Chapter Thirty-Seven

Growing dark down the road as Pope drives; JJ, Sarah, John B, and I squeeze in the back. I sit on JJ's lap, Sarah is in the middle, and John B is on the other side of her. Kie was sitting in the front, and Pope was driving—really fast.

"Uh, Pope, you're driving really fast," Sarah informed P ope who seemed totally unaware. He was still on his craziness and like a child, he demanded he drove.

Pope lets out a howl of excitement. "Pope, last to judge, but I think you should slow down. Just a little." JJ quickly said as my arm snakes around the back of his neck. He places a hand on my thigh.

"That would defiantly delay our arrival to the cross." Pope had said. "We gotta get there."

"Why did we let him drive again?" Kie asked in the front seat.

"I said I'd rip your ears off," Pope admitted.

"He said he'd rip our ears off," I repeated, rolling my eyes.

"You did say you'd rip our ears off," Kie agreed.

"I was joking about that, by the way," Pope told us.

"That's a really funny joke," Kie spoke sarcastically.

"Hey, how ya feeling, buddy?" John B questioned. "How ya doing?"

"Uh, fantastic," Pope reports. "I don't know what JJ's cousin gave me, but I am moving!"

"We couldn't tell." Kie rolled her eyes.

"Okay, well, um, you're going really fast right now." John B pointed out. I was eyeing the speed control, and he was going way past the speeding limit.

Pope turned around quickly, looking at us. "Yeah! Really fast!"

  "Pope, eyes on the road!" I had shouted over the others shouting at him.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but there's these giant oak trees all along the side of the road." John B spoke warily. I looked out the window, eyeing the trees. "They're like six inches off the road."

"You don't need to pass," Kie said as Pope swerves on the other side of the road where another car was heading straight towards us, my heart beating fast. Pope barely dodged it, going onto the correct side of the road.

"What an asshole, right?" Pope looked at Kie and my mouth dropped.

"He's going the speed limit!" Kie exclaimed."We're not going to get to the cross if we're dead, Pope!" John B yelled and I held onto JJ even tighter, pressing my forehead against his.

"We're not gonna die." Pope insisted. "It's our divine right to get that cross."

"Pope! Look at the road!" John B yelled and I looked up. JJ holds onto my waist tightly, like he was my seat belt.

Pope swerves and the back end of the truck hits the tree and we spin out, colliding with another tree. The window's shatter, the airbags deploy.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked gently and I looked down at JJ quickly, he looked up at me with a worried expression. His eyes scanned my face. He kissed my cheek when he realised I had no injuries—luckily.

"I think so." Sarah murmured out.

"Never better." JJ grumbled. I opened the door and jumped out and I helped JJ out as well. "You okay, baby?"

I nodded my head, biting my lower lip as I looked at the damage in front of me.

"That is the last time you drive, Pope." John B told Pope as the others exited out. 

Kie jogs to the front of the truck and looks at the damage with wide eyes. "My Dad's truck! No!"

"Kie, one word," JJ spoke. "Totalled."

"My parents are gonna kill me," Kie whispered. "For real this time."

"Yeah, well, weren't they gonna do that anyway?" JJ asked.

"J," I rolled my eyes and his hands laced into mine.

"Helpful." Kie sarcastically responded. "Thank you."

"We're gonna have to walk the rest of the way," Pope stares at the truck with wide eyes.

"Screw that," I muttered. I hated walking long distances, there's no way I'm doing that.

"I'm going to get my cross." Pope determines.

"Hey, just relax for a second." John B told Pope as he began to walk along the road, John B standing in front of him.

"Get off of me." Pope glared at John B.

"No." John B fired back. "I'm trying to help."

"I'm getting my cross!"

"We just crashed the car." John B pointed out as John B tried to convince Pope not to go, Pope was had pushed John B away and started to walk.

A large truck passes while John B was trying to get Pope to come back. Pope had stood still and locked eyes with whoever was in the passenger.

It was Rafe and Renfield.

"We gotta get back to the Church!"

I started to move my legs, running along the road, the others are close behind me as we made it to the Church. Of course, this would happen... Rafe has to ruin it. He ruins everything.

