This chapter is also quite violent. Please read with caution.
_-_-_
Niall can feel the baton on the end of the rifle pierce into his back every few steps. He has a bit of a limp in his march due to being beaten down the last few days, but he doesn't let anyone else see that he's suffering. He knows they won't care anyways.
After about forty minutes of walking, the drill sergeant calls for them to stop. Niall complies, stopping himself from moving. He falls to his knees when the drill sergeant pushes him forward, telling him to continue. He stands back up and looks back at his comrades, who are all glaring at him.
Niall can see out across the hill that there is a large group of men walking into the field. He knows the supply cache for his old company is nowhere near this location, so they must have been scouting out overnight and are just now returning.
"Horan." The drill sergeant calls, and Niall turns around, still walking. "Stop so I can remove your restraints." Niall stops dead in his tracks, not wanting to piss him off. The sergeant comes up behind him and cuts the rope between his hands, not caring that he grazed Niall's knuckle. "Go out there and speak to them. Try to encourage them to come closer. If you try anything funny, you're dead."
Niall nods and brings his hands back in front of him. He's still wearing the old uniform given to him by that very company so hopefully they won't suspect Niall began fighting for the enemy.
Niall takes a tentative step forward, moving down the hill slowly. All the other men have presumably found hiding spots among the trees, though Niall is too afraid to turn around to check.
It took him a minute to reach the bottom of the hill, but once he does, he knows he's completely in the open. The sun is beaming down on the yellowed grass, and he can hear the heavy footsteps of his previous allies from across the field.
He takes a shallow step forward, officially standing in the light, which catches the attention of the soldiers across the field. A few of them lift their rifles, aiming at Niall, but he doesn't stop walking. He's taking larger steps now, trying to reach the center of the field.
"Stop!" One of them calls, and Niall complies. They don't seem to have recognized him yet. "What are you doing, soldier? Why are you out here?"
Niall doesn't respond and takes a step back, trying to lure them like he was told to do. A few of the men drop their rifles, but the man who called out to him is still aiming at his chest. He takes a step forward, following Niall, and the rest of the group follows suit.
Niall wants to turn and run back to the forest, hoping they will chase him, but he knows that's an unlikely outcome. He needs them to get closer to him. As the group begin marching up to him, Niall continues to take small steps back, wishing he didn't walk so far from the hill.
He looks over the group, trying to see if he can recognize any of the soldiers. The first few men at the front seem unrecognizable, however, Niall's eyes fall on a figure in the second row hesitantly lowering his rifle. Louis.
Niall sighs in relief when Louis completely drops his stance, seemingly recognizing Niall as well. He takes a step forward, passing his comrades to get a better look. Niall stops his movements as Louis moves across the field, the rest of the soldiers following.
"Niall?" Louis calls once he's close enough to distinctly see Niall, and then he smiles realizing he was right.
"Louis." Niall whispers, stepping forward. Louis puts his rifle away and takes long strides closer to Niall's figure, throwing his arms around him.
"I knew you'd survive," Louis mumbles into his shoulder, patting him on the back roughly. "you're the strongest person I've ever known, I knew you'd be alright."
"If it wasn't for you leaving me supplies, I would've been a goner." Niall jokes as the rest of his previous comrades catch up. A few others have recognized him as well, and he's about to greet them until most of them raise their rifles back up.
"It's Horan." The man at the front supplies for the ones that do not recognize him. "The traitor."
Louis scoffs, "He's not a traitor, Briggs, leave him alone."
"I don't take orders from you." Briggs responds, poking Louis with the tip of his bayonet.
One of the soldiers in the back questions, "How did you survive all this time?"
"Because he's smart and resourceful, unlike you lot." Louis defends him aggressively.
"Can it, Tomlinson. If I remember correctly, corporal told us we could fuck this kid up if we ever saw him again."
Louis seethes, "Stay away from him. We're just passing through, and so is he. Let's just go." Louis grabs the end of Briggs' rifle, pushing it away.
