CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SECRETS — ONEREPUBLIC
My God, amazing how we got this far
It's like we're chasing all those stars

THE GROUP SEPARATED and spent the day gathering all the supplies they would need to lower John B down into the well. Anticipation ran through their veins as they went over their plan for what felt like the millionth time, and there was an air of excitement that surrounded them as they checked off boxes on their to-do list.

As the day drew on, the six teenagers became hungry. They met each other at the Chateau for dinner, but was quickly reminded that John B was an unemployed sixteen year old who was barely capable of stocking his pantry without help. As a solution to their hunger, Stella suggested they go to her house, knowing that her mother always kept their kitchen cabinets full of food specifically for her friends.

The crew agreed, especially Kie who knew her father would be pissed if she just randomly showed up at The Wreck after being gone all night.

John B was driving the Twinkie to the opposite side of the island as the group discussed how they'd sell the gold. Sarah was turned in the passenger seat, listening as Pope went on about pawn shops and the value of gold; Kie was sat next to Pope, wondering how he knew so much about the topic; and Stella and JJ were sitting across from them with Stella under her boyfriend's arm and her hand on his thigh. JJ had to concentrate really hard on not saying anything as her hand mindlessly inched higher and higher up his leg.

"Hey, Star," Sarah called from the front seat. "Catch."

Stella twisted around to look at her, only for a piece of fabric to hit her face. The sound of laughter rang through the van as she pulled the article of clothing away and unfolded it. It was the dress that Sarah had borrowed from her in ninth grade and never gave back.

Even though they had reconciled their differences, Stella knew what this was. It was a peace offering.

With a soft smile, she looked up at the Kook and shook her head. "Keep it," she said, tossing it back.

Sarah's brows furrowed. "No, I've had it for so long and you said you wanted it back."

"And now I'm saying that you should keep it," Stella pressed. "It looks better on you anyways."

Sarah smiled and folded the dress with the nod of her head before joining the conversation the others three were having.

While Sarah listened to Kie poke fun at Pope, Stella turned her attention to John B. She shuffled down the bench she was sitting on so she could get a better look at him. "Hey, B?"

John B looked away from the road and over at her. "Mhm?"

Stella offered him a small smile and he matched it almost instantly.

After years of friendship, it was easy for them to gather the other's thoughts with a simple look and Stella's small smile was enough to let John B know that whatever bad blood between them had now turned into water under the bridge.

"I'm happy that you're happy," Stella said sincerely.

Hearing Stella's approval of his relationship caused a goofy grin to grow on his face. It only grew wider when Stella continued, "But if you ever leave me stranded on a boat again, I'll never forgive you."

"You and I both know that's not true," he said in a matter of fact tone. "You love me too much."

Stella rolled her eyes playfully, knowing full well that he was right, and pushed his head away so he was facing the road again. "Yeah, whatever," she grumbled as she turned back around.

Moments later, she was wrapped up in a conversation about teenage rebellion with Kie. The two girls were trying to explain to the others that it was just teenagers realizing that they could stand up for themselves when John B called out JJ's name.

"Yo, JJ, did you bring your gun?"

Everyone looked over at him in confusion. "No," JJ lied. "Why?"

"Because Stella's dad is back."

"What?" Stella's eyes widened and she launched herself into the space between the two front seats. As the car got closer to her house, she could see her parents standing outside of her house. Her mom was yelling at her father and making very inappropriate gestures with her hands. He was yelling back at her and from a far, she could see her father's fists clench. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me." Anger filled her body and she tied her hair back.

The Twinkie stopped in front of Stella's driveway, just behind her father's car. "Stay in the van," she ordered her friends as she hopped out of the car.

Kie grabbed her arm and stared at her with pleading eyes. "Stella, maybe you should stay too," she suggested, worried for her friend's safety.

Stella shook her head and looked back to where her parents were. "No, Kie." Her brows furrowed in frustration. "After what happened last time? No, I'm not leaving my mom to deal with him alone. Stay in the van."

Stella took her arm out of Kie's grip and started walking up her driveway. The boys ignored her order and got out of the van, moving to stand behind her in case her father tried to lay a hand on her again. Sarah and Kie got out of the Twinkie as well, the latter giving the former a quick explanation of what was going on.

