LAST TIME-

"— no —" she whispered out, her voice making the men stop their conversation, the closest to her turned.

"Oh, my," Chase Barker's astonished voice entered her subconscious. "Why do you fight so hard?"

"don't — hurt — him —" she pleaded with the last of her strength, her eyes falling close.

I'm sorry

The darkness offered so much comfort, how could she turn it down?

Troy's world froze the moment Gabriella's eyes slide shut.

She had caught Chase Barker's attention, drawing the older man away. He had knelt beside her, something she probably couldn't have even registered. Words were exchanged and he watched as Chase Barker turned away from her, a smile plastered across his aged face as her eyes slipped closed.

Troy let his head fall forward as his heartbeat sounded in his temples. Vash and Blake loosened their grip a little but their hands were still wrapped around his shoulders. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to keep the salty liquid from leaking out. Thinking about her made his chest tighten and his breath quicken. He would not accept that she was gone — No — He shook his head, blue eyes denying the inevitable.

He lifted his head up, eyes finding her still form. Her white and black t-shirt was soaked with mud and blood, the rain mixing and bleeding the colors together as her drenched black hair formed to her angelic face. Why do angels always fall first? He thought to himself; his eyes locking with her face. Lying there in the rain, it almost made it look as if she were only sleeping. He shook his head again, biting back a sob; he knew she wasn't. He couldn't even tell if she was breathing, or even alive — No — she was just unconscious, he would get her help and then everything would be fine. Still, so many blows had been exchanged, her body taking so much damage. She was no longer moving; her body completely still, almost relaxed. But he knew the battle that was raging on behind her closed eyes. A battle of the utmost importance. A battle for her life.

"You sure know how to pick them, Troy Bolton," Chase Barker commented as he approached the weakened boy. "Where did you find her?"

"What?" Troy snapped back, his eyes filled with rage.

"Someone that loyal?" the man smiled out, finding amusement in the teen's confused face. He had not heard her last request. Chase Barker's smile widened. How strange that she would give him the one statement that would break Troy Bolton.

"What are you talking about?" Troy repeated; his eyes mixed with rage and annoyance.

"Her last request," Chase whispered through crooked teeth. "She begged me not to hurt you."

Troy's eyes glistened over with tears, his whole form falling forward. He dug his hands into the soft earth as sobs racked his body, the tears freefalling from his eyes. Her perfect face formed in his mind. The smile that he could look at for hours, the dark chocolate eyes he had always seemed to lose himself in. The way her head tilted to the side when she talked with him or laughed. Her perfectly tan skin and shoulder length black hair that made her look like a goddess. How she cared so much for others and so little about herself. The people around her always came first, no matter the situation or circumstance. It was cruel, that someone so innocent, had been ripped from this world in an act so wicked.

Troy realized, as he knelt their in the rain, that this man, Chase Barker, had taken all that away from him. The butterflies were gone. Never to be felt again. School now, would only bring him heartache. Being the luckiest man in the world was no longer his title. He had been stripped of everything in a matter of moments. Everything her presence had brought, he was never going to feel again.

Something snapped in his mind as he regained control of his sobs. He had never felt this way towards a person before, this strong anger — No — it wasn't anger, not even hatred, it was Fury. Pure uncontrollable Rage. The sadness was being taken over by Wrath, his whole body shaking as adrenalin coursed through his veins. He took a deep breath as he lunged forward; Blake and Vash's efforts to stop him coming to late.

"BASTARD!" he roared, the earth itself shaking with his fury.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Taylor let an annoyed sigh escape her lips. The fog had grown thicker, making it almost impossible to see where they were going. Even the electronic sonar on the boat was having trouble locating things. It felt like they were going in circles, although Ryan assured them that they weren't. Time was crawling past, every moment making her chest tighten. They had wasted so much time, arguing and figuring out a plan. She thought that once they had gotten here, that it would be no problem finding Troy and Gabriella. She rolled her eyes at their ignorance.

