( CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE )
THE GHOST OF A COP

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    THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO DIE. Too many to name them all. Suicide, drowning, eaten by a shark, lost in the desert, lost at sea, car accident, plane crash . . . Too much for the nominees. And the weird thing about death is that no one ever knows when it's going to happen. No one's ready for the shock that they are going straight ahead. A car accident happens too quickly for us to even realize what's going on. Drowning is slow and demanding for us while we tried to survive, it is one of the worst ways to die. Because we feel that even if we try, we will end up at the bottom of the ocean. That's what Eden thought for a whole year. That's what she thought when they told her her father was missing in the sea.

    She never really believed it because Thomas spent his whole life in the ocean, on boats, and he even did explorations for the Royal Merchant. He always tried to get his hands on this gold, to show it to the world. And he succeeded. For a month, Thomas managed to come with gold and build a life for himself. But after that month, he disappeared. He left somewhere with secrets in his pockets, with a hiding place in mind to escape his problems. He did everything for this treasure, even leaving his family, and now he was no longer there.

So, come to think of it, wouldn't the Royal Merchant be the real villain of this story? The treasure was always a lifeline for Thomas Perez and Big John Routledge, but they were both no longer there. One was dead, the other was probably alive somewhere in the world. Somewhere hidden from everyone. The Royal Merchant was not a means of relief or bringing joy, this treasure took lives with it. As well as a war that spans teenagers to stronger people on the island. This treasure took the lives of many, including Sheriff Peterkin. A bullet in the shoulder, blood and . . . Death. She was bleeding to death for wanting to help. The world was cruel for even having a single chance to succeed.

Eden was no longer in a position to save anyone when she saw Susan Peterkin choking for the slightest air between her lips. It was a horror to know of the person's death, but to see it in person in front of her, it terrified her. It was a weird feeling. She didn't know at all what to do, or not to do. She never saved anyone like that. Seeing the blood spread even more on her uniform made her only see red. Too much red. Too much, too much, too much. What should she do?

    And even when she looked at Rafe in the eyes, she didn't know what to do. He had something in his look that seemed like he was ready to harm everyone around him. Ready to hurt Eden. She knew he was capable of it, he had done it many times. Except the difference before was that he didn't have a gun the previous times. Right now, Rafe had a gun pointed at her, his teeth gritted. And even if she clung to John B like her life depended on it, it couldn't save her. Because she felt it ; Rafe was about to explode for good.

    He was breathing heavily as if he were hyperventilating, and his teeth were strongly clenched, trying to maintain control. But he couldn't do it, the anger was too strong, too present to simply ignore it. Eden could see it in his face, in his movements that this was not normal. In fact, she always saw that Rafe had serious problems, but this was too much. He had shot someone. He did it while watching her collapse to the ground. It was no longer just a matter of grabbing Eden by the arms and doing it to her, it was a matter of murder. A matter of killing someone while being very conscious.

    He smiled at his father, nodding, "I saved you, Dad." Ward didn't answer, his mouth open in the same shock as the three teenagers behind him. He added, "I saved you."

    And his gaze wandered into Eden, staring for a moment at John B next to her. She was afraid for her life, she was afraid of what would happen in the next few seconds to her life. She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears as Rafe clenched his jaw, still pointing the gun straight at Eden's face.

    In the silence surrounding them, Rafe whispered to Eden, "You're next."

    She looked away when he said that, and the bullet went away so quickly that she didn't even have time to protect herself, but John B was already standing in front of her, his body completely hiding Eden's. She gasped, her hand on her heart, and . . . and she felt it beating. She frowned, looking up at John B who was looking over his shoulder.

    "Rafe! No, calm down!" Ward demanded, now standing with his hands around the gun, trying to pry it from his son's grip, but he wasn't giving it anyway. "Rafe!"

    The Cameron boy got angry, pointing at Eden, "She's a liar! A real fucking liar! Let me—"

    "Rafe, listen to me!" The father shouted louder, wanting to wake his son from what he was saying. He grabbed his face in his hands, making him stare into his wide eyes. "I need her alive, you understand? Don't make another disaster, dammit."

