[ a/n: why do i keep killing myself with these gifs???? ]

NOTHING COULD PREPARE NANCY for what happened next. She knew it was going to be hard to see Zoe here, but no one ever told her it was going to be this hard. She walked into the building inside the fences of the compound, still clutching onto Damian's hand. She didn't even care that he could betray her at some point in the future; it just felt good to know that she wasn't alone in this, that someone was with her along each step of the way.

Or, at least, she thought he was going to be until she was snatched from behind and a sack was thrown over her head.

She wasn't sure what to make of this new development. She didn't know whether she was being lead to a more secure location or if she was being rescued.

But she did know that her legs were free, so if this new captor was a man she was going to take advantage of this and knee him in the balls. With all the strength that she could muster. On her next step forward, she lifted her leg higher than necessary and reared back, kicking her captor in the knee instead.

"Ow," The voice was unmistakably female. "What the hell, Nancy?" Zoe? Zoe was the one who took her? Was she saving her?

"Oh, excuse me," Nancy retorted, throwing all the sass she had into the comment. "I'm sorry for kicking you. It's not like you have a bag over my head or anything. And it's not like you're probably leading me to the dungeon to torture me or anything like that. What you're doing is not even remotely close to the things I just listed." If Nancy really concentrated, she could almost pretend like this was normal, everyday argument that they were having before leaving for school.

"Chill, little sis," Zoe said casually. "I'm not bringing you to be tortured or anything. I'm bringing you to your cell, that's all."

"I have a cell? Does that mean I'm separated from the others?" Nancy didn't want to be left to her own thoughts for the rest of the day.

"Just for tonight. We don't want the others getting any ideas and sharing," Zoe answered coldly.

"Zoe," Nancy whispered, her voice barely audible over the echoing of their footsteps throughout the hall. "Why are you doing this?"

"Trenton." Her sister answered simply, and Nancy was shoved into confinement, the sack falling off of her head as she wildly tried to catch a glimpse of her sister. The door slammed shut, completely cutting Nancy off from the rest of the world.

Trenton? Nancy wondered what he possibly could've done in order to get Zoe to go along with this. When Zoe had threatened to kill her, she knew at some level that her sister was serious, but she had convinced herself that her older sister would never go through with it. Because if she did, then she was sick. As in, mentally disturbed. Who in their right mind would be willing to murder family?

Hell, even if Nancy had been ordered to kill a distant cousin who lived in Siberia and was twenty times removed from the family tree, she wouldn't be able to do it. She couldn't even touch a gun without cringing. Nancy wasn't even sure she would be able to kill her captors - if it even came to that. She doubted it would; the place looked almost impossible to escape from. They were most likely being held somewhere deep underground, where no one would ever look. There was no chance for escape.

At least, not yet, She reminded herself, remembering that a little optimism never hurt anyone. In fact, it did quite the opposite.

Spirits lifted, she began to think about escape methods once more until she was lulled into a deep sleep.

-

Beep! Beep! Beep! An alarm blared loudly as Nancy turned over on the uncomfortable cot, searching for her alarm so she could hit snooze and go back to sleep. She was inexplicably tired - or, she thought it was inexplicable until she remembered the past four days.

Then it wasn't too hard to figure out.

She struggled to open her eyes, pondering where the alarm was coming from, if it wasn't from her alarm. And she knew it wasn't coming from there, because she certainly wasn't at home.

Unless Zoe wanted to play a cruel trick on her, which was something that she was definitely capable of. Nancy just hoped she wouldn't do anything like that - the situation was already pretty unbearable as it was.

"Damian?!" Nancy decided on trying to see whether or not she could communicate with the others. There was no response.

That was when she heard the screams.

They were muffled - but, yes, they were screams nonetheless. And they were unmistakably male. Were the others being tortured? Had Zoe saved Nancy from the brutish fate?

"Gunnar?!" She yelled in desperation, wanting to know the origin of the shouts that were sounding through the entire level.

Still, there was no answer.

