When the implausible happens don’t let yourself be run over by it, embrace it and get back up on your feet again.

“Your alive,” I asked shocked still unable to wrap my mind around that Jocelyn was here.

“Yup, no real thanks to you,” she said and I felt as if she slapped my cheek. She pushed past me and I felt dizzy.

“This can’t be happening,” I said holding my head. My eyelids fell heavy and I felt dizzy. The ground of shattered glass seemed to get closer before an arm grabbed my waist and stopped my fall.

“Mads,” was the last thing I heard before I passed out. When I woke up I was in my bed and heard voices downstairs.

“It’s just a simple kiss, why are you fighting me?” I heard her ask.

“I don’t like you,” Jasper said and I tried to not let it bother me that Jocelyn was trying to kiss Jasper even though the thought of it made my heart hurt. I walked downstairs and stared at Jocelyn who looked annoyed.

“How are you here?” I asked shocked this wasn’t a dream.

“Well after you left me, even when I called for you, they had advanced on me and were going to torture me but I was able to escape. I checked all the other houses after I disguised myself as a pilot attendant and got to the U.S. but you guys weren’t there so I came here and viola! Here you are.” She said though I wasn’t sure if it was me but I felt like she was being sarcastic.

“I’m so sorry for leaving you, I tried to go back but I was shot,” I said feeling the guilt coming back head strong.

“Yeah, whatever,” she replied rolling her eyes and I felt numb. I knew it was my fault; she doesn’t forgive me for leaving her. Jasper grabbed my hand but I barely felt it, he took me upstairs and tears began streaming down my cheeks.

“I knew it was my fault,” I whispered and he lifted my chin up.

“No it’s not, she’s just had a rough week,” he said and I looked away from his eyes. His words just went through one ear and out the other.

“I need to be alone right now,” I said swallowing hard as he looked sad but nodded and left. I walked to her room and sat down on the piano stool but it felt like I was an intruder. My hands hovered above the keys but couldn’t move.

“Get out of my room, you don’t get to come in here, you don’t have the right,” Jocelyn snarled opening the entrance door. She walked over to me and snatched the key off the bench and practically pushed me out her room. I sank to my knees as she slammed the door and locked it.

I walked to my bathroom and closed the door I looked at my reflection and the girl looking back at me looked scared. She didn’t look anything like that confident girl I once knew, she was pale and her eyes were big and filled with so much pain I had to turn away. I grabbed the towels on the hooks and covered the mirror.

“Madison?” Jasper asked knocking on the door but I didn’t reply. I held Jocelyn’s dog tags and cried silently.

“Madison I can hear you crying, open the door,” he yelled his voice leaking with concern and I never responded to him even after he pounded on the door. After a while the door stopped rattling and I closed my eyes.

Drip, drip, drip. It was the sound that let me know I was alone. As this life continues I will be nothing more than a body on this planet. Inside I was screaming and the urge to hurt myself, to punish myself, had never felt stronger. I cried hating the feeling and the door crashed down, for a second I was glad I wasn’t close to the door but afterwards I wished I was.

Jasper’s face was red; he walked over to me and scooped me up. He held me and I felt like my heart was shattering as realization hit me. I liked Jasper, but there was no way I could be with him because I didn’t deserve it.

I saw Jocelyn standing behind the door frowning a little but when our eyes met her face turned cold and she walked away. The next day I was basically a zombie at school, Jocelyn stayed at the house since she wasn’t registered for our school and Jasper kept trying to snap me out of my depressed state.

We were in our fourth block and he asked to use the bathroom and left. I closed my eyes and my eyes flew open when the fire alarm rang. The fire alarm blared in my ears trying to make them fall off my head. I stood up and followed the line that was leading out the door; people were pushing each other out of the way. I felt someone pull me and led me out of the crowd and into the parking lot. I looked at my savior and it was none other than Jasper.

“Come on,” he said leading me to his car as we quickly got in and left school while everyone was distracted. The clouds were getting dark and I could faintly hear the sound of thunder. We reached the house in ten minutes breaking a few laws here and there.

We got inside the house and Jocelyn jumped at the sudden noise and looked at us curiously. Jasper led me upstairs and led me to his dark blue room and pushed me on the bed while slamming the door.

“What the heck Jasper?” I yelled. The door busted open and Jocelyn came in she looked at me once before, turning to Jasper and punching him in the jaw.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to her?” she yelled and went to punch him again but he caught her arm and twisted around her back making her shout in pain. He held her still and she was one small pull away from being broken.

“Madison, try to remember what happened after everything had went white,” he demanded and I looked at him confused. I pulled out Jocelyn’s dog tags and held it tight in my hand and thought hard.

                                                                *                             *                             *

Madison walked past me and stood next to the man and I looked at her shocked. She looked at me guilty and I felt betrayed.

