The Hanging Tree

e l e v e n

[ 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.