WEST OF HERE

"So that was a massive failure," Jack whispered, pulling Tara into safety between two shelves. The Technology and Applied Sciences archives. "Plan B?"

"I thought that was Plan B." Tara crouched down behind him, one hand touching his shoulder lightly. "Are they still out there?"

"I don't know."

They should be okay here; Jack had a feeling no one had visited the Applied Sciences section since the year 2024. It's not like anyone read real books any more, and everyone knew the archives building was just a cover for certain other government activities. Of course, there's knowing and then there's doing something about it.

"My feet are falling asleep," Tara said and rocked back to sit cross-legged on the floor.

Jack sat, too, moving aside a couple of books so that he had a better view of the path the guards usually took when doing their rounds. Tara had been observing for a week, punching every detail of the guards' habits into her WristPod, which was connected to Jack's on a secure network. Only one other person had the passcode. One other person who knew about the mission. There was a slight problem, though: Jack and Tara didn't know if that person was even alive now, after what had happened the day before.

"The building will be closing in four minutes," Tara said, looking at her wrist.

Jack nodded. If they could duck the guards just a little while longer, they could spend the night there and slip out in the morning. They'd wait to exit a little while after opening, so that it wouldn't be obvious they'd been there all night. The hardest thing would be getting past the checkpoint and onto the tramway without arousing suspicion. Then it was just a matter of delivering the information to Team 9 before it was too late.   –started by: Sara Zarr.

"Two minutes." Tara whispered in Jack's ear.

Jack leaned his head backward on a disorganized shelf of books; just as a security gaurd passed in front of their hiding spot. Tara squeaked out of suprise; are they looking for us? Jack glared at her.

"Be quiet, we can't afford anymore mistakes... not after Tiffany." His voice was as cold as midwinter ice.

Tara looked down mournfully, remembering Tiffany. Tiffany was a spunky, reckless red headed girl who didn't care what anyone thought. She liked to wear bright colors, and usually stood out in a crowd. She was a brilliant spy too! The best of the best; until last night's skirmish. They had been sneaking around an old warehouse from around 2010, when some goverment agents captured them. Tara and Jack had barely gotten away, but Tiffany was left behind.

"We shouldn't have left her." She muttered guiltily.

Jack touched her hand lightly to show he understood what she was going through.

"We had to, the information needed to be passed on."

A gaurd passed again, but he was observant.

"It's them!" He shouted, an alarm buzzed, people swarmed.

Jack and Tara were trapped!   –submitted by: Cassandra

Thinking quickly, Jack reached behind him, discreetly feeling the windowsill as the guards flooded between the aisles. All his hopes were riding on the assumption that the ancient archive building was old enough to have windows with latches.

"Jack, what do we do?" Tara whispered nervously, panic giving her voice a sharp edge.

"Well, now, look at what the cat drug in!" the first security guard sneered. "Two little Nebula spies, hiding in some dusty old books. Too bad for you--you should have never tried to mess with professionals."

A cold, sharp object brushed against Jack's skin, and he wrapped his fingers around it, tugging at the rusted lever in desperation.

"What? Nothing to say?" another guard laughed. "You'll have plenty to say when the chief gets through with ya!"

The window budged! Frantically, Jack shoved backwards into the window, simultaneously grabbing Tara to shove her through the opening.

"Go, Tara, go!"   –submitted by: Jenalyn

Tara jumped up from the hard landing. She had several scrapes on her knees and hands, but she didn't care. She was faintly aware of Jack at her side. She started running as fast as she could, fear driving her to race faster than she ever had before. Jack raced beside her. Neither knew where they were going, they just knew that they needed to run. Looking over his shoulder, Jack saw five guards chasing them, and unfortunately gaining on them quickly. What he didn't see was the rock in front of his feet. Tara glanced back just in time to see him trip. Pain filled Jack and terror as he realized he would be caught. A shriek escaped Tara's lips as she saw him fall to the ground. She turned, knowing no matter what happened to Jack, she had to continue on. Jack felt firm hands grip his wrists and ankles. Tears fell from his eyes. This could be the last time he would ever see Tara again.
"We got the boy. Should we chase the girl still?" The words seemed to come from so far away from Tara.
"Yes, idiots! Follow her!" Tara's pace quickened again. She could no longer see where she was running, for tears were streaming from her eyes. She heard the pounding footstep drawing closer and closer. Her pace was slowing, and she knew it. She was too tired to out run them any longer. Her body thudded to the ground, as firm hands now gripped her wrists and ankles. Despair filled her as the world went dark.
  –submitted by: Brittany

Tara woke up with a start. She was in a car, surrounded by guards. She was bound and gagged. None of the guards seemed to notice she was awake.