"This is taking to long!" Chad yelled in frustration, his hands going to his curly hair as he continued his pacing at the back of the boat.

Taylor ignored him. Getting made at this point would be too much trouble to handle. She sighed as the wind shifted, blowing her hair into her face. She sent a hand to brush the bangs away, the limb freezing by her eyes. She spun to her left, eyes trying to penetrate the think fog.

"What is it?" Sharpay asked, taking a step towards the frozen teen.

Taylor waved her hand, signaling for the friends to be quiet. She hesitantly stepped to the edge of the boat, felling the others follow suite. She looked harder, feeling the wind pick up again. The water on the lake rippled, the boat rocking ever so slightly.

There it was again.

This time she knew the others had heard. The wind had brought a voice. It was distant, but strong — powerful — pissed. Taylor recognized it immediately. Troy — A very angry Troy.

Taylor's eyebrows furrowed. If Troy was that made, then something must have happened. She had never heard such anger in his voice or anyone else for that matter. Her eyes grew wide as she cursed out loud — No. She's fine — a voice in her head assured her. Still, their time was running out. If they could head in that direction, they would surly find the island or boat Troy and Gabriella were on. It was still a matter of time; they had to get their fast.

"That direction Ryan," she pointed out to the left, he nodded. "Full speed!"

Taylor was thrown off balance and into Chad's arms as Ryan pushed on the gas. A roar like a beast she had never heard came from behind, making everyone glance back. The engine was going insane, that wind picking up as the motor pushed out more power.

"I thought you said that motor took off a couple knots?" Jason yelled over the roar of the engine.

"It did," Ryan replied as he glanced back over his shoulder, a smile crawling across his lips. "You should've seen this puppy before, no one could catch it."

Within minutes, Taylor caught site of a small speedboat pushed up on one of the island banks. Ryan pulled to shore, nearly clearing the water and landing in the trees before he cut the engine. Silence met the six friends as they jumped from the boat, sprinting to the tree line. The pouring rain ceased as the tree towered over them, a drop finding one of their shoulders every so often.

"We'll look for Troy!" Chad yelled, Jason and Ryan following him. They dashed off to the left, entering the tree line seconds before the girls.

"We'll find Gabriella!" Taylor responded, Sharpay and Kelsi following her into the tree line. She slowed to a jog, looking around desperately for any signs of her friend.

"Look!" Kelsi panted from beside her. The three girls came to a halt, the rain finding their shoulders for a moment.

Taylor found Kelsi pointing to the ground, recent footprints evident in the soaked earth. The three girls smiled to each other, Taylor sprinting out in front as they somewhat followed the trail deeper into the forest.

"Were coming, Gabriella," Taylor promised as she powered up a hill. "Hold on."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Troy shoulders rammed into Chase's stomach, lifting him off his feet and slamming his back into the wet ground — hard. Blake and Vash's hands ripped Troy off Chase, the older man curling up into a ball as he tried to regain his lost breath.

Troy sidestepped and caught Blake's extended arm, pulling him forward and onto his bent knee, the blond boy letting out a grunt of pain as Troy let him fall forward. Blue eyes rounded on green as he took a step towards Vash. Troy advanced forward, ignoring Vash's pleas for mercy. He grabbed the boy's outstretched hand, twisting and extending it behind his back. He then pressed his foot onto the center of his back, forcing his face into the mud. With one strong pull, Vash's shoulder slid out of socket, his screams washing over the forest.

Troy dropped the useless arm and turned to Chase Barker. The man was already sprinting forward, trying to return the favor of being knocked down. Troy smiled as he sidestepped again and stuck his foot out, tripping the older man. Chase flew forward, hitting the ground and rolling, finding the hill that had been to their backs. Troy watched as he came to a complete stop at the base of the small incline. Troy's eyes were sent in a grim slash of determination as he advanced down the hill.

He was going to kill Chase Barker.