Hey guys! again not perfectly written, but tried. I may need two or three weeks off for the next one as my brain has been struggling these days, and I'm struggling with the parts for some reason. Anyway, I'm adding faces to our characters Maya and Jude! I have tried to add them below but not working so will just add onto a new part. Anyways, enjoy!!
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The sash lets out a sharp squeal as JJ finally pries the window open. He grunts, using his strong arms to force it to slide further up, until there's just enough of a gap to let him slip through.
Otis whines below him, wriggling and wagging his tail. JJ's gaze comes down to the playful Shollie, peering momentarily down with a warm smile. He pushes himself up onto the sill, letting one leg slip through, letting his other half dangle out. His eyes come back to fix on Otis, Otis's paws pounding against the wall and lets out a few loud yelps.
"Why they'd left you outside, hey boy?" he says softly. "Don't worry, I'll be back. I'll bring ya somethin' nice too, alright?" The rest of his body slips through, disappearing and engulfing himself entirely into the darkness of the room around him.
He takes in a few breaths, barely waiting for his eyes to adjust to the ink dark room, already taking a few careful steps forward. He lifts his arms up and out to feel for the space around him... hoping he'd eventually come to find a light switch as a hand reaches out and slides along the wall. First, his knee smashes up against the corner of an island, and his hand comes down instantly to find a smooth marble countertop. He mutters a curse under his breath feeling the throbbing pain radiating from his knee. He slides a hand over the smooth countertop gently, feeling out the dimensions to get himself around safely. His hand skims the surface, feeling the objects on top, when his hand collides into a pan, and sends it plummeting over the edge. It falls, and rings loudly of metal clashing with a hard tiled ground as it meets the flooring, making JJ jump and startle.
"Shit." he rasps, heart skipping brutally against his ribcage. A hand comes to grasp his chest, and his other hand comes away from the counter, and feels for his back pocket. Taking out his phone, he shines its beam out into the darkness, flashing its bright flashlight around, aiming it into the pitch darkness of the room.
Why'd he'd felt so strangely on edge- why'd it almost feel like a nightmare wandering around in the pitch darkness of Rafe's kitchen, the maybe most intimidating room of his house, the only room with pointy knifes and all, and he was standing probably in the centre in the literal dark... JJ reminds himself- he needn't feel so wound up- nobody had been home! He kind of now wished Otis had been inside with him, keeping him company.
JJ sweeps the light around, realizing he'd been standing in the middle of their kitchen. "Ok." he breathes, reassuring himself. "This ain't bad- not scared of the dark, are we, JJ?..." he mocks himself, then snorts. "No need to be alarmed... no-one else in 'ere." He shrugs the tension off his shoulders, and reasserts himself again. He takes a step forward, eyes traveling around to locate the light switch. He preps himself- in his mind- for what he'd come here for- that Tannyhill document- and he'd better be in and out as quickly as possible- he reminds himself, focusing again on the time he'd had left.
If only they'd hadn't jammed Otis's doggie door, obstructing JJ's original plan of using it to be in and out in a skip of a heart beat- instead he'd wasted time prying that damned sealed window open. His boot clips the pan he'd dropped as he'd been stepping over, and as his eyes ome down to skim over it, he hears something faint and hollowing from afar. His eyes travel up... a light pattering, scampering light kind of sound come next- sounds of quick movement coming from the other end of the corridor. A churning feeling, twisting feeling in his gut, crept up from the pit of his stomach, instantly immobilizing him. His muscles become tense, and with the icy feeling creeping along the length of his spine, sticking up the hairs on his neck- he feels he can't move. He'd heard it again... and then again. Maybe they'd just left a fan on or something- maybe that's what it was- he's unsure at this point, but that's the most feasible, most probable explanation of what's happening here, what he's hearing- at least, that's what he's trying to convince himself so he could get his legs to move again.
The sound changes dramatically, transpiring slowly into something incredibly loud, screechy, like wood scraping against metal, and then a sudden thud, like a window had been slammed open.
Hesitant at first, JJ's feet drift over toward the light switch fixed onto the wall separating the kitchen from the corridor, switching it on as fast as he could as he'd reached it. He peers down into the pitch dark narrow corridor where the noise had almost fallen silent again. Just as he steps around the wall, another light scampering sound mixed with a muffled voice comes next. His heart skips and it pounds against his chest. He cautiously wanders over toward the sound, eyeing the door as he nears. He continues his way down the now eerily silent corridor, brows tightly furrowed curiously, straining his ears out for any other sounds. He swivels at the door, and eyes travel to the window, just making out as a figure quietly slips through into the night. JJ swallows.
Had he been expecting this?- No, of course not... he'd just wanted to be in and out, and now his heart was almost ripping out of his chest.
Making his way over to the window, he leans up against the sill, straining his eyes to try and make out where the figure had disappeared to. The thick darkness envelops the distance, making it almost impossible for him to make out a figure cladded in black against the dark night. But Otis's barks alerted him to where to look,to help him locate where the figure had bolted off too in the far distance, and JJ's eyes strain to just make out a deeper shadow off in the distance.
JJ doesn't waste time, pulls himself over and through to the other side of the window, landing himself clumsily, with his heavy worn boots, onto the dirt ground with a hard thump, forming clouds of dust that rise up and hit his face. He chokes out some deep coughs. Lifting himself up, wiping the dirt from his trousers, he starts off after the figure in a tentative jog at first, the moon light hitting the shrubs surrounding him with a silvery glow, the thousands of stars glittering endlessly up in the deep navy blue sky, illuminating dimly his surroundings that help him find the way to Otis, to where his barks had been continuing to echo from.
