The Silence That Surrounds

Zayn’s POV:

I watched silently across the room, my body next to Louis with Liam on my other side. The room was still silent long after Master Styles had left. Liam, Louis, Harry, Christian and myself were still tied up on the ground but the rest of our gags had been removed. There wasn’t much to say and even littler energy to say it in. Ms. Stone laid naked on the bed but untied and Niall – he sat idly beside her, next to her head, his fingers gently combing through her hair.

“It was no coincidence. None of this was.” Harry spoke, his voice faltering in the already dead air.

“None of what was, boss?” Louis questioned sarcastically, shifting himself.

I turned my head to look at him, my eyes red but I could only sit and stare, none of this making any sense.

Louis wore an expressionless mask, much like Liam but I couldn’t even harden myself. I couldn’t even fathom what had happened.

“Ms. Stone. Damien already had this planned, the girl wouldn’t have won either way with him. Compliant or not, this was going to happen. This wasn’t just a regular gang rape, this was an initiation – a test. She passed, she’s in.” Harry relented the information with ease. His tone stoic but I could hear a slight detection of something else – bitterness. It was intoxicating around the small space, dangerous almost. Harry was getting upset.

“How the bleeding hell does this have to do anything with gang rape to be initiated into our fucking group? She was already in before Damien’s arrival – until he put her back on hostage status, why rape?” I questioned him, my voice shaking to cover my emotion of anger but like Harry, I was failing.

“She passed, Damien raped her to objectify her. His gang raped her to see how well she endured it. She came through it because she tried to follow orders – she got the information we needed from Dylan. Now all he wants to do is bleed orders into her, he’ll still test her.” Harry shook his head, keeping his head lowered.

“Damien got the answers out of Dylan by forcing him to watch his sister get raped! This isn’t right, you’re monsters.” Christian finally spoke up, which, to be honest, I was surprised he hadn’t earlier but judging by the tears still cascading down his cheeks and his strained voice, I didn’t blame him for keeping quiet.

“I may have taken her virginity but you’re not so innocent either, boy. Keep your mouth fucking SHUT unless you want me to shut it permanently for you.” Harry threatened with a growl, his naked body tensing against his ropes, his cock stained with Sophia’s blood – the first blood to flow, it truly did mean the end to innocence and none of us could stop it, none of us could even move.

I glanced over at the chair Dylan had occupied and for a moment, wished I could take a break from the hard ground but unless Damien –

A loud cough and sneeze could be heard throughout the sudden basement, echoing down from the hall – followed by another set of sneezes and then, just as we had expected, Damien’s enraged voice.

“Fuck a bloody Christmas tree! HARRY! What fuck kind of animal was in here?!” He demanded, bursting into the basement and right up to us, hauling Harry to his feet by his long brown curly hair.

Harry didn’t utter a sound but he did flinch, come to think of it – so did I. Bloody hell, I’m shaving my head the first chance I get.

Damien turned his head away and coughed into his arm while holding Harry still.

“What. Kind. HARRY?!” He spaced out the words like he would to a child so they could understand, that seemed to agitate Harry and Sophia seemed to jerk up from the bed she had been left. That did not go unnoticed by Damien. In fact his attention only magnified to her direction.

“A cat, Sophia’s cat to be precise. I had Louis take him.” Harry answered, his voice controlled but it wavered, his attention now to the girl.

“And why would you take a bloody Goddamn CAT?! You know I could bloody fucking DIE!” Damien roared, his hand tightening on his brown strands, which made Harry clear his throat nervously and without emotion – I knew he was about to utter something sarcastic.

“The cat was a potential witness, he saw Louis breaking and entering, had to kidnap him, keep him quiet, ya know, keeping loose ends tied up and all.”

Harry never smiled, never showed any amusement – it was plain all sarcasm and it was bloody brilliant.

None of us grinned or uttered a sound – it was dead silent and that meant Damien was pissed.

“Master Styles? We let the cat go outside, it’s no longer here.” Liam answered and that made Damien smirk – before sneezing.

“Boys?! If you see a cat outside – crush its skull.” Damien ordered, gagging before shoving Harry down and continuing his violent reaction.

“NO!” Sophia screamed, stumbling to the side of the bed dizzily before crying out from the pain, her hand going in between her legs and yelling in agony.

