Stockholm Syndrome - A Harry Styles Fic

Harry had no idea what was going on. He just heard the commotion, Christian and then the click of a gun. All he knew was that the air around his prison had become thick with tension and the silence that fell through the room was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping. It was as though whatever was happening had reached the climax and was now in the process of winding down to the end.

“Consider that your warning, boy.” Jackson growled, grabbing his arm and leading him from the room.

“I hope you’re happy Sorrow. I really am, you have everything and he gives you the world-yet, you’re never satisfied unless you are causing trouble. I knew I paid too much for you. You were worth five hundred at the very least. I truly feel ripped off.” Jason stated calmly as Sorrow could be heard sobbing close by him. It appears she had backed up next to him as her cries were traveling near his ears.

“Kill me then if I’m such a bother. I won’t hold it against you and I even pray God rewards you for your good deed. Just kill-“

“Death would be too good for you, I’d rather see you alive and breathing. It adds much more to my satisfaction to see you in health and suffering.” Jason interrupted with a short chuckle, walking so he was directly in front of Sorrow before kneeling down to her level. “You’re lucky my son has not yet tired of you or I’d of thrown you in this basement a long time ago and thrown away the key. You are nothing, you were nothing and you’ll BE nothing. You will die here with us eventually and you will do it alone because face it-who could ever love someone like you? I do not know what my son sees in you, you’re not even a good fucking lay and I’ve raped plenty of women in my time.”

Sorrow’s cries lessened to a silent string of tears as she scooted back to the wall and put her knees to her chest and her arms around them, squeezing herself into a ball.

Harry’s anger was over flowing with rage. He had never heard someone be so demeaned of human quality before. He had heard a lot of things in his young life but he certainly hadn’t heard anything quite like that. He mumbled his two cents through the gag, grimacing as the material rubbed harshly against his already blistered skin at the corners of his lips. He had to stop because between his toe and the vehemence pent inside, he was a ticking time bomb that was on a timer. It was only a matter of time, he didn’t know when but knew it was close.

“Got something to say pretty boy?” Jason taunted and ripped the gag from his mouth, ripping the blindfold from his face as well, noticing the ropes used to keep him tied up looked a bit abused from his struggling he had done earlier.

“Yeah, I do Wanker, you’re a bully! She will always be half the woman than you’d ever be considered a man. When I get out of here, when my family and friends find me, I’ll see that you’re put into the smallest prison cell there is. I will make you sorry – she says she’s not a victim? Bullshit!” Harry growled, leaning forward to stare the older man down but didn’t get too far as Jason broke contact to look back.

“You wanted to meet our guest, Jackson? Well here you go, the famous Harry Styles. You’ll forgive him if he’s not courteous, he’s been rather rude lately according to my son.”

“I wouldn’t take into account too much your son says, considering what I’ve seen today I’ve half the mind to take the girl away from here and leave you two to sort out your problems but she is an accessory to the fact that she takes care of the hostages and without her, I have a feeling they’d be left to die in here and that would hurt revenue so she’ll stay but when we travel back I will be teaching your son some hard lessons and if God willing, he doesn’t take heart to those lessons, I will personally put a bullet through him myself. Godson or no Godson, he will meet the same end as a rabid dog if he so chooses to keep acting like one. I hope you understand where I’m coming from Jason because I’d of done the same to you if you had acted like that as my apprentice. Right now he is in the living room cooling off, which I’d call a good sign.” Jackson said sighing, coming in toward the small group and eyeing Harry with interest.

“Has he tried to escape? Why the hell does he look so beat up? This seems to be a bit overkill. If his ankle is locked to the wall – a chain that would take no less than a metric ton of pressure to pull free from, why is he tied up to such extremes? He’s been here for more than a week now, please tell me he hasn’t been trussed up like this that long, that will cause nerve damage and bone deterioration and the buyer doesn’t want damaged good.” Jackson warned, bending down to his level to start to untie him but stopped when he saw the tattoos. “These are going to need to be cut off and removed-“ His voice trailed off with a frown. “You have a lot of tattoos son, I’d be taking half your skin off and I don’t think the buyer wants that either.”

