The morning came and this was it, you were actually going back home and hopefully, staying there for long.
"I can't help but miss you guys already..." Sierra sniffles hugging Louis, Liam and Niall.
"We are still here Sierra, we're not going anywhere untill you guys are back in your world" Liam chuckles.
"She gets attached easily" Luke smiles, basically peeling her off of the three lads.
"C'mon Hemmings, this is the end of the ride together after all" Michael nudges him.
"Doesn't mean we won't see you guys again" Louis smiles. It was hard saying goodbye... This wasn't the final goodbye you still had to actually get home, but you never know what could happen, especially in a mess like this one.
"I might cry if we don't" you laugh lightly.
"It's been a good journey" Sarah chimes in.
"Mostly, but that's what we'll remember. The good times" Calum adds.
"Alright guys, let's get going" Niall brings you in for maybe one final group hug. So many things that happened in a short period of time, some bad ones...some good ones, one thing you're sure of is that you'll never forget it.
"Willow, Mike, Crys and Louis with me as we said, Luke you're in charge of the other group" Calum pats his shoulder as everyone shares glances and you make your way out of the forest. You agreed on two things, Calum and Luke will be the leaders of the groups since Cal's the alpha and Luke's the beta and Si and you have to be in different groups just in case of communication or location problems.
"It's really shitty that we can't enter by water..." Louis whispers.
"Definitely, but that's how the barrier is. Our ancestors were good but maybe not that good" Michael whispers in agreement.
"We're almost out of here so stop talking now" Calum says and so everyone shuts up as you emerge from the thick line of woods.
"I liked it better in the woods" you say to Crystal.
"Me too Willow, me too...".
You put on hats and hoods, but will it be enough for people to not recognize you? You also had just two bags with you, in one were stuffed the sleeping bags, water bottles, food and money in the other one just in case. Luke's group carried two too.
"We have a long way to the barrier" Calum's voice echoed throughout your head and you could tell everyone heard it since they discreetly nodded. Luke and the others were across from you, yet you couldn't see them but you knew where they were. If you were to walk to the barrier it would take you almost two days by foot and public transport wasn't an option, but thankfully you had Niall's friend who still had the cars which you travelled to the airport with. It was safer to travel divided even for a little bit since he lived close to the shared house that is definitely being searched thorough right now. It will take some walking, but you'll get there eventually, let's just pray something doesn't go wrong.
***
Your group arrived at Niall's friend's house, his name was Joe actually. The first group was there already, safe and sound as you examined them. Everyone was calm and collected which meant the plan was going good.
"No troubles I reckon?" Luke quirked a brow, smiling lightly.
"None whatsoever" Michael winks.
"Enough chit chat, we have something to do" Niall roles his eyes going over to the door. You didn't want to be somewhere in the main focus, so you remained close enough to the house, but not next to the entry or the street. You saw him knock strangely on the door, maybe it was some sort of code? If it is that's a smart idea, but what else would you expect? He went inside and after a few minutes you heard the doors to the garage open. However, you didn't see Joe, just Niall holding a two pairs of shiny keys in his hand.
"We going or?" he smiles, throwing the other pair of keys to Louis who catches them expertly.
"We're going to have to squeeze in there..." Crystal sighs.
"You're in the front darling" Lou remarks.
"Sure wish I was pregnant in this situation..." Sierra frowns, going over to the other car that Niall was driving. The groups were still the same, next stop is a few blocks away from the barrier. Maybe you weren't ever homesick, but right now the feeling of warmth and security wasn't there and it won't be until you're back.
***
"You first..." you say through gritted teeth, you couldn't get out of the freaking car since Michael and Calum were squishing you in the middle and the whole ride here was very, very uncomfortable.
"Sorry..." Michael sent an apologetic look and somehow got out, followed by you and then Cal.
"That took longer than I wanted it to" Calum remarks, making you giggle slightly. The other car was parked beside yours and everyone from it exited. This part of the plan you should stick together, after all people shouldn't see you before you get there, but if you just run through the crowd and enter it would anyone notice? Maybe, but it won't be your concern anymore.