The car started to slow. Tara knew she was running out of time to escape. The car stopped, and Tara pretended to be asleep. The guards started getting out of the car. Then she heard guns being fired. She heard a familiar voice saying, How many times am I going to have to get you out of trouble?
Her bindings were removed. She looked at her rescuers, a team of Nebula operatives, led by James.

Bout time you showed up. Have you rescued Jack yet?

No, we were hoping he was with you. By the way, good job hiding that beacon from them, usually they find an emergency signal instantly.

Where would they be taking Jack?

Where else, they're taking him to the White House.

Great, Tara thought. She knew that the White House use to be where the president lived. However, when the government changed from a democracy, it had become the government's maximum-security prison.

This will be a bit of a challenge, she said.

Let's get started, he said.
  –submitted by: Sam

"We are going to have to go back to that warehouse and rescue Tiffany, since she will be the one to know how to break into the white house" Tara told the Nebula Operatives.
They looked at each other and nodded. "Good idea, she has a lot of skills that we need at this particular time." The Nebula operatives went back to their car and grabbed the gear they needed to rescue Tiffany.
"You're going to have to come with us Tara, since you know where they're holding her." Only a nod came from Tara because she was hoping that she didn't have to re-enter that warehouse, but she knew it was for a good cause. "Good let's go then!" said the James as they headed for the grove of trees that wrapped around the warehouse. Tara followed after them, into the dark refuge of the trees. As they got closer to the warehouse, they could see it was surrounded with guards.
"She is in that side of the warehouse," pointed Tara toward a red door. They headed quietly toward a crate and hid behind it. They took a look at their surroundings. "From here on out we have to use hand signals otherwise they will hear us," whispered one of the Nebula Operatives. They quietly headed for another set of crates to hide behind, but before they got there, a loud trilling sound came from Tara's pocket.
"Oh no! I left my cell phone on," whispered Tara to James. Suddenly a blinding light flashed onto them, and guards surrounded them.

  –submitted by: Tiffany

"Quick! behind the crates!" James yelled. As one Tara and james leaped for the crates and rolled behind them.
"We have you surrounded. Come out with your hands up or we will shoot." the nearest gaurd called out.
"Okay," James whispered "on the count of three shove the crates away from the wall. they should be close enough that they will be harmed by the crates, if not, it will distract them long enough for me to shoot some of them."
Tara slowly nodded in reply.
"1...2..." James paused, "3!!!"
Tara and James shoved the crates as hard as they could. The crates flew away from the wall smashing into the gaurds.
Tara, James, and all the other Nebula operatives shot towards the red door. They ran in and slammed the door locking it shut.
Quickly they gathered their surroundings. Looking around quickly they noticed that no gaurds had been stationed inside the building.
A groaning was coming from a corner behind more crates. Tara ran over to the the groaning blanket of rags. She whipped the material off and threw it behind her. There in front of her was a bruised and bleeding Tiffany.
"You're all right." Tara breathed.
Everyone rushed over to help Tiffany out and give her a hug.
All of a sudden a sound of splintering wood sounded from behind them.   –submitted by: Caitlin

The Nebula Operatives thought that they were trapped for sure. Tara worried about Jack. What if she never saw him again? She'd never be able to apologize for him getting trapped. She felt like that was all her fault.
"Tara," commanded James," get Tiffany behind those crates. Now!"
Tara and another Nebula Operative, Elliot, dragged Tiffany over to a corner, behind some wooden crates. They huddled down, preparing for the guards to break through the door.
Suddenly, Tara saw a strange whole in the wall with rusty strips of metal bolted over it.
"What's that?" she asked Elliot.
"It looks like an airvent. Back before 2050 those were used to cool or heat a room. That one probably travels through out the whole warehouse."
Tara nearly screamed with excitement.
"Quick, Elliot. Help me break it open. I have an idea."   –submitted by: Sydney