What if all the others are being killed off before me and I'm the last one? Nancy's thoughts were panicked. She didn't want to be left all alone.

"Jess?" She shouted louder than she ever had before, needing someone, anyone to answer her.

"Nancy?" Someone who wasn't Jess called back. "It's me, Drew."

"Drew?" Nancy asked tentatively. "Where are all the others?"

"You think I know? Damian answered earlier when I yelled for him. Gunnar hasn't been answering since the beginning, though. Neither has Jess." Drew supplied enough answers to keep Nancy satisfied for a full two seconds.

"Do you think..."

"That Jess and Gunnar were killed already? I hope not. Maybe they were taken to a different level, or sedated or something."

"Does that mean that the screams are coming from Damian?" Nancy's voice quavered at that the thought. "Are they torturing him?"

"Why else would he be screaming?" Drew asked harshly, causing Nancy to go quiet, not wanting to talk to her fellow captive anymore. "Sorry, it's just that I can't think of any other reason for him to be screaming."

The sound of a door banging closed silenced them. Heels clacked against the marble floor as a woman scaled the length of the hallway. Nancy hoped she wasn't going to be tortured too - although hearing Damian suffer through it seemed to be so much worse.

That must mean he's not the traitor, She realized. She could trust him. Unless that's not him. Although, it definitely sounded like it.

But if Drew was answering her, and Damian was being, well, you know... then where the hell were Jess and Gunnar? Did this put them higher up on the potential suspect list? Was one of them gone because they were off helping the other four's captors?

That put Gunnar on top of Nancy's 'traitor list'. He hadn't gotten hurt, and he had blended in the most. Her captor appeared in front of the door - Nancy was peering out of the little slot in her door that served as a window and saw her arrive. She was no longer wearing a ski mask, and long blonde hair tumbled down her back. She unlocked the door, opening it, and Nancy stared at her impeccable appearance. How dare she get to look like that when she's about to kill me? Nancy thought venomously. She rushed forward, slapping the woman across the cheek and pulling her into a headlock.

"Let Damian go," Nancy snarled, tightening her grip around her captor's neck.

 "Unless you want to endure his pain as well, I'd suggest letting me go." The woman responded calmly, seemingly unaffected by her current position.

Nancy released her grip, deciding that being heroic probably wasn't worth it.

"Good choice," Her captor slowly clapped. "Now you're going to do everything I say or I will personally make sure you get the brunt of the rest of Damian's... treatment."

Nancy winced. "Yes ma'am."

"Turn around and place your hands behind your back." She ordered.

Nancy obeyed, grumbling, "What are you going to do? Arrest me? It can't get much worse than this." Her left hand and right arm were grabbed tightly and she was forced into a brisk walk.

"No, you're coming with me to watch Damian. We're going to show you what happens when you harm your captors. If you want, we can punish you for that stunt you pulled about a minute ago, but I'm guessing you don't. So, moving on, maybe you'll even get lucky and get to help me out."

Nancy did not want to hurt Damian. She wasn't going to. She would refuse. "Where are Gunnar and Jess? Are they getting tortured too?" Nancy decided to change the subject by inquiring about her earlier thoughts.

"No, they're being kept on a separate level. Special treatment is for those who send their captors into comas, leading to something else..." The woman trailed off as they arrived at a heavy-looking metal door. "Let's go in."

"Let's not." Nancy resisted, not wanting - or ready - to see the state that Damian was in.

"Let's." Nancy was pushed into the room, and she lost her balance, tumbling to the floor. She staggered to her feet and almost fell back over again when she saw Damian. He had been stripped of his shirt and pants, and was hanging upside down from the ceiling, suspended by a length of thick rope.

Hanging? Nancy comprehended the precise word she had used to describe his predicament. "Is this the hanging tree?"
"Don't be stupid, we have an actual tree for that," Was the answer, and Nancy went back to staring at her friend.

"What have you done to him?" She cried, taking in his condition. His form was limp; lifeless. "Did you kill him? Is he dead?"

