Chapter 8: "Yeah he's dead, but I saved Liam so I don't care."
Zayn
"Where are you?" I growled loudly. It's been an hour and Liam wasn't back yet. I had already called him 5 times and he never answered. What if something was wrong? What if something bad happened? How the fuck would I know?! Dammit I should have fucking went with him. I pulled out my phone and dialed Harry's number.
"Hello?" He said.
"Where the fuck is Liam?" I growled.
"Huh?" I sighed angrily.
"Liam went to go get a little weed from you an hour ago, he has yet to return. Where. The. Fuck. Is. He."
"He did? I haven't even seen him mate." I felt my blood go a little cold, ok Zayn don't panic....
"Find him Harry, use your power and find him right now."
"Ok ok calm down, I'm sure he's..." He went silent; I felt my heart rate pick up.
"Harry?"
"I...Zayn I can't see him. It's...it's like...there's a fog or something. This is the same shit that happens when I try to find ...Doniya."
"Get up here right now." I said immediately. I hung up and quickly dialed my father.
"Hello?" He answered after a few rings.
"Dad, check all the cameras in the building. Liam's missing and Harry can't find him."
"WHAT?!?" He yelled.
"FUCK! Ok, don't panic son, I'll have the security guys check it out. How long ago?"
"Check the last hour, call me back." I hung up and quickly got dressed. A black Henley, tight skinny jeans, my boots, and a light red leather jacket. I walked out the door, only to run right into Louis and Eleanor.
"Oh! Hey!" Eleanor said, looking surprised.
"Have you two seen Liam?!" I asked quickly. Louis just gave me a curious look, like he was confused...but Eleanor's eyes widened, fear suddenly crossed her face...but it was gone just as quickly.
"Eleanor?" I asked, why had she looked frightened?
"We haven't seen him mate." Louis said. I frowned, she was tight lipped and his hands were balled at his side.
"What's going on?" I asked. It was extremely clear the two were hiding something.
"What...do you mean?" Eleanor asked, Jesus she was a bad liar.
"What the hell are you two hiding?" I growled. Louis shook his head.
"Nothing mate, you're just being fucking mental because Liam probably dipped off to have a fag or something."
"He doesn't smoke Louis." I said, glaring at him.
"Well I don't fucking know, and I don't really give a shit. So if you'll excuse us we were going out to get food..." He grabbed her arm and turned to leave but I quickly reached out and grabbed his arm. He turned, his eyes turning red.
"Don't fucking touch me."
"Where the fuck is Liam Louis?" I said, flames dancing around my head.
"How the fuck should I know?" He snapped. My phone suddenly rang; I pulled it out and pressed it to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Son, the camera shows Louis shoving Liam into Eleanor and Sophia's room; do not let Eleanor or Louis..." Suddenly Louis snarled and ripped his arm away. The phone fell out of my hand and I slammed a flame covered fist into his stomach. He gasped and staggered away.
"Zayn please! You don't understand..." I let my shadows cover my body. I turned on her and she immediately stopped talking, she looked fucking terrified.
"Don't move or I will hurt you." She looked so hurt.
"Z-Zayn how could you..."
"He comes first, above anything else." I said simply. I turned on Louis and I flicked my hand. Shadows danced across the floor and suddenly he was being held in mid air by giant black hands made from the darkness, he couldn't move now.
"The only reason I haven't ripped a limb off is because I loved the both of you." I made sure to put emphasis on loved.
"Now, I'm going to ask you again..." Flames danced around my body, I was ready to kill either of them if needed. I walked forward and got right in his face.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS LIAM!?!?!?" I snarled.
Liam
1 hour earlier
"So, I suppose before we begin, if you have any questions feel free to ask." Doniya said, turning around and sitting down.
"Well, first off I have to ask...I understand Eleanor, but how the hell did you get Louis to turn traitor?" I asked.
"He's not a traitor ass." Ashton commented. Doniya raised her hand.
"Ashton, don't be rude." She smiled.
"Sorry about that Liam. But the answer to that is a simple one. Bassett invited him to talk with her, she spoke, then I came in and spoke, and then he decided to help us."
"You just...spoke to him, didn't offer him anything?" She laughed, looking a little embarrassed.
"Well, I'll admit we did offer him something but it's private and if you really want to know, you'd have to ask him."
"Where have you been?" Sophia suddenly asked.
"Why...why did you leave? You didn't even tell anyone..." Doniya's eyes flickered with sadness.
"I left because...mom told me I had too. It wasn't safe for me at Dirge anymore."
"She...but Doniya she was dead."
"I know." Doniya said quietly.
"She told me before she died."
"She did?" Sophia said, looking confused.
"She told me before I killed her." Doniya said. My blood ran cold, my eyes widened and my mouth dropped open.
"You...wait what?! No, it was a suicide." Sophia suddenly said, looking as shocked as I felt.
"Made to look that way yeah, couldn't let dad find out we had figured out how to get around the black water."
"The...wait what!? Dad? Yaser? I don't..." She looked so confused, I felt the same way.
"Honey, I don't think the question thing is going to work. I think maybe we just start from the beginning eh?" Bassett commented.
"Yeah, you're probably right...you should tell them the stuff leading up to mom's death, and then I'll take over alright? You tell all that way better than I do." Bassett nodded.
"Alright." She walked past us and grabbed a chair. She sat down in front of us and smiled.
"Liam honey, why don't you whip Sophia and yourself up some chairs eh? This is a bit of a long story. But I do have to ask you not try to attack us...like Doniya said before, we have absolutely no intention to harm either of you unless provoked. This only turns violent when you choose for it to do." I stared at them, and then looked at Sophia.
"Can Sophia and I talk privately for a second?"
"What, so you two can plan an escape?" Ashton commented. I shook my head.
"I want her opinion on if we should bother listening to any of this or we leave right now." He scoffed at that and Doniya laughed.
"Very confident Liam, you're sounding like my brother. Bet he loves it." I suddenly blushed and smiled warmly, Zayn in my thoughts.
"Yeah, he does."
"Judging by that massive hickey on your neck I'd say he really loves it." Bassett laughed. Doniya started laughing as well and I felt just a little embarrassed again.
