One Direction is After Us

Chapter 14

*Niall's POV*

I drove down the road after much arguing and talking over each other, pointing frantically at random points on the map. The poor map was getting more wrinkles and rips and tears by the second. After about ten minutes, I think we were on the right road to get to where we needed to be.

I muttered to Zayn to my right and asked when we were planning to reassure the girls we had borrowed (I hated thinking I was technically a kidnapper) that we weren't going to hurt them. He muttered back:

"We'll ease them into it. Tell them one thing at a time. If they can handle little bits, we'll give them more and more information, as they need it and as they prove themselves trustworthy."

It made sense to me. The less they knew, the better, but at the same time, some things were necessary for them to know in order to achieve the goal.

I pulled the truck into the back lot when we reached our destination.

It was a house, like any other house in any ordinary neighborhood. The only thing odd was that there were no windows, except for a long strip on the top story that looked more like a long solar panel than a window. It was reflective, so it was impossible to tell if anyone was inside. Of course, Liam would be there, everything set up for us already.

I parked the car, and Zayn jumped out at the same time as me. I went to the back to help Louis, where he was sitting on Harry's lap. He had decided the seat was too small for the two of them to sit side by side, apparently. And now he was attempting awkwardly to get out, but he was too tall and kept hitting his head on the top of the car every time he stood up.

In the end, we got Harry to be able to feel his legs again, as he offered his hand to Margaret, who in turn offered hers to Eleanor.

Only then did I notice that Eleanor was awake. There was no duct tape on her hands, though I could have sworn I had seen it on her when Louis brought her to the truck unconscious. Oh well. Maybe I was wrong.

The six of us went inside, leaving Kaya and Cassandra for the second trip inside. They were locked in the back with duct tape bonding their wrists and ankles.

How could they possibly escape in the mere five minutes they had?

We opened the front door to pitch darkness.

"Hello?" Harry called, knowing Liam had to be there somewhere.

There was no response, but a light flicked on from upstairs. The four of us exchanged a curious glance while the two girls stared into space.

*Louis's POV*

I couldn't help but notice that the two girls were specifically avoiding each other's eye. Personally, if I had been kidnapped with another person, I would be sending the other person messages in morse code with my eyebrows.

Only, these two seemed to be extremely interested in everything but each other. They were more interested in specks across the room in the utter darkness than even the eerie light at the top of the stairs.

My train of thought crashed when someone outside gave rapid, frantic knocks on the door. I flinched.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice in the eerie light spoke as a thin silhouette outlined in the greenish-yellow glow.

"I've been expecting you, Zayn Malik."