Elena
"This cake sucks," Alex complains as he chews a piece of fruit cake on his plate, his nose slightly wrinkled in distaste. "I miss Lou's cakes and baking. I miss Louis."
I give him a small smile and place my hand over his, squeezing gently. "We're going to get out of here."
"Lenny, we're being watched 24/7 like I can't take a piss without one of our stalkers watching over me, I have two female ones and I'm pretty sure they enjoy the sight of me and my glorious body even though it's covered- well, I can't really blame them for it-"
I roll my eyes. "Okay Alex, I get it. But if there is one thing you should've learnt about me is that I never give up, so we're getting out of here one way or another. I'll find a way, I always do, so don't underestimate me."
"I know that, but I just don't want. . . your wounds still hurt a lot, don't think I don't see it even though you're trying to cover it up. I don't want that to repeat again, I don't want you to get hurt," he tells me, lowering the fork on the table, pushing the plate away, his eyes glancing around the mess hall as his eyebrows draw in a small frown.
"I'll be fine Alex, what more can they do? I've been through a lot and I can take twice as many hits if it means we'll be free," I say with a reassuring smile. "Besides, we have a friend here now."
"Oh right, your new boyfriend."
"Friend, Alex. Friend," I correct him. "You do realise I love Harry, right?"
"I do, I was making a joke. But you two are really cute, the way he looks at you. . ." he says, his lips pulling in a smile. "I'm just saying that Harry kicked you out despite all the sacrifices you made for him and I'm pissed at him because of that, you can't blame me."
My chest aches when the memory of that moment replays in my mind, my hand automatically reaching for the ring hanging around my neck. I sincerely hope he feels better now and is coping with Alice's death as best as he can, surrounded by his friends.
"Oh no no, you're doing the thing again." Alex tsk's, shaking his head. "The thing where you gaze into a wall or something and have this sad puppy expression which means you're thinking about the prince Charming back in Hazard. Get up and take Tinkerblade, you need to cut something."
Before I can reply, someone sits beside me, my head turning to see Jon, the familiar scent of lavender hitting me, a small smile appearing on my lips. He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, scanning the crowd in the mess hall with a blank expression, light brown eyes focused as if he's making sure no one is nearby or listening, his jaw slightly clenched. He suddenly looks at me, his expression immediately changing, a warm smile spreading on his face.
"Guys, I have an important announcement," he tells us, his eyes flicking back and forth between us. "I've found a way to get you out. The moment you told me you were thinking about escaping again, I knew I had to help."
Alex raises his eyebrow suspiciously before looking at me. "Okay Lenny, before you say yes, let's hear his plan and be rational-"
"I'm in," I say.
"Of course, why would anyone listen to me- oh look they're not even paying attention to me, having their secret telepathy conversations, ah great," Alex complains as he motions toward us, his arms crossing over his chest as he pouts.
"Mate don't worry, you're a part of this plan too, as the matter of fact, I'm going to need your help," Jon tells him.
Alex narrows his eyes. "Oooh, I see where this is going." He wags a finger at him. "I'll be forced to be a distraction while you two do the main shit, right? What's it gonna be, me dressing in drag and doing the hula?"
"Just hear me out, this won't be a standard escape plan, I don't want to brag but I kind of have to-" Jon smiles sweetly "- since this is a genius move on my part. I've found a perfect way to escape, no one would be able to track us down if we pull it off right."
I lean toward him eagerly, curious to hear what his plan is. My heart flutters at the possibility of Alex and I running away from here for one last time, finding a safe place somewhere on the North or anywhere else away from here. And once we do, we would decide what to do next, away from all the danger and pain.
"Okay, but not here, someone might hear us," I say as I stand up. "Get up, time to get down to business."
. . . .
"Wait, if you want to escape with us, why haven't you tried that before?" Alex asks Jon suspiciously as he casually sits on the bed in Jon's room, leaning backwards and resting his weight on his elbows.
"Let's just say I have a strong motivation this time, I mean where would I go before?" Jon replies. "Besides, I would need help to pull it off, there was no way to do it alone. Those hallways are underneath the main building, the entrance being in the conference room. I work as a guard here, only the soldiers who go on missions have access to the room."
"Listen, are you sure those hallways even exist?" I ask him. "What if we plan everything out and they're not even there? Or what if the hallways are blocked?"
