Everything blurred past me, mixing into twisted dark blacks and greys. Somehow I managed to put one foot in front of another despite the tornado twirling through my mind and body. Acidic, charred smells tinged my sensitive nostrils, making my eyes water even more than they already were.

Niall's grip on my arm never loosened one centimeter, continuously dragging me behind his livid frame. When I started to stop for even a fraction of a second thinking I couldn't take another step, he swept me up onto him without even stopping or hesitating for a moment.

I didn't even have enough strength to carry myself anymore. I was just a completely blank stone statue, all cold and unmoving. At this point I might as well could have been named an inanimate object.

My legs wrapped around Niall's long torso, and I wound my arms tightly around his dirty neck. Even though everything was burnt around us, and Niall's neck was covered in grime, he still smelt like cinnamon and mint. Somehow the scent alone calmed my raging thoughts and soothed my aching bones.

Never in my life had I been so grateful for someone before, and who would have thought that it would have been the guy I despised the most.

Dropping my head further into his neck, I sighed deeply against it. Niall's strong arms squeezed around my back as he tried to comfort me the best he could while we were fleeing from my despicable father. The one that issued an order to kill his own daughter.

I felt like a complete child right now as Niall carried me like this while I was incapable of moving my own frail body, and I couldn't help but wonder if my Father was right all along. Was I just a naive adolescent who didn't know her wrong from her right?

At the moment, it felt like it.

Short even, deep pants parted my hair caused by Niall's open mouth. In the past month I had dropped down to hardly nothing from not eating, and I wasn't even sure I weighed over 120 at the moment. I felt bad for Niall having to carry me like this, but I knew he wouldn't have done it if he didn't want to. Niall never does anything that he does not want to do.

Plus, I didn't really care about anything at this bloody moment. Images of a burning and bloodied Harry flashed behind my closed eyelids, making my body quiver with sadness. Squeezing them tighter, I prayed for the vision to go away to the back of my mind and never resurface again. But one universal question kept twirling around like a carousel in my mind.

Was that how Harry died?

Did my father actually drop a bomb where he knew his son and a bunch of his other soldiers would be? Without a doubt, I knew my answer now without even doubting myself for a second. Of course he did because that was just the person that Jim was now. His own children didn't mean anything to him, and he did not give a damn if they died or not. Hell, he issued a decree that if I were to be caught to kill me on the spot.

It hurt. Much more than I thought it would at this point in time. Those words felt like a crumpling blow to my chest, knocking out any hope I had left for my Father to be on the right side of things. My world had gotten a shade darker than it already had been, leaving it completely cloaked in darkness. and many memories seemed to be crumpled and thrown away like useless paper.

So many years, years of loving my father and worshiping him for the ground he walked on even. All of this was for absolutely nothing, and it sucked horrendously. Everything was so massively screwed up, and I didn't know if I would ever be the same again. But I also didn't think that anyone was going to come out the same after this. That is, if we do make it out of this in the first place.

The way that I was feeling, I did not like the things it made me do and think. The way it made me see things that were not real and in front of me. Never had I ever felt so hopeless for everything or felt such a burning desire for everything to just stop.

Honestly, I had nothing left in my life to lose. No family, no home, no friends. That sent a hollow pang through my chest, making my body wrack with shivers. More memories of a smiling Harry fizzled up into my vision, and I felt my whole body shatter like a piece of glass.

"My brother," I wept into Niall's shirt, clenching the soft fabric between my fingers. I did a thing I hadn't done in quite some time, something I had not done since I was 10, and I mourned over the loss of my sweet brother.

Mourned over his circumstances, over ours, that our father was cruel enough to kill him and Harry's friends. The scar that I sealed shut with super glue so long ago reopened viciously, and it ripped me apart and crashed into me like a tsunami.

My big brother was no longer here to protect me from the big bad monsters, our Father being included at the top of the list. How could Harry have known that the biggest monster was living in our own home, pretending to be a loving person, with a fake title called Father?

"I'm going to kill him," I gritted through my teeth, salty tears falling into my mouth. "I hate him, I fucking hate him! How could he do that to me? To us?" I cried, pulling Niall's signature black t shirt tighter between my hands, almost ripping it from the force of my tug.

"Jim killed my goddamn brother, his own son! That bloody bastard!" I screamed, throwing my head back into Niall's shoulder while I had a complete meltdown. Hot, angry tears streamed down my face and melted into Niall's shirt. I loathed my father tremendously, and I didn't think a human being could ever be so cruel until I met the true Jim Owens.