Emma, who was standing on the front steps of the house, saw her daughter walking up the driveway. Her panicked expression caused her ex-husband to turn around.

"Stella, get back in the van," Emma ordered. She noticed that her friends were standing behind her. "Boys, take her, please. Now."

Pope and John B each went to take a hold of Stella, but she stepped away before they could. JJ followed closely behind her, keeping her in arms reach just in case her father decided to pull something he shouldn't.

"I don't know if you forgot," Stella started, her eyes locked on her father's, "but you legally can't be within five hundred feet of us. You've already broken your restraining order once, you're lucky you're even getting a warning. Leave before we call the cops."

Her father pursed his lips and scoffed. "With what phone?" he questioned, moving closer to her. "Cell towers are still down."

"We'll find a way," Stella replied, knowing that their landline was still working.

Emma made her way to the pair and stood in front of Stella, protecting her from the man like she's always done. She gently pushed her back towards her friends while staring up at the man in front of her. "You need to go, Gabe."

The corners of the man's mouth turned downwards and he gave Emma a pleading look. "Come on, Em. We can still work this out. I just want to be in Stella's life again."

Before her mother could reply, Stella spoke up. "I don't want you in my life. Not after everything you've done."

"Everything I've done?" Her father repeated. He turned to Emma with a clenched jaw. "What have you been telling her?"

Emma stood her ground, her back straightening slightly as her gaze hardened. "She doesn't need me to tell her what kind of a man you are."

The older man stepped closer to the renowned doctor and Stella could feel her heart rate increase. She had seen the look on her father's face before, perhaps too many times to count, and she knew that whatever followed was far from good.

Her hands trembled and she could feel a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to tell her father to back up, to leave her mother alone, but anxiety and dread worked their way up her windpipe and she found it hard to breathe, let alone speak.

JJ, who was still standing behind Stella and her mom, cleared his throat. The older man looked over to him and the blond lifted his shirt to show the gun tucked into the waistband of his shorts. "Leave," he demanded, letting his shirt fall before the girls could turn and see the weapon. "And don't come back."

Stella's father eyed the boy before pursing his lips again. He slowly backed away, glaring at the group in front of him, then turned on his heel to get in his car. The group didn't move until the man's car turned off of the street.

As Emma turned around to scold her daughter for not listening to her, JJ went back to the Twinkie to stash his gun. He knew if Emma found it, he'd be in deep, deep trouble.

When he returned to the group, Dr. Marx was gushing over Sarah and how long it had been since she'd seen her.

"What about me?" He questioned jokingly, placing an arm around Stella's shoulders.

Emma playfully rolled her eyes at him. "You're here all the time, JJ." Her gaze averted to John B and eventually fell to his cast. "John Booker Routledge, what the hell were you doing at Hawk's Nest? I snuck a look at your chart, you're lucky a concussion and that cast is all you got."

John B sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, Doc."

Emma nodded with pursed lips. "Mhm," she hummed before turning to the rest of the group. She ushered them towards the house. "Come in, you all look famished. I'll fix you something to eat."

'QUIET' WAS NOT a word used to describe Stella-Anne Marx.

The girl was quick-witted, knowledgeable, and always had something to say. It was rare that she didn't. When Stella was quiet, it meant to proceed with caution.

Danger came in the form of her silence, whether it be to those around her or to her own well-being. And with her silence usually came instability. She was unpredictable and her friends never knew if she was going to explode or hit the self destruct button. Right now, it seemed like the latter.

Stella didn't say much throughout dinner. She only spoke when spoken to and a blank stare found a home in her eyes when she thought no one was looking.

JJ, being the observant best friend and boyfriend he was, noticed her dejection and placed a hand on her thigh under the table, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

Stella didn't outwardly acknowledge the gesture, but appreciated it nonetheless.

When the group piled into the Twinkie, she tried her best to contribute to the excitement in the air, but a small cinderblock of heavy thought was tied to her ankle, dragging her down.

Stella was upset. She couldn't stop thinking about her father and the words he said earlier.

I just want to be in Stella's life again.

