FOUR
The Death Compass
⚓️
❪ tw: strong language, vaping, injuries, violence, home invasion, and animal death ❫

OUTER BANKS
(Season 1, Episode 2)
Part one

For some reason, Cory sat on the couch of the Chateau with Rafe Cameron on her mind. She thought about the way he looked at her at the boneyard, talked to her, and the way he grabbed her wrist. It all sounded so full of rage and it felt so rough. Rafe always had a way of manipulating Cory into thinking that this is the way you're supposed to love. You're allowed to get mad unless you make an apology that you don't really mean and give your girlfriend a soft sweet kiss to distract her from all of the physical and mental pain you inflict on her.

Rafe was a very insecure boy to begin with but being with a girl like Cory seemed to intensify every issue he had. She was a pretty girl that any guy would do anything to keep so whenever he felt threatened by a guy who talked to Cory (which was any guy) he would be beating his face in a matter of seconds. In the beginning, Cory thought his overprotectiveness was sweet and it meant he cared about her but too much of one thing is never good. Soon Cory started to hate the feeling in the pit of her stomach that she would get as she watched Rafe grab some random guy by the collar. She felt like she did love Rafe once and didn't know when she stopped but she couldn't leave him now, she was in too deep. Rafe Cameron is a toothache that leaves and comes right back ten times more painful. "Hey." A voice broke her out of her thoughts, pulling her back into the world around her.

It was night now and Cory had Pope dress her wound. She had a bandaid on her arm now and you could hear the boys talking out on the porch. Kiara had been walking around the house, lighting candles because there was no electricity when she saw Cory staring at the wall in front of her. When Cory looked up she realized that it was Kiara speaking to her and her face softened a little. "Hey." She responded in a soft tone. She faced away from her and Kiara felt like she was being given the cold shoulder.

"You and JJ leaving?" Kiara asked taking hesitant steps towards where Cory was sitting on the couch.

"Yeah. After he's done talking to John B," Cory replied simply, switching on her phone to look at the time.

There was a pain in Cory's arm that she hadn't gotten used to yet. Kiara noticed the slight wincing noise she made and the squint in her eyes. "Does it hurt?" She asked with her voice raising a few octaves.

Cory shook her head. "It's fine. I've had worse." Injuries were never anything new to her. She never had anything serious like a broken limb but being an athlete came with a price. "Plus Pope's pretty good at cleaning wounds."

The tension in the air was thick. They were having what most would deem a normal conversation but it was obvious that Cory was still bitter. Her body was tensed up and it was like she was just waiting for Kiara to leave the room. "Cory, I'm sorry." Kiara blurted out.

Cory looked up, staring her straight in the eyes. "For what exactly?" She let out a dry chuckle which didn't help Kiara's nerves. "For ghosting me, acting like a bitch out of nowhere, or almost ripping my hair out of my scalp on the boat?"

"All of it." Kiara almost didn't let Cory finish her sentence with how quickly she spoke. "I know I'm a bitch. I was just so mad at Sarah that I didn't want to associate with the entire friend group. And it just felt like you chose her over me."

"Don't you think it was hard for me?" Cory stood up. "Of course, I chose her over you I've known her basically my whole life, she's my boyfriend's sister, and she's friends with all of my friends. I can't just drop her. I don't agree with her. But she's like my sister."

"I know. I'm sorry." Kiara apologized. There was silence in the room for a second. "I missed you." She blurted out.

Cory looked at her, a small smile forming on her face. "I missed you too." She moved from the couch, walking across the room over to her. They wrapped their arms around each other and all the pain and hatred Kiara was feeling seemed to fade away in that moment.

When Cory split away from her, Kiara noticed the bruise on her arm. She had been wearing a T-shirt that covered it all day but she still had her bikini top on, and now it was more noticeable. "Is that bruise from the boat?" Kiara pointed.

At that moment when Kiara, asked that question JJ was opening the front door. "Um, maybe. I guess I bumped it at some point." Cory lied, staring down at the bruise. She looked back up at Kiara with a smile, hoping that would convince her.

"Cory," JJ called out, making both girls look over at him. "Ready to go?" He asked while he tapped his fingers on the wall.

Cory nodded. "Yeah." She moved back over to the couch, grabbing her tote bag and her phone. "Bye, Kie." She waved.

"Bye." Kiara waved back.

