Modest Absolution - Book 5 (Larry Stylinson AU)

Chapter 24 - I'm missing you, that I'm having deja vu

I'm missing you, that I'm having deja vu

Not everything had gone according to plan, her brilliant idea of getting them to set Jennifer free backfired. Dakota was sobbing as he dragged a knife over her pale skin, when the flesh puckered she screamed as blood fell like red rubies to the ground. The boys called for her but they could do nothing in their cages.

Then, between sobbing and begging she was cut free of her shackles, but when she had begged mercy Dakota had only seen malice. Everything was going terribly wrong and she was so scared. 

“No,” He hissed when she dropped to the dirt with a loud thud.

“Please, listen I can–“

“No!” He screamed.

Dakota pushed up onto her elbows and wiped the dust from her eyes, blood dripped from her nose and the corners of her lips. Her skin was covered in a film of dirt, perspiration and blood but she was so filthy it was hard to discern one from another. She was shaking, her entire body prickling with complete terror. Her plan to help her friends had backfired, Jennifer was wailing in pain as she lay on her side on the filthy ground. 

Louis’ arm was broken when he was thrown backwards after trying to defend Jennifer and Zayn was laying on his side silently shivering. He rocked back and forth in the shadows, praying. She wondered if he was praying for death or to be saved. 

At this point she didn’t know which would be better, a life of terrifying memories or no life at all…

Then as she rolled onto her back, gasping for air as her broken ribs, like jagged knives pressed into her lungs she heard the distinct clicking sound of a rifle bolt.

She froze. “No,” was all that escaped her lips. 

The gun blast cracked like a whip, the noise slamming against Dakota’s eardrums, leaving her ears ringing. 

She began to scream, though she heard nothing over the gun as it exploded with another deafening crack. 

Dakota blinked and saw Louis stumbled backwards, eyes wide as he clutched at his chest. He fell to the ground with a thump. She was frozen, terror rippled beneath her skin as she watched Louis drop like a lump of rocks to the ground.  Their captor with his long hair and gold tooth ambled over Louis’ body, casually loading another round of bullets into the rifle with a whistle. 

“This,” he turned to Zayn with a smirk. “This is what silly girls get when they try to bargain…” he aimed the long gun at Zayn. The smaller man, next to the gun wielding psycho stepped forward and grabbed Zayn’s collar hauling him to his feet with a low, guttural laugh. 

Zayn begged, Zayn pleaded, Zayn sobbed uncontrollably as he looked at his fallen friend in horror. Then he looked at Dakota and opened his mouth to speak, “It’s not your–“

Bang.

The gun fired straight through Zayn’s chest and Dakota’s hands were over her face as she screamed for mercy. She turned her head away, scrunched her eyes closed but the bloody image of Zayn and Louis dropping like flies was permanently imprinted on her brain. 

Kill me. She wanted to die, she couldn’t stand to live after such horror. 

Then she rolled to her hen ads and knees as she began to crawl for Jennifer, their captor grabbed a strong fist of her long, dirty hair and pain tore at Dakota’s scalp. He hauled her to her feet, “We can do this the easy way?” He whispered, hot breath like acid on her skin. 

The man behind them laughed as he kicked Zayn’s lifeless body over. 

“No,” She screamed and kicked. 

“Or the hard way,” he laughed as he gripped her hair tighter and she kicked, struggling to break free. 

“You killed my friends you killed my–“ She screamed. 

“Dakota, I’m right here,” Jennifer sobbed loudly. 

He laughed, shaking her. He threw her to the ground and the fall seemed to last a lifetime, when she hit, her breath was pushed out of her lungs and her head thumped against the ground, firm beneath a layer of mud. 

Dazed and winded she lay there, looking up and into the mans empty eyes. He pressed the rifle between her eyes and laughed, “You will never win,” his voice menacing. 

The rifle cold against her skin. 

“Jen,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry!”

He kicked her in the ribs and she wheezed, moaning in pain. 

He clicked the rifle, she looked down the barrel of a gun and her last thoughts were of Niall. Of his beautiful face and pale skin, the way he gently traced love hearts around each of her freckles and nibbled on her skin. The way his fingers grazed along her scalp, the way he moaned her name and the way his lips would soften into a uncontrollable smile when she met his eyes. 

“I’m not afraid,” she whimpered as she stared at the gun and watched his finger trace along the trigger. She thought of Zayn and Louis, of the other boys before she heard the click.

Bang!

Then with a scream she sat up with a start, Dakota blinked her body filmed with a layer of sweat and the sun beating down on her pale skin. She stopped screaming when she noted every person in the small airport stop what they were doing to look at her. She spilt hot coffee all over the ground and tears rolled down her face as she quivered uncontrollably, she looked around gasping for breath. 

She sat up, her hands pressed against the cold glass of the airport that they were at maybe fourty hours ago. She sat up, “What?” 

Was this hell or some cruel form of Deja vu?