“Ms. Stone, darling child. If you wanted another go around, all you had to do was ask.” Damien smirked but Niall was already standing up, his body unthreatening. Damien seemed to be wheezing now when he spoke. As much as I’d love to see the bloody bastard drop dead from lack of oxygen, I was not willing to risk the girl’s health. She was broken, it showed in her eyes so undoubtedly clear. There was no hope left and now she understood. Now she understood why.

“Master Styles? We need to get you an allergy shot, post stat, sir. Your air pipe is closing. From there let’s put you in Zayn’s room, the cat has not been in there or Louis’s room. Which room were you in?” Niall asked, leading the madman away up the steps while Sophia resigned to whimpering, her body shaking.

“Mate?” I asked softly, seeing four other heads turn towards me. I roll my eyes. “Louis.”

“What is it?” Louis popped an eyebrow but watched Sophia struggle from the bed, her body so weak that it merely fell flat on the concrete floor.

Sophia let out a weak scream, which made Christian start to struggle in his restraints.

“Sophie! Ms. Stone?” He exclaimed, the almost falsified shadow lighting the dulled reflection of his skin in the dim glow.

“She’s okay,” Harry insisted calmly, looking over but not truly seeing. “Ms. Stone?”

She began to sob, her head nodding back and forth.

“If you have any mercy of God left bloody in ya’s, you will fucking end me.“

“I’m afraid that moment has long since passed. You are officially in, your endurance, your ability to follow direct order – Ms. Stone, you are so far, the only woman my father has left alive. Whether it’s because you are still needed, I don’t know but your brother gave up the information. Tomorrow is when you guys will try to take access to the company servers.” Harry told her blatantly.

“BLOODY HELL JUST FUCKING KILL ME!” She screamed in torture, making me jump and Christian pause in his struggling, his soft cries heard only by nearby ears.

I looked to Louis again.

“Mate? Untie me –“

Louis shook his head right away.

“No one is untying anyone until Niall gets back.” Harry huffed but turned toward Christian, addressing him. “We had no choice, alright, lad? There was no other choice. This was Damien’s idea well before he came here. We have never had a female in the group before and Ms. Stone could well be the only. You need to shut the water pipes because if he comes back here –“

Christian shook his head in disbelief at our long curly brown haired leader.

“You knew then? You knew Damien would do this?” I asked Harry in surprise, his dark green orbs looking in my direction.

“I suspected. When I was subdued and chained down, he let me in on the initial idea. He wanted to see if Ms. Stone would hold up, he initiated, I didn’t. I wanted no part but he did it anyhow because everyone made such a big bleeding deal about the no rape policy – myself included. I am the monster who took her virginity. This is why you don’t get attached, this is why you don’t get involved. Nothing is ever for sure, nothing can ever stay the same as you hope it would. Now she’s in, now we have the information her brother gave us. Her only purpose now is finding one, if she’s able. If she’s strong enough.” Harry sighed quietly, looking up when Niall came back in.

“Your father is laying comfortably in Zayn’s room. I had to move him out of yours because of the cat dander – you knew he would take your room, huh, mate? Otherwise you wouldn’t be trying to kill him with an allergic reaction. ” Niall smirked but his face fell quickly when Harry’s darkened.

“Niall? Ms. Stone needs to be cleaned up and since my father is officially ‘resting comfortably’ as you so put it, then there needs to be one in charge and that person is rightfully me. Make yourself useful and untie everyone, I need to get the girl to the bathroom and look at the damage that’s been done.” Harry commanded stonily, making Niall spring forward and grip the restraints before untying the knot and finally pulling the rope from Harry’s hands.

“Christian? Orders are still the same, you will follow my example on how to clean up a hostage.” Harry explained, reaching over and untying the boy, hauling himself and the teen to his feet.

“Why do you take Master Style’s orders if you loathe him so much? Why follow orders at all?” Christian asked, making his way with Harry over to the other side of the bed and looking down at the helpless, naked woman.

He instantly dropped to his knees and picked up her shoulders so they were resting against his bare chest. Like Harry, he had no clothes on but that didn’t even seem to faze either boy.

