LATER THAT NIGHT, THEY drove to Mrs Crain's house, the darkness overwhelming everything. The group had just arrived. Everyone was dressed in black clothing, not wanting to be seen at this time.
Laura was sitting in between JJ and Kiara, the group making terrible jokes about the plan they had. Which definitely included breaking and entering. But hey, they have nothing to lose, right?
John B was currently asking the group if they had everything, while Laura was fishing through the bag, signalling if they had the supplies.
"Grappling hook?" Said the older twin.
"No grappling hook. We're not batman." Replied the younger, laughing at her twin. "But we have everything."
Laura shoved everything back into the bag, and then threw the bag up into the front seat to John B who caught it while driving, almost crashing the van. "My bad."Laura lowered herself into her seat, trying to keep her laughs to herself.
Finally, they had arrived, and then the nerves settled right into Laura's stomach, although they weren't even going inside. But Laura wasn't complaining.
"Let's go get rich, guys." Said JJ, high fiving Laura with a smile.
"Hell yeah."
"Wait, wait." John B started, holding up everybody in the back seat. "I wanna say thank you guys. Seriously. It means a lot to me that you're here tonight." He said, before looking at Laura with a smile.
"I feel like you forget we're twins. Can never leave each other alone." Laura held out her first, awaiting John B to hit his own against it, which he did. John B chuckled softly.
Pope chimed in, "Of course, man." Then they did their handshake that the entire group of Pogue's knew.
"All right, we done with this circle jerk? Can we go do this?" JJ said, cutting off the wholesome moment. Laura rolled her eyes, shoving his shoulder before climbing out of the van first.
"Let's get that wheat in the water."
Once everyone was out of the van, JJ slammed the door shut. Sarah first started climbing the wall, then Briar, then Kiara, and after her was Laura. The four girls awaited the boys on the other side.
Laura stuck with JJ in the back of the group as they walked towards the large house. It was a hard time for her to admit any feelings towards the blonde boy. Especially when they were doing all of this for her twin brother.
And plus, she knew damn well those feelings would never be returned.
The two stayed quiet on the walk up, until once they had the house in view, the lights in the front turned on, causing the whole group to freak out. JJ pulled Laura behind the bushes, obviously not wanting her to be seen by Mrs Crain.
Pope was the first to speak, saying the obvious statement. "Okay, so she has motion sensor lights."
"We could, uh... move really slowly maybe?" JJ chimed in.
"Nope. Not really how that works, JJ." Said Briar.
"Oh, shit. Let's throw a rock at it." John B whispered with an excited tone, causing confusion throughout the entire group.
"That's a really good idea, actually. Let the axe murderer know we're here." Kiara said, sarcasm lacing through every word.
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Literally anything but that." Kiara said with the same tone.
Sarah cut in, "What about the breaker? In the circuit box on the porch. We used to play hide-and-seek here as kids. And if we were brave enough we'd go all the way up to the porch. I've seen it."
John B nodded his head no. "No, no. You're not going into that house alone."
Sarah tilted her head to the side. "Watch me." Which caused Laura to chuckle quietly to herself, enjoying the attitude the blonde was giving her brother.
The blonde boy to Laura's right randomly cuts in, "Crain chops people into pieces."
"If you believe that, but she's like what, 85? She's probably barely still kicking." Sarah finished off, trying to prove her point.
"Here. I'll go with you." Chipped in the curly-haired girl.
Briar cut in, "Me too. I know the place pretty damn well."
"Leave me out, then." Laura said, raising a finger. The blonde girl gave a nasty look, and Laura returned it with the same attitude, but adding a fake smile so nobody brought up the short encounter between the two girls.
"We'll wait for your signal."
The two girls got up from the ground, beginning to walk, until John B got their attention. "Hey! Be safe."
"We will." Replied Sarah.
The two on the side- Laura and JJ- began laughing with each other. The blonde grabbed the girl's face in one hand, "Be safe." JJ said, mocking the twin.
"I'll be so safe." Replied Laura, nodding her head slightly and grabbing his wrist dramatically, holding back her laugh. "I'll be safe for you."
"Can you guys stop? Stop! I'm gonna kill you."