Otis continues his pursuit, chasing the intruder tirelessly, providing JJ with a good path to follow. The figure had flown off into some thicker shrubs, leaving the sounds of rustling leaves, and crunching twigs behind. They'd been fast, agile, JJ thought he may lose them as they neared the road, where he assumes the figure would disappear into a vehicle waiting, jump in and then make a quick get away... until that is, he hears a loud thump, followed by crushing of twigs, and then the immediate sound of moaning that follow after...
As he nears, his beginning to realize the voice had sounded much smaller and softer than he'd expected. "Oww, shiiit." she complains, rubbing a hand over her left ankle vigorously. Otis yelps, whimpering, and fusing about her, wagging his tail frantically, bowing his body forward and barking some more.
Somehow, JJ gets the impression she'd managed to gain Otis's trust at some point, his behavior seemed far too friendly for an intruder, he'd almost made this out as a game.
She must have heard JJ's boots crunching the twigs beneath him as he nears, because she's suddenly attempting to get back onto her feet again, trying to pull herself up on a twisted ankle that was now of no help to her. He steps over her, attempting to trap her in, grabbing her from her back, clenching her black stretchy sweater, and pulling her up onto her feet, so that she could meet him eye to eye. He keeps her held so she can't take off, eyeing her. His lips tighten, pulling off her balaclava, unveiling her face. His brows shoot up and eyes widen... and suddenly she's pulling a dagger out from under her belt, holding it up against his face. They both fall silent, just their heavy warm breaths ghosting each other's faces.
"Y-you?... your Rafe?" she questions, genuinely intrigued- brows scrunched in confusion.
JJ's eyes dart over hers. He's angered at how she'd held him at knife point, scowling at her with a fierce expression now. "Me?... Nah- I'm not." He swallows down his annoyance. "Trust me, I ain't nothing like that jerk- but I know who you are... you're that girl from the museum, right?"
She huffs out a wicked, but curious smile. "Huh... oh- right. You're the one that was wasted... the hothead friend- the kinda spaced out, high-as-a-kite, dude... Apparently, still getting over some miserable break up, are we?" she taunts him with a wicked smile.
JJ snorts, looking away, not giving in to what she wanted- a reaction. "Yeah, ok..." he rolls his eyes, then looks back at her now smug smile. He clears his throat, pretending to appear unbothered. "Ok. Why are you here- why'd you break in for?"
Her blade presses tighter into his skin, dangerously- like she'd taken offense to his question. She frowns. "Why'd you need to know? Isn't it the same reason you're here? That treasure is ours." She states clearly, sneering defensively.
His brows dip, confused.
His hand move up slowly over hers, finding a way to gently slide it over the hand holding the dagger held firmly to his face. His hot skin travels along her fingers, slowly intertwining his fingers carefully and gently with hers, his eyes held firmly to hers, reading her reaction. He tries controlling his breathing- it had begun to pick up with all the adrenaline coursing through him, her hot breath ghosting his face wasn't helping him either, reminding him of her proximity.
"What? In Rafe's house? Here?" he snorts. "Is that a joke?" He scoffs, attempting to bring her hand down slowly, when her grip suddenly tightens, realizing what he'd been doing, and with a sudden movement the blade slices straight into his skin.
JJ gaspes, stepping back and pulling her away, but with her twisted ankle she stumbles back further than he'd expected, and he'd lost his grip to her sweater.
Trying to keep her balance, on an ankle unable to sustain or support her weight, she trips against her own feet as she's trying to turn and make a getaway. She scrambles, limping on a leg, tripping against the undergrowth of the shrubs beneath her- once- and then twice- then completely hitting the ground, falling flat onto the bushy weeds, ripping some air from her lungs when she lands on her stomach- only making it barely a meter away from him. JJ eventually moves closer, tiredly, touching a hand to his bleeding face. He stands close, lowering a little, watching her holding a hand over her stomach, trying to catch her breath. "Listen..." he lets out a breath, realizing he'd been holding it in "...all I want to know is why you're here."
His eyes trace over the area around trying to locate where she'd dropped her dagger. Locating it not far from him, he crouched and picked it up, then tossed it as far as he possibly could. Otis chases after it like he'd thrown a stick.
"If you don't know- then why are you break in?" she rasps back, breathy, panting heavily. "You broke in too, idiot- why'd you do it, hmm? What's your reason, huh?"
"Listen, I don't mean to sound like a dick right about now, but I'm the one asking the questions, ok?" he clarifies sternly, trying to sound tough. His brows crumple up, watching her. "Right now, all I need to know- all I'm askin' is why you're here- that's all."
A fine line of blood runs down his face, trickling off his chin. Her eyes round, twinkle at him, gaze dropping to his cut... she'd actually cut him deeper than she'd realized.
When JJ moves closer, she scuttles back on her behind, trying to create enough space between them- "Yeah, you stay right there, ok..." she searches for the right word to refer him to, confused- "buddy." She squints at him, like she'd served him an insult.
JJ abruptly freezes.
"You know, I'm not gonna hurt you, right?" He reassures her. "I'm not Rafe, o-or whoever else you got on your mind, ok? I'm not some lunatic."
Her eyes flicker around him, assessing him... her brows crease together, her face still heavily in thoughts. Slowly, she eases a little, some tension seeping away from her shoulders.
"Ok... I may have a deal to make with you..." she swallows as she's contemplating what she's doing. "But I'm gonna need you to help me, you know, help me get out from here first, alright?... what do you say, you help me- I'll help you?... because, practically, I know things that you would want to know... that could help you... with the treasure hunt... things that you and your friends are after."
She could only think of how much Jude would hate her for this.