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𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬 𝗧𝗪𝗢
❝ 𝒑𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆 ❞

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・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

"Dude, where is he?" Kiara asked worriedly as the four of them stood by the Phantom on the dock.

"Give him a second. He'll be here," Pope told her, an expressionless look on his face that Kyla was also wearing.

"He's coming. He'll be fine!" JJ assured her before a cop car pulled up near the boat. Kyla finally made a worried expression, not wanting to get caught by the police before they tried to save John B.

"JJ!" Kiara shouted.

"Hey, yeah, get back on the boat. Untie it," JJ quickly said and Kyla made her way over towards the boat, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Shit!" Kiara exclaimed before the car door opened, revealing a dirty John B heading towards them. Kyla's mouth parted in shock, not knowing how he was able to steal a police car.

"Wait. No way," JJ said in shock.

"No. Effing. Way," Pope spoke slowly, finally showing some emotion.

"I'm sorry?" Kiara said in confusion.

"How is this possible?" Kyla asked, raising a finger towards John B as she let out a laugh of disbelief.

"You've gotta be kidding me," JJ said happily as he began to make his way off the boat, following Kyla who had already stepped off.

"Shoupe let me take it for a spin," John B told them as he walked forward, fixing his messy hair.

"Okay," Kiara laughed. "That's believable. I'll buy that...for now," she said before she hugged the boy.

"I don't even wanna ask how you managed to do that," Kyla said breathlessly before she stepped forward and hugged John B, glad that he was okay.

"It wasn't easy, bro, but I got the Phantom for you, and she runs like she was made yesterday," JJ said before he tossed John B the keys. "You ready to go?"

"Where's Sarah?" John B asked and Kyla furrowed her brows in confusion.

"She's not with you?" Kiara replied.

"No, no, we got separated in the swamp. She said she was gonna meet me here," John B explained, pointing at the dock. Kyla placed her hands on her hips, getting worried about Sarah. She hadn't seen the girl ever since the runway, so she wanted to at least say goodbye to her now and make sure she was okay.

"No, no, we haven't seen her, man," Pope told him, shaking his head.

"Okay, well, I'm not leaving without her," John B said, making everyone glance at each other nervously.

"John B, look at me," JJ said, looking down at the brunette since he was standing on the edge of the boat. "I know you feel bad for leaving, but there's no time, man. You've got plenty of gas, you've got plenty of food. Once you get around that point, it's a straight shot across the sound to Dismal Swamp, okay? Once you get there, lay low, all right? Hang out for a couple of weeks and then go overland, cross the border at Brownsville, you got that? Brownsville," JJ explained while John B looked off into the distance, making the blonde grab his face to force him to look over at him. "You — Hey! You got that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Brownsville," John B whispered before thunder was heard in the distance. Kyla crossed her arms, licking her lips nervously since she wasn't sure if leaving during a storm was a good idea. But, neither was staying in a place where you were a wanted fugitive.

"All right. Saddle her up, saltwater cowboy. Let's do this," JJ said as he hopped off the boat at the same time John B got on.

"Hey. Hey," John B said, stopping in the middle of the boat and turning to look at them. "I'm sorry for basically...throwing us off a cliff with this whole treasure hunt thing," he apologized, sniffling, which made Kyla start to feel her eyes get wet at this...goodbye.

"Hey, John B, yo...we were bound to run off a cliff at some point, right? Maybe not Ky, but..." JJ trailed off, making them all sadly laugh in agreement. "At least we did it together, though." JJ then wrapped his arms around Pope and Kyla's shoulders, making Kyla wrap her arm around Kiara's to bring them all closer. "Pogue style."

John B nodded sadly. "Pogue style," he repeated in a whisper.

"Get out of here! Please," Kiara then pleaded, not wanting to waste a second.

"Now," Pope added, pointing at the water. "We'll see you in two months, down in Mexico."

"Just don't look back, all right?" Kyla said, since she knew that if she were in his position and she looked back, she would never be able to leave.

"Love you," JJ called out as John B made his way over to the control room.

He then stopped again, leaning against the roof of the boat. "Hey, wait — wait a second. Tell Sarah I said goodbye, okay?" he said and they nodded slowly, a few tears falling down their faces.

"Don't forget. Cross the border at Brownsville, okay?" JJ repeated, trying to distract himself from his sadness.

"Got it," John B said before he started the boat, pulling out of the dock with the help of the four of them pushing it out.

They watched as he drove it away before he looked back at them one last time. "He looked back," Kyla pointed out, wiping her tears away.

"Yeah. It's what he does," JJ said softly as he kept his eyes locked on the Phantom that was getting smaller by the second as it got farther away.

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

Kyla heard sirens wail in the distance, but the four of them didn't bother trying to get away since they were distant.

Kyla and JJ both turned around, walking off the dock as they waited by the water for some reason. It wasn't like John B would be coming back any time soon. "You okay?" Kyla heard Kiara ask Pope from behind her.

"I'm — I'm sorry for...acting like a dumbass," Pope apologized and Kyla turned back around, watching them. "I was just upset, and I was acting petty..."

"Yeah."

"..and I just..."

