𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 ⸙

1.1 𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪

Liam sprinted as fast as his short legs would move him. He dodged branches, ditches, and fallen trees until a lake blocked his path. "Shit, shit, shit!" Liam breathed, glancing around for a way to cross. He had to cross.

Angry yells and heavy footsteps approached behind Liam. He had to keep the distance between them. He could imagine what would happen if they caught up. Liam had been through it only a few weeks earlier.

He jogged by the side of the lake, hoping to see a shallow place for him to cross without getting wet to his thighs. The longer he looked, the louder the voices sounded. Liam scrambled under a thick bush and had no choice but to cross the water, soaking his jeans to his knees, but at least he still had a chance to outrun his bullies.

He ran for a few minutes more until he realised he had been going the wrong way. The woods were coming to a clearing when they should have been getting thicker, He wasn't near his town yet, but a clearance this early was near the institute for the elite.

It could only mean one thing.

Well, that's what his uncle called it.

Nobody dared to get close to the institute because of the horror stories. Liam would have to run for ages to pass it. He couldn't turn back, not when he could still hear footsteps behind him.

He wanted to cry out when he reached a metal fence tall enough it tripled his height. He kept running despite his lungs screaming at him to stop or at least slow down. If Liam stopped now, many fists would meet his face and ribs.

My face deserves better, he thought bitterly, struggling to inhale because of his burning lungs. Liam tried to move faster, hoping the fence would end and he could turn a corner, and those who chased him would get confused.

"Oh, Liam!" A voice called out behind Liam, and he almost tripped. They were closer than he thought. "We can see you! Just give up, it'll be over soon!"

Liam heard their laughter, and he felt hot tears pooling in his eyes. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up.

Liam was getting desperate. If the fence didn't stop soon, his legs would abandon him. If the fence didn't stop, then Liam would have to climb. He looked up as he ran, seeing the coiled barbed wire wrapped around the top. He heard that the fence was charged with electricity to stop anyone from breaking in. He heard that the institute was heavily guarded, yet he passed nobody.

Liam dared to trace his fingers along the metal. His legs were slowing down. The crunching of leaves and branches behind him were not. His bullies were catching up, but Liam wasn't getting electrocuted, which only meant one thing. He had to climb.

He stopped to reach up, and his legs almost caved. Get over the fence, Liam, he yelled in his head and pulled himself up. He was just over a metre high when two guys and three girls ran from the woods.

"Get him!" the shortest girl yelled, cheered on by her girlfriend.

Liam would have lobbed his shoe at her head if he could. He yelped when Kian, the tallest boy, grabbed his ankle with a grin that darkened his eyes.

"Where do you think you're going."

Liam hauled his ankle back and stomped on Kian's head. Kian fell to his knees, and Liam scrambled up the fence until he was too high for them to grab.

"Climb after him!" one of the other guys yelled, but Kian silenced him.

"No, look what he's climbing into."

When Liam reached the barbed wire, he peered down at the people who had chased him through the woods all evening. Whatever punishment the institute gave him for trespassing, Liam was sure he could explain his situation. He was positive the horror stories about the place were just rumours.

"Once he goes in there, he'll be in worse hands than ours," Kian smirked.

They watched Liam struggle to swing his leg over the fence without getting cut. The snags from the little spikes were worth it if it meant that Liam would return home without a face full of bruises.

He climbed down the other side, and as soon as his feet touched the nicely trimmed grass, he almost smiled at his bullies, staring back. He had escaped them, for once.

"Just wait until you get out, Liam Payne" Kian said his name with such disgust, the satisfaction dissolved until all Liam felt was fear.

He backed away, and his bullies turned and disappeared into the woods, leaving Liam alone in the darkness. He waited a minute or two before pressing his back to the fence. Liam edged around the perimeter. If he were going to climb back into the woods, he didn't want it to be in the same place, and he wanted to be facing his town so that the moon could pave his way.

Liam didn't dare glance at the vast building looming in the dark. He feared that someone would be staring from one of the windows.

Liam's uncle had told him that the institute for the elite was home to some of the worst people in the world. His Aunt had said that everyone who lived there had been experimented on and worked for the government. Liam had heard all the stories; aliens, criminals, government spies. Liam didn't know what to believe, though he believed something. The building and who lived there were so secretive. There was nothing about it anywhere on the internet or newspapers or in books.

Nobody knew the truth, and that terrified Liam as he walked on the inside of its grounds.

"I need to get out,"he muttered. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He felt as though the building itself had eyes and was watching him.

Liam reached up to the fence, ready to climb now that his breathing had settled, and his heart didn't try to escape his chest.

As soon as his fingers touched the cold metal, light beams flooded the area, exposing the woods on the other side, the big metal fence, the institutes neatly kept field, and Liam.

He flung around with eyes as wide as the moon and pinned himself to the fence. Someone stood metres away, someone with a fierce frown, someone from the institute. He scowled at Liam, and the sheer size of him was as though Liam coward on the floor, yet Liam stood tall and stared back.

"A human daring to trespass," the man said in a relaxed voice that didn't match his flaming eyes. Another tall figure emerged from the darkness, and Liam gripped the metal until his fingers hurt.

"Finally, some entertainment." The man smirked.

"What Alpha Zayn doesn't know won't hurt him.

"Niall, take the human to the cellar. It's about time we had some fun around here."

Published 04-10-2023

Edited on 12-12-2023