The police received a phone call around twelve in the afternoon when Anderson had just started to drift off in his favorite chair. He had come home around seven and told Sally he just wanted to relax. Now dressed in sweats he settled back and closed his eyes, knowing once he had a few hours of sleep in him he might be able to think straighter.

Sally was in the kitchen making lunch when the phone started to ring. Moments later she stuck her head in the den and told him it was the station. Still out of sorts and groggy he answered and heard that it was the Johnson girl.

Her father had come home, after a night of drinking. From Anderson and the rest of the police's point of view this seemed normal for a man who just lost his son. And found his daughter missing. He first called her work and then a few of her friends, and no one had seen her.

He had waited for a few hours but she hadn't come home yet.

Anderson at first thought he was just worried. Most likely the girl had taken off for a few hours to get away…he was just being over protective of his daughter after what had happened. But before he had time to tell Harper at the desk to go check the cemetery…there was something else.

The Crusel's had called in a little after eleven. They had been leaving messages for any of the boys to bring their son back home since he had been ditching soon the last couple of weeks and hardly showed his face around the house anymore.

Anderson did have a funny feeling about him.

The boy's mother said it was a private matter but she happened to find this morning a crumpled up piece of paper in her son's wastebasket. It seemed as if he had stopped by his house while the two parents were at work. She said it had an address he must of looked up for a Neil Gordon, and how that was the same man who was fired from the hospital where her son had spent half of a year.

Anderson had read all about him and how he lost his medical license.

The mother was having a fit about her son trying to contact him since all he brought for them was trouble. She said she had called Western Hills down and how she wanted the police to help them find her son before she reached the next town. She was worried for his well being and knew whatever was going on between his friends had to be stopped.

Anderson knew that she woman had known something, and that there was more to look into. But the police had agreed to help but after Mr. Johnson had called one of his daughter's friends. She said the last time she did see Alice was yesterday when she got into the Crusel's boy's car.

Anderson told Harper he would be dressed and down there in five minutes.

Meanwhile Joey had decided the back roads were the safest bet. They were the old side of the highway which showed mostly old grass fields and run down farms. The further South you went the fields slowly turned into desert and dry land.

With the windows down Alice was thankful for the cool breeze that blew against her flowing red hair. It would be summer in a few weeks…somehow time and everything else hadn't really clicked in yet. Her friends and bother were all dead.

All she had left was him…

Looking at him drive she smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, one hand on his leg.

She had asked a little more about Dr. Gordon and this other woman who had died when everything in Western Hills happened.

Her name was Nancy…

Around that time the police and others had decided to make two roadblocks on the main highway and the back roads which lead out of Springwood. Three doctors from Western Hills were there, counting one named Dr. Sims, an older woman who had worked with Joey before.

They had gone to the Johnson's house and discovered that her bed had been slept in, and the slightest idea of panic started to rise in Alice's father's head that maybe the boy raped his daughter.

Anderson calmed him down and called in on the radio…they would take the highway to cut around on the back roads…if they were headed that way they would cut them off within the hour.

As Joey drove and tried his best to keep talking to Alice to keep her alert. He looked at the never ending road ahead of him and still was still really unsure about what was going to happen next.

All he did know was he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

Alice took a deep breath in and out resting her head on him, the sound of that made Joey smile.

Driving he squinted and thought back on Western Hills, back when he couldn't speak…back when he was given a gift to restart his life.

Maybe he needed to die, maybe once he was dead Freddy couldn't reach Alice anymore…maybe it was meant to be.

The truth was he wasn't going for the dugs for himself…he needed them for Alice.

Then they saw it.

There was a roadblock, two police cars, a panel van, and his parent's car. Right away Alice shot up and they looked. "How did they find them?" Right away the two froze as their eyes bugged out and the car slowly stopped as one of the police men flagged them down.

There was nowhere else to go…they were caught.

Sitting side by side Joey could see his parents, holding each other and looking worried. Beside them with red bloodshot eyes was Alice's father.

One of the police officers walked towards the car.

"Please step out of the car…"

Joey looked at the shifter and thought for a second of flooring it backwards and maybe planning an escape, but he saw Alice's worried eyes and slowly opened the door. Both got out of the car and walked towards the others who were behind the police cars.

Alice saw her father and stepped closer to Joey, locking hands with him.

Everyone's eyes fixed on them as Anderson stepped forward.

"You kids sure made all of us worry taking off like that…scared your parents half to death."

"You don't understand…"

Alice said in a low voice, squeezing Joey's hand tighter.

Then Dr. Sims walked out from behind the panel van with two large paramedics. The sight of them made Joey freeze.

He first looked at the woman's face, then the two men, then his parents, and then back to the van. It read Western Hills.

Dr. Sims had a very calm look on her face as she crossed her arms.

"Hello Joey."

Joey started to slowly shake his head, backing off a little with Alice who looked up at him. Joey's whole insides started to shake as he looked at his parents who had turned against them.

"No…."

And with that the fight began.