The Silence That Surrounds

Sophia’s POV

It was possibly an hour later that my door was heard opening again, soft footsteps crossing across the carpet and the bed dipping down, which also tightened the restraints on my body since the weight was also sitting on the straps.

“Good morning, Ms. Stone. Here, let’s get that gag out and we’ll get you fed.” The calm and worn voice said, his warm hands coming to the back to untie the taunt fabric. One thing was for sure, when Harry is pissed, he is not gentle in anything.

I lifted my head up to help make it easier for him as he seemed to be struggling with a few of the knots. Once he worked them out he parted the cloth and took it out completely. My blindfold soon followed, allowing me to blink.

“Thank you, Zayn.” I addressed him by name, seeing him smile slightly.

“Just doing my job, Ms. Stone.” He shrugged, his smile slowly thinning back to his normal frown as he grabbed the bowl that he had set beside him on the nightstand. “Niall isn’t cooking this morning, Harry’s turn and he just threw on some oatmeal, so, that’s what everyone had.” Zayn stated blandly, though I could see the corners of his mouth twitch up a bit in disgust.

I sighed.

“So he’s being a prick and punishing you all?” A hand slapped over my mouth before I even had time to take a breath and recover from that sentence.

Zayn looked up toward the open door and saw a shadow on the wall before it came into sight. Luckily it was just Niall.

“You might want to close the door if you’re going to insult Harry. I don’t see how you’re still breathing Ms. Stone, truly and honestly I don’t. Harry is proving to have restraint with you, not something we can normally attest to. Perhaps he is just driven to make you insane, I don’t know but I came in here to let you know that after you eat –“

I bite down on Zayn’s hand as hard as I could.

He jerked it off which made Niall pause.

“I’m not eating that shit. I don’t eat oatmeal, I’m allergic to oats. If you had done any research on me, you would be aware of that.” I barked angrily, glancing as Liam entered into the room, his arms crossed.

“Harry is requesting a meeting with you all, I came to feed –“Liam started but I interrupted. For some reason, I don’t know what it is – these guys rubbed me the wrong way but for the most part – they seemed harmless. Out of the five of them these three never hurt me and I don’t see them doing so anytime soon.

Zayn shook out his hand trying to lessen the pain.

“I’m not eating it. I’m allergic to oats, I’ll need my epee pen and unless you have one of those lying around –“I started but it was Zayn who interrupted me this time.

“We do. We have every drug imaginable here. Epee pens, insulin, pain killers. You’re in good hands Ms. Stone. I promise. We kidnap high profile cases all the time, you can never be too prepared and in your case – you will be getting a shot today from the looks of it. You eat what we eat, Ms. Stone. If you can’t eat it, you will be forced and since I know for a fact that Liam is a good persuader in the arts of getting stubborn hostages to do what they’re supposed to do –“He trailed off, looking down at me. His demeanor turning cold and distant.

“Or we can always go and get Harry and he can feed you –but we all saw how badly that ended last time, your choice really.” Niall shrugged.

I decided I’d rather get the severe reaction.

Zayn chuckled and slid off the bed, passing Liam and handing him the bowl.

Liam sighed while the other two disappeared for the meeting.

I stared at the slightly older one. He and I had only met briefly the first night when he stabbed me with the needle to put me out. Now we seemed to be in a silent stare down.

He gave first and walked toward the bed, sitting down where Zayn had and mixed up the food.

“I’m not playing you, Liam. If you give me that I will go into shock and it could potentially kill me, do any of you really want that? I know I don’t. I’d like to be around to have kids and get out of this nightmare. Be reasonable –you’re the oldest out of all of them, I know you have more than the rest of em’.” I begged, fear radiating from my eyes.

“That Ms. Stone, is giving me far too much credit. Now, open up.” Liam demanded, bringing the spoon near my mouth.

My mouth dropped slightly in shock. I couldn’t believe –

He put the spoon in and I instantly turned to the side and spit it from my mouth. Panic coursing through my veins.

