It seemed as if everything happened in slow motion. Alice stood beside Joey as the older woman dressed in a long white coat stepped out from behind the van. Right away she knew something was wrong, just the way Joey's entire body tensed and started to step backwards with her.

In total there were fourteen of them all standing there. Three police cruises were parked in a neat little row, beside Joey's parent's car, her father's, and the panel van. Everyone stood back, waiting almost for something just like this to happen. At first Alice thought her father's face would be angered, but instead all she saw was a sad lonely face with tried blood shot eyes. In fact Alice never thought she saw her father look so worried before in his life.

Joey's parents stood beside each other and gave a rather cold glance to the paramedics who started forward.

"No…"

Joey said again shaking his head. Alice looked at him and saw he was shaking all over almost in disbelief.

"You didn't…"

He looked straight at his parents who stood closer together worried.

"Please Joey, we've just been so worried about you and your friends, we thought it would be for the best…"

"NO!"

Joey's hand slipped out of hers and he started to make a run for it. There was really nowhere else to go other then the road, on one side was a field, and the other the woods and over that the highway.

Alice jumped back and screamed out of pure fright as Joey tried circling away from the cars and making it to the field. Right away the two paramedics went after him as Anderson and his men ran quickly behind.

"Don't hurt him!"

Alice saw Joey make it about fifteen feet into the grassy soft slope of the hill starting towards the field when the men tackled him, knocking him down onto the grass. Alice's father came over to Alice and tried putting his arm over hers when she ran forward to where they were holding him.

Anderson and the others were now circled around where Joey was being held. He struggled underneath their grip as one of the men pressed down with his arm kneeling beside him and locking his throat down so he couldn't rise his lower body to kick or fight.

Joey's parents and Dr. Sims approached towards him, everyone looking down at the poor young boy as the men held him, and right away Joey locked eyes with Dr. Sims.

"No, you stupid son of a bitch, your killing us!"

He screamed as his legs kicked up and town.

"YOUR KILLING ME, YOU STUPID BITCH YOUR KILLING ME!"

Dr. Sims didn't even twitch, she shook her head slightly and then came out with what looked like a needle from her leather clutch bag she had over one shoulder. Walking closer she kneeled down along with the other two men and started to roll up Joey's sleeve.

Joey's eyes bugged out as he watched her, looking up to where Alice stood watching helpless along with his two parents.

"Alice, no…please!"

Alice then saw the pure fear inside him, she went down and tried with all her strength to pull one of the men off. Without any thought of reaction the man flung his strong hard brick fist into Alice's face knocking her down on the ground flat. Blood bubbled up from her nose.

Joey struggled even harder, tears rolling down his face as Joey's father helped Alice up but still held her back to do anything. Anderson started forward as Alice's father caught up with the others and saw Alice's face, holding her chin and looking at it he looked at the others and yelled.

"What the hell is all this?"

"Please sir…"

Alice started to cry from the pain as her father took out a handkerchief from his back pocket and tried holding it up against her face.

"Let me see honey."

Alice slapped down his hand and watched helpless.

"Please Joey it's for the best…"

The needle then went into his arm as he watched whatever they were giving him course into his veins. Panting he laid his head back, the effect of the drug all ready working as he gazed up at Alice.

"Alice…"

Alice tried going forward again but Anderson held her back. She watched as he laid there, looking up with his wide scared eyes. Never before did she want to go towards him, touch him, and take him away.

Dr. Sims kneeled down and felt Joey's pulse.

His eyes fluttered, and then closed. Dr. Sims took a moment and then nodded to the other men.

"Don't put him to sleep, please!"

"Alice…"

Alice fought against her father and Anderson.

"You don't understand, please…he can't sleep, he's going to die!"

The paramedics gave each other a look as Joey's parents held each other, Dr. Sims looked up.

"Alice I understand you have been through a lot, but Joey is a sick boy…he needs help."

Alice looked back down at him, laying there, now no longer full of fight and started to sob.

