Wowzer! I had a dry spell, but now I'm back and swinging! It's like sex...somehow...you know, you go through a dry spell and then you spend half your time naked in bed with a guy...I dont know what Im talking about...ahem, lets jsut ignore that!

So, I'm back and swinging! Yay me! To R.S. Lee...sorry bout Gunther...it was just his time I guess! I love him dearly and should have killed Estelle...but I can only remember seeing her out of her office once...when she came to see Joey at the play, so I'm not sure if she would actually be around to kill off hehe! And, yeah, like I said last Chapter...this aint going to have a happy ending! I mean, the entire New York City population has been killed pretty much..possibly even the majority of the world!...does that sound like it is going to end with hugs and puppies...but Ive said too much!...Sorry Lauren...i still love you! Please read and review...I'm loving your reviews guys! They are fan bloody tastic! Cheerio!

I do not own friends/actors/characters...but I would gladly catch Chandler Muriel Bing if he collapsed from blood loss...although it might be hard seeing he is twice the size of me...not that I'm implying Matt is fat...far from it, he's just a lot taller then me, and his body weight is greatly higher then mine...but he isnt fat...oh, why oh why am i still talking!

Joey stumbled.

He didn't fall though; he couldn't afford to fall.

Not when he had his best friend slung over his shoulder. Not when him falling meant certain doom for Chandler. Not when he was leading the way for the girls; making sure they kept alive. Not when they had to get away from the crashes; the crashes that they were running towards.

They had no choice to do that though. It was either that or go back onto the bridge, which was a death-trap. If they went back on the bridge, they would be stuck there, with nothing but water and bodies around them. The crashes…whatever was causing the crashes-

the aliens

- would get them; kill them. They would join all the dead bodies that they had stumbled over, and Joey would have failed his friends; failed Chandler.

Chandler had been the leader. He had taken over the position without any thought, and had been the one to decide what to do; to drive the car away from the falling buildings and what ever was making them fall.

Joey had followed Chandler willingly, and so had the girls. He knew that Chandler was the best person to make all these decisions. Besides Ross, he was the smartest one out of their group, and Ross wasn't there.

The decision making naturally fell onto Chandler's shoulder, and he had taken control. He had done a good job at it too.

But Chandler was now out of commission. The shoulder that everything had fallen onto – the decisions, the choices, the pain, the stress – had bled too much.

Joey was in charge now. All the decisions, the choices, the pain, the stress; all of that now rested upon his shoulders, along with Chandler's limp body.

He couldn't fail; he had to get his friends to safety. He didn't want to be the one to screw it all up. He didn't want to be the one that failed Chandler. He didn't want to be the one that got everybody killed.

Joey stumbled, but didn't fall.

He regained his footing and tightened his grip on his best friend, glancing around awkwardly to check on the girls. Rachel had her eyes tightly shut, her face pale and tight with fear; gripping Monica's hand firmly. Monica had tears streaming down her face, her worry for her fiancé stronger then her worry for her own life. She glanced at Chandler frequently, panic sitting right at the surface. Chandler was hurt and to her, that was unacceptable. The bag was slung over her shoulder.

Joey panted, the strain of running and carrying Chandler – taller and heavier then he was – tiring him quickly. But he couldn't stop. He had to ignore the exhaustion, the pain, and the sweat that streamed down his face. He had to ignore it; otherwise all would be lost.

They ran, through the desolate and dusty streets. There were few bodies here – still too many – a lot less then what they had seen outside their building. Still within the hundreds though, but nothing compared to the bridge. The bridge was a disaster zone.

The cars that surrounded them were destroyed, completely ruined. It was as if whatever had attacked them had tried to stop anybody escaping quickly.

Tried to stop anybody escaping at all.

They had to find a car, had to get away from the crashes. Had to get the girls to safety. Had to get Chandler to safety.

But finding a working care was turning out to be much more difficult then Joey had anticipated.

