Flesh & Bone (Narry)

Day 840 (Part 2)

They don't find any gas. In fact, they don't see a single car on the ten mile journey into the next town.

"We're doomed," Louis groans, eyeing the gas tank warily over Niall's shoulder, the orange line dipping just below the ⅛ mark.

"All good things must come to an end eventually," Zayn says sadly, eyes taking in the van, all of their belongings scattered around, and then each boy in turn. They'd had some good times in this thing.

Leaving the van behind means leaving safety, leaving a quick getaway, and leaving their home.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Harry states, giving Zayn a stern look, "We'll check out this town, stay the night in the van, and in the morning we take it as far as we can. If we still don't find anything, then we gather what we can and go on foot."

They all knew that this was coming, that they'd run out of gas eventually, but they weren't really prepared for it. Their one piece of solace now in the fate of where some poor human left their car when the world went to shit.

"Maybe there will be a nice abandoned house with a tall fence and solar panels," Niall shuts off the engine.

"Oh, and the pantry will be fully stocked," Louis indulges him, elbowing him gently with a grin, "It'll be filled with ho-hos and twinkies and cereal of all kinds!"

They're all grinning now, eyes bright with laughter. Of course this would never happen, but they were in dire need of something positive, and that's what Niall does best.

"And a football pitch in the backyard!"

"And a pool!"

"And a movie theater room!"

They're all shouting out suggestions now, giggling and giddy. Harry smiles, admiring each and every one of them in turn. Liam, with a wide smile and squinted eyes, Zayn, whose nose is scrunched up and his tongue pokes from behind his teeth. Louis, slumped back in his seat with his head thrown backwards, and finally, Niall, who's laugh is the loudest, smile brighter than the sun itself, and he can't stop from staring at him, admiring the boy in the driver's seat.

Louis sighs, sitting back in his seat, a smile lingering on his lips, "Oh man, that would really be something."

"What are the odds we can make it ourselves?" Liam asks suddenly, and they're all looking at him. He shrugs, "Think about it. Say we find a house with a fence, there's already at least a little protection. If the house has a pool, that's even better. Some houses should still be in decent shape, and I'd know if they weren't," when he says it out loud the plan actually sounds feasible, "We can barricade it for even more protection, bring the van and maybe we'll find some gas eventually, scour the neighborhood, and finally, we won't have to be on the run every single day."

"I do have all of my seeds," Zayn adds thoughtfully, "If we have somewhere safe we'd have a steady food supply."

"And if anything should happen – pray that it won't – but I have a little medical experience," Niall tacks on.

Louis rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest, pouting, "I chose a really bad time to major in business," he mumbles.

They look to Harry, the unspoken leader, and he shares a glance with Louis, who shrugs in response. He can see just how tired they all are. Zayn and Niall aren't back to 100 percent yet, and having a place bigger than a van for all of them to stay in doesn't seem like the worst idea in the world. He for one can use some rest.

"Alright," he agrees and the van erupts in another round of cheers, "But," he speaks loudly until they quiet down for him to continue on, "We have to make a plan, a fool proof one. I'm talking exit strategy, meeting places if we get separated, how long we wait for each other if something happens," he gives them all a serious look, "We have to go over everything. And we cannot let our guard down."