The Silence That Surrounds: Screams of the Damned

Narrator’s POV:

Sophia crawled into Harry’s bed again after a long shower, bringing his arm around her torso and moving her back against his chest to seek warmth from the cold air on her still damp body.

She felt the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest and could almost feel her barely-there strength drain completely from her spirit.

“This is all so bittersweet.” Sophia murmured, laying closer against Harry and listening to his quiet breaths and the way his chest pressed against her back every time he inhaled. It was the only time when he was asleep that he didn’t seem to be screaming at her and in a way, nostalgia had finally become her realization.

Harry was always going to be at the losing end of the game when it regarded Damien and in turn, she could never be with him, either because it wasn’t allowed or he in some small way resented her choice to stay.

Truth be told, he was right on one thing. When it came to his gilded cage, she somehow didn’t mind being locked in it anymore. It provided more comfort now than it had before, because once you’ve lost everything and everyone – a cage kept the person in, but kept the others at a distance.

Sophia felt somewhat alone, even if she could confide in Louis for untrivial things. It still wasn’t the same as confiding in her brother or mother, but that’s the past and like Harry says, it needs to just stay there.

With careful maneuvering, she turned so that she was facing him.

Her good hand reached forward and gently swiped the long ringlets of hair that had fallen into his face when she had pressure pointed him, smiling at the way his facial muscles relaxed and how he almost looked angelic.

It was the only time she sees Harry at peace anymore, the realization making her frown almost instantly.

“I suppose that could be due to chasing Louis and I all over damnation. Maybe I need to try harder, maybe I just need to listen. Talk is cheap – you told me that at the beginning, but what if it’s not just talk? What if I can become something more?” Sophia whispered, her face leaning in to plant a gentle kiss at his lips.

The tingling sensation when she pulled back left her almost breathless, it was something she didn’t or rather, couldn’t understand.

“I want to prove myself, I just don’t know how and I can’t even begin to guess what awaits me when I fight Steel…if I’m still fighting him.” Sophia sighed, using her fingers to twist a string of Harry’s dark brown curls.

“Not really a choice.” Harry murmured sleepily, making Sophia jump.

Panic numbed her body and her heartrate sped up, especially when Harry’s eyes cracked open and the hue of deep green met her deep blues.

“H-how – “Sophia stuttered, their faces barely an inch apart.

“I’m a light sleeper. You kissed me and if you want to prove my efforts are not wasted – then listen. It’s all you have to do, but you won’t – you can’t. It’s not who you are.” Harry said, his voice dropping to a low octave when he finished.

Calm Harry was scarier than a mad Harry, because at least she knew what to expect with his raging ego – this disposition was unpredictable.

Sophia let go of his hair she had been playing with and brought her hand in between them.

Harry felt her grasp his hand, using her bad one to overlap with the other, encasing his fingers within both her palms.

“Then tell me what to do.” Sophia encouraged, making Harry almost smile. It certainly didn’t look too friendly with the dull glint in his eye.

“Well, not knocking me out Louis-style would have been nice, so, I’ll ask you once and I want you to answer truthfully; why did you?” Harry growled, slowly sitting up in bed, his arm leaving her bare torso.

Sophia sat up as well, staring him straight in the eyes when answering as she figured the truth was the better option if he was ever going to trust her.

“Because you were getting too aggressive and I was st –“

A loud crash was heard outside.

Harry was up out of bed, swaying slightly and heading towards the loud noise that just sounded.

Sophia was up too, grabbing one of Harry’s housecoats and running after him.

She threw the material around him and went to get dressed herself, opting for one of her spaghetti nightgowns.

After Sophia was somewhat decent, she followed in Harry’s footsteps, the door already open and two voices outside screaming loudly at one another.

Sophia ran and looked on at the scene, Louis throwing open the driver’s side door and forcing Zayn out with a harsh kick, his hands already free from their bindings, making it look like Zayn had been the driver.

“How bloody DARE YOU!” Louis yelled, hoping from the driver’s side door as well and advancing on Zayn in a series of brutal punches.

Sophia’s eyes widened and Harry was already down the cabin steps, throwing his hands around Louis and backing him off the other gang member, pushing him to the side and grabbing the scuff of his shirt so he couldn’t continue to hurt Zayn.

“WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK IS GOING ON!?” Harry screamed, shaking Louis’s collar a little to try snapping the older bloke out of his rage.

“HE let them go! HE’S A TRAITOR!” Louis pointed accusingly at Zayn, his anger boiling over like a pot of stove water.

