chapter seven !
❪ the bad men ❫

"IS THAT THEM?" Kiara repeated louder this time. Isabel's breath hitched when she saw the men coming out of the car.

"This is suboptimal." Pope mumbled.

"Guys," Isabel looked away from the window and backed away. "What do we do?"

"John B, I told you– why does it always–" JJ ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"JJ! Hey, look at me." John B grabbed the blonde and forced him to turn around, facing him. "Where's the gun?"

"Gun? I, uh, I can't–"

"Now you don't have the gun, the one time we need the gun?" Kiara started to panic, her voice slightly breaking.

Isabel went over to the girl, comforting her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "It was in my backpack, and then I–"

"On the porch." John B finished.

"It's on the porch." JJ confessed. He rushed out of the room while the others waited.

"John Routledge!" One of the men yelled outside of the house. Isabel's eyes widened at the sudden tone. "Come on out!"

JJ rushed back inside and slammed the door close. "Guys," Kiara muttered in worry.

"They're on the front porch, guys." The Maybank boy informed them. Isabel placed her hands on her face, stressing on what to do.

Suddenly, they heard the front door open that was followed with footsteps and items falling on the ground. "We gotta leave!" Kie whispered–shouted.

Isabel looked around the room to find any escape exits. Her eyes landed on the windows. "Guys, window. Window." She pointed, rushing the boys to open it.

Pope and JJ ran to the window. "Hurry," Kiara urged them. John B stayed by the door and Isabel and Kie watched the two as they tried lifting up the window.

"What's– what's happening?"

"What's taking so long?" Isabel stormed up to JJ and Pope, who was struggling to open it.

"It's painted shut, okay?" JJ whipped around to face the girls. Isabel heard from behind the door many clattering noises like chaos was taking place outside.

John B leaned against the door. "Routledge!" The man roared. "Where the hell's that compass?"

"Hey, hey," Kiara walked up to JJ and Pope with a sharp tool. "Here." She started picking at the paint, her hands shaking in progress.

"Come on, come on." JJ rushed the girl.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Pope and John B shushed her, holding up their finger to their lips.

"Be quiet," Pope whispered.

They became silent as Kiara continued to scrape the paint. Isabel felt herself slightly flinch when the door knob moved. "You better not be in there!" He banged behind the door.

John B and Pope moved out of the way when pieces of the door wood started falling off due to one of the men kicking it repeatedly.

Isabel tapped JJ's back continually for him to open the window faster. He seemed to get her message and finally opened the window wide open.

"Ladies first," He muttered. Isabel and Kie connected their hands together and jumped out of the window, their feet meeting the grass. They heard a gunshot rang from behind them.

John B was the last one out after Pope and JJ, making him shut the window closed. The pogues rushed inside the roosters cage and closed the fence before ducking down.

John B watched as the men carried out some of his father's stuff out of the house and inside of their black vehicle. The rooster continued to crow loudly and JJ grew annoyed.

"Do something, Pope. Shut him up."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Pet it, or talk to it. I don't know, do something!" Kiara whispered in fear. John B rushed to lean against the fence and Isabel held in her breath at this point.

The clucking continued. "Do something!" Pope told JJ. The blonde rushed to grab the rooster, grabbing its neck as it continued to flap its wings to escape but it couldn't under his grip.

JJ strangled it and pushed it against the ground until it lifelessly fell. The rooster was dead. He looked at Isabel, who refused to meet his blue ones.

She couldn't look at the rooster as light tears fell from her face. "Ratter! What the hell are you doin'? Let's go." They heard the man call out for his friend.

JJ still held the rooster dead in his hands and Kiara stared at the dead animal, her bottom lip quivering. Isabel still covered herself from her friends, her not wanting them to see her cry.

John B watched the men drive away and JJ glanced down. "I'm sorry." He muttered.

THE POGUES DROVE to Redfield after hearing John B ramble about his dad being missing and not being 'dead.'

They got out of the car and stared ahead of them. The lighthouse. John B walked towards JJ. "You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?"

"Wait, why me?"

"Because you're not coming." Pope huffed.

"Why?"

"Listen JJ, there are independent and dependent variables. And you're an independent variable. We don't know what you'll do."

"Shut up!" He grew angry at Pope's words. "Just shut up!"

"Listen to me for a second!" John b spoke up. "Pope and Izzy, you stand look out with JJ. Okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house."

"Great," Kiara agreed.

John B looked at Isabel for confirmation, who still hasn't spoken a word since the break in. She gave him a short nod and he gave her a small reassuring smile.

"I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay," Pope told the two. "And I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum."

Isabel walked back inside the vehicle, opening the door and deciding to sit in the back. She left the door open and leaned her body down on the floor, her feet dangling at the edge.

"Alright, would you just shut up already?" JJ rolled his eyes and continued to bounce a ball between his feet. John B and Kiara had already went over the fence and strolled into the lighthouse.

Pope went back inside the Twinkie and sat in the passenger seat before going through his backpack to get work done.

Isabel's phone chimed, a text message popping up. She grabbed her phone and the screen turned on. It was brother who texted her.

Barry
wya?

Isabel rolled her eyes and placed her phone down. Pope noticed and furrowed his eyebrows. "Who was it?"

Isabel turned her head to look at him. "Just my annoying brother asking where I'm at."

"Oh," Pope mumbled and nodded. He clicked on his pen about five times before speaking up once more. "Hey, um, you were really quiet after that... um, incident. Are you okay?"

Isabel glanced down and played with her mini pocket knife that she took out from her jean shorts. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Are you sure–"

"We should play with JJ!" Isabel interrupted him before he could start attacking her with questions. "He looks a bit lonely with his ball."

Pope and Isabel looked at JJ from the open window who continued to bounce the ball off his feet. They shared a glance before agreeing to play with him.

"Okay, whoever drops the ball has to do fifty pushups." JJ smirked.

"Oh yeah," Isabel scoffed. "If I could."

The two boys laughed at her response and they stood in a triangular circle, passing the ball around.

JJ threw the ball towards Isabel, in which she caught and flew the ball towards Pope's direction but it went over his head slightly, landing on the dirt.

The blonde laughed. "Damn bro that sucks, looks like somebody has to do fifty pushups."

Pope couldn't get to respond since their attention was cut off at the sound of police sirens. The trio ran to the Twinkie in full speed, Isabel jumping in the back while Pope and JJ occupied the front seats.

"Should we wait for them?!" Isabel asked them.

"No time!" Pope told her. JJ started up the van and took off, leaving Kiara and John B behind.

━━━━━━━━

mars speaks !

so we all cried at the end of part 2 right? LMAOO

the flashbacks literally did it for me its not even funnyyyy. 😓 but my pookie rafe looked fine asf tho

please vote for another chapter and don't be a silent reader