a/n: oh my god i cannot believe this is the last chapter *cries*

DAMIAN DIDN'T LIKE THE IDEA OF LEAVING NANCY behind, but he guessed that if she was okay with it, he had to be too. He and the other boys were slowly sneaking through the halls towards their way out. Damian didn't know what time it was, or how much time they had left, but he did know that they needed to move as fast as they could.

Which was the opposite of what was happening currently. They were moving at a literal snail's pace. And Damian did not appreciate that. But he was in the lead for a reason, so he decided to pick it up a bit.

As soon as he did, though, Gunnar whined, "Why are you going so fast?" and he had to slow back down. It would be so much better if he were by himself. He would be out by now. Instead, they had only covered about three hallways.

So he was eternally grateful when he found the doorway that lead to their escape route. "This way," He whispered to the others, and pushed the door open. They were greeted by an elevator shaft - but the elevator was missing. "We just have to scale these ropes up to the roof and make our way from there."

Drew and Gunnar gaped at him.

"Nah, I'm totally kidding," He said, kicking out a metal clapboard that was leaning against the outer wall, allowing a slight breeze of fresh air to stream into the room. "Welcome to your ticket out."

"You bastard!" Drew exclaimed, punching him on the arm good-naturedly.

"Oh, thank god," Gunnar said in relief. "I was like, 'there is no way I am climbing up that.'"

"Well, you're not, so you're welcome," Damian said. "Now, follow my lead."

He crawled through the small space and out into the starry night. The storm from the previous day had passed, leaving the sky cloudless and bright. Damian turned a full circle, taking it all in. He was so glad to get out of there.

[ are you, are you, coming to the tree ]

Soon enough, Gunnar and Drew had followed. They stood in a cluster, looking up at the sky in amazement.

"Okay, so I hadn't really thought this far," Damian admitted. "I don't really know where we should go from here."

"Well, there are the gates," Drew said, pointing to their left. "And no one's guarding them!"
"That seems a little too easy, though." Damian didn't know if they could afford to chance it.

"Yeah," Gunnar agreed. "It could be a trap."

"Ugh," Drew complained. "I hate this."

"Trust me, you're not alone in that," Damian said. "You'd have to be crazy to actually like this."
"Amen to that," Gunnar chimed in, and Damian was glad to see that he was back to his usual upbeat personality. Personally, he was quite tired of snappy-Gunnar. Being outside seemed to be positively affecting all of them. Damian wondered how Nancy was doing inside. He hoped she was okay.

"So are they going to open the gates, or do they expect us to climb over them?" Drew asked - and as if in answer, they automatically swung open. "Okay, I guess there's that." He declared and began to march forward.

"Wait!" Damian lunged forward to stop him and gestured to the gates again, where Trenton was lurking in the shadows.

"How do we get past him?" Gunnar groaned, frustrated by the minor setback.

"Damian could take him," Drew commented. "I mean, you have before, so..."

"Nancy told you about that, huh?" Damian was embarrassed by her boasting.

"Well, we needed something to do while you were off wasting thirty minutes of our time." Gunnar remarked sarcastically.

"I get that you're Slay Queen, and I respect that and all," Damian joked. "But now is not the time to be salty. We need to come up with an actual plan other than me beating up Trenton because that might not work."

"Oh, it'll work," Drew assured him. "If you could do it while on the verge of collapsing, you can do it while slightly less so."

"But if I don't want to?"

"Fine, we'll come up with a reasonable plan," Drew sighed in defeat. "But what?"

"Well, first, we need to stop asking the same question over and over and just get a plan in place," Gunnar, despite what Damian had said earlier, was still throwing shade.

That was it, Damian realized. Shade. They could use the night - the shadows - to their advantage. Use it to sneak up on Trenton, and use their weapon to take him out.

He voiced his opinion to the other two, who agreed immediately. Any plan was better than no plan, he supposed. They stuck to the side of the building, steadily making their way to the front.

And that was when he saw it - the huge tree next to the main structure, connected by a wooden walkway.

A wooden walkway that Nancy was being forced across. He wanted to call out to her, but he couldn't - not without giving away their location. Instead, he pointed her out to Drew and Gunnar, who looked up with twin expressions of horror. She was up there because of them. She had been brave enough to sacrifice herself in order for them to escape, making it to freedom.