"It's okay."

"...just wanna be friends again," Pope finished, holding out his hand towards Kiara. Instead of her taking it, she pulled him into a hug. Kyla smiled softly, glancing at JJ, who was also watching their interaction. Kiara then pulled away before she went forward again and kissed him, making Kyla's eyes widen.

"I was not expecting that," Kyla muttered to herself before the sirens had unexpectedly gotten closer.

"Hey, guys, I'm sorry to ruin the party, but, uh, we gotta go right now. Come on!" JJ said quickly, but it was too late.

The cops had showed up, so the two sisters put their hands up to show that they were unarmed. JJ just stopped and slowly put his hands up in defeat. But, Pope just kept on walking so Kiara exclaimed, "Pope!"

"Hands up! Hands up!" an officer, that Kyla hadn't seen before, shouted as he held a gun up.

"Pope, hands!"

Pope raised his hands before Shoupe yelled, "We're too late! He's gone! God damn it! Bratcher, have your guys stand down!" Kyla closed her eyes slowly, taking in a deep breath. "Let me talk to these kids. All right, where the hell is he? Where the hell is he?! JJ? I see you're livin' up to your name. Pope, how about you? This isn't a fucking game! You can do the right thing now! Where'd he go?"

"Suspect has just left Station 26 in a small boat. Need marine patrol to respond," the man, apparently named Bratcher, said into his walkie-talkie.

Neither Pope or JJ replied, so Shoupe moved onto the Carrera sisters. "Kiara, you have anything to say? You usually do with that big mouth of yours," he said.

"Don't talk to her like that," Kyla blurted out, making Shoupe turn to her with an arched brow. She kept eye contact with him, not backing down.

"Did they drag you into this, Kyla? Did they make you do this?" Shoupe asked.

Kyla glanced over at JJ, who was already looking over at her. Even though the Pogues had welcomed her into their group, they weren't sure if she would actually...stand with them in a circumstance like this one.

The girl then looked back at Shoupe, who was waiting for her answer. "I'm here on my own free will, sir," she replied, an expressionless look on her face. If they weren't in such a terrible situation, JJ would have smiled at her resistance.

When it was clear that none of the teens were going to say anything, Shoupe ordered the cops to load them up in the car to transport them to where the police and SBI had all of their equipment set up.

Officer Shoupe and Plumb guided them over into this tent area. "Sit down. Don't move. We got a lot to talk about," Shoupe said as the four of them sat down next to each other. "Keep an eye on these kids," Shoupe said to an SBI agent.

"Blockade is up at the marsh and Masonboro, and all other inlets from Shem Creek to Breach Inlet. I want eyes on all coastal access points, people. Let's get this guy," they heard an officer say and Kyla took in a deep breath, looking down at her legs.

She then saw that JJ had placed his hand on the middle part of her thigh, and she looked over at him, a fearful look in her eyes. "They're gonna get away, it's okay," JJ whispered to her and she nodded slowly even though she wasn't sure if she believed it.

JJ wasn't sure if he believed it either.

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

The four of them continued to wait in the tents for what felt like hours. They had heard people yelling about the Phantom, and they knew that John B and Sarah must have been caught. They just weren't sure when the police would bring them in.

Shoupe, with a bunch of other officers, then walked into the tent they were waiting in, making them all stand up. JJ's hand, that has been placed on Kyla's thigh comfortingly the whole time, had fallen off once they had both stood up.

"Did you find them?" Pope asked once Shoupe pulled his bright yellow poncho down off his head.

Shoupe slowly shook his head and said, "No." Kyla's mouth parted, feeling an ounce of hope that they were able to get away.

"So, they got away?" Kiara guessed, glancing at everyone with the same look of hope on her face as her sister.

"We, uh...we lost them," Shoupe told them slowly after a moment, making Kyla's expression fade. "I'm sorry."

"You lost them?" Pope asked in confusion. "What do you mean you lost them? Like, they're gone? What are you talking about?"

"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Pope."

"So, they're dead?" Kiara asked.

"No, no, don't — don't say that," Kyla said breathlessly, shaking her head. "They — they can't be dead. There's no — are they dead?" she rambled to Shoupe, her eyes wide with tears.

"We don't know," Shoupe responded, but that wasn't the answer Kyla wanted to hear.

"You drove them straight through the storm, man! Are you kidding me? Come here, man!" JJ yelled as he rushed forward and grabbed Shoupe. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"JJ, stop!" Kiara cried.

Kyla just stood there, not trying to stop JJ. Tears fell down her face, her mouth parted as she realized that John B and Sarah were most likely dead.

Kyla then felt two pairs of arms wrap around her and her mom's face in front of her. That was when she had started to sob, tears streaming down her face as she wrapped her hands around her mother's back. Her father placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, but she couldn't hear anyone's voice over her loud and uncontrollable sobs.

Kyla then saw JJ over her mother's shoulder, standing there with no one to hold, or cry to. She took in a shaky breath and pushed away from her mother, going over to JJ to wrap him in a hug as she sobbed into the space in his shoulder. He was surprised by the hug, but then he wrapped his arms around her back, starting to cry with her as well.