Stockholm Syndrome: Monster

Chapter 16: Trust or Risk

Miko Pov

I groan, waking up to a familiar crampy pain in my stomach, even though I don't have periods, nor reproductive organs.
My 17 year old body has been very confusing every since the experiments began. I mentally slap myself for not asking Jones about the types of DNA I have from which animals. Eh, I can figure it out on my own time anyway. "You okay now, Mi?" Says a husky voice behind me, I don't register what happened properly then started attacking the perpetrator. I twisted around violently and sat with my knees on either side of his waist. I grab his throat and pull back my free fist, all in a 3 second reflex. "Woman, calm down." Zayn says, pulling my hands away and sitting up. My fists are still in tight balls, trembling when I think of the nightmare I just had, a flashback of the time I had gotten in lots of trouble with Jones, and his whole persona turned inside out. All the genuine goodness seemed to have been locked in a box of titanium and kept somewhere in his body, all the wretchedness shined and followed him wherever he went, he began keeping me in a cage, like a dog that chewed the carpet. I thought absently. Zayn looks at me clearly confused, but I keep thinking and confusing myself.
What was it that I did to get caught and in trouble, though?
He drugged me when he found me in...
Oh right, I was snooping in the files he kept on me. I was subject
number 666, I can't recall the DNA strand mixtures. I do remember the poor puppy, a beautiful husky used to extract DNA and highten my senses. But which senses? What happened to her? Jones probably had her dumped somewhere. I'm shaken out of my thoughts by Zayn picking me up and running down the stairs in a worried manner.
"Guys she's not talking and look... " He says to the groggy boys flopped on the couches. He sets me on the coffee table and begins to lift the back of my tank top, without my permission. I immediately freak out, pouncing on the nearest teenager and holding on tightly to their waist, not caring who it is. "What happened to her, what did you do, Zayn?" The high pitched accent fills my ears, distinctly Louis. "I didn't do anything, she was lying on the bed like something or someone was bothering her, she was shaking. I asked if she was okay, she freaked, got into some odd position, ready to punch me, I calmed her down and I noticed the wings left and the tattoo came back, so I came down here, she hasn't said a word." He finishes breathily, attempting to smooth his hair out of his eyes. I shove my face into Louis' chest, not being able to speak or forget about my fears and memories. I seemed to have gained a lot of memory that I was unaware of it's absence, they were all fearful and haunting. Everytime I close my eyes, I see needles, I see everything that makes me anxious and weak. I know their names, I know how they're described, even though everyone is afraid of something, for me it's a part of mental illness. My anger and insecurities caused me to be targeted, I'm known by the institution as the strongest host of stubborn qualities, no one could tell me anything. They could restrain me, they could strap me to a table and lock me away, but they can't control my mind. I understand that people like me are threatening to others, my thoughts and feelings can be as open and vast as the universe. While others limit and restrict themselves to a superior state of mind, where only their opinions are considered, like that Donald Dump guy or whatever his name is.
Sometimes I wish I could go back to the times before everything, back to the times with my parents and my now deceased older brother, who died at a young age of 19. I miss him, I'd been 13, ever since then, I force myself to forget about him. The only other person who knows is Jones, only because he caused it, he somehow got rid of my parents too, I will find out no matter what. "Please, say something, anything, insult me, just please tell us what is wrong." Pleads Louis, meeting my eyes intensely, I look down like a submissive dog, too afraid to look someone in the eyes. I shake my head and make an 'x' motion with my hands, pointing at my mouth, Louis nods. "Wait...I have an idea! " Perks up Louis, the vibrations from him talking lulling me off to a fictional world I created in my mind... "We should call Ashton and Michael and Luke and Calum! " I start to listen when I hear Luke, it couldn't be... "Remember that time when they all came over and Harry dared Luke to work for five nights as a janitor at the Sydney Institution, remember?" He asks and Harry enthusiastically groans, the other nod their heads and tell him to proceed, my muscles become stiff in shock. "We could ask him if he knows anything, if you guys don't mind telling them about the whole... Uh, kidnapping thing... " He says nervously, and Niall sitting to the right of him begins to stroke my hair softly. Liam sits next to Harry, putting an arm around his shoulders to seemingly comfort him. Harry and Zayn seem to run their hands through their hair in sync, stressing themselves. I poke Louis and point to the ground. "You wanna get down, love?" I nod, "Okay. " He says softly, this is why I like them so much. Some might curse me for being so comfortable with them, a group of still maturing teenage boys who became my kidnappers. The truth is, they are sweet, caring, I'd only been an unnecessary bitch just to test the waters, but I wasn't right at first. I never really liked them as a band, I never knew them as who they are. Without all the fame, they all share traits of my dead brother, Jeremy, and it hurts immensely. I stretch my knotty muscles and pop all my joints, I must've gotten up too fast, since my vision blurs out a bit and I lose control of my weak body. Niall gets off the couch and steadies me before I fall. "Guys, I think we should call Ashton and the rest immediately, anything they might know is valuable." He says, and everyone else finally agrees, Louis calls a number and puts it on speaker. "Ash." he says nodding to Liam. "Wassuh, Louiee. " The voice rings with a I-got-a-call-at-three-in-the-morning type way, even though it's only 11am. "We need to talk to all of you in the same room. " He says nervously, Ashton goes to work insulting and yelling at Luke, Michael, and Calum to get them awake. "Luke, get your lazy ass up!" "Michael, grow a pair would you? You've woken up earlier than this!" "Calum, stop being such a potato and get up! " A faint smile graces my lips, I'd like to meet these boys. "Okay mate, we're ready, what is it?" Asks Ashton in a friendly tone. "You remember after you guys hijacked our concert, we hung out together and Harry dared Luke to work at the Institution as a janitor?"
"Mhm, yeah, that was a nightmare." Says a different voice taking over the phone, Luke. I try to call out his name and let him know who I am, but it's like I forgot how to speak, and I just swallow my words. I look around and see Harry playing Flappy Crying Kardashian on his phone, rude. I get up, snatch his phone away and flip him off when I see him about to protest, Zayn snickers at him. I find a random notes app on his phone and nudge Louis. "Well, have you met anyone there that stood out to you? "
"Why are you asking thi-"
"Just answer me."

Thug life Louis.

"Y-yeah... it was this pretty girl, she was a lab rat for one of the doctors. I got in trouble with him for being curious about it. He started getting me to help him with handling her, since I already knew too much. She was a good girl, one of the nicest I've ever met, she had almost no family and was always in pain when I checked on her after 'sessions', or in other words, experiments. I was told to not interact with the patients unless told to by him, otherwise, I'd be fired or some shit. Dr. Jones threatened me, he forced me to stay after hours, he made me do bad things and I just want that girl to know, if possible, that I would never, ever have laid a finger on her if I had a choice not to and I'm eternally sorry." He said, Ashton pipes up from the background and starts yelling at Luke saying that he wants to know what he's talking about and who 'the pretty girl' is.

Oh, he'll know who I am.