[ where I told you to run, so we could be free ]

"Would her own sister really do that?" Gunnar asked incredulously. "I can't imagine Eliza or Annette ever doing this to me."

"Apparently she really hated Nancy," Damian explained as Zoe said something to her sister, who tried to push her off the platform.

"Yeah," Drew observed. "It's not exactly what I would call a loving relationship."

"But why?" Gunnar asked, still not grasping the whole concept of 'unhealthy relationships'. Damian, however, had first-hand experience. Sadly.

Even though he had shared with the others, his family was still a touchy subject. He didn't even know why he had told everyone. Caught up in the moment, he figured.

"...drugs." Drew was saying when Damian tuned back in.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked in confusion, temporarily forgetting what they were talking about.

"Nancy's sister is a druggie and alcoholic." Gunnar informed him matter-of-factly, which shocked him. He thought of Gunnar as a generally naive person. Or, he used to. Now he was thinking that he was totally off about the kid, which was kind of embarrassing.

"Holy shit, look," Drew nodded to where the trio of girls were huddled. It seemed as if a struggle was going on. "Catfight."

"Did Nancy just slap Zoe?" Gunnar grinned. "Sorry, but I need to watch this. It's more interesting than Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

"You watch that?" Damian inquired.

"You don't?"
"Okay, fine, I do." He admitted abashedly. When he got bored, there was no predicting what he would do.

"You guys watch some weird crap." Drew accused with an amused smirk.

"Yeah, we do, but at least we watch something other than Sherlock and True Detective 24/7." Damian said, giving him a smirk of his own.

"Hey! It's interesting." Drew pouted defensively. "Plus, it helps to know how to be a detective sometimes."
"Oh my god," Gunnar breathed, and Damian followed his gaze to where Jess was slipping a rope around Nancy's neck. "We've got to get out of here."

[ strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be ]

"It's now or never." Damian motioned to the empty stretch of concrete in front of them.

"Um, how about never?" Drew suggested, nervous that someone would see them.

"Let's go!" Damian darted across the pavement, the fence being his destination. He kept his eye on Trenton throughout the mad dash, wondering if he could see them. But he appeared to just be staring off into space.

Which Damian totally used to his benefit. He rushed up behind the older guy, pulling out the electric whip and bringing it to life. "I hope this hurts," He growled, springing towards Trenton - and with the flick of a wrist, brought him to the ground.

"Nice one," Drew congratulated Damian once he caught up, Gunnar not far behind.

Together, they ran through the gates and back into the woods.

"And... we're out!" Gunnar pumped his first triumphantly along with Drew.

"Okay, I'm going back," Damian turned around to face the towering fences. "Will you guys be good without me?"
"Yes, mother." They chimed, giddy with their reassurance of safety.

"I'll see you in a little bit, then," Damian said. "But, just in case I don't make it, bye. And if Nancy makes it and I don't, tell her.... tell her I said it was nice meeting her. And-"

"Okay, we got it." Drew pushed him away.

"But-"

"Go!" Gunnar cut him off. "Seriously, we'll be fine. We'll run as far as we can, nonstop. Now go. Go and be the knight in shining armor - er, leather." Damian looked down at the tattered leather jacket that he had found in one of the rooms he had searched earlier.

"It's not exactly shining, but it'll work," He smiled confidently and impulsively pulled the other two into a quick hug. "See ya!"

And they went their separate ways. Drew with Gunnar on their way to freedom, and Damian back towards containment, determined to keep his promise - even if it would be the death of him.

[ if we met at midnight, in the hanging tree ]

AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, NANCY WAS PACING impatiently across the length of her cell, waiting for the Phillips' and he sister to come and collect her. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. She didn't want to have time to think about every terrible choice she had ever made.

Why were they taking so long? Nancy wasn't usually this restless, but in this kind of situation, all of you common sense tends to abandon you.

Suddenly, she was wishing that she hadn't given the weapon away to the boys so she could take out her sister without a scuffle.

God, she hoped this distraction worked. She didn't want to cause the deaths of anyone. She just wanted to help. Not harm. Help.

