Open fire

Part 25 "Only one scar is permanent"

"How about we go out for a bit?" you blurted out, shocked a little at how direct it came out. You did say that everyone was going to get some rest, but noone was sleeping. Not even napping, and getting out and clearing your head just for ten minutes would help probably.

"I'm not sure about that" Luke says quietly.

"But it is a nice thought" Mali adds in the same tone. Noone said anything for a moment, deliberating whether or not you should do it, it can't be that risky? Why would humans be out here at this time?

"Just a couple of minutes" you whispered sitting up straight.

"Not far?" Calum said as more of a question, quirking a brow.

"No, we can just sit there and enjoy some peace and quiet" Ashton joins on your side.

"Sounds good to me" Louis shrugs since all of you were now sitting on the sleeping bags rather than laying down. There were some shared glances that meant that it's okay, just stay alert always.

"I missed doing this" Sierra's eyes sparkle against the moonlight as she says that, the others were also fascinated by the sky as if you've never seen it before. It held memories, lots of them, even Niall, Louis and Liam were glad to be out, after all this was a new experience for them. Everyone found a tree nearby and leaned against it sitting on the soft grass, silence filling the void. From the corner of your eye you saw Calum holding the key necklace you gave him, his eyes shut but a small smile played on his lips, making you smile too. Sierra and Luke were leaning against eachother, his head on her's since he was a lot taller than her. Louis and Niall seemed to have a world of their own, Liam was kind of sitting close to Mali, but you could tell he was hesitant. Mali didn't want anything to get her attention away from being here in the moment so she just closed her eyes same as Calum before. Sarah was sitting all by herself same as Ashton, but they weren't that far away from eachother which made you confused.

"I have signal here" Louis gasps, but quickly smiles widely afterwards to which everyone looks at him with a questioning look.

"I'm just gonna call someone really quick" he says hurrying off somewhere.

"Don't go too far" Calum called out and silence fell upon you again.

-

You may have said that it won't be too long out, but noone wanted to go back nor mention to do so. Lou came back maybe five minutes later and sat back in his place with a sad smile on his face.

"What are you so sad about Tommo?" Luke quirks a brow at him. Louis shrugs, so seeing that he doesn't really want to talk, Luke gives in and noone says anything for a while too.

***

Out of nowhere a crack echoed. You heard a crack that send a shiver down your spine. You got a bad feeling, very, very bad.

"Someone's here" you informed  with a look of worry.

"They have surrounded us" Sierra nods over in your direction, to which everyone's eyes widen.

"We can't go back in the tunnel" you heard Niall's thoughts, he's right, but where can you go?

"What are we going to do?" Ashton questions, having no plan as well. By now everyone was standing up very nervous, because the humans were watching you, you could feel it.

"We're going to have to make a run for it" Calum glances at you then everyone else.

"Where? And what about our stuff?" Mali tilts her head.

"Forget the fucking stuff. We have to run to the next entry of the tunnels" Calum explains.

"How do you expect us to make it, it's too far away" Liam warns him, but Calum shakes his head.

"Not back, the other tunnel that leads to the mountains. It's to my left, closer" Calum explains, so everyone nods looking over to that direction. You could see everyone was listening around for movement, the guys having some trouble against your group, but one thing was for sure these weren't news reporters.

"Run!" Calum said and in a matter of seconds everyone was sprinting to the other tunnel. People surrounded you from behind and started shooting then came from left and right and lastly some appeared before you which made you stop. Grabbing the guns Louis gave you everyone started shooting too, since Louis, Niall and Liam were the most precise the aimed to the ones in front, the rest of you shot who you could. It was hard to be precise while running, your breathing was uneven and your steps seemed heavier by the moment. Somehow in all that chaos Ashton got singled out and then it went slow motion again. A bullet flew right by you, but it wasn't a bullet, it was a dart which meant they were trying to capture you, not kill you or so you thought. Your eyes looked over at Ashton as Luke ran to help him out with the numbers, but another person showed up. You couldn't see their face, they were covered in full armour just like everyone else which angered you for some reason. They shot and it wasn't a dart. It was deadly.

"Ashton!" you basically screamed to your brother, right as he turned to look behind him, it hit his neck.

"No!" you cried as if your whole world just collapsed, because it did. Hearing that your group quickly looked at you then at your brother who held his throat trying to stop the bleeding. Like the time had stopped, nothing mattered in that moment, not one single thing, just a picture that you will never be able to erase. A part of you was taken, one you have already lost before. You started running over to him, you couldn't hold the tears that were falling down, you couldn't care less about them now. Ashton fell down, his eyes slowly closing as his once white shirt now had blood stains on it, but you couldn't reach him. Two arms held you back, so you kicked and protested, pleading the person to let you go, but they pulled you back towards the others. Then everything changed. You shouldn't have looked back, you should have kept looking forward. Liam was shot first, following by Niall. You tried to get from the person's grip even more, but you realised that it was Luke who was holding you back even with a blurry vision you now had from all the tears. Sierra was shot too and now Luke was the one who yelled no, he loosened his grip which allowed you to get free. He ran over to Sierra, but was shot in the proces. You couldn't move, you were frozen, gaze switching from one person to the other and your mind was hazy completely.
Mali was shot then, followed by Sarah who was crying the same as you, she fell down with cheeks stained from tears. Even Louis fell down, everything was crumbling down. Calum looked over at you and by the way his eyes went red you could tell he was angry. They were also glassy and clear, but he wouldn't cry, he ran over to you, people somehow missing him in the proces of that and hugged you tightly. When you embraced him back you felt a sting to your arm. A dart hit you and by the way Calum loosened his grip around you, he was hit too. As your vision slowly became even blurrier, your limbs giving up on supporting you, the symbol that you and Ashton shared, it was fading away, leaving only clear skin behind.
It was true and you'll have to accept that, Ashton...is dead.

***

That voice. You'll never forget that voice...