heartbeat // zayn malik AU

chapter twenty-nine

"I'll light your fire till my last day.

I'll let your fields burn around me, around me."

- OneRepublic [What You Wanted]

"Oh look," I said as Zayn and I stood up to our knees in grass, in the dead center of the Field of Baille. "There's only one oak tree. That makes things easier, doesn't it?"

Zayn shot me a crooked smile, then frowned. "We don't have shovels."

"Party pooper." I sighed. Where could we get shovels from? "We could go back to the hospital and ask the others."

"If they have random shovels lying around?" 

"You never know."

He shrugged. "Let's just go and see if we can find a shop."

Damn it. Why hadn't we thought about this beforehand? Impatience charging through my veins, I fell into step with Zayn as we headed back into the city part of Charoum, leaving the field behind us for now. 

The streets were strangely silent, like Zayn and I were the only living things left on Earth; just the thought made me shiver and draw closer to him. The sound of our footsteps was an eerie soundtrack to our movements, our breathing creating vapor in the chilled air. Every now and then, I would glance up at a window and catch a glimpse of a hollow-faced angel staring back at me. I winced every time I saw the sickly tinge to their skin, imagining the grating sound of their coughing and the ache in their chest, caused by their sickness. Signs of the plague were evident on almost every home, like it was a cloaked beast that had visited the streets at night, laying scaly claws on the unsuspecting innocents within. Up ahead, the burnt remains of Charoum Hall lay like a black skeleton. Businesses were deserted. The angels that weren't infected were still keeping inside; with Council in chaos and potential demons in the skies, the world's guardians were slinking around with their heads down.

It made me wonder. If our guardian angels couldn't protect us, who would? I mean, they couldn't even protect themselves.

I have to help fix this. I have to save the angels. Not single-handedly, of course. With Zayn and Louis and Renee and Cyphus and Astral. All of us. I only hoped we could do it without destroying ourselves in the process.

I was so busy thinking that I didn't notice Zayn had stopped walking, staring at something in front of us. Subsequently, I proceeded to run into him and bruise my nose on his back. Rubbing my face ruefully, I followed his distracted gaze.

When I saw what he was staring at, I felt my knees go weak.

"No," I whispered. "Zayn, we can't."

In the soft dirt right beside Charoum Hall, where ash had fallen and melted into the ground, five thin angels stood with shovels and picks, hacking away at the topsoil. Wind blew tears back into their eyes, their hair raising in ridges. Cords of muscle stood out on their scrawny arms as they continued digging like there was no tomorrow.

Nearby, a pile of grave-looking black boxes sat stacked atop each other.

Coffins.

They were digging a graveyard.

"We can't steal their shovels, Zayn," I hissed.

"We'll just ask." 

"Zayn, they're burying their dead. Don't do this," I pleaded, putting my hand on his arm.

He turned to me, tortured eyes burning a hole in my heart. "We don't have a choice, Valarie. If we don't stop Klaus, we'll never be able to focus on finding a cure for the plague. We have to get that Sword."