Bite {Niall Centric}

Day 181

The sun shining in Niall's eyes woke him, his ankle aching in protest as he stood up. The baseball bat at his side dragged along the pavement as he staggered to the wooden boards covering the mall windows. His fingers curled around the edge of a board, forehead resting against the wood as he breathed in the familiar scent of rotten flesh from his pile of dead zombies. He had finally returned back to his base.

Niall was home, and he wasn't alone anymore.

One by one, the boys joined his sides, peeking through the slits between the boards as well. "You ready?" Liam asked from Niall's right.

Everyone hummed in agreement, all of the boys readying their weapons. Niall took a deep breath, heart thumping in anticipation.

It was time to clear out the mall for good.

Liam kicked the door down, the boys going in quickly and quietly. They formed a semi-circle in front of the door; Niall was the center, metal baseball hat raised high above his head in a defensive stance.

Silence.

Darkness.

The pile of zombies near the front entrance was still there in all of its rotten glory, emitting a putrid scent of decaying flesh that seemed to follow the boys around no matter where they went. "Why did you think it was a good idea to place the pile here?" Zayn asked, two of his fingers pinching his nose.

"I didn't; it just kind of happened," Niall replied sheepishly, fanning the air around him in a feeble attempt to get the offensive smell away.

"Let's split up," Louis proposed, going to stand by Niall and wrapping an arm around him. "Niall and I will stay here and burn the bodies with my baby here," He paused to kiss the nozzle of his flamethrower. "Outside while you guys start clearing the mall. We'll join you when we're done."

The boys went silent as they thought about Lou's plan. Eventually, they all agreed to it reluctantly; the increasing volume of groans had begun to grow annoying, and the boys were eager to get rid of the scum. A few zombies rounded the corner of a pawn shop, prompting Harry, Liam, and Zayn to start shooting and making their way deeper into the mall. Louis and Niall watched them until they had turned into another section of the mall.

Louis turned to Niall with a sly grin. "Now, it's just the two of us," He teased with a wink. Niall fought back a blush unsuccessfully as his cheeks radiated with heat. It didn't last long because the stench of the zombies seemed to grow worse as minutes passed.

"You mean sixty-two?" Niall pointed to the pile of zombies. Louis laughed before tugging at a female's arm, her decaying limb separating from her body instead of dragging her whole form. A look of defeat crossed Louis' face momentarily as he looked at the rotten arm in his hand.

"Well this is gonna be harder than I thought. . ." Louis grumbled, his eyes scanning the pile of zombies for some kind of solution. Niall watched in horror as Louis, in his usual eccentric manner, high-fived the hand of the detached limb. "I guess the both of us will just have to carry one at a time."

"I call the feet!" Niall quickly replied, reminding himself of simpler times when he was a child. He remembered the title of "younger brother" being so confining, and the short-lived moments of victory when he successfully called dibs on something before Greg did. Now, Niall was the only Horan left. It hurt him to think about Greg and his parents, but it would hurt Niall more to ignore the thought of his late family.

"You okay?" Louis had seemed to pick up the sudden change in Niall, and he was now laying Niall's head against his chest comfortingly. Louis was so warm - as if he was the very flame that came from his flamethrower - Niall could very easily mold to the subtle contours and dips in Louis' body and feel nothing but ease.