Harry was quick to pick Sophia up from Christian, her head resting against his shoulder but the cries were now soft and even. I saw a sliver of heaviness in his shadowy figure but when I blinked again, it had been erased, erased back into the depths of the very mysterious gent.

I felt my hands drop to my side and realized Niall had just finished untying me, Louis already staring down at me with a hand bent down to help me up. I accepted it and felt myself pulled from the ground, my eyes following after the three retreating figures, Ms. Stone’s body laying limp and broken against Harry’s chest, his grip strong and protective as he simply ignored the question of the lad, leaving Christian to follow obediently behind.

“So, Damien’s group is staying in our rooms, where are we staying?” Niall asked, leaving the rest of us to stare at him with blank expressions.

“Here.” Louis gestured out simply, walking to the empty chair and sitting down on it.

I went over to the bed and flipped the mattress to the other side before copying Louis’s notion and getting comfortable. Liam came to sit beside me.

“Something’s got to give with Damien.” I sighed but Liam shushed me, pointing to the wide open basement.

I nodded and rubbed my tired eyes before punching the mattress and letting out the rest of my anger in a short exhale of air.

*

Sophia’s POV:

I wanted to die. Everything hurt, everything surged with white hot pain and I saw it in my vision. I couldn’t even move without agony and it felt never-ending. What I felt was internal – permanent. It was soul crushingly heavy that it pressed against my lungs and set my breath aghast. I couldn’t breathe. All I could do was cry. I cried for my loss, my life, my virtue. I cried for everything I was worth there on the floor but it didn’t feel nearly as valuable. I was rubbish – there was nothing left, it had all been stolen.

“BLOODY HELL JUST FUCKING KILL ME!” I finally screamed out in torture before breaking completely.

It felt like a long time, the voices fluttering around in a blur before I was picked up from the ground, arms wrapping around me tight – secure. I was safely against Harry’s chest and momentarily felt the heat of his skin but it cooled almost instantly when I remember the familiar sight of our flesh meeting in the dim fires of hell, his imprint forever branded on me. His touch burned and the fire that encases his soul was damned, I was damned –we…

I could smell the familiar scent of lemon. The bathroom was the only place I knew that scent. I was being carried into the bathroom.

I groaned as I was placed down, my back prompted up in the corner of the shower wall and a hand moving my sweat soaked bangs from my face.

“Ms. Stone?” Harry questioned calmly, his body kneeling next to me, the water shifting on.

I shook my head back and forth against the tile, my eyes refusing to open.

“Just kill me.” I whispered to my captor, jerking at the sudden warmness that ran across my abused flesh, my body jerking forward in surprise.

“That has come and gone already, Ms. Stone. Come, let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?”

With that Harry let the water pressure cascade over my strained muscles, in my hair and following down to between my legs. When the showerhead moved upward again, it washed the tears away, erasing evidence of my sadness, the only thing that gave any clue was hidden under my eyelids.

“Ms. Stone?” Christian whispered, his body nearing closer until it to was next to me.

“S-Sophia. Sophia.” I murmured, groaning loudly when a sharp sting stung through the fragile pink of my hymen.

I opened my eyes a little and saw the pink water encircling the drain before disappearing

“Sophia.” Christian nodded, looking toward Harry but he was far too infatuated with what was in between my legs, he studied the place thoroughly before glancing back at Christian.

“Boy? Reach above you there on the shelf and grab me the citrus soap, shampoo and conditioner. The Honeydew ones – yeah.”

I closed my eyes again. I didn’t want to see them, I didn’t want to see the men who raped me. I just want to die, lord god, anyone, please?

Before my own thoughts could get too far I fought a slick amount of body wash hit over my outer labia, the raw skin flaring up.

Harry’s hand was over my mouth before I could scream.

“Ms. Stone? If you value the rest of your virtue, I beg of you, do not scream. I won’t be able to do anything for you otherwise.” Harry warned, his soapy hand making the citrus more intoxicating. I nodded, grunting into his hand. He would have been better off gagging me, at least I could bite down on the cloth.

“Sophia? I am sorry. I am so very sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Christian begged, his voice breaking higher than he had probably wanted it to. He was trying to catch his breath and Harry’s hand had massaged the soft cloth down over my thigh, soothing the irritated and red skin before using his fingers to dip into the opening of my vagina with two finger, the washcloth over them.

