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The knife goes into me before I have a chance to react. An intense pain unlike anything I’ve ever felt before floods my body. Then he twists it amplifying the pain even more if that’s possible.
He pulls the knife out and I lose control of my legs. John B and Keira both catch me before I meet the ground. Together they drag me into this weird building type thing.
I look down and all I see is blood. I look at Kearia when she finishes helping John b put me down. My back resting against the wall. “You’re going to be ok JJ. We’re going to fix you and you’re going to come home with us. Ok?” Keara says kneeling in front of me. One hand on my cheek.
I try to speak but the only thing that comes out is a weak gasp of me desperately trying to get air, but the movement causes me to hurt even more.
It feels like the pain is radiating Through my entire body now. Kiera brings a hand to the corner of my mouth wiping something away. Blood maybe. Hell if I know.
“I… love you,” I manage to get out as I watch the tears begin to stream down Kiera’s face.
“I love you too,”
Then everything goes black.
And I’m not greeted by the devil like you may think. No, I’m greeted by an old man with a cane in front of golden gates. Which is not what I thought death would be like for me. “My child I am sorry,” is the first thing he says.
I look around at my surroundings. “Where the hell am I? Who the hell are you?”
The old man smiles. “I have many names. You may know me best as God,”
I scoff. “Yeah, well if that’s true then why would you ever want to talk to me?”
“Because the hand you were dealt wasn’t fair,”
I laugh. I can’t help it. “You think!?”
He looks down. “I am tremendously sorry about that, but there’s something else you should Know. Some people are taken way before their time by forces I cannot control. Sometimes the world is better off without that person. Other times that isn’t true this is the second one,”
“So what?”
He steps closer. “JJ I can bring you back and I will, but you need to know one thing: you cannot run from the dark part inside of you. You have to learn how to live with it without indulging in it. It can be done and I know you can do it,”
Yeah, right. This man doesn’t know a damn thing about me. God or not he doesn’t know how I work.
“You will do well out there JJ. I belive in you,”
Then I feel like I’m dying. That radiating pain is back, but not as intense anymore. I hear a weird beeping noise coming from somewhere nearby.
I force my eyes open which takes more effort than it should.
When I do manage to open my eyes the first thing I see is the ceiling above me and the only sound I can hear is that annoying beeping noise.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I wish the damn thing would shut the hell up.
Without thinking I place a hand where I know I was stabbed. My fingers meet the roughness of the bandage.
Ok. So my dad did still try to kill me. That’s just great.
I immediately try to sit up and regret it immediately. A nurse rushes over to me and pushes me back down. Then she Says something to me in a language I don’t understand. “What?”
She blinks before switching to broken English. “You are not well enough to move,”
“I need to leave,” I tell her.
She shakes her head. “Not strong enough. Now you rest,” then she walks away. I lay there staring up at the ceiling.
I must have fallen asleep because suddenly I’m back in the middle of the desert with my dad shoving the knife into my stomach.
But instead of bleeding out in Kiera’s arms I watch my bloody hands slowly disintegrate. Then I wake up gasping and in a cold sweat.
Everytime I take a breath pain flares through my body.
I need to get out of here. I know that’s going to be a pain since my entire body wants to fight me.
I pull the iv line out of my arm and throw my legs over the edge of the bed ignoring the ache in my stomach the best I can.
I push myself to my feet and find my shoes. It takes me awhile to tie them because of the pain, but at least I’m not dead so there’s that.
After a very slow walk and gripping onto a lot of walls I escape the hospital. I take a shirt off of someone’s clothes line and walk for awhile. I don’t know how long it is until I’m sitting down on the ground in an alleyway.
That’s where I fall asleep. Not the best place But I’m exhausted and I honestly don’t really care. When I wake up it’s to arguing.
I look over to see two men at the end of the alley. One is clearly younger. Maybe late teens the other is full grown man.
This really isn’t how I wanted to start my day. I know I’m still injured and I should let them be, but I hate when someone older picks on someone younger than them.
I push myself up off the ground with a groan. “Hey!” I call out they both turn to look at me. Then the older man goes to hit the boy. I don’t give him the chance. I walk as fast as I can and I punch him as hard as I can in the Face knocking him back.
“Thank you,” the young man says in better English then what I would except from someone who English isn’t their first language.
“It was nothing,”
“Is there anything I can do to repay the favor?”
I think about it for a moment. I know how these things go. It’s always a trap but I don’t have any other option right now. “Get me to America,”
He smiles. “My dad owns a cargo ship. In fact we leave this afternoon to drop a shipment off in Miami. It will take about a month to get there though,”
“I’ll take it,”
“Good. You would be a good deck hand. My dad is always in need of those. Come on!” I follow behind him the best I can.
“What did you do to piss him off?” I ask.
“Nothing major. What happened to you?”
“Got stabbed,” I answer.
“How?”
“Long story,”
We make it to the docks and he leads me to a cargo ship. Outside stands an older man resembling the boy. “Carter who’s this?” He asks.
“He helped me. Marco was still mad about you firing me and went after me. But this man here helped me. He asked if I could help him get back to America and I said yes,” the boy, Carter, explains.
The man looks me up and down. “Can you sweep?”
“I can do whatever you need,”
“Huh, stay out of the way and do your job and maybe I’ll Pay you as well,”
“Yes sir,” with that he allows me on the ship.
The last night on the ship before we reach shore we get caught up in a bad storm. One that requires us all to stay hunkered in the hall of the ship. I somehow manged to beat them all at poker but all I can think of was when I was on Rafe’s boat.
And I was drinking and we got caught up in that storm. And then of course that leads to me thinking about how I died but pretty much got told by God that I better get my ass back up.
And that’s what I’m doing. I know the rest of them probably went to Spain but they have to be back by now.
Hell, they were probably back in the outer banks before I woke up.
But what if they aren’t ok? What if Groff killed them all? I shake thoughts from my head and play another round with the guys.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think I might miss these guys when I leave.
But at least I’m almost completely healed now. So that’s one good thing.
The next day once the ship is mostly unloaded the captain gives me my pay. “You earned it kid,” he says clasping a hand on my shoulder. “If you ever need a job. Call me. You’ve got one,”
“Thank you,” then I’m off trying to find a bus station.
Eventually I do and after fifteen minutes of arguing with the attendant and banging my fist against the counter in frustration she gets me on a bus to Florida that leaves in two hours and from there I should be able to get on another bus to Charleston and from there I’ll probably have to get a cab back home.
Not perfect but I’ll take it.
I sit down in the waiting area next to a girl about my age. I notice bruises on her arm. “Did you call the cops on whoever did that?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “He is the cops,”
“So you’re running,” she looks down. “Nothing wrong with that. Hell, if anything that makes you brave leaving a situation like that. You’ll be ok,”
She nods.
After two bus rides and a ride with a pissed off cab driver yelling at his ex wife over the phone. Which no wonder she divorced him. I would do the same if he did half the shit she was describing.
I finally arrive at what used to be my property. The shop we built was torn down. No surprised there. Honestly, I was expecting condos by now.
I thank the driver then step out. There plants growing and the same house I grew up in.
That’s when I spot Kiera sitting down by the water. I walk down by her. “Pretty out isn’t it?” She turns around and he mouth falls open.
“Is it really you?” She finally asks.
“Yeah, who else?” She stands up, slaps me, then kisses me.
I wrap my arms around her and she pulls away. “You’re alive,”
“Surprise,”
“You idiot. Don’t do that again!” She yells
I chuckle. “Can’t promise that sweatheart,” she rolls her eyes and kisses me again.