He woke up with Rose right next to him. "What happened." His voice hurt.
"I saw that you were in trouble. I came. Joy had left before I got there." Zack tried to sit up but his stomach hurt.
"Why would she stab me? I was trying to save her. How could she?"
"That was what I was thinking. I don't know." Rose looked puzzled.
"I need to go to Mount Rushmore. I need to find out why she stabbed me?"
"You are critically ill. You can't move." As if right on cue, there came a popping sound of fire that Zack knew all to well. He got up without a words stumbled a bit before opening the trap door. Rose must have known to because she followed him without question. Once they both reached the bottom they both started running down the tunnel. The tunnel started to collapse. Rose started to fall behind. Zack stopped, grabbed her hand and started running.
"Go on without me. I'm suppose to go. I'm going to guide you." Rose starts to run again but walks shortly after. She pressed something into his hand. He took it from her hand and put it in his pocket, hidden from the outside worlds.
"Come on. We're almost there." Zack tugs on her hand.
"Zack, I have polio. I don't want to live but, for your sake I'll try to make it."
Zack starts to run once he was out of the tunnel he turns and sees Rose almost there.
"Come on Rose, your almost there." Rose starts slowing down. Her arm outstretched.
"Goodbye Zack. Remember me." Rose has her arm outside of the tunnel. 'She's gonna make it.' He spoke to soon. The tunnel collapsed taking Rose with it. Once all the dust was gone he sees her arm crushed from the rocks. Her hand goes motionless and he wknew she was gone.
Zack was mad. Mad at Rose for leaving him, for the aliens for killing everyone he loved. Finally he was mad at Joy. 'What did I do to her that made her almost kill me?'he didn't know. He got up, brushed himself off and walked away in the direction of Mount Rushmore without looking back.
He walks into the Mount Rushmore guide place. He walks up to the counter. "Is there anyway I could go up to see Abe Lincoln by myself?"
"Not a chance kid, nobody goes up alone." The cashier was male around 50 years with brown streaks in his gray hair.
"There has been a fire in the old hotel. I was there. I know you probably think I joking but, I'm not. My best friend was in the fire." Tears welled up in his eyes. "She... Didn't... Make it." He chocked out the words. As if right on cue sirens went off. The cashier ran out the door and down the street. Zack looked around. Everyone was heading to the hotel. Zack slipped up one of the trails that said 'only for employees.' He, of course, ignored the sign. He climbed the trail until he was at Abe's mouth. He glanced around and climbed into the mouth.
Inside it was dark. He saw one spotlight. It was on Joy. Unconscious and bleeding, she was. She woke up and looked at him.
"Zack, they'll be here any second. Go, hide." She whispered.
"Why'd you stab me?" He demanded.
"What are you talking about? I never stabbed you!" She said her eyes filled with terror. "Zack, look out, behind you!"Something hard hit him in the back of his head and he was unconscious.
He woke up just like in his dream. Hanging by a pipe. Not being able to move. Across from Joy.
"What happened to your stomach?" Joy asked concern filled her voice.
"What happened was you stabbed me!" He spite the words out at her.
"What? I never...."
"Actually you did, Joy." An alien came into view. "We brainwashed you so you thought your friends were your enemies and your enemies were your friends, temporarily." The alien, Zack noticed for the first time, had a gun in his hands.
"Oh my god. Zack I am so so sorry. How could I? How could you?" She looked at the alien. "Make me try to kill my boyfriend. The only thing I live for."
"Were is the file?" The alien asked Zack. Ignoring Joy.
" I don't know. Joy took when she stabbed me." Zack replied.
"We controlled Joy. She didn't take the file." The alien replied pointing the gun at Joy. "Now, I'll ask you one last time. Were is the file?"
"I don't know." Replied Zack.
"Very well. Your choice. I'll count to three. 1...2...3." He aimed the gun and shot it at Joy's leg. Joy screamed in pain.
Zack screamed in horror as he watched the blood ruin her jeans.
"Now, I'll ask you one last time. Were is the file?." The alien said calmly.
There was no escape. It was exactly as it was in his dream. Joy and Zack are going to die.
"Don't know." Zack whispers.
"Very well." The alien raised the gun to Joy's head and smiled. "Goodbye Joy. Nice knowing you." He shot her. Joy's head went limb. Blood went everywhere. The front half of her face blew off.
Zack fought back. He thrashed at the bonds that held him. "We'll come back and check on you later. Let you suffer for the choices you made then maybe you"ll tell us were the file is."
Zack hung there for 10 minutes feeling sorry for himself. Never again was he going to be able to tell Joy that he loved her, or that he thought she was beautiful. He'd never see her smile or hear her laugh.
Zack struggled against the bonds that held him. 'It's no use. They're too strong.' He felt something cold against his waist and remembered the dagger Rose had given him. He reached down and grabbed the handle with his mouth. He give the knife to one hand with cut himself free then freed the other hand. He landed softly and ran across the cavern to Joy. She was dead alright but needed a proper burial. He cut her down and carried her. He saw a shovel leaning against the wall. 'The aliens were probably going to bury our bodies after.' He grabbed the shovel and ran out of Abe.
He carried Joy down the trail and into the woods. He went farther and farther until he came upon a clearing. He laid her down and started digging. He measured out approxitmently 6 feet down. He laid her down and covered her up with dirt. Once he was done, he patted down the dirty. He was walking away when he saw a patch of flowers. He collected them all and laid them on her grave. He sat there with his eyes closed, and his head down. Suddenly he was and cold metal floor. He looked up and saw the aliens standing in a circle about him.
"Were am I?" He asked in a whisper.
"In our spaceship. We couldn't let you escape. That would be no fair to Joy but, we can't kill you yet. We need to preform some experiments" he turned to the alien next to him. "bring him to his cell. He needs to rest."
The alien lead Zack so far into the ship, Zack wouldn't have been able to find his way out if he had the chance. The alien lead him to his cell in silence.
What felt like hours, were actully minutes. Zack paced the small room. The aliens came back into the room. "we're done. Thank you for your help." the alien lifted his hand to reveal a gun. He shot Zack in the stomach. Zack fell to the ground and bit down on his lip. He was not going to give the aliens satisfaction by letting them here him scream.
They left without a word. Zack didn't have the energy to get up. He wanted to die. He laid there in his own blood for which seemed like hours.Never again was he going to be able to hug his mom and tell her he loved her. Never again would he be able to ride a bike, or live a normal life.
Finally an alien came back into the room.
"You're still alive. Well I'll just put you out of your misery now I guess." He lifted the gun to Zack's head. Zack felt a hot spot in his head for a split second before everything went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Zack, Zack" A voice whispered. Zack slowly opened his eyes to reveal Joy standing there in a white long dress.
"Joy?" He whispered. She shook her head yes. "how...how are you...alive." Zack stood up and grabbed Joy's face, making sure she was really there.
"Who ever said I was alive." Joy said with a smirk. Zack looked at her puzzled.
"What are you talking about?"
"Zack, you're dead. We're in heaven." Joy walked over to a huge window. Zack followed her. He gasped when he looked out.
Outside was the Earth. It looked like they were on a spaceship.
"Cool" Zack muttered.
Joy smiled. "Now let us watch."
"Watch what?" Zack turned to look at Joy.
"Why you don't know? We're watching the Earth's destruction." Joy said with a smile on her lips.