Eden tried to understand, but she didn't care when Ward began to explain silently to him, and she ran towards Peterkin still lying on the ground, her hand searching for her heart to make sure it was still beating, like Eden did a few seconds ago. She rushed over, knelt down beside her, and . . . Oh, my God. There was too much blood for Eden to even know what to do. With her hand also in poor condition, she only had one hand free to try to help the policewoman who was short of breath.

"Oh, God, okay, just . . . try to breathe. It'll be okay." She grumbled the last sentence repeatedly, even though she herself believed it so little. She huffed, reaching for the bullet with her one hand. "Where is it?"

Another hand, larger than her own, also began to look for where the bullet had stuck in the woman's shoulder. John B, kneeling next to Eden, breathing harder and stressed than ever, he quickly opened the brown shirt that Peterkin was wearing, discovering a protective vest, but nothing had protected her poor shoulder.

John B placed his hand on the place where the blood was flowing, he put his bandana that he had around his neck, and tried to stop the bleeding. "Shit. I'm sorry. Oh, my—"

"Call." Peterkin breathed, staring at Eden in the eyes. She frowned, not knowing what she was talking about. "Call for help." Eden finally understood, and looked for the radio in the left pocket of the sheriff's pants, trying to get how this thing worked.

She threw it into John B's hands as she took over holding the bandana on Peterkin's shoulder, crying at how much blood there was. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

    "That's okay. It's not your fault, Eden." Peterkin replied in one of the last breaths she could take before laying her head down, trying to contain her breaths as if she was afraid of running out of it.

    Eden shook her head while sniffling, keeping her hand on Susan's wound, not wanting to move an inch. John B began to call on the radio when suddenly, Rafe shouted, alerting Eden in her cries. "Don't try it, asshole." Rafe threatened, the gun pointed at John B, and the girl knew that with all the hatred the blond had towards John B, he could easily shoot.

    "Rafe, she's dying!" The Winslow girl noticed, turning her face towards him, but he said nothing.

    Ward intervened in the war of screaming between them, also kneeling to grab the radio that John B had in his hand. "John B, give me the radio. Come on."

    "No." John B said, keeping his hand firmly on the radio, not giving it to Ward in the slightest case.

    But somehow, he managed to grab it, and Eden hissed through her teeth, "What's your problem?! She's going to die! Give me the damn radio." She leaned her head towards Peterkin, seeing her in the pain of not being able to survive. She was in bad shape, you could see it, and Eden could do nothing to stop it.

"You shut up, Eden." Rafe spat, placing his rifle on her head, and Eden stopped breathing for a moment. But it didn't last long, because Rafe walked away again, trying to talk to his father. "Dad, come on—"

"Rafe, I've got it. Calm down." Ward cut him off, showing him the radio he had in his hands, still attached to the handcuffs. "Calm down. Rafe, put the gun down. I got it."

Eden and John B continued to tend to Peterkin, their hands resting in unison on the wound, but it seemed to make no difference. The blood was accumulating more and more, and it didn't change anything. The girl grumbled, "It'll be okay. It'll be okay."

Peterkin didn't process her words, and simply retorted with her big brown eyes fixing up at them, "Run."

John B refused, "We're not leaving you." Then he turned his head towards Ward and Rafe, finding them arguing about trying to calm down together while the disaster was happening behind them.

   Eden thought for a second. If she didn't leave, Ward would put her back on that plane, and she would be gone for good. If she left, she would have to leave Peterkin in the wrong hands, and she too would've to run to avoid getting caught. Because it's not over, she knew it. Ward will keep looking for her until he catches her. I need her alive, that's what he said. So he will want her at all costs, but Eden still didn't know why. She had to leave. She had to run. Now.

    "Eden, run." Peterkin whispered to her, grabbing her hand as if she understood what she was going through at the moment. The girl looked up at her, a tear falling onto her uniform. "Run."

    "I'm sorry." Eden said, biting her lip. She stood up slowly, leaving Peterkin's hand away from her, and it hurt her heart to leave her there without being able to do anything. "John B . . ."