She knew he didn't deserve to take up any space in her mind, but she couldn't help it. When she was younger, she always held onto the hope that the next time she saw him, he would've cleaned up his act. He would've sobered up and he would've reached out to her. He would've been sorry for treating her and her mother the way he did. For leaving scars on her self-worth and making her feel like it was her fault. He would be the man he used to be. He would've cared enough to change.

But that was when she was younger. At sixteen years old, she knew he never would.

She didn't want anything to do with him anymore. She had no desire to know him and she definitely didn't need closure about the way she and her mother left him.

She worked through the trauma. Slowly, but surly, she rebuilt her self-esteem from the ground up. With the help of her friends, she learned that she was deserving of the love her father deprived her of. That saying sorry was meaningless without the change in behaviour that should follow. That the way she was treated was no one's fault but his.

In the six years she had gone without her father, she managed to move on. She acknowledged it, she worked through it, and she learned from it.

Stella thought she had outgrown her childish fantasies. She felt no sense of longing for her father when he had shown up at the house the first time, but every little fantasy she once had came rushing to the forefront of her mind the moment John B said her father was back for the second time.

The moment she saw her parents standing across from each other, arguing on her front lawn, she realized that she still harboured the smallest sliver of hope that her father was redeemable. That small, tiny sliver of hope was squashed by the events that played out afterwards and it felt like she was ten years old all over again.

Her father would never be the man she wanted him to be.

Stella was angry—infuriated. She couldn't hold him accountable for not fitting into the mould her younger self had created for him in her mind.

She was mad at herself.

She was upset that he didn't live up to what she wanted him to be and she was so, so angered that she was bothered by it. He didn't deserve her emotions, but she couldn't stop feeling them.

She supposed she brought it on herself. If she didn't have that little voice of hope whispering in the back of her mind, she wouldn't be so disappointed right now.

Stella's friends knew that she didn't want to talk. They knew her well enough to spot the fake smiles she gave them. They knew that she was trying hard to be excited for their sake. That's just the type of person she was—Stella would rather suffer in silence than let her struggles effect their happy atmosphere.

After years of friendship, they learned that it was better to leave her alone when she got lost in her head. They didn't want to leave her alone and would always ask if she wanted to talk about what was troubling her, more than willing to help carry her pain, but she never let them. So they let her be, because if Stella really wanted them to know what she was going through, then she would tell them. Pushing her only brought her closer to the cliff's edge. There was nothing they could do about it but respect what she wanted and the distance she placed between them.

After not being Stella's friend for so long, Sarah didn't know how to handle her when she was quiet. All she knew was that her friend was trying to hide her pain.

Doing what any logical person would do, Sarah tried to get Stella to talk about what had happened with her dad. The others gave her warning looks, but Sarah ignored them and persisted in her quest to get Stella to talk about her feelings.

Stella harshly snapped at her before muttering a small apology and Sarah suddenly understood why the group was so adamant about leaving Stella alone.

"It's better to leave her alone for now," John B explained to his girlfriend privately, casting a concerned look to the girl he viewed as a sister. "She needs space when she's hurt. She'll talk about it when she's ready."

He let out a small sigh when he saw her take a hit from JJ's vape, before turning to Pope and asking him if they had everything they needed to find the gold.

JJ watched as the girl sitting in his lap exhaled smoke from her lungs. Usually, he would wait until they were alone to coax her into talking about her feelings, but the situation they were in proved that hard. Sitting in the back seat of the van would have to suffice if he wanted her focused on their mission for the night.

"How're you doing, Stel?" he asked quietly. He didn't want the others to pick up on their private conversation.

"I'm fine." Stella shrugged and handed him back his vape.

He tapped his finger against her temple. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

Stella glanced at him, knowing that he was the one person who wouldn't put up with her lying about her mental state right now. "It's just..." She let out a shaky sigh, not wanting to break under the force of her overwhelming thoughts. Looking down at her lap, she fiddled with her fingers and shrugged again. "He's such an asshole," she croaked, feeling her chest get a little heavier.

There was a pang of sadness that hit JJ when he heard how broken her voice was. Tears were pooling in her eyes and he could tell she was trying her best not to cry. When a stray tear fell, he brought a gentle hand up to wipe it away, knowing that she hated to cry in the company of their friends.

He listened as she continued in a whisper, "and I hate myself for ever thinking he could be more than that."

