✘QUEENIE✘ Maybank

Lighthouse

"That's them." Bailee paced, putting her hand back to where her necklace was hiding underneath.

The two men had gotten out of the car and started walking towards the house, and everyone began panicking.

"Guys, guys, is that them?" Kie whispered, afraid they would be able to hear her.

"No, no." JJ started walking backward and wasn't answering Kie's question, which made the girl freak out just a bit more than she already was.

"This is suboptimal."

"John B, is that them?" Kie was on the point of a panic attack, so Bailee told herself to stop worrying about herself and help out the girl. She tried helping her focus on her breathing and rubbed her hand on Kie's back in small circles.

"John B, I told you. Why does it always-"

"JJ! Hey, hey. Look at me. Where is the gun." John B turned JJ around and shoved him against the wall.

"Gun? I, uh... I can't-"

"Now you don't have the gun the one time we need the gun?" Bailee saw the tears start in Kie's eyes and pulled her closer, whispering that it was going to be alright over and over again in her ear and kept rubbing her back.

"It was in my backpack, and then-" John B put a finger onto JJ's chest.

"Your backpack. On the porch."

"It's on the porch." JJ immediately ran out the door and made a beeline for the porch, but didn't make it there.

"John Routledge!" A man yelled from the porch, making JJ turn around and run back into the office, locking the door behind him and resting his hand on it.

"They're on the porch." He said in a small voice.

"Get out here Routledge!" They hear a clatter in the living room, meaning that they were already in the house.

Bailee immediately started looking around for things she could defend herself with while still hugging Kie. A small envelope opener caught her eye and she reached her arm out and took it before letting go of the girl, and Pope took her position.

"Where you at, boy?"

She dashed straight to the window and tried opening it before realizing it was painted shut. Bailee jammed the letter opener into the white paint, trying to break it open. The other four realized what she was doing and went to the window, trying to push it up so it would help the paint break.

"Sack the place!" The voices were getting louder and louder, not helping Bailee's shaking hands. More banging and destruction were heard and John B pushed himself against the door, hoping it could buy them a bit more time.

"Almost there," JJ said frantically, ready to pull up the window with Pope as soon as Bailee was finished cutting through what seemed like endless layers of paint.

"Routledge! Where the hell is that compass? Check the backroom."

"Okay, okay. They're checking the backroom." JJ said, trying to calm himself down and calm Bailee down at the same time. "Shit, we're in the backroom!"

"Not helpful, JJ," Kie said from where she was against the door with John B.

"You better not be in there!" A man starts kicking at the door, making Kie and John B rush towards the window. Bailee popped it open and JJ and Pope quickly brought it up. Kie and JJ crawled through first, followed by Pope and John B.

As Bailee was just out the window, the man shot open the door with his gun. She was crouched right under it and knew that there wasn't enough time or luck for her to make it the chicken coop where the rest were hiding.