So, I am trying something new for me. I'm not exactly sure how well this little idea of mine will work out, or really where this story will go. I know how I wanted it to begin and how it will end. But don't worry, my creative juices will flow and something will come out of my head to fill those inbetween spaces. :D oh yes, my plan. I am building this entire story around a single phrase "Don't you know....?" each chapter will end with with someone saying "Don't you know.....?" and the things that happen before that will lead up to the key phrase. I'm really not sure how well this will work for me, I've never tried this before. So tell me what you think about it.

This story takes place in the Jak 3 time, but it really is not centered around Jak and ganng (they will deff show up but I want to focus on Marie and Neil more) This is rated T for language. I based Marie off of meand what she says in situations I would say, except with a few less words that begin with F and rhyme with truck. Actually there wont be any of those words, but any other word will probably show up at least once. Enjoy reading! Please review, I really appreciate critiques, but please not flamers.

Oh speaking of critiques. I was so excited about getting this up that i forgot to scan it for grammar mistakes. :( sorry. I'll get around to looking it over soon. I promise. And i may get a Beta to help me too. Alright, I'm done talking now. Read and enjoy!

-The Beckster

Marie sighed as she gazed out her window. She could see her favorite Sweet Gum tree swaying back and forth dangerously in the violent winds, a black shadow against the indigo sky. Wind storms like this weren't common; she was afraid a tree would fall on someone's house. She turned back to her essay.

"Stupid teachers." She grumbled out loud to no one, "Juniors don't need to work on Senior research papers!" She took her glasses off and rubber her eyes sighing again. It was mostly her fault for procrastinating until the day before her rough draft was due, but she had better things to think about, like play Jak X with her brother for hours on end. A loud cracking sound made her snap her head around to look out her window. She whipped herself in the face with her ponytail from the force of turning so quickly. She barely made out the shape of a large limb from the oak tree that belonged to her neighbors across the street fall in the middle of the street.

"Damn…" she whispered to herself, "It's like a hurricane out there." She turned back to her laptop and continued working on her paper. Two AM rolled around and Marie triumphantly turned off her laptop. She would print off the stupid essay in the morning; assuming they still had power. The wind continued to beat against the house violently. Marie could barely tell if there were still trees standing, but the slightly darker figures in the black shy being violently whipped around were definitely trees. Marie brushed her teeth, ended up tripping over her cat in the dark hallway and made it to her room before the power went out. She was instantly washed in blackness and she cursed herself for being such a slob as she stubbed her bare toes against her dresser. Gingerly she groped her way to the foot of her bed and then crawled up to the top. She took her glasses off and set them on the book case next to her bed. At least my alarm is battery powered. She thought sleepily as she gazed at the blurry numbers before she fell asleep.

Marie didn't know what woke her. Some sound pulled her out of her peaceful sleep. Damn that cat. She thought angrily as she stumbled to her door. She opened the door, but there was no furry cat running between her legs to sleep on the bed. What the hell? She closed the door angrily and walked back to bed. CRACK! There was that noise again. Marie looked out the window trying to see what was making the noise. It sounded like a gunshot.

CRACK! Marie saw what was making that noise. Pure terror petrified her as she realized the Sweet Gum tree was falling towards the house. She tried to get away, but the tree was falling too fast. "Oh shit." She uttered. Desperately she covered her head with her arms and hoped her death would be quick. CRASH! The tree fell through the house right into her room.

*

I'm dead, Marie thought, I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead.

If you're dead then why does it hurt? A mysterious voice said in her head.

Oh God, I'm dying! I lay broken and beaten. I can feel the splintered tree pushing through my back. I'm sure if I open my eyes I will see blood. Broken bones, large pieces of wood pushed through my chest. I'm dying slowly and painfully!

Open your eyes… the voice whispered sweetly.

Marie reluctantly opened her eyes. She gazed up at some ruined buildings. This isn't my house! She thought panicking. The sky was a light blue. "What the f-?" She said sitting up quickly, instantly wishing she hadn't. Sharp stabbing pains shot through her legs cutting her off mid sentence. She was lying on a pile of rubble. She could see indents in her arms where the rocks were pushing onto her skin and she knew that some of the larger marks would leave bruises. Cursing silently she stood up weakly and tried to walk off the pile of rubble. Her bruised and weak legs gave out a few times and she fell cutting her arms and hands on the sharper rocks. Her bare feet were already cut and bleeding, but she didn't notice. Marie walked over to a wall of one of the still standing buildings. She leaned against the wall and slid down it to the ground.

