CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
the goonies in action
NOVA AND JUNO spent the remainder of the night talking — not about Juno's mother since the girl explicitly stated that she didn't want to recall the events of the moments leading up to the vicious argument between Juno and her mother. So Nova and even the guys did everything in their power to distract Juno from the horrible thoughts circulating through her brain, and plaguing her mind with each haunting memory of what her own mother did to her.
They started off with going over the plan to find the gold inside of the well underneath the Crain house, catching Nova up to speed with the plan, so she was ready for when the day finally rolled around. But when that wasn't enough, Nova and Juno spent what was left of the night locked in the spare room as they talked all night until the sun came up the next morning. Nova explained what had happened between her and Rafe and that was why she didn't show up at the chateau when she did, and what went down between her and JJ at the beach, whilst Juno admitted she missed having Kiara around, and needed her more than ever right now.
Truth is, hearing those words leave Juno's lips made Nova regret the plan they put together to trap Kiara and Sarah on the boat, especially if their plan didn't work in the end. Juno was hurting and all she wanted in that very moment was her girlfriend. Guilt was all Nova felt throughout the rest of the night.
That was why Nova was relieved when the guys left the next morning to go and pick up Kiara and Sarah from the centre of the marsh, leaving Nova and Juno behind whilst they waited patiently on the deck outside the chateau. The sun was rising over the horizon, a deep orange mixed with pale pink — a beautiful contrast compared to the dark night from hours before. It was quite comforting, Nova thought, a ghost of smile planted across her lips whilst she continued to stare at the breathtaking sunrise displayed in front of her ocean, blue eyes.
Although, a beautiful sunrise couldn't erase Juno O'Connell's pain. The very thought of what her friend must be suffering through right now was enough to make Nova's smile fade, her gaze slowly drifting over towards Juno, who was sat down beside her, her eyes staring down at the moving ripples of water beneath her. Nova could tell she was at peace, but there was no denying there was definitely still some painful memories haunting Juno in the back of her mind.
"Hey, Juno..." Nova was the first to speak up between the pair, causing for Juno to turn her attention over towards the blonde. Nova then stared at the O'Connell girl nervously for a second, before she parted her lips to speak once again. "I know you don't want to talk about last night—"
"You're right." Juno interjected, cutting the girl off whilst she nodded her head. "I don't."
"I know." Nova replied, pausing for a brief moment, before she decided to speak again. "All I was going to say was...if you need a place to crash then you know you always have a home at my house." She offered, knowing there was no way she was going to let Juno run straight back to her mother again.
Juno let out a quiet sigh, the girl shooting Nova a skeptical look. "Are you sure your parents want me there?" She inquired, not wanting to cause a fuss where it's not necessarily needed.
Juno's choice of words caused for Nova to frown, her eyes flooding with a look filled with surprise. "Please, my parents love you more than me at this point. You're practically a part of the family. So you are more than welcome to stay however long you like." Nova elaborated, a gentle and heartwarming smile forming across her lips.
"You would do that for me?" Juno asked, her eyes softening as she continued to stare back at Nova.
"Of course, I would." Nova confirmed, watching as a ghost of a smile tugged at Juno's lips the second those words rolled off of Nova's tongue. "You're my best friend and I can't stand the thought of you going back home yet — or ever for that matter, but at least see this as a temporary home until you're ready to go back." She explained, giving the girl a gentle nudge, which caused for Juno to let out a quiet and sincere chuckle.
"Thank you, Nova." Juno told her.
Nova then inhaled a sharp breath and reached over to grab Juno's hand, lacing their fingers together and giving her hand a tight and reassuring squeeze. "We're best friends, and best friends always look out for each other." She informed, causing for Juno to smile back at the blonde in response.
All of a sudden, the comforting moment between the two girls was interrupted when they both spotted the HMS Pogue in the distance, the familiar boat slowly coming towards them. As they began to get closer, both Nova and Juno stood back up onto their feet when they saw the guys, Sarah and Kiara all huddled together on the boat, and judging by the looks of it, the two girls were smiling and laughing with each other. Nova assumed the plan the group orchestrated must have worked, especially since Sarah and Kiara now appear to be as thick as thieves.
Juno let go of Nova's hand and then used it to shield her eyes from the sun that was still rising, plastering another smile across her face. "Have fun?" She called out to the girls, a teasing look twinkling in her dark eyes.
The boat was a lot closer now, allowing both Kiara and Sarah to stare at Nova and Juno with disapproving look in their eyes. "I can't believe both of you were in on it, and you..." Sarah spoke up, pausing for a moment whilst she pointed over at Nova. "After the advice I gave you, you locked me under the deck?" She questioned, shaking her head disapprovingly.
Nova shrugged her shoulders in response to Sarah's words. "It had to be done." She replied.
"But the plan worked." Pope raised his voice, earning a smile filled with sweet victory from both Nova and Juno in response.
Nova then watched as John B parked the boat and switched off the engine, giving Sarah and Kiara the opportunity to climb out of the boat. However, it was safe to say the reunion between the girls was anything but sweet, especially when Kiara noticed the harsh bruises painted across Juno's skin, the Carrera girl not even hesitating to approach her girlfriend, taking her face into her hands, and inspecting her bruised eye closely, before she pulled Juno into her embrace and held her closely. It was a form of comfort Juno instantly responded to, her arms wrapping securely around Kiara and holding onto her for dear life, almost like her entire life depended on it.
Kiara wasn't the only one to notice the bruises underneath Juno's eye either. Sarah stared at her friend with a sad look evident in her dark eyes, her gaze studying Juno for a short moment, before her attention shifted over to Nova, searching for answers to why Juno appeared to be so broken. This caused for Nova to stare back at the blonde girl for a short moment, before she let out a sigh filled with despair.
"It's been a long night." She told Sarah, and after putting two and two together, Sarah quickly realised what she meant, making it clear that the bruises on Juno's face came from her own mother. The revelation was enough to make Sarah stare back at the O'Connell girl with sympathy burning bright in her eyes.
But despite all the bad circulating through their lives, at least they all had each other, and that's exactly what they needed for what was going to go down later tonight.
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John B drove the old Volkswagen down the road and into the direction of the Crain house, the girl occasionally peering out the dusty window of the vehicle to look up at the blueish night sky. Nova didn't even notice how dark it had gotten outside until now, the thought of going to the Crain house in the dark being enough to send chills up her spine, a small itch of fear scorching across her skin.
And why was tonight so important?
Tonight was the night when Nova and her friends were going to go searching for the gold down at the bottom of the mysterious and hollow well underneath the Crain house. After going over the plan repeatedly until everyone was clear, it seemed like they were ready to put it into action, the group finally making their wildest dreams of finding the famous buried treasure true. The very thought of holding a heavy bar of glistening gold in her hand was enough to make Nova's entire body flood with excitement, whilst the girl continued to stare out of the window as they made their way closer to their destination.
John B continued to steer the vehicle around another sharp corner and down another bumpy road, before the van came to a quick and sudden halt, the roaring from the engine being switched off soon afterwards. Nova quickly snapped herself back to reality and turned her attention away from the dusty window displayed in front of her, before looking around to see JJ and Pope gathering up the rope they needed to lower John B down into the well like they planned, the excitement building up within the pit of her stomach a little bit more.
"Let's go get rich, guys." JJ chimed from where he was sitting, whilst John B slides the side door open, his words making everyone else cheer.
However, when the rest of them made an attempt to pile out of the van, John B was fast to stop them. "Wait." John B stated, preventing the group from leaving as silence quickly flooded the air surrounding the group. "I wanna say thank you, guys, seriously. It means a lot to me that you're here tonight."
Pope smiled slightly and glanced over at Nova. "And I think that if he was here right now, Riley would be proud of us." He told the girl.
Pope's words were enough to make a smile form across Nova's lips, a spark of happiness glinting in her bright eyes whilst she stared back at her friend. Truth is, she was thankful too, knowing that her new group of friends weren't just doing this for John B. They were doing this for her too, to help Nova gain some sort of closure over her brother's death, and the fact that they dragged her along with them willingly made her eternally grateful.
Pope hits his fist against John B's whilst Kiara parted her lips to speak with a smile of her own tugging at her lips. "Always."
"Alright, are we done with this circle jerk?" JJ questioned in a jokingly manner, his choice of words making Nova roll her eyes in response. "Can we go do this?"
