CHAPTER NINETEEN:
THE LION'S DEN
(episode six: parcel nine)
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BOTH ARDEN AND JOHN B were released from the hospital overnight. Haven woke the next morning to Pope gently shaking her awake, showing her a string of texts from John B who asked for them to meet at The Wreck for breakfast. Naturally, they got ready and snuck out as fast as they could, the first signs of life beginning to stir downstairs. Fortunately, they managed to get away before anybody noticed them, arriving to Arden munching on a plate of sandwiches while JJ and Kie sat with her.
"Is John B here yet?" Haven asked as she sat down beside Arden and stole one of her sandwiches. She let out an outraged squawk as Haven took a bite, reaching for it despite half of it already being gone. "Ard, you have four sandwiches left! Sharing is caring, okay?"
Arden pouted at her. "But I don't want to share."
"Too bad. I haven't eaten yet and they look good."
"And how is that my problem?" she grumbled before her frown changed to a smile as John B arrived and hobbled over to their table. "Hey, I heard you came out with the exact same injury as me. Twinsies!" John B barely had time to comprehend her abrupt mood change before she turned around to grab a bowl from the counter, shoving it into his hands. "Eat. I don't know when the last time you had a proper meal was."
"So he can have your food and I can't?" Haven rolled her eyes. When Arden just ignored her, she sighed and took another bite of her sandwich. "Fruit isn't even a proper meal."
"Anyways, how's life with the Cameron's, John? Are you legally John B Cameron now? Wait a second, that's a bit weird, don't you—"
"I'm sorry, you're staying where?" Kie cut off Arden's rambles as John B avoided looking at her.
"Uh, Tannyhill," he mumbled.
"So you're living with Sarah Cameron."
"They're adopted siblings now, Kiara, keep up," Arden smirked, though she went quiet as John B shot her a dark look. "Okay, I'm just gonna go over there." Snatching the plate of sandwiches out of Haven's reach, she moved to the table beside them, John B just shaking his head before going back to the subject at hand. "Okay, look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, alright? And it's way better than foster care which, by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn't—"
"Hey, so do you have a membership to the clubs now?" For once, it wasn't Arden with the smart remarks, but Pope. He was leaning back in his chair beside Haven, an arm around her shoulders as they listened to John B in disbelief. This was not what they got woken up for... right?
"And what about those little golf carts they drive around?" JJ snickered. "Do you get one of them?"
He was yet to look in Haven's direction despite standing right beside her. From the corner of her eye, she spied just how tense his crossed arms were, undoubtedly caused by her presence. She didn't get it. Before she and Pope arrived, he chatted away to Arden like nothing had changed, a fond smile on his face as he watched her talk to jellybean about the different foods she was eating. Yet, when Haven sat down, he went quiet and only spoke to the others. She supposed she deserved it, but it wasn't getting any easier.
"Does it come with a sweater vest, or do you have to buy one of those on your own?"
"Look, you promised," Kie cut off Pope with a sigh. Like Haven, she wasn't in the mood for games. She just wanted things to go back to how they were before. "You said you weren't with her."
John B went to protest but faltered, knowing there was nothing he could say. "Bro, just own it. She got you."
"Look, if you want to hang out with her, that's fine. But I'm letting you know right now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah."
"You can count me out too," Haven said, leaning forward so that Pope's arm dropped away from her shoulders. If she noticed the way his face fell, she didn't say anything, instead looking directly at John B as he frowned at them. "It's one thing for you to tell her, but if you bring her anywhere near me, I'm out."
"Oh, my god. Do you guys see her here?" John B rolled his eyes.
"She might not be here, but she's definitely left her mark on you," Arden hummed as she wandered back over, tugging on the necktie he had hanging around his neck. When he smacked her away with a glare, she raised her hands in surrender. "Jesus, I was just trying to lighten the mood. No need to hit the pregnant lady."
"Look, a little focus would be fantastic."
"I'm focusing," she hissed as he looked at her pointedly. "Have, tell him I'm focusing, the most focused here."
"Just go back to your sandwiches, Arden," Haven sighed as the girl crossed her arms defensively.
"I can't. I ate them."
"Then go get more."
"Fine then."
While she stomped off to annoy Mr Carrera into giving her more food, John B took the opportunity to move on, ignoring Kie's pointed stare and Haven's shake of her head. He didn't want to think about what they had to say. The reality was, everyone knew deep down he was lying to himself. His relationship with Sarah was so much more, he genuinely felt something for her, and neither Kie or Haven could stand it.