The crashes were growing closer, explosions filling the air regularly and loudly. They were close; too close.

Joey stopped suddenly, feeling Monica run into his back. She cried out in surprise, and Chandler let out a moan, the jostling of Joey's body aggravating his wound.

"We can't run away," Joey whispered, glancing around the streets frantically. New Jersey. He had never liked the place. He wasn't sure why, it was a nice place, but he had never liked it. Perhaps it was because he was from Queens. He wasn't sure why that would matter, but it was the only plausible thing he could think of at that moment. Queens.

His home, his family. His ma. His dad. His seven sisters. His nieces and nephews. He worried about them; worried that they had lost everything. Lost more than their home. He was scared that he had lost them full stop. But he couldn't think of that. Just like he couldn't think of his other two friends-

Ross, Phoebe…dead?

- being hurt or worse. He had to concentrate on him and his friends; the one that were with him at that moment.

"We can't run away," Joey repeated. "We have to hide."

"Hide?" Rachel exclaimed, finally opening her eyes. "Hide where?"

Joey glanced around New Jersey once more, trying to find a hiding place and quick.

Another explosion, closer than ever, accompanied by another sound.

The group paused, listening to the new sound; worrying about the new sound.

"What is that?" Monica whispered. Joey frowned, tightening his grip on his best friend once more. The sounds grew closer and shadows appeared in the distance. Joey took a step back, panic overtaking him for a moment. He calmed almost instantly and started to run, motioning for the girls to follow. They continued to stand there, their eyes fixated on the shadows, their ears straining to listen to the noise. Joey ran back and grabbed Monica's arm, pulling her along. The two girls broke out of their trance and ran after him, not glancing at the shadows.

Joey had no idea where to go or what to do. Chandler might have, but he was in no condition to offer advice. So Joey ran, hoping that he wasn't about to get them all killed.

They ran into an alleyway, behind a dumpster. Joey motioned for the girls to crouch down behind it and then gently lowered Chandler to the ground, wincing when his best friend let out a groan. Why hadn't they noticed how hurt he had been? Why hadn't they questioned his claim that he was 'fine'?

"W-Won't they find us here?" Rachel whispered, her chin trembling. Monica instantly leaned over Chandler, checking her fiancé intently after dumping the bag on the ground.

"I'm hoping they think that everybody is dead," Joey whispered back. "That they won't come searching for anyone."

"And if they do?" Monica asked after a moment, glancing up from Chandler. Joey didn't answer. They all knew what would happen in that case.

The crashes grew closer, accompanied by the new sound. It was like a chattering sound, almost like a room full of people, all talking at once, except not. It didn't sound like voices, it sounded like…Joey didn't know what it sounded like. He had never heard anything like it in his entire life. It was unearthly, not something that would be found on their planet.

They listened to the crashes, moving closer and closer each second. Joey frowned. The crashes were different, not like falling buildings anymore. It was more like-

Footsteps?

­- but that couldn't be possible. Nothing on Earth had footsteps that big; that mechanical.

He knew then that Chandler had been right. Nothing on Earth could have done this. Their attackers weren't from around here. They had come from somewhere far, far away, to destroy life on Earth. Joey trembled at the thought, pressing closer against Rachel's quacking body.

"Footsteps?" Chandler murmured, a sliver of blue showing under his eyelids. Joey nodded at his friend, then watched with anxiety as Chandler sat up. Monica helped him, biting her lip along with Chandler. The movement hurt him, but he had to stop himself from crying out. That could give their hiding spot away.

"Are you okay?" Monica whispered, so low that Joey barely heard it. Chandler shrugged, wincing at the pain that small movement caused. His eyes fluttered and he nearly fell back down to the ground, but Monica had her hands on him. She leaned him up against the dumpster, steadying him with her hands. Chandler smiled shakily at her, his dull blue eyes still managing to stand out amongst his ashen face. Joey patted him on the thigh, and then turned away, craning his neck around the dumpster. He didn't want to look, but he had to check.