"Let's get that wheat in the water." Pope sighed, nodding his head in the process.
"Weed?" JJ spoke up, beginning to tease. "I'm up for weed."
Pope turned around and shot the boy an annoyed look. "Wheat. I said wheat." He corrected, and Nova couldn't help but giggle in response to their stupid commentary.
One by one, the group begin to jump out of the van. Once Novq was outside and standing in front of the tall brick wall in the dark night, the girl sighed to herself, following Kiara, Juno and Sarah over the wall and into the overgrown garden, the sight of all the statues and tall plants being enough to send chills up and down Nova's spine. It turns out the Crain estate was a lot more creepier at night, causing for Nova to look around whilst she cursed useless profanities under her breath.
Nova followed her friends throughout the overgrown garden with fear creeping back into her bones, nothing but the flashlights in their hands to illuminate the path in front of them and scare away the darkness that threatened to swallow the group whole. However, the second Nova and her friends stepped out in front of the tall house that stood only a few feet away from them, a bright and blinding light begins to brighten up the yard, the sudden flash of white light being enough to make the group hide behind a set of overgrown bushes.
"Fuck." Nova cursed under her breath, whilst she helped Juno quickly switch off the flashlight in her hand, making sure there was not a single light coming from them just incase someone spotted them. More specifically, Mrs Crain.
Pope began to breathe heavily, looking around at the rest of them with a panicked expression. "Okay, so she has motion sensor lights." He announced in a hushed voice.
"We could, uh...move really slowly, maybe?" JJ suggested with uncertainty laced in his quiet tone, his suggestion being enough to make Nova shoot him an unamused look, hoping the boy wasn't actually being serious. But the more Nova stared at JJ, the more the girl began to realise he wasn't even kidding this time.
She wasn't the only person who wanted to smack some sense into JJ. Pope also glanced at his friend with a mix of annoyance and confusion. "Yeah, that's not how it works." He pointed out.
"Oh, shit. Let's just throw a rock at it." John B then suggested, causing for Nova to mentally slap herself the second she heard those words leave his lips. She could have sworn JJ and John B shared one brain cell.
"That's a really good idea." Kiara spoke up, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "Let the axe murderer know that we're here."
"Yeah, John B, totally genius." Juno added, shooting the boy an irritated glance.
John B shot Kiara and Juno a glare filled with annoyance, parting his lips to speak. "You have a better idea?" He asked.
Nova shrugged her shoulders and stared back at the boy with her eyes narrowing into a playful glare of her own. "No, but alerting the axe murderer that we're here is single-handedly the worst idea ever, John B." She argued, her words making Kiara nod her head in agreement with her statement.
"What about the breaker?" Sarah paused, turning her head to glance at Nova and Juno, who stared back at the blonde with a confused look. "In the circuit box on the porch, remember? We used to play hide-and-seek here as kids. And if we were brave enough, we'd go all the way up to the porch. Nova, Juno and I have seen it." The girl explained, the distant memory becoming more familiar to Nova as the seconds passed her bye, the girl thinking about the crazy games her, Juno and Sarah used to play as kids when fear was nonexistent to them.
Nova stared back at Sarah for a swift moment, before she nodded her head, knowing it was a good idea and the best one they actually had as of now. But when Nova turned back around to face John B, she saw the boy shaking his head. "No, no. You're not going in the house alone." He retorted, staring back at his girlfriend with a disapproving look glazed over his dark eyes.
"She won't be alone." Nova reassured him, before she sighed quietly to herself. Nova was sure she would have a heart attack if Mrs Crain caught her lurking around outside the house. But she was willing to risk it in order to secure the gold, making Nova turn her head to the side to face Sarah. "I'll go with you."
"There's no way you're going in there." JJ blurted out, the sound of his familiar voice causing for Nova to look over at him to see the worried look in his eyes through the darkness that surrounded them both.
Nova's eyes simply softened, the girl shrugging her shoulders in the process. "I'll be fine. Sarah and I have each other's backs." She reassured him.
JJ cleared his throat, shrugging his shoulders. "Crain chops people into pieces." He reminded her, knowing how scared Nova would be if she went into the house. But, truth is, JJ was just as scared at the thought of something bad happening to Nova.
