Exhale, Outer Banks [ 1 ]

012. OLD CRAIN HOUSE

"Stop." Cordelia shoves him, not wanting to think about any of that.

~ ~ ~

They got over the wall and are making their way to the house.

"Look, you guys know whose house this is, right?" Kie asks.

"Oh, yeah. No, I do." JJ says.

"Honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place." John B says, but Pope shushes him. "What?" He whispers.

"Which stories did you hear?" JJ asks Kie.

"The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since. On certain nights, when the moon is full... you can see her in the window." She whispers, wiggling her fingers around.

"No, Kie, it's not funny, cause it's all true." JJ says. "I swear to God, guy, this is all real. I knew Hollis." He says. "Geez!" He jumps and gets in a fighting stance, only to see it's a statue.

"Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?" Pope asks.

"Yeah, dude." JJ nods.

"Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?" Pope asks.

"She was our babysitter, man. She told us all about it." JJ says.

"Well--" Cordelia starts.

"Okay, she told me. Baby Cordi eavesdropped and then had nightmares for two months straight." JJ corrects.

"They didn't need the last part." Cordelia says.

"Yeah, okay. Just admit you're a scaredy cat." JJ says.

"I'm not the one who almost just fought a statue." Cordelia remarks.

"Guys." Pope gets their attention.

"She told me the truth... about her mother and what happened in this house." JJ says. "So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and... she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night."

"What night?" John B asks.

"Can we not?" Cordelia whines.

"It all came back to her." JJ continues making Cordelia groan. "When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink... full of blood. Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up."

"But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head, looking straight back at her.

"God, you are so full of shit." John B says.

"Dude, I swear to God, man." JJ says.

"Did she call the police?" Pope asks.

"She didn't have time-- wait! Dude!" JJ exclaims, stopping John B.

"What? What?" John B asks.

"You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer. You got a cast on." JJ says.

"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay?" John B says. Cordelia and Pope both look at him like he's insane. "I got nothin' to lose, right? You comin' or what?" He starts walking away again.

"Come on." Kie encourages, following him and Pope follows.

JJ looks at Cordelia and motions with his hand for her to go first.