The shadows were visible once again and Joey quickly pulled his head back, knowing that whatever had created those huge shadows; whatever was creating that strange chattering sound would catch him if he continued to look.

The footsteps shook the ground underneath them violently, causing Rachel to grab Joey's hand. She trembled once more, the look on her face showing nothing short of absolute terror. Joey squeezed her hand, pressing his back even further against the dumpster. He held his breath, knowing that the…whatever they were, were right outside the alleyway. He could see the gigantic shadows dancing on the wall.

Accompanying the ground shaking footsteps and odd chattering were other footsteps, smaller and lighter then the others. There were many of those footsteps, leading Joey to believe that the group walking past was nothing short of an army. A large and terrifying army. Although the footsteps were smaller than the ground shaking ones, they were still twice as heavy as a human's step. Joey squeezed his eyes shut at the thought. Their army was huge. It was powerful. It was deadly. They didn't have much of a chance.

The group sat tensely, listening with bated breath to the footsteps going past. Rachel was crying silent tears while Monica was holding onto Chandler tightly, as if she was trying to protect him with her tiny body. Joey smiled slightly at the thought. She had no hope of protecting him but Joey knew that she would die trying if she had to.

The footsteps, both heavy and light, stopped all at once, and the group froze. Rachel let out a small whimper as the chattering intensified tenfold. They seemed to be excited about something.

An explosion, louder, stronger, longer and fiercer then anything they had ever encountered, suddenly shook the ground and both girls let out small shrieks, which were thankfully engulfed by the thunderous noise.

The crashing continued for a long time, accompanied by huge splashes in the water and the insane chattering of whatever they were.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the crashing stopped. The chattering continued and the footsteps started up once more, shaking the ground again. Rachel pressed her body up against Joey, trembling like a leaf in the middle of a hurricane.

Splashes in the water started up again, and didn't stop for a very long time. The footsteps lessened, the chattering grew further and further away and the shadows gradually disappeared.

They sat there forever, holding onto one another for dear life. Finally, the noises left altogether. There was a collective sigh, and everybody glanced at one another with relief printed on their faces.

Joey edged out from behind the dumpster, pulling away from Rachel.

"Joey," Rachel hissed, staring at him in horror. Joey waved her away, slowly standing.

"Wait here," he whispered. Rachel let out a frustrated sigh then turned away, choosing instead to face Monica and Chandler. Joey smiled grimly at them, then turned and started walking to the end of the alleyway, walking more silently then he ever had.

He reached the end of the alleyway and pressed up against the wall, taking a few deep breaths. He wasn't brave enough to do this. He was supposed to be huddled behind the dumpster. But he had to do this, he had to check. They couldn't stay here forever.

It wasn't safe. They had to get out of here, had to find other people. Had to help Chandler.

He took one more deep breath, then poked his head around the wall. The sight that met his eyes shocked, surprised and horrified him. He stared for a moment, and then pulled back, shaking his head in amazement. He turned and walked back to his friends.

"What did you see?" Monica whispered, looking away from Chandler, who had once more passed out. Joey stared at them, his mouth slightly ajar. "Joey?"

"The…the bridge is gone," Joey finally answered. There was a long silence, the girls staring at him in shock.

"Gone?" Rachel said at last. Joey nodded.

"It's gone…it is completely gone," he whispered.

"Oh my god," Monica murmured, covering her mouth with her hand. "We were just…"

"I know…we got off just in time," Joey said softly, crouching down next to them.

"All those people…" Rachel muttered.

"They were already dead," Joey reminded her. Rachel nodded forlornly.

"It's really gone?" Monica asked, shaking her head in disbelief. Joey sighed, and then nodded.

"That must have been what the explosion was," he told her gently. "They…they mustn't want anybody to get back over there…or off of there…any other way to get off has probably been destroyed."

