CRUEL SUMMER
009 | face to face with death

THE PLAN WAS SET.

The group had spent the last few hours focusing on how exactly the gun retrieval would go down: exhausting all possible outcomes.

The only thing that was yet to be decided was the pogue that would be entering the sewer directly to retrieve this gun.

But before that, School. Renee and Pope having both persuaded JJ and Kiara that morning to not skip as for both the sake of their college transcripts and the normality that was currently impossible to fit into each of their lives.

So as they sat in their various classrooms in their different schools during last period. With the promise of JJ meeting her outside afterwards.

Renee in history with Jaylee to the left of her and other students who still served her with bazar looks surrounding her otherwise. The lesson was almost over and as good as her attendance would be that day — she couldn't think of anything but last night, Gavin, but more specifically — Ward killing Gavin.

The memory had engraved its self so much in Renee's mind she was finding impossible to think of anything else. Her heart was beating at a fast pace regularly, her eyes scanning the room for anything remotely dangerous.

She was scared permanently. Of anything and everyone. Her actions skittish at every slight movement that anyone would make.

" psst." Jaylee nudged her foot against the blondes ankle, the gaze shooting towards the soft smile of the girl sat next to her. Renee let herself relax momentarily as Jaylee furrowed her eyebrows at her.

" you ok?" she asked in a low whisper, Renee nodded — a lie and a unbelievably one at that "yeah, just had a bad night."

Jaylee nodded, momentarily moving her ring covered fingers to sit over Renee's hand still unconvinced when she pulled her hand away and she turned back to her work not wanting to pry further, and Renee to the lack of it that sat in her note book and her pen that still had the cap on it.

Home. She wanted to go home. Not the chateau or to JJ's empty home that she occasionally crashed at since his father was imprisoned or Kiara's or the blow up mattress at popes. Home, her home — Thornbury House on Figure Eight.

The months after John b and Sarah 'died' — her house had actually felt like a home, her mom and brother would take care of her .

On the downer days, they'd sit with her. as she cried they would hold her until she was ready to let go. The time of mourning everyone distanced, even JJ didn't see Renee that often, what he did she wasn't sure but knowing JJ she didn't want to know.

Kiara went vigilante and Pope was the peace keeper, talking to everyone making sure they weren't too off of the rails. But for weeks Renee didn't leave the house, it was her safe haven now. Too many bad things had occurred at the chateau for it to take the first place position after that summer.

But she just wanted to go home, shower off all the fictional grime she had imagined crawled on her body — wrap herself up in a blanket weather aside and watch something that allowed her to escape, just for a while at least.

A crashing sound. It was fast and too similar to a gunshot for Renee to let it pass by — Renee's throat let out a scratchy yelp, staggering up from her desk as pure terror extruded itself out of her body language — a sheen of sweat already glistening on her forehead. All eyes turned to look at her if they weren't already.

Her shaking hand clasped around her throat as shaky delayed breaths left her mouth in pants. Her chest hurt, and head ached and it was spiralling. She was spiralling — it was a panic attack.

The most recent one since her appointment at her therapists. Only this one was scarier, and far more public. It was as easy as sitting on the dock of her house until it passed or regaining her breath in the car.

A string of curse words rang through her head as she paced towards the class door — her teacher asking for confirmation on if she was ok was now just fuzzy noise ringing in her ears. Tears burning in her eyes as she struggled with the door before opening it and staggering outside of the classroom and into the hallway.

Renee didn't make it far, only a hallway or two until she felt the danger impending. A fear that Ward or Rafe would walk through those school doors and silence her with her life — for what she knew, what she saw last night. Everything.

Her body crumbled against a wall, sliding down until she collided with the floor — trying to calm herself down as her body huddled, nausea merging with fear as she let out small whimpers as the tears flowed.

It felt like a lifetime until someone noticed and approached her. Jaylee who had left class to
follow her — bent down in front of Renee, holding her clammy shaking hands and even through the distortion she could hear was telling her to breathe.

" Ren, look at me." although it was a command, her voice was gentle " it's ok, you're ok." Renee's tears continued to roll down her cheeks and create wet splotches on her shorts.

She tried to nod, to let the brunette know that she was trying her hardest. Her eyes looking to the second figure who crouched down beside her — Fletcher, his face a picture of concern. Jaylee continued to hold Renee's hands to steady her and Fletcher took over trying to calm her — inhaling and exhaling in ways that he wanted Renee to copy.

