CHAPTER FOURTEEN
•••
That next morning, everything seemed to be okay again.
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the air was calm— nothing seemed out of place. This was a pleasant way to wake up Collins concluded, being as she had spent the majority of her night fussing about the possibility that John B was suffering from worse injuries that they weren't aware of. It kept her up much too late so she hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep (an occurrence that seemed to be happening a lot more regularly than she would've liked). The only reason she was even awake at a decent hour was because of Charlie's bustling around the house while he was getting ready for work and he interrupted her sleep. And Charlie rarely ever woke up before her.
He'd knocked on her door and cracked it open just a bit as he poked his head in to check on her. Collins was buried under blankets with her bed head forming a nest on her pillow. She grumbled tiredly and squinted at him, finding difficulty in opening her eyes any wider than the slits she had them in.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this was my sister's room, not the troll under the bridge." He dodged the throw pillow that she hurled his way, shielding himself with the door. He smirked to himself and took her response as an invitation instead of a deterrent, stepping into her room and walking over to her bed and taking a seat at the end. "You plan on checking in on John B today?"
He said it with a quieter, more lighthearted tone. Collins had debriefed him on the whole situation the night before when she came home, exhausted from the physical and mental wear and tear of the day. He knew that John B had been ushered to the hospital, and like her, had been pretty worried about his recovery. She'd told him a bit of a lie to avoid revealing that the reason they were even at the Hawk's Nest was so John B could retrieve a map that would aid them in their treasure hunt. So instead, Collins resorted to airing out John B's dirty laundry and telling Charlie that he was there on a secret meet-up with Sarah Cameron.
"No fucking way." Charlie had deadpanned. "John B and Rafe's little sister. That's diabolical. You should kick his ass for that."
If there was anything that could distract Charlie from probing the situation, it was illicit affairs. He lived for them. It's why he loved working at the country club, he got loads of it-- plus the tips for his silence weren't too bad either.
"She might not even be all that bad." Collins had protested softly. John B was right; Sarah and Rafe are two different people. It wouldn't really be fair of her to make preemptive assumptions about who Sarah was based on Kie's own issues with her and who she was related to. Not to mention that before Collins had started taking care of John B, Sarah was the one who'd been with him and shed tears in prayer for his wellbeing. That had to count for something.
Charlie had just scoffed and shook his head. "Well, she's already put him in the hospital. Now that's what I'd call a sign. You should tell John B to run before she breaks his legs next and makes it physically impossible for him."
"She said Topper was the one that shoved him. But I don't really remember if he was actually there, I was kind of more concerned about John B."
"So like, you never actually saw Topper, Sarah just claimed that it was his fault?" Collins nodded, realizing how poorly it made the girl look. "And who would Topper be shoving people off elevated platforms for?" Charlie questioned with his brows raised.
Sarah. That's who. His girlfriend. Unless they weren't together anymore, but it wouldn't really matter if they were or not. Collins just went to bed after that.
As she looked at him from under her curtain of hair which was strewn messily across her face, and her head buried deep in her pillow, Collins pursed her lips tightly together and nodded to Charlie's original question. "I'll probably take Kie, Pope, or JJ, whoever's available and see if we can get a visit in with him. I'm not sure what kind of policies the hospital has or if he's even okay to be released."
Reaching over to squeeze her leg comfortingly from on top of the blanket, Charlie smiled sympathetically at her. "He's probably fine, Colls. You said it yourself, he was breathing and moving, that's all you really even need to be alive, right?"
Pushing her hair out of her eyes, Collins moved to sit up a little more. "Yeah, he was breathing and moving, but functioning? That's a whole other thing. You don't know for sure until they're conscious and he wasn't conscious last time I saw him." Collins grimaced, thinking the worst.
"Will you stop that? He's gonna be fine. You'll see."
"I feel bad." Collins professed. "He's probably gonna wake up all alone. He doesn't have a guardian to take care of him. It's gotta be so scary. He should have people there with him when he opens his eyes."
"Speaking of guardians, how has DCS not caught up with him yet?" Charlie asked with a perplexed expression. "His dad's been missing for about a year now and he's just been living off of beers and peanut butter sandwiches. His Advil is weed. Probably not a can of Lysol within miles of that place."
Shaking her head, Collins shrugged. "I don't know. I just hope that he doesn't wake up to social services at his feet. I don't think he's gonna appreciate their bedside manner."
"Well, better get a move on it if you plan on seeing him today." Charlie patted her before pushing himself up to stand, heading out to leave before he stopped himself and glanced back at her. "Promise me you'll make time for studying today?"
Collins wiggled her pinky finger at him. "Promise."
Charlie waved his pinky back at her. "Alright, I'm out. See you later?"
"You know who I'll be with if not."
