THIRTY-FIVE START THE CAR
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As soon as Alisha stepped into the car, it was clear she had kind of been through the wringer. Her cheeks were red and tear-streaked and Norman could make out five quarter-sized bruises around her neck. He gulped, having a sickening feeling about what she had dealt with. The night had begun to settle as the six of them sat silently in Kiara's car, not sure where to go from here. They had gotten the blood off of John B's hands as best they could and the boy seemed to be mostly back to normal, but he still wasn't speaking to them about what had happened. Norman was worried.
"Here," JJ said, handing Alisha a bag of ice wrapped in a towel, "Rocky didn't know what you'd need, so we just brought this."
"Thanks," the girl muttered, pressing the ice pack to her neck. Norman noticed something pass through their gaze -- an understanding of each other. The boy's heart broke for both of them.
Once Alisha was in the car, John B began driving without a word. It was still eerie how silent he was compared to usual. The air of the group was off. Everyone was trying not to panic, their gold was halfway to Cuba, and the Sheriff was dead. Norman had a feeling things weren't going to work themselves out this time.
After a deadly silent car ride, they pulled up to a building Norman recognized. JJ was the first to speak, "John B, what are we doing at the police station?"
"This is like the worst place to be right now," Alisha mumbled as she sunk lower in her seat. "If my dad sees me, I'm dead."
"He won't," Norman assured, turning around from the passenger seat to grab the girl's hand and squeeze it gently. "You have us to keep you safe for now, Lish."
"Yeah, for now," the girl scoffed, looking like she was about to cry. "Things are going to get really bad, really soon, Rocky, I just know it. We shouldn't be here."
"Someone has to tell them what happened," John B explained with an exasperated sigh, "God only knows what Ward said."
It was then that Pope started coughing, still smoking an ungodly amount considering the stress they were under. JJ noticed this, chastising, "Woah, easy there, chief."
"Damn," Pope muttered, continuing to cough. No one bothered him further as he caught his breath.
JJ reached up, placing a hand on John B's shoulder, "All right. I'm just gonna be real with you right now. You might end up in the lion's den, but you don't go there on purpose. It's fundamental, just like my old man always told me, you should never ever trust cops, no matter what the circumstance is."
"Your old man's an abusive liar," Kiara spat, clearly not liking the words coming out of JJ's mouth. Norman had a feeling part of her was just nervous for John B and considering they hadn't heard from Sarah all day -- it was killing her.
"I agree with JJ," Pope shrugged, "Fuck the police."
"A-C-A-B, bitch," Alisha's voice was bitter as she spoke, "John B, I just know this is a bad idea. You literally still have some blood on your shirt."
"You goin' to the dark side now?" Kie asked, looking at Pope in awe, her face littered with disapproval.
The dark-skinned boy rolled his eyes, "When have the police ever helped us out? Any adult, for that matter?"
"Peterkin looked out for me, all right?" John B finally spoke up, clearly exhausted with the arguing, "Tried to, at least. They need to know."
The car went silent and John B went to reach for the door handle, but Norman stopped him, exclaiming, "Wait, let me go with you. They'll... they'll trust someone like me."
"Daddy's money," JJ teased in a sing-song voice, but Alisha who was seated next to him, took the opportunity to flick him behind the ear, "Ow!"
"Are you sure?" John B asked, his eyes worried as they met Norman's. Regardless of the situation, the last thing Norman wanted being for the boy to be in harm's way and not have Norman there to help him out of it. He never wanted to run away from him again. Norman nodded. "Okay, let's go."
Once they left, Kiara moved into the drivers' seat, probably wanting to keep the engine running and have them ready to go in case something went wrong. Anxiously, the two boys stepped into the police station and it was dead silent save for the chatter coming over the radio.
"Adam at the clinic, Peterkin's still in the ER," spouted the radio and Norman let out a sigh of relief. If Peterkin was still alive maybe she could set things straight with her soft spot for John B.
"Advise if you need air tran, copy," the dispatcher responded, not noticing the boys yet as they walked up to the front desk. "Are you there?"
"Uh, excuse me, ma'am," John B spoke, getting the woman's attention as Norman stood by his side, keeping his head high and trying not to seem as nervous as he actually was.
The woman looked exasperated as she looked up at the boys, "Now is not a good time, kids. Adam, advise if you need air tran."
John B sighed, his voice shaky as he said, "I know who shot the sheriff."
The woman's eyes darted between both boys, her expression going dark as she said, "You stay put. I'll get a deputy."
She ran off, leaving the two boys in the lobby. Norman's stomach twisted with nerves as they waited, his hand reaching out to grab John B's and squeeze it tightly. He couldn't tell who he was trying to comfort -- John B or himself.
While they waited, the radio static crinkled and a voice came through, "Central, three Vick. We have a subject in our 31. John Routledge."
John B scoffed, "Great, just great."
"Babe, we should leave," Norman froze, his hand still gripping the boy's as the man on the radio continued.
"Copy that. All units be on the lookout for John B Routledge. Sixteen-year-old white male, six foot. Last seen wearing board shorts, a "bad brain" t-shirt, and a faded red hoodie," the radio described just as two deputies stepped foot into the lobby.
"Just... breathe, all right?" the female deputy said, "We don't want to hurt you boys. Let me see your hands, both of you."
"Do you know who I am?" Norman tried, hoping pulling out his dad's name would help, "I'm the son of Howard Rockwell and he will have quite the word to say about this."
The male deputy was unphased, "Right now you're just a possible accomplice to assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. Let me see your hands."
"Look," John B pulled his hands out of his pockets, traces of blood still scattered and dried across his tanned skin, a bad look for both of them. Norman silently raised his hands as well, "I-I didn't do it, okay?"
"Don't. Move," said the male officer. However, the sound of them cocking their guns was enough to send a chill down Norman's mind.
"Run," John B shouted, the two of them bolting down the lobby and out the door, sprinting through the darkness and back to the car. As they got closer, John B yelled, "Kie! Start the car! Start the car, Kie!"
The girl did as she was told as Pope opened the door for John B to hop in the backseat as Norman ripped open the door to the passenger side as fast as humanly possible. Meanwhile the whole time Kie is exclaiming, "What did you guys do?"
"The cops!" John B yelled back in response, "Go!"
"They-" Norman struggled to get the words out as he caught his breath, his heart racing as Kie struggled to start the car and get going, "They think that... that he did it."
"Shit!" JJ exclaimed as Norman could see the cops gaining on them, "I don't wanna say I told you so--"
"Then don't!" Kiara exclaimed, "Shit, I'm going, I'm going!"
By now the deputies were banging on the window, them yelling at the kids to stop the car but no way in Hell were they stopping this car. Norman was not going down for a murder they didn't commit. Well, that's if Peterkin died, but still. His point stands.
"What did you do?" Kie asked once they were on the road, the cops still trying to catch up and bang on their windows.
"Open it!" Pope exclaimed.
"Are you crazy?" Norman shouted back, but for some reason, John B listened. However, it made sense when John B opened the door and was able to use it to push the officer over and she fell to the ground meaning that for now, they were in the clear. "Okay, so the answer to that is no, I guess."
Norman looked out the window and saw to the best of his abilities that they were no longer being chased on foot, so that was something. He struggled to catch his breath as the others in the car all shared looked with each other. So now, according to the police, they were harboring a criminal. Fantastic.
this honestly mind end up being longer than forty chapters considering how little into episode nine i am but hey we'll see either way this story is almost over so yayyy but also awww anyway go read my Maddy Perez fic i just posted it's called Devil Horns