Harry looked up at him with wide and fearful eyes, his mouth dry.

“I’m going to have to call them, excuse me.” Jackson said, cursing and pulling out his phone while he stepped from the room.

“I personally wouldn’t mind removing half your skin. It would be fun just to hear you scream and all the more satisfying.” Jason smirked watching Harry shift in anticipation.

“Your son crushed my toe with a hammer, he bruised my face – I can’t feel my arms or my feet anymore. What more can you assholes do to me?” Harry asked defiantly, although he regretted it as soon as it left his mouth.

“Oh you have no idea. If you think that was torture then you have a lot to learn my friend and you will…in time. To properly break someone you have to take the very thing that holds them together. Which is their hope and then you start with their faith-when that’s gone you simply watch them fall apart. Human will only last so long before it to is broken. You’ll know what I mean when it starts to happen to you.” Jason shrugged without care as he turned back to Sorrow, she was unmoving from her spot but the tears hadn’t stopped.

“Never. I’ll just as soon die before I let you take anything away from me. My friends and my family will find me and when they do you’ll all be sorry.” Harry promised, his eyes intense with anger.

Jason glared and reached for the gag but Harry moved back from his grasp.

“Fuck you yank.” Harry swore.

“Ok children, that’s enough. If we can’t all play nice with each other then we won’t play. Jason? The buyer only wants a few of them cut off. They need anything religious removed. I see the small cross on his hand and there’s a bible I see on arm but I would need to see all of the tattoos to make sure. Will you remove his shirt?”

Jason smirked with pure delight.

“You bet.” He replied with glee before taking a small knife from his back pocket and opening it.

Harry went rigid, his eyes wide and his mouth opening a little.

“Wait, please? I-I” Harry stuttered, his body starting to shake again but this time from the cold dread that ran down his bones.

“I-I’ll do it, I can do it.” Sorrow spoke up, her body still in a defensive stance, still curled but she knew Harry would be more at ease with her then either of the men.

Jackson smiled softly.

“Alright hun, I have a few things to discuss with Jason and Christian anyhow.” He motioned for Jason to follow him.

Jason glared at Sorrow but handed her the knife and stood, obediently following Jackson outside.

Harry gave a sigh of relief, his eyes closing.

“Thank you.” Harry said in appreciation.

“You’re welcome. Thank you-for earlier, what you said. Jude use to speak up for me before he was killed and even though I had treated him horribly-more so then I treated you, he still never held it against me.” Sorrow recalled as her voice broke, hands gently pulling apart the buttons on the shirt.

Harry saw the buttons pop off the material until it was all the way unbuttoned in the front, watching Sorrow make quick work of cutting the sleeves.

“I don’t hold it against you but if you can stop this, why don’t you? We can get out of this together-you’d be free…everything you know you can use to help shut this organization down. Set others that are held prisoner against their will free. Nothing’s stopping you.” Harry tried desperate to get her to see reason.

Sorrow cut the last sleeve away and pulled the shirt from his tied body none-too-gently.

“This thing is bigger than you or me, Harry. This-if I betrayed them, god…you have no idea how many innocent people would die. Yourself included. I told you, I’m not going to help, I can’t!” Sorry cried, wiping the sparse tears that didn’t seem to stop.

Harry wished he knew why, what was it that she wasn’t telling him?

“The police might not be able to save them all, you’re right but they could save so many of them-sometimes a few must be sacrificed for the good of many. It’s harsh and it sucks but-“

Sorrow slapped her hand over his mouth to silence.

“Shut up, you have no idea. You have no fucking idea…” Sorrow trailed off harshly, letting go of his mouth by pushing his head away.

“If you told me, then I would! What aren’t you telling me?” Harry demanded.

“I’m not telling you a lot of things, discussion over.” Sorrow responded decidedly before seizing his neck and pulling the gag back into his mouth and yanking the ends of it taunt again.

Harry groaned, regretting his decision to try reasoning with her, it was obvious that was a dead end.

“He’s ready for examination.” She called, her eyes looking dead into his “If it helps any, I’m sorry for what they’re going to do to you. I just wish you’d stop prying and drop it because…I have my reasons. Stop making me out to be the good guy. I’m not good.”

