SEASON THREE,
CHAPTER 16:
KITTY HAWK WILDERNESS CAMP
"Like, Bob Marley?"
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KITTY HAWK WILDERNESS camp is a location where parents will send their 'troubled' teenagers if they believe that there's no other way to change their behaviour. Many teenagers will argue against being sent to the camp, stating that they do not need to be 'fixed'. However, unfortunately, parents are not able to understand that and wholeheartedly believe the web of lies that these kinds of places promote.
Currently, Delilah and JJ find themselves travelling towards Kitty Hawk. They want to help one of their best friends escape from the wilderness camp, and they are willing to do anything to make sure that it happens. Neither of them has a plan, choosing to go with the flow and hope that it's successful. So, when they drive up to the gates and a guard stops them, slight panic fills their bodies.
"Hold it right there." The guard kindly instructs as he walks over to the vehicle. "Can I help you?"
"Hey there, sir." JJ greets, trying to act natural. "I'm camp counsellor Laura's brother. I was just going to quickly drop off one of these packages for her, if that is okay with you."
"Alright. Go ahead." The guard tells him.
"Thank you so much." JJ replies with a smile. "Have a good day, sir."
JJ is quick to drive through the gates, wanting to get away from the guard before he can start to question either of them even further, especially since Delilah chose to say nothing during the entire conversation. Nevertheless, JJ allows the Twinkie to soon roll to a slow stop in a free space in the parking lot. Then, he and Delilah slip out of the vehicle to enter the camp's grounds, finding another guard stood nearby as he watches everyone aimlessly stroll past him.
"Hi there, sir." JJ calls, grabbing his attention. "I'm looking for the office. Is there a main lodge that I can go to?"
"To your right." The guard replies.
Not having anything else to say, the pair quickly turn away from where the guard is standing and begin to make their way towards the main lodge. Then, upon reaching the door to the lodge, JJ doesn't hesitate to waltz into the room as Delilah closely follows behind him, finding her eyes then falling onto the sight of a woman sitting behind the desk. The woman looks up and stares at the two teenagers in confusion, silently watching JJ as he struggles to shut the door behind them, deciding to quickly (and not so subtly) slam his shoulder against the door.
"How's it going, ma'am?" JJ greets.
"Uh... How can I help you?" The woman asks.
"We have a message for one of your campers that we would like you to pass on." Delilah informs while she and JJ take a seat. "Her name is Kiara Carrera."
"Unfortunately, we are not allowed to pass on any messages." The woman states. "In fact, neither of you are even allowed to be on campus."
"It's a very important matter, ma'am." Delilah insists.
"I'm sure it is, sweetie. But we have a policy that they cannot have contact from the outside world for the first six weeks." The woman kindly tells her.
"It's actually a family matter. I'm her cousin." JJ lies, taking the redheads hand. "And this is my wife. She's here to give me moral support."
Delilah's heart skips a beat after hearing him call her his wife. She knows it shouldn't because they aren't married and JJ is just lying to the woman. However, the thought of her actually being married to him one day in the near future makes her heart warm and her stomach flip (in a good way).
"Listen, I know you have a policy, but there's been something that happened recently that..." JJ begins, trailing off as he starts to fake cry. "You know what? I'm getting emotional."
"It's okay, my love." Delilah softly reassures, rubbing his back with the hand that he isn't holding to follow the act. "Maybe we should go back home? We're not even allowed to be here. I'm sorry, ma'am, we'll leave you alone now."
"Before we leave, could you just let Kiara know that, uh... Marley didn't make it?" JJ tells the woman.
"Who's Marley?" The woman asks.
"Marley's her best friend. A Siamese mix." JJ replies through fake tears. "It was... It was really sudden... The mailman was coming at forty miles per hour."
"Marley's in a better place now." Delilah softly states before turning to the woman. "I know you have the policy, but if you could just let her know, we would really appreciate that."