Zayn’s nose and lower lip was gushing blood, but that didn’t stop him from laying on the ground barely conscious and shaking his head no or even verbalizing it.

“H-Ha – “Louis brought his foot out and gave Zayn’s frontal jaw a good kick, earning a sharp crack of bone to sound and for the younger bloke on the ground to scream out in pain, his bruised wrists going to hold his mouth.

“Louis!” Harry yelled, before whistling twice for Niall and again for Liam. “NEED SOME HELP OUT HERE!”

Niall and Liam rushed in when they heard the commotion, both of them jumping from the cabin’s steps and over to the chaotic group.

“Hold him.” Harry ordered angrily, forcing Louis into Niall and Liam, both of them grabbing his arms to make sure he stayed put in his spot.

Sophia gingerly made her way down the steps, her arms wrapping around herself, keeping the look of concern firmly on her features.

This was the plan they had discussed and in a way, she felt Zayn was owed everything he got from Louis. He may have been hurting, but that was still no excuse to snuff out two innocent lives. There hadn’t been a reason for it other than Zayn’s selfishness to see someone else on his level and in the same amount of pain.

Sadly, for Zayn, he saw the depths Louis was willing to go to and she didn’t regret giving him that idea one bit.

“What HAPPENED?!” Harry emphasized the last word, looking around at his gang, his jaded green eyes zooming in on Niall. “Niall? Sophia says she was attacked, did her and Zayn go off with each other and did you see any hostility between them?”

The demand in his tone made Niall shrink back slightly, but he remembered Sophia’s words from earlier and looked Harry straight in the eyes defiantly.

Harry glared back fiercely at Niall, clicking his tongue with impatience at the Irish bloke’s strong bout of silence.

Niall wasn’t blaming Kevin, this was a good sign as it neither showed guilt or innocence.

Liam cleared his throat slightly to speak up, only for Harry to cut him off.

“No. I want Niall to tell me. I’ll get to you in a moment.”

Liam shut his mouth and held onto Louis’s arm a little tighter when he felt the older bloke was close to breaking from his hold.

“I saw Zayn fucking strangle her with my own fucking eyes. If you don’t believe me, ask him what he did, go ahead, ask him how Jace is no longer in his room or Daylen is no longer here. He let them go, he’s sabotaging this fucking group!” Louis exploded, using his anger to jerk his body around and football tackle Liam to the ground, using his elbow to finish breaking the hold.

Niall let go of Louis’s other arm with a small exclamation and ran away towards the forest, most likely to climb a tree or dig to China. Sophia was pretty sure it was the latter.

“DON’T fucking TOUCH me!” Louis growled kicking out at Liam, his fast reflexes though allowed Liam to roll away and back up into a standing position.

“Calm down, mate! Jesus!” Liam exclaimed, falling back a few paces when Louis went on the attack again, his anger heating to dangerous levels.

He fell on top of Zayn and pelted him in the nose, the face, the temple and everywhere else he could to maximize the amount of damage he would cause the younger bloke.

Sophia went to approach, hoping to calm her friend down, but Harry quickly apprehended her with his strong arms, pulling her back from the two fighting males.

“Stay here. Louis cannot be controlled when he is like this and he is dangerous when it reaches this far. I need to know what happened, Sophia. No lies.” Harry warned her, making sure she wasn’t going near the situation, although looking on with concern for the other two.

Liam ran back into the cabin to get the tranquilizer gun, hoping Louis didn’t punch Zayn into a coma before he could get back.

Even Harry wasn’t approaching them and that was very concerning for Sophia – considering Harry never appeared to be threatened by Louis, but then again – she had never seen the look to kill in Louis’s eyes until that moment.

“L-Lou?” Sophia called, swallowing down the saliva that had gathered in her mouth.

Harry guided Sophia’s gaze to his, the orbs of his green eyes less dark, they were worried and that was an emotion she didn’t get to see too often.

It was almost a relief.

“I need to know what went on, Nightshade. I want to know what the hell happened to my gang?” Harry demanded, speaking lowly.

“Zayn tried choking me, Louis saved me, there was a struggle and he ran off after Zayn. I came back to you directly after.” Sophia summed up, deciding to continue with the lie and looking straight into his face without blinking as she did it.

A woosh flew through the air moments later and Louis let out a grunt cry after, puling the tranquilizer dart from his neck and stumbling back to the ground next to an unconscious Zayn.

Harry let out a sigh of relief, venturing forward and kneeling down next to Louis.

“Lou? What happened?” Harry asked cautiously, placing his large hand on the older man’s shoulder.

