Liam's pov
I sat hopeless, leaning against the cold cement walls. My eyelids often dropped closed, as I had no strength to keep them open. Just as I felt myself drifting to sleep, the door opened, startling me awake. I squinted through the dark room, illuminated only by the light that shone through the small bordered up window. on the far side of the room.
As he drew closer, I made the figure out to be the man who had taken me. "What do you want now?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
"Shut up" was all he said to me, at first. I noticed him fishing around in the corner for something, but I couldn't turn my head far enough to see. "I think I have something you'll enjoy" he spoke suddenly. My stomach instantly dropped in fear of what he was talking about.
He came closer to me and pulled out a phone. Unlocking it, he opened up a picture and turned to show me. My lips parted, not wanting to believe what I was seeing. I blinked multiple times, trying to refocus on the image before me. "That's not real" was the first thing I said, praying it was photoshopped.
"Oh but it is" he grinned, swiping the screen to reveal more pictures of my fiancé who appeared to be tied up alongside Louis and Harry. "Your precious girlfriend was so worried after our little phone call that she flew out here" he laughed corruptly, shaking his head in the process. "Can you believe that?" He mocked, rhetorically.
My heart was racing, and I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. "I can actually" I growled bitterly. That was the plan all along- answer one call from Ariella, fire a gun in the background, while simultaneously abusing me, so it made it seem as if I'd gotten shot. Still, I was angry she flew out here, but more worried for her safety.
"You stay away from here" I advised harshly, trying to break free of my restrictions in the process. I thrashed around violently trying to make something happen, but my attempts were anything but useful.
He laughed at my failed attempts at breaking the ropes. I began to panic when he walked closer and stuck his hands out towards me. Roughly, he picked me up by my hair and began dragging me through the dark room and back into the warehouse where it all began.
*Flashback*
"I'll grab the last bag" I told Louis with a long yawn that followed. I began walking back outside into the cold, dark L.A. night.
We had just performed the most amazing concert San Fransisco, and had then driven to L.A where we checked into a hotel before our concert the following night. We were all exhausted, so we were lazily unpacking the van while Paul checked us in.
The boys were standing in the middle of the sidewalk watching while I carried over the last bag. Some of our other security guards had gone inside to ensure no fans were around- nobody was up at this ungodly hour though.
I closed the trunk and grabbed the duffel bag with my clothes. As I began walking towards the building, I suddenly felt a hand clamp over my mouth. The same person grabbed my hands and held them firmly behind my back, causing the duffel bag to drop into the middle of the street.
My eyes widened and the boys ran to me, calling for Paul in the process. Louie was the first one to approach me, but before he could lay a hand on me, someone jumped out and grabbed him as well. The same happened with Harry and Zayn as well. As for Niall, he whipped his phone out and attempted to take a picture of the license plate of their van, but one guy grabbed his phone and tossed it in the sewer before hitting him over the head with a baseball bat.
Dumbfounded, I looked down and saw Niall was laying passed out next to Harry. My heart was racing as I tried to fight m my way out of his grip. Before I could process what was happening, a knife was at my side and my face was covered with a rag. I knew instantly it was chloroform, so I did my best to hold my breath for as long as I could, but as soon as I breathed in, I began to feel sleepy.
The last thing I remember seeing was a struggling Louis being thrown into the back of a van, alongside the other three lads.
***
My eyes fluttered open and I instantly didn't recognize my surroundings. It was fairly dark out, and I was sitting on a cold wooden floor. I moved my arms to stretch out, but they seemed to be bound together behind my back.
What the hell? I asked myself as I allowed my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting.
The boys were next to me, and I noticed they too were tied up like I was. I tried to wake them, but they wouldn't budge. I resorted to kicking Niall, resulting in him grunting and mumbling until he opened his eyes.
He looked around a little and his face instantly grew pale. Quickly he nudged the others awake. "Boys where are we?? What happened??" He rambled, not trying in the slightest to hide his fear.
I remember the concert, and vaguely recall pulling up to the hotel. After moments of thinking hard, my eyes shot open as I thought back to some man restraining me, and the image of Louis being thrown in the back of the van.
"Boys someone's kidnapped us" I whispered as loud as I could, not trying to draw attention to us. Just as I said this, a few men walked inside. They glared at us, and without saying a word, simultaneously pulled out five knives. My eyes went wide and I felt my stomach erupt in a nauseous feeling.
The four men walked towards us and each one held a knife to our throat. A familiar looking guy knelt between Louis and I, holding a blade in each hand. "Lucky me" he chuckled darkly, "I get two"
"Now listen up" a voice further down called out.
"Whatever is about to happen, may not be questioned or protested" someone else stated firmly.
"Understood?" My attacker asked, looking me directly in the eye.
I nodded my head, scared shitless. Before I could take a full breath, I was grabbed by my arms and legs and dragged away.
"Hey!" I yelled instinctively as soon as I felt myself being moved.
"I said no protests!" He yelled. As punishment, to show me he meant business, the man slit my my shoulder with the knife. I cried out in pain as the two men continued dragging me a crossed the jagged wooden floors.
"Quiet!" he bellowed digging the knife into my wound, allowing the blood to pour down my left arm. I bit my lip hard to prevent from crying out. The taste of blood filled my mouth, making me realize I had bitten too hard.
After what felt like years, we reached a private room and I was thrown against a wall. "Liam Payne" the man began to speak, "I hope you're ready for this"
***
It turns out they didn't want to kill me- yet. For a while, I was tied up and chained to the wall, where I was tortured. Most of the abuse was done with a single blade. It was bad, but none of the wounds were bad enough where I would die, or bleed out.
I had no choice but to take the hits as they came. The only thing that made it tolerable was daydreaming about my future with Ariella- that is, if I made it out of here. I closed my eyes, and as they continued to hit me, I thought about the wedding. Thinking further down the line, I even imagined how nice it would be to raise a family with her.
Occasionally I would wince in pain, which would snap me out of my thoughts. It took a while, but eventually I started to become numb to the pain and bruising. Sometimes they hit me so hard that I would just black out and not have to worry about the pain anymore. I often feel asleep and when I woke up, I thought it was all a dream. Unfortunately I realized that I was in fact living the nightmare I had dreamt of.
Often I wondered what was going on with the boys- were they getting tortured like this too? Were they separated from one another? Had anyone died yet? Why was I the only one separated?
Unfortunately these were questions that I may not live long enough to get the answers to.
*End of flashback*
He picked me up and threw me violently against a wall in the corner of the warehouse. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar figure, but I heard his voice before I could make out who it was.
"Ariella!!" Zayn shouted, his voice thick with panic, as if something really bad was about to happen to her. Using what little strength k had, I lifted my head and looked up just in time to see it all happen. Some large man plunged a blade into her side, sending her crumbling to the floor.
Watching this happen sent a huge rush of adrenaline throughout my body, giving me the strength to cry out. "Ariella no!!" I couldn't prevent the tears from rolling down my cheeks, and I was almost positive my heart had stopped beating.
All this time she thought I was dead, and now here I am, watching her fall to her death, right before my eyes. In that moment, I felt broken and empty, as if I had nothing left to live for.
*******************************************
Remember to vote please! and leave a few comments regarding your thoughts on this chapter :)
Much love
Xx