When the boat was tied to the dock, we all got out and headed our separate ways temporarily. The girls came with me to shower and change at mine and the boys stayed together to devise a plan to get into Mrs. Crain's basement.
Kie sat in the passenger's seat while Sarah sat in the back and I drove. We eventually arrived at my house after picking up a change of clothes at Sarah and Kie's houses. I locked my car and entered my guest house.
Sarah showered first as she was in need of it the most after her jellyfish sting. I went through my drawers to look for clothes. We all needed to wear all black, but I wanted to wear something that JJ would like.
"Blue is his favorite color," Kie said as she saw me looking through my bandana's. "What?" I asked her. It was like she had read my mind. "JJ. His favorite color is blue." She said as she stood up and picked out the dark blue bandana. I smiled as I placed it on top of the other clothes I was wearing after my shower.
Kie sat down on the edge of my bed. "You really like him, huh?" She asked me. I had a smile on my face as I shrugged. "I'm not sure yet," I responded. I knew I felt something for JJ... I just didn't know what. "He really likes you, Scar," Kie said.
I gave her a confused look. "How do you know?" I asked her. She rolled her eyes with a small grin on her lips. "He talks about you all the time," Kie said. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" I asked her. She nodded.
"John B told me that too," Sarah said as she came out of the bathroom with her all-black outfit on. "He said it gets kind of annoying," Sarah said with a small laugh. "But seriously, Scar. Please don't hurt him." Kie almost begged me.
I shot her a confused look, "Why would I hurt him?" I asked her defensively. "Scarlett. You have the most serious commitment issues I've ever seen." Sarah said with a laugh. Kie stood up and headed to the bathroom to get ready.
"No, I don't. I was with Kelce for almost a year!" I stated. Sarah nodded, "Yeah... because you didn't love him. When you love someone, you always freak out and run." Sarah said as she brushed through her hair.
I rolled my eyes at her statement. "I know John B is worried about him," Sarah said. I gave her a concerned look. "Why?" I asked her and she looked me in my eyes. "He's worried you'll hurt JJ." She said as she looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact.
"It seems like everyone is so worried about me 'hurting JJ'. I don't get it." I said angrily. "Well, you do kinda have a reputation," Sarah said lowly. I sat down next to her. "Like what?" I asked curiously.
She stood up as she spoke. "Well, you slept with my brother, cheated on Kelce with my brother, and had feelings for JJ while still being with Kelce. Plus, you are known to... you know..." Sarah said as she made a hole with her hand and pulled her pointer finger in and out of the hole.
"I'm known for sleeping around?" I asked angrily. "That's what JJ said... not me," Sarah said. My eyes widened in disbelief. "JJ said that about me?" I asked lowly. She nodded. "But he does the same thing so, it doesn't matter." She said nonchalantly.
"It matters to me. Damn, for someone who apparently likes me so much, I'm surprised he said that about me." I said as Kie came out of the bathroom. "Sarah, you told her?!" Kie asked angrily. I shot her a confused look, "You knew and you didn't tell me?" I asked Kie.
"What exactly did he say?" I asked the two. They looked at each other until Sarah spoke. "Just that you sleep around. But John B said he didn't say it in a negative way." Sarah explained. "Scar, he said it before you guys had feelings for each other. This was months ago. I'm surprised John B even brought it up." Kie said.
"Well, any feelings I had for JJ are gone now," I said as I grabbed my clothes and made my way to my bathroom. "Just like I said... you freak out and run," Sarah said as she answered a call from John B. I rolled my eyes and headed to the shower.
Did JJ really think of me as a slut?
∴∴∴∴∴
John B picked us up in the van first before getting JJ and Pope. Sarah sat in the front seat while Kie and I sat in the back. It was quiet and tense between me and the girls. "Is everything okay? I thought you guys settled your differences." John B said to Kie and Sarah. "We did," Kie said. John B shot me a confused look in the rearview.
"So... why so quiet?" He asked. We all stayed silent for a moment. "Because JJ thinks I'm the village whore," I said, breaking the silence. "I knew you were mad!" Sarah said. "That's not what he meant!" Kie exclaimed. The girls spoke with their voices raised both trying to explain themselves.
John B silenced them. "What're you talking about?" John B asked me. "Don't act so clueless. I know JJ told you that John B." I said in an annoyed tone. "JJ never called you the 'village whore'." John B defended his friend. "Exactly!" Kie said.
"But he did imply it," Sarah said underneath her breath. "No, he didn't, Sarah," Kie said. "Is that why he's flirting with me? So I'll fuck him?" I asked John B. "No! He really likes you, Scarlett." John B said sincerely. "Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it." I said.
Kie shot me a confused look. "What do you mean? Does he not already show you enough?" Kie asked with annoyance. I shrugged as we pulled up to Pope's house where JJ and Pope stood outside. "I don't know. Drop it." I said as they approached the car.
When they entered the van, Pope sat next to Kie as he opened his bag to make sure they had enough supplies, and JJ sat next to me. "Alright, you guys got rope?" John B asked Pope and JJ. "Got it," Pope responded. "Grappling hook?" John B asked. "We don't have a grappling hook," Pope said as he rolled his eyes.