Jackson came in with Christian a few moments later. This instantly caused Sorrow to bolt to the wall and curl back into a ball, making sure no part of her was touching Harry. The last thing she needed was to upset Christian again.

“Relax sweetheart, I’m not here to beat the shit out of you-although the thought is very tempting at the moment but Jackson gave me a good enough reason to curb my instincts. I came to help him with pretty boy-although I see his mouth ran away from him again.” Christian smirked watching Harry glare at him silently.

“Christian, just check him for the appropriate tattoos and shut up, your mouth with me tonight makes me want to tie and gag you-I’m half tempted. I want you to focus and see if you can differentiate the tattoos from religion tattoos. We need to remove the cross and bible, that much is clear-but are there any others you see that need removed?”

Christian stepped forward and bent to exam his chest. Near the bird tattoo were another two small crosses, he pointed to them.

“These ones.” He said, taking a permanent marker from his back pocket and circling them, the bible on his arm and the cross on his hand as he looked for more.

Finding none he gave the satisfied nod once he went around the hostage and eyed every inch of his exposed skin.

“Those are the three that need removed.”

Jackson gave his confirmation.

“Alright, sedate him and I’ll be right back.” Jackson said, leaving to get his skinning knife.

“We used the last of the sedation drugs, we’re out. It’s one of the supplies we need restocked.” Christian let him know before he got too far.

Jackson paused, his hand to the door.

“Then we do it without.” Jackson said, leaving to get the knife.

Christian smirked as Harry started to struggle against the ropes again, pleading into the gag as he looked desperately at both of his captors. The panic was near deafening as all he could hear was the sound of his heart pumping adrenaline throughout his body, the pain forgotten for only a few seconds.

“That was a lie, we have the sedation shots.” Sorrow mumbled to Christian, keeping her voice low.

Christian chuckled.

“Yeah well, I’m not going to tell him and if you value your life eating solid foods than I know you’re sure as shit not going to tell him and Harry-well, he doesn’t have anything intelligible to say in the matter so we’re good.”

“You’re a monster.” Sorrow muttered, which made Christian laugh.

“You’re no better sweetheart, you won’t speak up for him-why? Do you fear me that much?” Christian challenged as he neared her, her body pressing back into a tight defensive ball.

“Yes.” Sorrow whispered and held her breath as Christian leaned forward, placing a small gentle kiss on her lips.

“Good, you should.”

Sorrow shuttered and turned away, all too happy when Jackson appeared again.

He held a first aid kit and a six inch skinning knife. The blade was six inches and curved up, which made it easier to remove the skin and it would go deep enough to make sure none of the other layers remained with the ink while making sure the flesh came off intact.

Since the tattoos were so small, with the exception on the bible it wouldn’t take a lot of time to get the job done and that’s exactly what Jackson was counting on.

“Christian? Will you please hold him down? I need to make sure I don’t nick a vein and with him squirming so much I’m afraid I might.” Jackson said, coming toward the captive, setting down the first aid and kneeling down.

Christian took great pleasure with forcing Harry onto his back, his full weight going on his arms as they were trapped against him and the floor, which also added a disadvantage.

“Hrmm!” Harry cried, the pain racking his body again, the throbbing in his toe outshined the adrenaline but he continued to fight, trying to kick his tied feet out at anything that got close. What he didn’t count on was Sorrow.

She cautiously sat up, grabbing out at his ankles, pressing her weight against them so that they were pinned down.

Harry’s eyes shone clearly with the look of betrayal, in fact he was so shocked that he had stilled all together mumbling what could be heard even through the gag as a clear ‘why’.

“I’m sorry.” Was all she could manage, the tears in Harry’s eyes apparent with her treason. She hadn’t noticed but they were silently falling down her own. Sorrow could not express in words the guilt that racked her conscience.

Harry tried to struggle again but found his strength zapped, he had no will to keep fighting. His energy had been stolen and all he could do was look on as the knife was set flat against the first two small crosses on his chest.