I hadn't even noticed that we had stopped running, and we now stood in what seemed like the only alley way left of the city, hidden from the destroyed roads in the main part of the city.  We were secure away from any enemy eyes for the moment, but that was only for the moment.

Niall's hands were secured underneath my thighs, keeping my legs hoisted high up around his thin waist. It seemed like Niall had caught his breath fully even though he didn't really lose it in the first place, and was now breathing evenly.

"Love," Niall murmured against my ear, nudging it with his nose, "Look at me." I shook my head fiercely, burying it deeper into his warm chest. I was a mess right now, inside and out. "Tylie," Niall warned lowly, telling me I should look at him right now.

Slowly I lifted my head off his chest that I had burrowed myself in for the past fifteen minutes, eyes and mind blurry. Wet, sticky trails stained my cheeks, running tracks through the grime and ash.

Kind, blue eyes stared into me without the slightest bit of disgust, and I could not look away even if I wanted to. "What did he say," Niall asked, sympathy in his voice. God, I hated it, hated people feeling sorry for me like I was some kind of charity case.

That's why I hated crying so much, it made me feel so weak and like I was seeking attention when that's the last thing I wanted. Flicking my eyes away, I looked back at him, casting a sarcastic smile that turned out as more of a grimace, "He told them to kill me if seen again."

Niall stiffened underneath me, arms like taut wires suspending me in mid air. "That's not going to fucking happen," Niall growled deviously, voice strong and assuring.

"Well it's just a matter of who gets to me first. The sickness, or him," I stated numbly, flicking my eyes away from his. Wow, what a great variety of choices I have for dying. "Don't fucking say that, Tylie," Niall snapped back before I could catch my breath again.

"Well it's true, Niall!. You might not admit that to yourself, but you know that. And I do too," I said fiercely, looking him right in those blue eyes, "My brother's dead. I have no family. No one will miss me," I stated with a small smile, more tears forming in my eyes.

"That's not true," Niall whispered sadly, something flickering behind those blue eyes, "We're your family now, Tylie."

I rolled my eyes, strangely disappointed at his choice of words, "We all know everyone secretly hates me. I am considered an enemy here along with my Father, you said so yourself."

Niall boosted me up higher on his hips, readjusting his grip. I didn't know how he has held me this long already and ran with me attached to him. Niall must be a lot stronger than I thought he was.

Niall dropped his forehead onto mine, peering deeply into my eyes without a trace of dishonesty, "I don't hate you. That's got to fucking count for something." Butterflies swarmed in my stomach, and for a second, all the bad things in the world seemed to fade away a little as I was sucked up into this heartfelt moment.

Man, I really liked Niall, really liked him. It scared me because I knew I was in for a fucking disaster.

I smiled up at him, daring to trace my shaky finger lightly over his prominent jawbone where I noticed a fainting purple bruise left there, probably from my attempt of giving him a hickey. A small grin etched onto my face as I pushed back his sweaty, matted hair away from his eyes.

"You should hate me, Niall," I whispered, saying the truth. And it was the truth. That was one of the most truest things I had said to Niall, and he didn't even know what I had planned in the back of my mind to get away from them all. Including him.

Niall inched foward ever so slowly, testing the dangerous waters that had calmed tremendously in these few minutes. Then he pressed his lips to mine in a soft, warming kiss that surely made me melt into a puddle. It was so tender, saw raw it made my ribs ache with how sickly sweet it was, and blood pump ten times faster in my veins. The kiss tasted like salt and was oddly not a bad taste.

Niall pulled back, eyes considerably darker than before. So many things twirled in the deep blue depths of his eyes, almost like he had to tell me something. But no words were spoken. Instead, I pulled his face down to mine deepening the kiss. This is what I needed, a distraction.

We stumbled back until my spine was pressed up into the brick wall of a half demolished building. Niall shoved his hips into mine, making me groan at the friction he created. Niall kissed me harder this time, skimming his tongue lightly across my bottom lip. With tongues fighting for dominance, he pushed me harder against the wall.

Ripping away from my lips, Niall connected them to my neck. When he hit a certain spot on my neck, my eyes rolled to the back of my head at the sensation. My chest rose and fell heavily while I struggled to breathe, losing my breath completely.

I unwound my hands from around his neck and pushed them up under his shirt. Goosebumps rose beneath my touch, and I smiled into his neck, pressing a kiss there. Getting braver, I ran my hands down lower until they were resting low on his hips.