“H-his fault, he s-said he’d let the kid’s go, he did – he s-stole the car a-and t-took them h-home.” Louis managed to get out, falling unconscious a few seconds later.

Harry pursed his lips, sparing a glance at Liam.

Liam came back down the steps, tossing the tranquilizer gun to the ground.

“Was there any plans pervious? Did Zayn show any signs of letting them go?” Harry asked Liam, scratching behind his head out of habit.

Liam seemed to consider his answer, shrugging.

“He made mention of it being a mistake to kidnap the kids, but I can’t say for sure. Louis is the only one who can give you those details. However, yes, I do believe Zayn was capable of letting them go. He’s not exactly in the right headspace right now.” Liam explained, deciding that the ignorant truth was better than a whole lie.

Harry nodded, turning to check Zayn over and noticing right away the dark contusions starting to form on his bruised face.

He sighed tiredly, rubbing at his face to scrub the brutal image from his vision.

“It appears Louis has chipped the whole bottom and upper front of Zayn’s teeth. He’s going to need the dentist. Put in a call to Dr. Pain.” Harry ordered, though hesitantly.

Liam held his mouth, shaking his head.

Harry reached out and grabbed Liam’s wrist.

“Like it or not, he’s the only one we bloody have. Put. In. the. Call.” Harry gritted his teeth to keep from yelling.

Liam let out a small groan, but nodded his obedience.

“Yes, sir. Just make sure we give Zayn the sedation needle before Pain arrives or Zayn’s going to have more PTSD. Do you not remember the last time? When Damien punched him so hard and knocked his teeth loose after he tried to escape? Pain doesn’t give us any numbing agents before he gets to work and straps us to a fucking chair. That sick fuck makes Dr. Sadistic look like a giggling Teletubby.” Liam huffed, not happy that one of them had another injury that needed an appointment with the tooth fairy from hell.

Harry waved him off.

“Enough. Help me get Louis back downstairs into bed. He will need cuffs and I think I’ll have to require that he be put in additional four-point.”

Liam nodded.

“You can’t do that to him, sir.” Sophia spoke, having observed without interruption.

Harry stood up, wiping the dirt from his housecoat.

“You will find that I can, Sophia. You will find that I will, so, be a good girl and make yourself useful. If memory serves me, you know where the bed restraints are. Have them hooked up by the time we get down there. You want to prove to me that you can listen and that I can trust you? Then do as I say.” He nodded to the cabin.

Sophia stood there for a few seconds, making her way over toward Louis, bending down and leaning in to give him a hug – or – what appeared to be a hug. She was really retrieving Harry’s phone so Louis’s lies didn’t unravel from around them. She had worked too hard to spin the plan, she wasn’t having it unraveled by one miscalculation.

She managed to get the phone just as Harry pulled her off his second in command.

Sophia knew she had to put it back into Harry’s room, so she hurriedly placed it into one of her pockets and turned so her body was forced against Harry’s when he pulled her away.

Harry’s eyes were darkening again, which if Sophia really had to guess, she’d say his moods were like an unpredictable mood ring. Calm one moment and a shit storm the next.

“This is an example of what I’ve said before, luv. You don’t listen – you can’t. You’re as stubborn as you are determined and that’s what’s going to get you killed” Harry growled, pushing her away toward the cabin. “And since you did not heed my initial order, you can not only set those restraints up, but you will be the one to put them on him. Now, go. My patience with you is so thin right now that I might just save my father the trouble and put a bullet in your head myself!”

Sophia swung the back of her hand out, striking it across Harry’s cheek brutally.

In fact, it was so hard that his face actually snapped to the side with a loud smack.

Liam’s mouth fell open and she was almost sure Niall had said something along the lines of holy shit from wherever he was.

The whole group seemed to freeze, but the one thing that stood out was the way her eyes darkened to a nearly black tint.

“There. I just gave you your reason. Go on, put a bullet in me, asshole. Because right now, do you think I really give a fuck?” Sophia asked lowly, her tone a throaty growl.

She was being the bigger dog – sort of speak. Louis had told her not to pick fights with the other children, but Harry was a power-hungry bully and in her opinion, he had that slap coming for a while.

Harry and her’s relationship was a funny one. This was not the first time she slapped him and this was not the only time that he allowed her to get away with it, but he was at his wits end and if she wanted a fight, she would get one.

Harry swung back, but she managed to jump away and use her good hand to give him a right-handed punch in the stomach.

Liam stepped in, pulling Harry back before things got messy. He saw how Sophia’s moves were more coordinated – more skilled. She was trying to bait a fight, he didn’t know why, but he knew it had to do with Louis.