Charlie threw his head back and sighed. That was going to have to take some getting used to. He made sure to make a note in the back of his brain to start crunching numbers when he got back from work to see if they could scrounge up some money to get her a phone. She was going to need one anyways when she went to college and he wouldn't get to talk to her every day like he was used to. So what if they get it just a couple years in advance?
She heard the engine of Charlie's motorcycle rumble outside, then the revs began to fade quieter as he rode off into the distance. Collins had been in the midst of brushing her teeth when she heard the sound of the motorcycle come again.
She spit out a mouthful of toothpaste and rinsed her mouth, patting it dry with a towel before stepping out of the bathroom to check the front of the house. When she opened the door, she was startled by the sight of none other than JJ Maybank, standing on her doorstep, leaning against the split wood doorframe with a toothpick hanging off his lip.
A grin immediately spread across Collins's face and she felt her heart go thump-thump-thump in her chest. Since when did it become her reality, that a guy like that was showing up at her house before the day had really even started? And not just for favors, but out of sheer will and desire. Collins felt like every day she was living was a dream and she was waiting for the day when she finally woke up.
"Hey," he said to her, his voice a little raspy, more affirmation that he'd recently woken up and something in his mind immediately told him to come to her. "Sleep okay?"
Collins shrugged, fiddling with her hands before she became conscious of the action and swiftly dropped them to her sides and it was even more obvious that she was nervous. "I had a bit of a tough time going to bed but overall, not bad."
"Well good news, John B is all right. He texted me this morning saying to round everyone up at The Wreck." Collins felt a rush of relief. She should've known all along that everything would be okay, she should've been more optimistic about it, but she was a chronic worrier.
She released a long breath like she'd been holding it in ever since she'd come to John B's aid. It felt nice to hear something good like that. "That's great. Did he explain anything at all? Like what happened at the hospital? I'm pretty sure he needs an adult to sign him out, right?"
JJ shook his head cluelessly at her bombardment of questions. "Your guess is as good as mine. He'll probably give us all the details when we see him."
Collins nodded, quickly retreating for a couple seconds to snatch her bag from the kitchen counter and head out the door with JJ. She didn't want to waste another moment not knowing everything that had happened to John B. As she trotted down the footpath, her eyes soon landed on the motorcycle sitting in her yard. It was like Charlie's but had a red body to it instead of black, and it was donned with various stickers that she couldn't make out from far away.
"You brought your motorcycle." She stated, watching as JJ walked up to it and swung his leg over the side.
He looked at her absentmindedly from where he was sat. "Yeah, Charlie has one, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, he just- he usually gives me a helmet when I ride with him. You don't wear a helmet?" She asked him curiously.
"Nope, broke it. Never got a new one." Collins stared blankly at him, unmoving in the spot she was now refusing to step away from with the lack of confidence that she now had in riding with JJ. The boy quickly explained, "John B ran it over with the Twinkie on accident. It didn't have anything to do with my reckless driving, which of course, I would never do with you. Unless you want to, of course."
Collins remained apprehensive. A part of her thought about just hoofing it the way there, too afraid of sliding across the pavement or being trucked by oncoming traffic. She thought about all of the injuries she'd mended for Charlie and how much pain she felt just looking at him and the wounds he'd suffered from riding his motorcycle. She'd always refused to ride with him unless she had a helmet to wear.
"Not funny." JJ deducted from Collins's unamused expression. "Look, I promise that I'll be extra careful. I'll even go under the speed limit, if it'll make you feel better. I'm aware that I'll be carrying precious cargo."
A feigned smile crossed Collins's lips. She looked at him from across the yard and softened under his gaze. There was always just something about his eyes that could make even the hardest metals melt. They could either act like a gentle rain, enveloping you in their shower like a cool blanket of solace or they could flare into a fiery hot flash of flames that could set you alight with vulnerability. Collins knew she could feel safe under his care, if his eyes were anywhere near as watchful on the road as they always seemed to feel on her, then she could consider herself out of harm's way.
She was still pretty hesitant about the whole thing, but what more could JJ say to assure her? She believed every word of his, and before she even knew it, her shoes were dragging across the dirt in the direction of JJ like they were within his gravitational pull.
She swung her leg over the seat and settled in behind JJ. Pulling the strap to her bag higher up over her shoulder, she had to admit, she felt more comfortable sitting behind him in such close proximity than she thought she would. The nerves she usually felt towards him felt like they'd migrated to nerves about riding with him. Her hands snaked their way around his waist and pressed her body against his even further with a secure hold.
"Precious cargo, huh?" She peered at him while he just looked at her from the corner of his eye.
He smirked at how tightly she was grasped onto him. With one quick nod, he replied, "Indispensable."