She hated this, this feeling of vulnerability — it was different with the pogues, they had seen her at her worst, her own rendition of rock bottom. But Jaylee? she had met yesterday and spoken less than twenty words to.

A few minutes passed and Renee had returned to normal, well as normal as she could be. But she still sat there, Jaylee and Fletcher now sat beside her as they just spoke — about anything, wanting to distract Renee until she was able to get onto her feet again.

" come on, let's get you some fresh air." Fletcher hummed, Jaylee agreeing " yeah before you get trampled by a bunch of students."

Renee nodded, still slightly mute — being guided up by Fletcher and helped out. Her cheek falling to his upper arm, him being too tall for it to push onto his shoulder.

The doors to the school opened, the fresh air a silent remedy as Renee hummed and exhaled. Almost finding some sort or serenity as Fletcher sat on the small stone bench by the steps.

" holy shit!" the voice was familiar, recognisable from anywhere. Renee turned her head noticing the Pogues quickening their pace towards the blonde who still had a pale face. A smile worked on her face slightly — Fletcher standing up and noticing JJ.

" she just had a panic attack man, she's still recovering." Fletcher said, as if an excuse for JJ not to approach her, JJ furrowed his eyebrows.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Fletcher had his hand pressed on the chest of JJ's body as JJ looked down at his hand and pushed it off.

" I'm fine Fletch." Renee spoke, luckily before JJ could get a word of his own out. Asking Jaylee to help her up, just as a precaution — once again on her feet, she headed for JJ who embraced her without a second thought.

" you should've got me." JJ spoke low, Renee shook her head " you were in class, also I didn't exactly plan this." A small laugh escaped her lips.

JJ placed her hair behind her ear " I'm just glad you're ok." a small kiss placed to the middle of her forehead.

Fletcher excused himself, a stomach churning with jealousy in his possession as he walked back inside the hallway. Jaylee being thanked by Renee and her friends as she too excused herself.

As the four pogues stood in the hallway, Kiara spoke " we don't have to go and get the you know what If you're not feeling up to it." she offered, Pope and JJ humming in agreement.

Renee furrowed her eyebrows, " no, we're doing it today!" she spoke with adamancy " I'm fine, it was a just a little blip." she told them, convincingly enough for the decision to go ahead with the plan put in motion.

" THIS IS THE NORTH DRAIN."

JJ spoke, leading the group as they stood beside the drain exit from the sewers — Pope taken position next to him as Kiara and Renee stood to the side.

" it should've gotten washed into the gully, so if it got flushed out from this drain, it would've been pushed out to like—" he continued, pointing to the dark pool of trash in front of him.

" somewhere in this trash?" Pope queried, Renee glanced — feeling slight nauseated by the sight, and the smell.

" correct." JJ hummed, Kiara exhaling " oh my god, people who use plastic should be shot." She stated.

JJ looked up to her " ok, personally I love plastic use it every day." his words getting strange looks from the brunette as he shovelled through the junk " love the stuff."

" let's just hope you recycle it." Renee smirked, Kiara agreeing — JJ showed his less than agreeable answer with a huff.

" I thought you'd say something like that so.." he presented a black roll " trash bags." he showed them as Renee faked a swoon to her friend who rolled his eyes.

" did you just proactively protect the environment?" Kiara smiled through her question, pope letting a shy ' maybe' stifle from his lips.

" hey Kie," Renee nudged the girl, as she leant in slightly " i think he like likes you." a small jab in her ribs in response to Kiara.

" want me to leave you two alone or..what's going on?" JJ too recieved the same treatment as his girlfriend, a trash bag roll thrown to his chest which luckily he caught.

" just pick up the trash." Pope spoke blankly, Kiara still smiling and Renee picking up on it.

+

After a half hour of trash picking, JJ and pope remained gunless. " if it's not in the trash, then it's gotta be somewhere in the storm drain." Pope announced. The five of them stood around staring into the obis of the concrete tunnel of the sewer.

" it's in..it's in the drain." JJ confirmed, a frustrated 'damn it' exiting popes mouth.

Renee who still stood by Kiara with her hands place on her lips " of course, god knows nothings ever easy for us." she muttered.

" good thing I brought the crow." JJ said, digging into the trash bag with his so called supply's in it.

" so.." Renee hummed, looking at the four of them. The question obvious — who was going into the drain.

" what's going on? thumb war?" Kiara nodded, joining her thought wavelength.

" rock paper scissors?"

" no." JJ said,

" alphabetically?" Renee continued to query.