"Ross and Phoebe," Monica whimpered. Joey bit his lip, desperately trying not to cry.

"We…we can only hope that they had already gotten away," he whispered. Monica let out a sob.

"We barely got away…and we drove! How could they have gotten away?"

"Maybe they drove as well?" Joey suggested, but he knew what he was saying was unlikely. He didn't want to face the thought, but there was the highest chance that their other two friends were gone. He couldn't linger on that though. He had to stay calm, in control.

"We should get out of here," he said after a moment. Rachel looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"W-What about the…the footsteps?" she whispered after a moment, her voice shaking with emotions. Joey shook his head.

"They're gone," he informed the girls.

"Gone?" Monica asked, and Joey could see that she was desperately trying to pull herself together. "You mean…dead?"

"I think…I think they went into the water," Joey answered after a beat. "I could see things moving in there…and the splashes before. They have to be in there."

"They're going back over there?" Rachel whispered, looking confused. "Why? Nothing is left over there."

"Maybe they…have gone to check?" Joey suggested. Rachel nodded, closing her eyes briefly.

"So…we're safe over here now? All the bad guys are gone?"

"Yeah, we should be fine," Joey murmured, hoping that was the case. He knew that, as big as that army had been, there was an incredibly high possibility that the group that had passed them had only been a small number. He didn't tell the girls that though. He didn't want to upset them further. "We just…we have to be careful."

"Okay…we should get moving," Monica whispered, glancing at her future husband once more. "We need to get the hell out of here."

"Yeah…Mon, you grab the bag, I'll grab Chandler," Joey instructed. He leaned over and once more took his friend in his arms, his worry growing. Chandler had paled even more, and blood was trickling faster from his wound then before. He needed help, but they had no way to help him here, besides pressing something against the wound, which would make walking almost impossible. They had to get him into a car, and they could go from there. The quicker they found a car, the quicker Chandler got help.

Joey slung his best friend over his shoulder, waiting for the groan that never came. He sighed, then glanced at the girls.

"Let's go," he said softly. They nodded, Monica slinging the bag over her shoulder.

They moved forward, not running this time. They walked, quickly and frantically, but still walked.

No one glanced behind them, not wanting to see where the bridge had till only recently sat. No one wanted to catch a glimpse of what had destroyed it; destroyed everything.

They walked for what seemed like an eternity, desperately ignoring the bodies that lay strewn on the ground. Desperately ignoring the newly regained crashes behind them, crashes in places they had inhabited that morning.

Joey glanced from destroyed car to destroyed car, his anxiety growing with each ruined vehicle. It seemed that they would never find a car; that they would continue walking until they were out of New Jersey.

Joey knew that was ridiculous. They couldn't walk that far, especially not with Chandler over his shoulder. Joey loved his best friend, and knew he wasn't all that heavy, but after a while, it started to ache. Not that it bothered Joey. He would walk a million miles with Chandler on his shoulder if he had to. He knew that wasn't possible, but he would certainly try.

They didn't have enough time for that though. Chandler would surely bleed to death if they had to walk that far without finding something to help. He wasn't losing that much blood, but he was losing enough.

"Joey!" Rachel exclaimed suddenly, pulling him away from his depressing thoughts. "I-I think that car is okay!"

Joey followed her gaze and a grin broke out on his face. She was right. Amongst all the destroyed cars, the ruined buildings, the dead bodies, a single car had survived with barely a scratch; a miracle in itself. Joey wasn't sure how that had happened, but he didn't question it. It didn't matter how or why the car was undamaged. All that mattered was that it was there.

"Oh, thank god," Monica whispered, her voice strained.

"You can say that again," Joey murmured, as they began to walk towards the car; towards their little miracle.

Monica stumbled.

A cry left her lips as she nearly fell, held up only by Rachel's grasp.

"You okay?" Joey asked worriedly.