Liam sighed and took the napkin, wiping up the disgusting slop from the side of my face and the bed itself.

“Get Harry – go on, get him.” I pleaded in resignation, swallowing a little of the gruel, not able to rid my mouth of it all completely. I was going to break out, I was going to die if they made me eat that whole bowl.

Liam slammed the bowl on the nightstand and stood, leaving out the door without another word.

I don’t know the exact time it was when Harry and Louis walked in but they both looked more than annoyed.

“Liam is telling us you’re refusing to eat? I thought we talked about this your first day here. You will eat whatever is given to you, you will accept whatever we give you and strangely, you act as though you have a choice in all that, Ms. Stone.” He crossed his arms over his chest as Louis came over and grabbed the bowl, sitting down on the table and grasping the spoon. I knew they were going to unintentionally kill me if I didn’t speak and speak now.

“I can’t eat it, I’m allergic! I’m breaking out a small bit on my stomach already from what I was just forced to eat! You feed that to me and I will die! I am allergic to oats and if you don’t believe me, pull up my medical charts! Better yet, check my stomach!” I screamed at him, feeling the itchy hives start to protrude and rise on my skin.

Harry walked over and lifted up the shirt Louis let me borrow, seeing that I was indeed, starting to break out in hives.

“Louis? Dump the oatmeal. Since she cannot have it, she will not be eating breakfast. Gag her, we need to resume the meeting. Our boss wants progress and there needs to be stuff to report to him; last thing we need is for him to show up.” Harry said, moving my shirt back to cover up the red marks.

“And what of Ms. Stone? Epee pen?” Louis questioned, grabbing the cloth on the table.

My blood ran cold. If I had a full on reaction, my airways were going to close up. I was severely allergic, all it had to do was touch my skin and I broke out in that area.

“Please, I swallowed some of it. I’m going to need the pen because I am severely allergic, my airways are tightening up –I’m not lying. Gagging me is the worst thing you gents could do to me right now. I’m not just saying that to change your minds because God knows I won’t.” I pleaded, looking between the two captors, watching for a reaction. Unfortunately there wasn’t any.

“Louis? Gag her, we have a meeting to finish. Ms. Stone? Let this be a pre-punishment before your actual one. When this meeting is over I will deal with you personally but since we can’t have you dying on us, I will get Louis to give you what you require.”

I swallowed, seeing Harry’s green eyes leave mine and nod before turning and going back out with the others.

The cloth was forced into my mouth in less than a gentle manner and Louis’s hands were even less so with tying the knots but I didn’t fight him and lifted up my head so he could make quick work of following his orders. I knew it was pointless and I was already in enough trouble with him. So I cooperated with the irate boys, my stomach twisted in knots.

When Louis was done he pushed my head back on the mattress and left to get the pen. It didn’t take him long to return with it.

He didn’t even hesitate. He was over to me in a blink and bit the safety off the top of the pen, lifting my shirt and slammed it against my stomach.

I whimpered as he held it there, both of us hearing a faint click to let us know that it had been positioned correctly into place and the auto-injection would release the needle straight into my stomach in ten seconds. I mentally counted, flinching when the pen’s mechanism sprung and the needle punctured my skin, releasing the medication to stop my allergic reaction.

“All done Ms. Stone. Rest up, we’ll be in to get you in a while.” Louis smirked, enjoying the discomfort that crossed my face.

I had to pee and somehow it felt like the bottom strap was pressing on my bladder. I knew that was impossible but not being able to bend my knees made them cramp into numbness and my stomach hurt from the second strap squeezing the life from it – and the first one restricted my breathing a little so that didn’t help matters.

“Ya know something? Out of all the hostages we’ve had before you, Ms. Stone, you are the only one who has managed to get into the most trouble. It’s comical in a pathetic sort of way. Hopefully we’ll be able to break that little habit of yours. Sooner than later with any luck.” He chuckled then, throwing the used pen on the table and patting my cheek.

