Lost Protecting Slovenia: The Joke's On You

09, A Touch Of Your Love

Bojan slowly woke up. He looked around. He was in a sparsely lit room. He noticed Jan and Kris to his left. He saw Nace to his right, but he couldn't find Jure.

"Jure?!?! Where is Jure???" Bojan asked, causing the others to wake up.

"Didn't you hear? He betrayed us! He told Sherman where LPS are, only to save his own skin." Nace grumbled.

"Wait... What?" Bojan askeed, gasping.

"Yeah! He's probably out there, working with Sherman and Adam! They've probably already killed off LPS..." Kris trembled.

"Now wait a damn minute! Maybe we need to consider the facts! Did you hear what Jure said at all?" Bojan asked.

"He told Sherman that they were in Amsterdam!" Jan sighed.

"Are you sure he didn't come up with a lie to save himself in the moment, and LPS in the long run?" Bojan asked.

"Oh, so you're taking Jure's side???" Nace snapped.

"I'm not taking sides. I just don't think LPS would have any reason to be in Amsterdam. Didn't Sherman's fake address lead to somewhere in Norway?" Bojan asked.

Everyone was silent.

"You're right... Jure probably made that up!" Kris gasped.

"What if Sherman finds out that Jure made it up?" Nace asked.

"That would probably mean... Sherman would kill him!" Kris exclaimed.

"Don't say that! Jure has to be okay! I can't lose him!" Bojan quivered.

"Bojan, it's no use. We're not getting out of here. Even if LPS finds us, Sherman's still going to kill us all." Jan trembled.

"Dammit! I was really looking forward to g!roup sex with Let 3!" Kris grumbled. Everyone looked at him with exasperated eyes.

"Hold on... I think I just heard something outside..... It sounded like a thump!" Bojan spoke up. Everyone directed their ears to hear footsteps coming closer to them. It was Sherman!

"Oh hello, you're awake!" Sherman chuckled.

"Where's Jure?!?!" Jan snapped

"Oh, him?... I just hate to be the bearer of bad news..." Sherman chuckled as he said the next part. "But time for your little friend... has run out!"

"N-NO! JURE CAN'T BE GONE!" Bojan cried.

"YOU MONSTER!!!!!" Nace shrieked.

"Hey... I never said you couldn't ever see him again....." Sherman cackled.

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" Kris quivered. Sherman snickered.

"I think you know very well what it's supposed to mean..."

....

It was dark in the basement. Everyone was shivering due to the temperature down there. Everyone held their breath, hoping that whoever was upstairs didn't see them.

"I think we're in the clear." Pia whispered. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. That was when the truth hit them......

"He's gone....." Filip trembled. Everyone was silent. Everyone was left in shock and disbelief.

"Oh, Geps!" Zala quivered. Everyone began to cry.

"What are going to do without him?..." Mark trembled.

"I... I don't know." Filip responded. Zala was silent. She couldn't live without Gašper... Now he's gone.

Then, there was silence. Absolute silence. No one made a sound aside from the sniffles and flinches of crying.

"I hate to break the silence like this.... But it's almost morning." Pia sighed.

"Oh... Yeah." Žiga quivered. "We should... Probably get going."

"Yeah..." Filip responded.

"I'll drive you guys to the airport if you'd like." Pia offered.

"That'd be good..." Mark swallowed the lump in his throat. Everyone then walked up the stairs. Zala decided to look in the room Gašper lay in one last time. She couldn't look at his body. It hurt her too much.

"Rest easy, Geps..." She trembled. "I love you"

...

When they arrived at the airport, they got checked in, went through security, and sat down in the lobby. No one could say a word. Gašper meant the world to all of them. They didn't want to believe that he was gone...

"I-I'm going to the bathroom." Zala trembled as she slowly walked towards the bathrooms. She entered the unisex bathroom, and began to sob. She clenched her eyes shut. She couldn't get the image out of her head. Gašper gave his life to save her. She couldn't help but think that this was all her fault.

"Oh, Geps. I failed you!" She cried out. Her mind began to drift back to when Gašper promised her that he'd still be there. Whether she could see him or not, she would still feel him.

"But... But I can't feel you." She began to cry harder. She collapsed to her knees. She couldn't feel his presence anymore. She couldn't feel his touch, warmth, love... It was almost like he never existed.

"WHY GAŠPER???? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE ME?!?!" Zala screamed out in agony in the bathroom. It was loud enough, where Žiga came into the bathrooms to see her sobbing on the floor.

"Zala.... Are you going to be okay?" Žiga asked.

"I don't know... Žiga... He loved me this whole time! I don't know if I can go on without him..." Zala trembled.

"Zala, you have to! You made Gašper a promise." Žiga responded with a tremble in his voice.

"I know.... But I can't live without him!" Zala quivered. Žiga tried to think of something to say to help Zala feel better. That's when he thought of something...

"Zala. If Gašper was here, he'd want you to continue. He'd want you to fight for Joker Out and their safety! If you won't do it for you, me, he others, or Joker Out, do it for Gašper... He loved you a lot. Show him you love him back by keeping his promise." Žiga spoke up. Zala sat silent for a bit. She didn't know what to say, but she knew Žiga was right.

"You're right. We have to do this, and we have to do it now!" Zala swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'll make him proud! I'll make everyone in Joker Out proud! I'll do it.... For Gašper."

Žiga smallest as he grabbed her hand.

"For Gašper."

....

All was blurry. Jure tried to get up off the ground, only to ache more. His ears rang louder than all the other noise around him. He knew he had to find LPS before Sherman or Adam did, but after jumping out of the window, he was getting weaker by the second.

"Help... Someone!" Jure cried. He knew that it probably wasn't the best idea to shout for help, but at this point, he was suffering.

"Please..... Somebody....." Jure croaked. He was only getting weaker and weaker. He began to recollect everything that had happened. From when he and the rest of the band chose to go to Liverpool for Eurovision. Even from their summer tours. LPS was always there for them.... Now they were being hunted by Sherman. Jure sighed as he lied his head on the grass. As he began to lose consciousness, he muttered the same phrase for what seemed like forever.

"Save LPS.... Someone, save LPS!"

Suddenly, Jure felt his weak limbs become stronger again. His vision began to come back. He could hear himself breathing now! He turned his head to see Adam!

"Wh-what? Why are you saving me?" Jure asked.

"There's no time to explain! We have to get to Austria!" Adam blurted.

"What? Why? What happened?" Jure asked.

"It's... It's Gašper Hlupič! Come on! We have to go now!"