"Yeah…my heel just broke though," Monica muttered, taking her shoe off. She glared at the broken sandal, and then tossed it away. "I guess I will be going shoeless from now on. We're going to be in the car anyway."

"We will probably have to do some more walking Mon," Joey said softly as Monica took her other shoe off. "You need shoes."

"But they're broken," Monica countered, throwing the shoe. Rachel took a deep breath.

"Wait here," she whispered. Joey and Monica watched as Rachel walked over to a woman's body and crouched down next to her.

"Oh my god," Monica moaned as Rachel took a hold of the woman's leg. "Rach…"

"You need shoes Mon," Rachel said tightly. She gently pulled off the woman's running shoes and her socks, tears streaming down her cheeks as she did so. With the footwear in her hand, she stood and walked back to the group.

"I-I don't think I can wear them," Monica whispered. Rachel shook her head.

"You have to Mon…I just stole a pair of shoes from a dead woman! Don't you dare tell me that I did that for nothing," she exclaimed, her voice hitching slightly. Joey shifted Chandler slightly, his shoulder starting to ache once more.

"O-Okay," Monica stammered, gingerly taking the footwear from her best friend. "I'll…I'll put them on in the car."

"Okay," Rachel said softly, wiping her face.

"Okay," Joey echoed. They began to walk once more and quickly reached the car.

"Do you think it's locked?" Monica asked quietly.

"Only one way to find out," Rachel murmured. She tried the handle and the door opened. "Well, at least something has gone right today."

"Yeah," Joey agreed as Rachel pulled open the back door. She slid inside and held her arms out. Joey gently lowered Chandler's limp body into the car, waiting for Rachel to have a hold of him before letting go. He stepped out of the way and Monica slid inside, taking a seat next to her unconscious fiancé; setting both the shoes and the bag on the floor. Joey closed the door and opened the front door, quickly getting in behind the wheel. The keys were still in the ignition.

"Two things gone right today," he commented, turning the key. The car leapt to life and Joey grinned slightly. He shut the door and pressed his foot down on the accelerator.

"How's Chandler?" he asked after a few minute's of silence.

"The bleeding is pretty bad; worse then what it was earlier," Monica answered, her voice tight. "He probably aggravated it when he fell….both times."

"Can you stop the bleeding?" Joey questioned, keeping his eyes on the road. He was dodging the cars and bodies pretty well, with the exception of a few bumps.

"I can slow it down," Monica said softly. "But I can't stop it."

"Well, we have to stop the bleeding," Rachel reminded her.

"I know that…but I can't do it in here," Monica muttered. Joey glanced in the review mirror quickly and saw that Monica had her jacket pressed against Chandler's shoulder. His best friend was still unconscious.

"You can do it though?" he asked. Monica took a deep breath.

"I-I have an idea," she whispered. "I don't want to do it…but we have to."

"What is it?" Rachel questioned after a moment. Monica took in another shaky breath, tears springing to her eyes.

"We have to cauterise the wound," she said softly. Joey frowned.

"What's that mean?"

"We…we have to burn the wound closed," Monica explained tearfully.

"What? Are you crazy?" Joey exclaimed.

"We have to Joey! We have to stop the bleeding," Rachel insisted.

"Why can't we just, like, stitch it together?"

"Do you see any stitches?" Monica snapped, running a hand over her face. "We have to do this…and soon. I don't want him to lose too much blood." Joey sighed. He didn't like the situation, but he knew it was the only way. The only way they could think of at that moment.

"Okay…we should get out of the city part of town though," he murmured. "Try and get into…I don't know, a wooded area or something. Just keep the pressure on."

"Alright," Monica agreed quietly. Joey sighed again, staring out at the deserted streets. Deserted, with the exception of bodies and cars. He glanced in the review mirror once more, taking in Chandler's pale face. They had to do this. They had to hurry. He didn't want Chandler to join the bodies.

Joey pressed down harder on the accelerator.

They had to go faster.