CHAPTER#3
A/N: Thank-you to everyone who had reviewed my story. I know it is confusing, but it will make sense.
Ross and Joey made their way up the stairs of the apartment building. They were planning on going to a movie that night with Mike and were stopping by to see if Chandler wanted to go with them.
They already knew the answer. Ever since he had lost Monica, Chandler hadn't wanted to do anything fun. All he ever did was work. But, that didn't stop them from trying to include him in everything, in hopes that eventually, he would say yes.
They reached the top of the stairs and opened the door to what was now, only Chandler's apartment. What they saw shocked them.
Ross was taken aback when he saw Chandler hugging a petite blond woman, but only for a split second. He quickly recognized the women to be Phoebe and gasped. How could this be? They had been told by the police to assume the worst, to assume the girls were dead. And now there was Phoebe, alive, right in front of him. Ross quickly stepped forward and joined the hug, as did Joey.
Phoebe was surprised to feel two more bodies join the hug, but was glad. She knew without looking that they were Joey and Ross. She was grateful they were there. Now she only had to tell her story once. She knew it would not be long before the questions began. And she was right.
"Oh my God, Pheebs," she heard Ross say. "What happened? What are you doing here? Where are Rachel and Monica?"
Phoebe felt Chandler stiffen at the mention of Monica's name. He quickly pulled away and covered his face with his hands. Phoebe knew she couldn't even comprehend how hard this was for him. She chose to momentarily ignore Ross' question and stepped forward, towards Chandler. Phoebe hesitantly reached her hand out to touch Chandler's arm, attempting to give him some comfort, but he pulled away. He seemed to think for a second before walking right past her and Ross and Joey. He opened the door and closed it behind him. Phoebe was about to go after him, but was stopped by Ross.
"Don't," he said gently. "Don't worry, he's just going up to the roof. He goes up there a lot. He likes to be alone." Ross seemed to hesitate for a second before, "And by his reaction, I'm guessing the news you have isn't good news," he finished sadly. Phoebe looked as him, and noticed the lines under his eyes, and the sadness written on his face. It was then that she realized he had not only lost the mother to his baby, but he had also lost his sister. She had spent so much time worry about how Chandler was going to take the news about loosing Monica that she had totally forgotten that Monica was Ross' sister.
She sighed. "Come sit down," she said. "I only want to do this once."
The three of them sat down. Ross and Joey were looking at her expectantly.
"I know that Monica was on the phone to Chandler when it happened, so I know you guys know something happened." Phoebe began, awkwardly. She took a deep breath. "Well, we had checked into this little motel, and had seen a pub around the corner, so Rachel suggested that we go out." Phoebe didn't bother telling them that Rachel had been the only one who wanted to go out, that Monica and Phoebe had been tired and wanted to go to sleep, that Rachel had pleaded until they agreed. Phoebe didn't blame Rachel, and didn't want anyone else to, knowing they would if they knew the truth.
"So we got to the pub and ordered some drinks. Monica decided to call home, and Rachel was making fun of her for missing Chandler so much," Phoebe broke off for a second, feeling her emotions getting the better of her.
Joey knew what was happening and decided to lighten the mood a bit. "That's funny, because we were making fun of Chandler for missing Monica so much."
Phoebe smiled gratefully at Joey. Yes he said many stupid things, but when it really counted, he always knew what to say. He was a really good friend and Phoebe was grateful to be his friend.
"Just after we ordered the drinks, I went to the bathroom. As I was washing my hands, I heard screaming and banging on the other side of the door, so I rushed out. I walked right out the door to find a group of men, completely covered in black standing right beside me. They had guns, big ones, like machine guns. I froze; I didn't know what to do. The last thing I remember is looking the other way to see Rachel and Monica staring at me in shock. I remember falling, I didn't know it, but I had been shot. They told me when I woke up at the hospital." Phoebe began to cry at the memory of her last sight of her best friends. Joey, who was sitting beside her, pulled her into a hug. Phoebe clutched onto him for dear life, sobbing into his shoulder. They stayed like that for many minutes, no one saying anything, the only sounds being the occasional whimper from Phoebe.
