Prisoner

"Do you think we should stay a couple more days? You still look tired," Harry asked me for the dozenth time.

I sighed, stuffing my journal back into his knapsack. "I'm fine, Styles. We have to keep moving."

Niall hobbled over, interrupting Harry's and my conversation. "Annette and Heather are ready," he said, leaning heavily on his crutches. His leg was better but he told me it still hurt walk on it. "Denis and Zayn are too."

"Do you need to eat something, Tess?" Harry asked, ignoring Niall as he held out a piece of stale bread Heather had given him. She had passed out chunks of it to each of us for the road.
I swear, he had the weirdest moods. When we first met he acted like he wanted to rip my throat out and feed it to me, and now he was acting like my mother. I just didn't understand him at all.

I gently pushed his hand away. "Harry, I have my own. Now let's go." I turned to Niall again. "Is Louis ready?"

Niall nodded. "He's in there talking to Heather. I'll go get them."

I placed a hand on his chest, stopping him. "No, I'll go. Save your strength for the trip."

Niall rolled his eyes, and I walked past him to the door of Heather's room. I knocked, then peeked my head in. "Everybody ready to go?" I asked quietly.

Annette bounded over to me, the gap in her teeth on full show. "I am!" She said excitedly, skipping out the door and into the living room with a little bag on her back.

Heather followed at a slower pace, face pale and grim. She managed a silent smile at me, and then followed Annette out the bedroom door; she held a slightly bigger pack than her daughter. Denis appeared, hobbling slowly, and Zayn steadied him. They gave us wary smiles. I noticed Zayn's rifle strapped to his back as he passed me, having a feeling we might need it eventually.

Louis stopped by me, crossing his arms. "Heather's scared. She wants to leave but she said she has a funny feeling about this trip," he whispered to me.

"I think everybody has a funny feeling about this, Lou," I said, watching Annette. "This is a risky situation. But you've gotta take risks if you want to have a chance to live." Louis nodded thoughtfully, and then followed me to the living room.

It was snowing outside when we exited the cabin, a thin layer of the cold substance already covering the ground. I wrapped the coat that Heather had graciously loaned me tighter around myself.

I went to go stand beside Harry, who smiled slightly. A few snowflakes got caught in his dark hair. "You ready for freedom?" he whispered in my ear. I smiled, thinking of my family. This was it. We were on our way to freedom; finally. I nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

Heather said one last quiet goodbye to her cabin, and then we started off.

The same ominous feeling I had had the night before that someone was there suddenly returned as we began moving. I felt like I was being watched. I didn't tell Harry, though. I didn't want him to worry.

I trailed behind the rest, keeping my hand close to the pistol in my pocket just in case. I was going to protect these people; even if I died in the process.

"Tess! What are you doing way back there?" Niall called back at me.

I choked down my nervousness and faked a smile. "Just bringing up the rear!" I called back, hoping he couldn't detect the slight waver in my voice.

We walked a long time; hours and hours, until Harry declared we stop to rest. I immediately went to sit down beside him, still wary of my surroundings.

"You alright?" He asked as I sat on the snow-covered ground beside him. I nodded silently, avoiding his gaze.

"No you aren't. What's wrong?" He asked, eyebrows scrunching together.

I didn't understand how he could tell there was something wrong just by looking at me; and how I couldn't decipher what the hell he was thinking 99.9% of the time even if I studied him for hours.

"How did you know?" I whispered, finally looking at his green eyes. "I can read you like a book," he said quietly. "You're easy to figure out."

I swallowed thickly. "But all of my pages have been torn out," I looked away. "There's nothing left to read."

Just then, before Harry could reply, there was a rustle in the bushes across from us. I immediately stood up and pointed my gun towards the bush, fear coursing trough my veins.

A moment later, Louis emerged from behind the bush, holding his hands up in defense as soon as he saw the gun pointed at his face.

"Relax, Tess. It's just me," he said, chuckling nervously. "Just . . . taking a piss if you must know." I lowered my gun with a sigh, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck. "I'm sorry, Lou," I muttered.

"Seriously, Tess," Harry said after Louis had sat down beside Niall. "what's going on?"

I shook my head, running a hand through my short hair. "Nothing I'm just . . . jumpy is all," I lied.

I was sure Harry saw through my lie, but he thankfully dropped the subject and announced that we keep moving.

But I still couldn't shake the feeling that someone-or something-was out there.

Notes