The Infected

Chapter 24

~•~ Chapter 24 ~•~

The next morning I went to visit Niall. I found Liam at the cafeteria and he came with me to the recovery room. Harry and Louis were already there, talking with him. Niall's face was pale, his blue eyes bloodshot and tired and the cut above his brow was healing slowly. Harry was sitting on a chair next to the bed while Louis was leaning against the wall, arms in his jeans pockets.

"Hey Niall," I greeted with a smile when I walked in.

His blue eyes moved from his hands up to me and a small smile made its way on his lips. "Hey, Claire." he greeted, voice raspy, hoarse.

"How you feeling?" I asked as I walked closer to the bed.

"Like shit." he answered flatly, causing Louis to chuckle. "Can't move my leg. What's worse than that?" he said, pointing at his leg.

"You're not dead." Liam stated, standing beside me. "That could be worse."

"True." Louis agreed.

Niall shrugged. "Yeah..thanks, Liam, by the way." he said nicely.

Liam nodded. "No problem, bro."

"But hell, that needle you used, it was like a fucking knife." Niall huffed, causing Louis to snort.

"I had to though, sorry." Liam innocently shrugged.

"When am I going to get off this bed?" Niall asked.

"In two or three weeks. We'll transport you to your room. In two months, we'll start exercising your leg." Liam answered easily.

Niall's blue eyes widened. "Two months? That's too long man, I can't stay in bed like this, I need to practise." he argued.

"You're off for a few months." Harry said cooly. "Until your leg gets completely healed, you won't join us nor practise."

"No man, I can't do that, I have people to train." Niall claimed, raising his hand in the air.

"You don't. For a few months. Then you'll be back on your schedule." Harry promised.

Niall sighed heavily and sank further into the bed, frustrated eyes staring up at the ceiling. "Fuck this shit." he grumbled stubbornly.

"Why did you leave the circle? What stupid madness has gotten into your fucking brain that made you go to that building?" Louis asked, giving Niall a strange look.

Niall looked at him and pursed his lips together before replying. "I..I saw a little girl in the building." he shocked us all by saying.

My heart came up to my throat and everyone's jaws were touching the ground. Harry must've lost his voice, because he opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, blinking.

"Are you being serious?" I gasped.

"A little girl? Are you sure?" Liam asked, leaning in a little.

Niall nodded, sadness crossing his features. "Yeah, she was—she was hiding behind the door, she was crying and..." he trailed off, pinching his lips in a flat line. I could see the guilt coming on the surface and hear the worry in his voice when he spoke again. "She was scared. She was lonely and she was staring at me, literally begging for me to come and save her with her eyes, you know." everyone stayed silent, a sad aura surrounding us. I could feel my heart break at Niall's story.

"That's why I left the circle. That's why I went into that building. And maybe my gun scared her, because she must've thought I was going to hurt her, so she ran up to the top roof and I followed, calling out to her that I want to help her. And then, the zombies came into the room, capturing me there. She was hidden in the closet, staring at me through a small gap. I told her to stay there and I started shooting, but they were too many and I couldn't lose all my ammo. So the only way I could escape, was to jump."