Page 120 of Undone

He gestured at Sawyer and me. “I’ll take you two toward the north exit. Keep your eyes peeled. You three”—he pointed at some of the unarmed guards—“you come with us. Backup is on its way, but we need to get moving now. The rest of you, take the south exit. Stick together and be ready for anything. Stay sharp.”

As the plan took shape, hope surged within me, battling against the panic that threatened to overwhelm me. With Sawyer at my side and a plan forming, I felt a renewed sense of purpose. We wouldn’t let John extinguish the light in our lives without a fight.

FORTY-FIVE

Dorian - November

RESCUE - LAUREN DAIGLE

Fear clawedthrough my chest with every labored breath as John forced Ellie and me deeper into the tunnels. The sharp tang of blood filled my mouth, a sting radiating from where my teeth tore into the inside of my mouth. Our footsteps echoed in the cavernous space, sharp and rhythmic. Ellie’s gasps punctuated the silence each time John jabbed the gun into her back.

Once we were out of sight of any possible rescue, he shoved us to a stop and tied our hands behind our backs and took our phones. He still didn’t fully trust me, and I couldn’t blame him for that. Coarse rope bit into my skin, every tug sending jolts of pain up my arms and into my shoulders. Ellie walked beside me, her chin high despite the tremor in her frame. Brave, though, the slight shudder in her breath betrayed her fear.

John’s gun swung between us like a pendulum, his focus shifting with each imagined threat. His eyes burned with something feral, something broken.

“You know,Dorian,” he spat, my name venomous from his mouth, “your precious Noah could have stopped all this. It’s all her fault.”

“I’m not surprised. She fucks up everything, it seems,” I snarled, continuing to play his game.

“She could’ve saved them all,” he said, voice rising, fingers tightening around the grip of the gun. “If she had just come with me all those times. If she’d given me what I needed, none of this would’ve happened. They’d all still be alive. She was the only person to ever stop the noise in my head.”

My mind reeled, trying to make sense of his warped logic.

“Tell me more,” I demanded, anger masking the fear simmering beneath my skin. “What do you mean?”

“She was supposed to fix me! To help me hold it together. I tried to be what I needed to be, but I needed her. And every time she said no, every time she chose something else—she pushed me to this!”

I looked beside me to see Ellie’s face fall, the realization hitting her of just how dire this situation really was. She still believed I was on his side.

Her voice cut through the growing tension, her tone low but sharp like steel. “So, it’s her fault you’re a monster?”

He swung the gun toward her. She flinched but didn’t step back, her wide eyes locking onto him.

“Don’t pretend you understand,” John growled. “You’re just some spoiled pop star who’s never been denied anything in her life. Noah was different. She was supposed to save me. She did save me, at least at first.”

“And the murders?” I pressed, trying to keep his focus on me. “I like that you did that to drag this out, to torture her. It really did a number on her, and the butterfly. Nice touch.”

John’s smile twisted into something grotesque, his tone softening in a way that made my stomach turn. “She was supposed to bemybutterfly—my transformation. Every life I took was a message to her, a reminder that she couldn’t just move on. She was supposed to be loyal tome. That was the only way.”

“You’re insane,” Ellie snapped. “You’re both insane. This isn’t about her. It’s about you. This is no one’s fault but your own.”

His jaw ticked, and his expression faltered for a moment, anger flickering like a flame starved of oxygen. “It is her fault. Her and that damn family,” he hissed.

Ellie drew a sharp inhale. “Please,” she said firmly, even as her body trembled. “Just let me go.”

He ignored her, shoving us forward again. My legs felt like lead as we trudged deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels. I fought to keep track of landmarks, a poster here, a door there, but the dim light and endless turns disoriented me as we continued to walk and walk and walk.

Then, without warning, Ellie made her move.

It happened so fast I almost didn’t register it. She spun, her heel driving into John’s shin, then she kneed him in the groin. He stumbled with a curse, the gun jerking upward.

I stood in front of John, buying Ellie time. “Run!” I yelled at her as she ran.

He groaned, hunching over. Then the barrel of the gun swung toward my head, stopping me cold.

“So, you aren’t on my side,” John snarled, low and venomous. “Move and I’ll blow your brains out.”

Ellie’s footfalls faded, and John roared in frustration, firing after her.

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