Embrace

Chapter 10

4351 4351 4351... 43..Fuck

Will attempted reciting the numbers in his head over and over again. They hung on his lips with each stifled breath that he exhaled on the left step. His body was kept low, not quite a crouch but he was not standing either, occasionally brushing the tips of his fingers over the carpet for balance as he near scuttled down the hallway.

He kept close to the wall, hopping forward quickly whenever he found himself at a door. Between the pounding of his heart beat and the way he was moving, Will was beginning to sweat. It itched at his nose and caused the blood stained shirt he was wearing to cling to his back.

Despite his focus, a horrible worry for the concern of his friends burned with it's permeance into his brain. It struck him as odd even more so when the thought of Niall seemed even more at the forefront, and even now, so deep was his yearning that even though Niall was in the same building he could feel his absence within the very marrow of his bones. It urged him to pick up the pace to hurry in his return.

Will came upon the door as instructed. The last one at the end of a hall. There was a trepidation as his hand grasped the cold brass, it was weighty under his grip. Heavier in a sense of finality as opposed to literal weight.

Holding his breath he turned the handle, wincing as it clicked and let out a crooning whine as he swung it open.

The room was devoid of anyone but him as far as he could tell. Still he took the extra precaution of lying flat on the ground, while still in the door way, to look underneath the bed from where he was. Nothing. The first few steps were ones of pregnant silence. Calculated with every muscle in his form dedicated to moving each limb as silently as possible.

The wooden floorboards were cold, his awareness so high that the mere millimetres of shifting beneath his weight was noticeable. Will eyed the two wardrobes on adjacent walls suspiciously. He stood for what felt like several minutes, watching over each of them for the slightest movement. When nothing happened, he allowed himself a little breath of relief.

Luckily he wouldn't have to step much further into the room as just as Emma had said, the security pad lay just to the left of the door next to the light switch. He felt uncomfortable as he opened the small lid to reveal the buttons, the hair on his neck stood on end and in between his shoulder blades felt gappy.

The numbers and digital screen glowed a faint, and pale, green. His thumb hovering over the buttons as he gave another careful look behind him, and then once again down the hall. For good measure.

4351 he pushed the numbers in, flinching as each button press was followed by a high-pitched beep!

Then came the heavy whirring sounds of metal on metal. Squeaking gears roared throughout the house as light began to pour into the room from the glass doors that stepped onto a small balcony. It wasn't sunlight, but the pale silver of the moon, setting the room awash with ghostly whites and muted blues. As the security system ended with a heavy clunk, Will was relieved to see that the storm had passed. Allowing himself to go over to the doors and give a brief inspection of the outside.

The ground was hidden beneath a foot and a half of muddy water that swallowed the roots of the trees. A brief moment of pain was spared for his beautiful car, but he had more important things to worry about at the moment. Despite the noise he had just made, Will hurriedly walked back over to the door to the bedroom, closing it as quietly as he could.

He made quicker work of the hall this time. Rushing down it in his eagerness to return to his friends, he still did so as quietly as he could. His feet making light drumming sound as he moved. However when the wall gave way to the banister, the stairs, and a view of the living area. Will stopped. His heart stopped.