"I know they're there, trust me," Jon says with a reassuring smile, placing his tattoed hand on my shoulder. "And you have to take risks sometimes to get what you want, isn't that right? Also, this plan is really cool, we can pretend to be super spies or something."
"Look at him, using his smile to warm up to you, tsk tsk." Alex shakes his head. "Lenny, are you sure we can trust him? According to my data that I've collected about him, he's such a shady person, alone most of the time. Why would he be alone if he has nothing to hide-"
"I didn't see you making any friends around here either, Sherlock," Jon remarks.
Alex waves his hand carelessly, rolling his eyes. "Details, details. Anyway, I have a question. What about Seth? The guy's flying around Elena like a moth around the flame and I don't think distracting him would work because he doesn't like me, besides he's really tall and strong and I bruise really easily, and do you know what constant injuring does to my already sensitive skin? I choose life, no thanks."
I let out a sigh. "I'll deal with Seth, don't worry."
"Lenny, you don't mean. . . I don't fucking think so, he's not touching you again." Alex stands up, a deep frown settling on his face.
"Don't worry, distracting him won't be necessary." Jon smirks. "I'm pretty sure he's going to be very busy when we set our plan into action my confused twin friends, you're in hands of a mastermind."
"I told you I should do a better background check on him," Alex whispers. "We're about to risk everything with this typical bad boy look alike just-"
"You do realise I can hear you like I'm standing right in front of you and you're not even attempting to whisper, that was more like a stage whisper." Jon gives him a look. "Now both of you sit down and let the big daddy explain to you how things will work."
"You know, you really shouldn't use the word daddy so easily-" Alex starts.
Jon releases a heavy sigh, dragging his tongue along the inside of his cheek, accentuating his slick jawline with the movement of his jaw, his dark eyebrows pulling in a slight frown. He crosses his strong arms over his broad chest, his exposed tattooed muscles buldging. He looks like a completely different person, more dark and tough persona replacing the previous cheeky one. "If you're done making remarks, I'd like you to listen carefully because we have one chance and no time for fucking around. Is that clear?"
"Damn, yes sir," I say at the same time Alex jokingly says, "yes, big daddy."
. . . .
"Fuck fuck fuck, we're all gonna die we're all gonna die," Alex nervously chants as Vortex soldiers frantically prepare to go on the field to protect their base while we're standing in front of the main building, waiting for Jon.
"Calm down drama queen, we won't even be in the battle," I tell him flatly.
My eyes carefully scan our surroundings, feeling the familiar tension in the air, the one present whenever there is a battle brewing. There's no way I would fight for Vortex ever again, especially not versus Wildfire since they're the ones attacking Vortex according to Seth. He told me to hide and wait for him, but I obviously have other plans while he's busy saving his base. I have no idea what is his defence strategy since all the advice I've been giving him is utter rubbish. The thought makes me smirk a little, knowing Vortex is most probably going to lose.
The only thing that worries me are Americans, they've been sending their troops here for the past few days and God knows what kind of military equipment have they brought with them. Seth has kept this a secret until today, letting everyone know about his plans and the attack this morning. He knew Wildfire will attack like he always does with every attack, having spies everywhere.
"Yeah but I could still witness gruesome acts of violence if he doesn't show up and I swear to God if I see even a single drop of blood I'll die right here." He starts tapping his foot nervously, his brown eyes looking this way and that as no one pays attention to us, tending to their duties and getting into the vehicles, ready to fight.
I don't reply since my eyes catch a sight of Jon walking toward us, his fingers raising to run through his black messy hair, a rifle slung over his shoulder while holding a duffle bag in his other hand. A laugh suddenly escapes my mouth as he trips over his feet, almost face planting on the ground but stopping himself when he flails his arms, continuing to walk as if nothing happened.
"Even I'm not that clumsy and it's coming from a guy who stands up and falls back down sometimes," Alex comments.
When Jon approaches us, I notice a stern expression on his face as his eyes glance around before settling on the two of us. "I assume your stalkers are gone? Right, well I have everything we need in this bag like a bit of food, water, weapons, money, and every single girl hygene stuff I could find in the supplies. Now I don't know if you're a tampon or a pad type of girl-"
"Alright, thank you!" I raise my voice and force a smile. "Let's just get this over with." I nervously look at the open gates, the sounds of bombs and gunshots in the distance already filling the air, making me feel slightly anxious. My eyebrows furrow in confusion at the sight of military planes flying toward the base, some of them dropping grenades on the ground, creating powerful blasts and almost shaking the ground. "Wow Wildfire has really put a lot of effort into taking Vortex down, they even have planes. What if Hazard is here too?"
