He floored the gas, and managed to pull up to a stop in front of the tour bus entrance a few minutes ahead of the others. It was a blessing really, that his car didn't break down along the way.

He jumped out of the car and ran inside, calling Simons name.

He was in the infirmary, and Louis struggled onto the bed, lying down and waiting for Simon to start the scan.

"We better hurry, Simon. The guys are coming and they don't look happy"

Simon nodded, and clicked a few buttons on his computer.

The door to the infirmary slid shut and locked itself at his command.

"They shouldn't be able to get in here, Louis" he soothed, noting his panicky expression.

"They have gotten so much worse, Simon. I really think they want to hurt me!" Louis chattered nervously as Simon began the scanning process.

"Zayn touched me with the battle suit on and it didn't hurt. I think it means that whatever is in my suit stops whatever is happening to me" He continued.

"I heard the whole thing over the intercom. This situation is indeed dire"

Simon noticed the bruised and scratched cheek of Louis and reached towards his face.

Louis flinched back away from him

"Dont'! Don't touch my skin Simon. I don't want you to hate me too" Louis begged, eyes wide with sadness and desperation.

Simons heart almost broke for the oldest band member. He looked so tired and worn out, and constantly worried.

Simon smiled, attempting to comfort Louis

"Your band mates don't hate you Lou. They are just sick. And you don't need to worry about me Louis, I've been thinking about it while you were all gone. I touched your skin when you first came back from the concert. Someone needed to wrap you in bandages. I am immune to whatever is causing this predicament"

Louis' tense expression softened in relief at that statement. Simon brushed his cut cheek gently and Louis leant into the caress. It felt like so long since anyone had treated him with love and care.

He jumped when loud thudding sounds were heard against the infirmary door.

"Simon! Let us in!" That was Harry

Louis sat up warily, eyes on the door, and then glanced around frantically for another exit.

He then looked at Simon who was calmly typing on his computer and examining the scan results.

"How long do you think the results will take?" Louis whispered to him, in a feeble attempt to keep his location secret.

"LOUIS! We know you're in there! Come on out. We just want to talk with you!"

Louis stayed quiet. The false pleasantness in Harry's voice was turning Louis stomach.

"I don't know how long this might take Louis."

The next second, there was a louder bang on the door, and a dent appeared.

They were breaking through! Did their madness have no bounds?

"Simon, I can't be here if they get through" Louis muttered, pacing the room like a caged lion.

"I know." Simon was finally beginning to show signs of worry.

Another two dents appeared in the door.

Simon typed quickly on his computer, drawing up schematics of the Van.

"I think you will fit in this vent, Louis. It will lead you outside, onto the roof" He said, finger pointing to the vent on the screen and tracing the path he must follow.

He then walked over to the bed and stood on it, removing the grate covering the vent above the bed.

"Here" He held out his hand and helped Louis clamber up next to her.

"Can you reach?" He asked

The vent reached Louis chest and looked like it would be a tight fit. But he should fit.

"You can't stay here either Simon. They are crazy!" Louis pleaded.

There were cracks forming in the door now and Louis and Simon could see flashes of colour on the other side from their team mate's suits.

"I need to stay here and find a cure Louis. Or they will stay this way. Besides, it is not me they are after. Now go" He urged him, pushing him towards the grate.

Harry's arm now fit through the crack of the broken door, waving around, trying to reach the button on the side of the door which would gain them access.

"And take this. It will allow us to communicate in private" Simon said, pressing a com link into Louis hand.

"Okay Simon." Louis responded doubtfully. "And thanks" he said, placing his hands either side of the grate and heaving himself in.

It took all his efforts not to cry out at the pain it caused his ribs. He slowly shuffled forward, desperate to get further away from his team.

He heard Simon replace the grate over the vent.

He placed the Com in his ear and turned it on, then continued shuffling as quietly as he could manage along the simple path to the roof.

After five minutes, Louis heard the team finally get inside the infirmary. In his ear he could hear Zayns angry demands to know of his whereabouts.

Simon calmly explained to them that he believed they were ill and that he needed to treat them. That they should stay inside until he figured out what was wrong. He conveniently left Louis out of the equation.

The band simply ignored him, not believing a word that escaped his mouth, yet not threatening him with violence of any sort.

