35 - A Piece Of Me Gone

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The sandstorm swallowed everything

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The sandstorm swallowed everything.
The sky, the horizon, the noise- gone.
Just wind and wind and panic.

As we ran, I thought I saw Kie cut left, a flash of her hair disappearing behind stone.

"John b- this way!" I yelled, my voice ripped apart by the wind as I sprinted toward what looked like cover.

My lungs burned. My legs shook. I kept waiting to hear footsteps behind me.

But none came.
I slowed. Turned.

No John b.
No Kie.
No voices.

Just walls.

"Shit" I whispered, my heart slamming against my ribs.

I spun in a circle, the panic rising fast, sharp, familiar. The kind that crawls into your throat and makes it hard to breathe.

"John b! Hey!" I yelled

Nothing.

Then- arms.

Strong. Sudden. From behind.

A hand clamped over my mouth. A knife pressed cold and unforgiving against my throat

"Shh. Quiet, quiet." A voice murmured in my ear.

My entire body froze.

"You should've saved me when you could" he said

My blood turned to ice.

Groff.

I sucked in a breath and screamed anyway.
"Help! John b! JJ!-" I tried

"Ella!"

JJ's voice cut through the panic like a lifeline.

The door slammed open. Wind rushed in. And there he was.

"JJ" Groff said, almost amused.

"J!" I cried.

"You let her go!" JJ charged forward, then stopped.

"Stop right there! Don't move" Groff said, the knife inching closer to my neck.

Then I saw it- his hands. What he was holding.
The crown.
He found it.

"You know what I want. Give it to me" Groff said

"Just let her go" JJ said, his voice steady, even though I could see the fear on his eyes. Not for himself. For me.

"You could've stuck with me JJ. Both of you. Think what we could've had together. But now you, you're gonna get nothing. Nothing." Groff said, shaking his head.

JJ let out a short, breathless laugh.
"No. I already have everything." He said

Groff stilled.

"And I have everything I've ever wanted. Things you'll never have. I have my best friends. I have Kie. I have her." His eyes flicker to me.
"She's my family. My real family. Something you'll never be." He said

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