The Quest for Niall

ZAYN

Zayn would have probably become a Malik Kebab if it hadn't been for Niall's timely warning.

The moment he heard Niall, Zayn grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him behind the other large rectangular box (Niall had hidden behind one, remember?). Luckily, the fire had not been aimed at him, so they had enough time to run and hide. Harry peeked outside and whispered, "Dude, that guy seriously needs to control himself." Zayn nodded, a smile tugging on his face. He replied, "Sure thing, bud. What's the scene now?"

"Niall escaped just in time. That dude – look out!"

Harry ducked behind the box, putting his head in his arms. Zayn heard an explosion, and the figure swearing pretty badly. Harry peered out from the side and whistled. "Woo! Looks like these boxes are fireproof, Zayn," said Harry happily. He patted the box, "Nobody saves me, Boxie, the way you do."

Zayn peeked from behind the box, and saw the figure creating another green flame. He knew that he and Harry couldn't stay hiding over there forever – that creature could come down to them and, well, you know what would happen next. Zayn turned to Harry and said, "Hey, listen. We need to move. If we just stay here, he might come down here personally."

"Gee, we wouldn't want that, would we?" replied Harry.

"We need to split up. It would confuse him, and it will give us more time to hide and think of a way to defeat him."

"Good idea, bro. But are you sure? I mean, what if he, you know, blasts us both?"

"Let's hope he doesn't have that much of brains to think about doing that," said Zayn.

Just as the hooded figure aimed his next blast at the box where Zayn and Harry had found residence, they split up. Harry rolled behind the smaller box, while Zayn dived into a dent in the wall. He had made it into the cavity just as a bright hot spark whizzed right past him. Suddenly, Zayn felt a sharp pain shoot up his left arm. He leaned against the interior wall for support, clasping his arm tightly. He was dazed and in pain, and his vision blurred. Zayn blinked his eyes and, taking a deep breath, forced himself to look at his arm.

The sight was not pretty.

His arm was bleeding very badly. The spark had completely razed through his jacket, penetrating his arm. The cut inflicted on his arm didn't seem to be deep, but the pain was unbearable. Zayn slunk back into the corner of the indent, breathing rapidly and drenched in cold sweat.

He felt mad at himself. Apparently, the cloaked figure could have heard his conversation with Harry. The cloaked figure knew they had decided to split up. He had anticipated Zayn's move, and now Zayn's arm was wounded.

Zayn peeped out from his hiding place and saw Harry calling out to him. Niall was nowhere to be seen, but Zayn could hear him shouting rude comments like "Hey! Ya big, green-faced pea!" and "Oh YEAH? Pick on someone your OWN size!" and to a more offensive extent, "Ya big tree-branch-fingered Big Black-Bidding Hood! Bid for the right things; don't bid for taking someone's life for your own personal gain! There are enough loaners and bankers in the world to do that!"

Dear, dear Niall. Always there to lift up the sentiment.

Zayn looked up at the platform and saw the creature looking away from him. Zayn took this golden opportunity and ran behind the big rectangular box. Once he reached there, he sank to the ground, his back against the box. He tried to calm down and regulate his breathing, which was difficult for him. Suddenly Zayn felt someone approaching him. He sat up straight just as Harry crouched beside him. Harry looked at Zayn's arm and said, "Hey. Ugh, it looks pretty bad. Hope it's not as bad as it looks."