the purge // n.h. (au)

twelve

A/N: SURPRISE! I updated. (: I'd just like to inform you that this chapter is pretty cray, so I hope you're prepared! I'd also like to thank you all once again for all of the lovely comments and all the votes that I got on the last chapter; like I said many times before, I love you all x

Julissa

"Niall," I squeaked, my heart rate speeding up inside of my chest as another faint creak filled our ears. Panic and fear began to build up inside of me as I turned my face to look at him anxiously, tears already beginning to form in my hazel eyes.

He noticed that I was about to have a panic attack at any second and quickly put both of his hands on either sides of my cheeks and brought his face just centimeters from mine, forcing my eyes to look into his own. I could barely even keep my focus on him though, as my concentration was still fully on the sounds of the footsteps that were coming closer to us every second. And the closer they were, the more ragged my breathing became.

"You're alright, baby, just breathe. I'm right here," he whispered silently against my lips, trying to both capture my attention and calm my nerves. "Just look at me, Jules. We're alright."

I soon brought my attention to him and what words he were inaudibly speaking to me, my hysteria easing ever so slightly. I tried to block the other sounds around us out of my mind for a few moments and slowly nodded, letting him know that I was listening and wasn't zoning out.

He nodded back and unexpectedly pressed his lips to my forehead briefly, pulling back and grabbing the pistol out of his pocket and turning the safety off. He looked down at the item in his hands and then up at me, a frown evident on his lips. It was clear that he was just as afraid as I was about the entire situation we were in, but was trying his hardest not to show it.

As if things couldn't have gotten any worse, they did, as Maddie stirred in my lap and yawned, only producing noise and making it easier for whoever was down here to find us. Just our luck.

"Jules, what's going on? Where's mom-"

I hastily covered her mouth with my sweaty palms, cutting her words off short, but not short enough.

The footsteps suddenly stopped in their tracks, silence engulfing the air around us before they started up again, but this time coming right in the direction of where we were hiding.

My chest tightened and my head started spinning as the unseen figure approached the closet, and I found myself moving one of my hands from Maddie's mouth to Niall's free hand, gripping onto it as hard as I possibly could.

I bit down on my lip and kept my eyes glued on the closet door, waiting for the dreadful moment when the person on the other side pulled it open to reveal us, only one thought running through my mind.

This is it. We're going to die. We're going to be killed.

The footsteps stopped just on the other side of the wooden door and I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to see what would occur next. Niall tensed up next to me and prepared to pull the trigger if it wasn't my mother or father, aiming the gun towards the door.

Not even a second later the closet door was slid open, a muffled scream immediately escaping Maddie's lips and echoing throughout the basement.

I closed my eyes even tighter, expecting to hear the sound of a bullet being fired, but it never came.

"Mommy!" Maddie exclaimed, getting out of my arms and jumping right into the one's of our mother.

What was she doing down here? Was she going to tell us that all of those guys are dead? Did we actually win this?

She sighed tiredly and hugged her youngest daughter to her body, her hands trembling on Maddie's back. "Hi, baby."

I gaped up at my mom, still surprised by her presence. "Mom, what are you doing? Are they all gone? Where's dad?"

She sniffled and shook her head, my stomach dropping to the floor. "There's a lot more than we thought, Julissa. More people continued to show up, and all of my bullets ran out. Your father said it was too dangerous for me and told me to find the three of you. He's still fighting them off."

A choking sound left my mouth and Niall rubbed my arm reassuringly, looking at me sadly. "Mom, he won't be able to take all of them by himself. He's going to die! We're all going to die!"

She frowned, her eyes watering. "Don't you dare say that, Julissa. Your father is a fighter, and he will do everything in his power to make sure that we make it through tonight. We're all going to be fine-"

I shook my head, a tear rolling down my cheek. "Stop. We're not going to be 'fine', and you and Niall know that just as much as I do."

She opened her mouth to protest but closed it just as fast, knowing that I was right.

We all stayed silent for a minute, each of us trying to figure out what we would do next in our heads and wondering what would come to us within the last few hours of the Purge.

"If we stay here, they're just going to find us and do what they've been planning on doing all night. We're not any safer here than if we were in any other place of this house," I spoke up slowly, sorting through my thoughts thorougly before I said each word.

"Jules is right. What we should be trying to do is fight them off, just like Jim is," Niall agreed, glancing at my mother and Maddie and then back at me.

"I understand that, but Maddie is only eight. It's far too dangerous for her to be even in this house right now. And since she's only a child, those lunatics would want to get her out of the way first," my mother stated.

Niall ran a hand through his hair, something that I noticed that he always did when he was nervous or worried. "I know that's how you feel, Mrs. Marano, but there really is no other way if you want us to get out of here alive. We need to do this."

She sighed, looking down at Maddie for a second and then back up at Niall and I. "Alright. I'll do it."