The Night It All Went Down

Gerry’s firm grasp dragged me down endless, blurred hallways, the rough, caustic ropes he had bound my hands with biting into my dying skin with every pull.

I stumbled along helplessly behind him, tears threatening to overspill onto my cheeks as I desperately bit back cries of anguish. They'd taken away everything I could control – I would not let them rid me of my humanity.

On either side, three security guards flanked us, marching me like a prisoner to the death cell. My stomach flipped and flopped and grumbled, protesting at my lack of nourishment, wondering if it would ever get fed. I didn't think those chances looked particularly good to be completely honest.

I couldn't recall where I was taken, forgetting to remember each twist and turn we made like I remember being taught back when I learnt martial arts. If only I had enrolled in karate or taikwondo – rather than just an art that made me take the punches, not give them. It was mind numbing, focusing on blocking out the encroaching darkness that began to creep into the sides of my vision. I would not pass out. I would not pass out.

The constant ringing in my ears refused to stop, my mouth developing a sour taste as I struggled to swallow my new reality. I wished I had some concept of time – were the others worried? Would I be sent help? But more importantly:

Where the hell was Niall?

It was a question I'd tried to ask Melissa to no avail. I doubted Gerry would provide much more information, considering he looked like he was all meat and no brains. Would such a lowlife even be trusted as to keeping a secret such as the kidnapping of an international pop star and his, well…his girlfriend?

Girlfriend. Even when there seemed no hope in this world, the reminder that I was Niall’s girlfriend, the person he was committed to being with for a time at least, gave me a strange sense of calm. I sadistic type of smile played on my lips as my bum bumped against the floor again and again, my thoughts numbing the pain of such injuries. My rambling thoughts were going to have to keep me sane, because it didn't look like I was going to have much human contact for a while.

Suddenly, we stopped. Gerry halted outside a glass door and I craned my neck upwards to see the pin code, catching the tail end: 456. Great. It was a start, at least.

He pressed down on the aluminium handle, a dull thud signalling the pin code had been verified and the door was unlocked. A rush of air greeted us as I was dragged into the room, my body feeling cool glass steps beneath it as I was bashed against each and every one. We were descending. Good to know.

“KAYLEIGH!” I heard a voice roar – Niall. Oh thank God, he was alive! I felt myself overcome with grief and happiness, and I opened my mouth to respond to him, only to find it raspy and dry from all the shouting I had done.

“I'm here Ni,” I called, my voice croaked softly, and odd tinge of anger rimming it “I'm here.”

“Welcome!” The sound of a pleased, eloquent voice filled the room as I was thrown to the glass floor and left, crumpled in a heap. “Come now, gentlemen. Was it really necessary to bind her so? Were you really that afraid of a 102 pound girl?”

I heard the awkward shuffle of the goons that had brought me here erupt from behind my back, a cough so out of place it only increased tension emanating from one of them. I struggled against the ties on my hands, wriggling against the rope and burning my wrists as I did so. I couldn't help it. I was desperate.

“Here love. Let me help you with that.” An old, kind face appeared in front of me, adorned with round spectacles and salt and pepper hair. His green eyes and snub nose reminded me of my dad, yet his unique wrinkles at the edges of them somewhat diminished the resemblance. I bit my lip and held them out, watching as he slid through them with a knife as if they were butter.

“All better?” He asked, to which I nodded feverishly. “Good. I'm Dr Yetty, my associate Dr Harvey and I will be filling both you and Niall in on the procedures here. I'm sure you'll find it…an interesting experience.”

Eyeing him cautiously, I accepted his extended hand less than gratuitously, pulling myself up to gaze around my confinements. The room was entirely glass, with bars of supporting iron rimming the panes. It was a jumble with things, several desks in the middle, forming an ‘o’ with their shape, several more rooms accessible through steel glass on the opposite side. It was tall and airy, stretching way into the sky, so far I was sure it could have been seen from miles around.

So why hadn't the police come here?

