The Sovereign's Slaves (Narrow Gate Book 3)
Page 16
“You really want to die? Well, you picked the right place to hang out, then. This is our territory. We don’t allow squatters!”
Justin didn’t say anything. He just squeezed his eyes shut, said a quick, silent prayer for mercy, and waited for the pain to begin. As soon as his eyes closed, he felt a panic attack clawing its way up his throat. The urge to scream, run, and kick were quashed under the tidal wave of panic that hit him. Oh, great! This is a perfect time for a panic attack, he thought.
He felt the panic building. A sensation like fire gripped his head, making it feel as though the top of it would blow off at any moment. This sensation was stronger than any he’d ever had with a panic attack before. It felt as if his head would be crushed. He tried to slow his breathing, but his thoughts were a jumble of panic and his body would not respond to his brain’s erratic commands.
He felt the air squeeze from his lungs, but panic prevented him from drawing in more. He was afraid to open his eyes. He wondered why the guy didn’t just hit him and get it over with.
His lungs burned, his chest felt tight, his head was pounding. Justin forced his eyes open again. He said another quick prayer, which was the only thing that ever worked when a panic attack was gripping his mind, and felt his panic recede minutely. Just enough to allow him to draw in a breath.
He blinked. He drew another deep breath. The pounding in his head eased.
Why was he not being pounded to a pulp? He focused on the tattooed teen in front of him.
The guy still held his shirt, his fist raised in readiness to punch, but his eyes were unfocused and dazed.
“What happened?” he asked Justin, lowering his arm and releasing Justin’s shirt.
“Huh?” Justin couldn’t form a coherent thought. The guy was asking him what had happened? Justin didn’t know—except that he’d had the most massive panic attack in his own personal history, and that was saying something, since he’d had some pretty bad ones in the past.
“You heard me, man, what happened? Were we fighting? What’s going on? Where am I? Who are you? Who am I?”
Was the guy serious? Or was he just messing around? Justin couldn’t help but wonder. He just stood there without answering.
Then he became aware that the other gang members had similar expressions. They all looked dazed and confused.
Justin’s pounding head eased. Could this be for real?
“Hey, I don’t know what happened, but I’m outta here.” Justin saw his chance for escape and took it.
He darted around the guy in front of him, who was still mumbling in confusion, sidestepped two more who had previously been there to block his escape from the alley, and then took off in a dead run for the street.
A litany formed in his mind as he ran. Thank you, God, thank you, God, thank you, God. The adrenaline rush from the panic attack gave his feet wings, and he practically flew down the stinking alley and out onto the sidewalk, running faster than he’d run in a long while.
His heart pounded, but his lungs were functioning again since the panic attack was behind him, and he took in great gulps of air and put on another burst of speed.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven