When the Clock Strikes Midnight

8:15 p.m

A/N: This is kind of a shorter chapter. But still tear inducing. I cried writing the entire first part of this chapter. Anyways, thanks for reading. This is the last day of my school break. I plan to try and write more on the weekends, and sometimes during the school nights if I can.  But here you guys go. 

"Peach? Peach? Peach, please wake up. I'm scared." I sit up, wincing as I rub the sleep out of my eyes. I see Elizabeth, who was sitting by my feet, and is crying softly. I'm instantly alert, opening my arms as she crawls into them.

"Honey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" She continues to cry for a few seconds before sniffling softly, pulling away from me and wiping her eyes.

"Where did you guys go? And what did they do to you? And why are the three of them bleeding?" My eyes instantly look past her, scanning the floor for the bodies. I see them and tears come to my eyes. I turn my attention back to Elizabeth though, needing to keep her from seeing their bodies until Veronica wakes up.

"Well, they took us to play the next game. But that doesn't matter honey. And those guys are just bleeding because they got hurt. But they aren't going to be playing anymore. They are going to be taken away by the bad men."

"What do you mean they are going to be taken away? Why would they let them leave but not the rest of you?" I take a deep breath, contemplating if I should tell her the truth. I decide to, knowing that she will find out eventually.

"Well honey, the truth is that some of the really bad men shot them. And now they aren't with us anymore. They are in heaven." Elizabeth's eyes widen and she turns to look at them but I don't let her, instead grabbing her face gently and keeping her looking at me.

"They went to heaven? Those guys killed them?" I nod, a tear sliding down my face. She starts crying, burying her head in my shoulder. I rub her back gently, looking over at those who were lost. They are all laying side by side, with their arms crossed over their chests and their eyes wide open. I desperately want to be able to go over there but I can't, needing to keep Elizabeth safe from their blank stares. I look around the room, trying to see if anyone else is awake. I look over at Jackson, who is still asleep. Theo and Veronica are both still asleep, laying right next to one another. Jack and Anthony are both still asleep as well, their bodies mere inches from one another. My eyes rest on Amy, who is awake. She is staring at the boys, tears in her eyes. I take the opportunity to get up, carrying Elizabeth over to her. I put a hand on Elizabeth's head so that she can't look up and see them. Amy sees me and stands up, already reaching out to grab Elizabeth. I gently hand her over and Elizabeth doesn't hesitate in wrapping her arms around Amy, burying her head into her shoulder instead of mine. Amy looks into my eyes as a tear rolls down her face. I reach out and gently wipe it away, mine starting to fall as well. Amy moves over to where I was on the couch while I move over to the boys. I kneel down beside them, trying my best not to throw up. I turn my attention to Kevin, who was the first to die. I reach out and move his hair gently out of his face, knowing that he always hated having it anywhere near his eyes. I gently take off his glasses even though they are already broken and I hook them to his shirt. I lean down and press a gingerly kiss to his forehead, right next to where the bullet entered his head. I then move and close his eyelids, my hands shaking as I do so. I then turn my attention to Dave. I look around the room, my eyes landing on Hailey. She is still asleep, her face looking more relaxed than it has in a while. I turn my attention back to Dave. His hair is laid out around him, almost like it was when he would fall asleep with Hailey laying on his chest. His eyes are still a vibrant green but they look blank. I lean down and plant a kiss on his forehead, a tear falling onto his cheek. I quickly wipe it away, moving to close his eyes.

"Thank you for loving Hailey. You were the best thing that ever happened to her. She loves you so much. And she always will." His eyes close and I sniffle, moving over to Aaron. I can hear some groans and shuffling around the room but I ignore them, keeping my attention pinned on Aaron. More tears start to flow down my face as I reach out to fix his outfit. His shirt is all scrunched up and I pull it down, smoothing it out gently. He always hated when his clothes didn't look perfect. I look down at his shoes and start crying harder. Some blood splattered on his white shoes, staining parts of them red. I reach down and start to wipe some of the blood off, knowing how much he loved these shoes. I then move up and poof out his hair a little bit, wanting to make him look a bit more normal. I reach down and kiss his forehead, closing his eyes at the same time.