One Direction is After Us

Chapter 32

*Harry's POV*

The crash rattled the ground, and the lights went out. 

The shaking was like an earthquake. Violent enough to knock me off of my feet, but over in a moment. 

I got up and poked my head out of the room to see the silhouettes of the other four boys also peering out in confusion. 

"I'll go check it out," I whispered, since the silence was overpowering and my voice would sound strange in the middle of it. 

I jogged down the stairs and slowly opened the door to find the forest surrounding us completely intact, but only a few yards beyond it, the trees were fallen down and there seemed to be smoke coming from the center of the wreckage.

This could only mean one thing.  

I went back inside and was careful to hide my face from the window. 

Professor Calando was here. 

I slowly ascended the stairs, trying not to make any noise but the stairs protesting and creaking under my weight.

"Professor Calando has found us," I whispered. 

Though the light was dim, the terror-stricken faces of the boys were unmistakable. The four girls had poked their heads out, and they just looked downright confused. 

"Get back in the main room," Louis breathed. We nodded and herded everyone to the concrete room the girls had been held in at the beginning. 

We sat quietly in the darkness when we heard footsteps stomping up the staircase. Panic set in and my heart rate quickened. 

The door flung open and three of us screamed; I wasn't sure which three. 

Liam stood in the doorway. 

"You scared the crap out of me," Louis commented, clutching his chest. 

"Sorry," Liam said, closing the door and sitting down next to us. 

"It's time to tell them. He's here," Liam muttered in my ear.

"I know," I said, but it was only partially true. I knew he was here, but I didn't know if it was really time to tell them everything we knew about him. 

I wasn't the one who had the final say, though, because Louis spoke up before anyone else could stop him. 

"You have proven yourselves trustworthy thus far," he told them, "so it’s time you learned about him,"

*Eleanor's POV*

My mind raced with apprehension and excitement. Now, finally, we would know what was going on. 

Harry spoke up. "After the crash, I went outside to see what the noise was. I couldn't see it very clearly, but there was definitely some sort of explosion or vehicle crash or something, because the trees surrounding it had fallen and the center was smoking."

"But how could the Professor have found us?" came the voice of Cassandra. I, personally, was more interested in figuring out why that meant the Professor was nearby, but I decided not to question it. I didn't want to be the only one who didn't understand and look stupid asking. 

"I've been wondering the same thing," Louis' voice admitted. 

"Maybe if we aren't so loud, we won't be found," pointed out a voice to my left, Kaya's, and I sensed a bit of sarcasm in it. "After all, the power's out and this room has no windows. If we lock the door they'll never know we're here,"

"Good point," Liam's voice came from close to the door.

"Sh!" responded Kaya. 

We sat, engulfed in the silence, once again. If I listened hard enough, I could hear a sound, like a chopper. A gleam of light came from under the door, then went away again. I knew that all of us were holding our breath, hoping not to be seen. 

After all, there was no chance at escape from this windowless, one-doored room. 

Trying not to move or make any sort of noise was almost painful. The fear and anxiety in us made sitting uncomfortable, with cold sweats and nervous twitches. 

When the whirring faded away, all of us sighed in relief. I started counting down from 100, whispering out loud, assuming the helicopter would be long gone by the time I got to zero. 

"100, 99, 98..." I whispered. I could feel the others' eyes on me, in the direction of my voice. "...3...2...1..." I stopped, and heard some shuffling. The door creaked open, letting light into the room, except where a silhouette created a shadow. 

My heart skipped a beat, but then I realized it was just Zayn, opening the door to see if the coast was clear. He slowly inched more and more out of the room, until his entire body was standing outside the room. 

"All good," he confirmed after a moment. His voice sounded strange after such a long period of time sitting mutely. "Now," he said, entering the room again but leaving the door open to let in what was left of the sunlight, "It's time you knew about this 'Professor Calando' guy,"