Nine Months Ago
Liam Payne
"Where the fuck is Harry Styles?" He screams while hitting me again in the back with the whip, making the loud cracking noise fill the room.
I clench my teeth and take the stinging hit to my bare back, having no choice as I was on my knees. My wrists were cuffed together around a steel pillar in the middle of this concrete dungeon. The last thing I remember was the battle underground, and now I woke up to the cold chiseled ground of this empty cobblestone room, cuffed on my knees.
"I don't know!" I shout, keeping my eyes clenched shut as he whips me again.
"Don't fucking play with me kid! You would know where he would flee to! Give me fucking answers or I'll keep going until you're nothing but bones." The Salvation member screams at me.
My forehead pressed into the metal pillar as I kept my eyes shut, trying to ignore the throbbing stinging tainting my skin. It was burning so bad.
"I- I don't fucking know!" I shout back.
But I had a really good guess. If I wanted to, I could tell him everything. I could tell him he was probably in the place that we said we would always retreat too if we were ever under attack.
The cabin.
With the loud snapping sound followed by the inflamed pain to my back again, I clenched my teeth and shouted between them.
"I can keep this up all fucking day then. Unless you have answers." I can feel him step closer to me and crouch down to where I was on the ground.
There was a moment of silence, nothing but the sounds of my heavy breathing. I was weak and broken down- cuffed and whipped against my will by Salvation. No one was here to help me, to save me. In movies you always see the person getting saved before getting hurt like this, but this wasn't a movie. This was my life. I didn't even know where I was or how I got here. One minute I was fighting in the battle and get knocked out by a punch, the next minute I'm here.
I could give Harry up right now, I could tell this man what he's been wanting to hear in order to protect myself. I could tell him he was in a cabin on the 6th concession. Maybe I could even be free if I gave him and the other guys up.
"Fuck you." I mutter between my teeth, standing my ground while never being weaker in my life.
I'm not giving them up.
I hear the man behind me chuckle under his breath as I hugged the pole with my arms and fought to keep my eyes open. I was so weak.
"You've got some real fucking guts kid." He muttered before standing back up.
I heard him step back and I just hugged the pole harder, pinching my eyes shut and waiting for the next hit that I'll know I'll get. My teeth where clenched so hard together that I thought they might shatter.
With the loud snapping noise once again, I was whipped hard on my inflamed back- grunting out in pain and praying this would end soon. It hurt so bad, I don't think I ever experienced anything like it.
One Day Later
I opened my eyes to the white light above me, stuck. I couldn't move. As I blinked and adjusted my vision, I realized I was laying on a steel table with my hands and ankles locked down. The metal restraint prohibited me to move as my head also was held down by another bar wrapped around my forehead. My back was in such great pain and I couldn't even move to roll over or something to get off the cuts. The last thing I remember was being whipped over and over again- I must've passed out.
I couldn't move my head in any direction, so I used my eyes to glance around the room. I tried to look around and see where I was but all I could take in was that I was in a white tiled room with a few different unrecognizable machines around me. I was getting anxious, I couldn't move.
When I heard the large door open, my stomach turned. I couldn't see who was coming in, but needless to say I was nervous as fuck.
But when I saw the familiar face of Erica pop her head over me- I didn't know if I was relieved or confused. I never really knew Erica that well, but I knew her enough. What is she doing here? Is she here to get me out?
"Erica? What are yo-"
But when I focused on her blue jean jacket, I answered my own question.
"Hey Liam." She says with a smile, acting like nothings wrong.
"What the fuck are you doing in that jacket?" I spit out.
"Give them answers Liam. It will just get worse if you don't." She tells me, ignoring my question.
"Are you apart of this gang?" I say in shock.
"Yes, and you can be to." She rests her hand on my bare chest, making me flinch a bit.
"No- fuck you! You've been the fucking mole in Malignant this entire time?" I get angry, feeling my fist clench.
"Relax I was just the tattoo artist down there, I never wore your jackets or went out and killed innocent civilians. I was allied with Deception, investigating who Westly Ray Sehard was by getting information from the executive members. After investigating the four of you, I had speculations that it was secretly Harry this entire time." She explains to me.
"So you decided to sleep with him in order to get information if he was the leader?" I mutter.
"Well yes, but after doing that for a bit- I realized Harry is a closed book and doesn't tell anyone anything due to how emotionless he is. I was having sex with him for a while and I never got any information besides knowing he lights matches with his gritty ring on his finger or between his teeth. So I gave up and moved on to someone else that with the right technique- I could get info from." She tells me her whole elaborate scheme.
"Niall." I murmur, making her nod.
"Look at you, you're detective skills are on point." She praises me.
"So you went from sleeping around with Harry to sleeping around with Niall. Very classy Erica." I mutter, feeling so infuriated.