Briggs seems to think about it for a moment before turning back to his allies. "What do you think, men? You trust him to be alive out here when we could very easily never have to worry about him again?"
As the group rallies behind Briggs, Niall pulls Louis back. "Get them out of here, Lou. Now."
"They're not gonna listen to me. I'm not their leader here."
Niall whispers, "It's dangerous here. If you don't go, you'll die. Please."
"We walk these trails all the time, how is it dangerous?" Louis asks, but before Niall could warn him about the threat hidden in the trees, Briggs and a few other men are grabbing him and forcing him to the middle of the rank. They surround Niall as Louis is forced out.
Niall whimpers as they kick him in the shins and force him to his knees, but he can hear Louis trying to fight his way in. He's being poked by bayonets and his clothes are being ripped up, but that's the least of his worries right now.
"Briggs, stop this!" Louis yelled, pulling out his own rifle and fighting his way through the crowd, not caring that he's deliberately hurting his allies.
"Why do you care so much about this shit, anyway, Louis? He's nothing!"
"Don't fucking say that!" Louis roars, not being able to pass the final ring of men holding him back. "He's stronger than you'll ever be!"
Briggs shoves Niall back so he topples over his legs, reflexively catching himself with his hands. Two other men pull on Niall's shoulders until he can't hold himself up anymore, allowing himself to bend abnormally and fall over himself. As Niall tries to pick himself back up, Briggs forces his bayonet into Niall's chest, breaking skin immediately.
"Say that again, Tomlinson." Briggs warns, pushing the bayonet down further. Niall can feel another blood stain forming on his uniform. "I dare you."
Louis looks between Briggs and Niall's eyes, eventually stopping on Niall. He knows Niall is fast and would be able to evade their attacks, and he wonders why Niall isn't fighting back.
Niall looks at Louis directly and then looks at the trees up the hill, continuing the motion until Louis seems to get the message. Louis looks up at the forest, trying to spot what Niall is warning him about.
As Louis focuses on the trees, Briggs huffs, "That's what I thought." The men continue to prod at Niall until eventually one of the men grows too antsy and brandishes his saber, cutting through the skin on Niall's arm easily. The other men join in, but Niall isn't focusing on the pain.
Louis notices a movement in the trees and immediately reels back, stepping in front of Niall immediately. He takes a few stabs himself, but pushes all their weapons away and whispers to them aggressively, "They're about to ambush us. Let's go."
The stabs stop as the men step back and look at the trees themselves, giving Niall a moment to stand back up.
But the men aren't fast enough to get away. A single gunshot goes off and Louis fears the ambush has already started, but he's caught off guard when he hears a groan of pain from behind him and the sound of a body falling to the ground. He looks back at Niall, who was the first to be hit.
"Shit," Louis whispers as more gunshots go off, yelling at his men. "Get out, now!" He drops to the ground next to Niall, watching as the enemy reveal themselves and sprint down the hill toward the field.
Niall knew him getting hit wasn't an accident. He expected for them to target him, especially since Harry was forced to stay in the camp. He knew if Harry was allowed to come along, they wouldn't have targeted him, at least not first. They would've blamed it on crossfire.
"Niall, can you hear me?" Louis asks as he tries to cover over Niall's wound with his hand. Niall isn't even sure where the bullet hit, he only knows his entire torso is on fire. He doesn't even know if the bullet entered his body, or just grazed him. "C'mon, Horan, you didn't survive this long to give up now."
"I can hear you." Niall whispers, his eyes drooping. He's never felt so numb before; normally his wounds or beatings made him ache for weeks, and he much prefers the numbing feeling. It's nice not knowing how wounded you are.
"Stay with me, man. I'll get you to safety, alright? Just hold on." Louis promises before leaving his side, grabbing his rifle and saber to fight the men ambushing them. They have since clashed with his comrades and all he can see when he stands is blood and bodies.