The woman stays silent, simply nodding in response as a way to tell the two that she will without actually promising anything. However, Delilah doesn't miss the way that the woman's eyes briefly shift towards the picture of a cat that she keeps in a frame on her desk. But neither Delilah nor JJ choose to bring up the picture of the cat, not wanting to risk ruining any possibilities that they may have of getting in contact with Kiara.
"Thank you for your time, ma'am." Delilah tells her before turning to the blond. "It's okay, my love. Let's go home."
Rising to their feet, Delilah intertwines their hands together, and then they walk out of the room, closing the door behind them. However, instead of heading back to the Twinkie, JJ gently tugs on Delilah's hand as he pulls her around the corner, crouching down to the ground to hide next to the building that they just came from — hardly anybody is around to question their unusual actions.
It doesn't take long before the woman walks out of the main lodge with a large set of keys in her hand, walking across the wooden planks as she makes her way towards another room. She doesn't notice the two teenagers following after her, sneaking around. She doesn't notice them as she unlocks the door and kindly calls Kiara to come out of the small room. Kie doesn't even notice her best friends lurking below.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, but at Kitty Hawk we feel you have the strength to hear all the news, including bad news." The woman informs.
"What happened?" Kie asks in confusion.
"Well, your cousin was here a minute ago. A young man with blond hair. He was with his wife, and she has ginger hair." The woman tells her, pausing. "He asked me to tell you that Marley... he passed away."
Kie's brows furrow. "Like, Bob Marley?"
"Your Siamese Mix, Marley." The woman states.
Kie falls silent. It doesn't take her long to understand what's going on, causing a rush of relief to then flood through her body. So, in order to make the act more believable to the woman, Kie starts to fake cry; soft sobs tumble past her lips while she raises a hand to cover her mouth in 'shock', her shoulders shaking.
"W- When?" Kie asks, stuttering.
"We got the news just after you arrived." The woman replies. "But we thought that you should know."
"I think... I think I just need a little more time to process." Kie tells her with another sob.
"Take all the time you need." The woman assures.
At the sound of this, Delilah and JJ exchange glances at each other as wide grins spread across their faces. JJ raises his hand into the air and Delilah is quick to high-five him, feeling his fingers thread through hers shortly after. Both of them are relieved that the plan worked and that Kiara was able to quickly catch on and continue on with the act.
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The moon soon replaces the sun's place in the sky as the entire island is engulfed in darkness. Not a single beam of natural light shines down onto Kitty Hawk Wilderness Camp, almost as if nature herself knows that the place doesn't hold any good in it. Employees take time out of their day to kidnap teenagers from their own homes, traumatising them in the process. But the wilderness camp is able to make money from these kinds of things since parents truly believe that they're going what is best for their children.
In the shadows, two teenagers can be found lurking around on the private land of Kitty Hawk Wilderness Camp. Due to the fact that they are sneaking around, Delilah has one of JJ's hats, which he kindly gave to her, pulled over her head to cover her vibrant ginger hair. As well as that, Delilah and JJ wear a mask that covers the bottom half of their faces to protect their identities if they are caught.
The pair sneak towards the lodge that Kie was being kept in when they had visited earlier. However, upon entering small room, they are quick to find that their best friend is nowhere to seen. A frown falls over the girl's face as she slowly takes a step forward into the cramped space, walking further into the room as JJ follows closely behind her.
Where could Kiara have gone in such a short amount of time? Did the employees know about their plan?
Determined to not give up yet, Delilah and JJ come to a silent agreement to search the room for any sign as to where Kie might have gone. The pair are going to rescue their friend, no matter how many obstacles Kitty Hawk attempts to throw in their path. All of the Pogues know that Kiara didn't wish to be sent to this camp, so Delilah and JJ will do everything in their power to help her escape.
"Ly." JJ softly calls.
"Yeah?" Delilah replies.
"Look at this. I found something." JJ tells her.
Delilah turns to look at the boy, curiosity swimming in her eyes. The girl crosses the room and meets JJ's side, feeling her arm brush against his. JJ stretches a hand out and points towards to the rough carvings in the wood. Delilah's steady gaze follows JJ's finger to find her eyes settling onto the sight of one carving in particular.
