SEASON TWO,
CHAPTER 29:
IMPROVISATION
"Natural viagra."
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THE CROSS THAT had once belonged to Denmark Tanny is the main focus for the friends to retrieve. But the problem with doing this is that they're now down a Pogue after police officers found the vehicle wrecked on the side of the road, pulling Kiara away from the group to take her back home — Shoupe threatened to report all of them as a group for leaving the scene of an accident otherwise. This means that they will have to figure out a plan and go ahead with it, while also (somehow) making sure that Kie is okay.
Currently, the five friends are lurking around outside of Tannyhill as they try to make sure that they won't appear as suspicious to anyone passing by. Each of them remain on the other side of the border, having to duck so that they're just able to peak over the top of the stonewalls. From there, the large truck that had been seen earlier on the quiet roads is now being parked on the driveway. Rafe eventually hops out of the vehicle and proceeds to make his way inside of the house itself.
"How much do you wanna bet Rafe has the cross inside of that truck right now?" Pope asks.
Sarah shrugs. "There's only one way to find out."
"Wait, what?" Delilah questions, catching sight of the girl walking away. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm going to see for myself." Sarah replies.
"Look, before you volunteer yourself on this death mission, I need to know a couple things." John B begins, almost hesitantly.
"Death mission." Sarah repeats with a scoff. "Sounds oddly familiar."
"I just have questions, okay? About us." John B tells her. "I'm... I'm sorry, alright? And I should've said it sooner. I want you to have this back."
Sarah's eyes travel down to the necklace that she had worn ever since the two got married, it acting as the wedding ring for their relationship. The girl doesn't say anything in response, grabbing John B instead and slamming her lips onto his. The brunet is quick to melt into her actions and instantly kiss back — he had missed her touch. Meanwhile, the three friends nearby are standing at the two in disbelief that this is happening during an important situation.
"Are me and Ly like that?" JJ asks the boy.
"Kinda." Pope replies. "I mean, you don't solve your problems in front of us, but you're very affectionate."
"What can I say? I just like affection from my boyfriend." Delilah states.
Soon enough, the pair finish resolving their problem together and separate to walk in opposite directions from each other — Sarah heads towards her home, whereas John B goes over to where his friends stand. The boy just rolls his eyes after catching sight of the three with smirks on their faces as they get ready to make little comments. John B shoves Delilah in the shoulder in a playful manner to prevent her from saying anything, which only makes her do the same action back to him.
"That's not very nice." Delilah says with sarcasm laced in her voice. "What if I fell over?
"Well, you're not very nice." John B jokes.
"That's my girl you're talking to. Be careful what you say." JJ warns, playfully.
"I was gonna ask you if you wanted me to perform your vows." Pope tells the brunet. "But I've changed my mind and will ask these two instead."
"Did you at least say 'be safe'?" Delilah asks.
"I did say that, yes." John B replies.
Beyond the wall, Sarah can be seen walking over to the truck that was just parked by her older brother moments ago. She peers around inside of the vehicle to then realise that the keys have been removed from the ignition, which means that the doors are most likely locked. So, Sarah turns around on her heel and enters the house itself to go looking for the missing keys. This only sends a panic to rise up inside of the four teenagers that are watching from afar, knowing that this is exactly what they didn't want to happen.
"Hey, JB, I think you might've missed something when telling her to 'be safe'." Delilah comments.
"I'm going over." John B informs.
He had completely ignored what the redhead had said to him sarcastically, proceeding to go along with what he said he was going to do — Delilah couldn't really care if he said anything in response or not. The brown haired boy grabs ahold of the stonewall and attempts to haul his body over the top of it, aiming to land on the other side. This makes Delilah and the two boys go to copy John B's actions and follow after him; none of them want to be left behind when they have the chance to get involved and help.
A car's horn suddenly fills their ears and rings loudly through the quiet air of the night, which is followed by the sound of an older man's voice. Each of them halt in their actions and spin around to see that an elderly man has now stepped out of the vehicle, gaze already settled onto them. A gun is gripped firmly at hand, already loaded as a precaution. Instantly, the teenagers jump down from the wall and raise their hands in the air to show that none of them mean to cause any harm.
However, one person out of the four Pogues actually managed to escape and land on the other side of the wall. Delilah crouches down to avoid her bright hair to be seen swaying from the sudden movements, not wanting to get herself caught and put the boys into even more trouble with the man. JJ is the first one to notice that the girl had managed to slip away unseen after he went to take a protective step in front of her; half of him is glad that Del's away from the barrel of the gun, while another is slightly worried about what will happen next.
