𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐲𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 ~ 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐦

I stared at him in shock, feeling as though I was frozen in place. My friends below crowded around my boyfriend, asking if he was okay.

"C-Can you breathe alright?" I asked, finally being able to say something in the midst of my panic.

"I...I think?" He stammered, obviously disoriented.

A creaking noise came from next to me, causing me to turn my head toward the sound. The nail holding the wood that supported the cross came loose, causing the cross to fall out of its place.

The heavy object was headed straight toward Pope and the others. They would undoubtedly die if it landed on them.

"GUYS MOVE!" I screamed.

Pope realized what was coming and rolled away while the others scattered to the side.

The entire building shook as the seven-foot-tall cross hit the ground. We all stared at each other in shock for a moment.

"Are you guys okay?" I finally asked.

John B nodded. "Yeah, we're all okay,"

I let out a sigh of relief and began my climb back down while the others tended to Pope. He laid on the ground, panting.

"Hey, you good?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just give me, like, one second...to catch my breath," Pope breathed.

I hopped off the wall and rushed over, kneeling next to him. "Do you need anything? Are you okay?"

He pushed himself into a sitting position, taking a few deep breaths. "I'm okay...I'm okay,"

John B stood up, staring at the cross in awe. "Wow..."

"Pope, she's beautiful," JJ said, running his hand over the artifact. "The detail's insane,"

Sarah nodded in agreement. "I've never seen anything like it,"

I took my attention away from Pope for a brief moment to examine the cross. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.

John B pointed out a keyhole. "Well, here's why Limbrey wanted that key so bad,"

Pope began to stand up, panting and coughing as he did. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and helped him over to one of the pews.

"How much do you think she's worth?" JJ asked. "Like, if we melted her old bones down, we're talking high billions,"

"No," John B opposed. "This belongs in a museum!"

"What? So no one sees her?"

"In a museum where everyone sees it!"

"Are you kidding?"

"Hey!" Pope raised his voice. "It's my ancestors' cross. This is bigger than money, and the worlds gotta know the truth,"

"Yes, and if we don't get this shit out of here before Limbrey gets here, nobody's gonna know. So saddle up," John B said.

Pope groaned in pain as he stood up and slowly made his way to us.

We all took a firm grip on the large artifact, trying to figure out the best way to go about lifting it.

"Okay, I'm gonna pull down. You guys pull up," John B told us. "Ready? One, two, three!"

On John B's count, we began lifting the cross.

"Jesus!" I grunted.

It was so unbelievably heavy. Even with six of us lifting it we struggled to get it off the ground.