Innocence is just a word now, in a world so broken and overrun by the dead. It doesn't mean a thing anymore, not in this life. It doesn't matter whether you were even a child anymore. In a world where the dead walk the streets and roads and pretty much everywhere, consuming any human flesh that they find, it just didn't matter.

But Niall was innocent; he was the only exception as far as anyone knew. He was like a child but he wasn't one. He was an adult but his presence, his being and his warmhearted beautiful smile made you want to protect him.

Niall was innocent in more ways than one. He saw the world for what it was sure, but he also saw it for what it could be if the survivors could unite and work together rather than fight each other. Niall was always happy and saw the bright side of things no matter what the situation was.

The thing was, he has never had to kill anything but walkers. He never hurt another human being, another survivor and that was where the fear of losing the blonde came into play with Zayn and Harry. Niall was too trusting and one day, it would get him killed, hurt or worse.

Niall could take care of himself just fine, and they knew that but it still scared them. One day Niall may have to put down a person to protect himself and it wasn't going to end well.

__ __

Niall's POV

I rested my hand on the gun at my hip, wondering if I should shoot at the walker staggering toward me. The logical and better option would be to use a silent weapon such as the sword strapped to my back. However, it was more than a few yards away and there was only one so I didn't have to worry about it right now.

Turning around, I headed back inside the hardware store that we were scavenging for supplies. I had already filled my pack up with as much amunition and weapons that I could and was now waiting for my friends to finish up.

"How're we looking?" Zayn asked, looking up to meet my eyes.

I shrugged. "Scattered walkers, not many I guess. One saw me but I don't think we need to worry."

"That's great." Zayn said with a small smile. "So after we leave where do you wanna go?"

I smiled brightly and started to ramble about the different places I wanted to go. "Most of the big cities are overrun but it would be nice to be somewhere warm when winter time hits." I concluded.

"That would be nice." Harry stepped out from behind a shelf, hoisting his pack up onto his back. There was a hint of a smile on his face, eyes twinkling with excitement and mischief.

Zayn shoved one more weapon into the bag and zipped up the pack, before straightening up from his kneeling position on the floor. He slung the pack over his shoulders and looked at me and Harry, nodding his head.

"Then we'll find somewhere warm. Maybe Florida or Texas."

I grinned at him showing that I was happy with the decision. Turning to the door, I pushed them open and we walked out of the Hardware store. Once we were outside, Zayn led the way to the car Harry had hotwired for us to get around.

As the three of us climbed into the car, I had a sinking feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. I didn't say anything though because I didn't want to cause them to panic and get paranoid. Zayn fired up the engine and began to drive off, him and Harry starting a conversation that I blocked out as I got comfortable in my seat.

The only thing electronic that worked was my iPod touch and I plugged my earphones in and started my favorite playlist. Eventually I began to drift off to sleep, my head resting against the window.

🕸🕸🕸🕸

The scariest, most frightening thing to ever wake up to is screaming and a car swerving out of control. I had the pleasure of experiencing just that. My eyes snapped open and the first thing I saw was the road and trees blurring past. I sat back and pressed myself against the seat, looking at Zayn.

"What the hell is going on?!" I exclaimed.

"Some crazy ass people are trying to run us off the road!" Zayn said through gritted teeth. It had rained earlier on in the day and the road was slick and slippery. I saw that we weren't going to get out of this unscathed as the car spun out of control. I remember screaming while Harry put on his seatbelt.

Zayn jerked the wheel to the right and hit the brakes but it was too late as the car went down an enbankment and crashed into a tree. I flew forward, smacking my face into the seat in front of me before my head snapped back and to the side hitting the window. There was smoke pouring out from under the hood and I could hear walkers and gunfire.

I groaned in pain and felt something run-ning from my nose. Reaching up, I touched the tender part of my nose and my fingers came away red. I cursed under my breath as I concluded that my nose was bleeding. Shaking my head of the clouded thoughts, I glanced around the car.