"So we're in this street... Which means we have three more to go, but better safe than sorry" Niall said once checking the maps on his phone. After the not so called accident with Tayla and phones, Ni was the only one allowed to have one. You disposed yours just in case she had done something to them.
"Let's get walking boys and girls" Sarah smiles going first. It was all silence pretty much, the tall buildings surrounding you from both sides making a perfect shadow for a warm day in Australia. Step by step each one feeling more important than the one before it. The stakes were high, tension and anxiety just the same, but you remained smiling, knowing that it might be over. You only wish that...your brother was here...and the smile fades away just like your steps silent. You stopped abruptly and tried to concentrate, but it was hard as the people around you were walking. But then they stopped too, taking a glance at you to see what's going on. You narrowed your eyes looking left, then right and back left again.
"Willow, is everything okay?" Calum questioned as everyone's eyes were still glued to you since you could feel the stares. A noise echoed through your ears, someone was here, but you'd already seen an old lady walk by and some more people, like three or four. A sense was telling you that this person however, wasn't walking by...they were rather watching you.
"I sense someone" you whispered, as Cal quirked a brow.
"We walked past a few people, maybe you're just paranoid?" Liam shrugs, his gaze still remaining soft.
"No...this person is watching us" you said, more to yourself than them, but by their widened eyes you could see they heard you.
"How can you be so sure?" Crystal comes closer to you, everyone now almost in a circle. You were in the middle of the first street, not on the road but you still had some walking distance to go.
"I just know" that was the best you can tell them. You seriously can't figure out how you can sense the person, but you were sure of yourself about this.
"Guys, Willow's senses have never been wrong before... Let's stay on our best alert" Calum warns, putting an arm around you protectively.
"We thought about this, don't forget. Niall check the alleys again. We'll look for extra exits and potential hiding places around" he commands. You started moving, significantly slower, but much more careful. The couples had their partners close, Sarah was in the middle, Niall, Louis and Liam were on the outer edge of the line.
"There's more of them" you inform and you could just feel the fear. Shoulders stiff, jaws clenched, hands in fists almost.
"How many?" Calum's voice echoed. You solely focused on them and soon enough their steps were louder than your friends', then they stopped. One person was silent, others were waiting.
"More than us" you told your friends. You noticed Louis' Adam's apple going up and down and felt a tighter grip on your waist by Calum. You crossed the road and entered the last street, so far nothing and you were staring to doubt yourself. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe a hallucination, or just wrong judgement? You saw a man that stood further up the street and he all of a sudden waved and yelled.
"Hey!" and started walking towards you.
"What do we do?!" Sarah asked panicked.
"Shh, we don't know what he wants. Stay calm and let's go in the other street" you allowed Liam to speak and started to make a turn left and in the other street.
"Wait!" the man yelled. He had a strong and sharp accent and you couldn't quite determine where it was from, it wasn't your forte. You heard the sound of cars starting and now gripped Calum's hand. Soon enough they were in your sight, behind and in front of you to be specific. The man started running next to a car and your group started to run too, away from them.
"Shit, we have an alley to the right, you'll have to jump over" Niall spoke. You got to the alley with four cars behind you and managed to in time make it over a fence where another car was waiting for you. Not having the time to think, everyone split up and started running in random directions, but away from the car obviously. You were running next to Calum and people started emerging from nowhere in front of you and a car was on your tail as well. You glanced at Calum, as if he knew what you were thinking he grabbed your hand and sprinted to the people who were yelling stop or wait.
"Jump!" he said and you two jumped over them, stumbling a bit on the landing with a couple of scratches, but picked up your pace and continued on.
"If we lead them away from everyone that would be great" Calum says. The two of you were trying to catch your breath, but it was hard and you were running out of ways to escape. As soon as you would take a turn, there would be more people or vehicles, so somewhere in proces you stumbled upon Sarah and Louis.
"Come on, this way!" Louis yelled instantly. Your heart was beating out of your chest, you could hear it almost.