When she had calmed down a bit she heard Ross ask, "why are you only back now?"
Phoebe sighed and pulled away from Joey. "I was in a coma for a month. I woke up a week and a half ago; they didn't release me until two days ago. I was shot in the stomach. They said I was really lucky, but they were still worried about complications. I also broke my wrist pretty bad," Phoebe held up her injured arm. "I don't know how that happened. I probably got stepped on or something." She shrugged, it really wasn't important to her.
"Do you, uh, do you know what happened to, uh, well, y'know?" Ross asked.
Phoebe did know. This was the part she had dreaded the most. "I contacted the Embassy as soon as I could. I guy came to talk to me. He told me that they didn't know who had attacked the bar, probably some terrorist group, or something. There were many people in it at the time, and I was the only one found alive." Phoebe felt her emotions well up again, but refused to let them take over. She would finish first. "The guy told me they had probably thought I was dead. He said I was lucky." She scoffed. "I don't feel lucky. I asked about Monica and Rachel." Phoebe paused for a moment at the hopeful expression in both Ross and Joey's eyes. She knew what that was like. To hope beyond hope, hoping that just maybe Monica and Rachel were alive, but just like her hopes had been dashed theirs would to.
"They told me that it had been like a massacre. There were body parts everywhere. They didn't find anything that could be linked to Monica or Rachel, but that didn't mean there weren't parts of them there." Phoebe finished off quietly. Ross and Joey were staring at her in shock. She knew what it was like, being so hopeful that they were alive, then being forced to realize they weren't with the truth about their gruesome death. She shook her head sadly. It wasn't right. No one should die like that, especially not Monica and Rachel. Phoebe wished for the millionth time that she to had died. She didn't feel like living with this pain inside and the guilt from constantly stressing over whether or not she could have had something. She could have stood up to Rachel more. She had known that Monica had not wanted to go, but she had given in. Monica had not had a chance when she was being fought two to one, so she to had relented. And they had gone. And look what had happened.
* * * * *
Rachel sighed as she sat, leaning against the wall, staring at the other one. She did this a lot, as there wasn't much else to do. It had now been two months since that day, well approximately two months, as they had no way of telling time. Rachel thought back to that day. The day that she still felt responsible for. She was the reason that Phoebe was dead, that she and Monica were being kept for unknown reasons by unknown people. She looked over at Monica, who was asleep on one side of the old mattress that had been put in their cell.
They had been moved recently. Two guards had come and had blindfolded both her and Monica. They had injected something into both of their arms and when they awoke they had been here. It was a nicer cell than the last one, if you could call a cell nice, that is. This one was bigger and had the mattress to sleep on. They had also been given a few small blankets and a change of clothes. Their was a light on the other side of the bars, that was kept on most of the day, but Rachel still yearned to see real light. It had been two moths since either she or Monica had seen sunlight. They were kept inside at all times.
Rachel sighed unhappily and looked closely at her friend. Monica had been feeling very tired lately. Rachel was worried. She knew that they were only fed enough to keep them alive, but Monica seemed worse off than Rachel was. It concerned her greatly. Rachel had already lost one friend and she was not about to lose another. Rachel sighed again. She wished they could leave this awful place and go home. But she knew that would never happen.
She had been told that would never happen. Someone who spoke English had finally shown up. He had been placed their as a guard. He was the one who brought Monica and Rachel their food every day. Surprisingly, he was nice.
Rachel talked to him most of the times she saw him. His name was Albert and he told her, confidentially, that he had grown up in this world, and he had no chance of ever getting out of it. He had also told her that if there was a way of getting Monica and Rachel out he would, but there was no way. They were being held at a highly guarded compound by a group of very powerful, very ruthless people. They had been kept alive at first because they had looked something like people these guys were after for information. It had soon become obvious that they had not been those people and normally they would have been killed on the spot, but there had been many investigations recently and they didn't dare kill anyone for fear of the cops finding the bodies and tracing it back to them. So they kept everyone they interrogated alive.