"What's your idea?" Elliot asked impatiently."Oh hold on you will find out in a minute" Tara said. Finally it popped off. They had been working on getting the airvent cover off for what seemed like forever."Help me carry this" Tara said. "I don't think we should go out there. James said to hide behind this crates." Elliot said sounding worried."No, he said to take Tiffany behind the crates not us. We can go where ever we want," Tara told him. "I'm not sure about this Tara" Elliot said, but grabbed the other side of the airvent. They ran out there, and charged at the guards they thought were there, but they ran into a wall."Where did they go?" Tara asked. "I guess they did not follow us" Elliot said sounding happy, but when they turned around they were in for a surprise.   –submitted by: kelsi

The guards were hiding right around the corner. They turned and ran back into the room. Tiffany tried to get up, but couldn't. "Stay down," Tara said," They haven't seen you yet." That's when another idea popped into her head.
"Tiff, do you think you could army crawl?"
"Yeah, I think so," Tiffany replied.
"Then get in the airvent, and find your way out. If the guards see you they won't let you live."
Elliot and Tara quickly helped her into the airvent. Tiffany looked back one last time before heading into the maze of the air passages.   –submitted by: Sydney

Tiffany winced as she scraper her hip on the corner of the vent as she squirmed hatily inside. 'Oh well,' she thought. 'If I get out of this alive that will be the least of my problems. She heard Tara climb into the airvent behind her and she tried to quicken her armycral pace so that her friends could reach safety as soon as possible. Behind Tara she could hear Elliot yelling at her to move faster. Tiffany hurrued faster and, before she realized what was happening, she was falling down a long metal chute with Tara and Elliot right behind her.
Somewhere during their fall, they lost consciousness.   –submitted by: morgan

When Tara woke up, She couldnt see anything it was pitch black. She started feeling her way around. She felt a something on the wall. It was a light switch, something they used to use in about 2040. She tried to turn it on, it had no use, it no longer worked. She suddenly heard something from where she woke up, Elliot and Tiffany were awake. Tara went over there, Tiffany was screaming, her leg had been broken from the fall. Tara & Elliot had landed just right from the fall, they only had a few scrapes and cuts. Tara and Elliot tried to pick Tiffany up to carry her, When suddenly they heard something or someone falling down from the shute they had fell down.   –submitted by: Savannah

As the noise of the falling thing drew nearer, it became clear from the clanging that it was some metal object. Tara, Elliot, and Tiffany all froze and fixed their eyes on the vent hole. The clanging object ricocheted down the chute, coming closer and closer, and it presently shot out of the hole in the ceiling, a peculiar, irregular metal sphere. It bounced twice, not very high, and rolled. When it came to a rest, Tara whispered, "What is it?"
Four spidery legs unfolded from the metal thing on the ground, and a red orb lit up above each leg. Tiffany's face paled, "It's a PursuBot. When you and Jack lost me, I almost escaped, but the government Guards used one of these to track me down. It must be a new project, or else very well guarded. The Nebula Intelligences have found nothing about them."
The little robot rotated and stretched its legs. Its computer parts set up a little hum and whistle, then suddenly it whirled on the three huddling Nebula Spies, its whistle turned to a scream.
  –submitted by: David

Lights began to flood the room that occupied the spies. The spies used it to their advantage as it showed what the room really was. With no thought at all, Tara and Elliot with Tiffany on his back rushed for what seemed to be a door. Tara swung the door open and Elliot rushed in. The PursuBot was left standing there waiting for the guards to wriggle through the vents. Tara closed the door as she rushed after Elliot and Tiffany. When she finally caught up, Elliot was tending to Tiffany who was still in unable to walk. "I can't carry her for long." whispered Elliot. Tiffany who was lying on the floor unconsious, didn't even stir. "I know, lets hope that the guards are slow enough to find the exit we came through. The eletrical rooms often have many exits," said Tara between breaths. She checked her WristPod. "Nothing, I'm not getting anything. You?
Jack checked his WristPod too. "No. It must mean were under something. A tunnel perhaps?"
"You may be right, lets keep moving. We may not be that lucky." said Tara as she started to walk foward.
"Hey! At least help me carry Tiffany! She isnt exactly a sack of Cotton Candy you know! And plus, we need to stay together!" Elliot yelled.
"Fine," Tara walked back. "We can move faster this way."
With the little lights from their WristPods they pushed foward further into the dark never ending room. They took a break walking after every twenty minutes so they could rest. So far, they heard no sounds of pursuit only the sound of dripping water coming from a distance.
"Hey, wouldn't they track us with Tiffany on our hands?" said Elliot shuffling his hands to tighten his grip.
"If our WristPods have no signal, so should their PursuBots," Tara said. She worried about Jack and the others, wondering if they were saved by another operation team.
Tara suddenly noticed that the room was starting to look brighter, and she could see faint glimmers of light reflecting on the little puddles. They must be in an abandoned tunnel.   –submitted by: Patrick

