𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 // 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘣

𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗

"You better not be in there!"

Splintered wooden broke off and fell to the ground, causing the door to give in slightly. The man's foot repeatedly slammed against the door which made the desperate teens' hearts fall to their gut. Finally, with the help of JJ and Kiara pushing the window up, Affinity was able to wedge her fingers underneath to lift the window all the way up just in time for a gunshot to sound through the air. The bullet whizzed through the door and collided with the floor. The protection of the door was useless to them now but luckily, almost everyone had made it out the window.

Affinity was first as she flung her legs over the ledge and ducked underneath so she could hop down to the ground. JJ was right behind, then Pope, Kiara, and finally, John B.

"What the fuck do we do now?!" JJ half yelled half whispered.

John B began to run towards a small chicken coop the rested just ahead of them.

"It's all we got!" He answered.

He opened the door, allowing for the four to crouch to the ground and crawl inside. All of the chickens immediately grew restless and began to squawk and flutter around the coop. Affinity and Kiara were the first in and did their best to console the panicked birds. Once Kiara and Affinity sat down, the boys followed. John B carefully shut the door of the coop. The straw crunched beneath them with their every move. Their labored breaths quieted, becoming as silent as humanly possible except for one of the roosters, who continued to squawk and scramble around in distress.

"Pope, do something," JJ whispered harshly.

"What do you want me to do?!"

"Hold it- or pet it, I don't know. Just do something," Kiara squeaked.

Affinity checked over her shoulder just in time to watch the two men trot down the stairs, books and boxes occupying their hands as they walked to their truck to load their stolen trophies.

"Guys, they're out here," Affinity gulped. Her heart slammed against the wall of her chest. All she could hear was her breathing even after she tried so hard to quiet herself. She sucked in a final breath and held it, squeezing her eyes shut.

JJ reached out for the bird and corraled it into his arms. That only upset the bird more, causing it to let out these screeches until JJ got a firm grip on the bird's neck and snapped it. The cracking bones were enough to make Affinity sick to her stomach. She cupped a hand over her mouth to conceal her emotions but that didn't stop her eyes from burning slightly. Kiara let out a heavy exhale that normally would've been a sob. Affinity grabbed her hand and squeezed it, earning a squeeze back from Kiara.

It was the moment when Affinity's ears could make out the sound of tires skidding on gravel into the distance that Affinity's breath finally normalized. John B cracked the coop door open to see that where the truck once was was vacant.

"All clear," he hummed as he stepped out.

Pope dragged his hat off of his head. "Well, since we survived that I can't wait to see how the compass will really kill us all!"

"Not helping, Popey," JJ muttered.

"Everyone into the van," John B stated without any further context as he made his way to his van.

The remaining four exchanged concerned looks before following the emotionally confused boy that seemed a little too calm considering what just happened to them. John B's head raced with theories until he finally came up with the one place that the word Redfield could mean.

"I mean, it's obvious," John B began, breaking the awkward silence. "A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He knew it would get back to me one way or another, right?"