"We're not Batman," I said under my breath, which earned a laugh from JJ. He looked over at me, but I avoided his eyes. I could feel his stare.
We arrived at Mrs. Crain's house and John B parked on the street. "Pulley?" John B asked, still making sure we had everything. "Check," Kie said. "Dark clothes?" John B asked. "Got it," Sarah responded. "Flashlights?" John B continued with his checklist. JJ looked around for a bit until he found the flashlights. "Check," He stated as he held them in his hands.
"Alright, good. We're ready." John B said as he opened the door. "Let's go get rich guys," JJ said jokingly. He looked over to me to see if I was laughing, but I wasn't. He shot me a concerned look which I chose to ignore. John B opened the van door. "Go, boys," Sarah said. "And girls," Kie added as she smiled at me. I returned the smile as I jokingly elbowed her softly.
"Let's roll." JJ and Pope said. We all began to collect our things, but John B stopped us. "Wait, wait." He said. "I wanna say thank you, guys. Seriously." John B said while he looked around the group. "It means a lot to me that you're here tonight." He added.
Kie rolled her eyes with a smile as she responded, "Always." Pope also responded with a smile, "Of course, man." The two did their handshake and then John B's eyes moved to Sarah's. They smiled at each other, and I could tell they really felt something for one another.
"All right, we done with the circle jerk? Can we go do this?" JJ asked. "Yeah." Sarah nodded. "Let's get that wheat in the water," I said as I grabbed my backpack. "Weed? I'm up for weed." JJ tried to joke with me. "Wheat. She said wheat." Pope responded as I smiled at him.
As I was about to hop out, JJ stopped me. "Hey, I like your bandana." He stated as he pointed at it. "You know blue is my favorite color?" He said with a smirk. "Yeah? Then you can have it." I said as I removed it from my hair and tossed it at him. I left the van and JJ soon followed.
Sarah climbed the fence first, and the only two left were JJ and I. I was too short, and I needed a boost. "Here, let me help." He said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off. "I don't need your help," I said. "Are you okay?" He asked. I turned to him as I responded with, "I'm fine."
I saw that he took my bandana and placed it around his wrist which almost made me smile. "Clearly not. We were fine when we picked you up from the boat, but now you seem pissed at me." He stated. "Way to state the obvious," I said as I placed my black hair behind my ear.
"What did I do?" He asked me. I stayed silent for a moment. "You think I sleep around, JJ? You think I'm easy, or something?" I asked. "What? No." He stated firmly. "Really? Because according to a blond-haired dumbass, I'm known to 'sleep around.'" I said to him.
He gave me a look of confusion until it hit him and he realized what I was talking about. "No, that's not what I said." He said as he walked closer to me. "So you're telling me you didn't say that?" I asked him. He looked around for a moment, "Okay, I did say that--"
"Oh my God. Really?" I asked him with frustration as I cut him off. "I didn't mean it in a negative way, I do the same thing! This was before I met you!" He exclaimed. "JJ, you don't even know me!" I stated as I turned around. He grabbed my hand and I turned back to face him. He placed his hand on my cheek and caressed me, "But I want to." He said.
He looked deeply into my bright green eyes and inched closer to me. "That's gotta be worth something, right?" He asked me. I smiled as I pushed him away. "You've got a way with words, J," I said as I attempted to hop the fence and I finally succeeded. "Some would say I'm a smooth operator." He said as he hopped over after me. "Who would say that?" I asked as we caught up with everyone. "Some." He said. I rolled my eyes and lightly laughed.
We all finally reached the house, but the motion sensor lights were activated. "Shit!" Sarah gasped. We all gasped as we hid behind some bushes. "Flashlights," Kie said nervously, but JJ was having trouble turning his off. "It's on strobe!" JJ said as he and Pope finally got it to turn off.
John B shushed us all and we listened. "Okay, so she has motion sensor lights," Pope stated. "We could, uh... move really slow, maybe?" JJ said. "What?" Sarah asked. "What would we accomplish from that?" I asked him. "That's not how it works," Pope added.
"Oh, shit! Let's throw a rock at it." John B said seriously. "Are you fucking serious?" I asked him. "That's a really good idea, actually. Let the axe murderer know we're here." Kie said sarcastically. "Throw a rock at it?" Pope asked John B. "You have a better idea?" John B asked him.
"Literally anything but that," Kie said. "What about the breaker? In the circuit box on the porch?" Sarah said. "We used to play hide-and-seek here as kids," Sarah said as she pointed at me. We used to come here in middle school. "If we were brave enough, we'd go all the way up to the porch. I've seen it." I said.
"No, no. You're not going in the house alone." John B said. "Watch me," Sarah said as she grabbed her bag. "Crain chops people into pieces," JJ said. "If you believe that, but she's like what, 85?" I asked him. "Yeah, somethin' like that," JJ said to me. "She's probably barely still kicking," Sarah said.