"I did what I had to in order to get what I wanted. Niall was opening up to me and eventually he let slip that Westly was Harry all along. When I found out my speculations were correct, I alerted Salvation and Deception and they commenced the battle immediately. Along my journey of trying to find out who Westly was, I took many photos and kept them in a file for Salvation so they could use them against Harry." She explains proudly, feeding her own ego.
"That's why they ambushed us a week earlier then planned? Because you told them who Westly was?" I try to piece everything together.
"Yep. I ended up getting a lot of photos of Harry and Amelia, and with also pretending to be her best friend and stuff, I got her to tell me the details of their relationship so I would know how serious they are. It turns out they've gotten really serious these past few months and with these provocative photos of them, Salvation wanted her too. So the night they were planning to attack, I told her to come out with me to the club- setting her up to be trapped by some other disguised members of Deception. But of course Harry ended up coming down there and taking her back from me, holding a gun to my head if I didn't let her go." She rambles on, telling me her courses of action like I was her best friend.
"Well you just had it all fucking planned out didn't you? So why the fuck am I here?" I mutter.
"Well Liam babe, you were stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. Harry escaped, and so did Amelia. We weren't ready to lose them so we needed someone who would know where he'd go- and that where you come in." She places her small hand on my sweaty cheek, brushing her thumb across my cheekbone.
"I don't fucking know where he is! I've been saying that! What the fuck do you expect me to tell you guys if I don't know!" I shouted.
"I get that, you probably don't know.. but it doesn't mean we are letting you go. Liam you'd be a great asset to this gang. You're tough and smart. Deception would need you." She smiles lightly.
"Fuck no! I'm not a fucking traitor like you! Forget it and let me go!" I spit, jolting in my iron restraints.
"I had a feeling you'd say that, so we have a small conversion process here at Deception. It's for guys like you that don't break as easily. It's a bit of a painful process, but it's 98% effective." She smirks a bit, making me confused.
"What conversion process?" I murmur.
"It's a series of pain inflicting events that make you rethink everything you are loyal too in Malignant. Think of it like school, but you are learning to despise your gang and become loyal to ours. That is unless you have information about where Harry is." She tells me, making me swallow the lump in my throat.
"So you're gonna fucking brainwash me?" I say in shock.
"Well not me obviously. But we have a really good set of scientists here that will take care of all of it." She smiles like this is all normal.
"You're sick." I mutter.
"Oh babe we aren't that bad. You should be flattered they wanted you." She smiles.
"What if I didn't know where they were? What if I literally didn't have the answer for you? I get brainwashed into your gang?" I shout.
"If you really don't know where Harry is, tell them where you think he is. You're one of his best friends- you know more about him then anyone here does." She shakes her head.
"You said it yourself, he's a closed book." I mutter.
He was in the cabin.
I hear the door open again, causing Erica to look to it's direction. She looks over there for a second then back down at me.
"Don't fight it, it only makes it worse." She mumbles to me before leaving my vision and out of the room.
Fight what?
"Mr. Payne." I hear a males voice, suddenly he steps where I can see him. He was tall and had little amounts of dark brown hair on his head. He was in a white lab coat and looked to be in his fifty's. "I'm Dr. Smith, the head of neurology here at Deception and Salvation head quarters. Today we are starting shock therapy in the beginning of your conversion process." He says with his hands in his lab pockets.
Shock therapy?
"I am not becoming apart of this gang! I am loyal to Malignant!" I shout while being unable to move.
The doctor laughs to himself, grabbing a large metal machine and rolling it over.
"That's what they all say, but now they are devoted to Deception." He murmurs while turning the machine on.
"They?" I couldn't help but ask.
"All the other Malignant members that have been where you are right now. Thanks to me, Deception is 96% old Malignant members that have been captured over time." He tells me, making my heart drop.
"You're lying." I say in disbelief.
"I'm sure you wish I was." He chuckles while turning to the machine.
That's where his gang suddenly came from, they were Malignant members that have disappeared over time.
"Mr. Payne, I'm going to ask you a simple question and if you get it wrong, you get shocked. Your metal restraints around your wrists, ankles an head are wired with copper wires that will conduct the shocks." He tells me, making me swallow the lump in my throat yet again.
"What gang are you loyal to?" He asks me.
"Malignant." I mutter, immediately feeling the intense electric shock flood my body.
I scream and arch my back on the table, feeling the electricity painfully shoot through my veins for two seconds. When it stopped my mutilated back fell back onto the table while I couldn't catch my breath.
"What gang are you loyal to?" He repeats.
"Malignant." I say again.
The shock runs through me, making me scream out and arch my back yet again. Feeling my toes curl and my fists clench. My eyes pinched shut as I couldn't stop the electricity hurting me. It went on for a second longer this time, but eventually stopes so I fell back flat on the table. I felt my heart race and my whole body aching from head to toe.
"What gang are you loyal to?"