"If you believe that, but she's like what, eighty-five?" Sarah inquired with her brows knitting together, shrugging her shoulders in the process. "She's probably barely still kicking."
Kiara sighed to herself, before she parted her lips to speak. "I'll go with you both."
And with that, the rest of them were in agreement with one another on the new plan. Pope then nodded his head. "We'll wait for your signal." He informed them.
"Stay safe." Juno spoke up, her voice coming out in the form of a hushed whisper. This caused for Nova to peer into the darkness to see Juno was latching onto Kiara's hand. She was the only one who seemed to notice it, the sight of the two girls being enough to warm Nova's heart. Juno then sighed and turned her attention to Nova and Sarah too. "All of you."
Nova simply nodded her head in response and stood back up from where she was crouched, before she spared JJ one last lingering stare and began to make her way towards the front porch with Kiara and Sarah following close behind her. However, whilst Nova made her way closer towards the Crain house, the girl staying in the shadows and away from the motion sensor lights, pushing some overgrown branches out of the way, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming feeling of fear and dread weighing heavy on her chest.
Sarah quickly overtook and Nova and continued to lead the way past the bushes, the blonde quickly looking over her shoulder for a moment to look between Nova and Kiara. "She must have a generator plugged into the main power supply." Sarah guessed, whilst Nova shivered as a delicate gust of wind blew in her direction.
There was no denying that Nova Van Kirk was scared right now. She was freaking terrified of what could happen the second she took a single step out onto the creaky floorboards, knowing there was a fair chance Mrs Crain could catch them and cut them up into tiny pieces like JJ specified. Nova never actually imagined her death in much detail, but she didn't exactly want to die at the hands of an axe murderer who cut her own husband's head off. The thought was enough to make Nova's hand tremble with every fear stricken step she took closer towards the Crain house.
Nova hesitated at first, but she slowly made her way up the steps with Kiara at her side, watching as Sarah approached a metal box attached to the wall. The sight of the box was enough to make Nova sigh with relief, knowing the sooner they turned the motion sensor lights off, the sooner they could regroup with the boys, find the gold and leave. However, when Nova watched Sasha open the box, she was shocked to find the breakers weren't even there.
"Where are the breakers?" Kiara asked with confusion laced in her voice, shining the torch on the cabinet.
Sarah takes the torch in her hand and shines it over the cable connected to the box, before she follows where the cable would lead them. It came as a surprise to the girls when they saw the cables went into the house itself. "It goes inside." She announced, her voice shaky with dread.
"You have to be fucking kidding me." Nova sighed in annoyance, the girl fully knowing it was bad enough she was standing on the front porch of the house. Going inside was basically like signing her own death sentence. The worst part was that Nova, Kiara and Sarah had no other choice than to go inside since turning off the lights was the only way they could sneak under the house and search for the gold.
Swallowing the thick lump forming in the back of her throat, Nova watched as Sarah wrapped her trembling hand around the door hand and twisted it open, before the girls took slow steps into the dark and creepy looking house, nothing but the lights from their torches illuminating the interior of the house. A shaky breath then escaped past Nova's lips, the girl beginning to scan her worried eyes over the inside of the house, taking notice in the many different objects scattered around the house collecting dust.
All of a sudden, the loud sound of a cat yowling was enough to make Nova jump, a quiet gasp slipping past her lips whilst she clutched her chest with nothing other than fear coursing through her bloodstream. Nova's sudden actions were enough to make Kiara glance at her with a concerned look. "You okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine. Just thinking about the horror movie I'm currently the star of." Nova replied in a jokingly manner, looking around for a moment to make sure nothing was going to grab her ankles and drag her away, like from that one movie Riley forced her to watch when they were younger. Nova then glanced back at Kiara with another sigh slipping past her lips. "I just really want to get this part over and done with."
The three girls continue to move slowly and carefully through the crowded house, the old wooden floorboards creaking quietly beneath their feet after each trembling step they took through each room. That was until Sarah spotted another box in the distance, causing for the blonde to pick up the pace with Nova and Kiara trailing close behind the girl until the trio stopped in their tracks in front of the closed box attached to the wall.