Their suggestions ignored as the boy's attempted to open the drain — " in the sewer, there's this worm that you get when you're down there."

" it gets in your blood and then it has to come out your pecker." JJ told them, Renee staring at him oddly " that would have to be a hard pass for me." He finished. Renee hummed,

" that's gonna be a no for me." Pope soon followed, Renee looking to Kiara.

" why is it us always putting ourselves in the small compact spaces?" She grumbled, referring to the small gap in Redfield's tomb that they crawled in that summer beforehand.

" they're just scared." Kiara taunted, Renee chuckled whilst the boys were quick to defend

"I'm not scared!" JJ came back with.

" why don't I make it easier for us all?" Renee sighed, stepping down to examine the entry to the drain

" I'll do it." " Renee said finally after her inspection of the small space. JJ looked at her in horror.

"I'm also not cool with that!" he claimed as Renee rested her hand on his shoulder,

" blondie calm down." she mumbled, looking around " I mean what's the worst thing that can actually happen?"

" the water fills and you drown to your death."

Everyone stared at Pope wide eyed. Whilst Renee shook her head and soon looked back at the small caged entrance.

" yeah, question was rhetorical pope." She hummed, seemingly unfazed by the concept

"also, I'm not worried about the pecker worms." She shrugged it off " I got good health insurance so I'll be fine."

" you don't have to do this." JJ said, taking his girlfriend by the arm as she shook her head.

" I'll be fine." she told him with a false assurance. She was slightly scared " there's no water workers today we checked , it won't fill and I'll get the gun and I'll be fine".

Renee turned to her friends and saluted mockingly "see you on the other side." she spoke in the midst of a breath.

Passing her phone to Kiara who slipped in her back pocket before positioning herself on her hands on knees, the sludge on her skin made her cringe as she began to crawl in.

" holler if you need anything." JJ told her his voice echoed, " we'll holler back."

" nice to know." Renee called back, " that's very helpful, I'll let you know when I begin to drown."

His scoff still audible even from inside the drain, where it echoed  " not funny."

" shut up, you love my humour."

This was a decision Renee immediately regretted. It smelt horrible — which you would expect from a sewer, but being the in the thick of it ( literally) was the worst.

" such a idiot." she mumbled to herself.

" Ren, you see anything yet?" Pope called out, JJ soon joining " yeah, do you see the gun?"

" yes guys, the ten seconds I've been in here I've found the gun and got Ward and Rafe imprisoned too." She replied snarkily,

" you should become a comedian." Kiara called down to her. " no but really, nothing yet." Renee answered honestly.

" it's probably at the bottom of the catch basin." Pope told her, Renee continued to crawl until reaching the so called catch basin.

The sun shone through a man whole, her hand gripping a pole of a ladder to keep her from submerging in fully.

" the shit I do for my family." she exhaled, beginning to shovel through the mud and whatever the hell else sat at the bottom.

Not looking but searching for anything strong and gun shaped.

Her skin shuddered, the odour making her gag as she continued to shovel through. Her fingers gripping onto a solid material, " guys! I think I got something here."

" wait you got it?" JJ and Kiara both asked, Pope further inquiring if it was the gun.

" give me a sec I'm not-" a scream erupted from her throat as something dead and bloody sat in her hands " holy shit! JJ it's something dead in here!" she called back out. Throwing far although it floated around her.

" like a person?" Pope asked, Renee let another agitated scream exit her mouth " oh my god, I'm not sure if it's a body or a piece of a body!"

"'But it's dead, Most definitely fucking dead!"

The interrogation from the opposite side called after her ( however more than the pogues were listening in to the exchange ) 

" like a person?" Pope asked again,

" Ren don't touch it, that's how you get worms." He called out, " did you find the gun?" Kiara asked " is it gavin?" It continued.

" holy shit, I don't know!" Renee shouted back, "but it's not the gun, it's like a carcass or some shit."

" I'm doing none of this shit again!" Renee called out " this is my get out of jail free card for eternity!"

Renee shovelled through it again. Despite how scared she was from her last find — she picked it up. The gun — the one used to kill Peterkin and most recently Gavin.

But before Renee could exclaim this find, a heavy surge of water pushed against her body from the opposing side that she called in from.

" what?" she spoke through her newly found panic "guys, why is there water filling up!" she called out to the others who had only just noticed. With no response she called out again.

" Guys the water!" she shouted, unable to deter eyes away from it.

" Ren, get out of there!" And sentences like that filled the void of noise between the gushes of water.

