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Cynthia stared off into the distance, looking up at the night sky in the bedroom. She sat on the bed, numb from the emotional pain she endured today. Marge had helped her flush out the bullet in her chest, but the pain was nothing compared to the day's events. Jack had everyone help to bury Damien in the backyard of the house, saying that it would be nice for him to have a proper send off. The three of them held heavy hearts; losing both Damien and Zee hit them hard. Cynthia could still hear the muffled sobs from Marge downstairs as she knew Jack was trying his best to stay strong for her. Jack was trying hard to stay strong for both of them.
"Zee," Cynthia uttered the girl's name idly. Ever since Zee was taken away, Cynthia couldn't stop thinking about her. She had disturbing daydreams of Zee being tortured and hurt, and it drove her crazy that she couldn't do anything to stop it. She didn't even notice Jack and Marge entering the room to see her.
"Cynthia?" Marge cautiously called out, "Can we talk?" No response. Cynthia was lost in her own thoughts. Her own nightmares. Marge could see it in Cynthia's eyes; the pain of feeling useless to fend for the one who held your heart. /she was well aware that both Cynthia and Zee held this mutual feeling for one another, albeit Zee being rather dense about it. Jack felt the same way. He placed an arm around Marge tenderly, trying to give her comfort as they both watched Cynthia with saddened eyes. They knew that out of all of them, Cynthia was in the most pain. With Zee gone and held up in an unknown location of hell, Cynthia's mind would be in obvious chaos.
"Cynthia, we need to talk to you. It's about Zee," Jack spoke up, taking one step towards Cynthia. The mention of the girl's name spurred her out of her reverie and Cynthia turned to face them, her brown eyes sullen in the moonlight. Jack winced at the sight; Cynthia was usually an optimistic person, but this drastic change was a lot to take in.
"She's going to be fine, right?" Cynthia muttered in a delusional state. Jack and Marge exchanged nervous glances at one another as Cynthia repeated the question like a mantra, quietly yet eerily. She looked as if she were in a trance, just outside of reality and trying hard to stay in delusion. Jack walked over to her and spun her to face him. She stopped her muttering and looked up at Jack with a false hope in her eyes. Poor girl truly loves Zee this much, he observed.
"We don't know for sure," he replied to her, "But we need to think of someway to find out where she's being held."
"Jack's right. If we can find out where that woman took Zee then we can find a way to get her out," Marge chimed in, "That's why we need you to focus right now, Cynthia. We can't waste anymore time waiting for you to snap out of your denial." Cynthia's eyes dulled again as reality hit her. She took a step back from Jack and glanced over him and Marge. I need to get to her, her mind repeated their words, I need to get to Zee and save her. Cynthia gave them a slow nod, to which they both responded with relieved smiles.

"What we know so far is that they headed towards the west of here, since the front of the house faces north," Jack began to strategize, "Since she came back to us within the span of a night, we can assume that her base is not too far out of this city." Marge and Cynthia began to make small traveling packs for the sake of heading off towards the west. Knowing that she was holed up somewhere towards the western outskirts of town by judging the amount of time she spent to return with reinforcements and heavier weaponry gave Cynthia hope that they could save Zee rather soon.
"What should we do once we find out where they're located?" Marge asked curiously. They had begun to pack items that could help them set up a temporary camp if they found it necessary. Jack considered it in silence, working on his own pack to take with them. Most of their supplies would be left behind as they had unofficially made it into their permanent home. They all agreed without words that they were going to bring Zee back to this place where they would continue to live out as many days as they could get.
"We'll start first thing tomorrow morning," Jack announced, "If we manage to find her base then we use whatever daylight we have as extra to set up a temporary base of operations. When night falls and we are set to go, we'll stake out the area to take a look at what we're dealing with. Any objections?" The two girls gave a nod of approval, and Jack smiled. "Good."