Cory and JJ walked into the yard, side by side. "So you two made up?" JJ questioned.

"Yeah."

Cory handed him her car keys and JJ beamed. "I'm touched you trust me with your precious car." He twirled the keys around his finger.

"You're a mechanic so if you break him, you fix him." Cory tapped his shoulder before she walked over to the passenger seat.

JJ chuckled. "Fair enough." He unlocked the car and they both got in. When you went into Cory's car it was obvious that it belonged to a girl. It was a black Porsche and there were car mats with bows on them. She had a leopard-printed steering wheel cover, a vanilla-scented air freshener, pink coasters in the cup holders, receipts and mini perfumes in the glove compartment, and a Polaroid of her and Rafe by the dashboard that she taped on.

JJ eyed the picture with spite. They looked like they were in some fancy restaurant. Cory had on a white dress and she was sitting on Rafe's lap. She was smiling and Rafe was kissing her cheek. "What's up with you?" Cory broke the long silence between them and JJ blinked.

He looked over at her, remembering the lie she told Kiara a few minutes ago. "Am I the only person you told?" He asked.

Cory looked at him with confusion. "Told about what?" JJ gave her a look and she began to understand what he was talking about. "Um...yeah." She nodded. "I just don't want anything worse to happen."

JJ started out the window, avoiding eye contact with her. "I get it. I didn't tell my friends about my dad till 8th grade. But this is really serious. Rafe might be more dangerous than you think. And you can't just hide from him. There's not that many places to go around here."

"I know. I'll handle it." Cory sighed, putting on her seatbelt.

"Cory—" JJ looked back at her but she quickly cut him off.

"I said I'll handle it." She spoke in a demanding tone and leaned back in the seat.

JJ shook his head and put the keys in the ignition. "You can't handle it alone." He muttered, putting the car into drive.

"You just don't get Rafe. I can't just break up with him. I've tried."

He moved the car onto the road and looked over at Cory for a second before he focused on the road. "And what happened when you tried?" He asked.

The memory flashed into Cory's head and her heart started to race as if it were a bad dream. "Don't ever ask me that again."

They came to a stop sign and JJ turned in his seat. No one else was on the road so, he didn't care. "Wait, Cory—"

"I don't want to talk about it. Just drive." Cory folded her arms and turned to look out the window. JJ knew that whatever happened wasn't good but, she didn't want to open up to him about it. He took a deep breath and began driving again and the rest of the car ride was silent.

There are two voices that fight for dominance in Cory's head. As of right now, one is screaming at the sight of JJ Maybank's hand as he toys around with John B's compass. Happy screams that cause her stomach to flip. That voice is always the one chanting the words fuck Rafe Cameron. The other one tells her that staying with Rafe and living this life is her only option. That voice is usually the one that wins the battle.

Cory sits in the back of John B's car staring blankly at the ground. She hasn't spoken to JJ since they left the house (which was just a simple good morning) and Cory physically felt the air between them grow thick. She couldn't tell if he was mad or not about what she said about Rafe in the car. JJ didn't really want her to go with him and John B but she wanted to see Ms. Lana. Suddenly the door to the backseat opened and a burst of sunlight leaked in. Cory turned her head seeing JJ standing there holding the door open. He never said a word he just held his free hand out for her to take. When their hands touched it felt like electricity zapped up the veins of both of their arms. "Thank you." Cory looked up at JJ as her feet touched the ground. He stayed silent for a while, just walking beside her. His hands were in his pockets and whenever the fine hairs on his arms grazed her bare ones, it drove her crazy. "Are you still mad at me?" Cory broke the silence, quickly glancing back at him.

The two of them had finally looked each other in the eyes. Cory would obviously never say it out loud, but she loved everything about the way JJ looked today. From the messy hair to the shark tooth necklace decorating his semi-bare chest. She always liked it more when he wore button-downs or flannels rather than T-shirts. "I'm not mad at you, Cor." He spoke softly.

Cory just shrugged and faced away from him again. "You seem like you are." She soon felt his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. She fell into his chest and his free hand came up to ruffle her hair which made her laugh and JJ grin.

Cory finally looked up at the scene before them. The house almost looked rundown and it was being smothered by trees. Cory convinced herself that it only looked like that because of the hurricane. "Know what this house looks like?" John B asked, making his way up to JJ and Cory.