    He was up too, knowing he had to run, having no idea what Ward or Rafe might do. He grabbed Eden's hand, squeezing it tightly.

    "Where are you going?! Huh?" Rafe asked, pushing himself away from his father, discovering John B and Eden ready to get away from there. His breathing got quicken again. "Eden!"

    "Run." Sarah said, putting them behind her so they could start running away before Rafe take them and shoot them in the head.

    And that's what they were doing. Hand in hand, Eden groaned as she ran fast even with the wounds she had all over her body, and the little strength that was still in her body. She heard Rafe and everyone else screaming as she precipitated with John B through the grass, seeing a forest where they could be better hidden. She was out of breath, had no more strength and above all, she was afraid. She didn't know what to do at all. She had adrenaline who covered all of her interior, forcing her to never give up. She had to run because, for once, her life really depended on it. Even though her heart seemed to be beating too fast than normal, she didn't stop.

    "John B!" His name was called, and she turned her face a second to see Rafe Cameron. She saw him there, his gun resting on them again, but the odds against them were slim.

    Eden said nothing, and continued running as fast as she could, trying not to think about her injuries. Shot noises were heard, and Eden turned her head, until she felt something hot pinch her arm. It only lasted half a second, but the pain took her right in the arm and . . . Rafe shot her. Well, he tried. She let out a grunt, continuing to run until she reached the forest where she took a moment to breathe.

    "Ah, shit. Wait, John B." She warned, taking his arm to stop him too in his tracks.

    Wide-eyed, he looked at Eden with a stressed face, "What? You okay?"

    He lowered his face to where her hand was resting, seeing a red line. His eyes grew even wider, and he quickly removed Eden's hand and looked by himself. A bullet had grazed Eden's arm, but there was still a large scratch on her back arm. He huffed as she closed her eyes. Too many injuries in less than 24 hours, it was too much. And she had to eat before she fell to the ground, unconscious.

    "Are you good to walk? Does it hurt?" He questioned, cupping her face in his hands.

    She let a laugh escape between her dry lips, "John B, it's my arm, not my leg. And I'm gonna be fine, it almost didn't touch me. Come on, let's go."

"Are you sure? Eden, you're hurt all over." He pointed out, scanning her from head to toe. And he took her injured hand in his. "You—"

"John B, I'll explain everything to you when we're safe. Just keep running, okay?" She brought him back to reality, not having a second to lose.

He nodded silently, and took her free hand again, and they started running through the trees again. They were each careful not to get caught in branches or in an animal trap ( it would definitely be really annoying if that happened ). But nothing went wrong as they ran through the forest, the birds singing above their heads. Well, nothing happened until they heard a car honk pointing towards them.

Eden stopped, a gasp blowing from her mouth, trying to grab the Routledge boy by the hand, but he didn't stop, and ran straight into the hood of the car. "Oh, shit!" Eden cursed, walking past the car to see John B lying on the ground, groaning. "Come on." She gave him her hand, and he grabbed it before they started running for the second time.

They heard the driver of the car behind them ask if they were correct, but neither of them responded, and they continued to hurry themselves. The road they ran towards seemed to be endless. It was dirt under their feet, and they were surrounded by trees. No road to Figure Eight or anywhere good. They were going to have to walk for a while longer before they got anywhere.

There was at least 15 minutes of walking after they came out of the forest, and neither of them wanted to talk. The shock was obviously marked everywhere on their face, and although Eden was in pain everywhere, she didn't even think about it. She just hoped right now that Peterkin was okay, that Ward still had a modicum of well-being left in him and that he was going to call for help. But she was totally wrong, she only wanted to reassure herself so as not to face reality. Peterkin was going to die, she was sure of it. It wasn't Ward who was going to save her, and denounce his son. No, he wouldn't. Rafe Cameron won't help either. It was over for her.

Eden sniffed, attracting the attention of John B who stared at her out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to ask her right away what happened to cause her to be forced onto this plane. Who had hurt her? He haven't see who had done this to her.