My heart is pounding as I held JJ's hand as we arrived at the Church. We opened the doors, only to see that the Church was empty—Pope's cross was gone.

"It's gone," Kie spoke softly.

JJ releases my hand and runs up to a cushion, kicking it aside out of anger. "Damn it! I knew I didn't hide it well enough!"

"J, it's not your fault—we couldn't hide that thing." I told him. "It's huge... And with Pope basically dying..."

Kie sits on a bench.

"Okay. What do we do? What do we do?" JJ muttered to himself like a mad man. "Okay, think, think, think, think. We need a plan. We need a plan. What's the plan?" I watched Pope carefully who was staring up at the support beams. "All right, here's what we do. We'll grab some kerosene tanks from the Chat, then we... We go to my Dad's shop and grab dynamite.  And then we drive down to Charleston and tell this lady who she's messing with! Because this is some bullshit, y'all!"

"That's not gonna help." Sarah dryly told him.

"Well, what is, Sarah?" JJ snapped at my sister.

"I'm thinking, okay?" John B spoke somewhat quietly. "We can't just go blow shit up, JJ."

"Pope, I'm sorry," JJ told him.

"Denmark would've stood right here..." Pope began. "Preaching to everyone he set free. A salve, the sole survivor of the Royal Merchant, he got the gold and the cross, and he brought them both to shore and used it to free every person who walked through those doors. He made a Church, a family, a congregation... A home. And the Limbrey's took everything from him. They sicced dogs on his wife and his kids, and when he tried to get her remains, they hung him. Well, I'm done. I'm tired of that shit. That is not how this is gonna end. We need a freaking win, guys. I'm going to get my family's cross." Pope marches past us. I grinned slightly at Pope's speech. Pope stood by the door. "You guys coming?"

"Well, if you put it that way..." John B teases.

"Maybe we should think about it, you know?" JJ smirked widely.

"Pros and cons?" John B suggested and I nodded my head. 

"Pros and cons list." JJ stated eagerly. "Hell yeah, we're coming, Pope!" JJ had linked our hands together. I giggled and followed him out. Sarah links an arm with me with my spare hand, giving me a grin. We do our small handshake—the six of us making our way out of the Church, back to the car.

✫✫✫

Once we arrived back at the car crash, there were blues and red lights already surrounding the scene and my heart drops. Oh, no.

"Oh shit, they found the truck!" Kie exclaimed as we drive in the twinkie. John B in the front, JJ in the passenger next to him. Me, Pope, Kie, and Sarah in the back.

"Chill, chill, chill, chill." Pope quickly said.

"Of course," I muttered.

"All right, just relax, relax," JJ advised us and I slumped in my seat next to Sarah. She grabbed onto my hand, sending me a look.

"Well, lookee here." I heard Shoupe on the outside as he approached our vehicle.

"Good evening, Officer." John B greets as the window was down, Shoupe approaching John B's side of the window.

"Sheriff." Shoupe corrected him and I rolled my eyes.

"Sheriff." John B nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Speed kills, huh?"

"I pulled the tags, and I know who's truck it is." Shoupe announced and I muttered under my breath, Sarah was the only one who heard me and gave my hand a squeeze. I was nervous for Kie. He eyes Kie in the back. "Hey! Kie, you drop your weed pen back there?"

"Found it." Kie gave him a thumbs up.

"Oh." Shoupe sarcastically said.

"Sheriff, I just wanna say that it's all my fault," Pope told him. "She had nothing to do with this. I take 100% responsibility."

"Nothing to do with it? Uh-huh." Shoupe clearly didn't believe us. "You wanna try that again? Your parents reported the truck missing four hours ago when the keys were missing from the house. I'm taking you home." Kie scrunches up her face, regret in her eyes. "Or, I could pull you all in for leaving the scene of an accident."

"Okay," Kie surrenders, and my eyes widen.

"Good. Plumb." Shoupe called over the other female officer. Plumb opens the van's side door.

Kie gets out. We all watched her leave, my heart squeezing with guilt. Kie looked back at us, sadness in her eyes.

"I gotta deal," Kie told us. "Hit me up later and make sure that I'm alive."

We don't say anything as she shuts the van door, Plumb escorting her back to a police car.