Sarah spared the two girls a quick look, before opening the box and shining the torchlight in front of it to reveal the breakers. Nova then sighed with relief, watching as Sarah pulled down on the breakers, and from the corner of her eye, Nova spotted the lights switch off outside, causing for large grins filled with success and relief to form across the girl's lips.
"Great. Let's get out of here." Nova whispered to her friends, wanting nothing more now than to regroup with Juno and the boys.
But before the girls had the opportunity to find their way back outside, the faint sound of whirring began to slowly flood the air, the sound being more than enough to make the girls freeze up for a moment, before they quickly hide. Nova knew the sound was unusual, making her fear the worse was bound to happen, the girl looking around with frantic eyes whilst she wondered where the sound was coming from.
The sound of shuffling against the wooden floorboards accompanied with constant thumping was enough to make Nova turn her head to glance at Sarah, who stared back at the girl and lifted her finger to her lips as a signal to her friend to keep quiet. Nova felt herself nod her head in response, before she reached down and grabbed Sarah's other hand. She could tell the blonde was already shaking with fear, so she laced their fingers together and traced her thumb over her soft skin in an attempt to ease both of their blood curdling fear.
"It's late, Leon." The sound of a senile and croaky voice belonging to an elderly woman rang through the air. The girls watched as none other than Mrs Crain walked past them with a fire poker in her hand, almost like she was using it as a cane to support her frail and fragile state.
Nova cupped her hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds of her heavy and frantic breathing, the sight of the elderly woman she had heard so many haunting stories about now standing in front of her in the flesh. She was terrified of what would happen if the woman caught them in her house, knowing she couldn't die at the hands of a brittle old lady. That would be embarrassing.
"I can hear you, Leon." Mrs Crain spoke up, pausing for a moment as she stopped in her tracks. "I've been waiting all night!"
Suddenly, the elderly woman turned around and faced the girls, her wrinkly face contorting into anger whilst Nova stared back into her glassy eyes for a moment, before Kiara let out a scream and they run away. Nova felt her hand loosen around Sarah's whilst she followed Kiara towards the front door of the house, but both girls were left shocked when they noticed the door was boarded up, thick planks of wood hammered against the door.
Nova quickly whipped back around to see not only had her and Kiara reached a dead end, but Sarah was also nowhere to be seen. This caused for panic to slowly settle into her bones, the girl beginning to breathe heavily when she saw Mrs Crain shuffling closer towards them. "Oh God, she killed Sarah and now we're next." Nova cried, almost in hysterics.
"We're not dying in this place." Kiara retorted, trying to pry the wooden planks off the door. "Come on, help me."
Nova turned back around and made an attempt to tear one of the planks of wood off the door to help Kiara, despite the current fear that continued to course through her veins. "I swear, if I die, I'm gonna haunt every single last one of you." Nova commented between each frantic breath that left her lips. But from the corner of her eye, she saw Mrs Crain swing her fire poker towards them, causing for Nova to back away in fear.
"Kie, look out!"
Kiara quickly turned around and dodged the fatal blow that came her way, before the elderly woman tried to take a violent swing towards Nova, which the girl was quickly able to dodge with her body trembling in fear. I'm gonna die, she thought to herself, I'm gonna die. Those were the same words Nova kept repeating in her head on a constant loop.
All of a sudden, a pair of hands wrapped their way around the fire poker in Mrs Crain's hands and Nova lifted her gaze to see none other than Sarah freaking Cameron quickly shoving the elderly woman away from them, before she turned around to glance between Nova and Kiara with frantic eyes. "Come on, this way!" She instructed in a loud and firm voice.
"Glad to know you're not dead." Nova sighed with relief and began to follow Sarah through the house with Kiara trailing close behind them both.
The girls quickly run into another room and slam the door shut behind them, pressing the palms of their hands firmly against the hard wood in an attempt to keep it closed. Nova released a shaky breath past her lips and hoped that would be the end of this frightening game of cat and mouse. However, Nova was quickly proven wrong when the fire poker was stabbed through the door, splinters of wood flying through the air, causing for the trio to quickly jump back in horror.
"This way!" Sarah exclaimed and began to walk further away from the door. "It goes underneath the house!"
Nova and Kiara exchanged a few panicked glances for a swift moment, before they followed Sarah out of the room and down a set of steps that surprisingly led underneath the house just like Sarah had previously said. Nova rushed down the set of steps, her heart hammering hard against her chest with each step she took, still scared of the elderly woman chasing after them.
"Guys! Please, tell us you've found the gold." Nova begged in a desperate voice. They had to leave as soon as possible.
Pope turned around to glance at the girls with his brows knitting together in confusion. "What's going on?" He questioned.
"Mrs Crain. She's up there!" Kiara warned them in a loud and shaky voice, her eyes flickering between JJ, Juno and Pope for a moment, before she parted her lips to speak once again. "She tried to kill us with a fire poker."
"She what?!" Juno exclaimed, panic already flooding her frantic eyes.
Sarah released a shaky breath past her lips, turning back to make sure the woman wasn't already making her way down the steps. "We locked her in the parlour, but we've gotta go." The blonde admonished, looking around with worry.
"Okay, okay, okay.." JJ muttered under his breath. "Help us pull John B up."
The second those words left JJ's lips, the girls quickly grab ahold of the rope. Nova wrapped her hands firmly around the rope in her hands, before they begin to pull on the rope, the group doing their best to pull John B back up. But when they suddenly feel the weight on the other end loosen, panic began to settle in once again as they all look around at one another, before they all rushed over and kneeled down in front of the well.
When Nova stared into the well, she saw nothing other than an endless black abyss at the bottom, causing for a lump to form in the back of her throat, her hands clasped tightly around the edges of the well. But they did hear the boy yell something at the bottom, however, it was completely inaudible, before he yelled, "JJ! Pope!"
"Guys, I think something's wrong with him." Nova pointed out with concern evident in her bright, blue eyes.
Pope nodded his head in agreement. "We gotta pull him back up."
The group quickly hurry back and grab ahold of the rope once again, everyone wrapping their hands firmly around the rope, before Pope stared down into the well and shouted, "John B, get back on the rope and we're gonna pull you up, okay?"
When they group feel the weight get added back onto the other end of the rope, Nova began to use all her strength to pull on the rope, the group working together to bring their friend back up to the surface so they should run and get as far away from the Crain property as soon as possible. However, Nova was taken off guard when a roaring gunshot echoed through the air, causing for the girl to let go of the rope and quickly hide.
Nova turned her head to the side to see Juno, Kiara and Sarah were with her, the girl staring at the other girls with relief for a moment, before she turned back and looked ahead to see Mrs Crain wandering around and shooting the gun in random directions. The sight was enough to make Nova raise her brow, wondering how it was possible that the elderly woman couldn't see them. They were hiding, yes, but not in the best place.
"She can't aim for shit." Kiara whispered to them, looking ahead with a puzzled look evident in her dark eyes.
"Maybe the gun range isn't accepting murderers." Juno stated, almost breathless.
Sarah nodded her head towards the woman with realisation hitting the blonde all at once. "She can't see. She's blind." The girl pointed out, and Nova looked ahead once again to see her glassy eyes were in fact a sign of blindness.
Mrs Crain fired her gun again, the loud and booming gunshot ringing repeatedly through Nova's ears for a moment. "Screw this. Let's get the hell out of here." She muttered under her breath, but loud enough for Juno, Kiara and Sarah to hear. And within a matter of seconds, the girls were climbing their way out from underneath the house and back into the overgrown garden.
Another gunshot echoed through the air, pushing Nova to quickly run ahead with the others trailing close behind her. When Nova reached the tall brick wall, the girl climbed her way over the wall, stumbling forward in the process, before she rushed over the Volkswagen parked onto a few feet away from her and opened the side door. "Come on, get in!" Nova exclaimed, watching as one by one, her friends began to climb over the wall after her.
"Why are we always getting shot at!?" Pope shouted in frustration as he jumps into the van with Sarah and Kiara, whilst JJ walks around the van and hops into the drivers seat.
Lastly, John B jumped over the wall and climbed into the Volkswagen, causing for Nova to climb into the passenger's side at the front of the vehicle, before JJ started up the engine and drives off down the bumpy road whilst the rest of them look around frantically. Truth is, they were all surprised they managed to make it out of the Crain house alive without getting shot by the crazy woman herself.