“Mate? That’s enough, let it go!” Liam exclaimed, pointing his finger at Sophia. “AND YOU GO DO AS YOU WERE TOLD!”

Harry’s back was against Liam’s chest, his breath winded from the hit he had taken. The girl was definitely learning some things from his second in command and at the moment, he wasn’t sure if he should kill Louis or kiss him.

Sophia’s eyes were black now and in one swift move, she kicked her foot up and caught Harry in the balls.

Harry fell to his knees with a scream.

“Eat me, buttercup,” She directed that statement to Liam before looking down at Harry. “Do you want a lapdog or do you want me to be a survivor?” Sophia asked with deadly calmness, kneeling down so her mouth was right by Harry’s ear. “Your survivor, your soldier? Because the way I am seeing it, darling; you can’t have it both ways.”

With that, she pushed up off the ground, leaving Harry there to cup himself and Liam there standing in a puddle of what the fuck just happened.

Liam watched her walk away to presumably go do what she was told, but at that exact moment he was pretty sure she was going to do whatever she damn well wanted to do and he was pretty sure no one had the man power to stop her. Harry was temporarily incapacitated, Louis was taking a drug-induced nap, Zayn was unconscious with pain that would most likely have him begging for death, Liam was just the doctor, Niall was just the cook and Sophia was off on a crusade to make all men childless it looked and she was the main issue to begin with.

“That was fun,” Niall said unenthusiastically, approaching cautiously. “Do you need more ice for your –“

Liam pointed toward the cabin.

“Just go get the ice, Niall,” Liam ordered, kneeling down beside Harry and patting his shoulder. “Deep breaths, mate. Deep, deep breaths.”

Harry’s breath had been stolen and all he could do was kneel on the ground and beg for death.

Liam looked around him at the main motionless bodies and decided that nothing else was getting done today.

*

Sophia angrily threw the straps on the bed and began to hook them up, ignoring the pain in her fingers. She was so damn fed up with Harry not getting it. She wasn’t getting his logic or reason, so of course he wasn’t getting hers or seeing the big picture. She wanted set free, but she wanted it in a way that wouldn’t get them all killed and now that she had helped release those kids – well, she was pretty sure those were grounds for Damien to warrant an extermination.

Not that she cared, it would at least be right. At least she wouldn’t just be a coward that ran off because Harry Styles gave her an easy out.

No, that wasn’t her and she was prepared to accept the consequences.

“You’re overthinking again.” Niall observed, leaning against the doorframe, noticing she had no clue how to set up the restraints.

“And you’re just the fucking cook around here who doesn’t seem to think enough.” Sophia retorted back, kicking her heel into the back of the bed’s leg in anger when she couldn’t set up the straps.

Niall clutched his chest by where his heart was, walking toward her and taking the restraints from where she had thrown them.

“Ouch. Words hurt, beautiful.” Niall mocked, beginning to help her with setting them up.

“At least I’m not a coward that runs away at the sight of a fight or blames an imaginary hybrid. You’re just the cook, what’s your fucking story? What worth could they possibly have seen to keep you around?” Sophia asked, watching him set up the four point straps.

He was quiet for a moment, shrugging indifferently.

“Harry was sick, I knew something that would help and I’m not exactly a brave bloke, but I’m far from stupid – even if I do babble like an idiot and have an imaginary pet. See, if they think you’re a git, you have less of a chonce at getting targeted. I’m not stupid, Soph – just as you aren’t weak. So, cut the tough act with me, it’s not going to get you anywhere.” Niall hummed, trying to make light of the situation.

“You can’t lie to save your life and you were actually practicing in front of the damn mirror.” Sophia pointed out, observing how Niall attached the straps under the bed’s frame and fished them so they were just long enough to reach over the side of the mattress, giving Louis what would look to be very little movement.

Niall shrugged.

“Like I said, I may be a babbling idiot – but I’m more observant than you think,” Niall smiled, reaching over and kissing her temple. “Try to wade in the shallow end for the rest of tonight. I’m going to bring Harry his ice, you put his phone back on his nightstand and we’ll not speak any more of what went on. I’m not entirely innocent in this whole scheme either.”

Sophia nodded in understanding, her irises turning back to their deep pools of blue.

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good.” Sophia agreed, turning to go do as Niall suggested.

Niall watched her jog up the steps, her red nightgown flowing after her.

It was certainly a normal sight to see her either in Harry’s sweats and shirts or her nightwear.

“I think Harry needs to get the lass some new clothes.” Niall noted, following up the steps to the kitchen, going to the ice chest and pulling out a bag of mixed vegetables.