"Hey Elliot, look up ahead." Elliot's eyes roamed over the tunnel, he noticed that there was sjuddenly much more light to see with.
"Do you think....?" Tara let her sentence trail off, not daring to voice her hopes aloud.
"I'm not sure. Maybe." Tara couldn't help but hope. She could just imagine this being the way out. They'd been through so much....In her mind fantasies played over and over in which they got out, no more obstacles, no more crawling through tiny tunnels and falling down long shutes.
"If we ever get out of here alive I am so resigning." Elliot muttered. Tara laughed despite herself. It was like he had read her mind.   –submitted by: morgan

***
Jack woke with a start.
Everything was pitch-black, and at first Jack thought he was dead, until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He tried to sit up but found his hands and feet bound. He fell back down, his mucsles screaming in pain at the effort of sitting up.
"Ungh!!" He cried in pain. He lay his head back and breathed in deeply.
He looked around at his surroundings. He was in a large room that looked like a metal box. The floor and the walls were steel, but it looked flimsy as if it had been carelessly set to overlap the original floors and walls. But Jack could see, in some places along the floor and walls where the steel had been scuffed away, and ancient wallpaper came through. And one small barred window barely let in enough light to faintly see these things.
"There has to be some way out!" Jack thought.
Then another thought struck him. What if Tara got caught?!! Then the urgent message would never make it!! And they only had so much time before all hope of remaining individuals was gone!   –submitted by: Rene

Jack struggled uselessly against his bonds. They didn't even move half a centimeter. He took a rest; he didn't know how long he had been here, what the prime uses of this strange steel room was, or where he was for that matter.
Jack was deep in thought when an old faded light bulb sparked to life above him. A clang sounded from the only door as a lock was slid back. In turn, its hinges groaned in protest as five men entered. Jack tried to make it to a sitting position, and failed horribly.
The man in the front gave out a curt, cruel laugh that made Jack flinch; he had heard that terrible laugh before.
"Well now, if it isn't the famous spy, Jack. How the heck are you? Did my boys treat you well enough?" The sarcasm in his voice was thick.
Jack's mouth ran dry it was his old friend and recent enemy. "Professor Walldone, you know the answers to all of those, so now answer mine. Where am I?"
Silence filled the room as Jack waited. Then it came.
"The Whitehouse my dear lad." Jack couldn't muster any words. "But that's not why we're here."   –submitted by: Brittney

Jack's face paled in fear. The white house meant only certain death to a spy like him. His breath caught as the man moved towards him. "Oh, don't worry Jack, we aren't going to kill you.... yet. You just have to answer a few questions and who knows, maybe you'll get out of here alive." He said, playing with Jack.
"You know I can't do that." Jack replied nervously, but then thinking of Tara and the others, his determination grew. "I would never say anything to lead you to the Nebula. I refuse to help you even if it means I will die." He put on a brave face as the professor looked down at him in shock.
"You want to be a problem for us, Jack? You do understand we have ways of making you talk." Jack's determination began to crumble, but slowly he was trying to keep it from falling all the way.
"I will never talk." He promised. The professor snapped his fingers and called two of the men forward.
"Take him down to the confessional." He commanded as the men grabbed Jack and lifted him up easily. Jack struggled as much as he could but his muscles and bones ached too much for him to do anything more than yell. They carried him down a long white hallway to a door that was thick enough to not allow any sound to go through it. They opened the door and Jack was able to glance inside. His next scream caught in his throat as he looked inside.   –submitted by: O'Neal

There lied his brother Joshua in a glass container. Whether Joshua was dead or not, he did not know. Joshua's face seemed to be made of wax and his skin was pale and chalky. His chest did not rise and fall like it should. Pale blue eyes stared into space empty and cloudy. What had been done to him? Wires attached to his skin at every joint. No sign of conciousness.

"What have you done?!?" Jack yelled at Walldone.

