Vengeance

Zacky was painfully woken up by a bucket of ice cubes and water spilled over him. He groaned in pain as he stared up at a smirking Synyster Gates. Zacky had his arms tied above his head forcing him into a highly uncomfortable standing position. He was shaking violently from the cold and breathed heavily as he darkly stared up at Gates.

“You didn’t really think you’d be able to keep this up for much longer, did you Zacky Vengeance?” Synyster spat venomously at him and punched him hard in the solar plexus. Most of the air abandoned Zacky’s lungs and he made a wheezing sound as he tried to regain his breath. Synyster laughed maliciously at the noise and gave his victim another punch, this time in the face. Zacky groaned in pain as Syn’s fist came in contact with his cheekbone.

Syn gave his former companion a few moments to recover before pulling out a black penknife. “You dropped this,” he muttered coldly, holding it up right in front of Zacky’s green-blue eyes. “If I didn’t hate you so much, Vengeance, I’d feel bad for you right now. You have a slow, painful death ahead of you,” Syn informed him spitefully. “I’ll kill you myself with this knife. The famous Zacky Vengeance killed by his own weapon, ah, sweet irony of death.”

“The Lord will make you pay for what you’ve done,” Zacky muttered, his voice full of hate.

“Don’t imagine he’ll show you mercy for being reckless. You’re not a saint either, Vengeance, and I’ll make sure no one will think of you as a martyr after I’ve killed you,” Synyster said scornfully.

“I’ll see you in hell then,” Zacky managed to smile mockingly at Syn before he spat him in his face. This fuelled the fire within Syn who went berserk at Zacky, punching him repeatedly in the ribs.

Suddenly the door flew open and in burst Gena. “Zacky!” she cried out in horror as she saw the badly beaten up man forced into a standing position by ropes cutting into his wrists. Synyster stopped hitting the man and spun around to look at Gena with surprise.

“Gena, what are you doing here?” he asked her confused. Gena shut her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to recover from the tremendous sight of her loved one being tied up and tortured. She thought hard and quick, knowing that if she played her cards right she might be able to save the love of her life. She turned away from the sight and motioned for Syn to follow her a bit further away from Zacky.

“I heard you had caught him,” Gena explained. “I had to see if the rumour was true.”

“I see,” Synyster said.

“Before you continue what you’re doing, can I have a word with him?” Gena asked, receiving a quizzical look from Synyster.

“Why?” he asked repetitive.

“Because I want to let him know how much pain he’s caused me before he dies,” Gena told him, her voice shivering with hate, though not towards Zacky but Syn. Syn, pleased by her answer, nodded at her and stood back to let her speak to the half conscious man in private.

“Zacky,” Gena said quietly. “Zacky can you hear me?” He lifted his head and looked up at her exhaustedly. “Zack, listen to me. I’m going to get you out of this. I won’t let you die too, I just can’t.”

“You’re wearing the necklace,” Zacky uttered hoarsely, smiling weakly at her. “Don’t risk your own life to save me, I beg you.”

“No, Zacky,” Gena cried, lifting his chin up forcing him to look at her. “Life’s not worth living without you, Zacky. I refuse to let you die.”

“I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you thanks to me,” Zacky said in a weak voice. “Is Johnny okay?” Tears overflowed Gena’s eyes as she nodded at him.

“He’s going to be just fine,” she reassured him, knowing how important it was for him to know that his best friend was still alive.

“He’ll look after you for me,” Zacky promised. “I’ll always love you and watch over you, Gena, always. We’ll meet again, I’m sure we will. Just promise me you won’t do anything reckless tonight, go to Johnny and stay by his side. Please Gena, promise me,” Zacky pleaded, tears making way down his wounded, swollen face. “If you truly love me, you have to promise me.”

“I can’t!” Gena cried out loud, earning a concerned questioning gaze from Syn. “I can’t do it! I can’t live without you! I just can’t!”

“Gena, no...” Zacky winced with a painful expression on his face. “No, Gena, no...”

Synyster walked over to them with a furious look on his otherwise quite handsome face. Gena kneed him hard between his legs, but didn’t manage to disarm him long enough to cut off the ropes that held Zacky prisoner.

“You little cunt!” Synyster bellowed at her. She too had betrayed him, and even worse, broken his heart. He’d always loved Gena and during the last couple of weeks he’d been convinced she had loved him back. Shaking violently with rage Syn put his tattooed hands around her throat. He was staring darkly into her tear filled eyes, wanting to watch as life in them went out.

“GENA!” Zacky cried at the top of his lungs.