JJ wiped away another tear, then tightened his grip around her waist. He wanted nothing more than to find her father and beat him to a pulp for hurting Stella and her mom. He thought her dad was a flaming pile of human trash, but he could understand where his girlfriend was coming from. His own father used him as a punching bag, but at the end of the day, there was still a small part of him that hoped his father would change.

"It's okay," JJ said quickly, kissing the spot on her cheek where a tear once laid. He wished he could take away her pain. "It's okay. D'you wanna know why?"

Stella said nothing, but her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Her head tilted slightly and JJ continued.

"It means you see the good in people," JJ stated, thinking back to all the times Stella had given him this exact same talk. "I mean, look who you're dating, right?" He gave her a little nudge, hoping to gain a small laugh out of her. He smiled when she let out an airy chuckle. "Even when they don't see it or when they chose not to be it, you chose to see the good in them. It's the best part about you."

Stella stretched her legs across the back seat of the van and turned her head to look at JJ. She knew he was trying to make her feel better and she appreciated it. She also knew he was using her own words against her after having heard them countless times when she comforted him after fighting with his dad.

JJ's hand travelled to her back of her neck and rest there, cupping it. "Don't hate yourself for wanting people to be better than they actually are."

"Having faith in people sucks," Stella replied. "Wish I didn't."

"It shows how brave you are. S'what makes you so strong." He took her by to chin so he could look into her eyes. "Your dad doesn't deserve you, okay?" He saw a crack in her resolve and knew that he made her feel somewhat better. A goofy smile overtook his face at what he was about to say next. "Besides, you've already got a daddy and I'm all you need."

"Please never say that to me ever again."

BY THE TIME the Twinkie stopped in front of the Crain House, Stella was back to her usual self. The group was glad JJ managed to cheer her up because they would need all hands on deck for tonight's operation and Stella being lost in her head wouldn't be the most helpful thing in the world.

Stella was about to get off of JJ's lap, but he pulled her back and planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. She chuckled as they separated, causing JJ to smile as he turned to the group. "Let's go get rich, guys!"

John B hopped out of the driver's seat and jogged over to the side of the van, sliding open the door to reveal the buzzing teenagers within.

The five teenagers were about to hop out of the van, but John B stopped them. He propped his foot against the edge of the van and leaned forward. "Wait, wait," he said in a serious tone causing them to stop and listen. "I wanna say thank you, guys. Seriously. It means a lot that you're here tonight."

Stella's gaze softened as she stared at her best friend. If there was one thing this group could count on, it was that they'd always have each other's backs. Sure they would have a few fights here and there—or in Kie's case, a Kook year—but at the end of the day, they'd always be there for each other. They'd always come back to the home they made with their friendship.

"Always, B," Stella said with a warm smile. "We've got you."

The rest of the group joined in with support while John B's eyes swept over each person with a fond smile. He stopped once he landed on his girlfriend. He and Sarah shared an affectionate gaze, making the other four teens feel like they were intruding in a private moment.

"Alright," JJ said, leaning over Stella's shoulder and cutting through the tension, "we done with the circle jerk? Can we go do this?"

Stella let out a hum as she pushed off of JJ's lap and got out of the van. She nearly tripped, but Kie steadied her before she could fall on her face. The Marx girl patted her cheek with a grateful smile before kissing the opposite one. "Thanks, my love. Always looking out for me."

The two girls turned back to face the van as Pope's voice rang out. "Let's get that wheat in the water."

"Weed?" JJ questioned with excitement. He climbed out after him and gave his friends a wide grin. "I'm up for weed."

Pope let out a small sigh before turning back and giving him a flat look. "Wheat," he corrected. "I said wheat."

"You're always up for weed," Stella pointed out with a chuckle. "You're high like ninety-four percent of the time."

JJ sauntered over to her and pulled her closer by the hips. "High on you, sunbaby." He looked down at her with a smirk. Even in the dark, Stella could see how wide his pupils were.

The group groaned at his words.

"That sucked," Stella said while scrunching up her face.

Her friends nodded in agreement as they stepped closer to the Crain house.

"Yeah, was that the best you could come up with?" Pope questioned.

JJ pouted, jutting out his bottom lip. His small action caused Stella to let out a small chuckle, something he prided himself on.

