CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: FULL KOOK!

____________________________

holding our flashlights and supplies, the boys and i all hurried to the crawlspace-basement-thing.

"holy crap, you know what this is? it just hit me," jj spoke, unwinding the rope and taking off the bandana shielding the lower half of his face, "pope, look. this is C.H.U.D. full C.H.U.D."

the three of us all glanced at each other, bewilderment flashing on our faces. "what is he talking about?" john b asked pope, thinking that maybe he'd get it.

"cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers? have you guys not seen that film?" jj catechized as john b and pope told him they hadn't.

"elsie, c'mon," he practically pleaded.

"yes, actually. think i have," a small smile creeped up on my lips as i made jj fill with joy.

"wait seriously?"

"nope," i deadpanned.

"it's actually a good film. it's about cannibals that live in the sewers and under new york city. and it's like-"

"teenage mutant ninja turtles!" i held a fist in the air triumphantly.

"sure, if that's what you want to believe angel," he ran a hand through his hair.

"shut up! shut up!" john b cut us off, standing over the well, "all right, how deep do you think this is, pope?"

he sighed, "i don't know." jj and i finalized the pulley and rope situation before we went to lower jb down.

"hey boys, and elsie. i have one request," john b mentioned before we lowered him down.

"yeah?" the three of us asked in synchronicity.

"don't drop me."

"whoa!" jj loosened his grip on the rope, catching john b off-guard.

"okay, you're gonna die first, for sure."

"wouldn't say that if i were you while we're the ones that could let go of the rope and drop you this instant," i looked at john b.

"gotcha," jj said in a horrible accent.

"all right. just keep payin' it out, nice and slow like that," pope advised as he inched his way down.

"here we go, keep goin. keep goin."

"wait, hold on one second, i need to get situated," jj visibly struggled.

"oh god," i whispered.

"you good?" pope inquired, just as jj fell to the ground and lost grip of the rope.

"oh shit! oh shit! whoa!" the three of us heard john b scream from below us.

"jesus!" jj grunted, gripping tightly.

"i told you not to drop me!"

"you good man?" pope looked over the edge of the well to check on john b.

"what the hell was that?"

"little technical difficulties," pope commented, "okay we're gonna start paying you out again, all right?" i cautiously fixed my tight hold on the rope, careful to not pull a jj.

"okay, okay. all right, keep it going," john b gained his breath back, "keep it comin'."

"hey, hey. we got 15 feet left," pope alerted us, "are you getting close to the bottom?"

"i can't tell. just keep goin, give me more." we proceeded to lower the boy deeper until he yelled out to us, "whoa, stop! i'm hanging over some sewage-water lookin' shit."

"delicious," i murmured.

"you want back up?"

john b's voice was filled with uncertainty, "keep goin, i guess."

"nice and slow," jj assured.

"okay, okay. i'm at bottom!" john b announced.

"how is it down there?" pope vacillated as him, jj, and i all looked down at him.

"it's worse then i thought," he assured us.

"you find any gold?" jj's curiosity got the best of him.

"uh, nothing yet. wait, i think i found something with my foot. here goes nothing," i faintly heard the words coming out of his mouth.

"jj, hey! pull me up! pull me up, come on, pull me up!" a suddenly frantic john b shrieked as i gasped, not expecting him to get all worked up.

"guys, pull him up," pope calmly said as we returned to our positions.

"pull me up! come on! pull me up!" john b persisted, still traumatized for whatever reason.

"what do ya think he saw?" jj grumbled as we quickly tried to pull the boy up.

"maybe debby ryan, his twin?" my mind led to that thought, despite the horrible timing, "hey jessie, ooo woah," i sang, still contributing to helping pull john b up.

"wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" john b continued talking, but we couldn't make out what the words were.

"hey john b, what'd you say?"

"just give me a minute!" the three of us waited until we heard another update from him.

"john b, you okay? any dead bodies?" jj awaited a response, but it was silent.

"guys! guys! guys!" we suddenly heard the voices of sarah and kie.

pope shook his head, "woah, woah, what's going on?"

"ms. crain, she's up there! she tried to kill us with a fire poker. guys, we gotta get the fuck out of here."

"we locked her in the parlor, but we gotta get out of here," sarah panted.