"Keep that in mind, will you?" She told him with a lighthearted tone in her voice. "Don't go and forget that I'm back here."
"How could I with a grip like that?"
Collins chuckled right as JJ kicked the stand up and started the engine, drowning her laugh out in the sound before he hit the gas and they were in motion.
They rode past the same familiar road that Collins had always gone past, but that morning, she had a new view in front of her. JJ's body was relaxed into hers as she clung to him like her life depended on it. She couldn't seem to focus on the big Angel Oak tree that had been big forever, or make sure to look out for Bernie on his front porch with a tobacco pipe in his mouth so that she could wave at him. All that Collins could seem to look at was JJ and the way his yellow hair blew under his hat in the wind, and how the bill to the red cap he always wore was tucked behind his head.
And the muscles on his back seemed to tighten and relax each time he pulled the throttle and held onto the handlebars with careful control. Collins wondered what it would feel like under her fingertips, to feel the tissue contract from beneath his skin and loosen under her touch. His shoulders were freckled from the sun, leaving her to then wonder if she could count them all before the ride was over. Even when they weren't driving together anymore, she would spend the rest of the day counting and then recounting, counting then recounting...
When they pulled up to the parking lot in front of Kie's family's restaurant, the smell of food wafted from the kitchens and outside where it reached her nose. Collins was fondly reminded of the night they'd spent as a group indulging in greasy fried shrimp that settled the hunger in her tummy while also making it rumble with craving. The drive seemed so much shorter than she thought it was. Despite her initial fear of riding on JJ's motorcycle, Collins now found herself wishing they could go a little while longer.
"See? Safe and sound." JJ stated proudly, although his pride was quickly deflated when Collins's arms slipped out from under his, feeling her absence in the emptiness around his abdomen.
"I should've never doubted it for a second." Collins replied. She had one of those crinkly-eyed, nose wrinkled smiles on her face as she looked up at him.
JJ noticed it the day before when she did it after he'd made a display of himself at Midsummers, and his eyes had met hers from across the party. She had a lot of different smiles, each one with their own intended uses. This one was for when she found something entertaining, which usually tended to be him when he noticed it.
It was times like these when it'd just be so easy to grab her by the hand, spin her towards him and into his arms, like they do in the movies, and just start kissing her right then and there. Well, it wouldn't be easy because getting a kiss from Collins Jacobson was proving to be a lot harder than your average girl. Anyways, all he was trying to say was that it felt like something he would do if they were at the stage where kissing was granted, but since they weren't, all he was left to do was pine after her while she brushed past him like she wasn't absolutely crushing his heart into the sidewalk until it was nothing but a fine paste.
He rubbed his lips with two fingers as if they hurt. He hadn't been this desperate in a long time.
When the two entered the restaurant, everyone else was already there, waiting for them to arrive. Since Collins had walked in first, she was the one who attacked John B with a rib crushing hug, relieved to at least get a feel that he was alive.
"It's so good to see that you're okay." Collins breathed, meanwhile, John B couldn't get a breath in with how tight she was hugging him.
"Yeah," he managed to choke out, gasping for air once he felt her loosen her embrace. "Thanks to you I heard."
"That's an exaggeration because I didn't do anything. You were lucky." Collins insisted. It's one thing if she'd had to resuscitate him but she didn't have to do anything of the sort. She was by no means a hero. "What was your diagnosis? Besides the obvious broken wrist." She pointed to the black cast on his arm.
Waving the injured limb with his lips pressed tightly together, John B said, "Hairline fracture, concussion. Child's play at this point." He held his hand out to her in an attempt to hold it in a fist but it must've still been numb or something because it just looked limp. She lightly bumped her fist into his anyways so he wasn't left hanging.
It was JJ's turn to greet his friend. They met each other with heartfelt hug and a pat on the back that ended just as soon as it came. "How'd you con your way out of the authorities this time?" JJ asked curiously. First, Hurricane Agatha had come to his rescue and kept DCS from doing their pesky little check-in, then he had engaged in a literal car chase running away from the cops before they took him to the mainland. JJ would've been surprised if he hadn't been cuffed to the hospital bed in an effort to keep him from escaping.
"Funny story actually, Ward Cameron came through for me." John B confessed, much to everyone's surprise. "He talked to social services and got them to let him step up as guardian and offered me a place where I could stay."
Shaking her head as his words seemed to puzzle her, Kie turned her ear towards John B to hear him more clearly. "I'm sorry, so you're staying where?" She heard him the first time, but she felt like she needed to hear it a second in case he forgot to follow it up with something that made more sense to her. Like, maybe that he was going to turn down the offer or do literally anything else besides sleep at her sworn enemy's house. Kie was giving him a second chance, and of course, he blew it.