The adrenaline rushing through all three of them left them restless, so Jack decided for them to set out much earlier in the morning the next day. They walked from the middle of the night and found what they were looking for at noon. They watched the woman leave an old warehouse along with two guards towards them. They quickly ran and hid in the forestry nearby until the group of three had passed them completely. Instead of continuing forward, Jack had Marge and Cynthia follow him deeper into the forest, eventually coming across a hidden clearing not too far from the woman's base.
"Set up here," Jack whispered, "Don't light a fire just yet. We'll establish this place and make sure there aren't any other guards lurking around this area. Marge and Cynthia gave a nod of acknowledgement and began to unpack their things.

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I hung limply from the chains that bound me to the cross, thankful that she had stepped out for today. Fresh wounds and newly reopened ones were making me lose a lot of blood. I was barely conscious when I heard the door opening and closing again. I looked up wearily to find another one of Hannah's men entering my cell with a piece of bread and some water.
"Here, a little something that we managed to find," the guard spoke in barely a whisper. I looked at him and tried to show my gratitude, but due to my fatigue I could only muster a small smile. H smiled back and nodded, then began to take out medical supplies from a small pouch in his right leg.
"We were all informed to keep an eye out for anyone who could be coming to rescue you," the man spoke again as he began to patch me up, "Should they really be brave enough to come for you, we were ordered to kill them on the spot without any hesitation. So I really hope that your friends stay where they are. It would be for the best, unless they don't mind having their corpses defiled every day without any remorse." Fear struck me then. Knowing how Jack and the others were, they would definitely come here. Especially Cynthia. God, the fear that pulsed through me when the image of a tortured Cynthia formed in my mind with that damned woman Hannah laughing sadistically behind her. Please stay away from me, I prayed silently, please stay away from this hell.

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Cynthia watched the guarded warehouse for a while, trying to commit the guard's routes to memory. If they were really going to execute their plan, they needed to. I have to save Zee, she repeated in her head. It was like a mantra to her, a charm that would give her endeavor meaningful. She needed to remind herself why she was risking her life. Who it was all for.
"Cynthia, it's almost night. Are you ready?" Marge approached her, handing her a sniper rifle. Cynthia nodded as she took the weapon from Marge. With the cover of the night, she was to create a distraction by randomly shooting from multiple locations. She packed the lightest for this reason - to be able to run from place to place a lot faster and disturb the patrol of the guards and kill them if possible.
"Marge, love. It's time to go," Jack approached the two women. He had planned to rush in with Marge during Cynthia's distractions and use the confusion as cover to find where Zee was being held. Once there, they would free her and escape to rendezvous at their temporary clearing. Since it was hidden pretty well but too close to the warehouse, they would only rest there to pack the remainder of their things before escaping to the east back to their city. Together, he and Marge shared a chaste kiss, to which Cynthia gave a tiny gasp of surprise.
"What? We aren't like you and Zee," Marge teased, "At least we weren't as dense as Zee and didn't start our relationship with that right off the bat." Cynthia blushed, pouting at the fact that Marge still found time to make fun of it. That soon subsided and Cynthia gave her a smile, thankful for something so normal in a time like this. Marge returned the gesture before disappearing into the trees with Jack. Cynthia turned her attention back to the warehouse, cocking her sniper rifle. It's now or never, she thought to herself, it's time we got her back!

