Water Under the Bridge ›› n.h. mature

Thirty

Kate Marshall

My heart hammered in my chest. All around us were shrieks of panic and fear. They were muffled in my head, my own adrenaline and pumping blood partially drowning them out.

Strong arms pulled me in, somehow plucking me out of the darkness.

Niall held me to him, one of his hands protectively cradling my head against his chest, the other arm wrapped around my back. I felt his heart thudding rapidly against me.

The panic in the building grew louder and Niall hugged me closer. My fingers tightened their grip on him, grasping at his shirt.

On the other side of the stage, thousands of people are currently trying to get out of this stadium in the pitch dark. Had I heard any more loud bangs? I haven't heard much outside my own head since it happened. Please God I hope they weren't gun shots. I couldn't tell if it had been five minutes or ten seconds. I was floating through this eery, dark unknown with only Niall's grasp keeping me anchored.

"We've got to move!" Paul shouted. "The bus can't get in but there's a van nearby."

A phone flashlight lit up the end of the dark hallway as best as it could manage.

I felt frozen. Thankfully Niall was ready to react.

"The van is here," Paul shouted as he pushed the door open. "Go!" From what I could see with what little light there was, he and many other security guards had created a tunnel of sorts with their bodies, shielding us from whatever may be near by.

It was extra dark outside too. Street lights weren't on making everything that much creepier.

Niall gripped my hand fiercely and pushed through, following the other boys out the doors and into the van. He shoved me inside first, roughly but protectively, then he clambered in as well. I felt my head whip back as the car peeled out faster than any I've ever been in.

"Headlights!" Liam shouted nervously.

"No," the driver replied. "Not until we're away from that mess."

"The fuck was that?" Louis asked, sounding just as shaken as I felt.

Niall pulled me to him again so that I was tucked safely against his chest. I was beyond caring how we looked in this moment. No one's mind was on how we were sitting and it was dark anyway.

Sure enough, the headlights were off so we were being driven in complete darkness. That's horrifying! I couldn't look.

Niall's heartbeat was still thundering against my ear. I can't wait to be safely back at the hotel.

Finally when we had gotten out of the stadium parking lot, the driver turned his headlights on and practically put the pedal to the floor.

The driver called someone and we all listened in to the phone call. "We're out. Any word on what that was?"

"Not yet," we could hear Paul say on the other end of the line. "The power on this whole grid section is still down."

"Don't stick around."

"We're leaving soon." They hung up.

Finally we were pulling into the parking garage of the hotel, headed for the service door. More members of the security team met us at the door to usher us upstairs. Niall and I didn't let go of each other's hands the whole ride up.

"Try and get some sleep," we were told. "We will continue monitoring the situation and will update you when we know something."

Everyone looked out of sorts as they wandered through the hall to their rooms. I was ready to pull Niall into mine but I didn't have to. He lead the way into my room for me.