"C'mon, bubs," Stella said. She pulled him towards the tall stone wall separating them and the murder house.

John B was the first one to climb over, then Sarah, then Kie, then Pope. Stella stepped backwards so that she could get a running start to help her climb, but JJ took her by the arm and hoisted her up by the waist.

Stella grabbed onto the top of the wall and climbed over. She sat on the top with one leg dangling on each side and turned back to her boyfriend to help him up. Once JJ was situated, Stella swung her leg over the wall and jumped down. She landed with a thud and stumbled a bit before Kie's arm shot out to balance her.

Once everyone was over the fence and accounted for, the six teenagers creeped through the overgrown foliage of the Crain Estate. They were about twenty feet away from the front porch when a blinding light cut through the darkness, blowing any cover they might've had.

"Shit!" they cursed simultaneously, rushing to his behind large bushes.

Kie hissed at the boys to turn off their flashlights. No matter how many times they experienced almost getting caught sneaking around in the middle of the night, they never remembered to turn off their flashlights.

Beside Stella, JJ started to panic. His flashlight didn't have a power switch, but rather a button that needed to be clicked in a specific way in order to be turned off. "It's on strobe!" he shouted in a whisper.

Stella grabbed the flashlight from of his hands and turned it off with ease. Her boyfriend gave her a sheepish smile before mouthing the words 'love you' to show his gratitude.

"Okay," Stella said, turning to examine the front of the house. "So she has motion sensor lights."

"We could, uh... move really slowly, maybe?" JJ suggested, a little unsure about his contribution.

Sarah stared at him with furrowed brows. "What?"

Pope turned to him and shook his head. "That's not how it works."

"Oh, shit," John B said suddenly. He looked up at the group like a light bulb had just gone off above his head. "Let's throw a rock at it."

"What?"

"That's a really good idea. Let the axe murderer know that we're here."

"Throw a rock at it?" Stella turned to him with an expression flooded with disbelief. "Looks like we left the brain cells at home tonight."

"Do you have a better idea?" John B bit back, obviously offended by the feedback he was receiving.

"Uh, yeah," Stella replied with a snarky tone. John B urged her to elaborate. "We can go around the back and hope she doesn't have more lights or we can just cut the breaker."

"You're right," Sarah voiced. The group looked over at her and saw her eyes wide with realization.

Stella raised an eyebrow and her lips pulled into a smirk. She loved hearing people admit she was right. "I love it when you talk dirty to me."

Her friends gave her a side glance before Sarah continued. "There's a circuit box on the porch. We used to play hide-and-seek here as kids. And if we were brave enough, we'd go all the way up to the porch. I've seen it."

"No, no." John B shook his head at his girlfriend. "You're not going in the house alone."

"She won't be alone, I'll go with her," Stella stated before turning to Sarah. "Let's go."

The two girls started to move from their crouching positions, but stopped when JJ grabbed Stella's hand. "Crain chops people into pieces," he emphasized. His eyes were locked on his girlfriend and he was silently pleading for her not to go. He couldn't protect her if she went on without him.

Sarah scoffed at the blond. "If you believe that, but she's like what, eighty-five?"

"Yeah, somethin' like that."

"She's probably barely still kicking."

JJ shook his head at the Kook's words. "I don't care. If she's still kicking, she's still capable of killing. I'm not risking my girlfriend getting brutally murdered." He turned to John B and gave him a look to talk some sense into Sarah.

"JJ, baby," Stella called, squeezing his hand. He turned at the pet name and his gaze immediately softened upon meeting hers. She always got what she wanted when she called him that. "I'll be fine."

"But—"

Stella pulled her hand out of his and stood up. "Nope. I'm going." She made her way past Sarah and towards the house. "Come on, princess. Let's go. Love you, J. Bye!"

JJ went to protest, but was interrupted by Kie standing up. "Here, I'll go too," she said, shooting JJ and John B a stern look.

"We'll wait for your signal," Pope informed.

The two girls followed after Stella, but before they could get too far, John B called out for his girlfriend. "Be safe," he said.

When the two girls caught up with Stella, she placed a hand on Kie's cheek. "Be safe," she said, echoing the words of her best friend. When Sarah rolled her eyes and moved past her, she followed closely behind with a wide grin. "Love just walked in, Sarah Cameron!"