"Tannyhill." John B repeated, as if not calling it what it truly was would somehow make things sound better than they actually were. Tannyhill was the technical term for where he was living, but the Cameron household was more specific. And by Cameron household, that meant Sarah's house. He shouldn't have even bothered tiptoeing around it, it just irritated Kie more.
Scoffing in disbelief, Kie voiced these matters aloud to everyone. "So you're living with Sarah Cameron."
John B sighed. "Okay, look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out. And it's way better than foster care, which by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward--"
"So like, do you have a membership to the clubs now?" Pope questioned in the middle of John B's sentence, cutting him off. Of course they cared about making sure John B stayed where he was in the OBX, which foster care posed a great threat to that and they'd been dodging it for a long time, but it was besides the point. Now, it was about how twisted it was that John B was going from Pogue slummer on the cut that was reeling in drum to earn his paycheck, to Figure 8 country club membership holders and Ralph Lauren polo central.
"I don't know, Pope." John B shook his head in exasperation.
"What about those little golf carts they drive around. You get one of those?" JJ asked next, joining in on Pope's agenda to digress the conversation away from John B's attempt to justify his new living situation on Kook territory.
"Does it come with a sweater vest, or do you have to buy one on your own?"
Rolling her eyes, Collins jumped in to put an end to their teasing. "Guys, stop giving him such a hard time. He's already getting free refuge in the Cameron asylum."
Disregarding all of them, Kie faced John B with a grave expression. "Look, you promised. You said you weren't with her." There was reprehension in her voice. It was one thing for John B to actually have feelings for Sarah, but it was another for him to lie about it.
John B was evidently speechless when it came to responding to Kie's condemnation as he looked away like he was searching for the words to say on the window. Meanwhile, JJ said, "Bro, just own it. She got you."
"JJ, you're one to talk, man." The brown haired boy shot back.
It went painfully silent after the words left John B's mouth. Collins and JJ didn't even have to look at one another to know that their faces were burning red, though they could feel the eyes of their friends searing holes into them, almost like they were pressing for them to confess their affection right then and there. Collins felt her neck grow hot and she refrained from clamping her hand around the back of it like her movement would mean something, like it was even more proof that she had something to be embarrassed about. JJ just turned away all together so he wasn't even facing them anymore, his hands shoved in his pockets in defeat.
John B was right, he had no place telling him to own his feelings. JJ hadn't even admitted his to Collins. The difference between the two boys was that JJ planned to sort out whatever was going on between them eventually, it's just that the only thing stopping him was his own hesitancy and uncertainty of Collins's feelings. There were times when he'd felt like she was reciprocating affection but then there were others when it felt like she was pushing him away. It was confusing. No matter what her feelings towards him were, from JJ's side of things, he could say that his affinity for her was definite.
From the moment he met her, JJ was fascinated by her mystery. Well, that's actually not totally true because he was drunk that night and the first thing he'd noticed was her looks as truthfully shallow as that is. However, it was the combination of her appearance and her solitude that had intrigued him. She was just so pretty, too pretty to be alone and so invisible to everyone else around her. He liked making flirtatious remarks and watching the blush immediately take over her cheeks, a reaction he was familiar with in the past when it came to other girls, but on Collins he felt a new sense of accomplishment. It was as if he took pleasure in telling her what she didn't seem to know, things she'd never been told by anyone else. How could she be so surprised that he thought she was so breathtakingly beautiful? Had no one informed her of this before?
And the more he got to know her, the quicker he realized that she was more than just a pretty face. She was intelligent, she was kind, and she was someone he felt like he could bare his soul to. She had a way of making his deepest thoughts and feelings feel like things he could share in everyday small talk. It was that easy for him to trust her. He'd trusted her enough to tell her about his dad, one of his greatest shames in his life that he rarely even talked about his friends with. That had to mean something, him sharing a secret like that wasn't to be disregarded, JJ could admit that.
John B on the other hand, he was denying any budding feelings that he had for Sarah all together. He was going on day trips with her and going completely AWOL on his friends while he did it, involving her on their confidential escapades, and totally ignoring all of her red flags. She and Kie had beef first and foremost; they knew this from the start after Kie had left the Kook academy swearing off of plaid skirts and polyester. She'd also cursed Sarah Cameron to whomever Surf Gods were listening, hoping that a tide would swallow her home and take her and her deplorable brother with it. Don't even get them started on her dating history— Topper? Enough said.
Kie was the first to break the silence by saying, "Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine. But I'm letting you know that I'm not doing anything with Sarah."
"Do you guys see her here?" John B pointed out in annoyance, clearly irritated by how ganged up he was feeling for something they shouldn't have even been so concerned about in the first place. "No? Right, okay. Now a little focus would be fantastic. We've got the map, right?"
Although it felt off to move on when everything was still so unresolved, it also didn't feel like they were going to come to any sort of resolution any time soon. And so moving on was what was going to have to be best. "Well, it's all out of whack because the guy was ganja'd when he drew it." JJ remarked, pointing to the map that did not adhere to any of the maps he'd seen of the OBX.
"It's because the coast has changed." Kie deadpanned, encouraging a mocking smile from the blond boy for pointing out the obvious.
"So we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed." Pope concluded, studying the map carefully with a pencil in his hand.
"What about the old forts?" John B proposed, referring to the old concrete stronghold that was located on the island during wartime against the British.
"Battery Jasper." Collins pointed to the marking of it on the map. Last she could recall, it was still there, unmoving in the dirt.
They immediately headed over there in John B's van, taking to the trusty vehicle to take them to one of Kildare's oldest war site. Unlike a lot of other historical landmarks on the island, Battery Jasper hadn't been as well preserved nor highlighted as the more touristy places. All that was left was a bit of rubble from the concrete that had once been used to construct a barricade against enemy attacks, otherwise, not much else was left to observe after years of weather and misuse.
"We're in Battery, right here." Pope announced as they looked out past a drop-off that displayed nothing but a stretch of field and trees. He was following the map as he oriented their location with it. "So if this is parcel nine, then it's somewhere northeast of here." He pointed off into the appropriate direction.
"Over there?" JJ questioned dubiously. "Guys, that's not Tannyhill, that's a subdivision."
"Tannyhill Plantation used to be the entire island. It got sold into smaller pieces over time." John B countered, so there was a possibility that the gold was somewhere in that area, even if it wasn't in the Tannyhill that they knew then.
"So we're just looking for an old stone wall." Collins murmured as she eyed the drawing of one on the old stained piece of paper.
It took some searching and a lot of circling around the area to find this one specific stone wall that had been illustrated on the map where parcel nine was supposed to be located by. If the thing was as poorly kept as Battery Jasper was, then there wouldn't be much left of it to find. John B probably passed the same street about 3 times in a row, but Collins wasn't going to try playing backseat driver and tell him that. When Pope had finally gotten the map figured out, he pointed John b in the right direction and behind a curtain of ivy and overgrown bushes, stood a concrete structure blocking the view of the house it stood in front of.
The teenagers filed out of the van and approached the unkempt perimeter of the property. Through the branches and the leaves, Collins could catch a glimpse of an old Victorian style house that sat tall despite the years of obvious neglect to maintain it. In another life, it was probably really pretty, but right now, it just looked sad.
"Not the Crain house." John B muttered, a grimace taking over his expression.
"Are you kidding me?" Kie echoed in disbelief as she stared up at the building.
"Worst-case scenario." JJ concurred with a soft sigh.
"Why'd it have to be here, of all places?" Pope whined.
Looking at each of them and hearing their begrudging groans at the fact that this place happened to be where the map had led them, Collins furrowed her brows in confusion at their reactions. "What is your guys' deal? It's just an old house."
"Are you kidding me, Collins?" Pope gaped at her. "It's not just an old house, it's a crime scene, one for the most gruesome death that this island has ever seen, committed by the psycho that still lives in it."
"I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband's head on the property." JJ stated, sending chills up Collins's spine at the thought. So did that mean they would have to watch where they stepped in case they walked over Mr. Crain's remains? That was one twisted rhyme.
"What about the rest of the body?" Collins questioned with wide eyes. Bodies come with heads and heads don't just leave bodies. If Mrs. Crain had to get rid of the head then that meant she had to do something with the rest of her husband. Although, who knows if a killer unhinged enough to perform a decapitation had the same thought process as her. Collins hoped not.
"There are so many different stories, so many theories. It all kind of ran wild for interpretation. I don't think anyone really knows what happened." Kie shrugged.
"Which stories did you hear?" JJ asked Kie gravely.
"The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since. On certain nights when the moon is full, you can see her in the window." Kie wiggled her fingers at him in a taunting manner in an attempt to spook them out. Collins was embarrassed to admit it, but it was working.
"No, it's not funny 'cause it's all true." JJ insisted. Clearly, it was working on him, too. "I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis." He scared himself as he whipped around at the glimpse of a figure in his peripheral vision, holding his hands up defensively into fists towards the statue of an angel that was hidden in the brush.
Pope gazed at him incredulously, "How did you know Hollis Crain?"
"She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it. She told me the truth-- about her mother, about what happened in that house." They glanced up at the home and Collins felt like her heart had stopped when the curtain at one of the windows moved like it had fallen back into place. Like someone had lifted it up for a better view, as though someone had been watching them from inside.
