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"𝙎𝙊, 𝙄'𝙑𝙀 𝘽𝙀𝙀𝙉 thinking." Kiara drawled from where she sat in the back seat. "If Limbrey's legit, then Ward gets arrested. And then maybe Sarah gets the gold?"
Neither Charlotte nor JJ were fulling listening to what she was saying, as both their attentions were focused on the fact that the man from before, Pope, and a woman who could assumed to be Ms. Limbrey were making their way out of the house.
"Does that look voluntary?" Kie wondered, her attention now also on their friend.
Charlotte shook her head. "No. It doesn't."
Kiara reached for the door handle, but JJ quickly reached back to stop her. "Hold on."
"What?"
"They're going toward the back alley." Charlotte announced, tapping on the dashboard. "JJ, drive."
He started the engine, shifting the truck into drive before peeling away from the curb. "We'll meet 'em around back."
"Be chill. Be chill" Kie instructed, not taking her eyes off of Pope as they drove away. "We don't wanna spook them."
As JJ turned the corner, they lost sight of Pope, Charlotte's heart beginning to pound in her chest. She hated not knowing exactly what was happening. Her and Kiara were practically pressed up against the window, looking for any sign of him. "Where did they go?" Kie wondered, the worry starting to drip into her voice.
"What if they went underground?" JJ offered, receiving confused looks from the two sisters which prompted him to continue. "'Cause in C.H.U.D. when they took people down into the sewers, it would turn humans into humanoids 'cause of the radiation, and then all of a sudden they would turn against them 'cause─"
Charlotte cut him off. "JJ, enough about C.H.U.D., okay? Just focus for a minute."
Glancing over at her, JJ furrowed his brows. "What's your beef with C.H.U.D., Charls?"
Ignoring him, Charlotte pointed to an empty lot off of the street. "Pull over here." She instructed, "We'll get out and see if we can hear them at all."
Nodding, JJ pulled over, killing the engine as all three of them hopped out. No one said a word for a moment, listening for any sign of Pope and the two strangers.
A few seconds passed before the noise hit Charlotte's ears. It was quiet...but it was there. "Do you guys hear that?" She whispered, still straining to hear more.
Kiara paused for a brief moment before nodding. "It sounds like a struggle." She deduced, eyes widening slightly.
Charlotte's brain kicked into gear, her body following close after. "Here!" She called, taking off toward the source of the noise. It was just beyond a stone wall that the scuffle could be heard. Luckily, a gate lead right to where they needed to go.
JJ rounded the corner first, followed closely by Kiara and Charlotte. As they burst into the alley, the first thing that could be noticed was the fact that Pope and that man from before were on the ground, struggling against each other. The next thing she noticed was the taser that was currently being kicked by JJ.
It came sliding toward the two girls, and swiftly, Charlotte bent down and scooped it up. "Come on!" Kie yelled, urging JJ and Pope to hurry up.
Yanking Pope up off the ground, the two boys took off, following after Kie and Charlotte who were already racing toward the truck.
"Go! Go!" Charlotte prodded, shoving her sister into the backseat before quickly following after her.
JJ and Pope rushed into the car, slamming the doors before JJ started the engine. "Who were those people!?" Kie yelled, panic in her voice.
"We're getting out of here!" JJ announced, shifting the truck into gear.
Pope was panting, trying to catch his breath. "They were crazy as shit!"
Charlotte turned, looking out the back window as JJ peeled out of the lot and into another one of the alleys. "Do you think he's going to follow us?" She questioned, hand still gripped around the taser.
"I'm gonna go with yes." JJ answered, pressing his foot harder on the gas. "Son of a bitch isn't gonna give up that easy."
"Fuck." Charlotte muttered, eyes landing on a green car that had pulled into the alley behind him. "I think that's him." JJ and Pope spun around, JJ's abrupt movement causing the truck to swerve slightly.
Kiara let out a string of curse words as JJ regained control of the vehicle, peeling around one of the corners as his three other passengers hung on for dear life. "Mother fucker." He muttered, eyes flickering to the rearview mirror. "I wish this douche would fuck off."
"This is a one-way." Pope declared, gripping onto the dashboard. "Go left."
JJ, obviously, did not go left. "I know. I know."
"This is a one-way." Pope repeated, this time with more authority.
Still, JJ did not make any effort to turn around.
"Do you know what one way means?" Charlotte yelled over the chaos.
JJ shot her a quick, but unimpressed, look through the mirror. "He's following us, I can't just turn around!"
Kiara clamped her eyes shut, gripping onto her sister's arm in fear. "There's another car!" She screamed, drawing everyone's attention away from the man following them and toward the car that was headed straight toward their truck.
A thrilled holler fell from JJ's lips as he veered the truck around the corner at the last second. He was having the time of his life it seemed.
Charlotte, who wasn't very religious, was currently praying that they made it out of this damn truck alive. She was pretty sure Pope and Kiara were doing the same thing.
Just as the truck sped around the corner, JJ was forced to swerve toward the sidewalk as two people ran out in front of them. From her obstructed view, Charlotte could see them dive toward safety.
"Jesus!" JJ yelled, his voice slightly shaken this time.
"Those were people!" Kie exclaimed, which earned a "Yeah, no fucking shit." From her sister.
"Get out of the road!" Pope screamed at the people who were long gone, turning his head slightly as JJ sped up.
Tires screeched from behind them as the man swerved around another person who had for some damn reason run into the middle of the road.
"That was some evasive driving techniques, right there, y'all." JJ bragged of his own avoidance of the pedestrians.
"Yeah?" Charlotte mocked, breathing heavily from the chaos of it all. "You learn that in driver's ed?"
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated right now, Charlotte." JJ chastised as he sped up, sending the ruck jarring forward.