The door swung open, and Nancy was greeted with the not-so-comforting sight of her sister, along with Jess and Trenton.

"So, you decided to stay behind, huh? Be the noble one?" Jess questioned, and Nancy gave a hesitant nod. She hadn't wanted to be noble, she just wanted to do something useful; something people could remember her by. Because as of now, all she would be remembered for was the amount of time she spent on Netflix.

"Fine by me." Zoe shrugged, trying to remain impassive. But Nancy saw the gleam in her eyes.

"I see what they're playing at, and it's not going to work," Jess said, self-assuredly. "Go and guard the gates, Trenton. Zoe and I will handle Nancy. Here, take this with you." She tossed him a gun, and Nancy was surprised by how freely she handles the firearms. She wondered if she had been trained to use them.

"Shoot anyone I see on spot, right?" Trenton checked, and Nancy wanted to brag about how they had acquired a weapon of their own but she couldn't otherwise she would give up the element of surprise.

"Right, now go. I don't know how they got out of this room, but they won't get out of the compound." Jess shot Nancy a sardonic grin as Trenton left the room.

"Oh, they will." Nancy said, not letting Jess get to her. "Damian could take Trenton any day."

"Lover-boy can't take anyone with a gun," Zoe sneered. "He doesn't stand a chance."
"I bet they're already out of here," Nancy boasted. "They left like fifteen minutes ago."

"Then why aren't you with them?" Jess inquired. "You know, since you could be out of here by now."

"I wanted to have a word with my sister," Nancy lied, even though that was something she never wanted to do ever again - but it was the only thing that would make sense.

"You can do that on the way to the tree then," Jess said while Zoe stared daggers at her.

"I don't want to have a word with Nancy." Zoe said stiffly.

"Yeah, well, it'd be nice of you to grant my last wishes before you kill me." Nancy snapped.

"Can't wait." Zoe drawled as Jess unlocked Nancy's cell - although she felt tlike the term 'cage' better described it.

"For our talk or my death?" Nancy played dumb. "Because, if you ask me, I can't wait for our talk. It's going to be so sisterly and loving."

Jess snorted. "Yeah, right," She grabbed Nancy by the wrist and dragged her out of the room. "All about how much you care for each other."

"Or maybe just the opposite," Zoe muttered, trailing behind them. They came to a place in the hallway where it split into two. This must've been where Drew and Damian split up, Nancy realized. She wondered which way they had taken to get out, and if it was too late to make a break for it and follow them. She was starting to regret her decision to stay behind. Zoe made everything impossibly tiring with her snarky comments and terrible attitude.

They took the path to the right, and Jess pulled out a key to unlock the second door on their right-side, in which a staircase lead upwards to the other levels. Nancy figured they must be on the first, since there was nothing leading down from where they were.

"And we're going up!" Jess exclaimed and began to bound up the stairs, Nancy dragging her feet slowly behind her. She hadn't registered it until now, but her energy was totally sapped. She didn't want to move another step.

"Can we walk?" Nancy whined.

"Nope!" Jess answered immediately. "In fact, go faster! We need to make it out there by 12:05 if you want your boys to see you. Because I can guarantee they haven't made it out yet."

"How?" Nancy challenged, stopping her ascent, causing Jess to jerk back, as she was still holding Nancy by the wrist.

"Because," Jess pulled something out of her pocket and pressed the button that was positioned in the center of it. "The gate was closed until now."

Nancy continued up the staircase with renewed energy (she had no clue where it came from) - she wanted to catch at least a glance of the boys to make sure they were okay. When they reached the top, Nancy glanced around. "This is the roof?"

"No, idiot, do you not see the ceiling above us?" Zoe groaned - and Nancy grinned. Her plan to get on her sister's nerves was working.

Jess, however, rolled her eyes. "The ladder's this way." She lead them to the left, through a labyrinth of hallways and corridors until they came to a long metal ladder which lead to a bulky hatch that Nancy assumed lead to the roof. "Zoe, take the back. I'll go in the front."

Nancy wondered what would happen if she let go and fell on her sister's head. Would she be able to escape then?