He proceeded to rush outside, throwing the frozen bag into Liam’s awaiting hands.

“Go put a kettle on for tea and make something light tonight. I don’t think many of us are going to be eating.” He said, looking at Zayn when pointing it out, then turning his gaze on Louis – who was beginning to snore.

Niall saluted, leaving Harry to get his wind back and Liam to make sure their leader was alright.

One thing was for sure, Sophia needed to tone it down on the theatrics.

“That lass is more bipolar than Harry.” Niall smirked, though it really wasn’t funny or the least bit entertaining. He just didn’t think a partnership in crime would develop with the second in command and the aloof former hostage. She certainly learned something while in London and they all had Louis to thank for it.

“Tea, fish and chips for supper, I think.” Niall murmured in decision, going to the kitchen to prepare the stuff.

*

It was about thirty minutes later when Harry and Liam came in with an unconscious Louis, carefully maneuvering and dragging him down the few steps to the basement.

“Set him down.” Harry rasped, groaning when Louis’s stalky frame was deposited on the bed.

Liam did as Harry told him and set the bloke down.

“What are we doing with Zayn?” Liam asked, not missing the cage set up directly in front of the bed against the opposite wall.

Harry helped Liam lay Louis flat before unlocking the cuffs from the headboard and fixing them to the metal frame beside the straps.

Because he didn’t trust Sophia right now, he tugged at the leather strips to guarantee they were secure, unaware that Niall had taken all the necessary precautions when hooking them up to the bottom of the bedframe.

“Clean Malik up and then restrain him. Hands behind and tied to the cage bars, feet tethered together and make sure the door is padlocked all around so he can’t kick it – if he can even manage to,” Harry answered, looking Liam dead in the eye. “Until I find out exactly what the fuck is going on around here, I’m putting Tomlinson and Malik on ice and regrouping with the rest of you to get to the bottom of this.”

Liam nodded.

“Right.” He agreed.

Harry concurred with a nod of his own, whistling six times.

He was still adamant about Sophia’s training – though he wasn’t aware of the advanced knots she could tie thanks to Louis.

To say they were busy in London would be an understatement. He had taught her more in those hours than she could ever learn at the cabin.

When he didn’t hear footsteps, Harry tried again, whistling louder, before giving up and screaming her name instead.

It was only then did she respond, indicating that she was not a dog and would not be called like one.

“I heard you the first two times, sir. Might I suggest just calling my name next time you need me instead of whistling for me like I am one of your lapdogs? I’m not. As much as I am willing to prove myself to you, I am no longer open for you disrespecting me. I’ve treated you with reverence, but I do not see it being returned. So, here’s my new rule: If you’re a cunt to me, I’m going to turn mega-twat and show you what a true demon bitch is. Don’t think I haven’t heard you mutter that a few times and I don’t appreciate the nickname.” Sophia sassed, coming down the steps and right up to the leader, staring him straight in the eye.

Harry’s hands balled into fists and ready to strike her, but Liam was there to push the two apart.

“Alright now, let’s not start. Harry? Choose your battles. Let it go, you have more pressing matters. Angel? For the love of God and all the bulls in China, will you PLEASE stand down? We have a bigger problem than your power trips and that’s telling Damien his hostages escaped or have you two forgotten?”

Both were too busy staring one another down to pay Liam any mind. In fact, Sophia studied Harry intensely to try and predict his next move. She could sense one coming.

Harry’s eyes were the deepest green Sophia had seen yet.

It looked like a painter had taken a solar storm and mixed it in with a monsoon, adding a splash of the darkest greens on a forest floor.

They were beautifully dangerous and Sophia couldn’t help but stare at the emotions raging in them. It was electrifying and absolutely pulling.

Then again, was it normal to want to slap and kiss someone at the same time? Sophia didn’t know which one she preferred to do, but she definitely knew this wasn’t what a normal person would feel in her situation. Her body was betraying her and the first cold shower didn’t help.

Harry’s fist made its way towards Sophia’s face, but she was faster; ducking under and using her foot to swoop Harry’s ankle out from underneath him, making him fall on Louis.

“Oh, for the love of – NIALL!” Liam called, grabbing Harry up to him so poor Louis could continue to breath uninterrupted.

Sophia was glad he was out cold or that would have been painful.

Niall ran down the steps to see the sight.

“Get Sophia out of her. Everyone is having a cool off.” Liam decided, pointing to the basement’s exit.

Niall nodded, going to pull Sophia from the room, only to be stopped.