"Oh, don't take the laughing the wrong way Liam, I think it's adorable." Doniya said in between the laughing.
"Not much to discuss...I say we hear them out." Sophia commented quietly next to me. I turned on her and gave her an odd look.
"Why?"
"I...I know this is probably all a bit difficult for you but...Liam, I know Doniya. I've known her for years, she was the first person I ever met at Dirge and my first friend ever..." She got a sad glint in her eye.
"Being a super genius when you're really young isn't exactly easy, having the man who owns Cowell industries as a father who hides you from the press so they don't affect your life didn't help either. It alienates you for better or worse...she was literally the first friend I ever had. I don't...talk about my childhood much because it was awful and I'd rather not think about it...but Doniya never cared about how smart I was, she called me a dork but did so lovingly. So...please, I want to hear her out." I sighed.
"That...alright." She grabbed my hand and smiled.
"Thank you." I flicked my hand and ice started to gather underneath us. I saw Ashton and Luke tense, a little electricity danced in Ashton's fingertips, but Doniya raised her hand and they both relaxed a little, Bassett didn't even seem to notice or care as she stared at her phone. Two chairs were formed right in front of them and the two of us sat down.
"Alright, we'll listen." I said. Doniya nodded and turned on Bassett.
"Alright B you can start." Bassett looked up and smiled.
"Oh alright, sorry was playing one of those little games for your phone." She stretched and got a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Oh where to begin..." She looked right at me.
"Now, I apologize Sophia darling but originally we just planned on Liam being here so sorry if you feel excluded when we don't talk about you." Sophia laughed.
"Jeez Doniya, did you tell everyone I was shallow or something?" Doniya giggled.
"No, just that you're the smartest person ever...according to you." Sophia smiled but said nothing.
"Anyway." Bassett interrupted, but smiling herself. Her expression turned a little dark suddenly, the smile gone.
"Now Liam, there are a couple things you need to know...first off, you need to know what Black Water is." I leaned forward a little.
"Black Water is...it's what we call it because it's the best way to describe it. It looks like this black liquid that swirls and moves on its own...but the thing you need to know about the water is...it's alive." I stared at her.
"How? How could it..." She raised a hand and I became silent.
"Sorry darling, this is going to sound rude but save the questions for once I'm done talking, it'll just be quicker and easier that way." I nodded and she continued.
"I bet you didn't know your parents were actually part of Dirge, did you Liam?" I stared in surprise, they...were? I shook my head and she smiled.
"There was an old team Liam, an old team consisting of your parents, Trisha, and Sophia's father Simon."
"He was?" Sophia blurted out, but quickly covered her mouth. Bassett laughed a little.
"He had you join up love and helps fund it, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise."
"Well...yeah, I guess that makes sense. He just never talks about it is all..." She nodded.
"I don't blame him love, after what...happened." She shivered.
"So, Liam. Your parents agreed to help Dirge when a man approached them, by this time they were already very famous cube fighters, and the man who approached them was the still head of Dirge...Yaser Malik." She rubbed her arm but continued.
"You were about 16 at the time Liam, and your parents joined because, well, they didn't want to have to duel forever...and from the way they could tell, this would basically be like dueling except much more consistent money and they could help keep the world safe in the process." I frowned at that and she smiled.
"I'm sure you noticed when they would disappear for little periods of time eh? They weren't off in some duel cube or date night or what have you, they were out working for Dirge..." Her eyes darkened.
"But then...they went on the mission that would change...everything." Her eyes fluttered closed and she took a deep breath.
"They got a call to head to some little village in Russia, I don't recall the name. The local government was scared because the village had suddenly...gone silent. They had sent a couple volunteers to go check it out...and they didn't return. They had had to quarantine the area and block people from going in. Dirge was called in to investigate. The whole team had gone, even Yaser though he didn't have any powers of his own, not even sure why he went to be honest. Anyway, your parents and Doniya's all went into the village to investigate. Simon stayed behind in the city to coordinate all of them I believe. What they found was...something out of a horror movie. The village was empty; nobody on the streets, no animals, not even a bird could be heard..." She shivered again.
"Then...they came for them."
"They?" I said, surprised.
"The people of the village...but they weren't right, it was like they had become super human. I was told before they appeared Trisha told them all they had to leave, but they ignored her...Yaser was taken down by these...beings. They were stronger and faster than normal humans, they knocked him out and drug him off almost immediately, your father covered Trisha in an ice dome to protect her while they fought off the onslaught. There was one thing they came to notice while they took these things out...they all had black eyes, and were crying black tears..." I shivered; the dreams from when I was younger suddenly appeared in my head. Zayn, black tears running down his face...
"They finally managed to take all of them down; the piles of bodies were...there was a lot of them." She said.
"They freed Trisha and immediately began searching for Yaser...but they didn't search long. He reappeared, alone, and seemed normal enough. They questioned him but he just shrugged and said they let him go and came running back here, he assumed they came back to help their friends. Your parents believed him...but then Trisha had one of her visions. She yelled at them to get away...but too late. Yaser's eyes were suddenly black, black tears rolled down his cheeks. He started taunting them, saying this was all planned; he wanted them to show up...so he could take over your mother's body Liam. He could sense the power, knew how strong her gift was, and knew he could take over the world with it. He fired a black mass at them, your father stepped in the way and it knocked him away, and absorbed into his skin. He fired again, but this time Trisha stepped in the way and took the full brunt of it, it absorbed into her skin but she didn't budge. The former Yaser laughed at that and suddenly, Trisha was under his control, and she was forced to move out of the way." She took a deep breath and continued.
"This next part is a bit...fuzzy; at least it was for your mother Liam who told me all of this. Yaser went to attack your mother, it hit her...but light exploded out of her palms beyond her control. It absorbed into her skin but Yaser was sent into this...ball of light. He had started screaming in pain, telling her to stop but it was too late. Your mother collapsed and the ball suddenly disappeared, and Yaser collapsed, your father and Trisha also became unconscious. They all woke up in a hospital bed almost 3 days later. Trisha, and your mother and father all remembered...but Yaser had no recollection of any of it. Simon did a bit of research and found the...thing, inside Yaser."
