I'm minding my own business, looking at the water in front of me. Jake would have loved to be here - he would have fallen in love with treasure hunting with the pogues I've gathered. He and Tasha... I wish they were with me on this adventure.
But, instead, I'm stuck with JJ Maybank coming over to me. He sits down in the sand. "Can I ask you something?"
"Already have," I joke.
"What's the story between Kiara and Sarah?"
I take a deep breath. "I've been wondering that myself. I know something happened to them when I was gone but I don't know what. I hadn't been allowed any mail because it could have been a cry for help. It was more intense than what I've read about life in prison."
"That's sound like torture," JJ states, pulling his knees to his chest.
"They weren't allowed to torture patients anymore," I assure him.
He stares at me. "Anymore?"
I nod. "They used to be much worse to their patients." JJ shutters. "I got lucky in that aspect but their conditioning hasn't stuck anymore."
"Conditioning?" JJ questions, looking at me.
I nod again. "Whenever I had mentioned Jake, I'd get punished until I forgot about him and his death. I could only say good memories of him and had to keep all the murder to myself. As soon as I went a year without a relapse, as they called it, I was allowed out. When I got back, Sarah got to me before Kiara could even make an effort. It... sucks but I went to the first person who accepted me."
"And that was Sarah," he says slowly.
"That was Sarah," I agree.
He straightens his legs and leans back. His fingers brush against mine but neither of us mention the contact, both looking ahead. "Well, if you get taken again, I'll be here for you. The moment you get back."
I manage to smile. "Let's hope it doesn't get to that." I just wish I could remember everything now. I want to remember who killed Jake. I want to remember where. When. With what gun. Why we had gone to that building to begin with. Why I was there at all. All of that information is gone - they had succeeded in that aspect.
"Let's hope," he agrees.
. the cool kids .
The tension in the room is huge when Taylor comes back from getting Kiara's side of the story. John B tosses a water bottle to her, asking what she had said.
"That you're an idiot," Taylor replies, barely catching it.
"It's a no-brainer, you're picking Kie," Pope says.
John B shakes his head. "I can't decide."
"So what?" JJ asks. "We're just dead in the water because you're pussy-whipped? We can't do this without Kie and you know it."
"And I can't do it without Sarah," John B argues. "They both have to be in on it. Think about Gwen for a moment." I hum in confusion, swallowing my gulp of water. "We hadn't all been keen on her at first either but now she's here, making this choice with us. She's technically a part of the tension between Kie and Sarah."
"Don't bring Gwen into this," JJ tells him.
"My point is," John B continues, "I need both of them."
Pope looks at him. "Good luck with that."
John B breathes out and gets off the counter. "You know what? I know this is my fault. But it's our problem." He starts toward the door. "I've got a plan. You two shithead, and company," he says gesturing from the boys to the girls, "are going to help me out."
. the cool kids .
"JJ and John B conked out in the marsh," Pope says, calling out to Kiara as she comes toward the boat with him and myself. "They need a tow."
"Uh, okay, well, what does that have to do with me?" She asks.
"Three things," I say. "First, you're apparently the best mechanic in the group, according to Taylor, and boys are useless. Two, you get the chance to say you're better to their face. Three, we should talk."
Kiara nods. "Those three things line up." She gets on the boat and while Pope drives away, toward the planned destination. Then she looks at me, her expression softening. "I'm sorry, Gwen, about everything this might be doing to you. I don't want to hurt you for what I feel for Sarah but-"
"It's okay, Kie," I assure her, not completely honest, "we'll figure something out. I can be friends with both of you."
"I don't want to lose you."
"And you won't. I promise." With that, I pull her into a real hug with real meaning because it's very needed for both of us while Pope drives us to where we'll be leaving her alone with the blond girl she doesn't seem to like.
And soon enough, they're at the dead boat. JJ, Taylor, and John B come running to the boat with Pope and myself, jumping into the water briefly to get on the plastic. Kiara frees Sarah on accident. They come to the edge, yelling at us.
"Get your asses back here!" Kiara demands,
"We can't!" John B yells back. "Not until you two figure it out."
"I will kill every single one of you!"
Sarah adds, "You can't just leave!"
"There's food in the cabin and JJ rolled a blunt," Taylor calls back.
"Hydroponic!" JJ yells.
I wave at my best friend from the boat as we leave the two on their own. "Have fun!" I'm pretty sure Sarah yells at me and Kiara yells at Taylor but we're too far gone to properly hear them. I turn to the boys. "You're aware that this could bite you in the ass even more, right?"
"I am aware, yes," John B says.