JJ looked back at him, his arm now falling away from Cory's shoulder. "Whoever lives here smokes too much weed." He answered and John B brought his thumb and pointer finger up to his lips and blew air out of them, acting like he was smoking a blunt.

"Or snorts too much cocaine," Cory added as she moved in front of JJ and walked ahead of both boys.

Suddenly they started to hear the sound of glass breaking, shouting, and cursing. JJ's walking slowed and he grabbed Cory by the arm and pulled her over to his side. He looked over at John B with wide eyes. "Maybe we should come back. It's a little too soon." JJ was trying to get his words out but John B was interrupting him.

"No, no, shut up. Shut up, JJ."

The closer they moved towards the house the louder the sounds were. They heard another loud bang and the sound of Ms. Lana screaming and that's when a horrible sensation started to ooze in the pit of Cory's stomach. She grabbed onto JJ's arm and looked at John B over his shoulder. "John B—" Her voice shivered.

JJ and Cory's eyes were begging John B to give it a rest but he had a thick skull. "Just come on."

They jogged towards the side of the house and they could hear everything that was being yelled as clear as day. Fear coursed through Cory's veins and her heart began to race. She just stayed behind JJ, it felt safe there. But the sound of Ms. Lana's cries broke her heart.

JJ ran towards John B who was standing under the window trying to look inside. The blonde grabbed him and pulled him down to the ground. Once again, JJ was trying to say something to him and John B kept shushing him. "Still think we should stay?" JJ finally got his words out and he saw Cory running toward them. She stayed low so whoever was in the window wouldn't see her and she landed next to JJ.

JJ's hand lightly brushed up against the lower part of her stomach as he pushed her closer to the wall. Cory was feeling too many emotions at once. Her eyes were screwed shut as she held back tears hearing Lana pleading with the man yelling at her and ignoring the tingling feeling she felt throughout her entire body from JJ's touch. "Is that paint?" Cory heard JJ's voice and she looked down at the white flakes scattered across her bare legs.

"Yes, it's paint." John B confirmed.

Cory began frantically dusting it off her body as she tried controlling her staggered breathing and shaking hands. "Let's get the hell outta here, man." One of the men spoke loudly to the other and Cory could hear their footsteps.

John B crept past them towards the end of the wall to watch them leave the house. "We should just go. He's got smuggler..." JJ began whispering as he got up and Cory followed.

"Shut up." John B snapped.

"...smuggler written all over him."

Cory tried to see over JJ's shoulder but both boys were taller than her and she couldn't see past John B's head. One of the men walked out and John B quickly moved back against the wall, hitting JJ in the process so he would move too. "John B. Let's just leave." Cory pleaded.

"Shut up." John B spoke through gritted teeth.

After a few seconds, they slowly looked over and saw them getting on their boat. "Dude, those were the guys that shot at us," JJ announced.

Those words triggered a pain in Cory's ribs. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," JJ assured her.

"Go back." John B shoved JJ over. They waited until they left and they slowly crept up onto the porch and went into the house.

"Ms. Lana?" John B called out as they walked in.

The entire house was trashed. There was furniture and clutter thrown everywhere. "Ms. Lana?" Cory looked around the corner and her eyes widened at the woman on the floor. "Oh my god!"

The boys came up behind her and John B ran over to Ms. Lana's side. "Hey. Hey!" Cory stood in front of the bathroom where Ms. Lana was sitting, noticing the broken sink. "Ms. Lana, what happened?" Cory kneeled down next to her, holding onto her hand softly.

"Hey, are you okay?" John B began rubbing her shoulder. "It's okay."

Cory's finger brushed over the cuts on her face. "Did they do that?" Lana was crying and in pain.

JJ's fingers brushed over John B's shoulder. "Dude, she's tweaking."

They both ignored him. "Ms. Lana, did they hurt you?" Cory asked.

"Do you need a doctor?" John B added. He looked up at JJ who was standing over the both of them. "Let's call the sheriff's department."

"No, no, no. No cops, please." Lana begged.

"Mm. That's not good. Come on, guys. Let's just go." JJ tried to grab Cory's hand but she snatched her hand away.

"JJ, wait." She waved him off.

"You shouldn't be here," Lana warned the two children in front of her.