"We've got the map, right?"
"Yeah, but it's all out of whack because the guy was ganja'd when he drew it," JJ scoffed and gestured down at the table where John B was laying out the ancient piece of paper. Kie rolled her eyes at him, "It's because the coast has changed."
"Oh."
"So we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed," Pope shrugged, subconsciously reaching for Haven again as she leaned back in her chair. She smothered a smile as his hand intertwined with hers under the table, cheeks tinting pink in a way that didn't go unnoticed by Kie or JJ.
John B, on the other hand, was too busy analysing his map to quiz them. "What about the old forts?"
"Battery Jasper."
And so, with great effort (it took a lot to convince Arden to give up on her hunt for more sandwiches) they left The Wreck and made their way out to where Kie, Arden and JJ had parked the van. Arden and John B were chatting up front with Pope and JJ not far behind them, leaving Haven and Kie to bring up the rear. The latter was staring at her friend's face intently, smirking knowingly as Haven refused to meet her gaze.
"Something happened, didn't it?"
"I mean, yeah," she shrugged, shy all of a sudden. "Arden and John B fell off the Hawk's nest, they have matching casts—"
"Not that," Kie dismissed with a roll of her eyes. "I mean between you and Pope."
"Oh, my god. You're just like Arden."
"Is that a yes?"
Haven thought about it for a moment, eventually saying, "It's not a no." Then, as Kie gasped in excitement, she rushed off to join Pope in the van with Arden. The girl in question was in the middle of arguing with JJ, the blonde boy partially blocking the door as he attempted to drag her back outside.
"I don't want to ride up front," she whined, digging her heels into the carpeted floor as he shot her a frustrated look. "Arden, come on—"
"Jeez, I'll ride up front," Pope sighed, shrugging at Haven before he shoved past his friends into the front seat. Arden smirked in triumph. "Problem solved. Po-Pope is riding up front." With that, she forced her way between Haven and Kie, throwing her arms around their shoulders with a content sigh. "Hello, my lovely ladies, how are we today?"
"Ard, we were talking not even ten minutes ago," Kie deadpanned, though she was cut off by JJ childishly slamming the door and stomping his way over to his seat. "Jesus, someone's in a bad mood."
"That might be because of me," Arden winced before reaching out to tap the blonde boy on the nose. "Chin up, baby, we're going gold hunting... aren't we?"
She trailed off when she realised that she had no idea what they were doing, swaying on the spot as John B reversed out of the parking lot and sped off around a corner. "Yes, princess, we are. Now get the fuck down before you hurt yourself." He gently pulled her down into his lap so she wouldn't fall backwards, huffing as she cooed and began to tease him about it. Haven watched them for a moment before turning away, JJ still unable to look at her.
"You two okay?" Kie mumbled as she nudged the girl's side. Haven shook her head. "He's angry still, and I don't blame him, I just wish he'd talk to me."
Before she was able to reply, the conversation up front stopped abruptly as Pope winked at Arden, "Got it... love-bug!" Haven furrowed her brows as Kie giggled at Arden's shiver of disgust. "No love-bug?"
"No love-bug, Po-Po."
"What did I miss?" Haven asked, prompting Arden to reach out and pat her on the head. "Just Pope being his weird self, Have."
It didn't take them much longer to arrive at Battery Jasper. It was a simple rock formation on a hill overlooking a good portion of Figure Eight, no signs of gold in sight. The pogues exchanged doubtful glances before hopping out of the van, Pope making his way over to the rock to lay the map out across it.
"We're in Battery, right here." He pointed at a particular location before tracing the nearby surroundings. "So if this is Parcel Nine, then it's somewhere North-East of here."
"Over there?" JJ frowned. "Guys, that's not Tannyhill, that's a subdivision."
"Tannyhill Plantation used to be the entire island," John B explained. "It got sold into smaller pieces over time."
Pope analysed the map again, brows furrowed in confusion while Haven moved to peer over his shoulder. She obviously didn't recognise much of it, but she saw Parcel Nine and pointed at the first landmark that stood out to her. "What about that?"
Pope followed her gaze, eyes brightening as he grinned. "Haven, you're a genius."
"Jesus, Pope, you're such a flirt," Arden smirked, though she sighed when he just shot her an unimpressed stare. Time and place, Arden, time and place. "Alright, fine. Why is Haven a genius?"