"Where am I?" she thought out loud. She noticed she was still in her pajamas; her favorite purple plaid flannel pants, the old holey gray short shorts under her pants, and her "I *heart* Woody" from marching band. Marie sat there for a while trying to collect her bearings and find out where she was. She had this uncanny feeling like she had been here before, but she knew for a fact that there weren't any ruined cities anywhere near her house, and she was NOT at home anymore.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto." Marie said to herself as she stood up. She wandered around in a daze, not knowing where she was going or what she was looking for.

*

Neil was the first one to notice the dazed civilian wandering around the blast site. "Captain?" he called out "Do you see that civie wandering around the blast site?"

"I don't see anything, soldier. Get back to work."

"No look!" he pointed, "She just walked out from behind that piece of wall."

The Captain raised his visor on his helmet to get a better look, "Well I'll be… Neil, get over there and grab her. Civilians aren't allowed in this area! I'll stop the blast until you get back here."

"Yes, Sir." Neil saluted the Captain and sprinted out from behind the barricade. "Hey you! Civilian! Stop!"

Marie stopped and gazed blankly at Neil as he sprinted towards her. Neil was shocked by her looks. She was bruised and bleeding, she wasn't wearing any shoes, her pants were torn in the knees and her bloody knees had soaked through. Her long, brown hair hung past her shoulders. It was thick and would be curly if it wasn't caked in dust and frizzed. She had a soft round face and a blank dazed expression. There was a nasty cut above her eye and the blood had trickled down her cheek. She looked awful.

"What are you doing out here?" He said as he ran up to her. "Come on, it's dangerous around here. The metal heads or MKG might get you. Come on." He gently grabbed her arm and tugged her after her, he didn't like being so close to the blast site, on the other side of the mountain of rubble the area was swarming with metal heads. Maria just followed him blindly. She stumbled a few times as her legs tried to remember how to run but eventually she got the hang of it.

Neil heard a familiar low tone. "Damn it! They said they would stop the blast!" They were still a good fifty feet away from the barricade; they couldn't get to safety in time. "Run faster!" he shouted pulling on Marie's arm harder as he started to sprint. Suddenly there wasn't an arm in his hands. He turned and saw Marie lying on the ground. He ran back to her and heaved her to her feet. "Come on!"

Neil knew their time was up for running. The tone rose in pitch and he pushed Marie into the doorway of one of the nearby buildings before slamming himself in front of her trying to shield her from the blast. Neil was knocked down to the ground from the shock of the blast. Small pieced of debris rained down on him. Neil saw he was lying on top of Marie and he rolled off of her. She stared blankly off into space. Neil gently sat her up and shook her shoulder. "You alright?"

Marie didn't say anything, but Neil saw her eyes focus on something past his shoulder and a brief moment of recognition flashed in her eyes. Neil glanced over his shoulder and saw a Metal head charging straight at them. He went to grab his gun off his back but it wasn't there. He looked around and saw it a few feet away, just out of arms reach. He lunged for his gun and shot the charging metal head. One, two, three it fell to the ground dead just a short yard away from where Marie sat looking more shocked than dazed.

"Move!" Neil yelled at her as he yanked her up by her arms to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her along while shooting at more metal heads. He looked back to where the blast had been. Metal heads were streaming out of the hole in impossible numbers. Bullets screamed through the air getting many of the charging metal heads. Some went down and were trampled to death; others took a hit and kept on running.

Marie slowly began to realize why this place looked so familiar. The soldier's blue armor had been one clue, but the metal heads had solidified her question. Shocked she slowed down just a few feet from the safety of the barricade. Neil tugged harder at her pulling her behind the barricade. They ran past the front line of barricades until they reached the back of the battalion. He sat her down and shook her by the shoulders. "What's wrong with you?" he yelled at her, "Don't you know there's a war going on?"

See there it is my story centric line! hahaha!

Alright, Well I was going to tell you how old Marie and Neil are, but now I believe I will put that in a future chapter. *strokes chin thoughtfully* Maybe I will have more shower time inspirations. Well I have a four day weekend from school so if you are following any other stories from me check them for new chapters. If you haven't i highly suggest that you go and check them out. I like to get a lof of opinions on my stories. :D I'm a review whore what can I say? hahaha! alright. Thank's for reading chapter 1, I hope you will stick with the story and read it through to the end. Thanks again!

Again, Sorry for any horrendous grammar! :D

-Becks