Niall lies on the ground, running his fingers through the grass. Is this it? Is this the last time he's going to feel the Earth under him - rocks pressing into his back, dirt sticking to his hair, grass cushioning his skin? Is this the last time he's going to feel pain - the cuts on his arms oozing blood slowly, the bruises throbbing under his skin, the bullet wound numbing his entire torso? Are these his last breaths, his last moments alive? Should he count his heartbeat, recollect on his past, or just allow himself to fade? What do people normally do during their last moments alive?
His eyes slip closed but he can still see the sunlight through his lids, he can still feel the sticky blood drying on his skin, he can still hear the sound of sabers clashing and rifles shooting. His senses are heightened, and he wonders if each one will stop working as he fades from this world. Will he meet God? Does God exist? Will he be reborn into a different body? Will he become a ghost or a spirit and haunt this field for eternity? He doesn't know, and he wants to find out, but at the same time, he doesn't.
He opens his eyes again and tries to move his body, lifting his head. He gazes down at the bullet wound - in his right abdomen, slanted, through the skin. He doesn't know if any organs were punctured, he can't feel anything. The more he looks at the wound, the more pain begins to filter through his nerves. He's no longer numb; his body feels like it's on fire, but freezing at the same time.
He drops his head back down, looking up at the sky, listening to the world. A startled yell shocks him, "Niall!"
Harry enters his vision, but only for a second before the world starts moving around him. He gets light-headed by the sudden movement. His eyes close to alleviate the pain.
"Fuck, I should've come sooner." Harry whispers, placing him down behind a bush where they'll be safe. The other men are still fighting in the field and Harry has no idea who's still alive.
Once Harry places Niall down, he finally looks at the wound. There's a bullet wound that grazed his side and punctured the skin, though he can't tell how deep the bullet went. He can't see the bullet.
Niall's eyes are closed, which makes Harry assume the worst, "No, fuck, Niall!" He yells, burying his head in Niall's chest, subconsciously applying pressure to Niall's wound. "No," he whimpers again, "I can't lose you. Not yet."
Harry hasn't allowed himself to cry in so long that he had forgotten what it felt like. His throat feels weird and his eyes are wet, and he rubs his face into Niall's uniform to get the weird feeling away.
He's startled when he feels a hand run through his hair, jumping back, falling to the side. Niall's hand falls back down to his chest, though his eyes are open now. "Harry." He murmurs, his voice weak and quiet.
"You're alive! Niall, oh thank god." Harry starts, continuing to cry.
"I'm okay,"
He can barely hear the words over the sound of gunshots, but when he finally registers what he says, Harry sighs. "You're not. We need to get you back to camp, now." Harry pulls off his jacket and ties it around Niall's torso to apply pressure to the wound, wincing when Niall groans in pain.
Just as he's about to pick Niall up so they can escape, a body falls next to them with a grunt, and Harry scrambles for his rifle.
"Louis," Niall whispers, halting Harry's actions. He's already loaded the rifle and aimed at the intruder, not recalling the name. Niall lifts an arm to stop Harry.
Harry doesn't drop his aim as Louis shuffles closer, "Get away." He demands.
Louis objects, "Fuck off, I'm a friend." He applies pressure to Niall's wound with both hands, pressing down through the jacket.
Harry looks between the two and Niall nods, "He's good, Harry. He saved me."
Louis grumbles, "Hardly. You should've run, they wouldn't of hit you otherwise."
"They were aiming for me. I was a target, just like you." Niall explains.
Harry shuffles forward and pushes Louis back, picking Niall up carefully. "We need to go."
Louis nods, "Yeah, we need to get you back to your base. Where have you been camping out?"
Niall's head falls back and Harry has to reposition him. "With them." He whispers, starting to go in and out of consciousness.
"Stay awake, Ni. I need you to stay awake."
Louis stutters, "You've been staying with them? The fuckers that shot you?"
Niall smiles, his eyes drooping, "How do you think I knew about the ambush?"
"Why did they shoot you?"
Harry grunts, "They're not his biggest fan. Now, it was nice meeting you, but we have to go." Harry explains before sprinting with Niall back up the hill and towards camp, hoping to reach it before Niall's condition worsens.