"P4L Cabin 6." Delilah quietly reads.
"That has to be where Kie is." JJ states.
JJ's hand falls back to his side where his fingers then subconsciously intertwine with Delilah's. Carefully, with his free hand, JJ pulls open the door and peaks his head outside to make sure that the coast is clear. Then, he carefully tugs on Delilah's hand and directs her out of the small, cramped room as the door softly swings shut behind both of them.
A cold breeze brushes against their bare skin as they wander the large grounds of the camp. The two walk between the wooden lodges as their eyes dart to the numbered signs outside of each of them. Eventually, Delilah and JJ find Cabin 6, where they then come to a slow stop in front of the lodge, making sure that no guards are going to wander past them.
The strap of JJ's backpack slides off of his shoulder as he rummages through it and pulls out a crowbar. JJ then goes to move closer to the door of the cabin, but Delilah quickly reaches out and places a hand on his arm, her eyes wide as she shakes her head at him to not do so. The blond turns to look at Delilah, his gaze travelling from her hand and up her arm before then meeting her gaze with a frown, confused.
"What?" JJ asks with a whisper.
"You're going to leave a dent in the wood if you use that crowbar, and then it'll be obvious that someone broke in from the outside." Delilah quietly tells him.
"Oh, shit. Yeah, you're right." JJ agrees before he then grins at her. "Like I said the other day, my girl's a genius."
Delilah playfully rolls her eyes at JJ, who continues to smile at her with a glimmer in his blue eyes. Then, JJ shoves the crowbar back inside his backpack and pulls out a credit card instead. He slides the card in between both the door and its wooden frame, slowly pushing down on the handle as he pries it open. As soon as he does this, JJ's eyes shift back over to the redhead, immediately catching her gaze.
"You go inside. I'll wait out here and stay guard." JJ whispers.
"Okay." Delilah replies with a nod.
"Just shout my name if you need anything, okay?" JJ tells her.
"I'll be okay, J." Delilah reassures.
Pulling the door open further, Delilah slips past and allows herself to be engulfed in the darkness that fills the large cabin. The girl keeps her footsteps light and careful in order to avoid waking any of the girls from their peaceful slumbers. Allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness, her gaze drifts around the room in desperate search of her curly haired best friend.
"Kie?" Delilah calls in a hushed whisper. "Kie, are you in here?"
All of a sudden, a bedside lamp is switched on with a flick of a switch. Delilah's head instantly snaps over to the source of the bright light is, internally cursing herself for disturbing someone's sleep. Delilah finds that one of the girls is now sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes awake before her gaze then settles onto the intruder. Confusion is plastered across the girl's face as she stares down at Delilah from her place on the top bunk.
"What are you doing in here?" The girl quietly asks.
"Go back to sleep. This is a dream. You're dreaming right now." Delilah rambles.
Unfortunately, however, the lamp that lights up the dark room and the sound of their voices are enough to cause the rest of the teenage girls to stir from their slumbers. Delilah's eyes widen while her gaze drifts between each of the bunk beds, slowly taking a step backwards so that she's closer to the door in case she needs to run. More voices begin to fill the air as all of them begin to question what's going on, disoriented from only just waking up.
"Oh, for fuck sake." Delilah mutters. "I hate it here. Just my luck."
"What are you doing in here?" The first girl repeats, wanting answers.
"I'm looking for a girl named Kiara." Delilah admits, knowing she can't get out of this situation. "She has brown hair, and it's kind of long and curly."
"Lila?"
At the sound of her nickname being called, Delilah is quick to turn towards the voice. Green eyes then fall onto the sight of Kie now sitting up in one of the top bunks. Delilah feels relief flood through her body at the sight of the brunette, grateful to find her in this cabin because that means they can get her out of the camp and leave for South America as quickly as they possibly can. Delilah watches as happiness crosses over Kie's face, who is enchanted to know that she's being saved from Kitty Hawk.
