A sharp, cold breeze whispered through the cracks in the wooden walls. The smell of damp wood and dust filled the air as Harry stirred, his head pounding. His fingers scraped against the rough wooden floor as he tried to push himself up.
Where was he?
Blinking against the dim light, he took in the unfamiliar surroundings. The cabin was small and aged, its wooden walls warped with time. A single broken window let in a faint stream of silver moonlight, casting eerie shadows across the room. His clothes were rumpled, and his boots were caked in dried mud.
Something was wrong.
A groan echoed from across the room. Harry's breath caught as he spun around, his pulse hammering in his ears. A figure stirred in the corner, then another. Panic flared in his chest as he realized he wasn't alone.
Louis was the first to fully wake, rubbing his face before squinting at Harry in confusion. "Mate… what the hell?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
A sudden movement to their left drew their attention. Niall sat up, his hair sticking out in all directions. "Oh, this is not good," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "Tell me this is some weird dream."
"If it is, we're all having the same one," Liam's voice joined them, his expression shifting from groggy to alarmed as he scanned the room.
Then, a sharp intake of breath. In the farthest corner, Zayn sat still, his arms resting on his knees, staring at the others like he had seen a ghost. His voice, quiet but firm, broke the silence.
"You guys remember how we got here?"
The question hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
Harry opened his mouth to answer, to grasp onto any shred of memory—but nothing came. His mind was blank. No recollection of getting here, no last memory of what he was doing before this moment. Just… emptiness.
Louis was the first to admit it. "I got nothing."
"Me neither," Liam added, rubbing his temples.
Niall exhaled sharply. "No clue."
Zayn's jaw tightened, but he gave a single nod.
Harry swallowed hard. "Alright," he said, forcing himself to stay calm. "Let's start with the basics. What do we remember?"
Silence.
Then, slowly, the answers came.
Their names. Their ages. The knowledge that they knew each other—somehow. Their voices felt familiar, their faces sparked something deep within, but the connections were blurred, like looking through fogged-up glass. They grasped at the edges of a truth they couldn't quite hold onto.
But then came the strangest part.
"What do we do?" Niall asked. "Like… for a living?"
The silence stretched longer this time.
Liam shifted uncomfortably. "I think…" He hesitated. "Music?"
The word felt right. It sent a shiver down Harry's spine, like a puzzle piece clicking into place. He looked at the others, seeing the same flicker of recognition in their eyes.
Zayn frowned. "Yeah. I think… I think we were in a band."
Louis let out a dry laugh, but there was no humor in it. "Yeah, well, if we were, I don't remember a damn thing about it."
That's when Harry saw it—something glinting in the moonlight, half-buried beneath a pile of old newspapers. He reached for it, his fingers wrapping around a small, rectangular object.
A CD case.
His stomach twisted as he turned it over. The cover was simple, black and white, the title bold across the front.
**ONE DIRECTION.**
Harry's breath caught in his throat. He turned the case toward the others, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Does this mean anything to you?"
The room was silent, all eyes fixed on the object in his hands. Their expressions ranged from confusion to unease, but one thing was clear.
None of them recognized it.
A gust of wind rattled the cabin's wooden walls, making the broken window creak. Louis stood up slowly, brushing dust off his jeans as he moved toward the door. "Alright," he muttered, gripping the rusty doorknob. "Someone must've put us here. Maybe they left a clue outside."
The door groaned as he pushed it open, revealing a dense, foggy forest stretching endlessly in all directions. Moonlight barely penetrated the thick mist, and the cold night air carried the faintest whisper of rustling leaves.
Niall hesitated before stepping up behind him. "We're in the middle of nowhere."
"No roads, no signs, nothing." Liam joined them, arms crossed over his chest. "Just trees. A lot of trees."
Zayn exhaled sharply, still seated on the floor. "So, we're stranded?"
Harry turned the CD case over in his hands, his thoughts racing. A deep, unsettled feeling crawled up his spine. They weren't just lost. This wasn't just a prank or a drunken mishap.
Something bigger was happening.
And whoever had put them here didn't want them to remember who they were.