It wasn't fair, Rachel had told him and he had agreed. It wasn't fair, but there was nothing he could do to help them. He did, however, bring them little things whenever he could. He would bring them the occasional extra bit of food, or vitamins. He was good to them, as much as he could be.
Rachel sighed once more and forced herself up. She stumbled over to the mattress and lay down beside Monica, who was now awake.
"Hey," Rachel said.
"Hey," Monica said.
"Good sleep?" Rachel asked hopefully.
"Not really," Monica answered. "I kept dreaming I was back home and everyone was there, including Phoebe," she stammered slightly at the memory of watching her friend get shot and collapse. "We were in the coffeehouse and we were so happy. Chandler and I were on the big chair and you were sitting beside Ross, holding Emma and Phoebe and Mike were on the other end of the couch. Joey was sitting in the other chair. We were laughing at something. Suddenly those guys came in and stared shooting and they shot everyone. All of you guys. Then they turned towards Chandler and I and he got up, tried to protect me, but they shot him to. And I was all alone." Monica began to cry. Rachel reached over and pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay. Their all okay, okay? Ross and Joey and Mike and Emma and Chandler. And Phoebe is, well she's happy now. At least she's not stuck here with us for the rest of our lives."
"It's not fair," Monica cried. "They think we're dead to, don't they? I just wish we could go home. I miss them. I miss him. I miss him so much."
"I know you do, sweetie, I know you do and I wish I could tell you that you'll see him again, but I can't." Rachel felt her tears come now to. "I miss them to. I miss my daughter. I wish I had never suggested this stupid trip."
"It's not your fault." Monica told her.
Rachel nodded, accepting Monica's answer, but not believing it. It was her fault, she told herself. It was all her fault.
A/N: Well, that's this chapter done. Does it make sense? Do you understand that Rachel and Monica think Phoebe is dead and that Phoebe thinks they are dead? Also, I had a couple people tell me the first chapter was confusing. Now that you know more, do you think it was confusing in a suspenseful way, or more of a confusing way. Thanks for your thoughts.
A/N: Thank-you to everyone who had reviewed my story. I know it is confusing, but it will make sense.
Ross and Joey made their way up the stairs of the apartment building. They were planning on going to a movie that night with Mike and were stopping by to see if Chandler wanted to go with them.
They already knew the answer. Ever since he had lost Monica, Chandler hadn't wanted to do anything fun. All he ever did was work. But, that didn't stop them from trying to include him in everything, in hopes that eventually, he would say yes.
They reached the top of the stairs and opened the door to what was now, only Chandler's apartment. What they saw shocked them.
Ross was taken aback when he saw Chandler hugging a petite blond woman, but only for a split second. He quickly recognized the women to be Phoebe and gasped. How could this be? They had been told by the police to assume the worst, to assume the girls were dead. And now there was Phoebe, alive, right in front of him. Ross quickly stepped forward and joined the hug, as did Joey.
Phoebe was surprised to feel two more bodies join the hug, but was glad. She knew without looking that they were Joey and Ross. She was grateful they were there. Now she only had to tell her story once. She knew it would not be long before the questions began. And she was right.
"Oh my God, Pheebs," she heard Ross say. "What happened? What are you doing here? Where are Rachel and Monica?"
Phoebe felt Chandler stiffen at the mention of Monica's name. He quickly pulled away and covered his face with his hands. Phoebe knew she couldn't even comprehend how hard this was for him. She chose to momentarily ignore Ross' question and stepped forward, towards Chandler. Phoebe hesitantly reached her hand out to touch Chandler's arm, attempting to give him some comfort, but he pulled away. He seemed to think for a second before walking right past her and Ross and Joey. He opened the door and closed it behind him. Phoebe was about to go after him, but was stopped by Ross.
"Don't," he said gently. "Don't worry, he's just going up to the roof. He goes up there a lot. He likes to be alone." Ross seemed to hesitate for a second before, "And by his reaction, I'm guessing the news you have isn't good news," he finished sadly. Phoebe looked as him, and noticed the lines under his eyes, and the sadness written on his face. It was then that she realized he had not only lost the mother to his baby, but he had also lost his sister. She had spent so much time worry about how Chandler was going to take the news about loosing Monica that she had totally forgotten that Monica was Ross' sister.
