Decrypted

Chapter 1

Alright dudes lets just dive right in

also, this chap is dedicated to @-ziall_horlik for the votes :) thank you bby!

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Niall felt a sweat droplet roll down the side of his temple, catching on his cheekbone and sliding down to his top lip. 

He quickly bit his lips, knowing the droplet would tickle him if he left it, and tasted the salty liquid. 

The gas mask he had on was fabulous at preventing chemicals from entering his mask, but also preventing his body heat from diffusing out. 

He was miserable and drenched with sweat, but almost back to the base. He had just picked up some bear berries along the margin of sand and jungle for his camp members to eat. 

As he was walking back to the makeshift cabin, Jenny's long, wheat-like hair caught Niall's eye.

Niall admired how hard Jenny worked, she was always taking the diamonds to wash and prep before each test. 

She seemed to be digging in the red sand by the ocean, as silt crumbled and glided over her pale hands. 

"Hey, Jenny!" He shouted, but soon winced as his own voice ricocheted off the mask. She didn't notice him, only focusing on the pouch of diamonds in front of her. 

Niall shrugged to himself, not bothered that she was more focused on the diamonds since she shouldn't be distracted anyways. 

As Niall approached the base, he glanced inside and saw Harry, his favorite member of the team, and smiled to himself. 

Harry was in deep thought, hunched over his desk and running his hand through his hair. 

Niall thought Harry seemed stressed, so he might need a little bit of cheering up. 

Sucking in a deep breath, Niall pressed his face up against the glass and knocked on the window. 

Harry jumped slightly, looking over at the sound of the noise and jumped once again. 

"Boo!" Niall shouted, his laughing eyes meeting with Harry's frightened ones. 

The leader shook his head with a small smile, beckoning Niall to come into the room. 

Once Niall had entered, he began tugging and pulling at his mask with all his might. 

Growing frustrated with how tight the rubber stuck to his face, Niall's movements became more jerked and hasty. 

"Let me help." Harry softly chuckled, placing his makeshift gun on the table and carefully sliding off the mask. 

Niall took in a deep breath of air, running his hands through his sweaty hair to cool off. "Why do you always make me wear that stupid thing?" 

"Just in case, bear. I dont want your safety in danger." Harry explained, hooking the mask back up for Niall. Jenny had entered the room, standing kind of awkwardly as if she was interrupting something.

"Okay, whatever you say, Doc," Niall softly smiled, "What are you working on here anyways?"

"Well, after testing my gun multiple times, ive come to the conclusion that the failure of my work isn't due to the gun. The aim, power, and pressure are all perfect. Im thinking it may be the diamonds im struggling on." Harry sighed, walking over to the other side of the desk and seeing Jenny. 

"Oh, perfect. Jenny, I appreciate all the work you put into cleaning and prepping the diamonds, but im thinking of going the extra mile and running them through my purifier to make sure they're extra clean. Once i do that, i'm pretty positive the cure for ghouls will be made," Harry smiled, giddy to start testing again, "Now, did you have the diamonds Niall collected earlier?"