JJ tapped John B again. "That's enough for me. Come on." He tried to walk away but Cory grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Wait, wait." John B scolded him and looked back at Ms. Lana. "What do you know about these guys?"

"They were looking for something." She answered, starting to calm down to the feeling of Cory rubbing her thumb over her skin.

John B put his hand in his pocket, grabbing the compass. "Does it have anything to do with this?" Lana's cries came to a stop when her eyes laid on the compass. "Do you know anything about this?" Lana just stared at him in fear. "This is my father's, and Scooter had it. Why?"

"Scooter didn't have it, okay? Don't tell anyone you have it."

Cory noticed Lana getting overwhelmed and she tried to calm her down. "Hey, it's okay."

JJ grabbed Cory's right hand but she didn't move. "Come on." He tried to get John B up too but he had no intentions of moving either.

"Why?"

"John B, stop pressuring her." Cory raised her voice.

"They can't know! You've gotta get out of here!" Lana exclaimed, making Cory jump back a little.

"What do you know about the compass?" John B started getting louder and JJ let go of Cory and started pulling John B up from the floor.

"John B, stop!" Tears started to fall from her cheeks.

"Cory, go!" Lana gestured towards the door.

"I'm not gonna leave you," Cory argued.

"Go! Get out!" Lana screamed.

"We gotta go. Let's go." JJ moved John B behind him. Cory quickly got up and took one look back at Lana before leaving the house.

"And we're just outside like this." JJ began, bracing his back up against the brick wall of the house behind him. "And all we hear is just Bam! Bam! Bam!" He imitated the sounds as he punched the air. "Knocking paint off the wall, G! From the inside. All right? And I'm just looking at them, like..." He pauses and looks at John B who stared so hard at the ground. "Wait, first off, look at this shit." JJ panted and took a step closer to them. He leaned down, ruffling his cloud of blonde hair and the old flakes from earlier fell out and scattered across the floor. Pope and Kiara both had disgusted expressions on their faces. "Look at it." JJ pointed down at it.

"JJ." Cory scolded and pushed him back.

"The house," Pope mumbled.

Kiara sat back in her chair, slightly turning her body. "That's dandruff, disgusting." She scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Look at all that. All right? That's paint." He made sure he put an exaggerated amount of emphasis on paint. His breathing didn't slow down; if anything, it quickened and his hair was ruffled in different directions. "At that point, I was just, like...I'm waiting for death."

Pope took a second to try and process JJ's not-so-helpful explanation while the sound of JJ's heavy boots boomed through the air as he began pacing around the porch. "Oh, okay, so you saw the guys that shot at us, right?" Pope questioned, still confused about whatever JJ was trying to say through his rapid and staggered speech.

"Yeah." JJ breathed out.

"Um...d-did you get a good description of them? What they look like?" Pope continued.

"Anything? Anything at all?" Kiara added, looking over at JJ.

"Anything we can bring to a police report, maybe?" Pope suggested.

JJ started into the distance as if god would give him the right word to say. (He didn't). "Burly." JJ blurted out, turning his entire body around to look back at Pope.

Cory just rolled her eyes, still being silent. Pope stared at JJ in disbelief. "Burly?" Pope leaned forward a little to make sure he heard him right.

"Yeah, burly" JJ nodded cluelessly. "You know, like—"

Kiara sighed. "That's not very helpful." Her attention was now focused on the very quiet Cory sitting in the corner of the couch. Her legs were up to her chest and her cold hand (due to fear) ran across her legs. "Cory?"

Cory perked up like a puppy dog. "I'm sorry, Kie. I was too busy trying not to shit my pants." Cory let her head fall back onto the couch, still clutching onto her legs for dear life.

"Are you good?" Pope asked, hesitantly.

"No." Cory groaned.

"Okay, well, no, like the type of guy at my dad's garage. I mean, you guys know he made cargo hides for drug smugglers." JJ looked over at Kiara.

"Yeah. Yes. No, we know." Kiara nodded.

"I can tell you with full confidence—" JJ began before he braced his back on the brick wall once again. "These boys, these killers..." JJ slowly pulled out his vape from his pocket and put it up to his lips which Cory stared at. She felt like maybe a bit of nicotine would calm her down. "They're square groupers." JJ blew out the smoke and seconds later the vape was snatched out of his hand. "Hey!"

JJ looked down at Cory as she breathed in, holding the vape between her lips. "Learn to share, Maybank." She mumbled as she released the smoke.