“Kayleigh, are you okay?” Niall's voice came again, his voice soaked with relief and pain. I whipped my head around and saw him seated in one of the conference chairs, metal restraints wrapped around his neck, ankles and wrists. His face dripped with tears and his body was getting redder by the minute: a noticeable sign of his growing anger.

I glanced at Dr Yetty, who had returned to ruffling through some papers at his desk over in the far corner, and ran towards Niall, wrapping my arms around his body the moment I reached him.

“Niall,” I breathed against his chest “oh thank fuck you're alright.” He smelt musky and sweaty, probably induced by the panic of waking up in an unknown environment. But he was still the Niall I knew and loved and no matter what the circumstances, just being near him would always calm me.

“I'm fine. Are you alright? What did they do to you? Where were you? I tried to see you but they would let me – they said something about you not waking up?”

“They did?” I frowned “I only woke up about half an hour ago. How long have we been here Ni?”

“Best I can gather? A little over a week. Oh Jesus, Kay, your wrists! What on earth did they do? Who did this? I'll kill them!” He was shaking with anger and fear, so I laid a hand over his palpitating heart to ease his bubbling fury.

“Hey hey hey! It's alright. They'll heal! I'm more concerned right now about why we’re here, in this room.”

“And why that chloroform knocked you out for a week.”

“I think I can answer that.” A feminine voice called from behind us. Niall and I swung our heads at once, avoiding crashing into each other by millimetres. Coming down the stairs, was a lady, her black hair tied up in a bun, her white lab coat catching her ankles as she traversed the steps in her beige heels. Everything about this woman screamed “me me me”. I disliked her instantly.

“Dr Caitlin Harvey, you must be Kayleigh Michaels and Niall Horan?” She held out her manicured hand but I ignored it, keeping my hands firmly clasped in Niall's bound once. She eventually dropped it.

“We believe your abilities had a reaction with the chemical that was used to sedate you. It may have harmed you in some way and your abilities kept you unconscious longer in order for you to heal correctly.”

I bit my lip and glared at her even more after she explained. “Was it really necessary to lock Niall up?” I spat, my free hand buried in my jean pocket. It's not like he could hurt you.”

“On the contrary, Miss Michaels. Mr Horan decided to try his luck and take a few punches at me,” Yetty sighed, walking over to where the three of us had congregated. His glasses had slipped down his nose and his eyebrows were pushed together in a deep frown as he took in the obvious contrast between the two of us and Dr Harvey. The irony was so obvious I wanted to vomit.

“I think it would be best to get down to the tests, don't you Caitlin?” He continued, pulling the clipboard he carried to his front.

“What tests?” Niall asked, his eyes widening.

“Oh just simple things really. We want to monitor your main vitals at the moment, but we also need to collect sex cell samples and other data.” Harvey shrugged, not looking too bothered.

I couldn't disguise the horror that crept onto my face. I was disgusted – these people were going to violate our human rights for WHAT reason exactly?

“You first, Niall,” Harvey smiled, reaching into her lab coat pocket for a pre-labelled sampling beaker. She released Niall’s restraints, allowing him to flex his aching muscles as she did so. “Remember, we need as much as possible so there's some material in there to get you going, should you need it.”

“The toilet’s this way,” Yetty motioned to the right. “Nothing to be scared of, we just need to conduct some research on the way sexual intercourse affects Matches.”

With a sharp intake of air, Niall snatched the beaker from Harvey’s hand and headed towards the toilet.

What the hell did he mean by ‘research’?

Notes

Hi everybody!

I know now it feels like Kayleigh's and Niall's abilities have kind of just taken over the original plot of the story, which is Paul's murder. I assure you, it's all relevant and the coming chapters will see a few up and coming revelations about his death!!

Did you guys see I changed the summary of the story?? I tried to keep it minimal and punchy! I even listened to my English teach and added the metaphor of the red ink smearing because I was alluding to the idea that when you kill somebody, you smear blood everywhere. No? Just me? No wonder I'm not so great at English XD

Hope you're all doing okay xx

Stay safe loves x