Take Me Home • h. styles ✔

3 | Dead Men Walking

     

     "It's time to get up in the morning.

     In the morning.

     Got McDonald's breakfast for you.

    Just for you.

    Or any other brand...

    We drove two miles just to get it.

    So you better get up and eat it.

    You don't wanna be a selfish, lazy, crazy boy.

    So we gotta get up!"

     My eyes refused to open despite hearing the lads' crazy antics just to wake me up.

     "Guys, please, I need some sleep."

     "It's. Time. To. Get. Up!"

     "Okay, seriously, guys, quit it," I spoke up in a surprisingly booming voice, indicating my apparent irritation, and immediately sat up on my bed.

     "It's time to get up!"

     Niall's voice came out much louder than he usually said. My vision started fuzzy until it became more focused. My eyes searched around the room to find out where the voices were coming from.

     "Yay!" The Irish lad exclaimed as others laughed hysterically at my actions. Then I realized they were not in my room. Not a single soul was beside my bed or even standing close to me. My mind was too frazzled, and it took me quite some time to gather my thoughts before I realized that I was having another illusion. I felt so happy upon hearing Niall's voice, Liam's, and Louis' for all this time. I thought they were here, but I was wrong.

     How could I have been so stupid? It was just a trick. They weren't here beside me to wake me up. They were never here.

     "It's time to get up in the morning."

     My hands delved under the sheets to search for the source of the deceptive sounds and then found it. I took hold of my phone and listened to their voices one more time. This simple alarm jingle was music to my ears. I could still remember how persistent they were, taking such foolish, desperate measures to get my body out of bed, and Zayn's, who was beside me and not even bothering to make a single movement despite the lads' efforts.

     I laughed upon hearing them again. My friends' voices were just so pleasant to hear, and I knew that if somebody were watching me, I would've looked like an idiot, smiling uncontrollably over a silly alarm tone. But I didn't care, given that there was no someone.

     After pinning my ears back to my phone, I checked out the home screen, and as expected, there were no messages. My phone was just an accessory, and I was quite happy that it was still functioning. I was thankful for the generator that this house had. Even though I had no one to send messages to, I still had my games, but they all bored me upon finishing all the levels. After a few scrolls and clicks, I was stunned to see something that made me smile.

    July 23, 2013.

     "Happy birthday, guys. I love you," I spoke softly to myself, having these irrational thoughts that somehow they received my message.

      It's One Direction's third anniversary. We should have been celebrating three years of massive success at this moment. What could've been the things that we were doing today? Certainly, Niall would attack the buffet meal that Paul would've prepared for the band, or Uncle Simon would've probably given us the day off to go home to our families and have our ways of rejoicing in our success. There were many questions in my mind, but what I had were only what-ifs.

     I got out of the bed and made a run for the shower. It was 7:30 in the morning, and reality hit me that I had made a huge mistake. I should've been preparing way earlier than that. After getting myself cleaned up, I went to the kitchen and grabbed the last cans of sausages that I found on the counter. It was all I had, and I felt irresponsible these past few days. I should've gone out earlier, while I still had stocks, not at this time when I really had no more food to consume. Now, I had to do it. Today's another day full of paranoia and audacity, with a bit of adrenaline at the same time.

     Going outside of my home had never been easy. After two months, this time would be my third trip, and I couldn't say that I'd already gotten it. My first attempt was just a total fiasco. I could still remember that I only had an ax as a weapon during that time while those hideous Creatures were chasing me. Despite having it, I was vulnerable and felt defenseless until one of Them made approximate contact with my skin. That's when I learned how to fight back. It was never in my nature to kill someone. I needed to learn to be somebody who I wasn't before. I never knew that I was this person I never knew existed within me. But change was necessary for me to survive.

     I turned on my phone and played one of my favorite Elvis songs while I packed the stuff I needed for my precarious trip.

     "The way she walks, the way she talks, how long can I pretend, oh I can't help I'm in love with the girl of my best friend."

    Singing had been one of the things keeping me sane over the past few months. I may look crazy, but I didn't care. No one was watching anyway. I had all the time for myself. I guess that's one good thing about being in an apocalypse like this – the freedom to do anything.

    "Oh, I just wanna take you anywhere that you like, we can go out every day, every night, baby I'll take you there, take you there, baby I'll take you there, yeah."

     Then came our song Kiss You, and I couldn't stop dancing. I swore that if someone were here, seeing me only in my pants, prancing around to the beat of the song, they would think I was losing my head. It might be my last day on Earth, so why not make the most of it and have fun? Any day could be my last. I was constantly bracing myself for any possibilities. Who could blame me for that? But still, I had this anticipation that I'd find something beyond the place where I was. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to Cheshire someday. Who knows if my family could still be there? There's one thing that I've learned in my new life: anything could happen.

     I immediately filled my rug sack with essential things I had to bring. I brought some granola bars, crackers, and three bottles of water. My eyes turned to see the Beretta M9 my dad used to own, and over these months, I trained myself how to use it. I always wanted to use it against the creatures, but I never got the chance. It was too risky. The sound of one gunshot would prompt groups of them to an attack. Although I knew that I could use it at the most appropriate time possible, I put it beneath my socks for backup.

     I checked all the weapons that I had: two small knives, a machete, and a bat, which Louis once used when we were playing baseball. The food I had seemed limited, but I could find more when I headed to the city. I put on my running shoes, work gloves, and my dad's leather jacket that he got from a J. Crew catalog, which I had always worn every time I went out. It had saved me from several bites before, as long as I wouldn't have to deal with a large group of them.

     Sometimes I wondered, how would it feel if I were to get bitten? Would it all be over in just a split second? Would I instantly turn into one of them? One good thing about that would be that this shit of being alone would finally be over.

     I took a final look inside my house and got out of my comfort zone.

     "Here we go again," I said to myself, wondering how this day would turn out.

    Harry, just get enough food. Survive. Don't get bitten. Go back home. Easy.

     I made a sign of the cross and held on the crucifix around my neck. A few dead men were walking sluggishly in every direction, entirely unaware of my presence, and I braced myself for any possible attack. My heart started to beat faster since I didn't know if I could still survive this day. I was terrified. I was always afraid. I took a deep breath, put on my scarf to cover my face, and began to walk slowly on the road of my fate.