✯ North Star ✯

33 - My Brother Is Back

We drive for a long time, the desert stretching endlessly in every direction as pope calls out turns from the front seat. The sun hangs heavy above us, bleaching the road until it looks the same.

Then JJ sits up a little straighter.
"Look at that" he says

John b slows as a sign appears on the side of the road, half buried in sand.

"What does that sign say?" John b asks

Pope leans forward, squinting.
"Here it is. Agapenta." He says

"I'll be damned." I mumble

"It's that way. Keep going" pope says

Not long after, John b pulls the jeep to a sto0z

"All right it's just up ahead. We gotta do the rest on foot" he says

He looks at all of us.
"Careful we don't know what we're walking into" he said

After a little while of walking, we hear a gunshot crack through the air.

Then-

"Rafe!"

We freeze.

Another shot.

We exchange one look before jogging forward and ducking behind a line of bushes.

My stomach drops.

Rafe stands in the open, the lens and the map on his hands- surrounded. Seven men. All armed. Rifles trained on him like he's already dead.

"Damn it" john b mumbles

"I know, I know, I know." JJ says under his breath.

Rafe slowly lowers the map and lens.

"Shit. They're gonna kill him" cleo whispers

"Do we care?" Pope asks

JJ scoffs.
"Yeah that's a good question, pope" he says

"Yeah but then they'd take the scroll." Cleo said

"There are seven of them. They all have rifles." John b says quietly.

JJ exhales slowly.
"I know. That's why we're gonna need to think outside the box." He said.

He pulls out a gun.

"What are you doing?" John b snaps.

"Diversion" JJ said

"Dude you can't be serious. This isn't call of duty." John b said

"We got four rounds seven of them." JJ says

I look back at Rafe- scared, alone.

"Four rounds?" Kie asks