Can’t Win Me Back

Jasper felt a pain unlike any he had ever known.

It wasn't a physical agony like having flesh torn away, but a slow, excruciating torture akin to being slowly sliced by a blunt blade.

It was a hundred times worse than dying instantly.

His mind raced through a chaotic sequence of images, like a black- and-white movie playing backward.

He saw people retreating and leaving —Javier, Anne, Newton, Landon, Lauren, Jonah, Axel...

He reached out desperately, trying to grasp any of them, but they were slipping away, one by one.

Finally, the image settled on Alyssa's radiant face.

"Lyse...

Don't go..." Tears streaming down his face, he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her.

But she dissolved into golden dust, vanishing into the frigid air.

"No! iy A beep sounded in his ear as if everything had been reset.

him, and he fell

there was just

staring

sure if he was dead, but deep down, he was

footsteps approaching

Remy emerging from the underground

emotionless look on his face, Remy picked Alyssa up

arrived on the island." Without even a glance at Jameson, Remy's voice dripped

you to clean

you have no objections, right,

stood motionless,

man who

drained of all his

the statue of the goddess closed back up

scoffed, laughing at

Schmidt, your life has been

reincarnation exists..." Before he could finish, the deafening roar of a helicopter overhead drowned out his

casting its

a thunderous crash, and with

shards rained down, cutting Jameson's neck,