"Good to know," Taylor says. "If Kiara's past the point of no return when we get back, I'm blaming it on you."
He nods a little, understanding his friend's feelings for Kiara. "Good to know."
. the cool kids .
JJ Maybank finds me again. He sits down on the grassy section of the beach as we watch the sun set in front of us. This time, he stretches his legs out first, our fingers brushing once again. Neither of us look at how close we are but it's clear we're both thinking of it as we avoid each other's glances. Even with everything going on, we're stuck in this loop of emotions.
"He would be proud of you," JJ says quietly.
I manage to nod. "I'm doing this for them. Both of them."
I feel JJ's hand over mine after a moment. When I look at him, he's already looking at me with the kindest eyes I could ever imagine someone looking at me with. "You should be doing it for yourself, Gwen."
"I am now," I assure him. For myself; for Jake and Tasha... for the boy in front of me. That's all for me in a way. "But I'm glad you care."
He smiles. "Don't want my Captain slash Doc slash Princess to feel like she shouldn't be doing this for herself."
"Your Captain?" I joke, raising my eyebrow with a smirk.
He shrugs. "And Doc and Princess. Jake can keep Ghost... or maybe John B's stolen that nickname from him? I'm not sure. I just know it's not mine."
"And here I am with only Blonde as my nickname for you."
"How dare you."
Before our conversation can continue, John B, Pope, and Taylor are coming toward us. Each of them is telling us it's time to pick up the duo we had left on the boat. JJ gets up first, offering me his hand which I take with a smile.
. the cool kids .
While the others tease Kiara and Sarah for falling for the trick, I make eye contact with the blond girl, knowing that she's going to tell me what happened as soon as we're alone by the look on her face when she sees me.
"Some patriarchal bullshit," Kiara states as she climbs on our boat with Taylor's help. "We're excluding Gwen and Taylor from your crimes."
"Appreciate it," I say with a smile as I help Sarah on.
"You still love us though, right?" JJ asks, gesturing to the three boys.
There are many comments about how the girls are simply better and the boys are going to need to watch their backs when they least expect something to happen. There seems to be some disbelief on their side that anything will happen.
"So, did you guys, you know..." Pope trails off.
"Reconcile our differences?" Kiara asks. Sarah hums a no. "Not even close." I give a knowing look to Taylor who shares it with me.
Sarah adds, "But... we're willing to work together."
John B is proud of his plan. "You know what? Victory." The rest of us agree. Pope and JJ do a strange handshake, not realizing the wink Sarah and Kiara share while they figure out how the plan worked. "Alright, shut up." The boys shut up. "You guys ready to jack some loot?"
. the cool kids .
I'm not sure how long John B checks and rechecks the damn list but it's a lot on the ride to the house. But before the rest of us get out of the van, John B says, "Wait, wait." He's got a bunch of soon-to-be or are-already criminals waiting for his let's-go-team speech. "I wanna say thank you, guys. Seriously. It means a lot to me that you're here tonight."
"Always," Kiara says.
"Ghost and Bird," I speak up, holding my fist out.
He bumps it with his own. "Ghost and Bird."
"Alright," JJ interrupts, "are we done with the circle jerk? Can we do this?"
The others climb out when John B moves but I make sure to say to JJ, "I'll keep that in mind if you ever want to get emotional about something."
"Very funny, Princess," he mutters, helping me out of the van.
Soon enough, we're all in front of the old woman's house. Then the light turns on. Swears come from all of us as we crouch down, hiding from the brightness that could give away our cover.
"Okay," John B begins, "so she can motion sensor lights. We could, uh... move really slowly?"
We all stare at him. Pope deadpans, "That's not how that works."
"Let's throw a rock at it," John B offers.
"No," Taylor states.
Kiara nods. "Really good idea. Let the axe murderer know that we're here."
"Do you have a better idea?" John B demands.
"Literally anything but that," Kiara says.
Sarah offers, "What about the breaker? In the circuit box on the porch."
"Oh, shit," I mutter. "Man. Those dumb kid games really come in handy." The others stare at us for answers. "We used to play Hide and Seek here."
Sarah nods. "And if we were brave enough, we'd go all the way up to the porch. I've seen it."
John B shakes his head. "No, no. You're not going into the house alone."
"She'll have me," I say.
"Absolutely not," JJ argues. Before I can argue back, he adds, "Crain chops people into pieces."
"If you believe that," Sarah says. "She's like, what, eighty-five?" Taylor looks between JJ and me and I notice that his eyes haven't left me. "She's probably barely still kicking."