"Uuh, I don't think so, let's just go," Jon quickly says, grabbing my hand into his and pulling me with him, my brother following closely behind. We run toward the conference room as some of Vortex soldiers run toward us and pass by, not sparing us a glance. This is really the perfect opportunity, I'm glad Jon has thought of this and we have him on our side, this is the safest option for all of us.
He keeps holding my hand as he opens the door, pulling out a gun and raising it, aiming it in front as he slowly walks in, pulling me with him. Alex is holding my shoulders, shielding his body with mine as he peers over my shoulder, looking for any potentional danger. After we make sure the room is empty, I close the door as Jon walks toward the corner of them room, crouching down as his palms begin sliding over the floor, obviously searching for the entrance.
"Make sure no one comes in," I tell Alex, making him widen his eyes as he panics silently, turning toward the door. I walk toward Jon, crouching down beside him, wincing slightly as one particulary loud grenade hits the ground outside, the battle now being in full progress. "Are you sure it's here?"
"Fuck, it should be- wait." He motions for me to step away and I do so as he carefully trails his palms over the wooden floor, suddenly hooking his fingers between the gaps and lifting the small door open, revealing a hole in the floor. "Seth obviously knows about this since it was so easy to open it." He looks up at me and grins. "Ladies first or should I go?"
"Guys you better jump the fuck inside because a group of soldiers is coming!" Alex warns and frantically runs toward us, crouching down and starting to lower down the metal ladder. "If some demon type of shit grabs me, know that I'm two minutes older than Elena," he tells Jon then looks at me. "I wish I could give you a speech-"
"Alex not even demons want to listen to your blabbering, get the hell inside," I snap, rolling my eyes and making him mutter something under his breath as he disappears down. I motion to Jon to follow him. "Go ahead, I'll go last."
"Okay you two better hurry, it smells like piss in here and it's dark as hell- ahhh something is crawling on me! Something is crawling- ew ew ew!" Alex panics.
"Wait- man, what the fuck!" I hear Jon say as I start moving down, making sure to close the door after me. "Get off me Alex!"
"Your ass is in my face!" Alex yells back.
"Well lucky you!" Jon retorts.
When my feet touch the ground, I sigh, grimacing at the stench. "Jon, tell me you have a flashlight with you." I crouch down and stretch out my arms, trying to find the duffle bag or one of them since it's pitch black.
"I'm pretty sure I do- Elena what are you doing?" He asks me as I touch him accidentally. "Sweetness, that is definitely not a flashlight."
"Please tell me my sister did not just touch your baby maker," Alex says flatly, sounding like he's completely done with everything as I retract my hand awkwardly.
"Well she certainly didn't touch a candy that's for sure." Jon chuckles nervously. "Actually, it depends on your point of view-"
"Wow, I'm ready to die," Alex states bluntly.
"When did you even get up," I say and stand up, taking a step back and falling over the bag on the floor, my body hitting the ground with a thud, making me hiss as a stinging pain appears on my back where my still fresh wounds are. "I'm- I'm okay! My ass hurts but I'm okay!" I clumsily shift onto my knees, blindly groping the bag in the dark and finding the zipper, starting to rummage through its contents. "Ha, I think I've found a flashlight-"
I stop talking when the hallway suddenly gets lit, dim lights turning on one by one, illuminating its length. My eyes glance at Jon who is standing leant against the wall with a smirk on his face, pointing at the light switch, making my shoulders slump, especially when I realise I'm not holding a flashlight but a water bottle.
Alex is simply lying on the ground, looking up at the ceiling. "Look how many spider nets are up there, eww."
"Alex get up, you'll get sick!" I reprimand him in a motherly tone as I stand up, placing the bottle back into the bag and closing it.
"Let's hurry up, someone might find this or we could suffocate from the smell, chop chop!" Jon claps, urging us to move as he walks toward me, bending down to grab the bag.
"Sorry for touching your dick- haha, that has certainly brought our friendship on the next level, huh." I smile nervously, patting his shoulder as he smiles awkwardly at me.
"Sureee. . . you know, if you want to get even I can always touch your-"
"I'd choose my words carefully if I were you." I open my pocket knife with a flick of my hand, twirling it between my fingers as I look at Jon, who has a cheeky smile on his face.