"We've got to look for an old stone wall," he said as he began to fold up the map. "Then we should hit the jackpot."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road," JJ huffed as he bounded back over to the van.
They were driving for another ten minutes before they came across what they were looking for. Pope was in the front directing John B while the other four holed up in the back. Arden had forced Haven into the chair beside JJ, sitting at their feet with Kie despite Haven's look of protest. She'd noticed the distance between the two and was not-so-subtly trying to fix it for them. She didn't want to be the reason two cousins lost their relationship. And yet, JJ just stared out the window stubbornly while Haven played with her hands, no progress made.
"This looks like a stone wall to me," JJ piped up as they parked outside an unfamiliar house. Or, at least, it was unfamiliar for Haven.
"Not the Crain House," John B groaned while joining a strangely eager Arden outside to get a closer look. Confused, Haven followed after them, not sure what exactly was wrong as Kie sighed in disbelief, "Are you kidding me?"
"I don't get it..."
"Why did it have to be here, of all places?" Pope whined.
"Okay, what's so bad about the Crain House?"
"Oh, please don't get him started," Arden groaned as JJ turned to look at Haven sharply.
"Mrs Crain is an axe-wielding murderer," he hissed. Despite the topic choice, she couldn't help smiling widely. That was the first thing he'd said to her all day. "I heard she buried her husband's head on the property."
"Thanks for that, JJ," Arden huffed, her face turning green at the thought. "I think I might be sick."
Haven rolled her eyes at her, though she too felt a bit grossed out. "That's what you get for hogging all the food, Ard."
"Okay, surely we can move on from that now," she implored before turning back to the Crain House and glowering. "You know what, we should get this over and done with. I'm not really in the mood to go hunting for dead corpses."
"Or to become one," Haven added.
Kie glared at them. "Did you really have to say that?"
Haven shrugged while Arden mockingly saluted. "It's what we're here for."
Mrs Crain's yard was overgrown from years left unattended. The grass was knee-high in length, the plants dead and withered. It gave Haven the creeps, possibly even more than the graveyard John B had taken them to. It was somehow worse knowing there was a weird old lady nearby who'd supposedly killed her husband (that is, if you believed a word that came out of JJ's mouth.) At least at the graveyard, they only had to deal with some dead people. Now, there was a dead man and the lady who murdered him.
"Look, you guys know whose house this is, right?"
"Honestly," John B said. "I don't really believe the stories of this place."
JJ glared at him before hurrying after Kie. "Which stories did you hear?"
"The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since." For a moment, she was deadly serious, but she couldn't resist smirking as JJ listened attentively. "On certain nights when the moon is full, you can see her in the window."
"Kie, it's not funny 'cause it's true," he huffed. "I swear to god, guys, this is real. I knew Hollis—" He cut himself off with a high-pitched shriek, jumping into Arden's unsuspecting arms as a moss-covered statue gave him the fright of his life. His face flushed pink as the others laughed, quickly brushing himself off and shooting the statue one final glare.
"Wait," Pope frowned as JJ's words finally registered with him. "You know Hollis Crain?"
"Who's Hollis Crain?" Haven echoed as JJ nodded.
"Dude, how did you know Hollis Crain?"
"No one's going to answer me?" Haven sighed as she weaved her way through the overgrown grass behind the rest of them. "Okay, that's cool, I guess."
"She was my babysitter, man," JJ said. "She told me about it. Told me the truth... about her mother and what happened in this house." So that explained it. "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..."
"Oooh, what night?" Arden frowned, eerily invested as she leaned in towards him.
"It all came back to her. When Hollis was six-years-old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mum 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 have split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlour 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 scoffed.
"Dude, I swear to god."
"Well, did she call the police?" Pope asked.
"She didn't have time—" He was cut off by John B shaking his head and shoving past them, intent on leaving them behind if it meant finding the gold. JJ rushed after him in a panic, dragging him back as he grumbled to himself. "You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer. You've got a cast on."
"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay?" he snapped. Arden went to point out that she definitely cared but was interrupted by Kie covering her mouth. "I've got nothing to lose, right? So you comin' or what?"
Haven really didn't want to. JJ was definitely dramatic, but she couldn't shake the eerie feeling of eyes watching her after he told Hollis' story. Still, she reluctantly followed John B further into the garden with gold on the horizon.