Stockholm Syndrome (Larry Stylinson)

Author's Note: Rewrite Sneak Peek

Hello, everybody!

As many of you know, I have been working on rewriting several stories, and Stockholm Syndrome is one of those stories. Now, I am proud of present to you all this small sneak peek at Chapter 1 of the rewrite.

THIS IS ONLY A PORTION OF THE FIRST CHAPTER, NOT THE WHOLE THING!

Also, the picture above is a cover I made for the rewrite, but I am also really attached to the old cover. Let me know which one you guys like better. :)

Now, here is your sneak peek:

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I awoke with a start, my heart beating at a thousand beats per minute as I realized that I wasn't having a nightmare. I was fully awake, and the blaring of the alarm going off was actually happening; the sound deafening, high and shrill. It seemed to fill the whole house, coming from every direction.

I jumped out of bed and scrambled for the metal baseball bat that I kept in the corner of my room, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. As soon as I grabbed a hold of it, I held it tightly and crept over to my bedroom door. I slowly opened the door and peeked down both sides of the hall before stepping out.

As soon as I stepped into the hall, the alarm shut off.

I froze in my spot, straining to hear anything at all from downstairs. I crept toward the stairs, eyes adjusted the the darkness yet still struggling to see from the sleep that was still taking a toll of my body.

I peeked around the corner, hearing my heart pound in my ears, and I was expecting one of our family guards to call out to me that everything was okay and it was just a malfunction, instead I heard muffled voices that seemed to be talking as quietly as possible.

I gulped as I leaned back against the wall, hands tightening their grasp on the baseball bat in my hands. I tiptoed toward the stairs and slowly stepped down them, trying to be as silent as a mouse. I froze when I almost tripped, the metal of the bat knocking against the marble of the stairs. It emitted a hollow sound that traveled, and I listened intently for any sound to indicate whoever was downstairs heard the noise.

I stood there for what felt like eternity before I felt like it was alright to move again. I let out a deep breath I was holding and continued my way down the stairs, feet freezing against the cool marble.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw that the front door was swung wide open, and I stifled my gasp as I saw one of the guards lying on the ground of the entrance, face toward the ground. I rushed toward him and knelt down by his side, pressing my fingers to his throat and hoping for a heartbeat.

I let out a sigh as I felt the weak pulse of his heart, and I moved to rush toward the intercom, hoping to call for help, but I saw that the wires were ripped out of the machine, rendering it useless.

I felt tears begin to swell in my eyes, and I stepped away from the machine, looking back down at the guard's body. His walkie-talkie was discarded beside his opened hand, and I snatched it up before speaking low and quiet.

"This is Harry. Is there anybody left outside?" I let go of the call button and waited for a response, but nothing ever came. "Hello?" I tried again, "This is Harry. Can somebody please respond. I have a guard down by the front door."

I felt tears stream down my face as I didn't receive a response. I looked down to wipe my eyes, and I noticed something sticking out of the opposite side of the guard's neck. I set the bat and radio down quietly and turned his body over with a soft huff of effort, seeing the smallest dart impaled in his throat. I winced as I pulled it out to observe it, but I didn't have a clue what it was.