"They started calling it Black Water, a 'parasite' that takes over your body and controls you body and soul. Yaser had the main body inside of him. This thing essentially puts its brain inside a host, and from there, it spreads little pieces of itself into others and controls them, like puppets. Your mother and father and Trisha all had little pieces of it still inside them, but the brain was inside Yaser. Yaser had no clue, and they never told him because they were afraid if they did make him aware it might....wake up. See, whatever your mothers' gift did to it, it seemed to make it...dormant, knocked it out almost, weakened it to the point that it couldn't control the three of them, or Yaser. They thought for a little while maybe they could just ignore it and eventually it would go away. Your parents quit Dirge, deciding they wanted to be at home more for you Liam, and they pushed it out of their minds. A year passed. Then, Trisha had her vision. She had two actually, the dreams." I stared quietly at her, trying my best to process all of this.
"The dreams...you mean the ones I had when I was 17."
"Yes, she saw them first. Saw what her son could become, saw what you could become...she quickly contacted your parents, telling them the Black water would return, it just had to gather its strength...she told them she had noticed Yaser acting strange lately as well, like he was slowly...being retaken by it. They contacted Simon, and he started doing experiments on the three of them...then he found the way out." Her eyes turned dark, her breath shallow.
"He managed to extract a tiny piece of the black water and put it inside a rat. He tried various drugs and other things. Simple things like penicillin to fucking LSD...nothing worked. Then...he killed the rat." My heart rate jumped, suddenly I knew where this was going, but I really didn't want to hear it.
"Come to find out." She said, sounding almost bitter.
"That when the host dies, the black water dies with it, evaporates into...nothing."
"I don't understand, why not just kill Yaser?! Kill the brain, the rest dies with it..." Sophia said. Bassett nodded thoughtfully.
"You are completely right love, kill the brain and the rest dies with it...but we don't know how to kill the brain. But I'll get to that in a little bit. Where was I..."
"Oh yes." She said.
"Simon figured this out, figured out that by killing what was hosting the water, the little piece inside died with it. But they managed to get a little piece of the host in Yaser and tried again..." She frowned.
"It would seem the same rules didn't apply to the head honcho. The rat died, but the host piece lived on, it simply left and tried to find another body. It ended up leaving and returning to Yaser. They knew how to kill the pieces that would control them, but not the brain. True they could simply kill Yaser...but it wouldn't solve anything. The thing is a parasite that would just move on down the list...and we all know who would have been next on the list."
"Zayn." I said. She nodded.
"Zayn. Trisha couldn't allow that, and she still loved her husband too much to simply let them kill him, and thus...they tried to find other ways to get rid of the brain. They worked tirelessly, but nothing they did seemed to work. By this time, your parents, Liam, contacted me and told me everything, they needed my help. I'm an old family friend you see, grew up with your mother. You've never met me because I like my solitude, don't bother asking why." She chuckled.
"So I've been traveling the world, trying to find people, different minds who could help find a 'cure' if you will. But then...the demon in Yaser started waking up. It started taunting them, sending the three of them images, terrible things...part of Trisha's foresight gift was that she could actually send images of her visions into others heads in the form of dreams...I'm sad to say that's why you had the dreams Liam, and Zayn. The black water started on Trisha first, slowly consuming her and forcing her to do it, taunting your parents and her with what it planned on doing to one of you."
"It had a harder time taking over your parents though. Your mothers gift was so strong, it was like it was holding it back from taking her over, not stopping it mind you just...slowing the process. Your fathers' gift was slowing it as well but frankly he wasn't as strong, it was quicker with him. The three of them knew they couldn't hold off anymore, they were...out of time." She sighed heavily.
"They managed to figure out that killing a piece of the brain hurt it, weakened it. Trisha was terrified it would try to take over Zayn soon, so she did the only thing she could do to help prevent it...she died."
"Mind if I take over?" Doniya suddenly said, Bassett nodded and Doniya got a distant look in her eye.
"My mother came to me, and told me everything. Everything that had happened, that dad was going to become a puppet, that it was going to go for Zayn soon...and that I had to kill her. See the black water wouldn't let them kill themselves, literally. If say Liam, your mother tried to shoot your dad with a gun, well, she wouldn't be able to pull the trigger, she physically wouldn't be able to. It wouldn't let them because it had your mother, and soon it would have Zayn, who was born with enormous power..." She shook her head.
"It would be able to rule over the world...killing all those villagers and whatever your mothers light did to it, it held it off for a long time. But it was slowly taking them over, they knew the time was close...so I killed my mom, made it look like a suicide so no one knew but...I think it knew. It had been upsetting, letting Zayn find her like that but...had too, no other choice."
"About a week later, it occurred to me that maybe I could raise mom's ghost and her body and bring her back. She had died, the black water inside her was dead now...maybe I could bring her back. But then...that thing told me it cremated her already, destroyed her body...I was furious, we screamed at each other and I...well, that night I left."
"Wait...you talked to the...'brain'?" I asked.
"Not...exactly, it was like...my dad's actions were being manipulated and he had no idea. He truly had no clue he was even...infected." She shook her head.
"Sorry, I'm gonna continue. I traveled for a while...and then I heard just a few weeks later, Killer Frost was killed by his own son." My hands were shaking in my lap.
"So...that's why they wanted me to kill them." I said quietly.
"Yes Liam, your father had to die first. He was close to losing control...it's why he died with a smile on his face, because he knew he was going to be free of it." Bassett said.
"Why didn't they just...let you kill them or something, why me? Why did I have to be the one?!" I said, tears dribbling down my cheeks.
"Because you had to be the one to take their gifts Liam. True, it might have been easier to just kill them and destroy the gifts and take them from the black water forever...but then it would still have Zayn, who was already born with the gifts inside him. If the light was gone, darkness would destroy the world and there would be literally no one to stop it." Doniya said.
"Your mother was taking longer to be consumed, so the two of you went into hiding, and then when she was close, she asked you to take her gift as well."
"Why wouldn't they just...tell me all of this? Why hide it from me?" I asked. Bassett smiled weakly.