“No. I called her down to do something and she’s going to do it.” Harry spoke calmly with restraint, walking over and grabbing the wrist that belonged to her bad hand.

He walked her over to the side of Louis’s temporary bed and pointed down at the cuffs.

“Those first, the straps are placed behind them so he doesn’t slip out.” Harry explained curtly.

Sophia yanked her wrist away from their leader and folded them stubbornly across her chest.

“You’re infuriating! He hasn’t done anything wrong! I am not tying an innocent person up just so you can get your fucking kicks!” Sophia exclaimed, watching Harry mirror her, only trying to use the stance to appear intimidating.

It wasn’t working.

“Infuriating? Welcome to the club with me on that one, Nightshade. YOU are the most irritating woman I have ever MET! I say jump, you tell me to go and –“ Harry started, only for Sophia to jab her finger into his chest.

“Fuck yourself? Right? That’s not true double o asshole and you know it! You just are asking me to jump to an impossible height! I cannot reach it and you purposely set that goal on me so that I would fail anyhow! YOU made it perfectly clear that you don’t care and for me to just roll on my back and do it, which means you’re not listening either,” Sophia was breathing heavily to control her anger, she so desperately wanted to bitch slap him with a cactus at the moment, but instead, she forced herself to calm down and continue. “So, I suppose we are rather fucked, huh? With Damien, with the group – with each other. We are never going to win and you seem alright with that, but I’m NOT! I stayed for you to find another way – another chance at freedom! ANOTHER WAY WITH ME! And still yet, you decide to follow a monster because you act and like to believe you are one. Well, Harry Styles, you’re about as monstrous as spongebobfuckingsquarepants! Beat me, kill me, ignore me, but do something! Because at this moment? The best sound in this world is the sound you make when you just shut the FUCK up!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the group around them stood frozen for the second time that day. Shock was evident in all of their faces and everyone knew that the day spent with Louis, seemed to jog her confidence passed the ‘are you fucking nuts, straight to the ‘here hold my rattlesnake.’ Level of insanity that the girl was currently displaying.

No one had EVER talked to Harry like that before – at least, not ones currently still breathing.

Harry didn’t seem to back down though and grabbed for her wrist again.

Sophia deflected his move by using the side of her hand to knock his away.

“Don’t.” She warned, backing away a step.

“Exactly how much did Louis bloody teach you? Christ, this is not the way you should be learning.” Harry muttered, scratching at his neck.

“Because you want me to learn second best from you? Louis is amazing with combat – I want to learn from him. I did learn from him and I will NOT have you manipulating me into betraying someone who gives a damn about whether I live or die. Unlike you, at least his human side is showing!” Sophia continued to instigate.

“Which is what is going to eventually get Louis killed, doll face. You broke something in him, because I had only that problem with him going rouge once and that was when he was a teen. Stop trying to kill my men! Harry growled, making another grab for her.

She hauled off and punched him in the side of the jaw with her bad hand, which meant the hit wasn’t at its full force, but damn if it still didn’t hurt like a bitch.

Harry grabbed her wrist, tugging Sophia down onto her knees, only to jump back when she tried to play punching bag to his groin.

Liam stepped in again and Niall followed suit with Sophia, separating the pair completely.

“I am not tying him down! I’m not doing it, because it doesn’t prove anything! It proves you want me to follow orders that won’t cease to impress you anyway, so fuck you, curly! I WILL FIGHT YOU TOOTH TO FUCKING NAIL!” Sophia threatened.

Harry seemed to remember something and his eyes swept over to the long wooden coffin that laid on the floor in the corner. It hadn’t been used since the last waiting had been brought to the cabin, which was a few years back.

“Alright, Nightshade, if you won’t and you insist on fighting me, then I suppose we’re going to start back at square one. Liam? Niall? Tie her into the coffin there, please. I think three days in it should mellow her ass out.” Harry ordered.

Sophia automatically went into defense position, using her foot to kick back and nail Niall in the stomach, moving forward and striking Liam in the neck, hitting a pressure point and watching him fall to the floor, unconscious.

She then spun around and made Harry fly forward from the kick she delivered to the back of his head.

It wasn’t all Louis, Andros had helped some with defense as well.

Sophia wasted no time in bolting up the basement steps and out of the door, unbothered to look back to see if they had decided to pursue her, she knew they hadn’t. After all, there was no place for her to run to and Harry knew that.

It wasn’t long before Sophia’s feet were following one of the many random trails, making her way towards an unknown direction, but it all lead back to the hell she had come to know and love, so what was the point? She would walk it so far and then see if she could explore her prison a little better to see what paths ended where.