I clipped my teeth down and jerked up, a hissing groan coming from my mouth as my body was sent into jolts of agony. II grabbed my mouth with my hand before I could scream out. I did manage to slam my head back, making a crack in the title.

“This isn’t going to work. I need to sedate her and let Liam help sew her up – the other gang members weren’t nearly as gentle. They hurt her badly, stretched her out pretty well.” Harry observed the raw meat, lifting one of my genitalia lips to see how bad the damage had been. I hit my head back again to try and trade a headache for anything that would erase the pain.

“I don’t want to look.” Christian swallowed and Harry just looked over, unamused and unconcerned.

“Whether you want to or not, you, Christian, will be bathing, changing, washing, wiping – think of your job as something one would assign a nursemaid and that is exactly how you need to look at it. It’s a body, it has emotions that will scream, fight, try to escape and if you are not doing your assignment properly then you’re going to be in big trouble, lad,” Harry murmured but picked up the honeydew shampoo and flipped it open, pouring a generous amount into my hair. “Lather it in, make sure you get all the strands you can.”

“I know how to wash hair, Master Styles.” Christian insisted, making me flinch and judging from the pregnant pause in Harry’s words, he too was unimpressed.

“Harry. You will call me Harry because I am not your Master and bloody pray I never will be. I have my gang, that’s all that matters. You – them, none of you bloody fucking exist in this cabin – let alone in my world; so move your bleeding tail out of it!” Harry growled before I felt Christian flinch back.

“H-Harry, I’m sorry.” Christian relented, swallowing before I could feel his body beside me shake a little.

Harry punched the opposite wall where I had been placed, I could feel the vibrations but he got up and only spoke when he was by the door.

“I’m going to go and get an anti-inflammation shot and another for pain that will hopefully subdue it enough to let me finish washing you. I’m going to go and get Liam, so steady, easy, doll – just relax.” Harry advised, no trace of softness anymore but it wasn’t quite emotionless either.

Christian let out a shaky breath before his fingers ran gently over my oily hair, rubbing in the sweet intoxicating smell of honey.

“I’m sorry, for everything I have caused and done.” Christian apologized, his voice lost.

“Please don’t.” I begged to him, a hiccup accompanied with another cry of agony.

“But I am sorry, I –“

“Stop. It’s not your fault, Christian. It’s mine. I was fucking born.” I scoffed out with a gag accompanying the sickness building in my stomach. I wanted him to quit touching me, his fingers on my hair increased the feeling.

“Don’t say that, Ms –“

I hurled out into the shower, his touch gone from my scalp and now at my back, rubbing it gently.

“Chris, don’t. Don’t touch me.” I managed to choke out as my stomach acid circled the drain, the very thought of his body touching me made me gag.

He released his hold and backed away, my shaking hands grabbing the shower head handle and letting it soak the soap away from my hair.

I was so weak, I just wanted to lay here against the wall. It was comfortable and cool compared to the heat that was suffocating me. I needed the water temperature cold, anything that chilled away their touch.

“I’m sorry.” Christian sobbed, moving away, he had no idea what to do. It killed me to listen to his sobs and with all the strength I had left, I opened my eyes to see the broken boy in front of me, his body turned in on itself into a protective ball, his hand o his mouth to stifle the cries. I had not once seen Harry or any of the other boys cry but as I looked in on Christian, I knew he didn’t belong in this hellhole. He didn’t deserve this. I didn’t –

“Chris? Would you h-help me?” I whispered, crawling a few spaces before collapsing back against the shower wall, my eyes not leaving his.

“I can try, Sophie.” Christian responded, his voice a octave higher.

“Give me something sharp; I need something that can cut. Is there anything like that in here?” My breath struggling to keep even but I needed release as much as I needed air and it seemed I wasn’t getting enough of either.

Christian went to the mirror where the cloths were kept and looked through before coming back empty handed.

“There’s nothing in there. No razors – which is a little uncanny, Damien’s men keep theirs locked in a drawer but no locks here, no razors –“

I stopped him from continuing with a soft shh.

“Snapping someone’s neck?” I tried again, reaching out and taking Christian’s hand softly into my own, which he returned unsure. There was so much fear in his eyes.