She didn't think she would be able to find her way out, but she sure would enjoy crushing Zoe's skull in.

The trio emerged out onto the top of the compound's main building, and Nancy saw the huge tree, towering over top of them. She felt her jaw drop at the sheer grandiloquence of it all. It would be an amazing experience if she wasn't about to die.

"This way." Jess led them over to a wooden walkway to the tree, Nancy sandwiched between the other two girls. It reminded Nancy of walking Captain Hook's plank in Peter Pan, her favorite childhood movie.

When they were about halfway across, Zoe shouted, "I've been waiting for this day since February 27, 1999!"

Nancy couldn't stand all her rudeness anymore, so she turned around and shoved her sister as hard as she could. Zoe fell back a few steps, but didn't go over the side of the bridge as Nancy had hoped.

"Is that all you got?" Zoe yelled. "WEAK! I wish you were never born!"

Nancy advanced closer, glaring at her older sibling. "I thought you'd be grateful to have at least one person who cares - or cared for you, because I know Mom and Dad don't. I thought when I found about your drug abuse that I could help you-"

"I'm not addicted to drugs!" Zoe exclaimed indignantly.

Nancy slapped her. "Wake up, Z! You. Are. An. Addict. And you're in too deep! Look at they've made you into! A monster! Who kills people! Who kills her own sister!"

"I want to kill you! You ruined my life!" Zoe claimed.

"How?"

"By being born!"

"You keep saying that, but do you have any back-up? Any evidence?" Nancy questioned. "Or are these just lies Jess and Trenton are telling you in order to make you feel better about what you're about to do?"

"They're not lies, they're all truths." Zoe said crossly, although Nancy noticed that she sounded a little less confident this time around.

She was on the verge of making another rebuttal, but she felt something cool and scratchy being slipped around her neck, choking her.

"Welcome to the hanging tree," Jess chirped. "Please enjoy the ride." She led Nancy down the rest of the path to the end, where a portion of the wood was held on by the latches.

[ are you, are you, coming to the tree ]

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Damian striking Trenton with the whip and then escaping from the compound, Drew and Gunnar right behind him. Jess and Zoe were too distracted to notice - which meant their plan had worked.

"Zoe, care to do the honors?" Jess asked her (literal) partner-in-crime, motioning to the lever off to the side that had been previously obscured by a patch of leaves.

"Oh, definitely." Zoe responded, glancing at Nancy one last time before she caused her demise. "It'd be my pleasure."

Which was not very sisterly or loving.

Nancy positioned her hands above her head, grasping at the rope. Even if it was most probable that she would die, she wanted preserve her life for as long as she could.

Zoe pulled the lever - and, suddenly, Nancy's feet weren't on secure ground any longer. They were suspended in the air, about fifty feet about the grass. So if she were to fall from where she was, it would not be a happy ending for her. Either way - any way - it would mean certain death for Nancy.

Unless Damian pulled through. But she kind of wished he wouldn't. She didn't want anything to happen to him because of her. They would both be dead, and it would all be for nothing.

"Having fun?" Jess asked sadistically, causing Nancy to scowl.

She pulled up on the rope just enough to say, "Loads. This is the best day of my life."

"Also the last." Zoe sneered, and Nancy would give anything to rip her sister's head off if her own wasn't being pulled off at the moment.

"I've realized that." Nancy strained out, wincing as the rope dug into her skin even further, tightening around her neck.

She saw Damian sprinting across the empty field for an attempt to save her. She wanted to yell at him to turn back, to save himself. But she couldn't find the strength to speak.

He arrived at the base of the tree. "Nancy!" He shouted up to her. "I'll get you down! I'm coming!"

Then Nancy heard it - the gunshot. She watched as Damian fell to the ground, a bullet put right through his heart.

[ where a dead man called out, for his love to flee ]

Nancy's arms felt like rubber; her grip gave out as her screamed pierced the night and his thick velvety blood spilled onto the overgrown roots of the hanging tree.

[ strange things did happen here,

no stranger would it be if we met

at midnight in the hanging tree ]

a/n: pls don't hate me. there'll be an epilogue *sniffles* *throws another tissue into 50 foot mountain of tissues* *bawls*