Thank you to everyone who has taken time and a lot of patience to read this, much like my other story it was a long running idea which has been brilliant to write.

I wanted to thank those who have left reviews and followed this story, your appreciation is, well, appreciated. It's unfortunate that I can't message those guests who leave reviews, as I always like to thank those who leave a nice review that makes me feel happy.

We had clambered out a window (Dan had to carry me through) and into the night air. I looked like it was late, making the desolate streets look menacing. We were only a few streets away from the shop, clearly where Dan wasn't hiding now. In fact, looking back up at the window, I realised that we were in-

"A bank. It was already cleared out by time we got here, so there was no chance in many coming here again." Dan answered my unasked question. "Stop" he hissed suddenly, doubling over behind a bin and pilling me down with him.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

"There's someone here, over in the other building. They saw us get out and know we're here." He replied, his head peering through to gap at the top of the litter box.

"Who is it?" Dan looked back at me and shook his head, but I began to realise who it could have been.

With another burst of energy I didn't have, I pushed myself up and into view of the person who was clearly visible through to shattered glass. She wanted to be seen. Dan yanked down on my arm but I pushed up on the bin and put my free hand up, that Dan had let go. If it was her, she would attack me, she would know I was safe. If it wasn't, they would shoot.

"Phil, are you okay?" the familiar voice asked. She sounded scared.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I need you to leave, though, it's kind of important." I replied through the settling mist.

Laura stepped over the glass window and into view, pistol in hand and the other reaching out towards me.

"You know I can't do that just yet." She called out, the gun being held tightly in her fist. She knew he was next to me, even though he remained under cover.

"You have to let me go. I think you've known for a while now, that if he wanted me dead then I would have been killed long ago." My voice became shaky.

"What about the attack. He didn't care what happened to you. He let this happen to you." I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could. Dan skidded out from his cover, walking slowly toward me with both his hands raised.

"Now, Laura. You and I both know that isn't true, don't we?" he responded calmly, his face now set in stone.

"Well, I wouldn't know, seeing as we are on different sides now." She spoke coldly. I could tell their reunion wasn't going too well.

"But that's irrelevant. Because Phil might not have seen me the night my group attacked – might I add, without my order – but you did. You saw me, and you know that I tried to stop them. Otherwise they would have done a lot worse." Dan voice jeered, confusing me all the while. I looked up at Laura, who stared at me in shock.

"Wait, you knew he didn't mean any of that? Why didn't you tell me?" I felt hurt to think that she had lied, and I felt all this anger, for nothing.

"It wasn't meant like that, we wanted to keep you focussed and we needed to stop what was going on. Actually I had planned on bringing everyone with me, but I figured that something like this would happened." She smiled.

"Like what?" asked Dan menacingly.

"You. Trying to get away, taking Phil with you. Normally I would have stopped you both by now, but…"

"What?" we said in unison, glancing at each other.

"Well, I don't believe that you are like this, Dan. Nor do I believe that you would want to kill someone in cold blood. But the rest will not give you a chance, they will kill you and Phil on the spot." She explained, lowering the gun.

"so… you're letting us go."

"Yes. But if you're going to go, do it now because they'll have figured ill have gone and will be looking for me. Once you're out of the main parts, some of the less affected areas might have working cars. In which case, take one and go. As far as you can. These people are good at tracking don even the best of hiders." Laura pointed down the dimly lit street, backing away "I have to go, before they get here. Dan you'll have a job to help Phil but if you're both quick you'll- "

Dan ran forward and embraced Laura in a hug, throwing all coldness aside and meeting her like an old friend. She stopped in surprise for a moment, but wrapped her arms around him, forgetting temporarily about their long time feud. For a few moments, they stood there, but Laura pushed away, and ran back to the building. She glanced back, looking at me, and smiled warmly. I had a feeling that this was the last time we would ever see each other.

Running down the road wasn't an option for me, but Dan saw me struggle, and put his arm around me, helping me move quickly but at a pace where I wasn't hurting.

Soon we were almost out the main centre, and there wasn't a soul in sight. Dan slowed his pace, and kept a hold of me as we pitched out into the streets, which were becoming less and less damaged, and began to show more signs of friendly life. It became clear we were entering a village just of the centre of London when houses became more and more spaced out, and Dan seemed to relax his hold on me.

Suddenly, he pulled me to the side and put my weight on a wall of a red brick house with all the windows smashed, only the garage door remaining. Dan approached this much to my confusion. He bent over to the small lock, which pinged off only seconds later, allowing the door to roll upwards and reveal the thing I was longing for – a car.

"How did you know that- "I began to ask

"Well, I wouldn't try to get away without a way to get away, would you?" Dan beckoned, reaching back over hurriedly and putting his arm around me, half carrying me to the car which had a layer of dust on its top. It was incredibly small but as long as it worked, I was happy that, finally, we would be out of this hell.

Before he pushing me into the adjacent door, Dan stopped inside the garage, turning to face me whilst still keeping hold of me. He looked straight into my eyes, saying nothing, but telling me he was sorry. I could see from the way he looked at me, that he was telling me the truth, that I could trust him and that he would tell me everything; no more lies.

And then, he hugged me.

His touch was my drug. You get hooked on drugs fairly easily, yet it is near impossible to stop once you start. The feeling, the emotions, everything it does to you becomes addictive, and you never want it to end. But like all things, there was a catch. A withdrawal. The agony of it was worse than death, the emotion became drained and the feeling left. For what felt like many lifetimes, you were trapped in the withdrawal, shaking like a lost child. You want more, even when you become clean and the withdrawal was over and you didn't feel the addiction anymore, you still want it.

Dan was my drug. When he touched me, it was the feeling of electricity, fire burning through petrol in my veins. There was no stopping the feeling of happiness when his hand grazed me gently. It was toxic and I was hooked to it.

I went through withdrawal, of course. Thinking he was dead, that I would never see him again. I craved his touch and his smell and his voice, like I couldn't survive without it. every part of me longed for the feeling of nothingness and everything at the same time. I was only clean when I knew he wasn't dead. That Dan was miraculously alive. I knew he was out there, and although I didn't crave him as much as I hated him, it only took him to hold me like he did. The touch I remembered, the one that was only from Dan Howell himself had returned. It wasn't rough or cold, it was warming and gently, but enough to hold me together. It wasn't the Dan who people warned me about, who they wanted dead – this was the Dan I knew.

The car rumbled into life, spluttering a bit before moving smoothly out onto the now clearer road, speeding off into the night.

I knew my nightmare was over. Leaving this hell was all I wanted. I looked over to Dan, who glanced and met my eyes, reaching out his beaten hand, which I took hold of.

The car began to speed out of sight, into what would soon be the burning horizon.

To Be Continued