Flesh (n.s.)

prologue

Niall's POV

"Niall, behind you!" I heard Liam yell, and I quickly turned around and swung my arm blindly, hoping my blade would hit something. I felt liquid hit my face and a hand around my arm that yanked me backwards.

I looked up and saw Liam was the one dragging me, his pistol in hand. Sebastian was in front of me, finishing off the Roamer I had just sliced with my katana. Jenny and Jolene were at his sides, shooting at the Roamers that were following behind us.

Liam was headed towards a small building, right behind Carrie and Daniel. I tried to yank my arm away from him, but he held tight and yanked me through the doorway and shut the door behind the four of us.

"Jesus, Liam, what was that for?" I asked as he let go of my arm.

"Stay here." Was all he said before he left the building and aided in the small fight outside.

I sighed and plopped down on the couch, annoyed that he wasn't letting me help this time. Soon enough, Liam, Sebastian, Jenny, Jolene, and Andrew came in, covered in more blood stains than usual.

Andrew went over to Carrie and Daniel and hugged his wife, letting out a tired sigh. Jolene and Jenny plopped down on the couch I was previously sitting on and I went to approach Liam.

Before I could talk, he slid his baseball bat out of its makeshift holder and stopped me. "Alright, this looks like a good little place to camp out, how about someone comes with me to scope out the upstairs?"

I quickly volunteered and followed Liam up the stairs of the small house, my sword in my grip. "Hey, Liam." I whispered.

He sighed. "What, Niall?"

"What was that back there? Why did you pull me out?"

Liam shook his head and gestured for me to be on guard. He then opened a door, revealing an empty bathroom, no Roamers inside. I then stood in front of him when he tried to enter, and crossed my arms. "Liam, what's up?"

Liam just placed his hand on his face. "Niall, I'm worried about you."

"What? Why?"

"Well, you're, you're you." He said, and sat down on the dirty toilet. I sat down across from him with a questioning look. "Okay, Niall, I know we've only been a big group for like, what, three months? We're okay, though. I think you still have that mindset of being alone."

"Being alone?"

"Yeah." Liam looked me in the eye. "When I found you, you were skinny, scrappy, and alone. I mean, you're still like that, but I still have no idea how long you spent out there in that city alone, just you and the Roamers. You were scared and antsy, and I understand that. But Niall, you can calm down now. There are other people around. You don't have to be on constant watch."

I was surprised at what Liam said. "I'm not always on watch—"

"You never sleep, Niall. Don't think I didn't see you send Jenny away when she wanted to switch watch with you last night."

I looked down and frowned. He was right, I did do that pretty often. But I couldn't help it. Being on the run, constantly aware, that feeling of just, 24/7 fear and paranoia, it doesn't go away. For awhile. Especially being chased. That definitely stays, and I know there are still things after me, after all of us.

I felt Liam's warm hand on my shoulder. "It's alright, Niall. I just want you to know that we're all here now, you don't have to be alone, okay? You trust us, right?"

I nodded. "Of course I do."

He smiled. "Okay. Let's just look around these two bedrooms, maybe try to find some clothes in the drawers, and then in the morning, we can move on. Sebastian said that when he was on the roof of that building he saw the main street of this small town. Maybe we can get out of these crazy, Roamer-infested neighborhoods then and set up camp there."

I smiled back at him and stood up. "Yeah, maybe. I hope so."

So this is just the short introduction to my new story! I hope you all like it, I'm really excited for it and I have some great ideas!

Keep an eye out for the next chapter!

Ellie