Was Kie's stupid little lore that was probably only created to scare the daylights out of kids, true? It wasn't a full moon tonight was it? It's possible that the origin of the word lunatic rings true in the full moon's effects on behavior. It was still early, maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her and the paranoia was making her think crazy things.
She checked to see if anyone else had saw what she had seen, but no one seemed to be as shaken by anything like she was.
"So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, how she was murderer and all." JJ explained. "Hollis didn't believe any of it. Until that night, the night when it all came back to her."
"You're really starting to freak me out, JJ." Collins told him with an uneasy look on her face. She crossed her arms over her chest and checked the earth beneath her feet with a wave of nausea washing over her at the thought the she could've been standing on top of Mr. Crain's decaying skull.
"You gotta know what you're walking into, Colls." JJ stressed, however, Collins could argue that the less she knew, the better. Otherwise, she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to step one foot any closer than how far she came. "When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes down to see her mom washing her hands in the sink... full of blood. Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlor, constantly, in and out, 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 staring straight back at her."
"God, you are so full of shit." John B groaned, throwing his head back in annoyance.
"Did she call the police?" Pope pressed, intent on hearing for the end of this story.
"She didn't have time to-- whoa!" JJ scrambled to snag John B by his shirt to pull him back as he was moving towards the house. "You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer, you got a cast on."
"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay?" John B protested. " I've got nothing to lose. Now, you coming or what?"
He looked each of them in their eyes, and without much fight or deliberation between the other four, it seemed that they had come to the unspoken consensus that they would persist. It wouldn't really be a treasure hunt if they didn't have to enter some sort of fortress of doom, now would it?
"First, you guys drag me to a graveyard. Now, you bring me to a murderer's house. Are you trying to get me killed?" Collins whispered to ensure that she kept her voice low, in case whoever was potentially watching them from the window happened to have the hearing of a bat and considered her question a challenge.
As they snuck closer to the house, crouched low and hiding behind bushes, John B pulled them into a group huddle to confer about their next line of action.
"So here's the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water, like it said in Denmark's letter." John B declared, reminding everyone about the riddle at the end of the gruesome letter that had been written before Denmark Tanny's last moments.
"Okay, like what kind of water?" Pope asked. "Like pond water?"
"Bong water?" JJ chuckled and earned himself a couple of frowns at his remark.
"No- it just said to look for water."
Shaking her head, Kie scowled at the ground. "That's the shittiest secret message ever."
While the girl promptly stomped away, trudging through the twigs and dirt, Collins sighed heavily and began to follow, adding in agreement to Kie's statement, "No wonder his son never found it."
"You guys wanna complain about it a little more? Nobody said it was gonna be easy." John B hissed, but the two girls were long gone out of earshot to hear his reply.
As Collins and Kie began to search for any sign of water around the property, they found themselves alone with each other, while the boys ventured off on their own around the yard. The canopy of tree branches and greenery surrounding them in every which direction, created a sort of confessional that somehow felt safe for them to share their thoughts in, even though the house of a supposed murderer was supposed to be one of the least safest places out there.
"I've been thinking a little about this whole Sarah thing." Collins said carefully, not wanting to strike any more nerves with Kie than John B already had. She wasn't going to try and push Kie to her breaking point, but just share her observations out loud and get it out there for the girl to perhaps consider later on. "Hear me out on this, but is there a possibility that she might not be as bad as you think she is? Anymore at least?"
Kie was quiet for a while. All she did was poke around in the earth with her lips pulled in tightly in an unhappy way. Collins felt like she may have already overstepped before Kie even opened her mouth to respond. "You saw it, too, huh? How she was when we found her with John B and she was crying and begging for him to be okay."
A simple nod came from Collins. "It doesn't really seem like something someone who's only using a person would do. And her family is the only thing keeping him from being taken away, which is not something they would do if it wasn't for her."
"But he still shouldn't have lied to us about it. If he's gonna mess around with her, he should grow up and just be honest with us. Own it."
Collins had to agree. She didn't like that John B did that either, but if she had to look at it from his perspective, he was probably feeling cornered with the opinions of his friends looming over him, and he didn't feel like they would accept this new alteration to his life. Still, he'd been friends with JJ, Pope, and Kie for years, that should've counted for something. There really wasn't any part of him that thought he'd be safe to share his relationship with Sarah with them?
"You're right." Collins told her, figuring that it was good to voice her agreements so that Kie could hear what she wanted to, as much as she heard what she didn't. "Honesty is the best policy."
"Speaking of owning up to things, any new developments with you and JJ since our last talk at the movie?" Kie's question felt like she was just segueing away from the topic of Sarah and deflecting it onto her. Collins wasn't mad about it, but it was just awkward that things had turned so suddenly and now she was under the spotlight.