Jack sped forward through the door shaking off the henchmen with violent strain against their force. He lept onto a glass table and sprinted to the wall which Joshua's case was latched onto.

"I don't think you'll be wanting to do that," Walldone said as if speaking to a child.

Jack hesitated as he was about to break the case open with a chair sitting near by. Jack turned to look at Walldone, his eyebrows firmly pressed together. His nostrils flared with anger. No words emitted from his mouth, only a burning question in eyes.

"Yes, he's still alive."

Jack knew it. He never believed what the government said, at least not down in his heart. The government lied to his family years ago about the tragic death of Joshua Coal; he had supposedly drowned in the Last Sea and had never been recovered. Jack lowered the chair slowly, but not letting go.

  –submitted by: Caitlynn

He should have known that they would not have let his brother live after what Joshua had seen.
"If he is alive why isn't he breathing right?" Jake demanded to know.
"That is a suspended animation chamber. We have complete control over your brother while he is in there," Walldone added, "I can make him feel pain, die, or even make him acquire a strange ilness."
"How can you people sleep at night. Your all monsters," Jake spit out, "What will happen to him if I brake the glass right now?" Jake raised the chair again to make his point.
*******

"Elliot! It's a transportation module, these were discontinued in the 2020's," Tara was practically crying in relief, "It's a miracle that it's still funtional."
"That's all great but how does it work?" Elliot impatiently asked. "It would be nice to know before that Pursubot catches up with us."
  –submitted by: Savannah

Before the last word came out of his mouth Tara had started the transportation module.Elliot looked at her in amazment"Wow how did you do that?" Elliot asked."Well we learned it in school,you probably dont remember because you never sat still in history class"Tara replied."All a board"Tara said as she climbed on.Elliot picked up Tiffany and followed.Tara pushed some buttons and they were off,but then the whole thing shut down.What happened"Elliot asked."I dont know "Tara replied   –submitted by: kelsi

before the words left her mouth, the module's cockpit was bathed in light. Through the quartz pane, Tara could see the outlines of guards cutting through the beam's intense gaze. They were surrounded.
"Oh gosh Tara what are we going to do!" Elliot practically screamed. He furiously pounded the control display, desperate for an sign of response
"Come out with your hands where I can see them, and no funny moves", an authoritative voice demanded from the outside.
Elliot reached for access latch but before he could pull the door open, a hand grasped his leg. It was Tiffany.
"Don't open that door or we're all done for. Check the battery."
"Oh of course!" Tara slapped her head. Why hadn't she thought of that before? She reached under the control panel and yanked open the utility hatch. One look at the two batteries made it all clear. "No wonder, those two things are prehistoric! Lead-acid units! for crying out loud, I thought we incinerated all those in twenty fifteen!" what was left of the case was corroded down with acid. It was a miracle the batteries had gotten them this far at all
An explosion rocked the module back and forth. "Last Chance or we are breaking in!" the same voice shouted.
Elliot ripped off his wrist pod and feverishly took off the back cover. "quick! wire my battery to the frame!"
"Do think that tiny thing will even work?"
conversation was cut short by another explosion.
Tara snatched the wristpod contacts and plunged them into the leaking battery leads. Instantly the module lights came back on line and everyone was smashed to the back wall as the vehicle hurtled off, bashing what sounded like a police hover trike out of the way. Quartz pieces rained down on them and air came rushing in. Tara just stared in amazement.
" wrist pods are powered by cold fusion batteries" said Elliot weakly. "much stronger than lead acid." The bad news is they weren't made to handle anything near as big as this so the battery will overheat and explode any minute-
There was a loud bang and small globs of acid splattered the walls
-now", he finished. With a bang and a crunch, the module tipped and spiraled over and over again before crashing into something very big and heavy.
Elliot stumbled out of the wreck, vomited, then tried to focus on all the men running around. It seemed he was in a lobby.
"Well well well, if it isn't a couple a nebula party crashers." He heard. Welcome, my stowaways, to the White House."   –submitted by: Samuel

