Stalker (1D fanfic) [Editing]

Into the Woods (16)

Harry's P.O.V.

It was probably around midnight if not later that we had escaped from Rob. We being everyone but Lydia that is. How could we have left her behind?what were they thinking? We had decided to follow the stony road that had brought us to this hell on earth, seeing as that was the smartest way of finding a way out. We traveled just inside the tree line though so we could hide easier if Rob came looking. Now that I thought of it, would I hide? someone had to be there to protect Lydia right? I think I could handle Rob, the worst he could do was hurt her and how did I know he wasn't doing that right now.

I am a protective person, when you put someone in my life who gets hurt because of me, especially someone that I have feelings for, I'm going to protect them as best I can. I will fight for them with my life. even though everyone tells me it's not my fault, somehow it still feels like it is. My feelings for Lydia have really grown, and she finally was starting to give me another chance when I let her down again. Now here we were, trekking through the woods as dawn light broke through the trees.

"Liam, we've been walking for ages." Louis said with a slight hint of whining in his tone. I don't know how or why but an unspoken decision to appoint Liam as leader seemed to have taken place without my notice.

"I know, and we're going to keep walking." He said. I wondered if Lydia even survived the night, but the thought of her possibly being dead was too scary.

"But Liam-" He cut Louis off,

"Louis! I know your tired, we all are," He said gesturing to everyone else,

"but if you want to get out of here safely without being caught to get help from Lydia we can't just take leisurely breaks." At that he kept walking.

Zayn had stayed quiet the whole time, as usual. But weirdly whenever Louis would try to start a conversation with him he would just mumble a one word response. Usually if Zayn was talking a whole lot, it was because he was chatting with Lou. Niall just walked by my side with a sad expression flinching every time a noise sounded that wasn't caused by ourselves. I put my arm around his shoulder giving him the little comfort I could offer at the moment. Liam marched ahead, giving directions and taking the lead. I didn't appreciate being told what to do by my friend, but I wasn't about to start a fight. We needed to stay connected and a team and we were all in a fragile state as it was.

"I need to wee." I said falling behind. I took the knife out of of my backpack quietly and scratched three long marks into the tree. Then I took out some mustard I had grabbed when we had packed food in a panic. I rubbed it into the slits and hurriedly packed the stuff back up and jogged to catch up with the others.

"So... Do we even have a plan?" I asked jogging alongside Liam.

"Yeah, keep walking until we get out of the woods, find help." He stated rather plainly. I huffed and leaned against him.

"Not a very detailed plan." I muttered throwing a glance at him. He sighed with an annoyed expression on. I chuckled taking my weight off him and walking normal again. It seemed to lighten the mood a little.

"Liam." I started in a lower voice,

"We really need to go back." I said.

"You know we can't." he quickly butt in.

"No, I don't. I don't understand why we can go back to help the girl that risked her life for our safety."

"Look. Harry." Liam said finally stopping short and turning to me.

"It's too dangerous to go back. We could all be re-captured-"

"Then just let me go!" I yelled.

"I can't do that Harry! She would never forgive me for putting you in that kind of danger.... If you go back, Rob will catch you and he will use you against her to get what he wants." I sighed. If that's how he wanted to be fine. We started walking again.

"Mate, when are we gunna get some rest?" Niall asked timidly.

"Alright, Here's the deal, we're gunna keep walking. We sleep at noon" A couple groans were heard but we trudged on. We walked all day. Only Stopping for food and bathroom breaks. I was thankful of my watch to help keep time. We were exhausted from walking last night and all of today but it was almost noon and pretty soon I was going to put my own plan into action.

"Liam, can we sleep yet?" Niall asked from my back. He had started complaining non-stop about his feet hurting about an hour ago so I finally just gave him a piggyback ride.

"Okay. let's find a place to sleep." Liam said tiredly. everyone spread out looking for a good place to rest, hidden from the road.

"We wake at midnight." Liam said dramatically with a smile. A few chuckles were heard but we were too sleepy and sore for comedy. finally a nice clearing was found and three people used bags for pillows, the other two used other people to rest their heads. A breeze blew through the leaves coated with a chill. It was going to be a cold night, I could already tell. As soon as everyone was asleep I got up as quietly and carefully as I could.

"Mate, what are you doing?" Niall croaked with one eye open. Uh oh.

"Sorry, I drank a lot of water and forgot to pee before we went to sleep." I whispered with an apologetic grin. Niall just waved it off and rolled over going back to sleep.

I made my way through the woods, to the first tree I marked up. It was going to take me the rest of the day and night to get back to Rob's house, unless I hurried. I didn't really need all the marked trees, it was fairly easy to find my way back, but we had started traveling farther away from the road and into the woods and I wasn't about to take any chances.

The mustard helped me spot the marks easier so I could make my way back faster. I went through regular intervals of running, jogging, running, walking, repeat. It helped me keep a quick but steady pace, even if it did get tiring eventually. The thought of Lydia and her safety kept me going, and also the thought of being able to hold her in my arms again when I got there. Gosh it felt good to know she wasn't avoiding me anymore. I just had to remember to take baby steps, She still had a lot of trauma to work through and I triggered some of it. I knew that there would always be that shadow of terror in the back of her mind, but I would do everything I could to help her get through this.

I wrapped my arms around me as I ran. The breeze running through the trees chilled me to the bone. It was getting colder, freezing if you will. Maybe I'd grab a jacket when I got there too. It was dark and I had been running for ages. My jeans were ripped and my legs and arms scratched up from tripping over roots and running into branches. finally I made it.

Standing at the edge of the woods I caught my breath and stated at the house looming in front of me, strung with the sting of painful memories. Taking one last deep breath I stepped foreword and made my way to the door, slowly at first, then picking up pace. I creaked open the door and searched the downstairs and basement. I looked upstairs but neither Lydia nor Rob were anywhere in sight. I was dumbfounded!

I went out on the back porch and sat on the steps thinking where they could possibly be when a branch snapped in the silent night. My head snapped up and I stared at the dark figure standing there. This had to be him. He stood there silent and still at the edge of the woods for a second before fumbling with something at his side. I booked it towards him. Running at full speed. anger welled up inside me. What was he doing out In the woods?!

"Where is she?!" I screamed. Just then he stretched his arms out toward me and I noticed the gun but it was to late to stop. My heels dug into the ground as I tried to stop myself but I was going to fast. I stumbled on the ground and started rolling completely losing control.

The loud bang of the gun echoed through the woods.