They're irreplaceable assets, I'll give them that. But don't be disheartened. Because I've got something to tell you," Liam said, speaking in front of the residents of the Fort. "We're going to survive this. We're going to keep living and keep fighting. This is our life now. This is our home and we will keep it safe. We will keep our future safe!"

It was cliche, but people loved it. Everyone loved it. Niall found himself clapping with everyone else. It had to be done. Someone had to step up and take charge. Niall wondered how it would feel like if he were the one up there.

These people weren't their "fans". These people were distraught, broken, and grieving persons who wanted to build new lives for themselves. People who wanted a second chance.

He couldn't help but admire Liam for the strength and courage he had. Perhaps it was because of the grief he had suffered. Losing Sophie probably played a big part in his conviction in this new world, but then again... Liam had always been the one to have made that active effort to connect to the fans. He had always been the people person.

What did it feel like, Niall wondered, to have people depend on you literally for their lives? Did losing someone really give you that much strength to be braver? He had these questions, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answers.

In fact, Liam was still in control when they were being chased out by the raiders earlier. One of the raiders who were left to search for them had almost gotten him, but Liam had popped out of nowhere and offed the man. His brother still managed to save him moments from death and what did he do?

All Niall could do was follow orders, follow Liam's orders to just run and go home. He didn't even check to see if Liam actually followed him because he trusted that of all people, Liam would make it.

And right now, as Niall was shivering in the cold, trying to catch his breath, he didn't even trust himself to make it. How could he, Niall, the weak one, the frail one, survive this? He didn't have a map. He had a stupid branch on his hands, and he didn't know what the hell he was thinking, considering he couldn't even stand up. What was he planning to do with the damn branch? Stab those perpetrators in the eye? Or stab himsellf in the eye?