I turned away from him in disgust, my head rolling over the thick knots he had tied in my gag.

“Get some rest, you have quite the day in front of you.” He advised cryptically, walking from the room and shutting it closed with a soft click.

The thought briefly crossed my mind what this was leading up to but in the grand scheme of a bigger picture, there was little to be done other than pray.

Surprisingly, despite my offset beliefs, I did just that. Although, that wouldn’t save me and I knew it.

When they all finally walked back in again, my mouth was dry and I was sore. It had been a few hours. Each of them wearing their blank expression like a mask.

Harry led the group, holding something small in his hand.

“Zayn? Louis? Get Ms. Stone untied, help her to the bathroom. We can’t have her pissing on herself. When she’s done bring her to the basement. The rest of us will be down there waiting. She remains gagged until then so if she pulls anything, go ahead and strip her naked and bring her down.” Harry ordered.

I watched Zayn and Louis come forward, grabbing the straps and undoing them while the cuffs were unlocked a moment later.

Harry came up to me and shoved the small objects in my hand. I looked over and saw they were dice.

“You’re going to roll these Ms. Stone. Whatever they land on are the days you will endure this punishment.” Harry explained, his eyes darkened in annoyance when my hand went to tamper with the gag in my mouth. Harry stopped me, grabbing onto my hand with brutal force.

“You WILL listen to orders. You WILL obey them or I will make you. I am getting so tired of threatening you, Ms. Stone. If it weren’t for cold beer and being medicated, your ass, come against orders or not, would be buried next to all the other hostages in my little corpse garden outside. Now, roll the fucking dice!” Harry growled.

I threw the dice out of pure fear across the room and flinched back against Zayn and Louis’s hold. Each of them grabbing my wrist and hauling me from the bed roughly.

“Come on Ms. Stone, we’ll take you to the bathroom.” Zayn said, although his voice sounded worn and tired. It made me wonder what the other three did when they weren’t attending to me or running around and kissing Harry’s ass. I’d of asked them but it wouldn’t have done me many favors.

Sometimes I wish I could be like my mum. Clueless and stupid, worrying only what the neighbors thought and trying to be the envy of all that saw.

Sadly I have a brain and a smart business IQ well above average – unfortunately I let my mouth get ahead of me some of the time. I’m beginning to see this as something I may need to altercate. At least for the moment.

I flinched as they manhandled me to the door, Harry’s voice stopping them before we completely got out of sight.

“A lucky throw Ms. Stone. For you at least – though it makes me somewhat disappointed to be so short. You rolled a two. Snake eyes. So we’ll commence your punishment for two days. Shame, I was hoping you would roll a twelve.” Harry sneered before I was hauled down the hall and to the bathroom.

Louis pulled my boxer shorts down and they both sat me down on the cold seat of the toilet and stepped back a few steps in perfect formation. It seemed they had done this many times before.

I would have protest at their rather impertinent behavior but all I did was glare between one to the other.

“Ms. Stone?” My eyes went to Zayn.

“Please pee or do what you gotta do. The sooner we get this over with the sooner it’s done. We’re not turning around, so you’ll be waiting a long time for that to happen. Harry was very specific with instruction for you and it’s no more fun for us as it is you. You’re causing us more work than what is needed and if you don’t stop, we’ll have to make you one way or another.”

I heard the underlying threat in Zayn’s voice and shivered a little. While he didn’t seem unkind, I got the warning crystal clear.

I nodded and resumed to relieve the pressure that had been building up inside me. At least this time I would get to wipe myself. Truthfully, I didn’t want to go through that humiliation again.

My cheeks still flushed red at the sound of my urine hitting the water but it was no different than using the public loos, I hated it either way and felt far more comfortable in my own apartment. The only difference was, in public at least there was still privacy. I didn’t have strange men watching me.

“Done?” Louis asked, impatiently.

I nodded and ripped off some toilet paper, wiping, going to throw it away but something red caught my attention.