“We’ll start with the small ones first, they’ll be easier to bandage. The bible tattoo might take a bit to quit bleeding, more so than these will.” Jackson said, his concentration now on Harry’s chest.

Ever so slowly he started to press the knife down so it caught the flesh. Once the teeth punctured the skin he started to slowly move the knife up and down. The friction caused the membrane to split open and bleed out, the dark crimson liquid flowing freely as Harry’s flesh was cut away.

Harry tensed and screamed, in fact if he had chosen to have his skin removed by way of a skinning knife or have all ten of his toes broken with a hammer he would have chosen the hammer, at least the torture would be over quickly. The time it took to completely remove the two crosses were estimated at about forty-five seconds to fifty. It seemed like hours to Harry and his voice seemed to bleed at the sheer frequency he was screaming, even with the gag it was as though he had nothing in his mouth at all.

“Shhh, we’re almost done.” Jackson soothed as he brushed a piece of stray hair from the singer’s face at a pathetic attempt to be kind.

The skin came completely off the first his chest with ease.

“I hope so, Goddamn, I think my ears are bleeding.” Christian retorted, holding Harry’s shoulders tightly as his body fought them involuntarily.

“Sorrow? I think there should be some duct tape in the kitchen drawer, go and get-“ Christian started but fell silent when Jason walked in with it in his hands, tossing it to Sorrow.

“Put it around his mouth.”

He walked out again with annoyance, the TV turning up full blast somewhere in the cabin.

Sorrow swallowed and looked at Jackson for some sort of confirmation.

Her heart sank when she got it.

“I’m sorry, we can take it off him in a little bit when this is all through. We can’t risk the off chance that someone will hear.” Jackson explained as he took some gaze from the first aid kit and pressed it to Harry’s chest, bandaging it with the medical tape to keep it secure and clean.

Sorrow nodded sadly and watched Harry’s eyes, they flat out refused to look at her. In fact his eyes were squeezed tightly shut as his body started shaking again, this time he completely broke down into a sobbing mess. It was probably the first time in his life that he wished for a fast death. Anything was better than this torture.

She faltered a little and handed the tape off to Christian, knowing she just set Harry up for a lot more pain but her conscience could not take anymore.

“You do it, I can’t.” She said, going back to holding his legs, watching Christian take great pleasure in wrapping it around several times. Sorrow had counted ten times total, with the cloth gag already secured in she knew no matter how loud he screamed, it would be silenced. His mouth had no chance at slipping free either, Christian had covered the tape above Harry’s lips to the bottom of his chin, and with it being wrapped completely around his head-it was going to hurt like a bitch coming off.

Harry whimpered slightly when he was suddenly grabbed and turned over onto his stomach, allowing access to the cross on his hand.

“This one will take longer since it’s on his hand. There’s a lot of small veins and I don’t want to nick one, if I do he has a good chance at bleeding out and I don’t want that to happen so what I need you two to do is hold him very still. Harry, I know this hurts but I need you stop crying, I don’t want to accidently cause damage.”

Harry couldn’t concentrate, his whole body ached and his whole world was crashing down at the very real reality of his situation. This was something he could feel, this was something he knew was real and it slowly started to break him. At that very second he was aware of pain but also the hopelessness of the situation. He couldn’t fight them, he couldn’t scream to the heavens for help, he couldn’t even mask a façade face. All he could do was lye there and cry like a helpless victim. A victim-the term use to be so foreign to him before but now he understood it with perfect clarity.

“Harry? Come on now.” Jackson soothed, running his hand against Harry’s damp hair trying to be somewhat comforting.

“Harry?” Sorrow whispered, kneeling forward to his ear and whispering something unintelligible into it. Whatever had been said shocked him so much that his senses overloaded, which was enough to still him. She smiled sadly and went back to holding his feet.

“What did you say?” Christian asked her, clearly impressed.

“What any girl says when she wants to get a guy’s attention.” Sorrow shrugged, refusing to give up any more information than that.

“Anyone want to see boobs?” Christian asked, taking a stab at it. “I know that always catches my attention.”