“I’m not going back there, not a fucking chance.” Sophia muttered, fatigue gripping her senses tightly from all the exertion she used in fighting and arguing with Harry over stupid points that didn’t even need to be brought up.

“Maybe Niall was right for once, sometimes playing stupid gets you further than being a smartarse.” Sophia halfheartedly agreed, her feet kicking at the fallen leaves in absent thought.

It was a kilometer down one of the trails she spotted the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

It was a small river with a low hung Oaktree hanging above it and a small waterfall up the bank a little way away, the limber grass blowing freely to the side.

She wasted no time in hurrying to the tree and climbing the first low branch over the lake, looking out to admire the view.

“It’s like a dream.” Sophia whispered, afraid to disturb the peaceful serenity. This was amazing and she didn’t understand why Louis hadn’t mentioned it – unless he didn’t realize, but they would have known the trails, so that was unlikely.

She got comfortable on the large tree’s thick branch and decided to lean against it to get some sleep to replenish the energy she had used earlier.

“I don’t regret anything. Sometimes, you hurt others to protect the ones you care about. Zayn had it coming.” Sophia rationalized to herself, closing her eyes and letting the sound of the water passing by lure her into sleep.

*

It took an hour for Harry to calm down and an additional half hour for him to get Zayn tied up and secured tightly into the dog crate – the very one the boy had spent a month in before being initiated into the group as a teen.

Zayn hated the cage, he feared it and Harry knew the bloke currently inside the thick metal bars would have begged for death if he had been allowed to talk at all.

Luckily for small favors, Zayn was still out cold, both thanks to pain shots and Louis’s perfectly aimed punches.

Harry sighed, checking the gag in Zayn’s mouth to make sure it was neither too tight or too loose. He needed one to hold his mouth open for both the sake of his teeth as he had a habit of grinding them and to make sure Zayn knew where he currently stood.

Checking over the injured gang member once again, Harry slammed the cage door shut and put four padlocks on the top, four on the bottom and four each on the right and left side of where the hinges connected, making escape impossible – even if Zayn did manage to get out of the duct tape and zip ties restraining him down and to the side of the bars.

“I need to find out what the fuck is going on around here.” Harry muttered, approaching Louis again and clicking the metal cuffs onto his hands until they pinched tightly to his flesh, showing no mercy on the four point straps, placing them snug to his wrists and padlocking them shut just to be absolutely sure he wouldn’t slip them.

When Harry was done with tying down Louis’s ankles, he stood again and went up the steps to check on Liam, who was in the kitchen nursing a cup of tea and the worst headache he had ever sworn to have.

“For the record, I was going to tell you to go to hell, before she went Bruce Lee on me. Punishing Sophia by sticking her in a box won’t help matters. It will make them worse and she will be more difficult to handle in the long run.” Liam warned when Harry had sat down to take his normal seat.

“Shut up and drink your tea, Liam. No one asked for your opinion on the matter,” Harry barked, grabbing his fork up and stabbing one of the fish on his plate, proceeding to mercilessly cut it in half with his knife. “Besides, she’s already impossible to deal with. What bloody difference would one more thing be with her? We’re already fucked as it is.” He concluded, stuffing the piece of food into his mouth, throwing down the fork and standing up to get himself a cuppa. He needed to destress and this situation was going to get much worse before it got better.

Harry felt his phone buzz in his jeans pocket.

He had gotten dressed in between the chaos of tying Zayn up and helping Liam into the living room to regain full consciousness. He was now adorned in his signature blue jeans, plain white undershirt and rattlesnake skinned boots.

With a grunt, he fished the device out of his pocket to see a text lighting up the screen, he flipped it open to read it in full context.

“Zayn, I got the kids back to their father per your instructions and they will be leaving London tomorrow morning, not a moment sooner. I am sorry I could not convince Mr. Atwater to expedite them, but he feels they will be safe in the hotel until the morning. Please do not contact me again as I have said before when you dropped them off that our business was finished. Best wishes with your future endeavors, yours truly – Colton Greer.” He read aloud, his face paling.

Harry was seeing red.

“Zayn really did betray us.” Harry realized, a sense of dread falling over him. “We’re dead. I have to call Damien and tell him, maybe I can fix this – or he can. If not, we. Are…dead.” Harry panicked, pacing in front of the table, before using his hands to lift and flip it over – the food and dishes crashing to the ground loudly.

Liam was lucky he had chosen to sit on the opposite side of the table this time around and was currently holding onto his tea mug for dear life.

Niall was glad he decided to only bring plates to the table and not everything or he would have a bigger mess to clean.