"Learn to ask, Castillo." JJ snatched it back from her taking another hit. Cory was staring at him with sad eyes and he quickly gave in, giving it back to her.

"They're square groupers, like narco square grouper? Like Pablo Escobar square grouper?" Pope raised his voice at JJ.

Cory stood up from her place on the couch to stand in front of JJ. The second she extended her hand to give him his vape back, he almost immediately took it. "Yeah, man." He mumbled, taking one last hit and leaning his hand against the wall behind him.

Kiara rolled her eyes, annoyed at the nonsense spewing from JJ's tongue. "You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie."

"What does this square grouper look like?Specifically?" Pope raised up from his seat a little bit and JJ almost immediately began to speak over him.

"You weren't there, bro!" JJ yelled.

"Cause apparently, you don't know what to look for!" Pope exclaimed.

JJ leaned over to him, raising his voice even higher. "Dude! I wasn't taking little mental Polaroids the entire time. I was under duress, okay?" His eyes were wide and his voice was shaking in panic. Cory noticed his heaving chest and she placed her hand on his shoulder and lightly pushed him away from Pope.

He took a second to breathe, closing his eyes. "But I can tell you...I can tell you by the way that Ms. Lana was screaming...that these guys are serious, serious hombres, man." John B opened the compass with his thumb and stared at it.

Cory looked over at Kiara. "They destroyed her house and they hurt her pretty badly."

"It's a heavy vibe right now, okay? I'm not liking this very much." JJ raked his hands through the mess that was his hair.

"Why do they want the compass?" Kiara asked. She was finally starting to get a little scared.

"It's a piece of shit. You couldn't pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to." Pope agreed. His eyes floated over to John B who hadn't spoken this entire time. "No offense, John B. I know it's in your family—"

"The office." John B cut him off and the sudden sound of his voice made Cory jump a little.

Cory squinted at him. "What?"

Everyone's attention went to John B as he stared at the front door. "My dad. My dad's office." He walked past everyone into the house, making everyone follow behind him. "He always kept the office locked because he was worried about his competitors stealing his Royal Merchant research. We used to laugh at him like he was gonna find it. But now that he's gone, I've just kinda...I just left it as he kept it." John B led them down the halls and then stopped in front of a door in his house.

"Yeah, for when he gets back." Kiara gave her support and Pope and JJ gave each other a look while Cory stayed silent.

"Yeah." John B nodded as he unlocked the door. He opened it and they all walked in behind him.

Cory looked around the cluttered room. Big John had what seemed like hundreds of books and papers scattered everywhere. "I've slept over here like 600 times, and I've never seen this door opened," Pope muttered.

"Here, look." John B placed a board on the table, causing the group to surround it. "This is the original owner, right here." He pointed. JJ came up behind Cory and was practically hovering over her to see the board on the table.

"Okay. Robert Q. Routledge, 1880 to 1920." Kiara read out loud, scanning the board. "There's the lucky compass, right there." She pointed to a picture of the man holding the same exact compass.

John B cleared his throat, giving his arm a light scratch. "Actually, um...he was shot after he bought it." He clarified, causing Kiara's smile to drop. "Then the compass was shipped back to Henry." John B pointed to another picture of a man and a woman. "He was killed in a crop-dusting accident when he had the compass. After he died, the compass was given to Stephen." His finger landed on a picture of a guy with an army uniform on. "Stephen had the compass with him when he died in Vietnam." He continued to explain.

"Let me guess, he died in action, right?" JJ asked, sharing a hopeful look with Cory.

"Sort of." John B replied.

Cory chuckled at him. "Sort of?" She questioned.

"Uh, a-actually, he was killed by a banana truck. In...In country." Now, it hit them. It was almost like death was inevitable for everyone who had this compass. "Anyways, after that, Stephen passed the compass down to him, my dad."

Cory scoffed. "This sounds like the plot of a horror movie."

"Yup. Sounds like there's a reoccurring theme here." JJ agreed, nodding.

"Yeah, you have a death compass." Pope chimed in.

John B rolled his eyes. "I do not." He argued, getting up from his seat.

Cory moved from her spot next to JJ and walked over to John B. "Think about it, John B. Small items like that are the easiest thing to curse."

"Calm down, Cory."

