im having a can of olives for breakfast :)

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The first place Niall thought to visit was the jewelry  store in the mall. After all, Niall had told Harry was going to the mall so he assumed they could be there. 

So, he stomped through the sand that parted under his feet and trampled over the grass that flattened as he walked, until he got to the mall. 

It looked exactly the same as before, still crumbled and deteriorated. He found the same emergency exit door and slipped past, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Sometimes, when he was passing through doors or trying to sneak past fallen pillars or signs, his clothes would get caught and slow him down. 

He would simply rip them off, huff, and grow a little more annoyed each time. After all, he was only used to scavenging around the cove. 

Alas, he had finally gotten into the mall and down the hallway which the store was located. However, he got side tracked with a restaurant that was close by and decided to make a detour. 

He crouched down and made himself as small as possible, not wanting to be seen. The restaurant looked more like a bakery as he inched closer. 

Most of the food had been raided as there were crumbs and small, stale discards of the parts people didn't want scattered across the long, white display tables.

Niall thought he might as well check it out, just to be sure it was all gone, because after all, he was craving something sweet. He cant remember the last time his taste buds enjoyed artificial flavors and sugar. 

So, he crawled over to the place behind the counter, holding his breath and scrunching his face in anticipation.

He hoped no one was back there, he knew he couldn't fight and he didn't want to die on his search. 

Fortunately for him, there was just a dead ghoul slouched against the dirtied, cream wall. A ghoul was somewhat like a zombie, although they just suffer from radiation poisoning instead of a virus. 

The effects are the same, decomposed appearance and mental function with the same thirst to attack any living/moving thing. 

Niall kept his eye on the dead being, grabbing some stale but still edible cookies from the counter farthest away from the ghoul. He had never seen one up close as he was just a scavenger and Milly was the shadow. 

He didn't like the ghoul, not one bit.

Of course the good cookies were gone, like always. He was left with only blueberries, oatmeal and raisin cookies...his least favorite. 

Niall hated raisins so much, he could've sworn he was allergic to them. 

Nevertheless, he grabbed batches and batches cookies and stuffed them into his backpack. The other pastries like fruitcake and black licorice were too close to the ghoul and not worth Niall's time since he had no liking for those kinds of foods.

There was milk lying out of the freezer, emitting an awfully sour and rotten smell which turned Niall away from the backroom. 

With nothing else to scavenge, he exited the building, on high alert, and made his way to the jewelry store. 

As the store came within view, he could see the massive amount of bloodshed that took place in the building. 

The whole front entrance was splashed in a deep maroon. The walls, ceiling and floor were covered, making a red ring of blood.

He hoped it was ghoul blood and not his friends' blood. 

Upon further looking into the store from the windows, he decided they weren't there. But, he did see some water he must've accidentally left while he was there yesterday. 

Tip-toeing into the store, he carefully avoided the blood and grabbed his water bottle. 

He took a quick, refreshing drink. It had been a while since he had a drink, and it felt good. 

Although, the water got caught in his throat when he heard someone speaking.

"Hey, you!" 

Niall sputtered a little bit, hastily shoving the water back into his sack. 

It was Z, and he looked angry. 

Niall barely had any time to react as he was roughly grabbed by the collars of his shirt and pushed backwards slightly. 

"Yesterday, when i saw you, i decided not to kill you, but now after you left me i think i changed my mind." 

"Huh?" Niall was shaken up, staring up at Z with wide eyes and slanted brows. 

"I'm going to raid you." Z growled, glaring down at Niall. 

Raiding was a slang term for looting someone of everything they have, then murdering them in cold blood. 

"Please, dont." Niall stuttered, instinctively shrinking so the collars of his shirt were up to his ears. 

"Give me one reason why i shouldn't just leave you here to die like you did with me." 

Niall began reaching into his pocket, but was painfully stopped by Z. 

"Oh, i see. You're reaching for you knife, you wanna play dirty now?" Z hissed, removing one hand and pulling out his pistol.

"No! No, it's not a knife. I dont want to fight." Niall's voice quivered, he felt his heart beating outside his chest and his knees felt like sticks supporting an elephant. 

 "Dont lie to me, i saw you reaching into your pocket." Z snarled. 

"Its nothing bad, please, just listen to me." Niall cried, putting his hands up in defense. 

"Why should i listen when you didnt listen to me?" 

"Please, please." Niall begged, not even making eye contact with Z. He felt Z's powerful eyes burn into his face. 

Z was silent, and Niall took that as a signal to slowly reach into his pocket and pull out one of the oatmeal cookies he got earlier. 

"Im sor-" 

"I dont want that shit," Z hissed, slapping it out of Niall's hands and onto the floor, "I want your backpack and everything inside it." 

"No! I need it." 

"And i needed some help! I wasted multiple magazines and almost lost and arm and you got out Scot free! You owe me, and you better give it to me now, or else." Z threatened, loosening his grip on Niall so he could slip off his backpack. 

"You dont understand, i need this. I can waste any more time recollecting supplies when i need to find my friends." Niall tried, taking a step back from Z. 

"I dont care, give me the bag." 

"No, this is too important. I need to find them and return them, Harry was almost done with the cure for the ghouls. He's working on a cure!" Niall was frustrated, how couldn't Z see how important this was?

Once Niall mentioned Harry and a cure, Z's demeanor changed, he became suspicious. 

"Harry.." Z mumbled to himself, his eyes falling onto different items in the store, "You were getting diamonds yesterday?" 

"Yes." Niall quickly nodded, a small smile on his face. Z might know Harry! "I work with Diamond Co.," Niall explained.

"And you know Harry, you work for him?" Z's eyes became more slanted, washing away Niall's small bits of confidence. 

Niall nodded. 

"What the fuck did you guys do to my father, huh?" Z became just as mad as he had been before, if not, even more angry. 

"What?"

"Yasir Malik, my father, he works with you assholes and disappeared." Z accused. 

"i dont understand, I only work with Harry, Milly, Jenny and Smile." Niall explained, but then it dawned on him. He had remembered Harry speaking about other members he worked with, but never mentioned any names. 

Yasir must've been a worker with Harry too! 

"The same thing happened to Harry, Jenny and Milly!" Niall shouted, a little relieved he wasn't alone, "Someone must've taken them somewhere or recruited them! Im on a mission to find them, actually." 

"Im coming with, im going to find my father." Z stated, taking in a deep breath. 

"Huh? I dont have enough-" 

"You owe me," Z glared, pointing his finger at Niall, "And you still owe me that bag." 

Niall sighed, slinging off his backpack and handing it to Z. He figured he would still have his stuff but Z would just be holding onto it. 

Z opened the bag, and his shoulder slouched, "Are you shitting me?" 

Niall bit his lip, looking anywhere but Z and his backpack filled to the brim with oatmeal, blueberry and rasin cookies. 

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unedited :P but a long chapter!

Hope you dudes enjoyed, i gotta go get dressed and babysit. Byeeee