Because, when Pope came running to them, explaining that Ward was preparing to leave with the gold, they hurried away in hopes of recovering the gold. But when they arrived, they saw anything other than gold. In the distance, they saw Eden being taken on the plane by a boy. None of the Pogues managed to see his face. And a few minutes later, Ward arrived with Sarah. John B didn't waste a second, grabbed the Twinkie, and rushed towards the plane without even knowing what to do. He just couldn't let Eden go with Ward for reasons he didn't know and still doesn't know. He heard it like Eden : I need her alive. She was in danger. Ward absolutely wanted her, and neither of them knew why.

    Lowering her brown irises to her hands, Eden saw the dried blood. There were hers and Peterkin's. All this to remind her of the chaos that had just happened before her eyes. She wanted to cry, to just wrap herself in a blanket and forget what had just happened.

    "Hey, Eden." John B called, placing a hand on her arm to stop the girl in her tracks, which she did.

    She looked up at him as he distinguished over her shoulder. She followed his eyes, finding the Pogues hiding behind lots of old supplies, talking against a wooden beam, all in a circle. Eden remained motionless, her hand with John B's before Pope turned towards them, dropping the joint he was holding in his hands.

    Kiara and JJ followed Pope's eyes, and they too focused their attention on the two teenagers standing next to each other. The blonde was the first to speak, running towards them, "Dude! Dude, are you good?"

    "Oh, my God! Eden! John B!" Kiara exclaimed, following JJ towards them. Eden blinked as the Carrera girl placed a hand on her shoulder, scanning every wound and blood all over her hands. "Oh, my— Eden, what happened?"

    "John B, is this yours?" JJ questioned, taking John B's arm in his hand to examine it. They both remained silent, worrying the other three friends even more. "Hey, are you okay, man? Eden?"

    Eden shook her head, turning her eyes away to stare at the ground. Kiara placed her hand on her arm, seeing the wound the bullet provided. Then she saw her hand and her forehead. "Eden, you need to go to the hospital."

    Yes, she needed it, but she couldn't. She couldn't because her family would surely come and pick her up and take her home, but she couldn't leave John B. And she didn't want to go home. She didn't have a home anymore.

    "I'm fine." She declared, closing her eyes for a second before hearing police sirens pass right in front of them.

    They all had the reflex to hide behind an old, torn-up sofa that will no longer be used, and they remained silent without saying anything. Eden didn't have the strength to speak, she was in need of everything, and her hand hurt like hell every time she moved it at the slightest movement.

    Kiara exchanged a look with John B, and he shook his head, silently telling her that now was not the time for questions. So they stayed hidden, all worried about Eden who was not at all in a normal shape.

__________________

    Night had fell, the stars were floating above their heads, and Eden feared that a new one had just been added to them. Eden had never really been close to Peterkin, or really knew her. It was the woman who informed her of her father's disappearance, and she was there during the first month to help her. Because during those first thirty days, Eden never missed a single day to go to the police station and ask Peterkin at what point where they were in the investigation. She always supported her, telling her that her father was somewhere. Susan never let go of her hand, until Eden let go of it herself and gave up.

    She abandoned Peterkin as she abandoned her father. Actually, Eden always — really always — had the hope that Thomas Perez was still alive, she hoped and she believed it because she had proof in her head that it could not be real that he had disappeared at sea. But for Peterkin, Eden knew there was no hope. The cop had fallen into the wrong hands to survive, and Eden had to flee. She was only a teenager, but yet she saw herself as if she had to save everyone. But that never happened, because . . . well, she can't save anyone if she doesn't know how. If no one ever taught her how to be saved. Because she never really was.

   It was night when the teenagers stopped in front of The Wreck for a few minutes, while Kiara took the time to treat the wounds that Eden had all over her body. The Carrera girl cleaned her wound on her forehead, putting a small bandage on it. Then, she attacked her arm, dripping the alcohol on the small inside that the bullet had caused, and Eden believed that the worst was behind her. But when Kiara took charge of her hand, that's when the trouble really began. She couldn't contain the scream she let out, then she immediately pinched her lip to concentrate. She shouldn't attract any attention.