"M-malig-"
I didn't even finish my word until I got hit again with another shock. I screamed out and rolled my eyes back in my head, waiting for this painful torture to end. I wasn't giving in to this gang, no matter what they did.
No perspective
Liam was shocked in a total of seventeen times, giving the same wrong answer every time. The doctor gave him the same question, and all he needed was for Liam to say Deception in order for it to stop.
"What gang are you loyal too?" The Salvation member shouted while he was tied against a wall with his arms and legs apart.
"Malignant." He said quietly.
Immediately the Salvation member nailed his fist for the third time into Liam's stomach, winding him yet again.
"What gang are you loyal to?" He repeats as Liam tried to catch his breath.
"M-Malignant." He repeated wearily.
A fist was rammed into his face, making him see stars and taste blood.
Liam painfully endure different forms of torture for two whole months. They put him through shock everyday, made him sit in an ice bath, locked him in a steel empty room for two weeks, and so much more.
"What gang are you loyal to?" The Deception member yelled while holding the piping hot metal press in his hand.
"Malignant." Liam said, making the metal get pressed into his upper arm- branding the Deception logo into it. He shouted out in pain as they singed his skin.
Liam Payne did everything he could to protect his gang and his friends, but after two months and endless various forms of torture- his brain switched and turned him into a different person. He was starved and sleep deprived. His body was changing, he lost great amounts of weight and was paler then a ghost.
"What gang are you loyal to?" The Deception member screamed to him as he was on his knees in front of a large pool of ice cold water.
"Malignant." He said weakly.
His head was immediately brought down into the water by the mans grip on the back of his neck.
He held Liam's face under the water for nearly a minute until bring him back up. He coughed for air for the fourteenth time, so exhausted and on the verge of death.
"What gang are you loyal too?" He screamed at Liam for the fourteenth time.
"Deception."
After two whole months of saying Malignant, Liam lost himself forever when finally claiming to be loyal to Deception. His brain thought different and his old personality of fun and humorous was gone forever. The inner Liam died that day, and he was nothing but a brainwashed robot of Deception like so many other previous harmed Malignant members.
The torturing stopped that day and they rewarded him with a better place to sleep then a cold floor and real food to eat. He was a machine that didn't do or say anything but want to hurt every member of Malignant. To change his look, they dyed his hair like they'd often do to new members to give them a fresh start. He was now property of Deception and Salvation- wanting nothing more but to hurt Harry Styles.
The day Liam got his jean jacket and red bandana, he stared at himself in the mirror. He looked into his destroyed brown eyes and realized he didn't see himself anymore- he saw a walking corps. But even though he felt this way, it felt right to him. Like he admitted, he was loyal to Deception now and their wasn't one piece of him left that still cared for Malignant.
He was too far gone at this point, but he still never told anyone about the cabin. Maybe it was because through all the torture he forgot about it- but even he himself never understood why he didn't give up that location.
Liam eventually got to go out on his own and search for Harry Styles and Amelia Adams. He would ask to search the forests up east- and they let him.
So with a gun and a camera, Liam spent his days looking deep in the forests. He would spend his time coming across various animals and ended up shooting them for no reason at all. He practiced his shooting skill on deers and rabbits, just skimming the animals most of the time because his aim was rusty.
He could've ran, the moment he was granted to go searching on his own- he could've. But he was taught to hate Harry Styles. Despite all the torture, Salvation and Deception taunted Liam daily with information about how awful Harry is. It was all apart of the conversion method and it worked because Liam now hated Harry Styles and everyone associated with him.
But because of this conversion process, Liam really forgot where the cabin was. It's been so long. He knew it was east in the forest, but he didn't know exactly where. His brain was all rewired and messed up. He forgot so many things about his past due to all the various forms of torture.
Even though he forgot, one day Liam eventually stumbled across the backyard of the cabin. He felt victorious that after all this time he found it. Hidden within the trees he saw the back balcony of the old cabin him and his best mates shared. He was ready to go in and call back up to shoot up the joint, but when he saw Harry and Amelia on the back balcony- he froze.
He took out his phone to call for backup, but before dialling he noticed something strange- and it made him put his phone away and lift up his camera instead.
He saw the way Harry lovingly looked at Amelia and her stomach, and Liam quickly realized she was pregnant. He was shocked and the small part of his previous soul sparked alive. He was staring at the man that for the past few months learned to hate- smiling at Amelia with love.
In this moment, Harry didn't seem like the angry awful man that everyone hated.
Something came over Liam, because instead of sending these photos directly to Deception and giving them the location.. he deleted the photos.
He deleted the photos and walked away. He hated Harry Styles and wanted him dead, but for some reason- he didn't want to be the one to find them. He was fine if Harry got killed, if all of them got killed. But he didn't want to be the one to initiate it. He didn't know why, but he didn't know why he did a lot of things. So Liam bravely walked away and pretended he never saw him or the cabin in the woods.
//