She sighed. "Come sit down," she said. "I only want to do this once."
The three of them sat down. Ross and Joey were looking at her expectantly.
"I know that Monica was on the phone to Chandler when it happened, so I know you guys know something happened." Phoebe began, awkwardly. She took a deep breath. "Well, we had checked into this little motel, and had seen a pub around the corner, so Rachel suggested that we go out." Phoebe didn't bother telling them that Rachel had been the only one who wanted to go out, that Monica and Phoebe had been tired and wanted to go to sleep, that Rachel had pleaded until they agreed. Phoebe didn't blame Rachel, and didn't want anyone else to, knowing they would if they knew the truth.
"So we got to the pub and ordered some drinks. Monica decided to call home, and Rachel was making fun of her for missing Chandler so much," Phoebe broke off for a second, feeling her emotions getting the better of her.
Joey knew what was happening and decided to lighten the mood a bit. "That's funny, because we were making fun of Chandler for missing Monica so much."
Phoebe smiled gratefully at Joey. Yes he said many stupid things, but when it really counted, he always knew what to say. He was a really good friend and Phoebe was grateful to be his friend.
"Just after we ordered the drinks, I went to the bathroom. As I was washing my hands, I heard screaming and banging on the other side of the door, so I rushed out. I walked right out the door to find a group of men, completely covered in black standing right beside me. They had guns, big ones, like machine guns. I froze; I didn't know what to do. The last thing I remember is looking the other way to see Rachel and Monica staring at me in shock. I remember falling, I didn't know it, but I had been shot. They told me when I woke up at the hospital." Phoebe began to cry at the memory of her last sight of her best friends. Joey, who was sitting beside her, pulled her into a hug. Phoebe clutched onto him for dear life, sobbing into his shoulder. They stayed like that for many minutes, no one saying anything, the only sounds being the occasional whimper from Phoebe.
When she had calmed down a bit she heard Ross ask, "why are you only back now?"
Phoebe sighed and pulled away from Joey. "I was in a coma for a month. I woke up a week and a half ago; they didn't release me until two days ago. I was shot in the stomach. They said I was really lucky, but they were still worried about complications. I also broke my wrist pretty bad," Phoebe held up her injured arm. "I don't know how that happened. I probably got stepped on or something." She shrugged, it really wasn't important to her.
"Do you, uh, do you know what happened to, uh, well, y'know?" Ross asked.
Phoebe did know. This was the part she had dreaded the most. "I contacted the Embassy as soon as I could. I guy came to talk to me. He told me that they didn't know who had attacked the bar, probably some terrorist group, or something. There were many people in it at the time, and I was the only one found alive." Phoebe felt her emotions well up again, but refused to let them take over. She would finish first. "The guy told me they had probably thought I was dead. He said I was lucky." She scoffed. "I don't feel lucky. I asked about Monica and Rachel." Phoebe paused for a moment at the hopeful expression in both Ross and Joey's eyes. She knew what that was like. To hope beyond hope, hoping that just maybe Monica and Rachel were alive, but just like her hopes had been dashed theirs would to.
"They told me that it had been like a massacre. There were body parts everywhere. They didn't find anything that could be linked to Monica or Rachel, but that didn't mean there weren't parts of them there." Phoebe finished off quietly. Ross and Joey were staring at her in shock. She knew what it was like, being so hopeful that they were alive, then being forced to realize they weren't with the truth about their gruesome death. She shook her head sadly. It wasn't right. No one should die like that, especially not Monica and Rachel. Phoebe wished for the millionth time that she to had died. She didn't feel like living with this pain inside and the guilt from constantly stressing over whether or not she could have had something. She could have stood up to Rachel more. She had known that Monica had not wanted to go, but she had given in. Monica had not had a chance when she was being fought two to one, so she to had relented. And they had gone. And look what had happened.