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It started out as a few shouts and grunts from the hall outside. I had just woken up from an impromptu slumber when I first heard the frantic shouts from the guards. As my mind began to wake up I could make out the distinct sound of gunfire among the chaos outside. Pretty soon, I began to notice some of the men rushing past my cell in the hallway, armed with weapons. Before I had time to wonder what was going on, I watched as three of them fell from some unforeseen force right outside of my cell. And to my shock, a very relieved Marge appeared at the cell's window-space.
"Oh my God Zee! It really is you!" she happily exclaimed, looking around vigilantly for any other enemies. I tried to speak, but due to the torture I had received earlier today, my voice had long since gone out.
"Hold on Zee! We're gonna get you outta here!" I heard Jack's voice ring out as I heard the familiar jingle of keys. They must have been the ones that started the chaos outside, I noted silently. I watched my cell door swing open, with Jack and Marge rushing inside to get to me. Marge gasped at my wounds and Jack physically cringed. I know, I wanted to say, it's bad.
"We really need to get you out of here. Fast," Jack said grimly, flipping through the remaining keys to find the ones for the chains that held me in place. Marge turned around and faced the door, guarding Jack as he quickly found the key to my chains and got me free. I had long lost the strength to use my body as I collapsed into Jack's waiting arms.
"Marge, she's free. Let's go," Jack ordered, quickly making his way towards the front of my cell. Marge nodded and headed out. She stopped for a bit when she noticed my clothes strewn all over the floor, picking them up alongside of my belt that hung right next to the door with both knives still inside. With Marge up front and Jack following her closely behind with me in his arms, I tried my hardest to remain awake to help watch their backs. I looked around and noticed all the damage and blood they spilled throughout the warehouse. They did all of this just for me, I chuckled inwardly. Thankfully, the rest of their rescue ended rather smoothly. They ran towards the forestry as dozens of men followed the sounds of gunfire shooting from all directions.
"Be proud," Jack said to me, panting from running away, "Those gunshots are all Cynthia. This is her way of saving you." My eyes widened in surprise. I knew that she could handle a weapon but I never thought that she was the one that caused so big of a distraction. I hope she'll be okay, I thought to myself as Marge and Jack arrived at a hidden clearing. It had a few key items for a temporary encampment. I smiled, but that faded fast when I heard a rustling from nearby bushes. To my relief, I saw a very exhausted Cynthia make her way into the clearing. Thank God she's alright, was my last thought when I finally passed out from fatigue and exhaustion on multiple levels.

When I woke up again, I was laying on the bed just like the night before. Cynthia lay next to me, this time not stark nude, but she slept in the same manner as that time. I slowly sat up, wincing in pain as I looked myself over and laughing softly from the irony of the situation. When I first met with Cynthia, she was seriously injured and I was the one looking after her and watching over her. Now, Cynthia had taken my spot and I had hers. Amazing how so much has changed, I sighed. The bandages that covered my body were bright red, which let me assume that they were freshly changed but my wounds were still bloody. I no longer felt the ache of lead in my chest, so I silently thanked Marge for that since I knew that she was the only one I could think of that had that kind of experience. I returned my attention to Cynthia when I heard a tiny moan escape from her lips. Poor girl, I thought as I watched her toss and turn towards me, revealing shiny tear lines in the moonlight, she must have cried herself to sleep. I lifted my right hand and began to wipe away the tears that streamed from her eyes, smiling sadly at the sight. Still looks beautiful when she's hurt this much, I mused sweetly to myself.
"Zee," I heard Cynthia mumble, smiling at the touch of my hands. She didn't wake up until a bit later on into the morning, when she began to rub her eyes and notice me watching her. I stifled my happy laughter as her mind began to wake up and cry in shock when she realized I was finally awake. She raised a hand and reached out for me, but hesitated slightly.
"No," Cynthia was talking to herself, "Don't touch her. She'll disappear if you do. Don't touch her." I looked on with a sad expression on my face. Did she have nightmares over my disappearance? God, there are some days where I feel like a complete idiot, I mentally berated myself. I shook myself out of my reverie and placed a hand on Cynthia, pulling her towards me as I wrapped my arms around her in a tender embrace.
"I'm not leaving," I whispered to her softly. I couldn't see her face properly, but judging from the louder sobs I could only imagine that how relieved Cynthia must have felt at that moment. She had kept in so much emotional pain to the point where she cried herself to sleep in my arms. Sighing heavily, I scooped her up into my arms and placed her down on the bed, tucking her into its ragged covers.

"Cynthia," I breathed her name in nothing more than a whisper. As I tucked her hair behind her ear and watched it thread through my fingers I kept a silent vigilance over her sleeping form. I swear to you, I vowed in silence, that I will protect you with everything that I have so long as my heart beats in time with yours, so long as I live and breathe the same air as you, so long as I love you with everything that I am.