I let out a small whimper knowing this was positively the worst time for this to happen. The boys seemed to notice to because they looked downright uncomfortable.

I would have gotten a slight satisfaction out of it, if it weren’t for the fact that I was kidnapped and this posed problems for myself as well. I’d be damned if their hands were going anywhere near me in such an intimate place.

“Um –should we get Harry? He has more experience in dealing with stuff like this.” Zayn asked Louis unsure.

Of course the psychopath has experience in girls and periods. I thought bitterly before trying to say something.

Louis looked at Zayn before stepping forward and jerking me up into a standing position. I hurriedly yanked the boxer shorts up, a little unsteady on my feet.

Louis reached behind me and flushed before resuming to grab my other arm and haul me out of the bathroom, through the hall and down through a short flight of steps into the dark of the basement.

When we got there, Harry, Niall and Liam were waiting.

“Took you long enough!” Harry snapped, which earned a flinch from all three of us.

“Sorry, Hazza. Ms. Stone got her period and –“Louis started to explain but Harry cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“That’s alright, with what we’re doing that won’t get in the way. Leave it as it comes. We’ll deal with it after. Go ahead and strip her naked. When you’re done, hand her on the chains.” Harry ordered, pointing to the shackles hanging from the roof.

I let out a loud muffled explanation, trying to get out of their grasp before something was thrown at my feet. I saw it was a roll of duct tape and a pair of my heels from home –what the bloody hell?

“Liam? Help Ms. Stone slip her heels on and then wrap the duct tape around her knees so she can’t bend them. Niall? Run and get me one of the scarfs to blindfold her with – well, after. I want her to feel the full effects and know exactly what I’m going to do.

I struggled for all I was worth, kicking out at Liam and twisting my body roughly to get from their grasp. Unfortunately, Louis and Zayn were strong and they had been anticipating my reaction because they hauled me over to the chains and locked the manacles onto me until the metal pressed against my flesh unbearably.

I screamed as loud as I could and Harry at that time had enough with my defiance.

“Okay Ms. Stone, you don’t want to cooperate? That’s fine. Although I don’t think Mister. Puss will think so when I mutilate one of his paws in the blender.” He said calmly before he pointed toward a blender that had been set a few feet ahead.

Much to my horror he started making a soft and reassuring clicking sound with his tongue. “Here kitty, kitty. Come here buddy.”

He used such a soft caring voice, if I didn’t know him – I’d probably fall under false security too. Oh Tum Tum’s run, run far bloody fucking away!

My voice came out as a loud garbled cry as I tried to plead but Harry ignored me. Cold ice made its way through my veins once again.

“Here kitty, kitty.” He tried again, seeing the cat come out from its hiding spot, rubbing its head on different objects to mark his territory.

“There you are, bud. Come here, let’s show mummy what we do to disobedient hostages who don’t want to listen. Your mum has been very, very naughty and sadly pus, she needs to learn a lesson. I’m just sorry it had to be you, you are such a pretty kitty.” Harry cooed soothingly and went to pick the cat up, going to the blender.

Mr. Tum Tum’s was a trusting cat. He loved everyone and everyone usually loved him.

I screamed and struggled, yanking on my chains as Louis was quick to rip the tank to from my body, Zayn quickly pulling my boxer shorts down and leaving me naked.

I wasn’t focused on that though, I was screaming for everything that was holy not to hurt my cat. I begged, it was muffled but I begged and screamed for everything I was, the fear gripping pang ripping through my body violently, knowing these men were capable of anything. They could do anything they wanted.

Harry smirked and knelt down turning it on.

“So, puree or highest speed? Hmm.” Harry pretended to think before setting it on the highest speed.

Tears were falling down my face and I was sobbing, the wetness blurring my vision as I watched my cat calmly hanging there in Harry’s arm, his hand scratching the cat behind his ear and the other hand on his paw, guiding it slowly toward the blender.

“NM! TUMMH! STM!” I screamed over the noise and the voices that started to scream again. They were as loud as my own voice and my psyche was cracking.