Then, Kiara moves from her place and climbs down the ladder beside the bunk-bed, allowing her feet hit the solid ground beneath. Kie rushes over to Delilah and, without hesitation, throws her arms around the redhead. Delilah is quick to hug the girl back, trying not to stumble backwards from the sudden impact. The two best friends hold onto each other tightly.
"Oh my god!" Kie exclaims. "I'm so glad to see you right now, Lila. I thought I wouldn't see you guys again for months."
"We've been through so much already. Some stupid camp isn't going to separate you from us." Delilah states as they break the hug, smiling. "We've got your back, Kie."
"H- How did...?" Kie stammers, trailing off.
"It's a long story." Delilah replies.
"Well, thank you, Lila. I appreciate you coming to help me." Kie tells her.
"Come on. We need to go before one of the workers realises somethings wrong." Delilah informs. "JJ's waiting outside for us."
Kiara rushes over to her bunk bed and snatches her backpack from where it rests on the solid floor, then she hurriedly follows behind Delilah. Neither of the two say anything to the large group of girls, who are silently watching them, as they slip through the door and join JJ outside. He turns around at the sound of their quiet footsteps, meeting their gazes.
"All good?" JJ questions.
"All good." Delilah confirms.
In the distance, multiple guards are seen wandering around as they keep a careful watch out for anything out of the ordinary. The three teenagers are quick to move from where they stand, disappearing back into the shadows to avoid being caught. Not a single word leaves their mouths as they each sneak past the quiet buildings, making their way back to the long, narrow road.
Eventually, the trio passes the large sign that warmly welcomes them to Kitty Hawk's grounds. Kie's head shifts towards the bold letters as a laugh slips past her lips. She finds it humorous how simple it was for Delilah and JJ to help her escape the horrible camp. Kie raises a hand and places it on her lips for a brief moment, blowing a faint kiss at the sign to taunt the camp.
"This place can suck it." Kie exclaims.
Delilah grins at her curly haired girl. She continues to walk alongside JJ as he directs both of them down the edge of the road. However, the further that they walk, the more that a frown begins to form between Kie's brows; she's so grateful for the pair saving her, but she's just unsure whether or not they created a plan for afterwards.
"Why did you guys park so far away?" Kie complains.
"There's only one road that leads to Kitty Hawk. And with the camp and your parents knowing what the Twinkie looks like, we thought that it would be best to leave it as a decoy." JJ explains.
"Are we hitchhiking?" Kie asks.
"Nope." Delilah replies. "We missed Ward's plane, but JJ, the genius he is, has another plan."
"You flatter me, gorgeous." JJ comments with a grin.
A car's engine then fills the quiet air. Delilah's head is quick to snap towards the sound, her gaze falling onto the sight of an expensive black car travelling directly towards them. A smirk tugs at the corners of JJ's lips, proud of himself for actually figuring out a plan and having it go smoothly. Meanwhile, a frown falls over Kiara's face as she carefully eyes the driver, recognising him from somewhere.
"Wait..." Kie begins, trailing off as realisation then sets in. "Don't tell me that's Barracuda Mike."
"Long story." JJ replies.
"I really wouldn't question it." Delilah adds.
While greeting Barracuda Mike, JJ reaches out and pulls the passenger seat forward to allow the girls to climb into the backseats. Then, as soon as they are comfortably seated inside the car, JJ pulls the seat back up and takes a seat next to the man, pulling the door shut behind him. Kiara tries to spare a glance at Delilah, who's sitting beside her, wanting to silently ask for answers to her questions — why are they now teaming up with Barracuda Mike? However, Delilah just shrugs, unsure of how JJ even managed to talk him into helping them.
"Is the plane ready for take off?" JJ asks the man.
"It's been ready, dude." Barracuda Mike informs with a grin. "Let's go."
"Woo!" JJ joyfully cheers. "That's what I'm talking about! I'm a hustler, baby!"
"Hell yeah!" Delilah exclaims.