Bite {Niall Centric}

Day 158 - Night

Niall was anxious, fingers tapping incessantly against his knee as he waited for Missy to show up and distract the boys. "We should explore London tomorrow; I heard that the London Eye is still working," Liam suggested. Everyone except Niall hummed in agreement, the blonde just too distracted in waiting impatiently for the blue-haired girl.

"Niall, are you okay?" Harry asked. When he wasn't answered, he yelled, "Niall!"

Niall jumped a bit from where he was sitting on the fence post that surrounded some pigs wallowing in mud, nearly falling into said puddle of mud. He sighed, nodding his head. "Just thinking, sorry."

His eyes scanned the area, finally settling onto Missy jogging her way towards them. From his perch, Niall's blue eyes connected with Missy's, a silent exchange of words just between the two.

"Hey, Missy!" Louis chimed, waving his flamethrower in the air instead of his hand. Niall was still scared of Louis' unpredictable nature, so everytime the weapon was pointed in his direction, he cringed and ducked.

"Hey, Lou," Missy grunted as she caught her breath. "I thought I'd come by and offer to clean your weapons and get the proper ammo for you guys."

"Really? Thanks!" Louis wasted no time in tossing his flamethrower to Missy, the boys following suit. They all looked at Niall, his baseball bat resting against his dangling legs.

"Um, no thanks," Niall politely declined. "but I will help Missy. See you later, guys!"

He jumped down from the fence post, biting his lip to hold in a groan as his ankle pulsated in pain from the harsh landing. Niall picked up his metal bat and hurried off with Missy in tow. He glanced slyly over his shoulders, the boys staring after the both of them with raised eyebrows in question. Niall could understand why; he, too, would be confused if he offered help to somebody just like that.

After they turned a corner, Niall released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. "Here," Missy handed him his pistol along with two boxes of bullets. "I also restocked your backpack and got one of the leatherworkers to make you a better holster for your bat because that thing," she said, referring to the makeshift duct tape holster that honestly looked about to fall off Niall's waist in broken pieces. "is a hazard to my eyes."

"Ha. . . ha," Niall laughed dryly. "Is the entrance clear of zombies yet, or will I have to fend them off?"

Missy bit her lip, avoiding eye contact. "We have a shortage of bullets, and our soldiers don't want to be out there again. Not so soon after. . ." She gulped, fighting back tears. Niall felt horrible. He didn't want to cause trouble for Missy, but he needed to leave as soon as possible. "Um, anyway, the soldiers are building bombs to clear that area, but I can sneak you out through a secret entrance. Before you go, you should change your clothes and have the doctor look at your ankle one last time."

Niall nodded his head silently, tucking the bullets and pistol into his backpack before following behind Missy to the medical tent. The smell of natural herbs and alcohol burned his nostrils, his hand moving to cover his nose. "Sorry about the strong smell, but a lot of these medicinal herbs have a potent scent," One of the nurses laughed at Niall upon seeing his watery eyes and scrunched nose.

"Where is Doctor Bellstrum?" Missy asked the same nurse who giggled at Niall. "And an an extra set of men's clothes in a size. . ." Missy scanned over Niall's physique, making the blonde blush a bit. "Small."

Niall pouted. He knew he was tiny for his age, but the way she said it made him feel slightly embarrassed. It was like everyone thought he couldn't defend himself because of his small stature, but he had survived for four months! A lot of what he had been through had toughened him up, so as he changed into his clothes that were a size small, the sleeves a little bit too long, so he rolled them up, he puffed his chest a bit as he walked out of the small room.

After the doctor felt around the cast, and Niall gritting his teeth in pain but otherwise silent, he was handed another set of bandages to change his cast in another four weeks. Missy led him to the secret entrance of an underground passage, afterwards.

The both of them pulled at the latch, the dank smell of mildew drifting into the air above. Niall coughed, gladly accepting the surgical mask handed to him. "Thanks." Was his only parting speech before jumping into the passage way, the latch shut tight behind him. Darkness. He fished out a flashlight from the side pocket of his backpack, illuminating the moldy concrete walls and dirt ground. His footsteps were silent, the only sound was his bat clanging against the wall every so often.

It felt like hours were passing, but Niall knew it was only about twenty minutes when he found the exit. He turned the wheel and pushed against the latch, the metal hinges screeching. He pulled himself out, kicking the hatch close before turning the wheel to lock it. He sat down to rest for a minute, wondering where to go. The passage way had led to the outskirts of London, near where the boys had parked their truck. Niall couldn't use the vehicle though; not much gas left.

Groans and moans. Fuck. Niall hopped up on his feet, digging out his pistol and a box of bullets, loading up his gun and aiming at the direction where the noises were coming from in record time. His breath was even, arms out straight as he focused his eyes toward the street covered in the shadow of night. Movement.

Just as the first zombie was in range, his finger moved to the trigger and pulled. The zombies were dropping like lifeless puppets, but as more and more came, Niall realized he'd be out of bullets before he could leave London. Niall tucked his gun and bullets away, grabbing his metal bat in hand before running towards the open road that led out of London and into the countryside.

His ankle throbbed in pain, but he didn't have much of a choice in terms of slowing down. He ignored the sparks of pain shooting up his side, running and running until it just wasn't possible that a zombie was still following behind. By then, it was probably around two in the morning, and Niall was flat on the road, heaving in gulps of air, every muscle exhausted. He couldn't just stay out in the open like this, so he pushed himself up and began to walk again. Hopefully, he would find a safe place to rest soon.