    So right now, she had a bandage around her pretty hand where Kiara had managed to stop the blood. And her shoulder was also wrapped in a bandage, but her entire arm was covered with a hoodie that Kiara had lent her to wear over her simple little top. Eden didn't look the best with all the band aids on her body, but at least she had eaten at The Wreck, and slept ten minutes by the time she got to Kiara's parents' restaurant.

    She was sincerely grateful to Kiara who had kindly offered to take her to eat something, and to heal her wounds. And she was even more grateful to her for not asking questions about what happened during the last day. Kiara knew now about Peterkin's murder, but Eden had yet to tell anyone what happened with Caden and on the plane. She couldn't, she felt too stupid to even seem hurt when Peterkin had just died before her eyes. It's as if she didn't want to take her pain into account, considering it as nothing unlike Peterkin.

    Some time later, at the request of John B, the group of five teenagers were all stationed outside the Kildare police station in Kiara's car since the van had been left on the tarmac when John B came to save Eden and Sarah from Ward's takeoff attempt. None dared to move, not having the slightest idea why they were there. Well, they knew it was for Peterkin, but they also knew they were taking a big risk by going inside that station to explain the situation.

    Kiara parted her lips when the car finally stabilized in front of the station, huffing. "Do you really think that's a good idea? The police have never really been much help to us."

    Kiara was not wrong. The Outer Banks Police never lifted a finger to help the Pogues once in their lives. They have always preferred to help the richest, considering them more important than people without homes. They were never fair to anyone on the island, playing as if they didn't see what was going on around the Pogues, and only focused on what the Pogues were doing wrong.

    John B continued to stare at the seat in front of him — the one where Eden was sitting — without ever blinking. "Somebody's gotta tell them what happened."

    Pope began to cough deeply, his eyelids closed, removing all credibility from what was happening right now. Eden rolled her eyes. All Pope had done since what happened was hold on to his joint like a child who doesn't want to lose his favorite toy. JJ tapped his friend's shoulder, speaking from behind him, "Ooh . . . Easy there, chief. Damn."

    Kiara exchanged a look with Eden while they looked at the same time at Pope who kept coughing. Eden huffed as she took the joint from Pope's hand. "You know how much I adore you, but are you serious right now?" She said before rolling down the window and throwing the joint outside, letting the smoke disappear from their faces once and for all.

    Pope rolled his eyes, sinking into the seat without even trying to contradict Eden. "We should turn around." Kiara announced, looking out the windows to see passengers walking past them. "This is not our territory."

    Eden didn't know how John B felt right now with this moment still inflicted on his thoughts, but to Eden, it was like a never-ending tornado. The gunshot still continued to ring in her ears, and Peterkin's realization was frozen in her eyes, unwilling to leave. She was still in shock at having seen what she had seen right in front of her eyes. Rafe shoot Peterkin. Rafe shoot Peterkin . . . Her, kind of, ex-boyfriend shoot the sheriff of the Outer Banks. Eden knew about Rafe's anger problems, but she never imagined that it would lead him to kill someone by cold blood.

    And she would never have thought that, even if he hated her because of the choices she made in the past, including leaving him and going back to John B, she would never have believed him capable of trying to shoot her. Because she would surely be in the same situation as Peterkin if Ward hadn't raised the rifle to the sky at the sound of the second shot that Rafe sent. She never paid attention to how much Rafe disliked her to the point of wanting to end her life. Was it because of her relationship with John B? Because she was back with the Pogues for the better? Even then, there was no good reason for her to deserve to be shot.

    JJ spoke up, "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." Everyone looked confused at his words, but let him continue. "It's fundamental. Just like my old man always told me, you should never ever trust cops, no matter what the circumstances are."

    Kiara, turning towards the blond, contradicted his words in a single sentence, "Your old man's an abusive liar."

    Pope, who seemed to have come back to earth despite his joint still billowing smoke outside, set a fixed face and slammed against his palate, "I agree with JJ. Fuck the police."

