The makeshift bed had made life slightly more comfortable. It hadn't helped Caitlin sleep though, she could only get an hour here and there before the fear of Zoom woke her. The metahumans patrolled the corridor but only entered to deliver food, never saying one word to her. Most of the food went untouched, there was very little her stomach was letting her eat before she felt like throwing up.
"You need to eat," said Hunter, and she turned to see him standing in the doorway.
"No thanks," muttered Caitlin, turning away from him. She wished that she could look out the window, see the destruction that Zoom had no doubt brought down on her city. But the moment the metahumans started the attacks, he had the entire window covered and sealed. She wasn't allowed to see out. Zoom was careful in his manipulation, he knew what to do to drive her mad, try to break her down. And Caitlin was fighting it, with every bit of strength in her body. But she was beginning to lose that strength. Little food, little water, little sleep. It took a toll.
"Are you sleeping any easier?" he asked, walking towards her, and she turned. Her face gave it all away. The dark circles under her eyes could give black holes a run for their money. "Caitlin, why do you do this to yourself?" asked Hunter, stepping towards her. She slowly started to edge around the captain's desk, trying to keep away from him. He kept at the slow pace towards her.
"Maybe because I don't want to give you the satisfaction of winning," she muttered and Hunter shook his head.
"The only person you are hurting is yourself," he replied. "Can't you see? I only want to give you everything you need, everything you want," he continued, speeding across to grab a tight hold of her hands. She wanted to break away, but if she had learned anything, it was that he could hold on tight.
"Then stop all this," replied Caitlin. "Stop this war, stop the violence and the killing," she begged, and he sighed, letting go of her.
"Caitlin, you know I cannot do this. I have to rule this Earth, I have to rule them all," he whispered back to her.
"And you want a reason for me to hate you?" she spat back at him, and he frowned, his face twisting into a menacing glare.
"Hate is a strong word to use there," he muttered, stepping slightly away from her. "Caitlin, you chose to stay. You had the chance to run, and you stayed," he whispered, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She watched as every metahuman who passed by the office kept their gaze averted. While Hunter was in the room with her, a gaze could cause death. "You stayed here, by my side," he added, staring back at her. "You may think it is because you hope to protect your friends. But I think we both know the truth," he added, and Caitlin turned to face him.
"The truth is that I am hoping a small part of me can convince you to stop. And that small chance is worth the risk that comes with it," she replied, using what little strength she had left to stand up to him now. He needed to know, at least in this moment, she was not going to give in. "I need to save the people I love. If you want to win my love, you have to earn it," she said. "Show them mercy," she spat and Zoom frowned.
"Why should I spare them? They defied me," replied Hunter, his anger getting through to him as his voice boomed across the police station. Caitlin saw some metahumans jump, they were so scared of Zoom. He inspired so much terror, and so much fear, how could she have not seen it before? If Zoom ordered them to jump off a cliff, most probably would. Better a quick death than torture at his hands. "If I am to lead, I must be feared. People have to listen to me!" he screamed, moving towards Caitlin. She tried to rush backwards and as far away from him as she could, but he picked her up and pinned her to a wall.
"That anger, that rage," scowled Caitlin, feeling this strength running out fast. "You let it rule you, control you, and that is what makes you a monster," she spat. Hunter stumbled back a couple of steps, she had triggered his memories once more. He brushed it off quickly, he couldn't seem weak in front of his lackeys.
"Do you want me to treat you like a prisoner?" he asked, his voice softer, slightly calmer. It was almost more terrifying than the yelling. Caitlin's legs finally gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. Zoom smiled at that, every time he saw her weaker, he won the battle. And there was only so much that she could do to stop the breakdowns. She would eat to get her strength back, but even that resulted in a win for him.
"Don't you understand, that is all I am," she whispered back. He shook his head.
"You stayed," he said. "Your choice," he added, pointing directly at her. "You want me to treat you as a prisoner?" he asked, grabbing a hold of her once more. He dragged her over to the bed, and chained her tight to it. His anger was controlling him right now. "Fine, there now you are a prisoner," he whispered, crouching down beside her. "When you realise that you are not my prisoner, that you are here as my love, then tell me, let me know," he continuing, grabbing her face and pressing his lips to her cheeks. "I hope, for your sake, you realise that soon," he added, standing up from beside the bed. Caitlin tried to tug on handcuffs, but they had her trapped. They both quickly looked towards the door as someone entered the room.
"No," whispered Caitlin, staring at a face she knew all too well. A face she never thought she would see again. Her hair was darker, and her make up heavier, but there was no hiding who it was. "Laurel?" she whispered, and both Zoom and Laurel's doppelganger looked at her.
"No, I am not your pathetic friend," she said, acting as though it was a heavy insult to her. She may have looked and sounded a bit like Laurel, but her actions, her stance, everything gave away that she wasn't. "You can call me Black Siren," she added, a wicked grin on her face. Hunter frowned, turning to face her quickly.
"You are not to enter this room!" he yelled, making sure all the metahumans outside could hear him. Black Siren genuinely had fear on her face for a minute. It only lasted for a minute. Hunter turned to face her. "I will be back later," he whispered, seizing her lips quickly before he sped out of the room, grabbing Black Siren and locking the door. Not that it mattered, she was chained to the bed now.
"Damn it," whispered Caitlin, leaning her head on her unchained hand. There was no way for her to get out of this nightmare. She felt the tears ready to run down her face, Zoom had taken her strength, her freedom from her. He had broken her, and it wouldn't be long until there was nothing left for him to break. She lay down on the bed, feeling the exhaustion overwhelm her. There was nothing she could do to keep her eyelids open right now.