“No, I’m new – mum said I’d only have to stay with Damien until she came back. She said she’d go to the bank and get a loan but she’s sick and needs her medicine and the doctors won’t give her the kind she needs. I’m only still learning to be a part of this gang, just until mum comes and gets me. She promised and she’s always kept her promises.” Christian explained with a weak smile. The boyish looks had him looking younger. He was physically sixteen but mentally – quite a few years younger. A probable cause of a drug addicted mother.

“I just need something sharp, preferably before Harry and Liam get back, something from the kitchen, perhaps?” I suggested, grasping his hand tightly to stop from screaming as another jolt shot up my spine.

“Why? Are you going to hurt someone?” Christian questioned in confusion, grasping tighter to counteract his own discomfort where I had been grasping.

“No, no hurting anyone. I just need it, need it so I can go home.” I whispered back, leaning forward into his chest, his breathing struggling to stay even.

“How can you go h –“ He paused, beginning to shake his head. “No. No, killing yourself is a sin.”

I let out a sob. For someone who just committed – or did he?

“What about rape? You would deny me my own free will to choose?” I challenged but it wasn’t strong, it was weak. I was fighting for my release – I craved it so badly that even unconsciousness was a better alternative.

“I am not going to be at fault for killing you, Sophia, no. You had a choice if you were out in the real world but you’re not. You’re here and kept hostage. Hostages don’t have those choices. I can’t and I won’t.” Christian shook his head again and stood from beside me, walking toward the door just as it opened.

“Where you going, lad?” Liam questioned but all Christian did was look at me before replying.

“Away from the devil incarnate. I won’t kill her, you can’t make me.” Christian growled before pushing through and leaving a very confused Harry and Liam standing at the door, Liam scratching the front of his temple in confusion and Harry fixing his shirt.

“The bloody fuck was that about? Lad gone fucking daft?” Liam gestured toward me, three shots in his hand. I almost felt at peace knowing I was about to be put out.

Harry’s eyes caught mine in a hard stare before approaching.

“No but I half suspect it was not the Devil incarnate. It was Ms. Stone, being her clever self. Asking a sixteen year old to kill you, Sophia, is like asking me to paint a sunset – all you’ll get is a darkened picture and all you will know after is shadow. Quite the disappointment, yeah? Though, asking the lad to kill you is laughably low in the barrel, even for you. He is chained to the gospel. His mother, a crack –“Harry paused when he heard footsteps coming back down the hall and turned, seeing Christian come back in.

“Keep her away from sharp things and fingers.”

He walked back out and toward the kitchen, exiting down back into the basement from what Harry could tell. That was when the silence was broken again, save for the warm running water.

“Strange gent.” Liam shook his head before approaching me and kneeling down, Harry just beside before he to kneeled down, taking the showerhead from my hands.

“Oddly so. Okay, open her up, tell me if you can fix it. It’s pretty bad,” Harry warned Liam, taking the shots from his hand and uncapping the first syringe. “Pain killer, you’ll start to feel this immediately, lass.” Harry explained, my eyes still wavering over his.

“Just kill me.” I groaned, using my deadened hand and grabbing out toward Harry’s shirt. Liam stopped my grab in midair and cleared his throat.

“Enough Ms. Stone, you aren’t dying but we have punishments if you remember for those who are a bother and you are heading that way; let me look at you and then we will choose the best alternative that doesn’t involve death, yeah?” Liam questioned, his voice different low pitches – nothing else was distinguishable. Not even emotion.

“I’m sorry,” I managed to get out before my brain got fuzzy, the sharp needle sliding easily into my skin, plunging the magical effects of the medication into my very veins. I closed my eyes. “Thank you.” I finished in a whisper before my muscles relaxed against my wishes.

“We’ve got you, Ms. Stone, you’ll be alright.” Harry promised, his voice echoing into my ears, my eyes losing temporary focus on his face, his beautiful face.

“I – I want t-to go home.” I pleaded one last time before finally slipping back under the waves of unconsciousness, peaceful tentacles wrapping around me securely before all I saw was darkness.

Notes

Sophia and Dylan next chapter! Harry and his gang, yes, Damien, too will be in the next chapter of 30.