* * * * *
Rachel sighed as she sat, leaning against the wall, staring at the other one. She did this a lot, as there wasn't much else to do. It had now been two months since that day, well approximately two months, as they had no way of telling time. Rachel thought back to that day. The day that she still felt responsible for. She was the reason that Phoebe was dead, that she and Monica were being kept for unknown reasons by unknown people. She looked over at Monica, who was asleep on one side of the old mattress that had been put in their cell.
They had been moved recently. Two guards had come and had blindfolded both her and Monica. They had injected something into both of their arms and when they awoke they had been here. It was a nicer cell than the last one, if you could call a cell nice, that is. This one was bigger and had the mattress to sleep on. They had also been given a few small blankets and a change of clothes. Their was a light on the other side of the bars, that was kept on most of the day, but Rachel still yearned to see real light. It had been two moths since either she or Monica had seen sunlight. They were kept inside at all times.
Rachel sighed unhappily and looked closely at her friend. Monica had been feeling very tired lately. Rachel was worried. She knew that they were only fed enough to keep them alive, but Monica seemed worse off than Rachel was. It concerned her greatly. Rachel had already lost one friend and she was not about to lose another. Rachel sighed again. She wished they could leave this awful place and go home. But she knew that would never happen.
She had been told that would never happen. Someone who spoke English had finally shown up. He had been placed their as a guard. He was the one who brought Monica and Rachel their food every day. Surprisingly, he was nice.
Rachel talked to him most of the times she saw him. His name was Albert and he told her, confidentially, that he had grown up in this world, and he had no chance of ever getting out of it. He had also told her that if there was a way of getting Monica and Rachel out he would, but there was no way. They were being held at a highly guarded compound by a group of very powerful, very ruthless people. They had been kept alive at first because they had looked something like people these guys were after for information. It had soon become obvious that they had not been those people and normally they would have been killed on the spot, but there had been many investigations recently and they didn't dare kill anyone for fear of the cops finding the bodies and tracing it back to them. So they kept everyone they interrogated alive.
It wasn't fair, Rachel had told him and he had agreed. It wasn't fair, but there was nothing he could do to help them. He did, however, bring them little things whenever he could. He would bring them the occasional extra bit of food, or vitamins. He was good to them, as much as he could be.
Rachel sighed once more and forced herself up. She stumbled over to the mattress and lay down beside Monica, who was now awake.
"Hey," Rachel said.
"Hey," Monica said.
"Good sleep?" Rachel asked hopefully.
"Not really," Monica answered. "I kept dreaming I was back home and everyone was there, including Phoebe," she stammered slightly at the memory of watching her friend get shot and collapse. "We were in the coffeehouse and we were so happy. Chandler and I were on the big chair and you were sitting beside Ross, holding Emma and Phoebe and Mike were on the other end of the couch. Joey was sitting in the other chair. We were laughing at something. Suddenly those guys came in and stared shooting and they shot everyone. All of you guys. Then they turned towards Chandler and I and he got up, tried to protect me, but they shot him to. And I was all alone." Monica began to cry. Rachel reached over and pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay. Their all okay, okay? Ross and Joey and Mike and Emma and Chandler. And Phoebe is, well she's happy now. At least she's not stuck here with us for the rest of our lives."
"It's not fair," Monica cried. "They think we're dead to, don't they? I just wish we could go home. I miss them. I miss him. I miss him so much."
"I know you do, sweetie, I know you do and I wish I could tell you that you'll see him again, but I can't." Rachel felt her tears come now to. "I miss them to. I miss my daughter. I wish I had never suggested this stupid trip."
"It's not your fault." Monica told her.
Rachel nodded, accepting Monica's answer, but not believing it. It was her fault, she told herself. It was all her fault.
A/N: Well, that's this chapter done. Does it make sense? Do you understand that Rachel and Monica think Phoebe is dead and that Phoebe thinks they are dead? Also, I had a couple people tell me the first chapter was confusing. Now that you know more, do you think it was confusing in a suspenseful way, or more of a confusing way. Thanks for your thoughts.