Laura chuckled, "But how would that keep us safe?" John B reached over, ripping the hood off the girl's head, causing her to fall backwards with it, into JJ.
She let out a loud laugh, causing JJ to chuckle and reach a hand over to cover her mouth so Laura would keep quiet. They stayed in that position for only a few moments, until the look John B was giving them dug into Laura's mind too much.
Laura sat back up, glad the blush setting on her cheeks weren't showing due to the darkness surrounding them.
Only after a few moments, JJ began talking again. "They said when Hollis disappeared–"
"That you should shut the eff up!" Pope whisper-yelled with an angry tone towards the blonde.
Laura put her lips together, turning her head to the side, embarrassed by the situation for no reason. John B whistled after the statement.
Soon enough after long, awkward, minutes, the lights turned off. Laura looked up with a smile on her face. "They did it. Go time." They all put their masks up, ready to get going.
John B put his hand up, beginning to count down with his fingers. "Three, two–" JJ got up and already started going. "Just– just– just go."
Pope got up, then John B, and Laura followed behind the three boys. They had finally made their way back into the creepy basement, and Laura was not excited about it. But she damn well was excited for the outcome– if it became a reality.
The same dust, rust, and broken objects stood as the first time they came here. It looked no different- only it was ten times darker.
The group took the same route as they did the first time they were in the basement. John B led the group, and they found the exact spot they needed to. The well.
"Holy crap. You know what this is? It just hit me. Pope, look." JJ started, handing John B the rope while talking. "This is C.H.U.D. Full C.H.U.D."
John B looked over at Pope and Laura with concern. "What is he talking about?"
"Cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers? Have you guys not seen that film?"
"Cannot say I've had the pleasure." Replied Laura, focusing on the things she needed to instead of fully engaging in conversation.
"It's actually a good film. It's about, like, cannibals that live in the sewers and under New York City, and it's like–"
JJ got immediately cut off by John B. "Shut up, shut up! Alright, how deep do you think this is, Pope?"
Pope sighed out, looking down into the well. "I don't know."
They started getting John B ready to lower into the well, since he volunteered to go down it in the first place. The rope was tied around his waist, and then set above the pipe, held by the other three, JJ and Laura in the back, and Pope holding the part that went right over the pipe.
John B started talking once they lowered him into the well. "Hey, boys. I have one request. Don't drop me."
"Didn't plan on it." Laura chipped in. "Don't wanna lose my one and only brother who I love oh so dearly." She finished sarcastically.
Just then, JJ pretended to drop John B, grabbing the rope back quickly. Laura let go with one hand, giving JJ a smack on the back of the head.
But before any more unnecessary comments were made, John B got lowered slowly down. And this is when it hit Laura.
They were getting closer than she had ever expected.
"All right, just keep payin' it out nice and slow like that." Pope said, looking down at the brunette boy slowly getting lowered.
"Wait, hold on one second. I'm gonna get situated." JJ was fixing the rope wrapped around the back of his body, until he slipped and the rope went flying.
Laura gasped, immediately trying to grab the rope that escaped her grip. "Shit!"
John B was heard yelling as he went falling, the rope no longer having any leverage. The rope took Laura down to the ground, falling onto her stomach, but still had a tight ass grip on the rope.
Finally, they had it back in their hands.
"I told you not to drop me!" John B yelled up to the group. "What the hell was that?"
"Blame JJ!" Laura yelled down to her brother who was currently dangling over nothing. Her heart was racing faster than it has this entire time- she could only imagine how John B felt.
"Little technical difficulties. Okay, we're gonna start paying you out again."
John B's loud breathing was heard by Laura, and she could tell he was not feeling the best after the previous actions caused by his friends. Although, how could she blame him? Laura wouldn't feel too well after almost being dropped down like twenty feet.
"Okay. Okay. All right, keep goin'. All right, keep it comin'." John B said, breath incredibly shaky.
"Hey. Hey, we got fifteen feet left. Are you getting close to the bottom?" Pope asked, voice echoing while looking down into the well at the brunette boy.
" I can't tell." Replied a shaky voice. "Just– just keep going."
Laura was slowly releasing the rope so John B could get lowered even farther. She let out a deep breath, just wanting it to be over already.
"Whoa! Stop!" John B yelled up to the three. "I'm hangin' over some sewage-water lookin' shit."