"Holy shit!" Sarah cursed, seeing three motorcycles coming straight your way. Everyone stopped in their tracks and there was a side street, but from it you saw Michael and Crystal tuning in to your group, both followed by more people.
"Follow me" you told Calum who looked you as a unsure, but nodded with a sweet gaze. Louis grabbed Crystal to help her catch a break and Michael soon came to you too. Calum and you ran forward and the motorcycles stopped, so you jumped over one taking the driver down in the proces.
"We don't want to hurt you!" you think he yelled. You could see the fear in his eyes, but you shrugged it off, as if they don't wanna hurt you. You saw Calum do the same to the other person and Michael joined in on the third one.
"Grab one and go!" you yelled, hopping on one of the motorcycles.
"We don't know to drive these!" Michael yelled.
"Shut up and fucking learn as you go!" Louis frowned, his Yorkshire accent prominent whenever he was angry. By some luck the three guys managed to get a grip and drive away. You held Calum tightly around his waist, not daring to let your grip loose for a second.
"It'll be fine" he tried to say and you wanted to believe him and be optimistic, but how could anyone be in this situation? The adrenaline was crusing through your veins, the wind blowing strong in your hair, making the warm weather feel different.
"We gotta find everyone else" you heard Crystal's voice echo.
"I'll try" you said and focused on doing the exact same when you contacted Michael a few days ago. As you guys drove, a whole crowd started chasing you, but whenever you would think this was a street that lead to the barrier it was closed off. So you located everyone else and abandoned the motorcycles eventually.
"I think that we've finally escaped" Luke let out a breath as everyone was trying to get back to their breathing rhythm again. You were hidden away behind some dumpster in a tiny alley and it smelled gross, absolutely gross. You heard the cars again and immediately stood up, ready to jump over the wall, but just as you jumped on it you saw more people below you with some kind of armoured shields but...no guns? Wait, when you think about it there wasn't any shooting during the whole chase scene? They aren't Tayla's people...so who were they? You got back down to your friends who were holding their ground, staring down the flashing lights of the car that was in front of them, still surrounded by more people. Youou had to admit they gave you space, but still had you cornered. You instinctively went first and stood next to Calum who hugged you close from the side. You could tell he was trying to sustain the urge to turn or have his eyes glow and everyone else was trying to be calm. To someone who doesn't know them very well it would look like it, but you could read them like a book. Suddenly a man started walking towards you, he didn't have armour like the others nor any sort of protection. You scanned him over for some sort of weapons, but you couldn't see any, a habit you picked up from Lou. When he stopped his stance wasn't dominant or aggressive and in no way suggestive that he would want a fight, Liam taught you that, how to tell a person just by their posture and general body language. There were no signs of obvious communication devices either, just a phone in the front pocket of his blue jeans, Niall was your teacher for that, wow, since when have you become an expert in strategy? You took a better look at the man, he looked like he was a few years older than you, probably thirty, thirty one or so. He had long hair like Luke, but switched with black instead of blonde. Instead of curls, his was straight and fit in with the shape of his face which had chubbier cheeks, not by much, but it was a prominent feature. His eyes were also very small and narrow, dark brown colour and he had a mysterious, yet warm look. He wasn't particularly muscular like Liam or tall like Luke, he was mid hight, same as Ashton was and you could tell he had muscle, but not too much. Calum sent him a glare, trying to establish a warning non-verbally. The man stepped closer, a good distance away from you, but to Calum it wasn't enough.
"You take a step more and you'll never walk again" Cal snarled. Your friends had the same idea as Calum and you too were alert, but something in you was telling you to give this guy a chance. He smiled and put his hands slowly up, what you would do as a sign of surrendering.
"I'm sorry" he said simply. You expected him to have some sort of a weird accent, but he talked like the Americans you heard on the street in New York. He opened his eyes and offered a small smile, diverting his gaze to all of you, his hands still up.
"You better explain this or I don't care who sees what I'll do next" Calum threatens, without growling this time, just clear and stern. The man looked hopeful and so he started to speak again.