    Eden sighed in frustration at how Pope was acting about the situation. "Oh, my God. Seriously?"

    He changed his position, now being with his back straight, and his face closer to Eden to empty his annoyance into her. "When's the last time the police helped us, huh?" Pope questioned, earning an annoyed look from Eden but she remained silent, not being in the moral business of arguing with anyone.

    "Peterkin looked out for me, all right?" John B interjected, raising his voice to get everyone to stop talking. Eden stared at him with an apologetic look, biting her lip. "Tried to, at least. They need to know." He concluded, letting his eyes wander over each person in the car before falling on those of the brown-haired girl.

    Eden moved her head slightly back and forth. "I'm coming with you." She declared, but she only got John B shaking his head. "Yes, I am."

"Eden, no. You're from Figure Eight, they'll th—"

She retorted, stopping him in his stupid sentence, not wanting to get angry with him at the moment, "Exactly, I'm from Figure Eight. I'm probably the person they're going to believe more between the five of us." She affirmed, her irises locked with those of the boy. "I'm coming with you."

John B brushed his tongue across his lips, raising his hands in the air, discouraged that Eden was so stubborn sometimes that he never had a say in the situation. "Fine. You're coming."

Eden showed a small smile. She went out under the gaze of the others, and joined John B who was waiting for her outside the car. Despite his disapproving look, Eden could see that it relieved him that she was with him by going to talk about what happened on the tarmac.

"If it gets out of hand, you get out first." He warned her, and Eden took out a small sneer. He frowned, starting to walk at the same time as her. "What? I'm serious."

"John B," She stopped him by placing her hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat super fast for the abnormal. "If this gets out of hand, do you really think they'll focus on Kook Princess? No, then you go first."

"But, Eden—"

"Got it? You go first." She confirmed, putting all her confidence in these words. John B finally nodded, not having the courage to say it out loud. "Good. Anyway, what could go wrong?"

They discreetly entered the entrance of the police station, hearing a woman speaking not far from them. A light flashed faintly above their heads, and they exchanged a look before slowly advancing towards the woman who was stationed behind the counter, trying to speak on the radio.

All of a sudden, the confidence that Eden had built before entering the police station suddenly vanished. The memory of Peterkin falling to the ground came back to her, and she closed her eyes to erase the tragic image. She saw everything again : the blood, the gun, Rafe . . . Everything was coming back to her without her being able to stop it. And Caden too, he was there in her bad dreams. With her knife pointed behind her back, and the words he said to her before leaving her alone on the plane. How can you still even think just about yourself, those words were hunting her, and she was starting to believe it again.

"Um, excuse me, ma'am." John B started, his eyes lowered without wanting to stare at the blonde-haired woman with her glasses. "We—

    "This is not a good time, kids. I have work." She said simply, moving her hand around as if telling them to forget and leave.

    Eden rolled her eyes at this interaction, and stepped between John B and the woman who seemed to not care more than anything about what John B wanted to explain. "Look, I don't care how much time you have or don't have. But we know who shot Peterkin." In a single movement, the blonde's head raised towards Eden who had her hands on the counter and her eyes wide open. "Give us whatever time you have."

    "Pardon me," She mumbled, not sure if she had heard correctly what Eden had just said. "You know who shot the sheriff?"

    "Yes. We were there." Eden told her, sighing about how she took so much time to finally understand. "We can tell—"

    Removing her glasses from her face, the woman looked shocked to see two teenagers in such a bad state. She nodded. "You stay put." The woman ordered, only to get up and disappear into another room passing through an open door.

John B and Eden looked at each other, and she nodded at him. "It's gonna be okay." She huffed as she ran her hand through her brown hair, brushing it away from her sweat-soaked forehead. "It must be okay, right? It can't—"

"It will, Eden." He assured her, taking two steps towards her to take her in his arms. Eden let a tear escape her eye, grabbing John B by the shoulders, keeping him close to her. "We've got each other, pretty girl, nothing can go bad."

She smiled, lifting her face up to meet his face. "Remember what you said to me on the runaway?" She asked, knowing full well what she was talking about, but she wanted him to remember it by himself.