“I think you might need to calm down some before you speak to your father, mate. Two hot tempers won’t do us a scratch of good.” Liam advised, standing up to help Niall clear up the broken dishes and reset the table back onto its legs.

“Fuck off, Liam.” Harry hissed, turning to go into the hall.

“What’s going to happen to Zayn when Damien finds out he was responsible? Damien wouldn’t kill him – would he? He’s the best tracker we have.” Niall pointed out, grabbing the broom and dustpan.

Liam was picking up the bigger pieces that hadn’t broken.

“If Damien Styles would kill his own children, then he would kill the rest of you in a heartbeat. Don’t ask stupid queries, Niall. You’ll receive stupid answers in return.” Harry snapped, heading down the hall, his bedroom door slamming a second later.

Niall simply sighed and looked at Liam.

“Well, there’s plenty of leftovers over there if you fancy another plate. I’m going to go and see if I can’t find Sophia, give her a bit a something. I don’t care what Harry says, she needs to eat.” Niall insisted, going to the cupboard where the Tupperware was and taking out a small container to fill for the girl.

Liam wasn’t going to interject or disagree, he nodded and continued on with sweeping, figuring Niall was always cleaning up Harry’s typhoon sized tantrums, it didn’t bother him to help out his fellow gang member once in a while.

“Never a dull moment.” Liam noted, watching Niall grab a fork and the container now filled with fish and chips, heading toward the door.

“Isn’t that the truth, mate.” Niall agreed, continuing his path until he was outside with the door shutting behind him.

He didn’t know which direction to go, so he decided to start with the paths least taken. If Louis was anything to go by and it would seem Sophia was more in tune with him than anyone else at the moment, he would most likely find Louis by his favorite weed plant or by the small river.

Sophia didn’t look to be the type of girl to chase a high, so he decided to start at the river and walk his way around from there.

“Hope she’s hungry,” Niall muttered, rubbing his tender stomach where she had kicked him. “God knows I would be if she didn’t kick my guts up my bloody throat.”

*

While all the members were either disposed of or occupied, no one had any clue of the four vans that pulled up just outside the main path that lead to the cabin. It was far enough away so that they couldn’t be seen, but a short walk away so that they could attack under the cover of darkness. Which is when Eli and Bret meant to strike.

“Oh my God, this is like Christmas! I’m about to get everything I want, eeek! Bret, you have made me the happiest girl alive!” Eli exclaimed, hopping into the older boy’s arms and kissing his lips.

Bret smiled, tightening his hold on the wayward girl, setting her back onto her feet.

“Anything for you darling and I just got confirmation that the others are on their way back to the compound with Paper’s friends – it will be almost worth it when you capture Harry and make him watch as everyone around him dies. The bittersweet smell of blood – the feeling of warmth you get as their life force drains out of them…” Bret trailed off, feeding her another sick fantasy, escalating the need to make it a reality.

Bret was crazy, Eli was crazier – two crazies who share the same agenda were usually the most dangerous people of all.

“Tonight, about one AM – we’ll begin to surround the area. With thirty-five men and another twenty on the way, Harry and his gang won’t even know what hit them,” Eli smiled, leaning in to take hold of Bret’s jaw and press another forceful kiss onto it. “So let’s light them up baby and enjoy their screams.”

Notes

AUTHOR'S NOTE, PLEASE READ!!!:

As some of you know, two/three of my stories are nominated for awards. I have been running around rapid to try and get the votes to remain in the categories I have been nominated for. I have made it into the third round with still all eight categories in tow! absolutely insane! Well, elimination for the third round is upon us and like before, to remain in the category and go onto the next round without being cut from it, I need those who read the story to vote! It will take only a few moments of your time and here is the link and the categories I am being nominated in. My username is VanitySorrowHeart and my stories are: The Silence That Surrounds and its sequel, along with Stockholm Syndrome.

Please click here to cast your votes! Remember, you can vote for all eight categories, but can only vote once per category!

http://www.onedirectionfanfiction.org/Story/84733/Official-Fan-Fiction-Awards-17/18/

VOTING ENDS TONIGHT AS EACH ELIMINATION ROUND IS 24 HOURS FROM WHEN THE VOTING STARTS! (IT SHOULD END AT 11:59pm PACIFIC TIME 2/20/2017 to go onto round 4 of eliminations.

Categories:

Best One Direction Fanfiction:

Best Tear Jerker Scene: Dylan’s Death in the Silence that Surrounds

Best Drama:

Best Action (I'm up against one other person for this category, the others were eliminated)

Best Crime

Best Horror

Best Thriller

and

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