Niall stopped abruptly, one arm wound underneath my legs, the other propping him up against the wall. His eyes were dilated fully, and it seemed like he couldn't think straight. My hands stood frozen, slipping lower every second. Niall's nostrils flared as he clenched his eyes closed.

"Tylie," he groaned, making me go absolutely nuts beneath him. Niall's voice was so deep and raspy. I had no idea what the hell I was doing now, but I knew I had to do something in this moment. "I don't know how-," I trailed off awkwardly, locking my eyes on my hands.

"Don't worry," Niall ground out, dropping my legs from around him quickly. This couldn't happen, I needed to be distracted. And the loss of contact and warmth was making me go even more insane, making me wonder when I had become so sex crazed.

Niall started to back away from me, but I grabbed him by the lapels on his jeans. With innocent eyes, I looked up at him from underneath my lashes, "I want to, Niall."

Niall was having an inner battle with himself, and he finally ground out, "I couldn't let you do that." Getting angry at the thought of rejection, I flared my nostrils. "Good thing I never listened to you anyways, Horan," I breathed deeply, undoing the button on his pants.

Rational thought had flown from my mind now, and everything seemed to fade away into one single word.

Forget.

With extra effort, I got his pants pulled down as low as I thought they needed to go for this activity. Gulping, I stared at his black boxers like they were the spawn of Satan themselves. I pulled them down slowly along with his pants, bracing myself for what I was about to horribly fail at.

Don't look, I told myself, just feel.

But my gaze accidentally fell down right as his underwear slipped down, and my eyes widened dramatically while I wanted to cry. Oh sweet baby Jesus. Grabbing him, I started to move my hand up and down slowly at first, then I picked up speed.

Niall lurched over a bit, supporting himself on the brick wall behind us. Groans fell from his parted mouth, echoing in the crumpled alley way. His cheeks were flaring red, and he was sweating even more now than he already was. Shudders rolled through his entire body, and I figured it was time to stop.

I turned the other way as he finished, feeling utterly stupid. And I didn't turn back around until I heard the rustle of fabric being pulled up where Niall was hidden away again. When he was done, I thought he was gonna tell me I was horrible compared to the rest he had, but he marched over to me and pressed a kiss to my sweaty forehead.

"I know you just used me as a distraction, love," Niall breathed deeply, hot breath fanning over my cheeks, "but I will be anything you need, whenever you need it." Heat rose in my cheeks, and I turned away still thinking that was the first time I saw him. I also turned away from Niall's intense stare because that was something I never thought I'd do. Especially to him.

"You don't regret it, do you?" Niall asked, concern and shyness lacing his voice. My eyebrows crumpled together at the sound of so much vulnerability in his voice. Turning back to him I saw that his gaze was set on the ground, fully believing that I regret it. His cheeks were tinted a beautiful red, and he looked like a kid that got his most favorite toy ripped away from him.

I walked up to him and cupped his cheek in my hand, a gentle smile on my face. "Hey, Niall. Look at me," I said lovingly, pulling his face towards me until his gorgeous blue eyes were locked with mine, "I wouldn't change a thing. Nothing at all."

I pressed a lingering kiss to his lips and pulled away, a smile now present on his face too. But then it faltered, his line of vision thrown quickly over my shoulder. My eyebrows furrowed and I turned to look behind me. Eyes widening, I stepped closer to Niall to shield me from the horrors stumbling right for us.

Deformed humans lurched towards us with malice hidden in their dark eyes. Black slime swung from their mouths, and they walked with jerky motions as if they were not in control of their own actions. Blood red eyes stared back at us hungrily, pupils the only thing left of their eyes.

Some hair was ripped from their balding heads, and they had small gashes scattered across their pale bodies as if they had walked through a huge thorn patch, and black goo oozed from their open wounds.

They snarled darkly as they showed sharp, rotten teeth coated in black grime. It smelled putrid, they smelled putrid, like rotten flesh amplified ten more degrees. "What are these things," I gulped nervously, backing up with Niall. "Benders," Niall said, trying to mask his horrified expression.

"What a nice meal," one cackled shortly, I stumbled back into Niall's arms with a petrified squeak. These things could talk? There were about four, slowly making their way towards us as they measured up their prey.

"Run," Niall whispered in my ear, pulling me towards the opposite way. But when we turned around, we were met with about five more mutated humans staring at us with ravenous eyes. I felt my breath hitch when I realized my Father did all of this and we might die because of it.

They all had the same black blood leaking from them, and they all had haunting eyes. Blood thirsted eyes, animal eyes, that's what they were. And we were surrounded by all these Benders with no way out.

Now how were we going to get ourselves out of this mess?