"Harry," Niall whispers into the dark, wanting to kick at Harry's foot to rouse him. However, he doesn't want to startle the man, nor wake anyone else. "Harry, wake up." Niall lowers himself to one knee so he can see Harry better. He's never looked at the man so closely, and he's never seen any of them in bright lighting. He's sure they all look worn and tired, and as many times as he's asked Jackson if he can provide them with wall lamps and torches, he always tells him that it could be too dangerous for the prisoners to have. So far, Niall just has to suffice with a simple lantern that he ties to his uniform whenever going into the barn.
Harry mutters something and blinks his eyes open. Niall stands to his feet again, and holds a hand out to Harry before anything can be said. Harry watches the hand for a moment before reaching out, allowing Niall to pull him up.
"What are you--"
"Shh," Niall hushes him by putting a finger to Harry's lips. "follow me."
Harry nods; although he is still weary, he feels he can trust Niall. Strangely enough, even after what happened today with Niall's comrades, he feels as if Niall wouldn't ever plan to hurt him like that. He could hear the plead in his voice when he asked the men to come forth about who was tunneling.
Niall leads them to the door and unlocks it, sticking his head out for a brief second, keeping Harry hidden behind him. He looks around for guards and other soldiers that are patrolling, and while they hardly ever come past where he is, he'd rather be safe than stupid.
After a few moments of Harry kicking at the dirt, Niall tugs on his hand and rushes him out, closing the door behind them and barricading it with a block of wood between the handles and the lock that was relocated on the outside.
Harry takes a deep breath, having not been able to get a breath of fresh air in several weeks, possibly a month at this point. He looks around at the area and appreciates the calm serenity of it all. He feels a slight breeze rush past his cheeks, nothing like the still, dull air trapped inside the building behind him. The trees provide a safe home for the crickets and wildlife he can hear chirping and buzzing, and he takes notice to a faint owl's hooing somewhere within the forest.
He's never appreciated nature so much in his life, nor did he ever think he'd miss it so much.
After taking in the scenery, he decided to focus more on the camp around him. Several tents and buildings are pitched up several meters away, and he has a faint memory of the bonfires littered around from when he was first brought here. By now, all of the fires have been put out, and it's probably hours after lights out so the rest of the camp is probably asleep.
Niall leads Harry over to his own little camping area, having not improved much from when he was first relocated here. The cloth of his tent is worn and his fire is dim, and Harry just wants to curl up next to it and enjoy the heat radiating off of the low flames.
"This is where I stay. Here, hide inside." Niall tells, pulling one of the tent flaps open. Harry looks a bit reluctant, but climbs inside either way.
On the inside, it seems much more homely. Niall has a small bedding-type material spread across one end of the tent, with barely a sheet for cover and a thin cotton pillow. His bag is on the other side, along with the infamous water jug and sack lying near the opening.
Niall allows Harry to seat himself on the cold ground, though he would rather offer Harry his poor excuse for a bed, he's afraid that the man might fall asleep and he would feel terrible having to wake him up just go back into the cold, dank barn.
"Wait here, I'll fix the fire so we can feel it from in here." Niall offers, leaving the tent before Harry can respond. Harry sits back in his haunches, feeling a bruise on his tailbone that's been forming for the past month from sitting in a similar position.
After a few minutes, Niall props open one of the tent flaps, tying it back with the string he uses to keep his lantern on his uniform. He places the lantern in the center of the tent so he can fully see Harry, sitting in front of the opened flap with his back facing the fire.
"You're probably wondering why I pulled you out here." Niall admits. "It was sort of a last minute decision. After what happened tonight--" he cuts himself off, not wanting to think about it, nor remind Harry of how much pain he could possibly be in. "I knew I had to do something."
Niall stops, waiting a moment to see if Harry will respond. When he continues to just stare at the lantern in front of him, Niall collects his thoughts again.
"But I won't be able to do it without your help." At that, Harry pulls his head up, looking at Niall owlishly.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Niall sighs, "My comrades are making a map of the area. They've been sending out daily missions in search of your camp. They've mapped out pretty far East, that way. " Niall points in a direction through the tent. "I don't know if you remember, but that was the direction you were brought from. Was your camp far from where they caught you?"
Harry looks around the tent again, trying to remember. He was never too good with distances. "We were a few miles out."
"In which direction?"
It's then that Harry jumps, realizing what Niall's true intention is. "No. I'm not telling you where my base is. I'd sooner die than let you wipe out my entire company."
Niall jumps up, blocking the exit so Harry can't get out. "No, Harry, no. I'm doing this to help you, not them. I don't want to hurt you, or your company, or anyone on your side. I don't want to hurt anyone with this."
"I don't believe you, now let me out." Harry responds harshly, pushing at Niall until he stumbles back, landing next to the fire. "Put me back in the barn. I'd rather be whipped than ever help you."
"Harry! I'm doing this so you can escape!" Niall exclaims, forgetting for a moment that the people on watch could very easily be walking by an hear him.
Harry stops in his tracks, turning around. He doesn't say anything, but he can tell that Niall's frantic about hiding him away again.
"Please, get back in the tent and we'll talk about this. I don't want you to get caught out here."
Harry bites the inside of his cheek and returns to the tent once again. When Niall joins him and closes the tent, he sits back down.
"Listen," Niall requests, sighing. "I hate this. I hate what they're doing to you. None of you deserve this. It may be a war, but innocent people dying is never the answer. So I want to get at least a few of you out of here to return to your company."
Harry stays silent.