"I'm not gonna deny it," Kie added, deepening her voice to mock John B.

Sarah turned and gave the giggling girls a sharp look. "Will you two be quiet?"

As they creeped up to the porch, Stella noticed how everything around her was amplified in the smothering silence. The crickets in the bushes seemed louder than they were and the wood panels beneath their feet creaked like explosions on a minefield.

After what felt like hours, the girls finally made their way onto the porch. But when they got there, they were met with a disappointment that made their lives a whole lot harder—the breakers were gone. If they wanted to cut the power to the lights, they would have to go inside the house and use the circuit box there.

"Breaking and entering," Stella murmured. She followed after Kie as they entered the house. "Add that to my rap sheet."

"We're not breaking anything, the door was open," Kie whispered, glancing over at her. "We're just entering." She was about to take another step, but Stella grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back.

Kie looked down and saw the swishing tail of a black cat. If it weren't for Stella, she would've stepped on it, causing it to shriek and potentially give up their presence in the home. She sent Stella a grateful smile and hoped that she saw it under the glow of the moon.

The pair followed Sarah quietly as she followed the wire from outside to a breaker box in a dusty room. They nodded in encouragement as the Kook slowly opened the box and flipped the switch that would shut down the generators.

"Would you look at that," Stella mused, completely missing the loud shout and harsh bang that sounded below them. "And we did it without getting murdered. Yay us."

"Sh, sh," Kie said, struggling to hear what Stella had spoken over. "What was that?"

Above them they heard a frail cough. A loud thumping noise sounded through the silent air accompanied by strained wheezes.

The girls shared a panicked look. "We've gotta go," Stella hissed.

Sarah shook her head. "We won't have enough time."

Stella swore to herself before turning to look around the room. The furniture was covered in white sheets and Stella half considered hiding under them.

"It's—it's late, Leon."

Kie grabbed Stella's arm and pulled her closer to the wall. The three girls were pressed against the wall, holding their shaky breaths as a small, old lady using a fire poker as a cane entered the room less than two feet away from them. "Too late," the old lady croaked.

Their breathing stared getting heavy as JJ's words starting sinking into each of their brains. If he was right, then they were left completely defenceless inside an axe murderer's house.

Stella's hand flew to her mouth to stifle her breathing.

"I can hear you, Leon."

Her eyes shut and despite not being religious, she prayed that the old woman would turn around and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, her prayers went unheard as Mrs. Crain spun on her heel and pointed the fire poker directly at them.

"I've been waiting all night!"

Sarah screamed loudly while Stella cursed. Light shined on the woman's face. Stella was unsure as to whose flashlight it was or when they had a chance to turn it on, but she was grateful. In the white light, she could see the pupils of Mrs. Crain's eyes frosted over.

"Go!" Kie shouted.

Sarah ran out of the room with Kie on her tail. The latter took a hold of Stella and pulled her through the house. Somewhere between the living room and the study, they got separated and Kie was left alone, trapped in a corner with no way out.

When Stella noticed that Kie wasn't with her, she immediately went back to find her. It wasn't hard to locate her best friend. She just followed the loud screaming.

Sarah came up behind her and was about to shout something, but Stella hushed her, explaining that the woman was blind. Stella didn't know much about blindness and she wasn't sure how accurate the myth was that your other senses were amplified if you were. She hadn't read many studies on vision loss, so everything she knew about blindness came from watching Daredevil.

When the pair entered the study, they saw Mrs. Crain hacking away at the study door with her fire poker. Grabbing a book each, they creeped up behind the woman and struck her upside the head. Sarah ran to grab Kie and once they were out of the small office, Stella shoved the old woman into the room and shut the door.

The girls sprinted through the house, trying to find the nearest exit.

"This way!" Sarah shouted. "It goes underneath the house!"

"How do you know that?" Stella questioned, breathlessly following after her.

The girls thundered down the steps, shouting over each other in an urgent attempt to gain the boys' attention.

"Guys!" The three girls yelled. "Guys!"

Once they reached the basement, they halted in their steps and caught their breath.

