(written by Michelle) Jess awoke to find herself, not in her bed like she had expected, but in an alleyway. Dazed and confused she sat up and took in her surroundings. Nothing looked familar and she didn't know where she was, all she could see was brick. Standing up cautiously, as to not bring on another wave of dizziness, she quickly steadied herself on her shaking legs. It took her body a moment to adjust to the change in position, but when it did, Jess realized that she no longer felt sick, or empty. In fact, she didn't feel anything at all. The pitch blackness of the alleyway seemed to envelop Jess as she stood there, deciding what to do. "Where's Brian?" she wondered aloud. How did she get from the parking lot of the restaraunt to here? "Brian, Brian, where are you?" she screamed as she slowly made her way down the tunnel toward the bright light. It was the first time Jess had noticed the bright light as it radiated from its origin and touched each of the bricks, which Jess noticed were colored.
She put her hand on the brickwall as she fixed her shoes, the bricks were wet and glistened beneath her hands. Jess didn't feel the water as she touched it, in fact, she should have been scared all alone in the alley, but she wasn't. Devoid of all emotions and senses, Jess pinched herself as hard as she could, but yet she didn't feel anything. "I'm dreaming, that's it," Jess said as she walked toward the pulsating light. Halfway down, she stopped, she thought she heard Jade's voice; "Probably coming to wake me up," Jess thought. But something was different with Jade's voice, it sounded alone, afraid, and helpless. "Jade, Jade, I can't hear you, talk louder. Jade!!" Jess screamed, running toward the light, hoping to find Jade. She stopped running when she was within arms reach of the light, she could hear Jade clearly now.
"Dear God, I know I haven't been the most faithful church-goer, but I need you now. My best friend is sick and she needs a miracle, you're the only one that can help her now. It's all my fault she's sick, I did this to her, but now I can't make it right. She's all I have in this world, she's my best friend, my sister, my confidant, my companion, my hero. I know it's too soon to take her, so why can't you just leave her here with me where she's needed? I would gladly give up my place here if it meant that Jess would live. I know I've done some pretty stupid things in my life, but this counts as the stupidest. I've learned my lesson, I'll never make this mistake again, just hear my prayers, please." Jade began to cry as she finished her prayer and headed back out of the church.
"Jade, what's going on, where am I?" Jess screamed in vain, hoping her best friend could hear her. It was then that Jess realized she wasn't dreaming, she was dying.
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Brian watched as the doctor's white lab coat swirled beneath him as he led the way to Jess's room. He inhaled deeply as they stopped in front of her door and the doctor took off the way they had just came from. The sights, sounds, and smells of the hospital brought back memories of his own hospital stay. Fighting back the urge to run, he quietly pushed open the door to Jess's room and walked in. What he saw made his stomach turn and his heart ache.
He quickly sank down into the nearest chair before he fell. He watched as the all the tubes connected to Jess ran from various machines and into her body. He saw all of the other machines dripping clear or yellow fluid into her veins. He was a qitness to the machines as they all worked together to keep her alive. He took the hand that had nothing attached to it and squeezed it with all his might to let her know that he was here. He desperately wanted her to wake up and smile her smile at him. No, he wanted to wake up and realize that this was all a nightmare.
He wanted to awake from this dream with her in his bed next to him and his arms wrapped around her tight. But his harsh reality was the beeping of the machines as they timed the dosages of the drugs that were being pumped into her to clear the toxins out of her blood. The doctor had returned after Jade had left to tell them all that they should say their last goodbyes. With no Jade insight, the guys had allowed Brian to go first. So here he was, saying good-bye to the one thing he thought would last. He stood up and brushed back the lonely strands of hair in Jess's eyes and kissed her lips sweetly. He then moved his lips so that they were next to her ear and whispered his final good-byes.
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Jade watched as the elevator dinged to open to Jess's floor. Jade raced down the hallway, trying to get to her friend's room before it was too late. Jade could feel Jess slipping away and she needed to be there, because she was the only one who could save her. While Jade was praying she had remembered what Jess had done for her when she was in this position, Jade only hoped that it would work. Jade brushed past Brian on her way into the room. Once inside, the tears sprang to her eyes as her friend lay helpless. Not wasting a moment's time, Jade moved to her friend's bedside and reached up to unclasp the necklace she wore around her neck. Jade never took the necklace off, not since Jess had given it to her a year earlier...
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