"I believe they have the land mapped all the way up to where they caught you. If any of your men can navigate from there, you'll be able to get back without any problem."
"And how do you suppose we get back there?"
"Harry, did I not just tell you they were making a map? I have access to that, and I could easily swipe it away to give to you for your journey." While that isn't particularly true, and Niall will definitely have more trouble getting his hands onto the map than he's letting on, he's willing to do it if it means no one else gets hurt.
Harry thinks for a moment. While most of the men that were caught have died, he does know that there has to be at least one or two men that could remember the trail they followed to their capture spot.
"But," Niall starts again before Harry can say anything. "this escape will have to stay under wraps, for at least a few more days. During that time, trying asking around, seeing if anyone is good with navigation. Pinpoint the strongest men, the fastest, the weakest. And please, if you can, get someone to step forward about the tunneling. This will all fall through if you're all killed tomorrow night when no one comes forward. Are you sure you have no idea, whatsoever, who could have possibly been trying to escape?"
"I... there's only one person who seemed to have done it, but he's already dead. The one that was killed tonight. Gregory. I don't know about anyone else." Harry supplies, and Niall's eyes light up.
"Really? Was it really him?"
Harry shrugs, "He was the most adamant about getting out. I'm sure there were others though, that worked with him, but I don't know who."
"It doesn't matter, as long as they know the culprit has already been killed, they won't punish you guys tomorrow. I'll tell them first thing in the morning that someone told me. I won't say it was you, of course. Thank you, Harry. This will make things run much more smoothly." Niall is smiling, and it's the first time Harry's even seen it happen. He's sure Niall used to be such a happy person before this war, as evident by the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, and he constantly wonders how this man ever got roped into something so horrific.
Harry can't help but to smile back.
"Okay, well, on with the plan. Over the next few days, all you need to do it keep your men from acting out anymore. I'll get the map to you as soon as I can." Niall pauses for a moment. "I've always known that they've been making a map, and when you were captured, it was literally just a side effect of them searching around and navigating the land. We weren't supposed to have hostages, not that I know of. If it happened, it happened, but it wasn't completely planned for. That's why they didn't have a night guard when you were first brought; they weren't expecting anyone to have ever been caught."
"Wait, so why now? If you've known about the map for this long, why didn't you just steal it immediately so half of us didn't have to die being held captive against our will?"
Niall looks at the front flaps of the tent, avoiding Harry's gaze. "I was scared. I was scared of what they would've done to me if I had taken the map and let you free. I was scared of what your troop could've done with that information, since the map says where we are on it. I was scared of getting hurt, but more importantly, I was scared of my company getting hurt." Niall smiles sadly. "I'm not scared anymore."
Harry blinks a few times, questioning, "What changed your mind?"
Niall looks up then, meeting Harry gaze. "You."
Harry blanches, "Me? As in, me, or everyone in that barn?"
Niall laughs a little bit, and Harry wonders how his real, full laugh sounds. "You. Just you. Seeing you get tied to that pole tonight..." Niall shivers. "I've seen that happen too many times, to too many people. The fear in your eyes, the shakiness of your voice... I knew something had to be done, and soon. I couldn't stand to see that happen to anyone again." Niall's lip quivers.
Harry doesn't want to dwell on it. He doesn't want to see Niall cry. "You really trust me enough to be able to keep these men together for the next few days? I've told you I tend to stick to myself."
Niall smiles, and though his lip isn't quivering anyone, there's a shimmer in his eyes that catches the light emitted by the lantern in a beautifully terrifying way. The sight of unshed tears for memories he'd rather forget. "We all have to step out of our comfort zone every now and then."
At that, the tent falls silent, and the two enjoy the sounds of nature around them and the fire crackling outside, which is mostly just coals and embers fighting to emit a flame.
Finally, Niall peaks outside the tent and notices the purple of morning, meaning the sun is soon to peak up from over the trees, signifying the start of the day for the rest of his camp. "We better get you back in there." He sighs, feeling bad for having to send Harry back instead the rank barn.
"It's okay. You'll come in with me, won't you? For headcount and everything." Harry offers, already standing and brushing his pants off to rid it of the dirt and dust that collected from sitting on the ground.
"Of course." Niall stands up straight, stretching out his back when he steps outside the tent. He blocks the doorway so Harry can't be seen if any soldiers were to pass by. Niall looks around diligently, making sure all men are out of sight before, once again, pulling Harry by the hand to the door of the barn, unlocking it and leading him inside. Niall places the lock on the inside and walks around the room, checking the men, while Harry returns to his corner next to the door.
After a minute of Niall checking the rest of the soldiers, he returns to Harry, kneeling down in front of him. "Get some sleep. I'll be back tonight with your food and water, and if you want, I can come in again and pull you back outside. You seemed to like the fresh air."
Harry leans against the wall, still feeling a slight bit of heat against it from the fire. "I want, but not just for the fresh air."
"Oh? What else?" Niall inquires.
"For you." Harry replies, almost mimicking the exact tone Niall used earlier. "I like spending time with you."
"Even though we're supposed to be enemies?"
Harry laughs, "Enemies don't help each other, they hate each other."
"I guess we're not good enemies then." Niall smiles, even though Harry can barely see it.
"I prefer it this way. Don't you?"
Niall nods, "Absolutely." At that, Niall registers a groan from the other side of the barn, and stands quickly. "Get some sleep." he repeats to Harry.
"I'll see you later, Niall." Harry whispers, waving when Niall turns back around just before closing the door.
"See you soon."