"Because Liam...maybe they were afraid you wouldn't understand, maybe they didn't want it to affect your feelings for Zayn. I honestly can't answer that, they never told me and I never asked."
"I have a guess." Sophia said suddenly. She turned on me.
"I think they never told you because if they told you all of this, maybe they were afraid you'd try to kill Zayn? Those dreams already had you afraid, you hated him. If you found out he was suppose to destroy the world, you'd try to kill him. And what if you succeeded? Then guess what would happen..."
"The black water would take me over instead, and I'd destroy everything and no one could stop me" I said quietly.
"Exactly. When I told you about your destiny, you already had feelings for him, so despite trying to hate him, you couldn't. If you were told all of that before even having feelings for him...you wouldn't have hesitated, you would have tried to kill him." Bassett said.
"And whoever won, one of us would be the host to the black water." I said. Doniya nodded.
"Killing those pieces inside them weakened the brain in Yaser even more, it's lost a lot of its pieces...but it's been slowly gather itself together, regaining its strength. When it gathered you up Liam, brought you to Dirge, we knew it must be close. It'll only have enough power to take one of you, and clearly it wants to keep its options open."
"I found Doniya soon after I found out she had left, and the two of us have been searching for a way to destroy the host. All the while, recruiting people like Ashton and Luke here, to help...fight when the time comes." Bassett said.
"We have had Eleanor watching Yaser, keeping an eye on him but when you showed up in St. Louis Liam, I have to say I was very much caught by surprise. After that, we realized we needed someone in the core team who could inform us of your movements, hence why we came to Louis. Sorry darling but we couldn't have you capturing us and bringing us right to Yaser...he'd probably infect us with Black water, or just straight up killed us. Probably the latter if we're being honest." Bassett finished.
"So why were you in St. Louis to begin with? Why did you kill those innocent people..." I started but she interrupted me with a laugh.
"The people I attacked but left alive were people who worked directly under Yaser. Ashton and I were...interrogating them, figuring out if they knew anything. The people I killed were people already infected by the black water. It seems people without gifts are affected MUCH quicker than people with gifts, and don't take nearly as much black water to infect, I doubt it cost Yaser much."
"And? What did you find out? You said you already found what you wanted. At least that's what you said in St. Louis." I asked. She smiled.
"I found the name of a man in Africa who could help, a physician named Andy. Turns out, he is from Russia and was at the village when the black water took over, he worked for the CDC and I guess was there visiting family or something. Turns out, when the black water took over, it avoided him and didn't even attempt to take him over. He managed to escape though and went into hiding for fear of his life. Now, why would it do that? Why would it...avoid him? Tracked him down and was going to bring him to Simon, who is still helping us mind you, and he's going to see if he is somehow immune, and if so if it can be turned into a 'cure'. We were going to leave, but I happen to hear a rumor about a boy who could make illusions, and I figured that would be extremely useful, and so now we have Luke." Basset finished.
"I think that just about covers everything." Doniya said.
"If you need a minute to process I understand." She said quickly.
"Just take your time and ask anything you want to know..." I sighed heavily and buried my face in my hands. So much was swirling around in my head I felt dizzy, I felt slightly ill. Everything I thought I knew wasn't true; the worst part though was ...a lot of it made sense. It explained why my parents asked me to kill them, it explained why Doniya left, it explained St. Louis...
"So...let me get this straight." Sophia said suddenly.
"You're telling me, that Yaser is being controlled by some parasite you call Black Water. This thing is using him basically as a control hub. He infects others and controls them, and the only way out of the control and to destroy the piece of him is to die?" Doniya nodded but Sophia continued.
"But those same rules don't apply to Yaser, and by killing him all we would do is release the brain and it would just...what, travel until it found another host?" Doniya nodded and Sophia continued still.
"But killing the pieces of it and whatever Liam's mom did weakened it, and it didn't have the power to completely take control over Zayn or Liam, because there powers protect them?"
"Essentially, yes. So it's just been...biding its time." Doniya said. Sophia frowned.
"Then why not just let Liam and Zayn try to kill it? They are clearly more powerful than it."
"Well for one, if we had just flat out told those two to kill it, you really think either of them would have listened? I mean...that's our dad Sophia. And plus, yeah maybe they do destroy it...or once again, it simply escapes and tries to take over one of them. It's been too long, maybe when it was weaker but Zayn had just lost mom and Liam doesn't have nearly enough control over the light. If we had an opportunity we certainly missed it."
"So, you're pinning all your hope on this, Andy guy. This guy who was 'ignored' by the black water?" Sophia's eyes darkened.
"Did you ever fucking think, maybe he was affected? Did you ever think maybe you were lied too? What if he was affected? What if maybe he isn't infected, but he wasn't attacked because the black water was too weak and he just didn't have the strength and chose to ignore him and he really is just some guy who got lucky?"
"Sophia love, we've thought of all of that already." Doniya said. She smiled.
"We know how to detect it in a person now. We know if someone is infected." We both stared at her in surprise.
"What? How?" I asked. She smiled and turned to Ashton.
"Ashton here got a second power while we were out and about."
"If he can touch a person, he can detect if that person has a power and what it is...turns out, this also applies to the black water. All he has to do is touch you and he can see if you're infected." I frowned, why did that power sound so familiar?
"He...can?" Sophia said, surprised. He nodded and walked forward and suddenly grabbed my hand. He jumped about a foot and let go.
"S-sorry mate, you're powers are just so..." It suddenly occurred to me, I had seen this before, like déjà vu.
"He didn't develop a second power! You stole it!" I stood up and they all looked surprised.
"What?" Doniya said.
"There was a girl, when I first got to New York. She owned a bar, Niall brought me there. Her name was...was..." I struggled for a second before it popped into my head.
"Perrie! Perrie Edwards, she could do the exact same thing..." Doniya's eyes widened in fear.
"WHAT?! When you were at the bar, did you drink anything?" She suddenly walked forward and gripped my arms.
"DID YOU DRINK ANYTHING?!?"
"No!" I said quickly.
"I didn't drink anything...why?" She sighed in relief and gave me a serious tone.
