Legendary // H.S

69.

I begin pacing around the edge of the room, walking towards the windows. Below, I see the small groups working and chatting. Niall has joined George and Louis, their eyes moving up to us every now and again, of which I only send a smile back. Kill them with kindness.

I watch the two people with Zayn, their tools buzzing and echoing off all corners of the building. I notice the light chatter amongst them, the small smiles and sips of water.

Around them, I notice a person walking towards a supply room in the back. I see another walk up the stairs. There's someone resting on one of the chairs in the corner downstairs, their head in a book.

All mundane. All simple. But something seems wrong. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something lurking. I can feel it. It's too calm. Outside is too silent. Usually, I can hear the cars on the motor way a mile or so up the road, their wheels on the beaten concrete that needs resurfacing, the engines speeding past the recommended limit. Usually, I can hear the wildlife, the birds chirping and the crickets bouncing. Usually, there is energy, but right now, there's only stillness.

Silence. Too much of it.

Harry is explaining some more details to Babz as I inspect our surroundings. 'Look, we found out some other stuff, and it's not that we don't trust you, but we need to figure out some more things before we can discuss it. But it could explain why Hugo is so hellbent on hunting us. It goes beyond the heist. It's worse than we thought, but we need to be sure.'

I squint my eyes as I notice a shadow move downstairs. In the far corner, near the man that reads. The door is open.

'Harry,' I breathe out, connecting the dots in my head.

But he doesn't answer. No one does. They can't.

Before anyone can process it, a bullet flies through the window I stand in front of, near my head but narrowly missing it, the glass immediately shattering around me. I have no time to react, my arms uselessly going up to shield me but bearing the brunt of the glass that falls in my way. The small fragments imbed themselves in my skin, some scratching at my face and legs, but I can't feel it. The adrenaline of the situation has taken over and made me numb to it.

Chaos ensues below, people running to hide and locating their weapons, just as a group emerges with their guns aiming. I duck down when a second shot flies through, Harry already at my side and helping to move me behind the desk. Once shielded, his eyes flick across my features, noticing the scratches and cuts, small droplets of blood already trickling down from them.

'Shit,' he yells, leaning his head against my own.

I hear Babz check her gun, clicking the safety off. They always carry them these days. I have one in my bag, but I know there's more in this room. Harry hides them everywhere. 'They're ambushing us,' she calls out over the commotion below, gunshots sounding from every corner. I'm certain more have since arrived, completely outnumbering us.

'Someone told Hugo we're here. We haven't been in the warehouse in over a month, it's too much of a coincidence,' I say, pulling my bag towards me and searching for the gun. It's been reloaded since I last used it, a box of bullets rattling around at the bottom of the bag. 'I noticed them before they shot, there's too many of them, Harry.'

He punches his fist against the wood of the desk we hide behind, leaning his head back as his eyes scan the room for answers. 'We need to get out of here. There's only so long we can keep that door barricaded for until they get through. The only answer is to fight back.'

It's true. It's the only solution to this problem. If we stay in here, it will just be in wait of the inevitable. He's been training me for this moment, helping me perfect my skills with self-defence and weapons, and I'm confident enough to make a shot, but it's never been on this scale before. I've never had to try when there's more than a handful of people shooting at me. But there's no choice in the matter. I have to do it, we all do.