"I'll go with them," Kiara offers.
Taylor looks like she wants to say something. Even JJ looks at her in disbelief for not arguing while Pope says, "We'll wait for your signal."
As the three of us are leaving, John B says, "Hey, be safe."
"We will," Sarah answers.
I barely hear JJ and Pope tease their friend as we continue walking toward the house. We slowly and quietly creep up the front steps, wincing with every creak the boards make with our weight until we're at the breaker only to be stopped by the fact that it doesn't work.
"It goes inside," Kiara states.
"Then so do we," I mutter. I'm not sure why Sarah's letting me lead the three of us into the house until I'm the only reason the woman's cat doesn't yell at us, putting my hand down for it to smell despite Sarah's worries about it biting me while she and Kiara click the power off.
It seems like we should make a run for it - I kind of wish we had - but it's too late before John B's voice barely rings through the air. He's yelling something I don't understand but I do understand the sound of the old woman's cane coming down the stairs. I'm covering my mouth soon, trying to keep my breathing down as she seems to get closer saying, "It's late... it's late, Leon. Too late." She's right in front of us. Sarah's hand finds mine. Kiara closes her eyes tight. "I can hear you, Leon. I've been waiting all night." She turns around, looking right at us.
Sarah drags me and Kiara out of the way, our footsteps clear as day. The blonde goes one way, Kiara the other while I go another, both trying to find the easiest way out... away from the old woman. Only my door is locked and blocked by wood pieces against the main part. I swear out, easily unbolting the door. When I notice that she's found me, I almost want to pretend to be her man - like Grover in Percy Jackson - but she's giving me the impression that she wants to kill her husband as she swings her cane at my head.
I duck out of the way both times and manage to get a grip on the lamp nearby, slamming it against the old woman to cause it to shatter while Sarah comes back with Kiara nearby, grabbing the cane - or, now that I can see it - the fire poker in the old woman's hands. Then she drops it and I stumble a bit, catching myself on the glass covered floor before Sarah's hand grabs my arm, allowing her to take both of us into one of the rooms, then to a passage that leads to underneath the house. We definitely scare the boys and Taylor as we come down to them quickly.
"What's going on?" Pope asks.
"Crain!" Sarah answers.
"She's up there," I add.
"She tried to kill us with a fire poker," Kiara finishes. "We gotta go."
Sarah says, "We locked her in the parlor but that won't hold for long. She's a lot more kicking than I thought she was."
Soon, they're all working together to pull John B out of the well. But he's not on the rope so we all listen for him as he shouts something. We can't understand him. So, we hope that he can understand us when we tell him to get on the rope, getting ready to pull again. This time, it's clear that he's on the rope as we tug it up.
"Shit!" JJ yells when the first shot is fired from the old woman. He and Pope tie it up while the rest of us hide.
I grip a shovel nearby, ignoring the spiderwebs I feel have grown on it. With a glance toward Taylor, I hold it tighter and she nods, moving over toward JJ, Kiara, and Pope. There's another shot. I see John B rising out of the well. He finds me, notices the shovel, and gives me a nod too before he launches himself up. He crashes against the woman, ruining the aim that would've hit JJ, and allows me the ability to hit her with the shovel, hopefully only knocking her out as we escape from below her house.
But, as John B and me run after the others who have started the van, there's another gunshot.
"How is this woman alive?" I exclaim. "Even just awake?"
"I have no idea!" John B replies, helping me over the wall.
John B and I are catching the van while Pope questions, "Why are we always getting shot at?" But his voice is lost when we make it on. John B's covered in mud. We're all covered in dust and dirt. My hands are sliced from the lamp. JJ's panicking about either of us being shot.
Especially when I ask if there's gauze in the front. "You're shot again?" He demands as I climb over the center to sit next to him. I shake my head and use the overhead light to take out as much of the glass as I can.
"I think I'd know if I was shot, right?" Kiara asks Taylor who looks her over.
"You look disgusting," Pope tells John B.
Everyone is talking over everyone until John B says, "We did it, baby!"
"No, you didn't!" Sarah exclaims with joy.
"I did it!"
Once again, we're all sent into joy as we cheer about the victory we've just achieved. Even with my newly bandaged hands, I fist-bump John B who says, "Ghost and Bird."
"Ghost and Bird," I agree, grinning like a madman.
Somehow, pretty sure it's thanks to Kiara, a chant begins. "Full Kook! Full Kook! Full Kook!" It eventually dissolves into unknown screaming of happiness while JJ tries to concentrate enough to not crash the van and ruin all our dreams.