Still Not Safe

Untrustworthy

Mystery P.O.V

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I wish things had gone differently." I said, and it was true. I had planned on letting them all live, but then Rose escaped and Bree saw her. A small part of me had hoped that she would pass it off as some hallucination, just a figment of her tortured imagination. She didn't. Instead, she drove herself near to madness. If she had just lived in blind ignorance, then she wouldn't have left her house, Harry wouldn't have gone to look for her, and none of this would be happening.

"So, what? You're going to kill us?" Bree questioned, her expression amused like I'd just told a joke.

"I have no choice. You did this to yourselves."

"Just let us go, man." Luke pleaded, "She has a baby for fuck's sake."

"No, she doesn't." I stated, taking a step forward and lifting the child from his arms before he had the time to realise what I was doing. "I have a baby."

Bree took an angry step forward, her temper flaring dangerously. "You give him back right now or-"

I sighed, "I'm sorry it had to come to this."

******

My footsteps echoed as I moved down the long hallway, the sound eery and accentuating the emptiness. Things had gone wrong so quickly, but I had acted just as swiftly. There was nothing to worry about anymore, the problems would all be dealt with by the end of the week.

Geoff stood at the end of the hallway, waiting for my arrival. His hand were bandaged, spots of red blooming against the white. He always got a little too excited when we had someone in the torture room.

"What should we do with him?" Geoff asked, voice low. He rocked back and forth on his heels as he awaited my orders. There was a child-like giddiness to him, an excitement that threatened to boil over. Anybody would be uncomfortable with his eagerness to inflict pain upon others, but I didn't mind. He did my dirty work, always waiting for my call and accepting whatever job I gave him like it was a present wrapped up with a bow. He had a sick mind and that was exactly what I needed.

"Well that depends on what has already been done to him." I said, stopping in front of him. "Is see you've enjoyed yourself as always." I motion to the bandages, an amused grin lighting up my face.

"I might have gotten a little ahead of myself, but I think he's ready"

I nodded, "Good."

I pushed the heavy metal door open, Harry's broken figure a welcoming sight. I circled him, my steps slow and purposeful. I wanted him to see me and fear everything I was. His eyelids drooped, not a flicker of recognition on his face. Disappointment filled me, I had really been looking forward to the look of hope on his face as I walked in, only for him to discover I wasn't there to help.

I stopped in my tracks, hovering over Harry. I had never seen him look so pathetic. I studied him, letting the silence stretch for eternity. I was putting on a show, for my men who watched in anticipation, for Harry who looked seconds away from death, but also for myself. I enjoyed the power that surrounded me every second, everyone's eyes always on me. The end of the world had been my beginning. I had made something of myself.

Harry's eyelids fluttered shut, but I wasn't done with him yet.

"You look like absolute shit." I stated, an amused smile breaking out on my face. I watched in delight as relief washed over his features, hope that I was going to help him. Hope I was ready to crush. "My men did a good job with you."

My laughter echoed in the large room as his body went rigid, the hope gone as soon as it had arrived.

"Why-" Harry started, his voice strained and weak.

"Shhh, don't speak. It will only cause you more pain." My voice was laced with amusement. "This must suck, feeling so....beaten. I mean you look pathetic."

I began to pace, feeding off of the energy in the room. My men stared in awe, waiting for my next move with a child-like giddiness.

"Put him on the table." I ordered, stepping back as Harry was grabbed, his screams of pain like music to my ears.

They carried him across the room before placing his beaten body on the cold metal table. It was stained with patches of red and the faded brown of dried blood. Many others had met their end right there. But Harry would not die yet, I still had so much more in store for him. He was strapped down, though it was unlikely he would be able to do much in his current state, I had no doubt that he would try anyway.

"Please don't..." He begged, sounding close to tears. The smile on my face stretched further, even the strongest of people could be broken in a matter of hours.

"Don't worry, I'm only going to help." My voice dripped with malice as I reached over, patting his broken left hand. I leaned in until I knew he could feel my breath hitting the side of his face, "Your girlfriend needs you right now, but your trapped here. How does it feel?"

"What did you do to her?" He yanked at the restraints, proving my point that no matter how broken he was he would still try something. If he wasn't my enemy I would consider recruiting him.

"Me?" I chucked, pulling back. "I didn't do anything." I watched him squirm for a second, enjoying every second before deliver the final blow. "Your child is beautiful."

I began to walk away from him, heading towards the door as he violently attamtped to escape. His broken hand must have been causing him a lot of pain, yet he still pulled at the restraints. His left hand would take a long time to heal, and even then it would never go back to normal. Not that he would have to worry about that much longer.

"Get back to work," I shouted as I retreated from the room. "I want another trophy for the wall." The metal door slid shut behind me, Harry's last words chasing me.

"I'm going to kill you!" He screamed, "Do you hear me, Zayn? I'm going to kill you!"

**********

I leaned back in my chair, eyes trained on the wall in front of me. I admired my trophies, my gaze landing on the newest in my collection, a hand, still fresh and dripping blood. The fingers were broken, bending at odd angles.

It had been a few hours since I left my men with Harry, and they had finally delivered the trophy I desired. That spot had been empty for far too long, we didn't find nearly enough people anymore and the community had been weeks away from turning into chaos before I arrived. People had started to get suspicious,  there's eyes lingering for a little longer than usual on the windowless building at the edge of town. Things would be better now that I was back.

A small whimper caught my attention, the small bundle in my arms beginning to stir. I smiled, lightly rocking the baby. My baby. Our baby.

My eyes wandered to another one of my trophies, a head, her bottom jaw and top teeth removed to prevent the possibility of being bitten. I hadn't wanted her to end up this way, I had cared for her. She could have lived here happily with the rest of us, but one of my men slipped up and made it clear that I wasn't a new face here, but rather a leader. Dakota asked too many questions, pieced things together, suddenly I was the enemy.

I thought that maybe I'd be able to put her in a room, keep her locked up until she trusted me again. Before I could even voice the idea she was trying to run and warn the others. She gave me no choice.

 I stood slowly and walked around my desk, a sigh escaping my parted Lips as I reached to cup her face with my free hand. "I'm sorry things ended up this way. I really did love you."

I pressed my lips into a tight line, anger flaring. "Why did you have to try to tell the others? You could have lived here with me in oblivion. We could have had kids of our own." I shook my head, "But don't you worry, we have a son now. We can take care of him, his parents will be gone soon enough and he will never know them. He's ours...all ours."

"Malik, sir?"

Taking a step back from Dakota, I turn to address the man standing in front of me. "Yes? What is it?"

"We have a problem."