"No, not yet. Maybe after a few more rounds he will be. But I don't think we'll kill him now. We'll save it for later. That's when the real fun begins."
"You're disturbed. Now what are you doing to Damian?"
"Well, first we used our modified whip, which contains spikes," The woman explained and Nancy noticed the dark blood pooling on the ground. "Then we used the second one, which causes severe burns on the victim. And now, you're going to use the third, which is electric."
"NO!" Nancy clamored - and Damian stirred, his right eye fluttering open (the left one was swollen completely shut).

"If you don't, I'm afraid we'll have to use it on your sister."

"Nancy," Damian croaked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Just... do it. Please, I deserve this. I-I killed a man."

"Is that what you told him?" Nancy turned to her captor accusingly. "Is that what you made him believe?"
"No, it's the truth. He killed my husband. We sent Trenton back there to check on him, and he had bled out."

"I thought you said you barely knew the guy?" Nancy recalled their conversation from two days ago.

"We also said the name Trenton didn't mean anything to us," The woman shrugged indifferently. "As you've probably figured out by now, most of what we've informed you were lies."

"Shouldn't you be mourning the loss of your husband instead of taking more lives?" Nancy baited.

 "I made a deal that we would get everything over with today."

"So," Nancy stalled. "Do you actually get paid for this, or is it just the family business?"
"I see what you're trying to do and it's not going to work," The woman avoided the question, most likely, Nancy assumed, because it would give away vital information. Nancy was lead over to a table with different-sized whips. "You'll be getting the one with the highest voltage." She was told, and handed the largest weapon there.

"I won't be doing anything of the sort." Nancy dropped the whip, which clambered to the ground, filling the then-quiet room with reverberating sound.

"You heard him, he said it himself that he deserved it."

"Yes, but he didn't mean it!" Nancy looked to Damian, whose eyes were shut once again. He looked... defeated. Which made Nancy want to give up all hope.

"I think he did. If you want, I can put you up there beside him and torture the both of you." The woman offered, and Nancy was surprised to find herself actually considering it.

"DON'T!" Damian thundered, and when Nancy looked over, she swore she saw fire in his eyes - well, eye. "Nancy, please just do it. I can't hurt anyone else. I told you this is what I do. Anyone I get close to I hurt. Now it's my turn to suffer. Hit me, please." He pleaded robotically.

"I won't." Nancy defied.

"Do it!" He yelled, voice cracking. "Please, Nancy. I can't just kill a man and get away with it."

"Don't you see? That's what these people have been doing for months!" Nancy shouted back.

"Please." He repeated softly, more vulnerable this time, and Nancy's heart just about broke. She could bear seeing him like this. It was as if he was broken.

"Go ahead, Ms. Swan," Nancy's captor taunted. "Give him what he wants."

Nancy choked back a sob and bent down to pick up her weapon.

Then a thought occurred: What was to stop her from hitting their captor instead?

Nancy would feel awful afterwards (despite what the woman had done to them), but she had to help Damian somehow.

"You press the button on the handle to activate it," Nancy was informed from close behind her, and she obeyed, feeling the electricity surging through the harsh weapon.

Nancy edged closer to Damian - she had to do it once to make it look like she had no qualms. Then her captor would be expecting it when Nancy turned the tables.

Tentatively, Nancy swung the electric whip at Damian, and shrieked as his body convulsed and his eyes rolled back.

"Again."

Nancy grit her teeth, leaning back a bit so that when she took her second turn she would miss her friend and swing around to hit her enemy.

Taking a deep breath, she followed through with her plan. When the whip made contact with Nancy's sworn nemesis, she held it there until she was sure her opposition was passed out.

The she rushed over to Damian, deactivating her weapon along the way. "How do I get you down?"
His chapped lips were forming words, but no sound was coming out. "Button," He finally managed to rasp, causing Nancy to spin around and spot the bright red button on the wall by the door.

"How discreet," She muttered and ran over to push it. As soon as she did, his body dropped to the floor, and she heard a sickening crack as it made contact. "Shit."

