Stranded // One Direction

Chapter 17 // Daddy

Harry's POV

The four of us continue running down the sterile hallways, attempting to stay as far away as possible from Sol and Carson. Kennedy squirms in my arms as I keep a firm grip on her. My feet scream in pain as the concrete floors beneath us leave no room for cushioning. Eddie leads the group, turning her head every few seconds to make sure that we're keeping up with her.

Reagan runs in front of me, her fingers gliding across the cold concrete walls as we run. Zayn and Liam run side by side, their heels right on Eddie's. We run for what seems like forever, but is more than likely only a few minutes. After zooming past rows and rows of sterile hallways, we meet the end of one hallway that has a large metal door blocking us from running any further.

Eddie immdiately pulls a white card from her pocket and zips it down a keypad. She then quickly inputs a few numbers before the metal door slides open. Behind the metal door is nothing but darkness. We're hesitant to step in but take a leap of faith anyways. Besides, what do we have to lose?

The four of us slowly walk along a narrow catwalk as our eyes attempt to adust to the newfound darkness. The metal door that once allowed us to take a step in, slides shut behind us. Our heavy breaths are all that can be heard as we slowly take one step at a time. Kennedy whines silently in my arms as she tries to free herself from the blanket that she's wrapped in.

Instantly, bright white lights burst on, nearly blinding all of us. We cover our faces with our hands as we clutch our eyes shut to protect them. Even through the darkness that our hands provide, the bright lights still radiate throughout. My head throbs with an oncoming headache as I remove my hand from my eyes as my other hand stays against Kennedy.

Staring back at us is nothing but columns of metal and white stone. Beneath our feet no longer lays concrete but a metal catwalk that has small holes penetrated through the metal. As we look to our feet we can see that we're very high in the air. If I were to estimate how high we are, I would say nearly 200 feet. Reagan immediately grabs onto the railing of the catwalk, taking in a deep breath as she closes her eyes.

"Afraid of heights?" I ask, looking down to the floor below the catwalk.

"Just a little..." she whispers as she opens her eyes again.

"This way..." Eddie orders, "I found a stairwell to the bottom."

We all follow behind Eddie as we walk down floors of stairs, nearing the bottom of whatever it is that we're in. Our hands glide down the railings as we keep our eyes on what sits on the floor. We're met by large equipment and rows of computers that are turned off. A few tables are covered with white tarps as other tables sit empty.

"What is this?" I ask as I look back up the catwalk that we were just standing on.

"This..." Eddie responds, walking over to a computer screen, "is one of the bases centers."

"A center?" I ask, allowing Kennedy to adjust herself in my arms.

"Yes, a center." Eddie nods, pulling a white tarp off from one of the tables.

Below the tarp sits nothing but another white table. Eddie smiles down at the white table as if it's the greatest thing that she's ever seen. Almost as if she knows something about this table that none of us know.

"Why are you smiling?" I ask, setting Kennedy down so that she can walk freely.

"Because..." she whispers, smiling back up at me.

She pulls her white card out from her pocket again and slides it along the corner of the table. In a matter of seconds, the simple white table powers up as holographic images appear on the surface. The technology is something out of a science fiction movie. A 3D image of the island appears as the model sits in front of our stunned faces.