"No, she's right. Get rid of it. It's cursed, and made its way back to you." JJ interjected.

John B ignored them. "Look, my dad used to talk about this compartment in here." He sat down in another chair across the room and untwisted the top of the compass. "Soldiers used to hide secret notes."

Once it was fully untwisted, he turned it upside down and shook it to see if anything would fall out. "What's that?" Kiara pointed at the other half of the compass in John B's hand, noticing something that looked like writing.

John B quickly flipped it over. "That wasn't there before." He whispered, examining the lettering. "This is my dad's handwriting." He looked up at Pope who shook his head.

"How can you know that?" Pope scoffed. Every time John B theorized about his father possibly being alive Pope was a bit too vocal on his opinion. Cory understood why John B was in denial. She to this day still believes that her father was alive too even though he probably wasn't.

"Because he does these weird Rs with the—" He cut himself off, holding the compass up to Pope's face. "See it?"

JJ leaned over from behind Cory, trying to see it better. "Can I see it?" He asked, walking up to John B's left. He almost squinted his eyes, trying to understand it. "Red... Rout...No, I think that's an A."

"It says Redfield." Kiara blurted out.

JJ straightened up and Cory noticed the slight frown he had on his face. "Right." He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, well, what's Redfield?" Kiara questioned.

Pope crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides the most common name in the county."

Theories started to conjure up in John B's head. "Oh, maybe...maybe it's a clue. Maybe it's a clue to where he's hiding." He stammered.

"Uh, yeah..." Cory gave him a light smile.

Pope snickered. "A clue? Come on, that's..." He was caught off by the piercing looks coming from his friends. "But if it is a clue, maybe it's an anagram?" He suggested.

John B's face lit up and he quickly got up from his chair. "Yes. Perfect. Anagram. You need paper." He frantically began looking around the room and once he found paper he immediately slid it over to Pope alongside a pen he picked up. "Here you go."

Now that it was quieter and Cory finally calmed down, she noticed the sound of the rooster outside. JJ noticed her wandering over to the window. "How can you concentrate with that thing crowing at you?" Pope groaned as JJ leaned over his shoulder.

"You have a rooster?" Cory looked over at John B with a smile on her face. One thing Cory and Kiara always had in common was their love for animals. Cory obviously didn't mind being rich but she always wanted animals living in her backyard.

"Yeah, JJ loves the rooster." John B nodded.

"I love the rooster," Kiara mumbled.

"Let me think." Pope looked down at that paper and started to think of what it could possibly mean.

"What about Ritalin?" JJ asked.

   "Um..." Pope's eyes scanned the paper as Kiara and Cory walked over to them.

"Dreidel?" Kiara suggested.

Pope glanced over at John B. "Defile. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Guys." John B spoke up but none of them heard him.

"No, you're missing the R." Cory pointed out.

"Guys! Somebody's here." John B practically screamed. All of their heads turned and they slowly approached the window. The memories of what happened at Lana's and in the boat made Cory's stomach curl as she watched the two men approaching the house.

Kiara involuntarily grabbed a hold of Cory's hand. "Guys, guys, is that them?" Her breathing picked up and Cory grabbed onto Kiara's arm with her other hand.

"No." JJ shook his head.

Kiara's eyes switched between the boys and the window. "Is that them?"

"It's them," Cory whispered. She felt like she couldn't move anymore.

JJ began backing away from the window. "John B, I told you. Why does it always—" John B grabbed JJ from behind, pulling him away from the window.

"JJ! Hey, look at me." John B hissed, roughly grabbing JJ's shoulders, and turned JJ to face him before pushing him up against the wall, so he would stop pacing. JJ tried to keep his breathing steady. "Where's the gun?" John pointed his index finger in JJ's face.

JJ looked at him for a second as he tried to remember. "Gun? I, uh, I can't..." JJ closed his eyes, hoping the memory would come back to him.

"You don't where it is!?" Cory exclaimed.

Kiara's eyes went wide and looked like they were on the brink of falling out of her head. "Now you don't have the gun, the one time we need the gun?" Her voice was shaky and she had let go of Cory's hand to run her hands through her scalp.

Cory looked over at JJ who was silently freaking out across from her. "You put it in your bag this morning."  She mentioned.

"Yeah. It was in my backpack, and then I..." JJ began remembering.

John B tapped him. "On the porch."

