Life in an Apocalypse

Chapter 21

A/N: this chapter has constant switches between 1st person POV from Zee and 3rd person POV from the group. Just fyi.

     Cynthia stared off into the distance, looking up at the night sky in the bedroom. She sat on the bed, numb from the physical and 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."