THEY ARRIVED at the airstrip, spying on the People In Uniform from behind a wired fence. This was it, the only chance they had left of taking the gold back from Ward. Pope used his binoculars to get a closer look,
"They're loading up the gold."
John B took the binoculars from him, "There's Ward."
John B fell silent, as he slowly lowered the binoculars from his face. Aurora looked at him, waiting for the boy to say something... nothing.
"What?" Kiara asked, "What is it?"
Rory took the binoculars from the silent boy and looked for herself. She scanned the area quickly, and stopped when she caught a glimpse of blonde hair, shimmering in the sunlight. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach,
"It's Sarah." Rory's voice broke, as she watched Sarah hesitantly back away from the plane entrance. Suddenly, Ward was forcing her into the van, picking her up as she tried to squirm away. Rory frowned, "Wait-wait. He's hurting her."
Kiara shared a confused look with the Pogues, before grabbing the binoculars from Rory and taking a look for herself.
As she did so, Rory watched as John B stormed towards the Twinkie.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Pope called to him.
"John B!" Rory yelled.
JJ shouted, "Don't be a hero, man!"
Ignoring the shouts from his friends, John B drove the van straight through the wired fence and onto the airstrip. He headed straight for the plane, catching up to it and attempting to rescue Sarah.
A while had past, John B had managed to stop the plane and was arguing with Ward. Aurora couldn't stop looking through the binoculars, watching if Sarah was okay. She couldn't keep her mind off of her. It should've been her saving Sarah. JJ, Pope and Kie all gathered behind Rory, nervously waiting for John B. The sound of police sirens broke the silence,
"Guys, I can't get arrested." Pope said quickly.
JJ nodded, "I'm on probation."
"Look, we're no good if we're in jail." Kiara explained, "Come on."
Aurora stood frozen, her breathing getting heavier as she watched Sherif Peterkin arrive at the scene. She couldn't see through the blur of her teary eyes.
Rory felt JJ's hand on her shoulder, "Rory, come on, we need to go."
Aurora took a shaky breath and slowly shook her head, "I-I can't leave her. Not again."
"Rory." JJ slowly took the binoculars from her, and held her by her shoulders, "They'll be okay, I promise."
"Guys!" Pope panicked, "We need to go."
Aurora cupped JJ's face, "I'm-I'm sorry."
"What?" JJ questioned, as he realised what she was about to do, "Rory, don't do it. Rory-"
But it was too late, Aurora had already began sprinting towards the plane. The adrenaline battled with her weak lungs, and the thought of Sarah managed her to keep running. She didn't turn back, but she heard JJ yell her name as Pope and Kie dragged him away.
"Sarah! John B!" Aurora shouted, as she arrived at the scene, before Sarah embraced her with a tight hug. John B held her wrist, before pulling her away from Ward and Peterkin, ensuring that she couldn't get involved.
She watched as Peterkin arrested Ward, who was kneeling on the floor. Ward tried to break free of the hand-cuffs, as Peterkin quickly raised her gun in defence.
BANG!!
A gunshot echoed through the air, as Aurora grabbed Sarah's hand. Unexpectedly, Peterkin dropped to her knees as Rafe Cameron appeared from behind the plane.
"Rafe." Ward panted, "What did you do?"
"I saved you, dad." Rafe smiled despite the tears in his eyes.
Peterkin dropped to the floor, as Aurora ran over to her. She tore off a piece of her t-shirt before holding it down against the bullet wound. Her eyes filled with tears, as her hands turned red.
"No, no, no." She whispered, "It's okay. It's gonna be okay, Sherif. I'm sorry. It's okay."
"Call!" Peterkin gasped for air, "Call... for... help."
Aurora quickly grabbed the radio from Peterkin's shirt, but was interrupted by a gun being pointed towards her,
"Don't try it, sweetheart." Rafe said in a manipulating tone.
"Rafe." Ward warned his son, before crouching down next to Aurora, "Aurora, give me the radio."
"No. Don't touch me!" Rory raised her voice, "Get the fuck away from me!"
John B couched beside Rory, shooting a death glare at Ward, "She said don't touch her."
"John B." Ward spoke gently, despite the situation he was in, "Give me the radio."
Ward managed to grab the radio, before trying to calm down his manic son, "Rafe, put the gun down."
"Run." Peterkin insisted to John B.
"I'm not leaving you." John B reassured.
Peterkin gasped again, "Run!"
"I'm sorry." John B's voice broke, before he hesitantly stood up.
"Where are you going, huh?" Rafe shouted, as Sarah pushed John B away- encouraging him to run. Ward held Rafe back, as he shouted at John B in the distance.
Sarah ran over to Rory, before pulling her to her feet, "Rory! You need to go. Please. You need-You need to get out!"
"I'm not leaving you." Aurora cried, as she looked at Peterkin's body on the floor, "I'm not leaving."
"Rory, go!" Sarah insisted, "Go, now! I'll call you- I'll call you when this is over. Okay? Now, go!"
Aurora backed away hesitantly, looking at Peterkin on the floor, still gasping for air.
"I'm sorry." Aurora whispered, "I'm sorry."
Aurora sprinted away, whilst Rafe and Ward were distracted with each other. She heard the arguing in the distance as she ran through the forest. She couldn't get Peterkin's death off of her mind. The image was haunting her.
Aurora arrived at the Château, finally being able to stop running. Her mouth was dry and she couldn't calm her breathing. She placed a hand on her chest, staining her ripped t-shirt with the blood on her hands.
"Rory!" Kiara shouted, before sprinting over to the girl, "Oh my God."
"Fuck, Rory!" JJ panicked, as she sprinted from the front porch towards his sister, "Are you okay? Shit- Is this your blood?"
"Who's blood is that?" Kiara worried, "Who's blood is that, Rory?"
Aurora took another shaky breath, feeling as if two sandbags just collapsed on her lungs. Tears filled her eyes as her mind played back Peterkin's death over and over in her mind.
"She's in shock, JJ." Kiara explained, as she slowly lifted Rory's t-shirt to see if the blood on her shirt was hers.
JJ hugged his sister tightly, not knowing what else to do. He'd never seen Aurora in this state before.