Infinity

Chapter Eight: The Final Plan

Two days passed since Jake and Rose left San Francisco. After those two days, they finally were Miami, Florida. As worried as they were about facing the Dublekas for the first time, they also were excited. They were excited for adventure and something new to happen in their life.

Soon enough, they arrived at a hotel in Miami to rest. The next day, they'd travel to the tip of Florida, to the Dublekas' secret hideout.

Jake laid in one of the two hotel beds in his and Rose's rented hotel room. He sighed as he stared at the ceiling. He felt... empty. Knowing his best friends and family were all dead left his heart hollow. And since everyone in S.T.A.M.P was dead too, he was left confused and worried about what to do.

"What do I do when I break into the Dublekas' hideout?" Jake wondered. "How do I quietly break in? What if they catch me? Do I shoot? Do I stab? Do I chuck my grappling hook at them? Why am I even doing this? What's going on?! Why am I so confused? I am the chosen one, right? If I was the chosen one, I'd know what to do." Jake turned over and stared at Rose, who was sitting on the other bed. She also was staring at the ceiling. "She's so beautiful. I can't help it. I blush every time I look at her. And she's just so... different from all the other girls I've met. She's... special. She's shy, humorous, caring, and amazing all at the same time! Maybe... maybe that's why I don't feel empty when I look at her."

"How did I even get myself into this mess?" Rose thought. "Why am I sitting here? Are these aliens real, or is Jake crazy? Oh, Jake. He's so handsome. I love his hair. And his eyes too. They're green and so full of mystery. He's different from all the others. He actually understands me, which is awesome. The past two days we've spent together didn't even feel like us getting to know each other. I feel like we've known each other our whole lives! We just had that kind of connection when we first laid eyes on each other. And... why am I doing this? Is this love? I've never been in love before. What...?"

"Jake, what's our plan when we break into the Dublekas' hideout?" Rose blurted, breaking the silence in their room. Jake sighed and stayed silent for a moment, thinking.

"I'm not sure," Jake admitted. "There are two of us and five of them. My friend, Miranda, had killed one with a single bullet, so I think we should save our pistols for when we're cornered by them. I know kickboxing so that'll be useful, and you have some pretty good tricks up your sleeve. It's honestly hard to make a plan at this point." Rose nodded and took an anxiety-filled breath.

That night was one of the the toughest nights Rose or Jake ever had. Their dreams were filled with nightmares of what could go wrong the next day. Most of the time, they'd sit in the darkness, staring at the darkness-invaded ceiling and trying to plan out what to do the next day. Nothing seemed to come to either of their minds, and they had very little sleep.

The next morning, the sun was shining. The humidity was cranking, and the birds were peacefully singing. Jake and Rose both woke up and ate breakfast at a nearby cafe. That was when a game plan shook Jake's brain.

"I think we should... split up," Jake suggested. Rose had a confused look on her face as she drank orange juice. "We take different directions to the mansion and go through different entrances. That way, if they're in different locations, it'll be easier and less time-consuming to attack them." Rose's eyebrows shot up as she nodded.

"Let's split up after breakfast," Rose whispered. "I have a strange feeling they're watching us somehow." Rose looked over at a bird, which was facing them, on top of a palm tree. It looked mechanical, as if it was a fake bird that was built. Jake stared at it too and nodded in agreement to her assumption.

"We'll pretend that we were just meeting for breakfast," Jake whispered in Rose's ear. "We'll smile, hug, wave goodbye, and leave in different directions." Rose nodded.

When breakfast was over Jake and Rose played the scenario to try and fool the mechanical bird, which was the Dublekas watching them through a webcam inside of it. Jake and Rose smiled, hugged, waved goodbye, and went different directions. The Dublekas made sure they knew which way they were both going.

Jake was starting to walk on the side of the road. He made sure to just go south until he was on the very edge of Florida. He was hoping Rose would do the same, and he trusted her to do it. He was deep in thought at that time, trying to figure out what he'd do when he arrived at the Dublekas' hideout.

Rose was in a roofed parking lot. She was going to go through there, go south to the tip of Florida, and meet Jake at the mansion. She made sure to not make contact with anything or anyone. She didn't trust anything there, paranoid about everything surrounding her. The only person she trusted was Jake, and he wasn't with her.

Suddenly, a force grabbed Rose by the shoulder and pulled her backwards. She cried out in shock and fear, but nobody was there... except her two kidnappers. Both of the kidnappers were wearing dark suits and had dark sunglasses covering their eyes. Rose gasped when she saw them, recognizing them from a picture Jake had shown her once. They were the Dublekas; Dublekas A and D to be exact. Dubleka A grabbed her by her shoulders, while Dubleka D grabbed her by her legs. Rose tried to kick and punch herself out of their grips, but it had no use. Unfortunately, the Dublekas' unnatural, crazy strength made Dubleka A and Dubleka D's grips very strong. Rose then was thrown in the trunk of the Dublekas' car, and the two Dublekas drove away.

A sack was thrown over Jake's head. He saw only black as he gasped in fear. He suddenly was pushed somewhere, which he guessed was a car since his head slammed against what felt like a car seat. Then he heard a door close, confirming he was in the backseat of a car. Then he heard another couple doors, which he guessed were the two front car doors, open and close. An engine was heard firing up. The car he was in started driving away. Jake had only one guess on his mind... the Dublekas had caught him. He was right; Dublekas B and C had Jake inside the backseat of their car as they drove to the tip of Florida.