Niam- What I've Done

Seven: So Let Mercy Come

Weak sunlight poured in through my window, rousing me from my sleep slowly. Liam's steady breathing beneath me made me want to lie there forever, but I realized that I should probably get up and wash his shirt, and possibly put on some clothes. Memories of what we'd done the night before flooded my mind as I went to my dresser and threw on some clothes. The pain in my backside wasn't so bad that I couldn't walk, but it was still noticeable. All the troubles I'd faced last night seemed far away, like they'd never happened, like my dad was still alive and he'd come home any day now and kiss my forehead and tell me he loves me. Liam was still fast asleep in my bed when I returned from the bathroom after putting his clothes in the washer, so I sat and watched him for a while.

He still wasn't up when his clothes finished drying later, so I proceeded to take a quick shower and towel my hair dry. When I returned to my bedroom afterward, he was awake, sitting on my bed with a small smile playing at his lips.

"Want a quick shower?" I asked. "I've got your clothes in the dryer."

"Thanks," he smiled more widely, standing up, not the least bit shy about being naked in front of me. "Where's your shower?"

Looking at the ground, I blushed and guided him into the bathroom, where I pulled his clothes out of the dryer and put folded them neatly before taking a towel from the cabinet and putting it on the counter next to his clothes. After showing him how to turn on the shower, I stumbled out of the bathroom and into my bedroom, acutely aware of the fact that my room smelled like sex. Awkwardly, I sprayed some cologne in the general area of the air vent and waited for Liam to finish with his shower. Only a few minutes passed before he walked in my room completely dressed, with his hair dripping wet. "How are you, Niall?" he asked.

 "A bit sore," I smiled crookedly and looked at the ground, shuffling my feet.

He walked to me and took me in his arms, hugging me tightly. "I'm sorry," he kissed my forehead in apology.

"Ah," I replied. "Don't be." A prominent blush flushed my cheeks a deep red, but Liam smiled nonetheless. We stood there for a while and reality slowly dawned on me: the British were coming toward the town and I was going to die.

"Oh," I gasped when a fresh wave of grief pierced my heart.

"What's wrong?" Liam pulled away from our hug long enough to look me in the eyes with a concerned expression.

"M- My dad," I choked, nudging my head into his chest and fighting back tears. His arms tightened around me, making me feel safe momentarily.

"We'll avenge his death," Liam assured me, talking in a deep, soothing voice. "I know the British army's weak spot."

Tears in my eyes, I looked up at Liam. "You would do that for me?" He nodded his head and pressed his lips to mine quickly.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I breathed in deeply and moved my hands to knot into his still-wet hair, kissing him back with a passion I wasn't even aware I possessed. His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer, making me not want to stop kissing him ever, but I knew that wasn't possible. A few seconds passed while we kissed in a heated silence before he pulled away, a strange fire burning in his eyes.

"Liam," I began. "How are we...? What's..?" I took a deep breath and let it out, frustrated that I couldn't properly word my question. "We're just two people. We can't conquer a whole army."

"We don't need to," he told me, taking my hand and leading me to the front room, where I slipped on my shoes and plopped on the couch. "You've got internet on your phone, right?"

"Yeah..." I looked at him with an unsure expression, going to retrieve my phone from my bedroom. It had gone dead overnight, so I plugged in the mobile charger thing and waited for a few minutes while the phone charged. When it finally powered on and the screen lit up, a loud, continuous beep came from the phone. The screen flashed with an assortment of too-bright colors, and a big circle in the center said this is not a test.

"Damn it!" Liam exclaimed, looking ready to punch something. Once a year in America, this same symbol would appear on the screens of all electronic devices, except it would say testing. This time it meant America was done for no matter what and I couldn't help but have a feeling of doubt about Liam's plan.

"What are we going to do now? The country's done for," I said, feeling small and feeble.

"Think about it, Niall. The Britsh army's only got one colonel. Most of their troops are people from American cities. If we can... get rid of the colonel, then a lot of their troops will be gone. We've just got to... to find the colonel and... eliminate him."

"We don't even have to kill him," I realized. "If we could somehow take him hostage, or-" I stopped and turned around, punching the wall.

"Hey, hey, hey," Liam rushed over to me and put his arms around me, kissing my knuckles, which had begun throbbing. "Don't do that."

"But.. they could be in the town right now. They're going to kill me on sight and then they'll kill you for helping an American boy. I'm so sorry," I told him, tears flowing down my cheeks once again.

"Don't cry," he said, gently wiping the tears off my cheek with his thumb. "We can do it."

He slipped on his shoes quietly and took my hand. "Since they took over Sage, I'm guessing the colonel will be in the center of the city."

"We've got to run," I stated, no longer crying but still doubting Liam's plan. His hand held mine tightly as he nodded his head. Immediately after we stepped out the door, we were running at a ridiculous pace, and I wasn't sure we could keep it up for long.

When we arrived in the city, the sun was high in the sky. Sage was in ruins; British troops stormed the streets, so we ran and hid behind one of the buildings. As we watched, a man who looked to be about 50 was dragged out of his own store, taken behind a building, and then there was a BANG. The thought made me sick to my stomach. "This is horrible," I whispered.

Liam took my hand again and checked to make sure no one was looking before leading me toward the center of the city. It was sad to think that this was once a prospering American city and now it's just a rat hole full of people getting murdered, and it had all happened almost overnight.

A band of soldiers marched toward us, which made my heart jump in my throat, because Liam let go of my hand and stood up straighter. Liam grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me behind a building, and whispered, "Scream."

I complied, screaming loudly, and when I heard the sound of the troops marching past, I exhaled in relief. "Thank you," I breathed. We started to walked toward the center of the city using buildings as shields from the glares of all the British soldiers.

At last, we came upon the heart of the city. A circular plaza surrounded a grassy area which usually was empty, and behind that was the building where all the governors and major businessmen went every day. What stood in the center of the circular grassy area, though, is what caught my eye, and it made me want to vomit.

A large wooden cross sat buried in the dirt, and when I moved closer to it, I could see that it was my father pinned to it, just like the tales of the ancient Bible. My dad's hands and feet had nails through them, and his head drooped down lifelessly. Blood was visible all over his body, which had been stripped of clothes and his middle was wrapped with a thin, dirty fabric. "Oh my gosh," I choked, not caring that the British soldiers would see me.

I'd known that my dad was dead, but this... This was too horrible to imagine.