For that, Louis breathed out a sigh of relief. Just as Louis was reaching the roof, he heard Harry say that "You're obviously not telling us where Louis is. So we're just going to have to draw him out."

There was an amused tone to his voice which had Louis worried.

He pushed the grate off of the vent in the roof and breathed the fresh afternoon air.

Climbing out of the hole was harder than it should have been for Louis, but upon finally managing it, he lay on the roof for a few minutes, taking a well earned rest.

"HEY LOUIS!"

Harry's yell had Louis sitting up slowly. He crept over to the side of the van and peered over the edge.

Harry was wheeling his old bike out into the open, and the rest of the team trailed him, each holding crowbars and wrenches and other heavy metal tools.

It was clear by the way Harry was looking around that he had no idea where Louis was.

"LOU-IS! HEY LOUIS! THIS IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO TO YOU WHEN WE FIND YOU!" Niall cackled madly.

Zayn handed a crowbar to Harry and they all began beating his bike to pieces.

They laughed and taunted and smashed until the bike was a dinted, broken, shattered version of its former self.

With every strike, Louis flinched.

He knew his mates were under the influence of some form of sickness, but he couldn't help being hurt by their actions.

Hopeless tears welled up in Louis eyes. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know where to go.

It seemed clear that the band were beyond reasoning with him, which meant that his life depended on Simon finding a cure. And until then, he needed to hide, or be beaten to death like his poor bike.

"Louis?" Simons voice spoke quietly in his ear. "Everything will be okay Lou. I will fix this. But you need to get away. I'm going to keep contact with you to a minimum so as not to raise suspicion. I suggest while the team is busy, you take Harry's truck out back. Drive towards the mountains and stay there for a while."

He paused, waiting for Louis to acknowledge him.

Louis cleared this tight throat, attempting to sound anything other than a cry baby "okay"

"Right then" Louis said, attempting cheerful, "my favourite type of weather, snow

"You had better hurry while they are distracted Louis. I will contact you as soon as I have developed a cure. Good luck"

"Wait, Simon... They destroyed my bike " Louis said miserably.

Simon was quiet before he answered, "There isn't anything we can do about it right now, Lou. Just please don't get caught on your way out."

Simons voice was sorrowful for the loss of his bike.

Louis nodded to himself, and with that, Simon was gone.

Louis took one last look at his bike. Liam was spitting on it.

He then began to crawl to the other side of the van where the band had haphazardly parked their rides.

Looking for a way down took quite some time. Trust him to be wounded the one time he needed to escape from his own team mates. His injuries were really slowing him down.

Eventually he clambered down a drain pipe, his light form the only thing stopping the pipe from ripping off the wall. By the time his feet touched the ground he felt nauseous and faint.

He crouched low with his hand around his ribs and snuck over to Harry's bike.

Climbing into the driver's seat felt very strange.

Harry would kill him if he knew Louis was doing this.

Harry would kill him regardless if he didn't get away.

He adjusted the seat so his feet could reach the pedals, thinking about how much smaller he was then everyone on the team.

It never bothered him before, but now everything that was different about him was working against him.

He couldn't fight back due to his injuries and he wasn't used to driving a car over his bike.

Shaking his head, he started up the car and began speeding away.

Once he was on the high way, he listened to Simon going near the mountains

Upon passing through and landing in the icy cold zone, Harry's video intercom switched on, through no action of Louis'

Harry's red angry face glared at Louis'.

"When we find you Louis, you're going to wish you were dead!"

Louis felt sick. He should have known Harry would be able to access his own car's intercom.

"Harry, you're ill! Can't you understand that?" Louis pleaded.

"You stole my truck!" Harry screamed. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was messy and his face red and beaded with perspiration. His face was uncomfortably close to the screen and Louis leaned back to at least get some distance between the two of them.

"I- I'll bring it back. I just need it for a while" Louis stuttered.

"No Louis. We're coming for you. I'll get it back myself. And we will take care of you for good. What's that I see outside? Snow?

Louis gasped, not realising Harry has such a wide view of Louis surroundings.

Louis face drained of colour

"AAHA! I'm right. The guys will be so pleased to hear. See you soon Louis"

And with one last long glare at Louis, the com switched off and Louis was left alone, shivering in his seat.