"Love, Perrie Edwards is dead because she was infected with Black Water. We think he infected her because he knew she could detect it. We...had to take it from her; death is the only way we know how to free a person and that gift was too invaluable.
"You killed her?! How could you just..."
"Love, there was no helping her." She said, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I know it seems harsh, but it was the only way." My eyes widened at that.
"But...Niall drank there all the time." I said, frowning. Doniya frowned.
"Then...there is a very real possibility that he's already infected."
"How do I even know any of this is true?!" I snapped, shaking my head.
"How do I know you're even telling me the truth? That all of this isn't some, like, elaborate lie..."
"I'll prove it to you friend." Ashton suddenly said. He pushed Doniya and me out of the way and stood in front of Sophia.
"Ashton? What the fuck are you doing?" Doniya said. Electricity covered his hands.
"I'm showing Liam here the truth." He suddenly grabbed Sophia's arms and electricity shot into her body.
"NO!!" I screamed. Sophia screamed loudly, her whole body shook. I slammed into him and he let go, Sophia collapsed onto the floor.
"Ashton WHAT THE FUCK?!" Doniya screamed. I quickly ran to Sophia and grabbed her wrists, I pressed my head to her chest, and I waited, desperately listened for anything...
It was futile; her heart had stopped beating...
Sophia was dead
"She was infected, I've been feeling odd around her ever since she got here, but when I checked Liam, I got a closer feel to her...she was infected with it."
"Sophia..." Doniya sobbed, tears streaking down her face as she sat on the other side, holding her limp hand and crying.
"I'm sorry Doniya..." he started.
Suddenly Sophia's eyes opened, her eyes were completely black. Doniya jumped about a foot, I immediately let Sophia go as she started convulsing.
"Oh god you were right Ashton." Doniya said, holding a hand over her mouth. I stared in horror as her head turned and black liquid dribbled out of her mouth, as soon as it left it started to evaporate. This continued for a few seconds until her eyes returned to normal color and she stopped convulsing, the liquid stopped.
"It's....it's all true." I said out loud.
"This is what we're fighting Liam." Doniya said grimly.
"This is Black Water." I quickly turned on Ashton and slammed him against a wall.
"BRING. HER. BACK." I snarled. He looked surprised.
"What?!"
"You control electricity, restart her fucking heart NOW." I snapped. He looked stunned.
"I...I've never really done anything like that before. I'm not a human defibrillator mate."
"I don't give a fuck, do it now or I swear to god I will kill you." I said, already letting my sword form behind me.
"A-alright mate, I'll...try." I let him go and he quickly kneeled over her.
"You can do it Ashton." Doniya said, looking bloody terrified.
"Alright....here goes..." I watched the electricity zap on the tips of his fingers. He took an unsteady breath and pressed his fingers to her chest. Her chest popped up but she stayed unconscious.
"Again." I said, gripping my sword tightly in my hand. He did, the same result.
"Again." I said. He did it again, still nothing.
"AGAIN." I screamed. He did it once again...
Sophia suddenly shot up, gasping, her eyes blown. Ashton fell back in surprise and Doniya gasped and fell down and pulled her against her.
"Oh Sophia, oh thank god..."
"WHAT THE FUCK?!?" She snarled. She shook off Doniya, pulled off her shoe, and starting hitting Ashton with it.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?" She roared.
"I'm sorry girly!" He said, covering himself.
"Girly?! FUCK YOU!" She snapped, Bassett was laughing loudly and I had to admit, I felt bloody relieved.
"Sophia!" Doniya said. She stopped and turned.
"WHAT?!" She looked startled but quickly explained what had happened. By the end Sophia looked...violated.
"I...I was? How...when...I didn't even know!"
"This is how it can happen, you could be infected and not even realize it." Bassett said seriously.
"I can't believe...ugh, I feel so..." She shivered and rubbed her arms, Doniya hugged her against her.
"It's ok, it's out of you now...right Ashton?"
"I don't sense it in her anymore." He confirmed. Doniya gave me a serious look.
"So...you believe us now right?" I nodded, feeling sad.
"I just...if you just had to die like that, I just wonder why my parents didn't do something similar, or Trisha." Doniya shook her head.
"Maybe they just didn't think of it? Or maybe they knew you needed to have the gifts. You were born without gifts Liam, but you were born to wield there powers." She looked sad.
"And my mother...she was already unhappy, she saw the future...she saw a lot of horrible things. I'm sure death was a relief."
"So, you say he got Liam to 'keep his options open'. But it's been three months....what the hell is he waiting for? Shouldn't he have tried to take one of them over by now?" Sophia asked.
"I can't answer that. Our best guest is he is still too weak...but if he's gotten Liam now, we have to assume he must be close. He gets a little stronger every day." Doniya said. I frowned.
"Why me though? Why tell me all of this and not Zayn? Shouldn't he be here to hear all of this?" She shook her head.
"I honestly don't feel he would believe me, or any of us. I figured you would be more open minded...Eleanor told me after I left so suddenly, I left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth. And say I told Zayn all of this and he did believe me, you know him. He's, no pun intended, a hot head. He would have barged upstairs and tried to kill dad...and the thing would have just taken someone else over. Could have been Eleanor, could have been Harry, could have been Safaa or Waliyha..."
"That's stupid, you're his sister, of course he'd believe you..."I laughed a bit.
"I'll give you he can be hot headed though." Her eyes sank suddenly.
"He...he'll never forgive me for what I did to mom." I laughed.
"No Doniya, look I believe you. What I just saw happen to Sophia proves that." Sophia nodded.
"Trust me, he'll listen to Liam. You should see these two they're so bloody infatuated with each other."
"Listen, just let me bring him here and let you explain everything you've told me." The four of them looked a variety of different emotions. Skeptical and worry were the prime emotions.
"I...I don't know Liam." Doniya said.
"Nonsense, I can bring him here right now." I said, giving her a confident smile. I pulled my pants down a little and found the little black line on my hip.
"What is that?" Bassett said, confused. Doniya suddenly looked scared.
"Wait, Liam don't..." I rubbed the line and said in a clear voice.
"Zayn."