"Barry?" she asked, looking at him, standing in his Flash suit. The hood was down so she could see his face, his warm eyes, adorable grin and perfect haircut. She raised her hand gently towards his cheek, pressing it lightly against his face.
Barry didn't react.
"I miss you so much," Caitlin whispered, lowering her hand to his chest. "And I know, I know that you are most likely dead and gone, but I love you, so much," she whispered. There was still no reaction from Barry. He was so still, it was like he was frozen, like a mannequin. She wished that he were more alive, able to fold his arms around her, hold her tight, hold her safe. "Barry please don't be dead," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. Barry slowly raised his hand, and she quickly looked up to his eyes.
"Too late," Zoom's voice hissed, as his hand phased through Barry's chest.
"No!" she screamed, as he pulled it out and Barry fell to the ground. Caitlin collapsed by his side, falling to the ground over Barry's body. She screamed, unable to stop crying. Barry's body was so lifeless beside her. His eyes had lost all warmth, all soul, they were so…. Dead.
"You are mine," hissed Zoom, picking her up and shoving her up against a wall. He pulled off the mask, grinning with such menace that Caitlin wanted to run and never return. "Nothing will stop that," he hissed, pressing his lips against her, pushing his body against hers.
"No!" screamed Caitlin.
Caitlin jolted up in bed, struggling to breathe. She knew next to no time had passed, she still felt overcome with exhaustion. Every time she tried to sleep, every time she tried to rest, he would always appear. It didn't matter what she dreamed of, or even what nightmare it was. Zoom would always find his way into his head, wake her. And it was driving her mad. She knew he had spent time in a mental asylum. He had clearly learnt a trick or two from his time there, he knew how to manipulate the minds of those around him. That was how he had played the character of Jay so well.
The door to the room opened, and a metahuman walked in with a tray of food. She sat up. The metahuman remained silent as he bent down to put the tray on her bed.
"You may as well take it with you," she muttered. The metahuman left it there.
"Word of advice," he whispered, and Caitlin almost jumped. None of them spoke to her, Zoom had made it clear that to speak to her resulted in death. She stayed silent, at least this metahuman might say something to help her. "Do exactly what he tells you to do, do whatever he asks. If he tells you to love him, then do it. It's the only way to survive Zoom," he finished, quickly standing up and heading out the door. She thought about yelling out to him, but another metahuman would report it, and then there would just be more blood spilt. Why did he bother to talk to her? What he had said, she knew that was what she should be doing, going along with his game. But she couldn't, not anymore. Zoom had broken her, but she wasn't giving up yet. Until her dying breath, she was going to fight Zoom. He couldn't win, not after he had already taken so much from the people she loved. She shifted the tray of food to the ground, clearing the bed off. Caitlin lay back, trying to keep her breathing slow. Everything around her was driving her insane.
"It is good to see you getting some rest," she heard Zoom's monstrous voice say, his mask was tight on his face. She sat up slowly, her hand jangling against the handcuffs. He looked down at the hand chained to the bed. "My offer from before still stands. The moment you accept you are not a prisoner, I will take those cuffs off of you," he added, the mask staying on. "For your safety however, I will be assigning a metahuman to protect you," he continued, moving across the room, blue electricity darting around his body. He knelt down beside her, and finally removed the mask. She would have moved away from him, but the bed wasn't that easy to shift. "Listen, there is something important happening tonight, I want you to know I will keep you safe," he whispered, raising a hand to her cheek. When she said nothing in return, he scowled and stood up, putting the hood back on. He sped out the room leaving her alone once more. At least now she had a better idea of the time. With the windows all being blocked out, she hadn't been able to see outside to see when day and night passed. And with the little sleep she had gotten, that didn't help either.
Then something in the air changed.
Caitlin jumped, her handcuffed hand jangling against the bed, as she felt vibrations passing through the air. They didn't hurt her, but for some reasons she started to hear screams of pain, and all the metahumans surrounding her began to fall to the ground. She tried to look out the door, but she could only see so far from the bed.
Then Zoom caught her eye. Whatever it was they were doing, it was causing him pain too. He used his arm to generate a breach. He stood up, looking like he was about to race over to her. Then he jumped through the breach.
He was gone.
And all the metahumans, seemed to be down. It must have been Cisco and Harry, surely no one else in the city would have been able to do it. She tried to yank the handcuff off the bed, tried to get free, but it didn't work. She was trapped. Caitlin listened, hoping to hear someone coming to rescue her.
Her ears were met with silence.
Caitlin lowered her head. They may have stopped the metahumans, but how could they clean all this up? How could they get them all locked up before some started to wake up? Or before Zoom returned? And the first place Zoom would come back to would be here, he would come back to her. Make sure he could reclaim his prize, kept her by his side. Just the thought of that scared her so much.
Then something strange happened.
Caitlin watched, and she could have sworn she saw red electricity streak through the police office, picking up metahumans and taking them out. She tried to get a better look, tried to stand up and see what was happening but she couldn't. The lightning returned again, and again, and again. Maybe it wasn't her mind playing a trick.
"Barry?" she whispered, watching for the lightning to return once more. "It can't be," Caitlin whispered again. Barry was dead. The lightning entered the precinct once more, and Caitlin found she had stopped breathing. The door was flung open to the captain's office and the streak stopped. "Barry," she whispered again, a smile coming out on her face. The first time she had truly smiled in days. She also felt tears edging out her eyes, she wasn't in the mental state to handle this. Barry pulled his hood down, and rushed over to her, vibrating the cuffs off her arm. He was alive, he was actually alive. She fell into his arms, her body couldn't support her any longer.
"I'm here, Cait," Barry whispered, holding her tight. "You are safe, I am here."