Sorrow chuckled despite herself. It was an ice breaker that needed to happen-despite what was going on below, she needed to stay focused that Harry was a charge, a hostage that was being made over for sale and she could not help him, no matter how much she wanted to.

“See? I still got it.” Christian mused, grabbing hold again with all his weight to keep Harry from struggling, the knife pressing slow and painfully to his flesh again moving back ever so slightly, snipping the skin one fraction of a quarter inch with each motion, which bled healthily, exposing the raw pink below.

Harry tried to struggle, the screams erupted again but never left past the thick covering, which was now a muffled whisper.

It was over a minute and a half before the cross on his hand was removed successfully. Jackson made quick work on the bandage and turned Harry back over, catching the singer’s tear soaked face.

“Almost over champ, you’ve done relatively well, most people who I’ve had to cut tattoos off of lose control of their bladder after the first one. You’re stronger than you look, I’m impressed. If the buyer ends up backing out, I might have some use for you-once I know you could be trusted that is.” Jackson chuckled and moved the rope out of the way to get to the tattoo, once he accomplished that the procedure started over again.

Harry shook his head desperately, knowing this was the last tattoo that would tie him to his faith-once that was removed, he’d have nothing but the inspirational ones he could trace. His faith was everything to him and it was also then he realized the truth of Christian’s words. It all made sense. They were taking it.

The knife steadied on his arm and began its work of cutting, sawing and tearing. The exposed red meat below and the blood that cried crimson down his arm was more than Harry could take and the switch inside him flipped off, he watched the older man work with precision and It was clear to Harry that he had done this a million times – almost like a skilled surgeon. Although it didn’t stop Harry from crying out, he still felt the pain, he still felt helpless but his observation was morbid curiosity and it was one thing he would never forget for the rest of his life.

“All done,” Jackson smiled, patting Harry’s sweat soaked tapes face and discarding the pieces of his flesh with the tattoos. “These will go great in my collection, they’re beautiful tattoos.”

Harry struggled not to throw up from the thought, looking at Jackson to see if he was really serious. Deciding that if this man skinned people for a living, then tattoo collecting might now be farfetched.

He bandaged Harry’s arm and made sure the exposed meat was well covered before standing and tossing the carving knife to Christian.

“Wash the knife off.” He then looked at Sorrow.

“He looks like he’s about to be sick, take the gag off and untie him. He’s attached to the wall with a shackle that needs a key and judging by the lack of keys around here, I’m going to assume it’s safe.”

Sorrow nodded and began quick work on Harry’s gag, glancing at Christian who went to sanitize the knife for the next victim.

Harry screamed, the tape unwinding quick and fast, pulling his hair and facial hair that had started to gown. He was glad his facial hair didn’t grow as fast as other men but it hurt when a ton of tape was being ripped off all at once.

“Hold on Harry, almost there.” Sorrow promised, ripping the last of it from his mouth and untying the gag that was still in his mouth. Once he was free of that, she began on the ropes that held him prisoner.

Sorrow untied the secure knots that had been secured and finally unwound his bonds, ignoring the wailing that had started up again.

“There, you’re free.” Sorrow said gently after untying his feet so all that remained was the shackle on his ankle.

“No I’m not.” Harry sobbed, curling his body into a ball like Sorrow had done earlier, resting his head on his knees so he didn’t have to face her.

The sight alone conflicted with Sorrow’s conscious, everything about it felt wrong. Everything about it WAS wrong.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered, unable to focus on anything but the pain stricken boy.

“Please go away.” Harry pleaded, holding his legs tighter and rocking slightly.

Sorrow reached out to comfort him but thought better of it. Instead she sat beside him silently-waiting, for what? She wasn’t sure but it seemed like the right thing to do.

Notes

OMG, my head hurts, my energy is zapped - tortured is exhausting but I hope you guys enjoyed this latest chapter. One more Harry chapter before we switch back to the guys of 1D. I finally delivered a torture scene and I hope it was worth the read, I've been working non stop on this chapter since 5 this morning and I mean with no breaks, this chapter was exactly 4,341 words/9 pages (phew) and I still have to update my other story, The King's Peasant Heart. (also worth the read guys, it has a good plot too)