Zayn
"Tell me where he is or I swear to god I'll..." I froze, suddenly a beacon going off him my head.
"Zayn." I heard his voice in my head, I knew where he was.
"Never mind, I know where he is..." I was surprised, he sounded...ok, Liam didn't sound in distress he sounded...calm.
"Go back to your room Eleanor, same with you Louis. You are going to stay there until I get back..." Harry suddenly turned the corner, running down to us.
"Hey! Guy's whats..." He seemed to sense the feeling in the air, saw my shadows.
"What's going on?"
"These two abducted Liam. They are going back to the room until I come back with Liam, I marked him and I know where he is. Harry if they try to leave, cover them in so much smoke they pass out." Harry looked bewildered.
"I...ok, I guess."
"I'll be back shortly."
"Zayn, please..." I gave Eleanor an angry look and she stopped talking.
"If you're confident you're innocent then you have nothing to fear and will be in the room when I get back." She nodded.
"Ok, I'm...I'm sorry." I glared at Louis; he looked pissed but said nothing.
"You're one of my best friends Louis; I really thought more of you." He looked hurt at my words but continued to say nothing.
"Don't tell my father anything till I get back, I'll take care of it." I produced a flame right in front of all of them, shadows danced across the floor. I walked forward and stepped into one, my powers fluxed and I concentrated on Liam as I sunk into the darkness.
Liam
"Liam darling, I really don't know if that was the best idea." Bassett said, even she looked worried.
"My brother sometimes has a habit of 'shoot first, ask questions later'." Doniya said, looking around the room nervously. Suddenly the lights in the room began to dim; the darkness in the room seemed to get just a little bit darker.
"He's heeeeeeeeere." Ashton chuckled nervous. Suddenly, hands shot out from the darkness. One grabbed Luke and wrapped him up in a giant fist. Another shot out and grabbed Ashton and pulled him over to Luke, holding him in a vice grip.
"Do I need to grab you too Bassett." His voice ringing from the darkness.
"No need, I don't plan on fighting you." She said, sitting calmly down in her chair.
"Good..." He stepped out of the darkness, his eyes black and the shadows covering his hands.
"If I see even a spark of electricity or a single fucking illusion I'm killing you both now." He said, his black eyes resting on the two of them. They both nodded, looking scared shitless. His twisted his head, they landed on Bassett but she remained the picture of calm. He turned and saw Sophia and nodded at her.
"You here with Bassett or Liam?"
"Liam." She said. He nodded.
"You ok? They hurt you?" She laughed weakly.
"A bit, but under the circumstances it made sense." His eyes suddenly found Doniya, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Doniya."
"Good to...see you Zayn, how're..."
"You already had Bassett ask me that in St. Louis. The girls and Harry are fine." She laughed a little.
"I figured you'd pick up on that. I thought if I had her ask how El was it would be too obvious."
"It would have." He agreed. Suddenly he turned on me, his eyes softened.
"C'mhere." He said. I quickly walked over and he pulled me into a hug, his hand resting on the back of my head and our foreheads pressed together.
"Did they hurt you." He asked. I shook my head.
"No, I'm fine Zayn."
"Are you sure, I swear if they fucking hurt you..." His grip tightened a little, I watched a little bit of flame dance across his knuckles.
"We've just been...talking." He pulled off.
"Oh?"
"I actually only called ya here because...there's a lot of stuff to talk about." I said. He nodded.
"I thought it was odd, I heard your voice, and you sounded calm."
"I am...a lot of things make sense now. I...I know what Black Water is." His eyes widened.
"Oh?"
"Just...listen, let Doniya talk, I promise by the time she's done everything is going to make sense." I said. He nodded.
"For you, I'll listen..." He kissed me deep, pretty sure I heard Sophia groan.
"They always like this?" I heard Doniya mumble.
"Pretty much, they're so fucking into each other it makes you want to throw yourself off a roof." Sophia confirmed.
"Oy! FUCK OFF." Zayn snapped, turning back to me and kissing me again. He pulled off and turned to look at Doniya.
"You have 20 minutes."
"Probably gonna take longer than that." Doniya said, frowning.
"It's...it's a long story."
And so, Doniya and Bassett quickly re-explained everything. How I had to kill my parents to free them from the black water, how Yaser was basically the one hosting the head brain that controlled everyone infected, how (as of right now) the only way out of it was death, how he or I was next on its list of people to control, and how it could only take over one of us and how it wasn't going to be picky on who it was. Then she explained how Trisha had asked her to kill her after telling her everything, how she had left it up to Doniya to find a way to kill it, which is why Bassett found her because she was doing the exact same thing. How as of right now, they had found that Physician Andy who was for some reason ignored by the water, and how he might somehow be immune to it.
"Ok, let's say all of this is true." He said, looking like he was also trying to wrap his head around all of it.
"Why wouldn't mom tell me?"
"Because she knew you'd try to kill him, and she knew when you did there was a strong possibility it would either take you over, or if it wasn't strong enough, take over someone else. As of right now...we don't know how to kill this thing." He sighed and sat down in one of my ice chairs, the shadows had disappeared from his skin and he had let Ashton and Luke down a while ago.
"How the fuck do I know any of this is true?" He said. I shook my head.
"Z, I saw them kill the stuff that was inside her like, 5 minutes before you got here...this isn't a lie, and it's all true." His eyes darkened.
"Liam love, they have a boy who creates illusions. How do we know any of what you just saw was even real?" I opened my mouth, but immediately closed it.
"Zayn..." She kneeled down in front of him and grabbed both his hands.
"Please, I swear to you. I swear to god in heaven, I swear...on moms' grave. I swear to you, that I am not lying, that everything we've just told you is true."
"Easy to swear on the grave of someone you murdered." He said. She flinched at his words but shook her head.
"I did what I had to do...she asked me to do it, and I'm not lying."
"Zayn...she's not lying." I said.
"Maybe the black water was an illusion but...I can see in her eyes when she talks about her mother, the pain...I know it, I feel it whenever I think about my..." I chocked back a sob, Doniya looked on the verge of tears himself. He looked me in the eye and wiped away the tear that fell down my cheek. He looked to Doniya, stared at her for a second, and then sighed heavily.
