The Five Of Us (1D)

17 - Watches

17 - Watches

The boys looked around in amazement for a few seconds before Artemis snapped them out of it. She grabbed each of their wrists and snapped on a simple white watch.

'Disguises' she said simply. The boys still looked taken aback so Ren explained.

'We can't have One Direction randomly walking around Moscow, these watches change what your faces look like. Don't ask how, I asked Rune once and he rambled for half an hour'

'Talking about engineering isn't rambling' Rune grumbled.

'Oh that's what that is!'

'You weren't listening?'

'I was playing candy crush under the table'

Artemis put an arm around Rune.

'Don't worry I won't ever leave you for bits of virtual candy'

'Thanks, that really helps my ego' Rune said sarcastically, Artemis hit him on the arm.

'Beggars can't be choosers'

Niall decided to butt in with his question before they got too off track.

'How come everyone looks the same if our faces have changed?'

Rune briefly explained.

'Others wearing the watches can see past the facades. They work by altering the light reflection. Our eyes perceive light and change them into images, these watches change the reflection of light off of your face to make you look different. They also use infrared to locate others wearing the watches, that's actually their primary function, the facade is just a bonus setting'

The others all pulled up the sleeves hiding their tattoos, they were all wearing watches. Perrie and Eleanor's were both white as well. The others were all black.

'Tap the button on the side' Ren commanded. The boys all did so. The normal digital watch screen was replaced by a map of the area they were in.

'Gamma waves are emitted and bounce off of any surrounding walls, mapping the area much like a bat's sonar does. Infrared connect the watches, those little dots are the rest of us, the Family is silver and you lot are white' Rune explained.

'Thats amazing' Liam finally managed, 'I can't believe we look different'

Charlie laughed and brought out her phone. She quickly snapped a picture of Liam and showed it to him. Instead of Liam, there stood a middle aged man. His complexion was paler than Liam's and his face was much narrower. His eyes were bright blue and he was completely bald.

'Wow' Liam breathed. Charlie laughed again.

'Lets go people' Rune said, leading the group across the station. They weaved in and out of the crowd and made it to the main exit of the station. They all followed Rune through the crowd and onto one of the main streets. Zayn was spotting signs everywhere, but surprisingly, he didn't speak Russian.

At the front of the group, Charlie checked her watch. She spun and started walking backwards.

'It's 3:30. Perrie and Eleanor you two need to put up your masks'

The two nodded and tapped their watches, Charlie turned back around. Liam ran up to walk beside her.

'Where are we going?' He asked. She smirked.

'Can't say Liam. The trees are on her side'

Liam nodded and silenced. He understood the reference. In Narnia, the trees were on the side of the white witch, so they would listen into conversations. Liam had told Charlie about his enjoyment of the books as a child, and she had used this reference to tell him that someone might be listening in on their conversation. It was clever.

They were led to a busy shopping centre. Crowds of people swarmed, it felt like pushing through water. Charlie grabbed Liam and sent him a just-go-with-it look. Unawares to any of them, the group simultaneously split, each going in a random direction. Everyone paired up and pretend to not know each other. Niall & Cain, Drew & Ren, Harry & Grey, Zayn & Perrie, Louis & Eleanor and Rune & Artemis all easily disappeared in the crowd.

Charlie and Liam spent the next twenty minutes trying to lose any tails they might have. They doubled back on themselves, took odd routes, and pushed through crowd after crowd. Eventually, Charlie stopped and pulled Liam into an alleyway. He said nothing, deciding not to question her after endless attempts of finding out what was going on with no answer.

She grabbed his wrist and twisted the dial around the watch face, she glanced up at her in confusion. She turned her own dial and smiled up at him.

'Cloaking' she said, 'we can talk freely now'

He peered at the watch.

'That's amazing' he said in awe. She nodded. And tugged on his arm, pulling him back out into the street.

'No one can see or hear us, just try not to walk into anyone'

Liam nodded and followed Charlie closely, weaving in and out of the streams of people.

An hour of walking later, Liam found himself in a very old part of the city. It was deserted, and the houses were aged. Charlie walked into an alleyway and knocked against the wall with her knuckle. She sighed.

'It's not activated yet' she explained, 'it turns on at 5:00, that's when we were supposed to be here'

Liam glanced at his new watch, it was 4:48. They were early. Charlie sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. Liam joined her. It was 5:52 when Louis and Eleanor joined them. Rune and Artemis turned up at 5:56. Drew and Ren at 5:58. The wall turned on before anyone else arrived.

Charlie began tapping the wall again, listening out for something. The others waited patiently. She found what she was looking for in the top left corner of the wall. It looked like a normal brick, but when Charlie tapped it Liam could swear he saw the wall ripple for a second. Then, causally, Charlie stepped in. The others followed, leaving Liam and Louis standing there, dumbfounded. They shared a look, before Liam bravely stepped after the others.

Louis hesitated, before going after him. Muttering

'that's some real Harry Potter crap right there'

as he walked into the wall.