𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 || 𝐣. 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲

"Right to your left here," Shoupe directed, leading them into one of the many tents that were there. "Sit down. Don't move. We got a lot to talk about. Keep an eye on these kids."

They heard another officer talking. "Blockade is up at the marsh and Masonboro and all other inlets from Shem Creek to Breach Inlet. I want eyes on all coastal access points, people. Let's get this guy."

From then on, they didn't get another word about what was happening. They just had to sit there, knowing absolutely nothing, and it was torture. Bree was bouncing her leg up and down nervously, and her hands were shaking on top of her knees. 

JJ, noticing this, reached over and wrapped his hand around both of hers and laying them in her lap, causing her legs to stop shaking to. She shot him a grateful look, and he nodded.

"I just hate not knowing what's happening," she told him.

He nodded, rubbing circles on the back of her left hand in an attempt to comfort her. "I know."

Then, all of a sudden, there was a lot of shouting, and the Pogues all knew that that could be either really good or really bad. With their luck, it was probably really bad.

"What's happening?" they all asked the officer that was guarding them and stopping them from going anywhere. Bree stood up and tried to walk to one of the openings or windows of the tent to see, but the guard grabbed her and pulled her back. She exclaimed, "What's happening?"

"Don't touch her!" the blonde boy yelled, shooting up from his seat when he realized what was happening, and the rest of the group got up with him.

Kie tried pulling on the guard's arm and the Maybank and Heyward boys got ready to throw some punches. "Let her go!" They all stood back when another officer came in and pointed a gun at each of them.

"All right. All right," Pope gave in, and the guard with the gun gestured for the other one to let the brunette girl go. He followed the orders, and they all sat down again, back in the torture of not knowing.

From then on, it was silent, but they were all thinking the same thing. What was happening? Did they make it? The storm was so loud that they were not able to eavesdrop on anything either, especially with Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum guarding them.

It seemed like hours before they got any news, and by the time they did, Kie was already in tears. Bree was also on the verge of crying as well. Shoupe came into the tent with a couple of officers behind him. They pulled their hoods off, and the Pogues stood to meet them.

"Did you find them?" Pope questioned.

The man had a solemn look on his face as he glanced down at the ground and answered, "No."

"So, they got away?" Kie realized, looking around at everyone else in the room with a hopeful expression, but Bree knew it wasn't true by the look on Shoupe's face.

"We, uh...we lost them," he told them after a moment of silence, and the Callaway girl let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry."

The Heyward boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and denial. "You lost them? What do you mean you lost them? Like, they're gone? What are you talking about?"

"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Pope," Shoupe exclaimed.

Kie scoffed, "So, they're dead."

"We don't know," he replied, and that was when Bree finally let the tears fall. That set them off.

"You drove them straight through the storm, man!" the Maybank boy shouted angrily, and he lunged at the officer. "Are you kidding me? Come here! I'm gonna kill you."