Beginning to untie his legs from the rope that suspended them, Nancy examined Damian's face. She wanted to collapse beside him and bawl when she was the silent tears falling down his face, dripping onto the bloodstained floor. "I'm useless." His voice was choked with raw emotion, making Nancy's heart drop.

"No, Damian, you're not!" She exclaimed, pulling him into a fierce hug, only letting go when he squirmed out of her grasp, clutching at his chest with nothing but pain written across his face. "You're probably the most useful person here! Now, where are your clothes?"

"I thought you liked me better with them off," Damian weakly attempted at a joke, but ended up doubling over in agony. Seconds later, he jerked back up, sitting ramrod straight, so as not to irritate the burns inflicted on his stomach.

"Okay, um, lay on your side and I'll try to clean up your wounds," Nancy commanded, walking around him to study his backside - and cringed once she saw it. There were puncture marks all over his back, blood flowing freely from each.

 "Clothes... in corner." His voice was once again unstable, forcing him to a feeble mumble.

Nancy scrambled around, checking all the corners - and of course it was the last one she checked. That was just her luck. She picked up his clothes and hurried back to him. "I hope you don't mind getting your shirt all bloody."

"It'd happen either way." Damian's voice was starting to come back, though it was still wobbly. Nancy dabbed at his wounds with his shirt, soaking it in the process.

He groaned, shifting uncomfortably. "Ow, that stings."
"Then it's working." Nancy went back to work, going as fast as she could, not wanting him to lost too much blood. "Okay, I'm done. Now put some pants on."

"Now is not the time to joke, Nancy," Damian deadpanned (which Nancy hoped was a sign that he was feeling a little better). "I'm dying here."
"Not on my watch." Nancy said seriously as she helped him pull his shirt over his head. "We should get going now, we don't want to get caught in here with her like that. Can you stand up?"
"I can try." He struggled to his knees, and tried to go from there. He got to his feet, shaking tremendously. And then he collapsed. "Dammit."

"Okay, I'll help you. Hold on," Nancy went over to their captor, using the weapon on her one more time for good measure. Then she turned it off and slid it inside her baggy pants, tucking it into the waistband. Anything that could help them escape, she was smuggling out. Unfortunately, everything else she could use had been locked up. "I'm ready now. Take my hand." She extended it to him and he grasped it tightly, like she was his lifeline.

And at this point, she probably was.

She supported him the best she could - he was leaning all his weight on her, making it hard to move. They staggered over to the door, flinging it open to make their break for freedom. They made it a few hallways before Damian was able to walk by himself - Nancy was sure it was the adrenaline; she could practically feel it coursing through her own veins.

A few more halls and they were able to break into a run - a slow one, at that - but still a run all the same. They were close, she could tell. They turned a corner and ran straight into Zoe and Trenton. Who, as of now, were Nancy's two least favorite people. They deserved the award for World's Worst Couple.

"What are you two doing out of your cells?" Trenton growled. "Did you get out somehow?"

Nancy and Damian both stayed silent, opting not to give away any information - because that could lead to them finding out about the whip that Nancy was hiding.

"Answer me when I'm speaking to you!" Trenton demanded, rearing back to throw a punch at Damian - who, by then, had so much adrenaline built up inside of him that he lifted up his right hand and caught the jab. Nancy stood there, watching in awe.

"I am so damn tired of being used as a punching bag," Damian snarled, using his free hand to deliver a blow to Trenton's stomach, and then jaw. "I think it's about to switch things up, don't you?"

Things were looking up for the 'dynamic duo'. Trenton was doubled over, and Damian and Nancy were both still standing.

Or they were, at least, until Zoe decided to do something about it. She pulled out a gun from her waistband and grabbed Nancy, placing it against her temple. Then she addressed Damian, "Do what I say or I'll shoot."
"You'd really shoot your own sister?" Damian asked incredulously.

"Yes she would," Nancy answered for her older sibling. "So you should do as she says."