"It's on the porch," JJ mumbled.

"Go, go." John B pointed to the door and JJ rushed out of the room, running as fast as he could. Before he could even get to the front door, the two men started to bang on it.

"John Routledge!" One of the men yelled, making JJ come to a crashing halt.

"Guys!" He spun back around, almost falling, and began running back into the office.

"Come on out now! Where's the compass?" When Cory heard those words, her heart started to race and panic washed over her.

John B looked at JJ with confusion when he closed the door. "Where's the gun?" He whispered.

"They're on the front porch, guys," JJ explained. Cory just felt frozen in place as she stared at him.

"Shit!" Cory muttered under her breath. The screams of the men outside invaded her ears. "We have to get out, now."

"Guys, window. Window." Kiara pointed, trying to stay quiet. JJ and Pope immediately ran over and tried to pull it up but, it wasn't budging. Cory ran over to John B and braced her back up against the door with him and they looked at each other with pure fear in their eyes. "Hurry." Kiara scolded, watching the two boys struggle.

Cory leaned over a little. "How hard is it to open a window!?" She whispered with a clenched jaw.

"It's painted shut, okay?" JJ's head snapped, looking back at her.

"Routledge!"

Kiara started looking around the room, for something sharp and the boys continued to try and lift the window up, groans falling from their lips. "Okay, guys. Guys. Here, I got it." Kiara walked back over to them with a knife.

Pope looked back at Cory who was obviously in distress. Her eyes were closed and he called her name to get her attention. When she opened her eyes, he gestured for her to move over to the window. "Switch." Cory quickly ran towards the window and stood between Kiara and JJ and Pope moved next to John B.

"Hey, check the back room." Cory heard the man announce and she started tapping JJ's arm.

JJ looked over at her noticing, the fear that was written all over her body. "What, Cor?" He leaned down so his ear was close to her lips.

"They're coming in here." She whispered, making JJ's eyes flash over to the door and back over to Kiara. She was shoving the knife into the bottom of the window, trying to loosen it. "Kie, hurry."

"I'm going as fast as I can." Kiara let out a staggered breath.

"Shh...Be quiet." Pope and John B shushed them, putting their fingers over their lips.

One of the men made his way over to the office door which John B had locked and started jiggling the door handle. Cory turned around, making eye contact with Pope for a split second with wide eyes. "You better not be in there!" He yelled.

He started kicking the door off its hinges, making John B and Pope run towards the window JJ grabbed the knife from Kiara and got opened in just a matter of time. The five of them quickly jumped out one after the other. They all ran into John B's yard and hid in the chicken coop. Kiara was in the corner with John B, Cory was next to Pope, and JJ laid on his stomach.

After a while, John B heard the front door open and he moved over and watched them walk out with his father's belongings. Tears were coming out of Kiara's eyes and Cory sat with her knees up to her chest, staring blankly. The rooster began crowing and JJ turned to Pope. "Do something, Pope. Shut him up." JJ whispered through gritted teeth.

"What do you want me to do?" Pope argued.

"Pet it, or talk to it. I don't know." Kiara whimpered as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Cory leaned over attempting to pet the rooster which he didn't respond to well. He got louder and the door to the truck outside slammed. Cory shrieked and Pope lightly grabbed her arm, pulling her back next to him. Cory's hand flew up to her mouth silencing her jagged breathing. John B moved back over next to Kiara. "You do something," Pope told JJ.

JJ grabbed him before he pushed him down into the ground, hoping that would make him stop. But it didn't. He pounced on him, his hands tightly gripping his neck and for one second he was crowing and for the next, he wasn't. He looked at Cory who was starting to tear up and Kiara was already crying. "Hey, hey. Don't look." Pope placed his hand on Cory's shoulder, trying to turn her away. "Cory, don't look." He scolded, making the girl look down and close her eyes.

"Ratter! What the hell are you doin'? Let's go."

The sound of the car starting was their sign that they were safe but Cory refused to open her eyes. She heard Kiara crying and the light sniffles from JJ and all she could feel was Pope's hand rubbing her shoulder.

KARISSA SPEAKS

—i'm back to feeding y'all with the long ass kill bill updates🤭

—the jory moments this chapter >>

—pope and cory's friendship is so cute😭

—at first i was gonna stop this at season two but i actually really liked season 4 so lmk what season you guys want me to stop at