Walldone. Tara cried in relief as she saw Jack. But, what was he doing? He was holding a chair over a glass box ..... "Joshua?" she whispered in disbelief. "Joshua! Joshua! Oh no! What happened? Jack, you're all right, thank Heavens you are! But Joshua? What happened? I thought ....how is ...... how long ....You!" she shrieked as her eyes found Walldone. "How could you do this?!" Her temper started to rage, "You monster! We trusted you, we thought you were our friend!" She started toward Walldone, hate clouding her thoughts. She passed Jack and grabbed the chair and lifted it above her head. "Tara, don't do it!" but Tara kept on going. Finally she brought down the chair and it split the cement on the ground. Walldone got a wicked smile and started to cackle. "Because of what I told you, even after what I did, you still can't bring yourself to harm me." He thrust his head back and cackled some more. Tara's anger took over one more time as she wrenched free the chair and smacked it into his leg with a crunch. She then walked over to stand by Jack , Elliet, Tiffany, and Joshua to watch Walldone be dragged away. Jack then turned to Tara and asked quite loudly "What did he say to you?!"   –submitted by: Angela

"Years ago, about the same time Joshua "died", Walldone was my family's friend! He let my parents die! But now I am starting to think that was a lie. And that whole "I did all I could to save them" thing is a lie as well! You were their friend. I hate you Gerrick! I hope you can hear me Gerrick! I know now!" she yelled towards the door Walldone had been dragged out of. Hot tears started to trickle down her face. She swiped them away with her sleeve. She lowered her head a little to let her blonde bangs cover her eyes.
"Tara," Jack turned and said gently. "It will be okay. I know you think I am crazy for saying that, but it will. We will figure out the truth and deal out justice. I am sorry." Tara looked into Jack's eyes. She tucked her bangs behind her ears. She sniffed holding back the tears now.
"But, there's more that he told me." she said with worry seeping from her eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed.
"What?" Elliot said walking over to them after sitting Tiffany down on a chair in the corner for support.
"I will tell you later," Tara whispered into Jack's ear.
"We need to stop Walldone," Jack said eyeing the gaurds in the room. The place was covered with maximum security. The best available to the known world. Elliot looked confused for a second, but then seemed to accept what Jack said.
"Okay. We can do this. But how is the question." Elliot said taking in the room more.
"There," Tara simply said pointing at Joshua in his case. "That's how." A grin crossed her face, all the tears and redness now gone.   –submitted by: Caitlynn

"What do you propose we do?" Jack asked suspiciously. He didn't like the look in Tara's eyes.
"Well first we smash this case and get your brother out of there," Tara simply stated as she picked up the chair and was in the process of swinging it to smash the glass.
"Noo!!!!" Jack grabbed the chair and yanked it out of Tara's hands, "You can't do that!"
Tara turned to jack and demanded, "Why not?"
"You'll end up killing him, that's why," Jack practically yelled back.
"And who told you that? Walldone?" She paused for a reply but Jack didn't answer, his mind was reeling. This was far too much to take in. What was happening?
Tara continued, "Well I have news for you Jack. This machine only keeps people in a sleep-like state. It doesn't kill them or heal them. It just keeps them out cold indefinitely."
"Walldone lied?!" Jack questioned as realization dawned on his mind. "Then I can do it." Jack took up the old battered chair once more, and without any hesitation, swung with all his might. A ticking filled the air the glass shattered and the liquid gushed out across the floor.   –submitted by: Brittney

Josh tumbled out and landed limply on the ground. Jack and Tara worriedly moved in as he let out a moan. Jack crouched down and lifted up Josh's head, making sure his head wasn't resting on any of the sharp pieces of glass that now covered the floor. Tara wiped the hair out of Josh's face and after a few minutes of breathless waiting, Josh opened his eyes.
"Wh.... Where am I?" He muttered as his eyes slowly viewed his surroundings. When his eyes fell on the beat up members of the Nebula, they shot open with shock. "Tara? Jack? What happened to you?"
"A lot... Too much for us to exlpain in one sitting." Tara told him with relief and exhaustion filling her voice. Josh nodded as he tried to get up. With shaky arms, he managed to push himself into a sitting position and then with Jack's help, he was able to stand up. He looked up at Josh in surprise. Jack was now taller than him by a good three inches.
"How long have I been here? How long have I been in that?" He asked as he looked at Jack's and Tara's older faces in confusion.
"Two years." Jack said simply. Josh shook his head grimly.
"Walldone owes me big time. I saved his life and what I get in return is two years of my life taken away from me."
"You saved his life!?!?!" Tara's voice reached an unusually high note as she said this. Josh turned to her and looked down in regret.
"Yes. I saved his life."
"Tell me how!" Tara demanded.
"Fine."   –submitted by: O'Neal

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