Damian put his hands up in mock surrender and waited impatiently for Zoe to call the shots. Zoe, in turn, also waited impatiently for Trenton to stand back up.

He eventually did, and Zoe proposed that they just move them to their "new cells" - whatever that meant. Trenton agreed, and then they were going back, even deeper into their prison.

Trenton was guiding Damian at gunpoint ahead of Nancy - and she saw that he was limping pretty badly. She was scared that his leg might give out from underneath him at any minute. She prayed that it wouldn't, because once it did, he most likely wouldn't be able to get back up again.

Thankfully, though, they made it to their new detainment cells before Damian had the chance to do anything drastic. It's not like he would do it on purpose, but either way, that's how it would end up - disastrous. After knowing Trenton for like two seconds, Nancy figured that he was the type who'd think Damian was pulling something and just shoot. And Nancy wasn't going to let that happen.

She surveyed their surroundings. The room reminded her of one of those huge ice cream freezers - mostly because it was big, metal, and extremely cold. There was a slim opening in the middle, but the rest of the space was divided into five individual cells. Three to the left, two to the right. Nancy and Damian were each shoved into a separate cell on the right.

Nancy swayed over to the cot in the corner of her, but her companion didn't make it that far. "Damian!" She cried out as he fell to the ground right on the inside of his cell.

He's not moving, She thought in a panic. "Damian!" She repeated desperately. What if he's not breathing?

He started shuddering violently, and Nancy watched in horror as he began to cough up blood. "Damian!" She screamed, realizing that if she didn't get him sitting up straight, it could clog his airways, leading to his death. She reached though the bars, trying to get to him but failing miserably. He was too far away.

"ZOE!" She yelled for her sister as loud as she could, hoping that she hadn't gotten too far away. "HELP! IT'S DAMIAN!"
Because, somewhere in the back of her mind, Nancy knew that if it were her, Zoe wouldn't come back.

After what seemed like too long, Zoe made her appearance, breathing heavily and looking at Damian in alarm.

 "What are you waiting for?" Nancy screeched. "Sit him up straight!"
Zoe fumbled with her keys, only getting the door open after roughly seven tries, which made Nancy sick to her stomach with anticipation. She watched as her sister dragged him over to the wall, propping him up against it. She pulled up his shirt to wipe the blood from his face, eyes widening at the angry burn marks lashed across his chest. "W-what happened to him?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's that you guys just decided it would be fun to torture him!" Nancy accused, voice getting louder and more furious with each word.

"It's not my fault he decided to up and kill Trenton's dad!" Zoe retorted.

"Actually it kind of is." Nancy responded while thinking, Trenton's dad?

"How so?" The older sister challenged, narrowing her eyes at her sibling.

"You did kidnap him, after all. He was just fighting back." Nancy answered calmly. Almost too calmly, for all the emotions raging inside of her.

"I know I've made some bad choices lately," Zoe crept closer to Nancy, leaning against the bars separating them to look her in the eye. "But trust me when I say this, killing you will be the best one I've made in a while." And then she was gone, slamming Damian's cell door, leaving the room completely silent - other than the sound of her shallow breathing.

"Damian?" She whispered, getting as close to him as she could, which was close enough to hold his hand through the limited space the barriers provided. He squeezed hers softly, letting her know that he was well enough to sense her presence. "Oh, thank god. I thought you were dying."

"I am." He replied, his good eye fluttering shut after briefly opening it.

"No, you're not. We're going to find a way out of here. We have this, remember?" Nancy slid out the electric whip. "Although, I should probably hide it." She searched her 'containment unit', looking for a safe place to put it, and her eyes settled on the cot. She lifted up the thin mattress and pushed it under.

"Problem solved." Damian smiled weakly, almost as if it hurt to do so. But now that Nancy thought that through, chances were that it did.

"Also, you can't tell the others about this. Drew was right, there's a traitor among us. It could be him, though. Or Gunnar, or Jess."

"How do you know?" He forced the words out through a coughing fit, and Nancy was afraid that there might be more blood. There wasn't - for now.

