Maria Montez hurried out of the car and to the Bolton's door. Lucille yanked open the door. "Is Gabriella here?" Maria demanded.

"No…I thought Troy was at yours…" Lucille thought hard.

"I know they all went to the Evans girls party. But, Gabriella said it got over at nine. Maria checked her watch. It's twelve now and I just got back from my date…"

"I call Stephen, Sharpay's father," Lucille said. "Come in," she walked to the living room.

-------------------------------------------------

Taylor glanced around. "Shouldn't Chad be back by now??"

"Tay, I'm sure he's fine. He just went to go find Troy, Gab, Shar, and Zeke," Kelsi said, calmly.

"Yeah, they'll all probably be back in a sec," Jason agreed. There was a loud bang from outside.

"Thunder." Taylor said, mildly. The power flicked. "Great."

"Freaking lights," Jason muttered.

"It'll all be over soon," Kelsi said, uncertainly.

"Not soon enough," Taylor shook her head.

----------------------------------------------

"Boom!" Thunder clapped outside the window. Gabriella and Sharpay shrieked. Troy's grip on Gabriella tightened.

"Hey, since when was there a window there?" Zeke asked, removing the sheet from the wall. "Oh, never mind," Zeke murmured, realizing it was boarded up.

"What do we do now?" Gabriella whispered, shivering slightly. Troy sat down in the floor and rested his head against the wall. Sharpay shrugged.

"I'm not going out there. We don't know where that freak could be." Sharpay shook her head. Zeke threw the sheet over "Chad".

Troy closed his eyes. Gabriella sat down next to him. "You okay, babe?" She asked, pushing the head on his forehead out of his eyes. Troy didn't move.

Gabriella sighed and stood back up. "Could this get any worse?" She asked. The power flicked off and then back on. "I'll take that as a yes." Sharpay walked over to her and wrapped her in a deathly tight hug.

"We're all still alive, aren't we?" Sharpay asked.

"Hopefully," Gabriella whimpered, looking over at the sheet-covered body. Tears, once again, filled her chocolate brown eyes. Zeke kicked the sheet off and searched for a pulse on the body. None.

Troy stayed in the same position. He heard Gabriella crying and Sharpay murmuring that it was gonna be okay. She sure did say that a lot. But, did she actually believe it?

"Guys," Zeke said, looking up from the body. He had another post-it note in his hand. Troy didn't budge, again. Gabriella and Sharpay hurried over. Maybe you shouldn't let others wonder away from the group. That's another person who got away.

"What?" Sharpay asked, confused.

"He got away!" Gabriella cheered. "Oh my goodness, he got away!" Troy looked up, finally.

"Huh?" He asked.

" 'That's another person who got away.' Don't you see?" Gabriella grinned.

"No, I mean, yeah, but 'another person'? Who got away the first time?" Troy questioned.

Gabriella bit her lip. Sharpay furrowed her brow. "Ryan," Zeke said, breaking everyone's thoughts. Sharpay's face lit up.

"Oh my gosh! I thought I'd lost him!" She cried.

"Thank Heavens," Gabriella said, tears filling her eyes…again.

"You cry too much," Troy muttered. Sharpay glared at him. Oh, fuck, I did not mean to say that, he though.

Gabriella tensed up. "Sorry," she whispered, turning away and wiping her tears away.

"Why are you such a jerk?!" Sharpay demanded. "What the heck is your problem?"

"What's your problem?" Troy mocked.

"Troy, shut up!" Gabriella screeched. "Stop being an- ugh! I can't tolerate this anymore…" She whispered, shaking her head and walking to the door.

"No, Gabby!" Zeke yelped. "Don't go out there! He'll get you!"

"I don't care anymore! Let him find me!" Gabriella called back, reaching toward the handle. Troy jumped to his feet and sprinted toward her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back. "NO! Just let me go!"

"No, 'Brie, you know I can't do that." Troy said, clearly frustrated. Gabriella moved out of his grasp. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried another movement toward the door. Troy grabbed her arm tightly.

"Trooooy!!" She screamed. "Let me go!" He tightened his grip. "Oww!! You're hurting me!"

"Enough!" Sharpay yelled, smacking Troy's hand. He let go of Gabriella's arm. "You're not going anywhere, Gabs."

Tears welled for a fourth time in Gabriella's beautiful eyes. "Aww, 'Brie, please don't cry because of me…" Troy begged, quietly. He moved forward to hug her and she backed away.

"I don't even know who you are anymore," She told him, walking over to Zeke.

"Okay, guys," Sharpay said, carefully. "We're all scared and none of us meant any of that." She said, sensing Troy's pain from the look on his face.

"No, Shar," Troy replied, not taking his eyes off of Gabriella. "I know some of us did." Gabriella turned around.

"Troy-" She started.

"It's fine." Troy interrupted her. He sat back down against the wall in his previous position. Zeke bit his lip and walked over to Troy.

"Look, man. I'm sure she honestly didn't mean it. And Gabriella, I'm sure Troy didn't mean to hurt you."

Gabriella ran her hand through her curly hair. Sharpay looked uncomfortable. And Troy suddenly found the floor very interesting. Zeke sat down by Troy. Thunder clapped again and Gabriella jumped. Sharpay brought her over and plopped her down in between Troy and Zeke. Then, she moved over and sat on Zeke's other side.

"I wish this was all just a dream," Troy whispered.

"A very bad dream," Gabriella added. Sharpay and Zeke nodded. Troy pulled Gabriella closer to him. She snuggled into his side. Troy began to whisper soothing words into her ear to calm her fears.

She rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her waist. She closed her eyes. Then, the power went out. Gabriella whimpered and Troy gripped her hand. Sharpay let out a small cry and Zeke grabbed her arm.

"Shh," he hushed. She put her free hand over her mouth. A creepy silence fell over the four teens in that room. There was a rushing movement out in the hallway and a heart-stopping scream echoed through the house.