Invisible || h.s.

16: Reunion p.1

"So he, uh, lives here?" I stared at the old, run-down building that definitely has seen better days. I wasn't sure what to expect when Harry had informed me that we were visiting his friend, but it definitely wasn't this.

"Keep your head down," the man beside me spoke quietly, pulling the hood over my head. It fell down onto my face, obstructing my vision, and I had to adjust it to be able to see anything. I didn't own any hoodies, so Harry gave me his, although it was much too big for me.

I felt a hand on my lower back, gently guiding me into the building. The interior of the place looked no better, the foul smell hitting my nostrils indicating it hadn't been cleaned in years. My feet instinctively took me towards the staircase, but it seemed Harry had other ideas.

"The basement's this way," he said, pointing to a steel trapdoor to our right. I didn't say anything, opting to follow behind him quietly. Inside, I was screaming at the creepiness of the whole situation.

It feels like he's leading me to my execution, my dumb subconscious joked, but the rational me wasn't in the mood for it.

I watched as Harry kneeled next to the trapdoor, his hand feeling around the flat area next to it, until he finally found what he was looking for. He pressed his finger to some sort of built-in security device, and I saw a flash of red light, followed by a short beeping sound.

"Alright, you first," he urged as soon as the the trapdoor popped open. Upon looking down the hole, I noticed faint light coming from inside of what seemed like a corridor. It seemed that despite a thick layer of dust covering the whole entrance to the bunker, someone did live there after all.

I glanced at Harry, feeling more than a bit nervous, but his short nod gave me the assurance I needed. I put my foot on the ladder, then slowly climbed down, making sure not to fall because of my trembling legs.

Once his feet hit the ground next to me, Harry made his way forward without any hint of hesitation. It seemed he felt a lot more safer inside that bunker—or whatever the hell that place was.

We kept walking forward until we were met with the sight of a double steel door, which also had a digital lock next to it much like the one by the trapdoor—only this one seemed a lot more complex. Harry typed in some digits first, pressing his finger against the screen. The words Facial Recognition System appeared, making him walk forward to have his eye as well as entire face scanned.

"Wow, that's a lot of security," I whispered in awe, never having seen anything like that before.

"He's a bit paranoid," Harry said, "and anti-social. You'll see."

"State your name," I jumped at the robotic voice coming from the speaker.

"Harry Styles."

So that's his last name, I thought. I don't think I've ever heard it before.

The door made a hissing sound as the mechanism worked to unlock it, finally sliding open to reveal a man on the other side. A gasp left my lips at the sight of a barrel of a gun pointed straight at our faces. Instinctively, I jumped behind Harry, pressing my cheek against his back in fright.

"Such a warm welcome," my companion scoffed, his body shaking slightly from laughter—at his friend or me, I couldn't know.

"Better safe than sorry," the man answered lightly, although the tone of his voice indicated he wasn't too thrilled to see us. I peeked out from behind Harry's back just in time to see the gun being lowered down.

"You can come out, it's safe," Harry addressed me in a lower voice, before turning his attention to the man again. "Passing three levels of security isn't enough to convince you I'm not an intruder?"