"Are you okay?" JJ was the first to speak up, asking the rest of them if they were fine after what they just witnessed, looking over his shoulder to spare them all a quick glance. "Are you shot?"
"I think I'd know if I was shot, right?" Kiara questioned, beginning to touch parts of her body to ensure she wasn't actually shot.
Nova laughed in amusement, a rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins whilst she went through all kinds of emotions in the aftermath of what just happened. "That just fucking happened, right?" She inquired, looking around at her friends. "Whoa, that was a rush!" Nova then cheered.
"You look disgusting!" Pope exclaimed with his face scrunching up in disgust.
Nova looked over her shoulder to see John B was covered in thick mud from head to toe, the sight of the boy being enough to make Nova stare back at him with a quiet giggle escaping past her lips. Then a harsh stench flooded the air, making the girl's nose shrivel up in disgust when Nova realised the smell was coming from John B, her hand covering her nose as she tried to block out the strong and foul smell.
"God, you smell like ass." Kiara commented with a laugh trailing after her words.
"Yeah, worse than normal." Juno laughed.
Sarah began to look around at the rest of them from where she was seated beside Kiara, her brows furrowed together in confusion. "What the hell just happened?" She questioned, shock evident in her eyes.
"All-time Pogue hall of fame, baby!" JJ cheered and slammed his hand on the top of the vehicle repeatedly for a moment whilst he continued to drive down the road.
Kiara sucked in a sharp breath. "That bitch is possessed." She spoke up once again, and everyone instantly knew she was talking about the psycho known as Mrs Crain.
"That bitch can't aim." Sarah added, staring back at Kiara with amusement burning in her gaze.
Nova's eyes flickered between the two from where she was seated next to JJ, her lips parting to speak. "Horror movie villains don't have shit on that bitch." She joked, earning a fit of laughter from Sarah, Juno and Kiara.
"How does she move that fast?" Pope asked, beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face whilst he spoke.
"She's possessed." Kiara deadpanned in a joking manner, before the group of friends begin to laugh at her words. Nova wasn't one to believe conspiracy theories, but after what she witnessed tonight, it was most likely true something truly unholy was stuck in Mrs Crain elderly body.
"What is that?"
Nova looked down to see John B was holding something tightly in his hand. At first, the girl was confused since the object was practically covered in thick mud, but when John B wiped most of it away, the girl was left shocked when she noticed the glistening sight of gold clear as day. The sight was enough to make Nova's mouth pop open in disbelief, shocked to know they had found the gold, and not just any kind of gold, the Royal Merchant gold that everyone has been searching for since the day the ship sank to the bottom of the ocean over a hundred years ago.
Nova gasped in shock, cupping her hand over her mouth. "No fucking way!" She exclaimed.
"No, you didn't!" Sarah retorted with a smile tugging at her lips.
"Oh, my god!" JJ shouted in a loud and excited voice.
"We did it, baby!" John B yelled, causing for the group to cheer at the realisation that they managed to find the gold.
"Wait! Wait!" Kiara paused, putting an end to everyone's cheering whilst Kiara began looking around at her friends. "Guys, we're gonna be rich."
Sarah nodded her head, "Like, Kook rich?"
The group looked around at one another for a moment, smiles plastered across each of their faces as they cheered loudly once again, before they began to chant, "Full Kook! Full Kook! Full Kook! Full Kook!"
Nova laughed and continued to cheer, happiness and joy burning bright in her eyes. They had found the gold. Everything Riley has done before he died had finally been accomplished. Nova finally wrote the ending to his story. And the best part was that she didn't do it alone. She did it with her friends. The realisation that she had finally gained some sort of closure over Riley's death was enough to make all the other mysteries around his death fade. Maybe the suicide note she found was a clue to the gold, to push Nova to work with the Pogues and not trust greedy powerful men. That made sense, right?
Whatever the reasoning was, Nova was happy and was finally moving on from the loss of her brother, all her past worries slowly fading away because they found the gold, and to Nova, that was everything.
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authors note.
Nova and the Pogues found the gold!! And our girl is finally happy, but will it last? 👀
Anyways we're getting close to the end of season 1 and there's a lot of drama coming up in the rest of the chapters so I hope you guys are excited for what's to come. Until then I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll update again soon!!