"You want back up?" Yelled the girl down to him.
"Keep going, I guess..." He replied with a disgusted tone.
So that's what they did. They kept going.
It felt like forever they were lowering John B into the well, and like it was never-ending. Until finally John B yelled, "Okay, okay! I'm at the bottom. It's worse than I thought."
"I could only imagine." Laura laughed to herself, looking over at JJ who gave a smile, then chuckled.
JJ looked back down into the darkness, "You find any gold?"
"Uh, nothin' yet."
The three looked at each other, awaiting the one moment that had been talked about for days.
"Wait. I think I felt something with my foot." Immediately Laura's head turned to look back down with complete confusion all over her face. It got quiet for a few moments- "JJ! Hey, pull me up!"
The yelling gained her attention, immediately startling her, causing her to fall back into the blonde boy. Laura scrambled to get up and find the rope. "Pull him up! Come on, pull him up!" Yelled the brunette girl.
John B's yelling was continuous, drilling into Laura's mind. She was using all of her strength to make sure her brother was okay. More than she thought she had. Laura wasn't going to let anything happen to her only family.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"
Laura stopped, still holding onto the rope, but not pulling it any more. Her breaths were ragged, making it hard to concentrate on anything else right now. "Hey, I think I found something! Just give me a minute, hold on." She heard from down below.
Then Laura let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. For incredibly long moments it was quiet for the group of three above the one in the well.
"John B, you okay?" JJ's voice echoed. "Any dead bodies?"
They got no response in return. Laura looked over at JJ with concern, "He's okay? Right?" But all JJ did was shrug. "Not very reassuring but okay."
Laura sat impatiently, awaiting any sign that her brother was okay. But the quiet didn't last long as the screaming of three girls got closer and closer. Laura snapped her head over seeing Sarah, Kiara, and Briar running over to the three sitting above the well.
"What the hell is going on?" Laura asked with complete confusion.
Kiara took a deep breath, "Mrs. Crain! She's up there! She tried to kill us with a fire poker. Guys, we gotta get the fuck outta here."
The six teenagers started yelling for the one down in the well, trying their absolute hardest to get his attention while completely panicking.
"Hold on, man, I'm coming." John B replied back to the six yelling at him.
Laura made her way back to her previous spot with the rope, however now they had the help of three more people and it looked a lot more effortless than before. But then the rope slipped, and they all fell, confused.
"John B?" Laura yelled down to her brother. He yelled something completely inaudible, rising panic in the brunette girl. "I think he's drowning!"
"Hey, John B! Get back on the rope. We're gonna pull you back up, okay, buddy?" Using all their combined effort, they pulled the rope continuously, needing to get him up to the top as soon as possible.
Just then, a loud gunshot was heard, causing Laura to let go of the rope slightly, falling back into Kiara. "Shit, sorry!"
Lots of yelling was heard, but Laura couldn't seem to make out a single word anybody was saying. Laura was grabbed around the waist and pulled down to the ground, causing a loud yelp to escape her mouth.
Looking back, she was held against JJ's chest, as he kept a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. Mrs Crain was looking around, holding a gun in her hands.
Another gunshot sounded, causing another yell to come from Laura, but the hand over her mouth made it almost inaudible.
Another gunshot.
The three scrambled up from the ground, running quickly, not wasting any time. Laura hopped the stone wall once again, practically jumping into the van Kiara had opened for everyone else.
They started driving before John B could even hop the wall as well. Laura stuck her head out the door as it was still opening, flailing arms. "Dude, come on!"
Once he was in the van, you could see how absolutely disgusting he looked. He was sweaty and completely covered in mud and dirt.
"You look disgusting, dude." Laura laughed at him, climbing into the passenger seat of the van, not being able to even look at him. "And smell terrible."
Everyone immediately started agreeing with the brunette girl.
"No you didn't." Laura heard from Kiara, and she turned to see a gold bar held in John B's hand.
"Holy fucking shit, dude! That's incredible!" Yelled Laura towards him.
Everyone started screaming in excitement, now finally realizing the accomplishment they made. They all started chanting 'Full Kook'.
And this is when they knew, maybe their summer wasn't as fucked as they thought.