"I got a double-aught bucks in this thing, so I can't miss." The man informs.
"Sir, it's not what it seems." JJ says.
"You boys are on the wrong side of the island." The man states. "In fact, I could've sworn there was a girl with you. Ginger hair?"
"No." JJ instantly denies, protecting his girlfriend from being caught. "No ginger girl is with us."
The man pauses. "I think I'm gonna call the police."
"You don't have to do that, sir." JJ insists.
"I'll decide for myself what I need to do." The man fires back.
"Can I just talk to a minute, sir? Just to explain." JJ tells him, receiving a nod in response. "I know you think we're just some derelict kids from The Cut, but we weren't that to Mr Cameron."
"What were you then?" The man asks.
"We were his yard workers, sir." JJ lies. "We were just waiting for our yard associate Jay—"
"Tommy." John B mumbles at the same time as the blond says a name.
"Tommy to get back from planting a row of flowers for Mr Cameron's memorial." JJ continues, going along with the new name.
"Keep talking." The man urges, wanting to find out more of this new information. "Go on."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Delilah has now moved away from the hiding place as she soon realises that she can't wait around for the three boys. The redhead sneaks across the front garden so that she's able to be physically closer to where the large truck is parked on the driveway. By now, Sarah has managed to retrieve the cluster of keys for the truck and has made her way back outside. The girl fumbles around with each of the keys in an attempt to unlock the back doors to the vehicle; a gut feeling settles in her stomach that is just telling her to get it open.
"Delilah?" Sarah calls, surprised. "What are you doing? I thought you were with the others."
"We didn't want you going inside and tried to hop the wall, but a man caught them. I was the only one that managed to escape." Delilah explains.
"I had to get the keys." Sarah reasons before letting out a sigh. "Look, please just help me get this open."
The girl nods in agreement, knowing that they have to check to see if Denmark's cross is actually inside of the truck before they can transport it anywhere. The keys are taking out of Sarah's hands and is now in Delilah's possession as she moves forwards to try unlock the doors that her friend was struggling with previously. Then, the doors are pulled open to reveal that a dead body (Renfield's) lay there with his cold eyes drained of life.
"No, no, no." Sarah chants, muttering under her breath. "This can't be happening."
Delilah finds herself unable to physically voice the emotions that she feels in this particular situation, a gasp slipping past her lips as she sharply inhales. A few small steps are taken as the redhead tries to walk backwards, not wanting to be anywhere near what's just been discovered in the truck. However, as this action is made, Delilah's back collides into another persons body where their hands fly to her waist to grip onto her tightly.
"I really wish neither of you did that." Rafe states.
"Get off of me!" Delilah exclaims.
The boy doesn't listen to the demands, throwing a hand over the top of her mouth to prevent any more screams from being heard — that doesn't stop Sarah from doing so. Delilah squirms around in the firm grip in a desperate attempt to escape, feeling herself being slung over the top of his shoulder so that her feet are no longer in contact with the ground. Then, suddenly, the redheads body is thrown into the back of the truck, the action careless and causing a groan of pain to slip past her lips. The doors are slammed shut after this takes place and makes the loud sound to bounce off of the vehicles walls.
Sarah screams and shouts for her brother to stop the harmful actions he's committing, trying to fight back and save one of her best friends. But Rafe just turns his attention onto his younger sister and grabs ahold of her too, covering her mouth to stop the screams. Sarah struggles against Rafe's tight hold as she feels herself being dragged back inside of the house. The blonde wants nothing more than to break free and go help Delilah before something bad can happen.
From the inside of the truck, Delilah is desperately pounding her fists against the doors while screaming out for someone to help. Throat begins to go sore as her voice starts to strain, choking back sobs. The girl sinks down onto the floor of the truck as her back is pressed against the cold walls. Teary green eyes fall onto the dead body laying in front of where she sits; Renfield's skin has become cold and pale, splotches of blood on his shirt from the bullet wounds, and his eyes are wide open while staring blankly ahead.
Meanwhile, the three boys are still standing on the other side of the stonewall as they continue to talk to the elderly man with the gun. They've all been saying nothing but complete lies in an attempt to try make the original story more believable — it's mostly been JJ that talks, John B and Pope just chipping in every now and then. The man just stands there and listen to everything that they have to tell him, not doubting any of it for a single second.
