Symbol | Nouis au

Chapter 14

Niall quickly gathered enough strength to push Liam off of him. He fumbled with the door knob, quickly pulling the door open as he scrambled outside. He missed a step, falling but catching himself on his hands and quickly running away from there as fast as he could. He heard laughter behind him, sending chills down his spin as he increased his pace.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Niall!" A faint voice called. He wanted to cry and laugh and pull at his hair because none of this made sense. This couldn't be real; it was impossible. He was just a normal boy who went to school and had friends and a family. He also had a confusing soul mate but none of this even started until he met Louis Tomlinson. Everyone warned him about the troubles he caused. They told him to stay away, but he didn't listen.

Niall stopped running when he was a few blocks away from Liam's. He puts his hands on his knees, bending forward as he tries to catch his breath. His mouth is full of salvia and he tastes blood, his lungs hurt as he tries to fill them with oxygen. He spits, and his knees give out, causing him to fall on his side. His head is spinning, filling with thoughts and theories and he just wants to know how any of this could be real. He coughs, slowly sitting up and leaning against a building he stopped next to. He brings his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them as he rests his head on them.

What time was it? He wondered. He looked up, the sun was almost down. He watched the sunset for a few moments until he thought he could move again. Slowly standing up, he placed his hand on the brick wall to hold him steady. He felt sick, and confused, and he still couldn't believe all of this was real. He need Zayn, or Louis, or even Harry right now. He had questions and he needed to know.

--

"Where have you been?!?" Louis shouts when he sees Niall walking up the front lawn. Zayn, Louis, and Harry are waiting on the front porch for him. They've been waiting hours after not finding him. Louis notices he has vomit on his shirt, his eyes are bloodshot, and he looks tired.

"I..." His voice breaks, and he quickly clears it. "I went to see Liam." He glances at Zayn for his reaction, and then moves his gaze to Louis. "He says they aren't after mates, but rather the whole planet. They plan to wipe away every living human." He says calmly, as if he repeated this inside his head until the words jumbled around on their own.

"Did he hurt you?" Louis asks, surprisingly calm. Niall hesitates, because Liam did hurt him. He choked him and pinned him against the door. Louis notices Niall's face expression, he notices the hesitation and he gets his answer. "I'm going to kill him." Louis mutters, brushing past Niall.

"No!" Niall grabs Louis' arm, pulls him back and wraps his arms around his waist. Louis keeps his arms at his side, he stares past Niall's shoulders, and he doesn't move to hug him or push him off. "Please don't leave me..." Niall whispers into his chest. Louis heaves a sigh, his shoulders slouch and he finally hugs Niall back.

"I'm sorry, it's just I can't stand the thought of someone hurting you." Louis says through gritted teeth. Niall sighs against him, and then untangles himself from Louis. He steps back, and gives Harry and Zayn a forced smile.

"It's getting late, we should probably head home." He says to Zayn.

"Or you could stay here for the night." Harry suggests. "It is dangerous out there, I wouldn't want you guys getting hurt."

Zayn nods, along with Niall. "Okay, that sounds fine."

--

Day 2

Liam sits in his living room, his mother is upstairs asleep after working a long night shift. She only got back this morning, greeting Liam before heading to sleep. She didn't realize he hadn't been to sleep, or that he was sharpening a knife in the living room. Her eyes were falling shut from exhaustion. He yawns, brings his right fist up to his eye and rubs it. He continues to sharpen the knife, scraping sounds are echoing through the house.

A phone to his left vibrates, halting his movements. He glances to his side, it's the phone they gave him. He almost sighs, and picks up the phone. It's a picture of Zayn, with the caption, "6 days..."

He squeezes the phone, his arms flexing as he tries not to throw the phone at the wall. His heart pounds in his chest, he places the phone next to him again, harder then he wanted to and quickly gets up. He swings open his door, closes it behind him and then leans against it. His breathing is heavy and fast, his eyes squeezed shut as he tries to calm his breathing.

He needs to kill Louis, he needs to do it fast and then take Zayn and get the hell away from here. He hoped they wouldn't follow him, he prayed he could get away safely with Zayn. Liam doesn't understand why they want Louis dead. Harry is the God, he is the one with the powers while Louis is just a human like himself. What are they achieving by killing Louis?

Liam pushes himself away from the door, grabbing extra shoes he keeps hidden by the door, checks for spiders, and then slips his feet into them. He makes his way to a bar only he and the others like him know about. He needs a drink or two, he needs a moment to relax.

He walks two blocks, before turning down an alley way. He comes to a door, knocking twice before a big bulky man opens the door. Liam lifts his shirt, revealing his mark on his arm. The man lets him pass, and he goes to sit on the bar, next to a girl he's talked to a few times.

"Hey, Kendal." Liam greets. She nods her head to him. Her hands are wrapped around a beer bottle, she's squeezing them and he can see the veins in her hands.

"I saw him." She blurts. Liam sits next to her, ordering a beer before turning towards her with a confused look on his face.

"Saw who?" He asks.

"Harry. I saw Harry." She says slowly. Liam's eyes widen, his mouth dropping open.

"When?! You can get in trouble!"

"Liam!" She hisses under her breath. "Lower your voice. I didn't talk to him, he didn't even see me." Her eyes water, and she quickly wipes them away. "I just wanted to see him. I wanted to see if he was happy."

Liam stares at her sadly. He felt the same, he wanted to see Zayn. He wanted to see if Zayn was happy without him. He places a reassuring hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. He didn't open his mouth to say anything. They weren't allowed to be weak. Tears were a sign of weakness, and she could get in trouble for showing them. "Wipe away your tears before they see you." He whispers into her ear.

She nods, stuffing her face into her jacket and wiping away the tears. She quickly looks up, grabs the beer bottle and takes a drink. "I wish this was over already." She whispers, a faraway look in her eyes.