Lost {Ongoing:In Editing}

Just Like You

Chapter XXIV

JOEY SWIFTLY SWUNG HERSELF around as Lucinda leaned against the door staring directly at her. Joey felt her heart racing as she took a few cautious steps backwards. She chanced a quick glimpse at David before back towards the witch. "Y-you lied."

Lucinda chuckled as she strode forward. "I do that."

Joey gulped and asked, "What do you want? I thought you were done talking."

Lucinda clasped her hands together in front of her. "Well, I was, but ... then I had a change of heart."

Joey's brow slightly furrowed. "About what?"

A wide smile spread from ear to ear, as she explained softly, "About your father."

Joey froze as she let the words sink in and a lump formed in her throat. "What?" she whispered, barely audible. "No, y-you're just lying again. You don't know my dad."

"Hmm." Lucinda pursed her lips together. "Jeremiah and I spent a lot of time together in the Dome. I, of course, was thrown in here many moons ago so I found your daddy when they dropped him off."

Joey shook her head. "No ... No, he would never hang around someone like you," she spat. "My father is good, and you're ... Well, you decide who gets to live and die around here." She stood up tall and defensive. "And on that note ..." She gestured down at David with her head. "Is he alive?"

Lucinda didn't acknowledge her question. Instead, she held her hand out in front of her, shoulder level, with a closed fist. Seconds later, a round piece of gold dropped from her grip on a chain, and she held it by the end. Joey eyed it curiously. "He would want you to have this."

Slowly, Joey took small steps towards Lucinda until she was able to reach out and cautiously snatch the gold medallion from her hand. Taking one big step back, she looked down at the item in her hand and brushed away some of the dirt that coated its top. She squinted, drawing the item closer to her face and found the letters J.R. etched into the gold metal. Her eyes slightly widened and she flipped the item over to reveal the face of a compass.

"He gave it to me right before he left," Lucinda continued.

Joey turned her gaze up at her, confusion etching her brow. "Left?"

"To find the next Dome," Lucinda replied. "He was here with me for four years until he decided that it was time to move on. He ..." She cleared her throat and averted her gaze. "He said he had to get back to his wife and kids." She looked back at Joey. "He used to talk about you twenty-four seven." She shrugged. "I made peace with the fact that I would never see my husband again, but Jeremiah ..." She re-folded her hands in front of her. "He did not."

"That's how you knew so much about me." Looking back down at the compass, Joey felt her heart drop in defeat. So, her dad wasn't here, assuming he found the exit. She gripped the compass tightly in her fist. "Why did he give it to you? Why didn't he just keep it?"

"Because he wanted me to give it to you." Lucinda took a step closer. "Joey ... I used to have dreams about you. Way before I was even put in the Dome, and the way your dad would describe you, well, I knew it was you the moment I laid eyes on you."

Joey took one final glance down at the compass. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

Lucinda shrugged. "Use it. Wear it. Do whatever you want with it. It's yours now." Softly, she continued, "I'm not a bad person, despite what you may think. Your father knew that."

Letting out a sigh through her nose, Joey gripped the chain in her fingers and slipped it around her neck. With her hand resting over the medal, she said, "Your hands glow magenta whenever you use your ability."