"Is that some kind of kink- I'm joking, I'm joking!" He shouts and laughs as I throw the knife at him, the blade flying near his head.
"I love this wall, this is a nice wall," Alex says awkwardly as he touches the wall, scrunching his face in disgust and wiping his palm against his jacket. He looks at us, raising his eyebrow. "Oh you two are done? Good, let's move it." He slowly starts moving down the hallway, motioning for us to follow him.
We follow him, my eyes glancing around the hallway, a paranoid part of me expecting someone to jump out even though no one can possibly be here. When we reach the hallway's end, the entrance door suddenly opens, the three of us exchanging bewildered looks as we reach for our weapons, Alex already randomly turning right, hiding behind the wall.
Jon and I hide as well, nodding at each other as voices echo around us, the soldiers' footsteps clattering on the stone ground as we raise our guns, ready to fight. When they reach the corner behind which we are hiding, we reveal ourselves, my eyes widening in surprise when I recognise their black uniforms. I don't have time to process that when they attack the three of us, making us disarm and knock them unconscious one by one, their groans surrounding us as they fall on the ground.
"Jon, what the hell? You said- wait a minute. . . you knew about this, didn't you." I narrow my eyes at him. "You knew Hazard was going to attack too, yet you chose not to tell us!"
"Look, now is really not the time, I knew you would react this way. What's changed Elena, why do you care so much? You need to set your priorities straight, do you want to stay here and join them in a fight, risking your and your brother's life, or do you want to run away to safety?" Jon says with a frown. "I made that choice easier for you, now let's go!"
I glance at the soldiers on the ground then at my brother, who gives me a small nod and a smile, extending his hand for me. I reluctantly take it, my chest aching knowing Harry is so close to me yet I have to run away because now is the worst time for us to meet again. We run down the hallway, following Jon, who seems to know where the hell are we supposed to go considering he took a turn into one of the tunnels.
"Jon, wait up!" I say in a hushed tone.
"There are so many hallways here and each of them leads somewhere, I just don't know where. We could get out in the middle of the woods, or in some kind of village or even near the battle, I don't know," he tells us, looking frustrated.
"It doesn't matter, as long as we get away from here. We'll make it-" I stop in my tracks when I hear more voices, my eyes widening slightly, knowing they are most probably Hazard soldiers.
"Stay here, I'll deal with them." Jon raises his gun and slowly starts walking back while the voices get louder and louder.
"You're thinking about joining them, aren't you? You want to go back," Alex whispers behind me.
"Now is really not the time, be quiet," I say, refusing to face him because I know he'll be able to confirm his doubt with one look at me.
Jon suddenly jumps out of our hiding spot and Alex and I do the same, our guns raised, pointed in front of us. My heart almost stops at the sight of all the familiar faces in the hallway, the one making my heart rate wild being Harry's. He, however, looks pale and shocked as he stares at Jon, the gun in his hand shaking.
"Zayn?" Harry whispers, making me widen my eyes, the name being familiar. Harry's brother.
Deadly silence surrounds us as we all stare at the two with shocked expressions, just waiting for one of them to react. Jon- or should I say Zayn, lowers his weapon, letting it drop on the ground, taking a few steps backwards. Harry suddenly shakes his head and grabs it, losing his balance as his back hits the wall behind him, sliding on the ground. Niall and Louis quickly reach out to help him up, but he flinches away.
"No no no, not now, not again. . ." Harry whispers frantically, his eyes filling with tears as he shakes his head. He thinks he's hallucinating again.
His hand comes up to grasp his necklace, my heart skipping a beat realising he still has the ring I gave to him. "Step away, don't touch him," I order, making everyone take a step back.
I crouch down in front of him, my palms tentatively pressing against his cheeks, his eyes snapping up, their vivid green colour looking into mine. "Harry? Harry, it's okay, this is real. I'm here, we all are."
He stares at me for a few moments, visibly relaxing as he raises his shaky hand, his thumb brushing over my cheek gently, my breathing picking up at the gesture. "You're here. . . " He turns his head and looks at Zayn. "And so is he. Zayn. . ."
"Wait. . . what is a zayn?" Alex asks, looking utterly confused as his brown eyes look at us.
"Not what, but who. It's his brother," Louis says, motioning to Harry then at Niall, Liam, and himself. "Our brother."
. . . .
a/n: it's my Birthday so earlier update :) thank you for reading x