"Please…"

She trailed off and started to cry again, her father gently put his arm around her and lead her back to his car. There Dr. Sims asked if she wanted something to relax, Alice couldn't stop crying. Hot sticky tears ran down her face as the taste of blood came back in the back of her throat. She knew he would die…

The others wouldn't lessen, they only gave each other looks as Dr. Sims walked over and kneeled down beside Alice who sat in the passenger seat of her father's car. With the door open and a wet cloth pressed up against her face she watched as the paramedics loaded Joey onto a stretcher to the back of the van, his parents watching.

Dr. Sims was taking a needle out of a plastic package as she watched Alice's hopeless eyes watch Joey.

"Alice, you have to understand we're only here to help Joey."

"Your killing him, that's all your doing."

She hissed back, a slight pounding starting in the back of her head. She saw her father was talking with the police now as they started to unclear the road block.

"I understand you two are very close, and I heard you were also very good friends with Kristen."

Alice watched as the van doors were slammed shut, Dr. Sims kept talking.

"Joey is going through something that isn't normal, he needs treatment for it and I know how much you don't want to believe me, but this thing he's spreading, this fear that all of the children I treated back at Western Hills…it's just in their mind Alice, it's just a label for their sickness…"

"It's real, and he's going to die if he's asleep…why can't you get that?"

Dr. Sims gave a rather calm nod as she stuck Alice with the needle. The pain was quick but at that point between everything else Alice didn't care. It wasn't a sedative, her father made sure of that…but knowing that there was no way she could help Joey turned her insides black.

Dr. Sims kept talking about how much she understood how much she was going through, and what loss has happened lately, but Joey was just a sick boy…simple as that, and they weren't here to harm him, they were here to help him.

Alice saw the cars start pulling out, she watched as Joey's parents got back into their car.

"Where are they taking him?"

"Tomorrow he's going up to Western Hills…he's spending the night at Fairview."

"Your locking him back up?"

"Alice, it isn't locking him up, it's making sure he doesn't harm himself or others.

Alice held back salty tears as she watched the van slowly pull away.

"He's gonna kill him…"

She shook underneath her breath.

Anderson and her father then walked over, Dr. Sims got back up and handed her father her card and told him she would very much like to speak to Alice once she's calmed her nerves.

Walking to Joey's parents car she got into the back seat and pulled down the road. Alice turned a little and watched as cars and van headed back to Springwood. Joey was inside there, all alone and helpless…God she wanted to be with him, how could they take her away like that?

Anderson hooked his thumbs into his belt loops and looked at Alice's father.

"Mr. Johnson, I would like to talk to Alice tomorrow, once she's ready…"

Alice's father rubbed her daughter's shoulder.

"Yeah fine."

Giving a cold stare he told Alice to get inside, Alice did so and he shut the door before walking over to his side. Anderson stared through the glass window of the car and saw the young girl lower the cloth and look up at him.

She looked scared to death.

Mr. Johnson started the engine and slowly turned around and headed back to town. Just then Harper came over, watching the car and it disappeared down the road.

"That's the rest of it sir, we're ready to go."

Anderson kept watching.

"Okay…"

Harper eyed Anderson.

"You think they we're going to do something?"

Anderson rubbed his chin and slowly shook his head before turning back.

"Hell if I know, maybe they were just running away…boy's parents sure as hell want him locked up, that's for sure."

"You don't think he had anything to do with…"

"I don't know what to think right now, but I sure as hell feel better that those kids are gonna be looked under with a close eye now."

"Think he raped her?"

Anderson shook her head again.

"Doesn't seem the type, come on I'll ride in your car."

Both started back towards the last few cruisers, their shoes crunched against the gravel of the road as the sunlight started to flicker.

"Why do you think that boy put up such a fight…girl kept saying something about if he was put to sleep he would die?"

Anderson looked at Harper and shrugged.

"Come on Harper, we have a long night ahead of us."

Both men got into the car as Alice's father kept driving, giving a nervous eye to his daughter who kept looking out the window with a blank stare.

"I'm sorry I left you last night…but your all I have honey…"

Alice felt her father pet her hair as he tried smiling, but all she could think of Joey…she needed to save him.

Only a few miles ahead of them Joey laid on a stretcher in the back of the van, an I.V hooked up to him. One paramedic shinned a tiny flashlight into one of his eyes and nodded.

"Okay let's get this show on the road, he's out."