Disclaimer: Not mine.

Okay so I really don't like this chapter but I needed to put it in. Sorry for the long wait but school has not been kind to me this year. Things, however, have begun to slow down and I am getting use to my teachers so I hope to be able to update more. Again sorry the chapter is crap and kinda pointless…the next one should be good as soon as I finish writing it and get my lazy butt around to typing it…I hope you enjoy…

Troy continued to stare blankly at the spot where only seconds before the monster had stood. It was unnerving the way they could simply appear and disappear without a trace. Wasn't there supposed to be a light from a beaming system or a pop as they simply defied physics and ceased to exist?

Troy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was so tired, so mentally worn that he could have simply curled up and fallen asleep. He wanted to, needed to, just get even a few minutes of sleep but he couldn't. His ribs ached from the kick he had earned himself earlier. His exhausted mind wouldn't stop spinning the day's events in a never ending nightmare.

He kept seeing Gabriella's blood spurt from her slit throat warm and sticky. He could hear the words sweet on her lips, words he had always wanted to hear. He could remember the fear and love in her eyes as she leaned in for their first true kiss, the first one with an acknowledged love in it, the one he had pulled away from.

He kept seeing Ryan's pristine head lay unharmed feet away from the lump of crimson flesh and entrails. He kept hearing Chad's chocked sobs at Taylor's screams as she was slowly ripped to bits for one of the monsters dinner.

Troy pulled at his hair and he slowly scooted back into the corner of the cell. It was all too much and for the first time in his life he wasn't in control of the situation. He wasn't the one who knew what was going on, he wasn't the one with the plan, and he wasn't even the one holding the cards.

What was the point of living, of pushing forward? Earth was gone, everyone he knew and loved was gone. The monsters that captured them were in complete and total control. They had the means for survival and the means to prevent a premature death.

Chad watched as Troy curled up in the corner, pulling at his hair and unconsciously scratching at his face. Emotions flashed darkly through him as he tried to figure out what he was feeling at the moment.

On one hand he hated Troy, hated what he was capable of, hated that he picked him to live. On the other hand he fully understood the reasons behind everything Troy did. He knew that it wasn't anything dark or demented that pushed him to killing Gabriella, it was his love for her and his need to protect her. He also knew the reason why he picked Chad, why Chad let him, Taylor was better off dead. Plus, Troy needed Chad; he needed someone to keep him sane, to keep him from falling into himself.

Finally, Chad sighed and slowly made his way across the cold metal floor to Troy's side. He gently placed a slightly shaking hand on his friends trembling shoulder. Troy flinched at first then lifted his head just enough to peek out between his damp fingertip.

"I'm sorry," Troy mumbled as he wiped the dripping tears from his jaw. He wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. Maybe everything thing he could think of and everything he couldn't. Maybe everything he had control of and everything he didn't. It really didn't matter because Chad understood.

Troy sighed and tried to get his mind into gear. He was trying to get it to work in a linear function instead of the scattered thoughts that flashed around. He sighed again and scrubbed at his sore bloodshot eyes. "So what now?" Troy asked as he cleared his throat.

"We give them hell," Chad said with a small smile. The smile was more of a twitch of the corner of his mouth, but it was enough.

"What do they want with us?" Troy asked as he stretched his arms over his head and arched his back. His ribs screamed in pain but it felt good to stretched out his stiff muscles.

"I think it's more a matter of what they want with you," Chad rubbed at the back of his neck as he got more comfortable on the cold metal floor. "And to be honest I really don't know what they want with you."

Troy nodded and yawned, "Okay, so we have a short term plan, but what about long term? We can't just leave Gabi and Sharpay in these monsters clutches."

Chad gave Troy a brief sad look before turning away. He sighed gently and rested his hand on Troy's thigh, "I don't think there is a long term plan. I don't think there's anything we can do for the girls."

Troy looked away and both boys where silent for a moment. "They said they wanted to make me one of them," Troy began in a small voice, "What if I become one of them? Then I could get you guys out of here and…"

"No," Chad said with an amount of force that made Troy flinch. "You can't become one of them. You know what they do, what they are capable of. I, nor do Gabi and Sharpay, want you turning into one of them for our sakes. I say we show them that we're fighters. Don't let them break us."

"What about Gabi?" Troy asked in frustration as he ran his hands through his hair.

"I don't know! I don't think there is much we can do," Chad said in anger and frustration.

Troy looked away and mumbled, "Yeah I guess your right." He shifted his weight so Chad's hand dropped away and curled in a ball. Troy slowed his breathing and let his exhausted body pull him under into sleep.

Chad sighed and shook his head in a slow sad motion. He pushed himself to his feet and began to pace the short length of the cell. His rubber soled sneakers hissed against the floor every time he turned around and his breathing was slow and uneven. His hands kept running through his thick hair, pulling at the roots.

Giving a deep groan of frustration he lashed out at the wall catching it with his foot. The sound coming from the contact of the kick was dull and ticked Chad off all the more.

"What now, Chad?" he asked himself in a cynical mocking voice. "You need a plan. You need to get control," he mumbled with another sigh as he finally calmed a bit and slid down the wall to the floor across from Troy.

Chad simply sat gazing at Troy's slumbering form. Troy's body moved ever so slightly with each soft breath. He didn't seem to be sleeping, sleeping was to kind a word; he seemed to be unconscious, like his brain shut off to let his body get the peace it so desperately needed.

Chad's mind slowly pulled away. His eyes began to droop and his chin dropped to his chest. Sooner or later sleep pulled him under to the dark warm abyss and his breathing evened out to a slow rhythm.

Sorry it's short but please take the fifteen seconds it takes to review!