A Flash of Red

Chapter Twenty-Two

Harry

I constantly found myself paranoid on the streets. The slightest noise was a footstep. A startling sound was a gunshot or a scream. Everything seemed to be magnified. But when the library came into view, everything fell silent.

I had run for another 20 minutes before seeing it from a distance. My whole body relaxed and I shocked myself when the first thing I thought was home.

I looked both ways before jogging across the street. My pants felt stiff as the blood dried on them. Similarly, my sweatshirt was an array of splatter patterns, staining it.

I took the steps two at a time, growing sweaty as a result of running and the increasing heat as the day progressed. When I reached the top, I bound to the right, praying that the door was open.

I felt my heart drop when I saw that the door was closed but regardless tried it anyway, finding that a small rock had actually been placed in it. I stepped inside, closing it behind me. I maneuvered my way through the children's sections again, still feeling a dull ache. After exiting the room, I made my way to the staircase.

As I descended, I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. I began thinking of the worst situations. What if they wouldn't take me back for abandoning them? What if they had relocated? What if they had been found?

I came to halt at the bottom of the second set. I faced the door, trying to remember the knock Tara had done. Usually when we went out for showers or gas, one of the others would knock.

I shakily raised my hand and quickly knocked three times, repeating it again before ending it with a single knock. I prayed that anyone but Noah was standing guard on the other side.

The door quietly creaked open to reveal a weary Scarlett.

"Holy fuck." She grabbed me and pulled me into her, not taking the blood on me into account. "You're so stupid." I squeezed her tightly. "Everyone thought you were dead." She mumbled. I pulled away.

"Everyone?" I asked. She nodded, knowing what I was implying.

"You're dead meat, Styles."

"What's been going on?" I asked. She once again knew that I hadn't necessarily meant with the bunker as a whole.

"Hardly spoken. I haven't seen much eating. I don't know really know what's going on." She took a breath and shook her head. "What happened to three days, jackass? It's been a fucking week."

"They wouldn't let me come back. I had to literally escape from the bunker."

She sighed.

"I have a lot of questions but we can save those for later. Let's go." She turned and closed the door, locking it and facing me.

We started walking without another word. My heart was still pounding when we stood outside of the common room. She looked at me and held her arm out.

"After you." I shook my head but walked in first.

Instantly scanned the room, not seeing her. The children weren't in the room either. Nobody seemed to notice I had entered so I cleared my throat. Everyone fell silent and their eyes flashed to me.

"Um, hi?" I awkwardly said.

A mob formed around me instantly, poking and prodding me. Hands grabbed at me as people tried to hug me, asking if I was already. I repeated multiple times that I was fine but everyone seemed to want me to answer them individually. Mr. Andrews pulled me into a hug, telling me that we needed to talk. I gulped and nodded.