The Chase [Watty's2018]

Thirteen

Louis

We had to go back to the woods for the time being. We didn't have another choice with all of the Lab people looking for us.

Zayn was close to me and Liam and Niall were ahead of us. I was thinking about how the Lab was.

It sucked. For a while nothing happened to me, then I was with a person I didn't know. He started calling me Louis. Before that they referred to me as 'it' or 'him'.

After just a few weeks with him it was obvious that he cared for me and didn't want me hurt. They called him Liam, so I started to, too. He would be taken to other places and would come back later in the day or sometimes the next day.

I started getting scared that they were going to hurt him. Whenever he wasn't there I had a hard time sleeping.

One day I was just waking up to see 12 year old Liam sitting against the wall. He looked exahusted and something else.

He looked over at me. "I'm sorry, Lou."

"Why?" I asked.

He shook his head slightly. "I tried. I fought with them, I did everything I could so they wouldn't do it."

I knew what he was talking about. "Li, don't worry." I crawled over to him and curled into him.

"I have to worry," he whispered.

I let out a small sigh. Zayn looked over at me with an eyebrow raised.

I shook my head, looking ahead of us. Liam paused and stopped all of us.

"Whats-?" I asked before Liam cut me off.

"There's a group of people," Liam said, pulling Niall behind some trees. Zayn and I followed, all of us quietly watching.

"I don't know them. How would I know where they are," someone said.

I watched as the group moved closer with someone in the middle who didn't seem too happy.

"Everyone spread out! We need those kids found now!"

I stepped back and Zayn grabbed my arm. I looked up at him and he shook his head.

One of the men started walking towards us, a gun in hand. I bit my lip to keep a whimpered from coming out and Zayn pulled me behind him.

I saw as he got closer, only to turn around because of someone else.

They started arguing with other people, so Zayn used the opportunity to move us further away.

Liam and Niall hadn't moved. Then a gun went off.

I tripped at the noise which turned their attention to us.

"I see 'em!" One yelled, running towards us.

Zayn grabbed my hand and turned invisible. The guy was confused.

"None of them have invisibility!" He shouted.

"There is an uncharted one with them," another said. "It could be him."

Zayn and I hadn't moved, and the guy was moving closer to us.

I saw Liam move closer to us, then the guys attention turned to him.

"You and Niall run, understand?" Zayn asked quietly.

"I'm not leaving," I whisper sternly.

Zayn sighed. He started moving and his hand left mine, so I dove behind a tree.

The man started yelling and pointing a gun at Liam and Niall.

Zayn was behind the guy, now visible. Others were coming over and I had no idea on what to do.

"You have us confused," Liam said in response to the guy. "We're just camping out and went on a hike."

"You're Liam, and that's Niall. We're not idiots!" He yelled.

Zayn jumped into the guys back, pulling him down and going invisible again.

Liam cursed under his breath and had Niall hide. About three or four men came, each armed with guns. Liam started on one of them, lightning in his hands.

I watched intently, looking up to see if I could help. I saw an almost broken branch and forced it down. It fell in two of the guys, making the fall.

Zayn became visible and he looked tired. He kept fighting until one pointed a gun at him and shot.

Everything seemed to slow down. Zayn looked scared and his eyes searched around, probably looking for me.

I focused on the bullet, making it go the opposite direction.

When Zayn realized he was fine, he jumped on the man, kicking him out while Liam finished with the last one.

I heard Niall cough and I got up, finding him. When I saw the bullet in his side I covered my mouth and tears filled my eyes.

"I'm sorry. Oh my God. Niall!" I yelled, falling down next to him.

Liam ran up behind me as well as Zayn. When he saw Niall he looked lost.

"How? The only shot was fired at Zayn." Liam moved and took his shirt off, putting pressure on the wound.

"I-I stopped the bullet from hitting Zayn. It m-must have hit him instead." I started crying.

I should have just stopped it, not changed the direction, I thought to myself. This is all my fault.

Someone ran into the clearing behind us, looking around.

He looked like he had been here for a few days, his longer hair tangled with sticks and leaves. His clothes were torn and he had a few cuts on his arms.

Zayn nudged Liam. "We have to try to ask him for help. We don't have a choice." He glanced at Niall, who was passed out.

Liam shook his head. "He can heal himself, he'll be fine." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that.

Zayn got up and went to the guy, pointing over to where we were.

He nodded, running over to us. "I have a kit with first aid," he said. Liam sighed and picked Niall up carefully, following the guy.

Zayn wrapped an arm around me and lead me, trying to convince me it wasn't my fault.

"I should have just stopped it," I said. "If I would have stopped it he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Don't, Lou. You didn't know where he was. You couldn't have known." He pulled me tighter against his side and I just shook my head.

We got to the small shelter, and the guy ushered us inside.

"Here," he said, handing Liam some hydrogen peroxide and bandages. "I'm Harry, by the way."

Zayn introduced us by our real names. Harry told us that he had an ability as well as us.

Liam glared at Zayn. "You told him that?"

"I didn't have a choice. If Niall's fully healed in just a few days it's obvious that he's not normal."

I winced at the thought of Niall not healing. My head circled around the idea of never seeing Niall alive again.

I heard them talking faintly but I was too worried to pay attention to it. I watched Niall. His face was pale and his expression unmoving even as Liam tried to remove the bullet and clean the wound.

"My fault," I said, so quietly that I barely heard it.

Zayn pulled me to him. "He's going to be okay, Louis." I felt him kiss the side of my head and I finally melted into him. I started crying again, feeling myself grow tired as I did.

Zayn laid us down but kept me next to him. I curled into him, finally falling into a fitful sleep.

I'm So sorry about not updating. As soon as I'm in a place where I can upload on a schedule, it will be on Mondays at 7:30 Mountain Central Time.