Collins chewed on her lip. It wasn't that she didn't trust Kie, it just felt weird talking about this with anyone. The thought of talking about anything physical like kissing, or intimate like the secrets JJ had shared with her, just felt uncomfortable for her to talk about out loud. But she knew that if she had to share this with anyone, it would ultimately be Kie. She was whom Collins could ask the sort of questions she had, and Kie could answer them with little judgement. That was exactly what Collins needed.
"Funnily enough," Collins started, taking in a deep breath, "after you and I talked about whether or not JJ and I had kissed yet, later that night I'm pretty sure he tried to kiss me." Scratch that, Collins wasn't pretty sure, she was sure. It just sounded less audacious when she was ambivalent about it-- then again, Collins was never really positive about anything when it came to JJ.
"Elaborate on tried." Kie prompted, raising her brows at Collins from where she stood next to her in their little hiding spot.
Dropping her head down in defeat, Collins explained further. "I bailed. I jumped ship. I did every cowardly thing in the book and I got up and left him hanging. I got scared."
"Why are you scared?" Kie asked, almost in a whine like she was disappointed in her. It wasn't a very good feeling to hear it, but Collins couldn't blame her. She was just as frustrated by her inability to stop overthinking so much and just act, so she couldn't be upset when a bystander shared those same sentiments.
"I'm just really enjoying getting to know him right now. Too much to want to risk ruining it." Collins finally admitted sincerely. She liked that with every conversation of theirs, she felt like she learned something new about JJ. And the fact that because of those conversations, they'd built up a trust between them that made him feel comfortable enough to confide in her about the things he normally didn't share with others, which only made her enjoy those sacred moments with just the two of them even more. The last thing she wanted to do was mess it up.
"That's fair enough, I guess." Kie replied, smiling softly in understanding at Collins. "Although, you've got to know how excruciatingly obvious it is that he's so into you."
"Is it really that obvious?" Collins said doubtfully. A part of her was sure that Kie was just saying that to make her feel better, even though it wasn't really the truth. It's the kind of thing a friend would do for another friend to help ease their nerves.
"Who knew a girl so smart could be so oblivious?"
Collins rolled her eyes and nudged Kie with her elbow, the two girls sharing a laugh together. Kie joked more about how incredibly clueless Collins was while the girl walked alongside her in bafflement, attempting once in a while to try and excuse her naïveté.
A rustling in the bushes stole their attention away from their conversation to see where the noise was coming from, when JJ and Pope emerged from between the leaves. "If you guys were in a slasher movie, you'd be the girls we throw popcorn at for not being able to shut your trap in the presence of a serial killer."
"Well, good thing Mrs. Crain only killed her husband, which makes her an isolated murderer." Collins snort, as if it was any sort of consolation.
"Psst! Come on!" John B's whisper carried over to them, redirecting their attention over to where he was standing crouched against the siding of the Crain house. He nodded his head to turn their gaze over to the small wooden doorway leading under the house. "It's the only place we haven't looked."
Dragging their feet as they followed John B down the rabbit hole, Collins could only think of how many red flags they'd blatantly ignored since they'd hopped out of John B's van. Number one: trespass onto an alleged murderer's property, knowing that she's an alleged murderer. Number 2: Scour said property for bodies of water leading to a stash of gold where the potential of unearthing human remains was a high possibility. And number three: willingly walk into said murderers home because if the crazy lady who owns the place doesn't kill you, the black mold will.
Collins followed the beam of Pope's flashlight and used it as a guide to weave her way through the various pieces of junk discarded around the dark cellar. It appeared that none of the things in there had been touched for years based on the layers of dust and cobwebs covering every inch of the place. Not to mention that it was practically a motel inn for every insect, from spiders, to gnats, and to pesky mosquitoes.
"Down came Mrs. Crain and cut off all our heads." JJ sang to the tune of The Itsy Bitsy Spider. His voice filled the white noise in the small room. "Up came the sun and dried up all the blood."
"Can you stop." Pope snapped, his expression warning as they walked further into the belly of the death house. As he turned back to scan the area once more, he finally said, "There's no water here."
"There's not even water in the pipes." JJ added, feeling the dusty pipeline on the ceiling and not even catching the coolness of the metal to indicate that there was any liquid running through it. "Not a dropamino"
"You know why we didn't find it? Bad karma." Kie griped, shaking her head while John B cursed under his breath and threw his head back in exasperation. "We had a good thing going. And then you decided to rope in Barbie, and now the trail's gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not."
"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you about Sarah." John B retaliated.
"Can we not fight right now, guys?" Collins begged, already exhausted of all the quarreling that was always about the same thing and resulted in the same unresolved endings. She also despised the fact that there was so much tension between them that it made her physically nauseous. She'd never had to deal with fighting friends but Collins was quickly realizing that conflict made her dizzy, it made her sick, and it made her upset. It wasn't supposed to be like this between friends either, they were supposed to listen to each other, work things out in a civilized manner.