"That's why we planted those flowers." JJ states after rambling on about a made-up story.
"Yeah." John B and Pope chorus in agreement.
"You smell that, right?" JJ questions.
"What is that, night-blooming jasmine?" The man asks.
JJ shakes his head. "No, no. That's more like, um... Delilahs. Such a beautiful flower, you know? I could stare at her— them, I mean. The flowers. I can stare at the flowers all day."
"Nice one." Pope comments, voice barely above a whisper.
"Delilahs?" The man repeats. "Did you know that it's a type of dahlia flower?"
"Yes, sir. We did." JJ replies with a small smile, lying once again.
"We also planted some—" John B begins as he tries to continue with the lies.
"Natural viagra." JJ interrupts.
"Really?" The man questions, surprised.
"Just one sniff and bam! It's hammer time!" JJ exclaims, trying to emphasise the effects. "You know what I'm saying?"
"Our associate Tommy should be here any minute now." Pope informs, speak up to try and end the conversation. "We'll be quiet."
"Yeah, we'll just finish up here." JJ adds. "I'm so sorry to bother you, sir."
The elderly man simply nods in response, believing every single one the lies that's been fed to him by the teenagers. The man turns back around and puts the gun down to one side as he realises that he doesn't have to use it tonight, making sure that it's switched back to safety mode. Then, he clambers back into his vehicle and sets off down the quiet roads while the boys all wish a good night to him.
But by the time the conversation ends, the four boys turn towards the house to then realise that they're too late. Rafe has gotten back into the drivers seat of the truck and has started the engines, setting off for the roads once again. From inside, Delilah can hear this happening and panic only begins to rise up in her body, worried about what's going to happen. A stream of tears have stained her cheeks after she had been crying nonstop, throat worn out from the sobs and screams she had released. Delilah's tried every single way of escaping, but not even a gap is visible for her to fit through due to everything around her being blocked off.
All of a sudden, a loud thud is heard against the back doors of the truck, almost sounding like someones body has collided against the wood. Delilah's heart drops at the sound as she immediately assumes that it's Rafe and fears for the worst. Gaze drifts over to the door to see that it hasn't been pulled opened just yet, nor does it even sound like the padlock is going to be unlocked. So, Delilah decides to do a logical thing that can attract the attention of anyone nearby.
"Help!" Delilah shouts.
"Shut the fuck up, Delilah!" Rafe demands, voice coming from the drivers seat. "I mean it."
"Delilah?" A familiar voice hisses from the outside of the door. "It's me, Pope. What the hell are you doing in there?"
"What the hell are you doing?" Delilah fires back, shocked that it's her friend. "Please just help me out. Rafe put me here."
Meanwhile, while the pair are with the truck, JJ and John B are sprinting down the smooth roads as they chase after a black vehicle — Rose, Wheezie, and an unconscious Sarah are seated inside. The boys are pounding their fists against the glass windows of the car to capture the family's attention. Yells leave both of their mouths, sounding desperate and pained as more seconds pass by.
"Wheezie! Unlock the door!" John B demands.
"Why can't I let him in?" Wheezie asks her step-mom.
"No!" Rose exclaims.
"Sarah, wake up!" John B yells. "Wheezie, unlock the door right now!"
"I'm sorry." Wheezie apologises.
An engine revs loudly through the night sky as the car suddenly increases with speed, driving along the roads much faster than before. This causes the boys to fall behind due to the fact that they're physically unable to keep up with a moving vehicle. Pants for breaths are heard from the pair as they struggle to catch air in their lungs, having thrown their energy into running after the car.
"John B..." JJ calls, turning to the boy. "Where the hell is Ly?"
"Wait—" John B begins.
"I swear to god, if they've done something to her, I'm going to lose my fucking shit." JJ informs.
"Rafe might have her." John B suggests. "Red went after the cross, correct?"
"Well, yeah, she went to help Sarah." JJ replies.
"Then she's probably in the truck somewhere, and Pope's there too." John B tells him.
"And what if she's not?" JJ questions.
"She can't be too far from us, JJ." John B reminds, pausing. "Look, we need to get to the Twinkie and follow—"
"I get you're worried about Sarah, but this is my girl, John B. I can't lose her." JJ states.
"I know." John B replies. "But if my guess is right, Pope will be with her."