I sighed as I grabbed a flashlight from my bag, "I'll go with you." I stated. "Me too," Kie said. JJ shot me a look that showed he was concerned. "We'll wait for your signal," Pope said to us girls. "Okay, cool," Sarah said as well all stood up. "Hey! Be safe." John B said. "We will," Sarah responded as we continued walking.
"She must have a generator plugged into the main power supply," Kie said as we approached the house. We walked up to the porch and saw the power box. I opened it as I gave Kie a confused look. "Where are the breakers?" I asked the girls. "What is this?" Kie asked. "Shit," I said as I looked at the wires going up the wall. "It goes inside," I said.
Kie slowly opened the creaky metal door and entered the house. We looked around the old house and grew more nervous the longer we spent inside. Mrs. Crain's cat startled us three when it hissed and ran away from us.
We followed the wire around the house until we reached the main power box. I tried my best to slowly and quietly turn off all of the switches, and soon enough the generator powered down. Soon after, we heard a whirring sound coming from another room. We gasped as we hid as well as we could.
We heard Mrs. Crain coming down the stairs slowly. Kie covered her mouth to limit any noise as Mrs. Crain spoke. "It's-- it's late, Leon. Too late." She walked right past us and I felt Sarah and Kie grab my hand.
"I can hear you, Leon." Mrs. Crain said right in front of us. Sarah slightly whimpered. "I've been waiting all night!" Mrs. Crain shouted and turned to face us. Sarah screamed as we ran. "Go!" Kie shouted.
We ran throughout the house to find a way out, but there was almost no way out. Mrs. Crain continued to scream for Leon while roaming the house while Kie and I attempted to unlock a closed-off door.
Mrs. Crain eventually wandered into the room we were in and Kie made a whimpering noise that caught her attention. She tried hitting me and Kie with a fire poker. Kie got away but Mrs. Crain hit me in the head and across the face with it, cutting the side of my face.
Sarah came running into the room and grabbed Kie's hand, pulling her away from Crain. I kicked her in the stomach and in her side, then Sarah grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room as Kie followed. We went into another room and closed the door, then Sarah turned to me. "Scar, that's a huge cut." She whispered as she looked at it.
"It's fine," I said. Kie then turned to check it out. "Holy shit, Scar. You're bleeding. Like really bleeding." She said. "Really? I can't even feel it." I said. "You probably have a concussion. We need to get out of here--" Sarah said, but was cut off by Mrs. Crain slamming her axe through the door.
We all ran towards the other side of the room. "This way! It goes underneath the house!" Sarah said as she opened a door and ran down the stairs. We saw JJ and Pope and Kie and Sarah over to them. I slowly made my way down the stairs and walked towards them.
"What's going on?" Pope asked us. "Mrs. Crain! She's up there!" Sarah said as she caught her breath. "She tried to kill us with a fire poker. We gotta get the fuck outta here." Kie said. "We locked her in the parlor, but we gotta go!" Sarah shouted.
"Wait, wait... what happened to Scarlett?" JJ asked as I sat down on the ground. "She definitely has a concussion. That girl is a fucking warrior." Kie said. "Okay, code red," JJ said as he and Pope began to pull John B out of the well.
"John B, get back on, man!" JJ shouted. Pope, Sarah, Kie, and JJ all tried pulling John B up but fell back when they pulled on a loose rope. "Where the hell is he?" Pope asked. "John B!" JJ shouted.
"Shh, shh, shh!" I said to everyone. We heard John B shouting, and everyone panicked, assuming he was drowning. "John B, get back on the rope. We're gonna pull you back up, okay, buddy?" Pope shouted at him.
They began pulling John B back up, but I heard something behind me. I looked to see Mrs. Crain with a shotgun, firing a shot at a wall. Everyone lost grip of the rope and began to hide. Kie and Sarah hid together and so did Pope and JJ. I had the advantage of being behind her. She fired another shot toward Sarah and Kie and they ran out of the house.
A third shot was fired near JJ and Pope and they ran out of the house too. She then fired another shot and I tackled her to the ground and John B saw me. "Good one, Scar." He said with a smile. "You look lovely," I said sarcastically, as he was covered in mud and muck. We both ran out of the house and back to the car.
While we hopped the fence, Crain was still shooting at us, but we had made it away and hopped into the van to safety. "JJ, drive!" Sarah shouted. "Go, man!" Pope added. JJ looked back at John B was covered in dirt and mud. "Are you okay? Are you shot?" He asked John B, but he shook his head.
Kie patted herself down, "I think I'd know if I was shot, right?" She asked. "You look disgusting," Pope said to John B with a laugh. "God, you smell like ass," Kie added. "What the hell just happened?" Sarah asked.
"All-time Pogue Hall of Fame, baby!" JJ shouted as he looked at the road. "Hell, yeah!" Kie agreed. "That bitch is possessed," Kie said as she looked at Sarah. "That bitch can't aim," Sarah responded. "She got me pretty fucking good," I said silently as I closed my eyes.
"How does she move that fast?" Pope asked. They all kept speaking, and I zoned out until I heard everyone chanting about John B finding the gold.
I smiled as my vision went blurry and soon after, everything went black.