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember." He whispered, staring into her beautiful eyes that looked like they were going to fall out from fatigue at any moment. "What about it?"

    Just as Eden was about to speak, her body pressed against John B's, and her mouth close to his, the radio came on, blaring Shoupe's voice throughout the room. "Central, three Vicks. We have a suspect in our 31. John Routledge."

    The two spun around, their heads searching for where Shoupe's words were coming from. They approached the radio, confusion reigning on each of their faces. "John B, what is this?"

    "Sixteen-year-old white male. Six foot. Last seen wearing board shorts, a Bad Brains T-shirt, and a faded red hoodie. He was in the company of a dark-haired girl, Eden Winslow . . ."

    Shoupe's words trailed off in silence as he began to list what Eden was wearing when she was last seen. Her breathing became fuzzy, fast and uncontrollable. This was new information she had to deal with. John B was now wanted by the police, and Eden was understood to be his kind of accomplice. She couldn't believe it. Ward Cameron had just won another point against the Pogues.

    A door opened on their right, and Eden instinctively stood in front of John B, even though he was a head taller than her. Two police officers were in front of them : a woman and a man that Eden knew far too well. They were Shoupe's sidekicks.

    The brown-haired woman grumbled, her hand in front of her as if trying to calm some dogs, "Just . . . breathe. All right? Eden, get away."

    Eden shook her head, shielding the Routledge boy with her arm placed in front of him. "He didn't do anything."

    The deputy next to the woman took the lead, also with his hand in front of him. "Let me see your hands."

John B raised his hands in front of the two police officers, and luckily the two teenagers had remembered to wash their hands on the way to The Wreck. There was therefore no blood on them, except on their clothes ( and legs for Eden ). But they did not seem completely innocent either, they were all dirty and covered with wounds on the side of Eden.

The boy stuttered as he stepped back, his hands still in evidence, "Look, I didn't . . . I didn't do it, okay?"

As the deputy took a step toward the teens, Eden kept her place with her arm in front of John B. But, before she could even realize, in less than a second, John B took her hand in his, and quickly dragged her out of the police station. A gasp left between her lips, and the boy hurried back to the car. They ran out with the cops behind them shouting not to move, but none of them listened.

"Kie! Start the car!" John B ordered, as Eden let go of his hand to return to her seat in the front with Kiara while he took his place with the boys in the back. Opening the door, he shouted again, "Start the car, Kie! The cops!"

    Kiara, completely alerted by John B's words, she started the engine, making the car rumble slightly. "John B, what did you do?"

    Eden looked out the window, discovering the brunette woman followed them, running towards the car, which made the girl's eyes open wide. "Oh, my— Just start the goddamn car, Kie!" Eden exclaimed at her, her stressed eyes boring into her friend's.

    Kiara didn't waste a single second, and stepped on the pedal, slowly increasing the gas as the car began to move. Eden remained looking out the window, facing the policewoman who was holding tightly to the handle of John B's door, trying to open it with all her might. During the chaos and the voices of her friends and people chasing them, she thought about how to get rid of this woman. And the only solution that came to mind was not the best, but the only one they had.

    "John B, open the door." She instructed him, sliding her eyes into his. "Like, right now!"

    He didn't even think to look out for another idea, and opened his door in a big gust of wind, which made the policewoman fall to the ground. They all heard a growl from her, but Kiara didn't stop, and the group of individuals headed out into the endless night in the Outer Banks, hiding from the police and any sort of danger that might come in their way.

authors note: I feel like I'm having the same motivation I had when I first started this book and I'm LOVING it!! Okay so, I know this chapter was kinda not the best one but . . . Are you ready for fugitive's Eden? Well, I am!!

A couple months ago when I literally had no motivation for this book, I really thought about killing Eden on the tarmac. But . . . She's our final girl, I'm never gotta let her die 🤭

For anyone who's wondering, this book will have a sequel OBVIOUSLY!! So be ready, because these trilogy is not close to being finished ;)

Love you all and take care of yourself until next time . . . See you soon <3