Modest Absolution - Book 5 (Larry Stylinson AU)

Chapter 20 - Waking up in darkness

‘Where is my mind?’ – Feat. Emily Browning (Sucker Punch Soundtrack)

Waking up in darkness

Burnt wood and salt lingered in the air, hay and the stench of urine combined with cigarettes and manure. The air was ripe with miasma of stale alcohol and sweat, it was moist and sticky like an underground cave but heat engulfed them. It was hot, so very hot. The humidity alone would make anyone whimper with unease, every inch of the body soaked in perspiration and mosquito bites. The sound of mosquito wings clapping together vibrated on the hot air and Dakota woke with a start. She jolted awake, a scream trapped in her throat and opened her eyes to complete darkness. 

Her hands and feet were bound together with a thick rope, wet with blood and water that dripped from a small hole in the roof. A tiny prick of light shot through the roof and onto the dirt ground inches from where Dakota lay. She looked around, her breathing fast and heavy. When she tried to sit up she fell backwards assaulted by a wave of nausea and vertigo. The back of her head thumped, she whimpered in agony it felt as if her head had been split in two and then glued back together. 

She rolled onto her back, her body was aching and tired she felt weak and shivered in the intense heat of the room. It was stifling, the humidity and heat that rolled over her body made her feel sick. Her lips were dry and she could taste the faint, bitterness of blood. She looked up and saw nothing but darkness then she remembered the car flipping again and again. The sound of the tyres exploding in her ears as if it were happening all over again. She raised her bound hands and covered her face with a sob. Dakota wished she were back on the plane, Niall hating her was better then thinking everyone was dead. Zayn, Louis, Jennifer! She rolled onto her stomach, coughing and spluttering as a puff of dust surrounded her.

“He–“ her voice hoarse. “Zayn?” She tried to keep the fear from her voice, the last thing she needed was to break down. She needed to be strong, she needed to get help. Then she thought of Porter and she closed her eyes tightly as she lay on the cold ground, her body overwhelmed with grief. Visions of his body mutilated by the stump of a fence flashed through her mind. “Porter,” she sobbed. 

“Dakota?” Zayn’s accent broke her from her reverie, he sounded terrified and his voice was hoarse a he coughed and spluttered. 

She narrowed her eyes, “I can’t see you,” she groaned as she tried to heave herself up onto her feet. When she managed to jump up, she was still bound but she hopped forward and fell face first into a metal cage she groaned when her chin connected with the metal. Back in the dirt she whispered, “Are you okay?”

She could hear the sound of shaking and grunting as he, just like her, fought against the restraints. “I–“ he coughed and wheezed, it sounded like his lungs were a deflated balloon, just like Porter’s. “My hands are hooked above my head, I can’t move.”

“How long was I out?” She whispered. Her hands frantically working against the bonds around her ankles. The rope dug into her skin, it stung as it rubbed against torn flesh and bled but she didn’t stop – her fingernails frantically digging into the rope. She huffed, it was useless and began fumbling on the ground. “I need to find something,” she hissed. Her head aching and her body throbbing in pain. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, voice shaking. “I thought you were dead!”

She noted the relief in his voice, surprised. She always thought they all wished she were dead, well, she knew Niall did. The thought of Niall made her eyes brim with tears, she knew on some level she might die here and never see him again. I’m so sorry. She wished she told him just how much she loved him, wished she fought harder but wishing got her no where. She would still be trapped in a cage, in the darkness like a wild animal and terrified beyond comprehension.