"Yesterday when we got here the lady said she was here with 'the four'. That means one of us is with them." Nancy concluded from what she had overheard.

"How do you know it's not me?" Damian asked, ever-concerned for Nancy's wellbeing - even though he was clearly the one who needed to be tended to.

"Okay, really Damian? Look at yourself. You're c-covered in blood." Her voice trembled as she really took in his appearance.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm okay. We're okay."

"No we're not!" Nancy felt the first tear escape - and after that she couldn't make them stop. "I hurt you! You probably hate me now!"

"Nancy, I could never hate you. Even if I tried. Besides, I told you to hit me." Damian soothed.

"And n-now you're comforting me b-but you're the one who's hurt!" Nancy blubbered, finally breaking down after almost four days of holding it in.

"Hey, Nance, look at me. I may not be fine on the outside, but I'm fine here," He gestured to his heart. "And that's all thanks to you. I wouldn't have made it this far without you."

"You're incredibly cheesy, you know that?" Nancy managed to get out along with a watery smile.

"I'm also being incredibly honest. It's just like you said not five minutes ago. We're going to get out of here."

"The roles have reversed since then, huh?"
"Quite. So, who do you think is the traitor?" Damian changed the subject.

"It could be any of them, but I'd say either Drew or Gunnar." Nancy supplied, and went on to describe her theories.

"Now that you mention it, the way Drew kept blaming me for everything was kind of weird. Yeah, maybe he was trying to throw the suspicion off of him. But you'd know better than me - you guys were pretty close the first full day." Damian shrugged.

"Back then I was scared of you, not gonna lie." Nancy admitted.

"Because of my street creds?" Damian laughed, which immediately turned into a heaving wheeze.

"Okay, you, my friend, need to get some rest." Nancy pulled away, retreating to her cot. "We'll talk later."

"But I wanna talk now!" Damian whined.

"Too bad, so sad." Nancy winked, leaning back on the mattress and feeling the outline of her secret weapon.

Just when things were starting to calm down, the outer door was struck open and Trenton stormed in. "You guys are coming with me."

"Can't you see Damian's in no condition to that?" Nancy asked.

"Well, I guess he needs to suck it up because this is on strict orders."

"Don't forget that he can easily beat you up." She threatened for Damian, sure that he would've said the same thing.

Trenton scoffed. "Not like that he can't."

"Hmm," Nancy pretended to think. "Shall I give a blow by blow of what happened about half an hour ago?" She asked sardonically.

"Shut up, Swan," Trenton seethed. "Come on, we're going."

"Just in case you've forgotten, we're locked in these cells. You know, so we can't escape and beat the shit out of you. Again."

"Yes, Nancy!" Damian chimed in from his position on the floor, eyes still closed. Nancy noticed the sheen of sweat on his forehead and was instantly worried - but she couldn't do anything about it. "Slay!"

Trenton unlocked both of their cells, pulling a gun out defensively. "There. Now you're coming with me."

"At least let me help him." Nancy hurried over to Damian, throwing his left arm around her shoulders, supporting him so he could stand up. But it still wasn't enough, so she looked to Trenton. "You need to get the other side if you want us to come."

Trenton rolled his eyes, but muttered "Fine" and sauntered over to Damian's right side, mirroring Nancy's actions. And then they were off.

The more they walked, the more the place began to seem like a maze. It was almost impossible to memorize all the twists and turns they encountered. When they finally arrived, all the other captives were there, waiting for them. It was a long room with nothing but an elongated table which they would be seated at, and what looked like a voting booth in the furthest right corner. And leaning against the booth was Nancy's despicable sibling, a cruel smirk on her face.

Once Nancy and Damian were situated in uncomfortable metal chairs of their own, Zoe began to speak. "In this booth is a computer. And we're about to play a game called, 'Who's Worth the Most Money?'"

"That's right," Trenton stepped in. "You're about to send some ransom notes."

a/n: yes squad im back from vaca with the longest chapter ive ever written. yayy!!!

thoughts???

who do you think is the traitor???