THE REDHEAD ☾ jj maybank

23 | threatened by army rangers

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Delilah replies. "She's been through a lot with us and I'd consider her one of my best friends."

"Even after we broke up?" John B questions.

"You come first because you're my brother." Delilah states, briefly smiling. "But that doesn't mean I won't stick up for Sarah too. Just give her some time and she'll come around eventually."

"Lila's right." Kie agrees. "I mean, she's not a real Kook anyway. She's one of us now."

"Wait, shh." John B hushes, gaze elsewhere. "There's someone here."

All of the teenagers put the sticks down and stand up from where they've been sitting around the hot fire. They've all listened to their friends instructions and fallen silent so that it's easier to hear for any noises that may come across as suspicious. Each one of the five Pogues slowly walk out into the opening behind the tree so that they're able to approach whoever's hiding from them. However, JJ and Kie did have a brief argument between the pair of them about not having the gun for protection.

"Hey!" John B calls out into the darkness. "Who's out there?"

"How y'all doing?" Renfield greets as he walks out from the bushes. "Lovely evening we're having."

"It's this piece of shit." JJ mutters.

"Look, uh... I don't hold a grudge with any of y'all, alright?" Renfield informs. "But this can either go the hard way or the easy way. I mean, y'all already know what I'm here for."

The man slowly walks closer to where the group is standing, not taking his eyes off of them. But he does choose to lift the leather jacket and do a brief spin to show them that he's unarmed of weapons. The teens remain frozen in their places, not letting themselves lower their guard. Sneakily, JJ takes a step in front of Delilah so that his body is shielding hers slightly.

"You see that swing right there?" Renfield begins as he motions over to it. "I got the best now hunters in the Army Rangers with me. Hidden."

A whistle then slips pasts the adults lips. None of the five are able to process this action as an arrow soars through the tense air that they all currently stand in. It whizzes past their heads and whistles in their ears before embedding itself in the trees bark, cutting the rope of the swing along the way. Faces immediately drop at the sight, fear flooding through their bodies.

"Stay behind me, Ly." JJ whispers.

"They're out there." Renfield states. "They'll stick you just as soon as I say so. And I won't give you a countdown, or any other bullshit like that. I'm just gonna whistle."

The man stops in front of Pope, not even needing to say anything as they all know the reason as to why he's come back to Outer Banks to pay a visit to them. Pope pulls his lips into a thin line as he casts glances over at each of his friends, noticing the fear striking their faces. Then, the boy digs into the pockets of his shorts and proceeds to pull out the thin key that had originally belonged to Denmark Tanny. However, as Renfield reaches out to try to take it, Pope curls his fingers around the key and grips it tightly.

"This key belongs to my family." Pope states.

"I'm starting to lose my patience with you." Renfield tells him.

Fingers are lifted to lips as the man goes to blow a whistle — it's an indication to fire the arrows at their designated targets. Pope's heart drops at the sight of this and doesn't hesitate to choose what the correct decision to pick is; the boy will pick to save his best friends lives over a key. Pope outstretches his hand towards Renfield and passes the key over, watching as it readily leaves his possession.

"You did the right thing, kid." Renfield informs with a sigh. "Knowing when you don't have a choice is an under-appreciated talent."

Then, Renfield proceeds to walk away from them all and leaves them standing there still trying to process what's just happened. A faint whistle can be heard as the man calls for the archers to lower their bows and follow him away from the home. This allows the five to visibly become more relaxed, knowing that they're all just going to leave and not stick around to cause more havoc. Eyes instantly drift over to Pope.

"I'm so sick of this shit!" Pope exclaims.

The boy turns around on his heel and sprints for the house that's nearby, being lighted up by the amount of fairy lights strung up on the tree. He doesn't want to stick around to hear what any of his friends have to say, just needing some time along to try and figure everything out for himself. This leaves the other four standing there as they look at one another.

"I'll go check on him." Kie offers.

"What the fuck just happened?" JJ mumbles under his breath as the brunette walks away. "Did Pope seriously just give the key away?"

"I mean, it's either save us or keep the key in that situation." John B states.

"Are we just not gonna talk about the fact that we all could've been killing again?" Delilah tells them. "It's like we're some walking magnet that attracts the risk of facing death."

John B sighs. "I think I've just grown used to it at this point."

"Nothing left to lose, right, guys?" JJ reminds.

"Right." Delilah replies, voice quiet. "Nothing left to lose."