Something was wrong and that was evident by the panic and fear on the girls' faces. "What's going on?" JJ questioned, scanning Stella for any injuries.

"Mrs. Crain!" Kie blurted, her eyes wide and crazed. "She's up there!"

Stella nodded, lifting her head and panting from the running. "Crazy lady tried to kill us, we need to leave."

"We locked her in the parlor," Sarah added, "but we gotta go."

JJ nodded and prepared to pull John B up from the well. "Okay, yup, that's a code red." He leaned over the edge and shouted into the darkness. "Let's go. John B! Get back on, man!"

Each of them took a place at the rope and pulled with all their might, not expecting the rope to be weightless. They rushed to the edge of the well with worry written on their faces.

Incoherent shouts travelled up the well and the group shared puzzled look.

"What's he saying?" JJ questioned.

The group shared a look before scrambling back to the rope. "Yo, he's drowning! We gotta pull him up!"

"Hey, John B!" Pope yelled. "Get back on the rope. We're gonna pull you back up, okay, buddy?"

In their frantic states, they didn't notice the old woman making her way down the stairs with a shotgun. They pulled and pulled, but nearly dropped John B when the first gunshot sounded through the air.

"Oh, fuck!" Stella screamed as she flinched. Her grip on the rope loosened and JJ pushed her to the side. Her hands flew to cover her head and she scrambled away.

Kie and Sarah found cover behind old furniture and Pope abandoned the rope, leaving JJ to tie it to a nearby support beam. There was another gunshot as JJ made his way back to Pope and Stella, and he practically launched himself over Stella to cover her from getting hit.

"She's blind! She can't aim!" Sarah exclaimed. The sound of a gun cocking was followed by a gunshot.

"Go! Go!" Stella said, pushing Pope towards the exit.

JJ followed after them. "I don't care if she is, that's buckshot!" He ran behind Stella, making sure she was in front of him the whole time.

They jumped the wall as if they were olympic gymnasts and headed straight for the van. JJ made his way to the driver's seat while Stella watched worriedly from the passenger seat as their friends piled into the back.

"Why are we always getting shot at?!" Pope screamed as he jumped in.

"Where's John B?" Stella questioned in a panic as the van started rolling. Her question was answered with a boy covered head to toe in mud rolled into the Twinkie. "What the fuck? Are you okay? Is everyone okay?"

"Are you shot?" JJ added, looking over his shoulder as John B. "You good?"

Everyone checked themselves for wounds before turning to each other and bringing attention to John B's unfortunate state.

"You look disgusting," Pope gagged.

"God, you smell like ass."

"What the hell just happened?"

JJ let out a loud whoop before smacking the steering wheel. "All-time Pogue Hall of Fame, baby!" He shot Stella a wide smile as Kie slapped his shoulder.

"Hell, yeah." Kie shook her head in disbelief. "That bitch is possessed."

"That bitch can't aim," Sarah added, still out of breath from the whole thing.

Pope struggled to catch his breath. "How does she move that fast?"

"She's possessed."

Stella snorted. "Definitely pilates or something."

"I don't get it," Pope said.

"She's blind," Kie reminded.

"Like Master Yoda." Pope let out a loud laugh to which Stella turned in her seat.

"Like Daredevil!"

JJ glanced back at John B and he could've sworn he shit his pants. "Oh, god!"

Stella turned to him in a panic and scanned him for any injuries she might've missed. "What? What is it?" She followed his gaze and landed on a muddy object sitting in John B's hand. Despite all the dirt, you could still see the bright gold peaking through. "You're fucking lying."

"We did it, baby!"

John B's shout of accomplishment sent the van into a frenzy. Everyone started screaming in happiness, overwhelm by their emotions. Kie and Sarah were screaming their heads off, Pope was shouting something incoherent, and John B was wearing a shit eating grin. JJ banged his first on the roof of the van before pulling Stella over his lap to plant a large kiss on her lips.

"Guys, guys," Kie shouted. Everyone quieted for a moment as she caught their attention. "We're gonna be rich!"

The realization sunk in and suddenly it was like pure serotonin was injected in their veins. The van full of teenagers drove into the rising sun chanting 'Full Kook! Full Kook!' at the top of their lungs, unable to contain their joy.

RAE SPEAKS !

jj this chapter: