PAIN CONSUMED Scarlett's body and she doubled over. Sarah was quick to grab her, holding the girl upright so she didn't collapse. Scarlett placed a hand over the fresh wound, her fingers quickly becoming covered in her own blood. Words formed in her mouth, but she found herself being unable to speak- only staring in shock at Rafe. Sarah held her hand over Scarlett's, pressing into her side as to put pressure on the open wound.
Their attention turned to Sheriff Peterkin, who was still collapsed on the ground. By now, the Sheriff's sleeve was coated in blood, as the woman lay almost immobile on the ground, coughing and spluttering.
"We've got to help her." Scarlett muttered, still in shock from what Rafe had done. She leant all her weight on Sarah, thankful that the girl was holding her up despite also being in heavy shock.
John B rushed forward, kneeling down next to Peterkin. "Hey. Hey. Hold still. Hold still." He fumbled with the woman's shirt, trying to find the location of her wound so as to put pressure on it and attempt to stop the bleeding. "It's okay. Where is it? Where is it? Oh, my-"
Scarlett tore her gaze away from the scene, barely unable to watch as John B ripped his bandanna away from his neck and tied it around the wound to stop (or at least slow) the bleeding. Her eyes met with Rafe's and fear began to eat away at her as she watched him point the gun directly at John B. Rafe began screaming at the teen, who was picking up the Sheriff's radio- going to call for help just as Peterkin was asking him to do.
"Don't try it, asshole." Rafe warned, moving a few steps closer so the end of the gun was in direct line with John B's head.
Ward stood up from the ground, standing in between his son and John B. He held his hand out towards his son and then to John B. "Rafe- John B, give me the radio."
Scarlett stared on in shock, wishing there was a way for her to help. "No." John B stated, refusing to listen to the man.
"Come on." Ward persuaded, kneeling down to John B's height and holding his hand out. "Give me the radio." He grabbed the radio from John B's hand, pulling it out of the boy's grip. The whine of feedback could be heard from the device as Ward took it into his hands. "The damn radio." He muttered angrily.
Peterkin began gasping for air as she writhed around on the hard floor in pain. Tears pooled in Scarlett's eyes as she watched the scene, her hands gripping tightly to the open wound under her ribs. With her free hand, she hugged Sarah, who was sobbing- barely able to look her brother in the eye.
Rafe held the gun back up, pointing it back and forth between John B and Scarlett. Before he could do anything else with the weapon, Ward spoke to him. "Rafe, I've got it. Calm down." He stood up, holding his hands up to show he had the radio as he walked over to his son. He put one hand on Rafe's forearm, attempting to lower the gun. "Rafe put the gun down. I got it."
Scarlett tore her gaze away from the two Cameron men, her eyes flicking over to John B. The boy was still kneeling down next to Peterkin, his hands covered in blood as he held pressure over it. She watched as Peterkin whispered something to him. It was barely audible, but she was just able to make out what had been said. "Run."
"I'm not leaving you." John B promised her. He looked up, making eye contact with Scarlett for a brief moment before looking back down at the Sheriff. "We're not leaving you."
"Run!" Peterkin repeated, knowing that something terrible would happen to the teenagers if they stayed.
Scarlett could feel her heart breaking as she realised that they were going to have to leave the woman behind. Worry filled her veins as she knew that these were Peterkin's last moments. She didn't want to leave the Sheriff to die- as she assumed she would, knowing that Ward wouldn't call for an ambulance. But she also knew that if they didn't go now, they wouldn't survive either. Rafe had shot Scarlett, and Ward would presumably place the blame on the Sheriff's and Scarlett's injuries on John B. And even if he didn't, the Cameron's have more than enough money to get out of prison and afford the best lawyer in state.
Scarlett stumbled forward, reaching out and placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "John B..." She whispered softly. She looked down at Peterkin, regretting how they were about to leave her behind. "I'm so, so sorry." Her voice broke as the tears began cascading down her face.
John B's voice broke as he looked down at the Sheriff, feeling the same way Scarlett did about leaving her behind. "I'm sorry." John B stood up, grabbing Scarlett's hand as he took a few steps backwards in the direction of the now beat-up van.
Rafe noticed them moving, pushing past his father to try to get to the two teens. "Where are you goin'? Huh?" He yelled, waving the gun around.
Sarah, who was stood next to the pair, pushed at John B's shoulder. "Run." She whispered to them, encouraging them to leave.
"Where are you going, John B?" Rafe yelled out, storming forward. "You taking your little whore friend with you?"
John B tightened his grip on Scarlett's hand as they began to run away from the airstrip. Each of their hands covered in blood. Scarlett used her free hand to continue to put as much pressure as she could manage on her bullet wound. Unable to do anything else to fix it, she silently hoped that she would make it back to others conscious. Gunshots could be heard over the sounds of yelling as Rafe continued to shoot at the two teens. Scarlett ducked as a bullet flew past her, narrowly missing her shoulder. They continued running through the long grass until they reached the trees. They didn't stop until they were far under the cover of the surrounding woods, hidden by the trees.
Scarlett collapsed to the ground, barely able to stand up. Upon feeling her hand slip out of his grip, John B whirled around in a panic. He knelt down by her side, cradling her face in his hands. His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he watched Scarlett's face pale. "Lottie..." He whispered, not knowing what to say to her. Looking down, he removed his hands from her face and lifted up the side of her t-shirt. John B couldn't help but gulp at how much blood she was losing. If he hadn't hated Rafe before, he definitely did now. Trying to appear calm, John B let go of her shirt, and ripped off a section of his own flannel shirt. He wrapped it tightly around her body, just under her chest- making sure that it covered the wound. Having checked that it was secure, John B moved his attention to Scarlett's face.
Seeing that her eyes kept fluttering shut caused John B to grow even more worried for his friend. "You need to stay awake, okay?" He whispered to her. "Lottie, I need you to stay awake. Promise me that you can do that." Scarlett nodded, her head barely moving. Satisfied with her response, John B moved his arms so they were supporting her back and her legs. "Alright, I'm gonna lift you up, and I'm gonna carry you back to the others. Okay? From there we can get you some help." Making sure to be careful, John B stood up with Scarlett in his arms and began carrying her through the forest, hoping that they would be able to find some help once they reached the remaining Pogues.
❤❤❤
The Pogues stepped out from under the storage unit they were hiding in over at the marina, watching the plane fly over head. "There goes the gold." Pope sighed. "Shit." He span around, beginning to throw things as JJ angrily kicked a chair. "Fuck! God damn it!" Pope screamed. He grabbed a baseball bat, using it to smash up the old boxes sat around in the storage unit, cursing loudly as he did so. Both Kiara and JJ shared a worried look, knowing that losing the gold had caused their friend to breakdown.
"Pope!" Kiara yelled, hoping to gain the boy's attention and calm him down. "Pope!" She yelled again, watching him begin to hyperventilate after throwing a trashcan. He sat down on an old garden bench, unable to contain his emotions. "Pope." Kiara said again, though this time her voice was soft and full of sympathy.
"Yeah, dude." JJ commented. He glanced behind him for a moment, hoping to see Scarlett appear through the various storage units at the marina. Not seeing her- or John B- he turned his attention back to Pope and began walking over to him. "I was wondering when this was gonna happen." He pulled out his Juul and held it out to the frustrated boy. "Here you go, chief. A little weed never hurt no one." He shrugged.
Kiara stared at him, horrified that the blonde was offering the drugs to Pope. "JJ." She warned.
JJ looked over his shoulder at her, still holding the weed out for Pope. "Relax, Kie."
"You know he doesn't smoke." Kiara told him, her face dropping as she watched Pope take the Juul from JJ's open hand. He stared at it, as if questioning his decision.
"Well, maybe not until today." JJ commented with a shrug. He took a seat on the bench next to the boy and eyeing up the Juul.
"Pope." Kiara started, folding her arms over her chest. "Yeah, what is that gonna help?" She asked.
Pope finally looked up at her, taking his eyes off the smoking device. Tears formed in his eyes as he began to talk. "I lost my scholarship. Walked out in the middle of the interview. Every- It's gone. It's not gonna happen."
"You did that for us?" Kiara asked, her voice breaking slightly as she held back tears of her own.
"No, not for us." Pope answered, pushing himself off the bench and moving so he was stood in front of Kiara. "For nothing."
JJ stood up and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. "I'm here for you, Pope." The blonde patted his chest. "Welcome to my world, okay?"
"JJ-" Kiara started.
"What, Kie? He's right." JJ argued. "It doesn't matter anymore."
The pair turned to Pope, who had leant himself on the wooden pillar, taking a hit from JJ's Juul. "You don't have to do that." Kiara told him.
Pope turned his head towards her, blowing out smoke from between his lips. "What do you care?" His eyes widened as he saw John B appear round the corner, the limp body of Scarlett in his arms. "Holy shit!" He yelled, catching the attention of the other two.
JJ ran over, face falling as he noticed Scarlett. "What the hell happened back there?" He took Scarlett from his friend's arms, cradling her close to his chest.
"Whose blood is that?" Kiara asked, noticing John B's hands.
JJ moved Scarlett over to the bench, laying her on it. The sound of sirens could be heard nearby, the noise ignored by the small group. JJ's eyes fell on Scarlett's blood soaked shirt, and with shaky hands, he lifted it up- revealing the long line of broken skin. He looked back up at John B. "What the fuck happened, man?"
The sirens grew louder as a police car began to drive past, alerting the group. They all crouched behind various pieces of wood, staying there until the sound of the sirens had faded. The second the coast was clear, the four stood back up again. Kiara turned to John B, grabbing his hands. "Whose blood is this, JB?" She asked him for the second time, hoping to get an answer. "Is it yours?" Her voice shook.
John B shook his head. "It's... Rafe shot Sheriff Peterkin. And then he shot Lottie." He explained.
JJ reached up, grabbing his baseball cap and chucking it on the ground. "Fuck!" He screamed. He looked over to Scarlett. "What can we do?" He asked, his voice slightly calmer. Although, he was very worried for his girlfriend. He didn't want to lose her. Especially not like this.
There was silence for a minute or two as they all thought about the best way to help their friend. But it was Kiara who spoke first. "We can take her to my car. I have a first aid kit in there. I'm sure there's something in there we can use as make-shift stitches until we get to the hospital." JJ nodded, kneeling down next to Scarlett and tightly holding her hand.
"The police station is on route to the hospital." John B said. "I'm gonna need to stop there first." Kiara nodded.
The gold may have been lost (again), but at least they all had a new plan.
❤❤❤
The Pogues stayed there until nightfall- which wasn't long. As they waited for the dark, Kiara had driven her car around, bringing the first aid kit to the storage unit. John B recapped the events on the airstrip as Kiara fixed Scarlett's wounds to the best of her ability. She was still covered in blood, but at least it wasn't fresh anymore.
When Scarlett came to, she was lying in the back of Kiara's car with her head in JJ's lap. Groaning a little, she pushed herself into a sitting position. "What the hell are we doing in Kie's car?" She mumbled.
JJ looked down at her, a smile gracing his lips when he saw that she was awake. "Nice to see you alive, Red." He smirked.
"You weren't worrying about me, were you?" Scarlett asked, her voice raspy from not speaking in a few hours.
JJ wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into his side. "Always am Red. You know that." He glanced out the window, taking in their surroundings. "John B, what are we doing at the police station? I thought we were taking Scar to the hospital." He wondered aloud to the boy in the front seat.
"Somebody's gotta tell them what happened." John B answered as Kiara pulled the car to a stop. "And, it's on the way to the hospital so we can take Lottie there after."
"I'm glad you lot give a shit about me and all, but I don't think the hospital is the best place." Scarlett told them. She coughed to clear her throat before continuing. "I don't even have near enough the right amount of money to pay for the surgery they'll probably do."
There was a few moments of silence in the car, broken by Pope's coughing fit. It had been hours after JJ had given him his Juul, and he had moved on to smoking one of the blonde's joints. Scarlett leaned forward slightly, finally noticing the blunt between Pope's fingers. "Um, since when does Pope smoke weed?"
"Since JJ gave him his Juul back at the marina." Kiara answered, sounding unimpressed.
Scarlett nodded in understanding as JJ leaned forward, patting John B on the shoulder. "All right. I'm just gonna be real with you right now." He said. "You might end up in the lion's den, but you don't go there on purpose."
Scarlett nodded. "Surprisingly, JJ has a point."
JJ turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'surprisingly'?"
Scarlett shrugged. "I mean what I said."
"It's fundamental." JJ continued with his short speech. "Just like my old man always told me, you should never ever trust cops, no matter what the circumstance is."
"You're old man is an abusive lair." Kiara pointed out.
Scarlett nodded. "Kie's right. But so is JJ. JB, we can't trust the cops. Even if Peterkin turned out good in the end."
"I also agree with JJ. And Lottie." Pope voiced, raising his hand. "Fuck the police."
Scarlett laughed slightly, the action making her ribs ache. She raised her hand, leaning forward slightly and high-fiving Pope. "That's the spirit, dude!"
Kiara turned in her seat, looking over her shoulder at Pope. "You goin' to the dark side now?"
"When's the last time the police helped us?" Pope asked, making a very strong point.
"Peterkin looked out for me, all right?" John B snapped. "And she looked out for Lottie too."
Scarlett sighed, sitting back and resting her head on the head-rest. "That's only after she learnt about the gold and how we were going after it. Ward literally would've killed us to get it."
"Rafe nearly actually killed you." JJ mumbled, running his hand through her hair.
"I mean, Peterkin tried to, at least." John B added. "They need to know." He whispered. There was a moment of silence as Kiara simply nodded at him.
Scarlett watched as John B pushed open the door, stepping out of the vehicle. She sat up and leaned forward. Reaching a hand out, she blocked him from shutting the door. "Wait. I should go in with you. If there's two of us, they'll have to believe us, right?"
John B stared at her, letting out a sigh. "Would you stay in the car if I asked you to?" He asked, knowing what her answer would be. "You nearly died, Lottie. You should rest."
She shook her head. "You can't force me to stay in this car." She looked around at the others. "None of you can. I'm going in there with you, JB." She let go of the door, painfully climbing over the seat and hopping onto the pavement. "We're in this together. Till the end." She smiled at him, nodding her head slightly. The door swung shut behind her and she began to make her way around the car.
John B soon caught up with her, and they entered the small police station. Not much had changed in the last few days since Scarlett had been there, and it was a nice change to not be handcuffed for once. John B shut the door behind them, and as they walked down the hall to the desk, they could hear the receptionist talking to the other officers via a walkie-talkie. "Uh... excuse me, ma'am." John B spoke quietly once they reached the desk, obviously still in shock from the events at the airfield.
"Excuse me, Miss?" Scarlett asked, resting her elbows on the counter.
The receptionist looked up at them, waving her hands dismissively. "I'm sorry kids, but this isn't a good time." She looked down, speaking into the walkie-talkie again.
"Look, ma'am. This is important." Scarlett stressed.
"We know who shot the sheriff." John B added, his voice significantly quieter than Scarlett's.
The receptionist- Scarlett still didn't know her name, despite having been to the station so often- stared at them in visible shock. "You two stay put." She instructed. "I'll get a deputy." She got up from her chair, disappearing through a door.
"We'll be here..." Scarlett sighed, resting her head on her arms. Silence washed over the pair of friends- there wasn't really much to say and both of them were equally tired. After a few moments, the quiet was broken by Shoupe's voice coming through over the radio.
"Central, three Vick. We have a suspect in our 31. John Routledge."
This pieces of news startled Scarlett. She stood up straight, her eyes widening as she stared at John B. For a moment she wondered why Shoupe had said John B was the suspect. And then it hit her. "Ward." She breathed. "He told them it was you." Anger began flowing through her veins and she had to stop herself from harshly kicking the wall.
"Copy that. All units be on the lookout for John B Routledge." This time it was a woman's voice coming through the radio. Scarlett wanted to scream. The police- as usual- had been misinformed. And now, yet again, her and her friends were in deep shit.
Shoupe's voice came through the walkie-talkie again. As he spoke, Scarlett looked over to her friend. The poor boy looked like he was abut to breakdown in tears. She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his taller frame. "We'll be okay." She whispered, though she didn't quite believe herself. "We'll fix this."
"Sixteen year-old white male." Shoupe was saying, obviously describing John B to his colleagues. "Six foot. Last seen wearing board shorts, a 'Bad Brains' t-shirt, and a faded red hoodie. He was also seen with a girl, who aided the attack on the Sheriff. Scarlett Woods." Scarlett rolled her eyes at the lie as the officer went on to describe her. She tuned it out, noticing how John B's facial expressions had changed. Looking behind her, she saw two officers walk through the door. Each of them had a hand ready to grab their gun.
"Shit." Scarlett cursed. "Run?" She whispered to John B.
He nodded his head very slightly. "Run." He whispered back. He took hold of her hand, pulling her after him as he began racing to the front door. The door flung open, the two friends racing through it. "Kie! Start the car!" John B yelled. "Start the car!" He ran round to the side of the vehicle, yanking the door open. Scarlett hurried in, stumbling over the seat to where JJ sat. John B climbed quickly in after her.
"What? John B?" Kiara questioned, obviously confused. "Lottie, what the hell happened in there?"
Scarlett shook her head. "No time to explain. Just drive."
"What did you do?" Kiara yelled over the chaos that had ensued in the back of her car. Everybody had begun talking at once.
"The cops!" John B yelled, waving out the window. The two cops had finally reached the door, closing in on them. "Go!"
"Kie, please just drive!" Scarlett cried. Her eyes locked on the window next to her, as the female cop caught up to the car. She was right outside.
"I'm going! I'm sorry!" Kiara yelled in response, starting the car and putting it in drive. The car sped forward as the Pogues continued to yell over each other.
Scarlett jumped in shock when the female police officer began pounding on the window and pulling on the door handle. She was yelling at them to stop the car, which the Pogues promptly ignored. Both Scarlett and JJ leaned forward, the couple helping John B keep the door shut.
"Open it." Pope said suddenly, seeming to be more aware of his surroundings than previously that evening.
Scarlett turned her head, staring curiously at the boy. "Open it? You being serious right now Pope?"
He nodded at her. "Open it." He repeated.
"Pull over!" The female officer yelled at them, struggling against the door. John B suddenly flung the door open and the officer tumbled to the ground with a yell. As the car sped away from the police station, John B slammed the door shut. Silence over took the car, each of them in too much shock to start any conversation.
❤❤❤
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A/N:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know it's over due by a few weeks, I've just been busy and unmotivated. I appreciate everyone who has sat down to read this book, I just wish you guys weren't so silent. It would be really appreciated if you guys could maybe vote or comment on my chapters (maybe even some feedback??). I just want to know how you guys feel about this story.
There should be another update soon, if I have time to write around preparing for my job interview next week.
Stay chill guys (ugh, sounds cringe).
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Edited: 01/07/2021