Obviously, with John B and Kie, civilized wasn't the route they were on. They outright ignored Collins's request. Staring down at her, there was an antagonizing smirk on John B's face. "What the hell's the deal with you two? Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?"
A loud smack rang throughout the cellar, making Collins flinch at the sound while JJ and Pope slapped a hand over their mouths and 'ooooh'd in reaction to the hit. "That echoed, dude!"
"Stop treating me like some girl who's obsessed with you," Kie spat, "instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you."
"Did you- uh, hit me?"
Holding up her hand to display the squished insect on her palm, Kie pursed her lips. "Skeeter." Collins smacked one that had been mowing down on her leg with a wince at the same time John B swatted Kie across the cheek. She jumped at the action and looked between the two with wide eyes while Kie raised her brows expectantly. "Where's your proof?"
John B held his hand up to present her with the evidence. As the two began to go back and forth in a battle of the last smack, the rest of the group was left to explore the rest of the basement on their own. At least now John B and Kie weren't going at each other's throats.
While Collins was too preoccupied with batting away the cloud of mosquitoes that were in her way, JJ spotted the biggest mosquito he's probably ever seen in his entire life, attached to the back of her thigh just below the hem of her shorts. He coughed in an attempt to dislodge the lump in his throat and nearly stumbled over a couple of fold-out chairs on his way over to her, trying to figure out a good way to go about this.
He could smack it for her, because given the size of the thing, it was as big of a target as any bullseye he'd ever laid eyes on. But then he'd risk looking like he'd just slapped Collins Jacobson on the ass, and he wasn't very confident that he'd be able to show her the tiny culprit in his hand either to prove that he wasn't being a total douchebag. So JJ was left to watch painfully as the mosquito helped itself to a drink and hoped it realized how lucky it was to live another day.
"Why are there so many mosquitoes in a basement?" Pope muttered to himself, his eyes cast upwards as if he were in deep thought.
"I know, right! Like seriously, tiny vampire bats, just leave me alone." JJ grumbled, rubbing his arms where a new bug bite was sure to arise later on.
"It's so hot in here," Collins stated, standing adjacent to Pope as the two began thinking out loud. Not even speaking directly to each other, but bouncing off of what was going on through the other's head. "The mosquitoes must like the humidity in here."
"But humidity would mean water." Pope replied, which they'd been under the impression that water was absent in the basement, although if there were mosquitoes present, then that head to mean that they were wrong and just not looking in the right place.
"Look, I found Mrs. Crain's voodoo doll." JJ said, nudging Collins with the dusty old rag doll that he'd found in the toy cradle.
Breaking her concentration on trying to solve the riddle of the mosquitoes, Collins glanced over at JJ and flickered her gaze between him and the doll before saying, "Looks kinda like you."
JJ scowled and peered down at the blonde hair made out of yarn and the blue button eyes with a new sense of disgust before setting it back down where he'd found it. Collins just turned back to Pope to continue trying to figure things out when she saw that he was already crouched down over a couple of planks of wood. He had a small pebble in his hand that he dropped through a crack in the wood which she suddenly realized was covering a hole in the ground. Listening intently, the faint sound of the pebble hitting the surface of water echoed back up to them and Pope and Collins immediately looked to each other in shock.
Without exchanging another word, the two began moving pieces of wood and other debris out of the way to uncover the opening to the body of water they'd been searching for. At the lack of regard for the noise they were making, the rest of the group turned to them in confusion, shushing them before they were heard and discovered.
"Help us move this." They hissed, and their friends quickly obliged, doing so more quietly while also doing it with some haste.
Once they'd cleared away at least half of the wood planks which had been covering the brick sided hole in the earth, JJ and Pope each shined their flashlight down at what was revealed to be a well in the cellar. They all smiled in amazement.
"Well, well, well."
"That was a good dad joke." John B commended breathlessly.
"They built this part of the house right over it." Kie stated, shaking her head in disbelief.
"This is where she hid the bodies." JJ murmured, to which they are groaned at for his morbidity. "No, I'm serious. It was never an outhouse." He had a look on his face like his whole childhood had been a lie and he was discovering some monumental secret that had changed his life.
"Who knows how long it's been covered up like this." Collins pointed out. "She probably doesn't even know it's here."
As each of them looked at each other with their newfound hope of actually finding the gold on their minds, there was optimism in the air for each Pogue. This was it. After following the map and the instructions Denmark Tanny himself had written, telling them where to find his hidden treasure, they were just one step away from getting their hands on unimaginable riches that would change each of their lives in astounding ways.
"We're gonna need a big rope."