till forever falls apart, jj maybank₁

thirty - exit stage left .

"Thanks," John B mumbled sarcastically.

"Thanks for summing it up, JJ," Rylee countered.

"Shit," Pope hissed from where he was sandwiched between John B and JJ in the backseat.

"Okay, man," JJ continued, "Yucatan, all right? I'm saying, that's the only option. What other option do you have?"

"JJ, enough with the Mexico bullshit," John B groaned, "Okay? Sarah's gonna bail me out."

Kiara piped in, "She did witness the whole thing."

"Thank you!"

"And we're under the impression she's going to turn on her father and her brother?" Rylee chimed in, "Her entire family ... Over someone she's known for a couple of weeks. No offense, John B."

JJ shook his head, "Not happening, bro. Okay? We've gotta get you off of the island."

"The ferry," Pope agreed, "It's the only way."

"Yeah, exit stage left while you still can, man, okay? Before the entire island is on lock down."

"Guys, get down," Kiara mumbled to her friends as yet another police siren approached and another cruiser sped by. The boys did as they were told, shrinking further in their seats.

With finality, Pope added, "Sarah's not a Pogue, John B."

With John B's reluctant agreement, Pope convinced Kiara to let him drive to the ferry terminal. Kiara took the passenger seat so Rylee wedged herself between John B and JJ. They joined a long line of cars waiting to buy a ticket onto the ferry, though from the moment they pulled up, the line hadn't moved an inch. Pope volunteered to go and find someone to ask about the line, getting out before anyone could voice their opposition seeing as he was in the driver's seat. They had only been waiting for about a minute when Pope marched back up to the car, gripping a sheet of paper in his hands.

"Okay," Pope's breathed out, "Okay, all right. No."

"Pope, can you act normal?" Kiara called out, scanning the area to see if Pope's rambling was drawing any attention to them.

"So, um ... Okay, so bad news," Pope continued without listening, "The ferry's closed ... And there's this," He handed the paper to Kiara before climbing back into the car.

Kiara's eyes scanned over the words printed on the page, before fear took over her features, and she handed it off to Rylee.

"What is that? What is this?" John B mumbled from where he was laying down, trying to avoid being spotted.

"Shit," Kiara mumbled.

Rylee's eyes scanned the poster, and felt dread settle into the pit of her stomach. It was a flyer offering up a reward for any information that led to the capture of John B. At the top in big bold letters were the words "Wanted" followed by a description of him and what his crimes were. Running away from police and first degree murder. The reward was $25,000. Rylee let out a low whistle at the amount.

JJ's voice was casual, though his racing heart which Rylee could feel against her back was anything but, "Well, John B, uh ... This is a good framer of you," He said as Rylee spun the flyer around for John B to see.

The stakes felt like they had been raised a million percent. Before, they had known the cops were after them, and if people were listening to the radio or watching local TV, they might recognize John B as well. Now, with a giant cash reward that could change anyone's life, there wasn't a single person on the island who would hesitate to give John B up.

"Okay, so the whole island's looking for John B right now," Pope stated the obvious.

"That's a lot of money."