" it's filling too fast, guys help!" she begged for assistance, a savour. Tucking the gun in the back of her shorts and turning — her heart only now beginning to pick up pace as she began to climb up the ladder towards the man hole.

" fuck, no-no." she almost sobbed as she continued to climb as high as she could without a clear exit route. The screams from her friends and boyfriends muffled by the velocity of the water.

" JJ!" her raw screams erupted from her throat, her palm hitting constantly against the metal lid, hoping it would move— yet it was becoming more painful each time it collided and the realisation that it was useless more prominent as the rushing of the water making her chest tightened as it began to flood moving closer to entrapping her whole body with each passing second. She didn't want to look but she couldn't stop.

"JJ, Please!" her screams harrowing, mixing with sobs knowing this was going to be the end. "Pope, Kie!"

Her eyes watched as the three of them gathered around the man hole. Renee sobbing slightly as her friends attempts of getting her out remained unsuccessful.

" JJ," she reached her shaking hand through the man hole to take his ahold.

his eyes momentarily fixated on her own " I love you." Her voice shaky as she spoke. A smile forced upon her quivering lips.

" don't say that, we're gonna get you out." JJ's words rushed yet his voice trembled.

And then with one finally suction of breath, the water submerged her.

Death. She was standing face to face with death and she was defenceless. Renee didn't want to die and although she had encountered life threatening situations many times before, her current predicament felt all the more real. She had to much to do with her life still — graduate, get the gold back.

She wanted to see John B and Sarah again. Travel back to Hawaii and then Yucatan.

and JJ...she wanted to marry that boy. She wanted their house somewhere where 'the trees don't block the view' — and she didn't care where it was: Kildare, Hawaii, Maine, Yuctan.

She would follow that man anywhere. As long as they were together.

And kids. Despite how young she was now, She had always wanted kids — she could picture it and had done for a few years.

Three of them, and the recent times she had herself dreaming of her future family they too shared the last name Maybank. They had inherited the pale green colour of her eyes but JJ's dirty blonde hair. And of course they all had the smile that even in holy innocence held some sense of mischief.

She wanted to tell her brother and mom she loved them. Just one last time — just so they knew. That despite her actions the last three years, that she still loved them.

Renee wanted to go to Australia with Kiara like they planned in their sophomore year, and watch one more running of any rom com with Pope. Just a single moment of happiness more and she could pass happily.

JJ felt he had gotten the manhole off just a too late — watching as the body of the girl he loved since he was eleven remained still in the water.

" Ren!" his voice clawed out, Pope grabbing one of her arms as they pulled her onto the paved road of the empty street.

Kiara's hand covered her mouth as the lack of movement that was coming from the blonde. "Ren?" she whispered, watching the unfaltering sway of her body in response to popes movements.

she looked so still, she looked—

Pope moved his hand to begin compressions on her chest, JJ cradling the head of the girl as he shook his head "Pope! Wake her up man!"

The other boy shook his head, " I'm trying man! I'm fucking trying!" He shouted.

JJ shook his head, sniffling tears as the seconds passed where her eyes remained closed.

" come on baby, wake up for me." he whispered as Pope continued to press his overlapped hands over her chest.

His quivering hands pushing over the wet pieces of her hair that stuck to her forehead " please Ren, please."

Air. There was air. Renee turning to her side as the water that had filled her lungs exited her mouth on the side of the road.

Her body felt weak as it convulsed as she continued to cough. Pope unlinking his hands to hold against the back of his head — staring at the blonde who squeezed her eyes shut as she panted for breath.

The paving of the street was hot, Renee only brought back to reality by her two friends who were crouched in her front of her. Whilst the boy behind her stroked her hair, mentally thanking whatever saved her.

" holy shit, I thought you were dead." Kiara exhaled, and after a few slow nods Renee spoke too.

" m-me too." Renee managed to speak through her coughing fit.

" are you good though?" Pope asked, Renee nodded yet didn't say anything— realising one hand and pulling out the metal from the back lining of her shorts

" if this isn't it, I'm not going back in." she placed the gun on the floor " just thought I'd clear it up now."

" oh my god!"

" holy shit!"

Renee took a hand Kiara offered her helping her to stand up as JJ wrapped the gun in piece of cloth " we're gonna get this son of a bitch man." He stated, Renee nodding.

" we better."

AUTHORS NOTE.

the most unrealistic thing about obx is that after that summer. Nobody has any form of anxiety / ptsd....