"Fuck killing it." He suddenly said. Everyone looked surprised, including me.
"What?" I said, confused. He shook his head.
"So we don't know how to kill it, oh well. Why don't we just go back to the tower, beat the living fucking hell out of him, and then lock him up in some tiny, inescapable prison, and then throw away the key?" Doniya laughed a little but shook her head.
"We don't know who all has been infected, mom told me he could kill anyone infected if need be...sure we capture him, but everyone infected with the flick of a wrist. No, we have to just kill it."
"I could burn it to temperatures hotter than the sun?" He said, annoyed. She frowned at that.
"We have no way of knowing if..."
"Oh fuck that." He said, leaning back and wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
"Just let me kill him." Doniya frowned.
"Zayn...underneath it all that is still dad we're talking about. If we could find a way to kill it while saving dad..." He shook his head.
"He is a threat to Liam's life, just let me burn him into ashes and be done with it." Doniya sighed.
"See, this is why I wanted to tell Liam and not you, you're a bloody hot headed idiot."
"And you're not thinking of the greater good. And..." He took a deep breath.
"Yeah he's dead, but I saved Liam so I don't care."She shook her head.
"God dammit...alright look. If this Andy thing doesn't...doesn't pan out, and we can't find a cure...then El is going to open a portal and all of us are going to storm his office and take him by surprise, and you can try to burn him to 'temperatures hotter than the sun', you fucking show off." He sighed.
"Fine, you have a week. I'm not risking him getting stronger while you fiddle with something that'll probably not even pan out." She shook her head.
"Just...if worst comes to worst, we have to make sure Safaa and Wally get to Eleanor, she can get them out. We don't know exactly what sort of power..."
"Ya ya of course." He said, shaking his hand. He stood up.
"Alright, let's head back. Need to apologize to El and Louis..." Doniya frowned.
"What did you do to them?" He shrugged.
"They wouldn't tell me where Liam was, threatened to kill them." She shook her head.
"You're fucking unbelievable."
"So, should I shadow back or is El opening a portal?"
"Up to you I guess." Doniya said.
"How do we get in contact with you?" I asked. She pulled out a little card and handed it to me.
"Current burner phone number, you'll be texted if it changes..."
"Remember Doniya, you have a week." Zayn said. She nodded at him...but frowned suddenly.
"I have to admit Zayn, I didn't...expect you to trust us so easily." He shrugged.
"Liam believes you, which is good enough for me." He smiled darkly.
"And c'mon, if it does turn out this is all some weird, elaborate lie. Well, I'll have no problem destroying all of you for lying to Liam." She laughed shakily.
"That's...comforting?"
"If I have any more questions, I'll call you." I said. Doniya nodded.
"Alright, like I said earlier, it was wonderful finally getting to meet you Liam. The boy Zayn never shut up about." She held out her hand and I shook it. I turned on Ashton and he shrugged.
"Yeah, and sorry about St. Louis mate." I turned on Luke.
"It was...nice meeting you." I said. He didn't say anything, he just nodded. Finally I turned on Bassett and she smiled weakly at the two of us.
"Once all this is over, I hope you and I can have a long discussion about your parents. Oh I have stories. And Zayn, I hope you don't have any hard feelings about St. Louis." He shrugged.
"It's fine; I probably won't burn all of your stuff." She laughed shakily, she probably couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"Alright Sophia, ready to go?" I asked. She shook her head.
"Sorry guys, I'm not going back there..." She turned on Doniya.
"Can you get Eleanor to open a portal here? I need...I need to speak with my father; we have a lot of things to talk about. And I figure we have a week, so he's going to need help with Andy. Two heads are better than one you know." Doniya nodded.
"Of course love."
"You sure Sophia? What do we tell everyone?" I asked. She shrugged.
"Don't worry about it, I can cover. Dad's sick, emergency plane ride to visit him, I've got it covered." Doniya already had her phone out.
"Yeah...don't worry El it's all ok, they'll be back soon, just open to..."
"My dad's office, she's been there." Sophia said. Doniya nodded.
"Her dads office, yeah, ok...love you." She hung up and nodded at her.
"Should be open in..." Suddenly a neon and black portal opened up right in the middle of the room.
"Man, she's getting better at that." Bassett commented. Sophia quickly pulled Zayn and I into a hug.
"I'll see you two in a week; maybe less if luck would have it...just..." Her squeeze tightened.
"Please, be careful."
"See ya soon." I said. Zayn nodded at her and she turned and quickly pulled Doniya into a hug.
"See you soon...in a week this'll all be over." She said. Doniya nodded.
"God willing." Sophia turned, took a deep breath, and jumped into the portal. It closed a minute later.
"Alright, you two should be heading out. I guess just shadow back, best place would probably be El and Sophia's room." Doniya said. Zayn suddenly frowned.
"Small...issue. Harry is in the room with them, I told him to watch the two of them when I left." Doniya bit her thumb.
"We don't know if Harry's been infected yet."
"You could take me with you." Ashton suddenly said. They all turned on him in surprise.
"Ashton, you sure?" Bassett asked. He nodded.
"Listen, we know a sort of way to kill the black water in people...I can tell if he's infected. If he isn't, then good. El can just send me back here. If he is...I can do to him what I did to Sophia."
"Louis would kill you mate if you failed to bring him back." Zayn commented. He nodded.
"I...shit yeah; I guess let's just hope he's clean eh?" I laughed.
"Maybe all that weed killed it." Zayn chuckled next to me.
"We can only hope...glad I don't have to explain all of this again. I'll let you guys do it I'm tired of talking." Doniya said, rubbing the back of her head.
"Then c'mon Ashton, time to leave." Zayn said, the shadows already appearing on his skin. He grabbed my hip but I quickly walked forward.
"Actually...Doniya? Do you mind if we...talk privately for a minute? I just wanted to ask you something." Zayn gave me an odd look but I smiled and kissed him.
"Promise its nothing bad just...yeah." He nodded.
"Alright, I trust you love." I turned and Doniya smiled weakly.
"Let's just walk over here..." She gestured and I followed.