"Niall, are you okay?" Harry asks.

I groan and then grunt as I undo my seatbelt. "Yeah, never better. Aside from a bloody nose I'm fanfuckingtastic."

"Language." Harry chided.

I roll my eyes but don't say anything else to him. My attention is drawn to Zayn who is basically bursting at the seams with anger and rage. "Are you alright?"

Zayn nodded. "We need to get the hell out of here before whoever tried to kill us comes to finish the job."

I nodded in agreement and grabbed my pack, pulling the car handle. The door opened and I stumbled out, slamming the door. The gunfire was less which meant that whoever had ran us off the road was almost done with the walkers. As I began to make my way around the car, I was met with a walker. I pulled the sword from the sheath on my back and didn't hesitate to cut off the walkers head. With a flick of my wrist, the blood flew off my blade and I resheathed it.

"C'mon." I told Zayn as I took in his appearance and helped him out of the car. The Bradford boy had a bruise on his forehead (probably from hitting his head on the wheel) and a cut on his temple that was bleeding sluggishly. Surprisingly Harry came out of the crash unscathed.

We made our way up the enbankment  and when we got to the road, I was surprised by the sight I was met with. More men than I could count were there, aiming their weapons at us. I looked at Zayn and Harry fear and dread spreading through my body.

I turned back around when there was movement off to the side. It only to me a second to pull my gun and fire at the walker that had gotten way too close to me and my friends. The bullet hit the walker straight between the eyes and I was quite surprised by the way I did that. I couldn't move that fast. At all.

The sound of clapping arose and I spun around my gun aimed at the man who was clapping. The men and women around him parted as he walked forward. I frowned and took a step back, bumping into Harry who also had his weapon out. Zayn had his gun out too.

"That was impressive." The man said.

"Who the fuck are you?" Zayn demanded.

The man smiled and it sent a shiver down my spine. "I'm Negan." He raised the bat he was holding that had barbed wire wrapped around it. "And this is Lucille."

"Why'd you run us off the road you dipshit?!" Harry demanded to know.

"We thought you were someone else." Negan said. "Though, I dont regret doing so." His eyes slid over to me and I blinked, looking away.

My hand was shaking badly and I know it was because I was scared. I had the privilege of experiencing the worst kind of whiplash that existed and I don't even know if I had a concussion. I probably did, considering my sight was fading in and out and my head hurt.

I lowered the gun in my hand because my arm was so tired and shaking so bad, I couldn't hold it up anymore. My whole body felt sore and I definitely did not like that. To be completely honest, it felt like I had been shot and it wasn't making anything better since my adrenaline was wearing off.

"What do you want?" My voice sounds foreign to my own ears and the words come out almost as a whisper.

Negan watched me with his dark creepy eyes and I was pretty sure he was a damn predator and I was his prey. "I want you three to join my group."

Before I'm able to respond, Zayn beats me to it. "We can't. We're going down south, it's warmer and it's a promise I made."

Negan arched a brow. "Really?" He swung his bat lightly, the gesture alone telling me that this man gets irritated and annoyed easily.

Something about this man terrifies me and I want to leave. To get as far away from him as I possibly can. "Please just let us leave."

Negan narrowed his eyes at me, seeming to be thinking about something. "No."

Negan starts toward me and I freak out. I can't raise the gun and my only option is backing away but then I'm trapped between a tree and Negan. Zayn and Harry can't move to help me because they're being restrained.

"Please!" I plead with the man as I cower away from him. I don't want to be a  kidnap victim at pretty much the end of the world. "Please let us go!"

"No can do." Negan reached to grab me and all of a sudden a shot is fired right at his feet. I take his momentary distraction and slip past him heading for Harry and Zayn. More gunfire follows the first and I duck behind cover. I peek up over one of the cars I was using for cover only to hear Harry shout out to me.

"Niall!!"

I didn't move fast enough and something collides with the back of my head and the world goes dark.