"okay, code red! that's code red!" jj replied.

"we have to go!"

"let's go. john b! get back on, man!" jj called down to him.

"hey!" pope yelled, but still, no response.

all five of us grabbed onto the rope to pull more efficiently, "three, two, one, pull!" pope guided us, but we all fell down. there was still no john b.

"where the hell is he?" pope looked around.

"shit! sh-sh."

"john b."

we heard some quiet echoing, but nobody could quite hear what was coming out of his mouth.

"what's he saying?" jj looked at me.

"jj, pope, kie! elsie! sarah!" he shouted nervously.

"he's drowning, we gotta pull him up," the five of us ran back to the rope.

"john b. hey, john b. get back on the rope. we're gonna pull you up, okay buddy?" pope advised.

"come on!" all of us screamed.

"okay, everybody help!"

"guys!"

eventually, we were able to determine what the brunette was actually saying. "okay, i'm on." we all cheered.

"let's go," pope said, "come on, pull!"

just as the words escaped his mouth, the loud, harsh sound of a gunshot flying by caught the five of us off-guard.

"shit!"

"jesus! shit, hang on!" we all tried to dive to avoid the gunshots, resulting in our grip on the rope worsening.

"pope, jj, what the hell?" john b fumed, not realizing that the old lady was accompanying us.

"climb up, help me, hang on," jj sputtered.

pope replied to the blonde-haired boy, "tie it up now, man!"

"pope, elsie, hide," he called to us, the two of us being the only two still standing in plain sight. we found a spot behind the well on the opposite side of the old lady. jj was just across from us, under a table.

"you good?" i asked my best friend as i heard the other girls chattering in their hiding spot.

"you better be ready to run," pope looked down at my boot, thinking it would be a struggle. i nodded lightly, not seeming to be bothered.

"fuck!" i let out quietly, hearing mrs. crain shoot in their direction, "pope, look." we looked towards the well, to be met with john b, covered in mud, peering out at the commotion. just then, out came another gunshot, way too close to us for comfort.

"go, go, go, go!" pope grabbed my hand as him, jj, and i ran away, leaving john b to fend for himself.

"can we go now?" jj asked, hopping into the road and running to the car. following everyone else's lead, i did the same, letting out a minor groan at the impact.

"get to the car!" sarah exclaimed.

"go, go," pope added as we finished piling into the car me going in the passenger seat for once.

"where is he?" kiara inquired nervously, talking about john b after hearing yet another gunshot.

"come on, start the car. go, go, go!"

"john b!" the brunette girl called out as we all looked to see the boy rushing to get to the moving vehicle.

"why are we always getting shot at?" pope wondered.

"come on, john b. run! come on! come on! get in!" john b made it to the car as he shut the door behind him.

"oh shit!" we all took a look at his muddy figure.

"oh my god."

"shit, jj drive!" sarah urged.

"go man."

jj took a double-take at john b behind him as he continued to drive. "oh my god. are you okay, are you shot?"

fortunately, nobody ended up getting hit by the gunshots that mrs. crain fired at us.

"i think i'd know if i was shot, right?" kie looked down at herself.

"you look disgusting," pope finally admitted, to which the five of us all agreed.

"god, you smell like ass."

"what the hell just happened?"

"all-time pogue hall of fame, baby," jj ran a hand through his messy hair.

"hell yeah," kiara patted his shoulder, "that bitch is possessed."

"that bitch can't aim."

everyone continued adding on to the remarks about the old lady.

"what is that?" kiara suddenly said, causing me to turn around.

"no, you didn't!" sarah gasped.

"we did it baby!" john b held up a gold bar in the air in triumph. my beaming eyes met jj's while a wave of shock went through our bodies.

"no you didn't!" sarah repeated herself.

"i did it!" john b confirmed as we all screamed at the top of our lungs, the entire ordeal seeming unreal.

"wait, wait!" kie stopped, "guys, we're gonna be rich!"

"full kook!" john b blurted.

"full kook! full kook! full kook! full kook!" the six of us chanted in glee.

in that moment, we thought we had finally made it.

but in retrospect, that seems like only the beginning.

----------

{1637 words}

this chapter said ASSSSS.