✫✫✫

John B, Sarah, Pope, JJ, and I all arrived outside our house—parked against the brick wall. We all hide behind it, crouching from a distance.

"He's got the truck," JJ pointed out. He shushes us. "Stay low, stay low, stay low." 

We peer over the wall, I could barely see with me height. Rafe parks the truck at the front door and climbed out. "How much do you want a bet Rafe has the cross inside that truck right now?" Pope grumbled.

Rafe goes inside. "There's only one way to find out." I had said softly, Sarah and I looked at each other knowingly. We both had to go inside. Sarah grabbed my hand and begins to drag me towards the entrance.

"Hey, wait!" John B hisses and Sarah turns around. I do, too.

"What?" Sarah sharply said.

"Look, before you guys volunteer on this death mission, Sarah, I just need to know a couple of things—" I ignored John B, knowing they were directed towards Sarah and I walked over to JJ.

"Hey, J," I whispered, looking up at him, smiling.

"Be safe, Storm, please?" JJ asked me, wrapping his arms around me. "Literally run the other way if you have when you sense any kind of danger, yell—and I'll come to help you, I promise."

"Aw, J, that's sweet of you," I grinned at him. "But, Sarah and I will be completely fine. We've got each other's back's—we always have and we always will. We never let anything bad happen to either of us, it's kind of a twin pack thing, we discussed it in our mother's womb."

JJ cracked a smile at my little joke. "Must be nice having a twin."

I smiled a little this time, nodding my head. "I guess it is." I pecked his lips. "Anyways, I love you, I'll see you later." I pulled away from his embrace and walked over to Pope quickly, hugging him. He hugs me back, it was a short and sweet hug. "See you on the flip side, P."

Pope gave me a grin. "See you on the flip side, Storm." He held out a fist and I connected it with mine, the two of sharing a small fist bump. I started to walk back to Sarah and John B. I turned around and made kissing face to the boys who both grinned at me, and I turned back around and stopped right next to John B.

They were kissing each other, immediately, being the annoying twin, I asked; "Are we ready to go?" I asked them, grinning. Sarah gave me a look, grabbing my hand and forcefully dragging me to our house. I instantly walked beside her now, linking our arms. "You and John B?"

She smiled widely as we entered our house lawn, looking at me. "I still love him, Storm. How can you not? Okay—"

As we approached the truck, she looked inside the window of the truck, looking into the driver's seat. She turns towards the boys who were watching us from the wall, throwing her arms up in the air. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know what to do," she whispered. "I need the keys!" She quietly exclaimed to them.

"Sarah, they aren't lip readers, they're useless," I muttered. "We're going inside." Before we could see any of their protests, I dragged Sarah inside. She entered carefully, ignoring the useless bird calls they were giving us.

I closed the door behind me. We decided to stay silent as we crept down a hallway and head towards a specific door that was cracked open. We entered Rafe's bedroom and I instantly spotted a seat of keys sat on his nightstand.

We give each other looks. That may not be the keys, but at least it's worth a try. I grabbed Sarah's arm quickly before she could attempt to get it, Rafe's bathroom door handle began to jiggle.

Fuck, he's here.

"Shit," Sarah muttered softly, dragging me into the hallway again, trying to escape Rafe.

"Why does it feel illegal to be in our own house?" I muttered under my breath to Sarah. She simply nodded in response, clasping onto my hand as we walked quietly down the hall. "Wheezie's bedroom, now."

We entered Wheezie's bedroom, Sarah closing the door behind her and I finally let out a breath.

"Hey!" Wheezie quietly exclaimed as she sat on her bed. "Rose was looking for you guys. She said we're going on a trip or something." Sarah and I gave each other a look.

"We're not going with her." Sarah shakes her head as Wheezie was now packing.

"Not according to her." Wheezie rolled her eyes. "By the way, where the hell have you guys been?"

Sarah and I sit on the bed. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Trapped in the weirdest three days of our lives. We have so much to tell you."

"And we're so sorry, but we have to ask you for another favour," Sarah added. "But right now, we need your help."

"On one condition. No more leaving me." Wheezie looked between us. "Either of you."

"Promise." Sarah and I both chimed in.

A/N

Back with another update, my fingers are feeling much better now to type decently... I hope you guys are enjoying this book!