"So Zayn...could you like, burn someone from the inside out?" Ashton asked curiously as we walked away.
"What is it?" Doniya asked. I frowned at her.
"When I first got to Dirge, I was in the hospital wing for about a week courtesy of Zayn." She shook her head.
"I heard, bloody fucking idiot..."
"But...well, I woke up one day and decided to head to the training room..." I felt Goosebumps rise on my arm as I told her about Trisha Malik's ghost, her eyes widened at all of this.
"So...I guess I was just wondering if that was you? You never mentioned it so..."
"What exactly did she say?" Doniya asked, her lips tight and her eyes deathly serious.
"I need to know exactly what she said."
"She...she said 'I know you' a couple times, then 'I saw you in a dream', and then 'You and my son' but she suddenly stopped talking and started screaming and suddenly she flew through a wall. Afterwards Harry found me, told me he had seen her too. Said he thought she was a banshee. When he found me...he said I froze the locks on the wheelchair so I couldn't move, but I don't remember doing that." She took a deep breath.
"Only you and Harry have seen her?"
"Yeah."
"Who all knows?"
"Just Harry and Sophia but Sophia didn't believe him, told him he was an idiot and such..."
"Good, let's hope Harry really isn't infected...because if he is then Yaser knows...we know Sophia was infected but that's ok, she just put it off as him being high or something." She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Liam, if Harry isn't infected. First off you need to find out exactly what my mother said to him. Secondly...the two of you need to go back down there and find her again." I stared at her in shock.
"What? Why?"
"Liam, I never raised my mother's ghost." I felt the Goosebumps return.
"W-what?"
"I just left; I never tried to raise her ghost Liam. Back then I wasn't very good with the power..." She shivered.
"I have no idea how or why she is still down there...but you need to find out, you have to find her again, and find out anything she might know..." She shook her head.
"I know I would be the one much better suited for this but...second I enter that building I'm sure he'll find me. I can't go back...not yet. It's up to you two..." I nodded.
"I'll...I'll try."
"Take Zayn too I guess if you get scared." She chuckled weakly. I laughed.
"Yeah, I'll probably do that..." She hugged me suddenly, I was surprised but returned the hug.
"You're gonna be the best brother in law ever." She said. I froze against her and pulled back.
"What?" She looked surprised.
"Oh, um, nothing. Don't worry about it..." She quickly pushed me over to Zayn.
"...no seriously, I melted the tires off a car in a car chase." Zayn said. Ashton laughed.
"Dude that is sick."
"Alright Ashton, you checked everyone in the room and El gets you out. I expect you back here in at least 10 minutes." He nodded.
"I gotcha Doniya."
"Be careful kid, I've gotten fond of you." Bassett chuckled. He nodded.
"Love you too Momma B." He turned and smiled weakly at Luke.
"I'll be back soon baby." Luke didn't say anything, but I noticed his fists tighten a little bit.
"Alright, let's go." Zayn said. He nodded at Doniya.
"See you soon D."
"See you soon Z." Doniya replied. I felt the shadows suddenly pulling us in, we started sinking into the floor.
"Oh wait! I have one last question." I suddenly said.
"How are you guys blocking out Harry? He said whenever he tries to find you guys it's like there is a fog..." Doniya smiled and pulled out a small cube from her pocket, it looked almost like a little folded up cell phone.
"To sum it up, a Harry psychic power blocker. You can thank Simon for that one." I nodded.
"Good to know, it was driving Harry crazy." We sunk into the darkness and the last thing I heard was Doniya say with a laugh.
"I bet it was."
Doniya
They left; I found I was already missing my brother. I wanted to talk to him more; there was still so much we needed to talk about...
"So, remind me again why we lied about Andy, specifically about the fact that he exists?" Luke suddenly said, those were his first words all night. He was a quiet kid, didn't really like to talk, and barely said five words to anyone...sides Ashton. Ashton kept pestering him until he finally opened up, though only to him, Ashton was pretty good at that.
"Because, if they knew what I had actually discovered in St. Louis, what we actually went to Africa for...they would never allow us to use it." Bassett answered.
"But, you let Sophia go talk to her dad..."
"And once he explains the situation, she'll understand and keep quiet. She's a smart girl, she'll know this is the right thing to do...I'm just glad Ashton noticed the black water in her, if it wasn't for the Harry blocker; Yaser would know everything right now." Bassett said.
"Yeah, lucky break..." I sighed heavily and sat down in the chair.
"You alright love?" Bassett asked.
"I just...I hated lying to them about that is all." I said. Bassett nodded.
"I understand love, but just remember, we didn't lie about anything else...true, Andy and all that cure stuff was bullshit but everything else was true and now they know, they're informed." I nodded at her.
"Yeah, guess you're right...I just wish they knew is all."
"I know, and if we're lucky we won't have to use it. Maybe Zayn can actually incinerate him."
"Not an it, right here ya know." Luke commented, sitting down across from me.
"I know...you wanted to save your father love, but either way, he's too lost now. Killing him will be a blessing." I nodded.
"Yeah...and maybe..." I sighed heavily.
"Maybe I can finally sleep at night."
"You will Doniya, I promise." Bassett said, rubbing my shoulders. I watched her look up and smile at Luke.
"And I hope you're ready Luke, because if Zayn fails in killing Yaser, if Louis fails in killing Zayn and Liam if they get infected by the host...you're going to have to save the world." He laughed.
"Well, me and Horan." She nodded.
"Yeah, you and Niall Horan."
"Liam had said he had been drinking at the bar...he's probably infected you know." I said.
"Send a text to Ashton and El. When she opens a portal to return him here, actually have her open one to Nialls room and he can wait there. He has a Harry blocker so Yaser won't know who did it, and Niall can be free, if he's even infected. We can take him back here and explain the situation, what...he's going to have to do if all else fails." I nodded.
"Yeah...god I hope it doesn't have to come to that." I pulled out my phone and started sending the text to the two of them.
"Well...all I know is, I hope he's ok with a suicide mission." Luke said quietly. I laughed bitterly.
"Yeah...better go shopping, I know he likes to drink...and he's going to need one."
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