If I could I would offer to trade places with my poor cat – the cat I have had for over ten years. My baby.

“Aww, is poor little Sophia attached to her kitty? Would she like me to stop? Give her another chance to be a good little girl?” Harry smirked sadistically, the cat’s paw at the edge of the blender, dipping in slightly.

“mm! Ym! Plmm!” I begged, nodding my head frantically, seeing Harry’s eyes light up and trailing my face for any sort of defiance.

“So, if I let this little bugger go, you will quit fighting me? You will do as I say, when I say it? You will not talk back? You will start being as good as a girl in a church choir?” Harry chuckled, dipping my cat’s paw in a little further.

My eyes widened a little more if that was at all possible.

I screamed a shrill but muffled yes, my vision going out of focus, my sobs forthcoming and the knot in my throat was tightening.

Harry paused, looking at Louis. I followed his stare and they shared a look – a pure sadistic look before Louis chuckled.

“I’m afraid I don’t believe you Ms. Stone.

With that he plunged my cat’s paw into the blender.

My voice echoing off the walls in an ear shattering scream at the same time, dying off into the void space of quietness, my consciousness slowly seeming to slip but a harsh slap brought me back into reality.

I looked in at the scene. My head spinning. Nothing was happening…my cat wasn’t making a sound. In fact, the little fucker seemed to be purring and rubbing against Harry’s hand.

My heart was pounding, stopping and shorting out momentarily as it struggled to get back to beating normally again.

Harry and Louis laughed, Harry shutting off the blender, scratching my cat’s ear one last time and putting him down to trot off back to wherever he had come from.

I blubbered incoherently into my gag while sobbing, spit leaking slightly from the corner of my mouth as I had been screaming and unable to swallow well.

Harry smirked and brought up the base of the blender, turning it and showing me the inside.

“No blades in it you stupid fucking bitch.” Harry growled, slamming the base onto the ground as hard as he could, the sound of it momentarily deafening my incoherence.

I flinched, slowing myself to complete stillness.

That’s when I felt it, Harry’s hand coming down to the right side of my right cheek before the back of it met my left, causing my head to snap both directions violently.

“Next time, princess, I won’t use a broken blender, next time you will have puree of cat. Consider that your one and only warning, luv,” His green eyes now scanning over my body in slight disgust before addressing Louis. “Lou? After Liam is done putting her heels on and taping her knees so they won’t bend, you see those two hooks anchored to the ground right there? Chain each foot to one of them so her legs are spread the farthest apart and then after put that bucket over there down between them, that way if she has to relieve herself she can. She’ll be fed once a day and given water twice until her punishment is over. Two days from now, that should be enough to warrant a change in attitude, yeah?” Harry asked around, genuinely pleased with himself.

Louis shrugged.

“God help her if it doesn’t.” He replied, looking at Liam who was strapping the high heels on my feet, which set me a little off balance.

When Liam was done with the tape and both Zayn and Louis had chain my ankles to either side of the hooks Harry had pointed to, I was sore, drained and tired. I just hung there, my muscles constricting and straining to keep me upright and balanced. Two days of this would kill me but I got little choice and so – I resigned myself.

Niall showed up just as they finished with me.

“I need to wash the scarfs, we’re running low.” Niall murmured, coming to stand in front of me as I simply sobbed, not bothering to stop. I was going to cry myself into unconsciousness but that didn’t bother me. I wanted to go home.

I saw him readying the cloth and shut my eyes readily so the material wouldn’t rub and irritate them but with all the strain going up my body, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

He wrapped the blindfold gently around my face and tied it firmly to the back of my head.

I felt a hot tickle of breath by my ear, the other sets of footsteps fading away.

“Stay strong Ms. Stone.”

With that he was gone and the door was closed and clocked, the voices of the dead once again screaming in the silence, their laughter dancing cruelly off the walls and my sobs intermixing within the chaos.

Notes

enjoy.