“Your friend knows when she’s out matched do you? Come join us and you will have everything you’ve ever wanted,” he said and I glared at them. How could she do this to us? I had to think of something quickly or else I was going to die. I thought of a quick plan and knew it was going to be like suicide if it didn’t work.

“Your right,” I said sighing and letting my eyes get glazy. He smiled and held out his hand towards me and I walked slowly to him slightly dragging my feet.  I stopped right in front of him and jumped to the guard next to him and used him as a human shield as gun shots ran in the room. I grabbed his gun and shot the guards on their legs and arms but nowhere that could kill them.

“Jocelyn let’s go!” I yelled and she blocked my way out. I looked at her shocked and heard Ali al-bin Side chuckle and I turned around.

“Good girl, here,” he said walking up to her and handing her a gun. She took it and he waved his hand at me.

“Kill her and that will prove your loyalty to me,” he said and she looked at me and her eyes were void of all emotion.

“Yes sir, but I have on request,” she spoke hard and I knew she was gone.

“Let me kill her alone, at least outside these doors,” she said and he nodded. She came up to me and grabbed my arms as I tried to pull away from her, her grip tightened. She pushed me on the floor outside of the doors and shot me in the shoulder making me scream in pain. She shot me two more times as I turned away from her and I screamed again before everything was going black. She walked up to me and leaned to my ear.

“Madison, don’t leave me, help me. Please, I’m under his control, help Mads,” she whispered in my ear and because my head was pounding it sounded like she was screaming at me. She turned around and walked back into the room slamming the door shut. I crawled to the main hall dragging a pool of blood with me and heard my name being called and realized the rest of my team had found me.

*                             *                             *

My eyes grew wide as I stared at Jocelyn. I stood up and knew what had to be done, Melinda had said she had only tired it once and it had worked so I pray this works now. I took off Jocelyn’s dog tags and held the middle one out and broke the top unclipping it from the necklace and opening the vile inside. I walked up to her and she began to struggle furiously.

I used my her pressure points to make her stop moving and grabbed her jaw pressing another pressure point making her unable to use her mouth. I poured the serum that fit inside the little dog tag into her mouth and she swallowed it with not much of a choice. Her eyes grew wide and she began screaming as it helped get rid of the other drugs in her system faster than any other drug could.

“What did you remember?” Jasper asked staring at me confused.

“She was the one who shot me,” I said and his jaw dropped.

“Then what about your dreams about her calling for your help?”

“She was under a drug that made her basically like a puppet to the man we were supposed to kill. Before she was fully under control of the drug she was able to fight it off enough to miss my heart three times. She couldn’t let me die because of the powerful connection we had, we were like sisters, we still are,” I said and stared at Jocelyn as her face began turning red and she began sweating a lot.

“What did you do to her?”

“One of the reasons we have dog tags is to hold this drug that can be a way to get rid of every other drug in the body. It’s disguised as a dog tag and she would’ve used it but she didn’t have it,” I said trying to figure out why.

“I had put it in your pocket while we were tied up,” Jocelyn said sitting up grabbing her head.

“We found it in your pocket when we were trying to clean your wounds and get out the bullets,” Onyx said behind me making me and Jasper jump.

“Jocelyn!” All the girls screamed causing her to groan on pain. They all ran up to her and hugged her laughing.

 “Come on girls, let’s let her rest, she’s probably feeling like she has a terrible hangover right now,” Melinda said walking in the room. Jasper and I helped her up and led her to her bed. Jasper left and Melinda nodded at me, her eyes were bright and happy, they also looked a little wet but that’s not something she would ever admit. I turned around to leave but she grabbed my hand.

“Hey, thank you for saving me; I’m sorry for all the things I’ve said to you. I kept trying to fight it but it was like another person was in my body and all I could do was watch,” she said while a tear fell down her cheek. I wiped it away and smiled at her feeling like my heart was healed and whole again.

“It’s okay, thanks for not killing me,” I joked and she smiled and groaned grabbing her head in pain. I turned and left the room letting her sleep. I didn’t get very far beyond the door before I was pulled against the wall.

“You okay?” he asked and my heart began beating erratically.

“Yes,” I said before grabbing kissing him and pulling back blushing furiously.

“Thank you for helping me remember, saving her, and helping me get over the guilt of Project 9,” I said and he grabbed my cheek and pulled me in for another kiss. I heard whistling and we pulled apart and I’m sure I was as red as a tomato as all my friends and family were grinning at us.

“Can you please not make out next outside my room, it’s kind of disturbing,” Jocelyn said laughing and we all joined in. I finally felt whole and fully complete for the first time ever and felt like I belonged. Jasper grabbed my hand and we grinned at each other, this was only the beginning.

Life is too short to wake up in the mornings with regrets. So love the ones who treat you right, forget the ones who don’t. Remember that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance take it, if it changes your life, then let it. No one said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

- Jessie Maragoudakis