Pope looked out the back, and then to the side. "Where we going?"
JJ yanked the wheel, sending them around another corner and Kiara crashing into the side of Charlotte from the motion. "I'm gonna lose him."
Shoving her sister off of her, Charlotte righted herself, throat tightening slightly at the sight of the smoke billowing from under the hood.
"You guys said he fixed the carburetor!" JJ exclaimed as the truck came to a crawling stop.
"He told us he did!" Charlotte argued, already throwing open her door in the silent understanding that they would no longer be taking their escape in this truck. "Paid three hundred dollars for that shit." She grumbled, slamming the door with a bit more aggression than she had originally intended.
"Rule number one; never trust mechanics!" JJ declared, in a hurry to get out of the driver's seat as if the thing was going to blow.
Kiara threw her hands up as she followed the others out of the truck. "What now, Mario?" She mocked, earning a snort from her sister.
JJ rolled his eyes, pulling Charlotte's bag out of the bed of the truck before launching it at her. "Grab your shit and let's go."
Shouldering her bag, Charlotte's ears picked up on the sound of an oncoming vehicle. It was blocking their path back to the road. "Shit." She cursed, looking over her shoulder. "We gotta go around."
The words had barely left her mouth by the time the green Mercedes pulled around the corner. With hearts pounding, the four of them took off down the alley, doing their best to put more distance between themselves and their pursuer.
"Shit, guys, I think he has a gun!" Kie exclaimed, voice shaking as her feet pounded against the pavement.
"Of course he does!" Charlotte huffed, "Add him to the list of people who have tried to kill us in the last month."
JJ grabbed onto Charlotte, yanking her with him as she slowed slightly. "Rock in my shoe!" She announced, wincing as she tried to pick up her pace.
"I think I'm cramping!" Pope added, a distressed look covering his face as well.
Kiara glared at the two of them as she ran, "A rock in the shoe and a cramp aren't gonna matter when we're all dead."
She was right, but it didn't make the discomfort any less as they turned one of the corners back onto the main road. "We might have to split up!" JJ announced, still gripping onto Charlotte. "I don't know where to g─" His words fell silent as he ran straight into an Amazon delivery person, sending parcels flying, most of them straight into Charlotte's face.
"Shit!" She yelled, one of the corners catching her eyes. "I can't see."
"Jesus Christ." Kiara yelled, shoving her sister forward. "Sorry about that!" She then called to the delivery person who was looking rather dishevelled.
"This way!" JJ called, pulling Charlotte with him as he beckoned the other two to follow them. Rounding down one of the side alleys, they could hear the man close behind. They were running out of places to go just as quickly as they were running out of energy.
Charlotte was still barely able to see from the package debacle as they rounded one of the building, popping back up on one of the main streets. Just as quickly as they turned the corner, they came to an abrupt stop, each of them staring at the the passenger tricycle that had stopped in front of them.
But it was more about the people on said trike that had the four of them shocked beyond words.
You know when you go on vacation to a far away town and randomly see someone you know from home...how weird it feels to see them in an environment in which you never would have expected to? That's exactly what this felt like.
John B Routeledge and Sarah Cameron sat atop the tricycle with wide eyes that eventually turned to wide smiles.
Charlotte squinted, wondering if her one good eye was playing tricks on her. This couldn't be real...how were they here?
JJ, Pope, and Kie wore similar expressions as the oldest Carrera girl, each of them letting out shocked laughs as they looked at their once lost friends.
After a fleeting moment of blissful surprised passed, reality clicked in and it dawned on each of them that they were still being chased for their lives.
"Get in! Get in!" John B suddenly announced, Sarah echoing his words as she moved aside to get in.
JJ and Pope ushered Charlotte and Kiara in first, the two girls plunking down next to Sarah. Barely in her seat, Charlotte was already tightly wrapping her arms around the younger Cameron girl. "Thank God." She whispered, finding solace in the laughter that flowed from Sarah's lips.
From behind them, JJ and Pope pushed the back of the trike, propelling John B forward as he ferociously pedalled.
Their pursuer finally rounded the corner, an angry look on his face as he followed after them. Two other men followed further behind him, and Charlotte assumed they must have been after John B and Sarah.
"Go!" Kie yelled to the two boys, "Hurry! Pedal faster, John B!"
Pope and JJ were yelling from behind as well, announcing the proximity of the pursuer.
John B looked over his shoulder, "I'm going as fast as I can!"
Charlotte grabbed onto JJ's hand, yanking him into the seat. "Get in!" She yelled.
On the other side, Pope attempted to do the same, but to no avail. He tripped over his feet, stumbling to the ground for a moment before righting himself just as the man reached out.
"Come on!" Kie prodded, grabbing Pope's hand before pulling to safety. JJ was seated on Charlotte's lap, Pope on Kiara's as John B continued to pedal them to safety.
The man reached out, trying to grab onto the back of the seats which was met by all four of the teenagers promptly shoving him off which sent him tumbling to the ground.
John B let out an excited laugh, "See you later, alligator."
Kiara and Charlotte rose their middle fingers, shoving them in the direction of the man as he gingerly pulled himself off the ground, a scowl on his face.
The whole atmosphere had shifted from fearful for to living their best lives. Their laughter melded together, filling Charlotte's heart with joy.
JJ shifted on Charlotte's lap, blowing the man mocking kisses. "Blowin' you a little kiss!" He called, adding insult to injury.
Charlotte let out a laugh, leaning forward to rest her head against his back, pure bliss washing over her for a moment.
They had come to Charleston to meet with a stranger who they had thought might be able to exonerate their friend. They never would have guessed that their trip would end in pursuits and reunions. But honestly, Charlotte was so happy it did.
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