IT WAS STUPID, AND A BIT GROSS, but who could blame a bunch of stressed out teenagers as they attempted to find a nearby hiding spot from some lunatics who broke in to their house? Therefore, the chicken coop was their best bet. It gave their minds a brief moment to catch up with their bodies, and so the tears began. Kiara was trying her best to cover her sobs and Sierra was overwhelmed with trepidation, with dread, it violent shook her body like a cold winters breeze would as it kissed her tan skin.

  The three boys seemed to be more composed, albeit their fears leveled at equilibrium, no tears stained their young skin. Maybe it was pride, or a nagging responsibility that was layered onto their shoulders since children to never allow room for such emotion during a moment of danger. Stand up, fight, and protect. Only, they hadn't fully matured to that point their adolescence. None of the three could bring themselves to crawl out the coop and face the danger head on.

  They only pleaded mentally with the rooster that continued its loud crowing, pleaded that it stopped, that it allowed for a moment of silence. John B was the first to peek out through one of the many hexagonal shaped holes in the wired fence that bordered the coop. He immediately pulled back, glaring back at loud animal in distress.

  "Do something, Pope, shut him up." JJ whispered-yelled, taking the look on the Routledge boys face as a sign, a bad one at that.

  "What do you want me to do?" Even through such a anxiety-strickened situation Pope still managed to throw JJ a incredulous glare.

  "Pet it, or talk to it," Kiara offered in a meek whimper, afraid to come up with another idea at the chance of the men hearing her, "I don't know."

  The Rooster's continued its clucking, suddenly flapping its wings when Pope attempted to reach out. The sudden movement must've been enough to frighten the feathered animal that was already confused on their presence in its home. It wouldn't stop moving, now flying around loudly before JJ lunged at it. Weaker, and gargled cries came from the rooster but were silenced with a final snap. JJ's full body landed atop of the animals neck, crushing it.

Sierra gasp softly, nearly gagging at the limp body before her hands came to cover her mouth. Kiara's mouth fell agape but didn't release any sounds, instead her hand went to squeeze Sierra's in utter horror.

One of the intruders called out for the other, forcing his looming presence to distance itself from the coop. He brushed off the noises and was quick to climb into his truck, finally leaving. As soon as the vehicle was far from view, it roaring engine only a faint buzz in the distance they filed out.

"I'm gonna throw up." Sierra announced, her head already facing the floor with her hands on her knees. She huffed out repetitions of 'oh my god' and 'I'm gonna throw up' but nothing ever came out.

  JJ laid a soothing hand on her back, rubbing it till she managed to stand up right again. "You're okay, you're okay."

  "Don't say that! I'm not!" Sierra groaned, placing a hand on her sweat-covered forehead. "I'm gonna throw up."
 
  "Well, if you keep sayin' it then you just might." The blonde added, making Sierra glare at him.

  "I don't have to say anything, it's already coming, I can feel it."

  "That's what she said."

  "Are you serious?"

  "Look it, you aren't throwing up." JJ pointed to the floor, proudly seeing that it remained its same, grassy self. "I cured you."

  "Did not." Sierra childishly argued, crossing her arms. "I still have nausea."

  "Maybe you're pregnant?" The blonde shrugged his shoulders, "If I was a chick and looked at myself I'd be pregnant."

  "How the hell would I even—" Sierra sucked in a deep breath and released it before turning away, "Jesus take the wheel."

  As she began walking away, towards the Château before a loud beep caught her attention. Some how, the rest of the group had snuck away to climb into the van and all without being noticed by either Sierra or JJ.

  John B peeked his head out the rolled down window, "I have an idea! You comin' or what?"

—

  TRUTH BE TOLD, NOBODY REALLY addressed the oversized elephant in the room—or, in the van. The Pogues were robbed, it mostly leaned on John B's side since it was his fathers research and by default, it was now his too. But with the sticky situation they they'd gotten themselves in over the course of a week, they were truthfully all robbed in a way.

  Kiara of her patience, JJ of his bravery, Sierra of her tranquility, John B of his closure—if there ever was any—and Pope, especially, of his sanity. The twenty minute drive to lighthouse really made Sierra reflect on that, this...quest was beginning to uncover dark secrets that were meant to buried and never found. Unfortunately, it was found, and by five, stupid teenagers at that. An utter, and absolute, recipe for disaster.

  Of course, it wouldn't be a typical day if John B didn't bring up the fact that it was fate that brought him to this...mission. As of recently, he  constantly wanted to defend his actions that led him to be so adamant about finding the answer to all these mysterys. He also didn't want to come off as being crazy for not letting up on his fathers death, even if he slightly was.

  "I mean, it's obvious, right?" No response to his question came, whether it was rhetorical or not was unknown. "A family heirloom. I mean, what better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?"

  This time Kiara did offer a repones, a hopeful one that was in juxtaposition to the hesitance in her eyes. "Yeah, it's possible."

  "It could also possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know," The one thing that you could always rely on when it comes to Pope is that he'll keep his words truthful, even if it hurt, "deal with your sad feels."

  "Pope." JJ pulled his arm from Sierra waist, it had been sitting there the whole trip and he'd even soothed her nausea by gently stroking the skin of her hip. He lifted a finger to point towards the Heyward boy. "Bro, you know how I process my sad feels."

  "Like, jerking off, or somethin'?" Sierra assumed, turning to give him a raised brow.

  The blonde shifted so his pointing finger was now turned onto Sierra, "No." He immediately responded, turning back to continue the conversation before pausing, as if he fully processed a truthful answer. "Well, sometimes."

  "That's really gross and I did not need to know that." Pope responded, scrunching his nose and leaning back against the red seats with crossed arms.

  "But that's not the point, I was gonna say: Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, and that's how I do it."

  "I'm not concocting, okay!"

  "Took you long enough to respond, you're really sending the wrong message here, John."

  "Don't call me John, it makes me feel like a thirty year old man that's picking his kids up from school."

  "Hey, since we're making lists, Sierra in a bikini really helps my sad feels too." JJ butted in randomly, throwing an arm back to rest on the seats. "But, wouldn't recommend that for you or JB, just for me."

  Sierra sent him a roll of her eyes as he gave her wink, shaking her head. "I thought we moved on from that topic, since John isn't concocting."

  "I'm not! My dad's trying to give me a message." The Routledge boy defended, gripping the wheel tighter as he let out a frustrated sigh.

  "If it helps you believe, John B."

  "Look, I—I don't need a therapy session, okay?" John B's tone was much more raised and aggressive then before, shooting Kiara a look. "I'm not trippin' out."

  "Look it's okay to trip, bro, but—" JJ attempted to comfort, already lifting a comforting hand to place on his shoulder.

  "Look, my dad is missing, okay?" Interrupted the Routledge boy, making the blonde retract his hand before it even landed on his skin."Missing." A heavy, tense air filled the van. "You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish, and then have no idea what happened. You just wake up everyone morning wondering."

  "It's been almost a year." Kiara reasoned softly, her eyes saddening at the boys denial. As much as she could try to throw subtle messages of letting go and finding peace, the John B would dodge every one.

  "Hey, he could've just been kidnapped." JJ suggested a hint of hope in his words but one that was unlikely. It was all in good heart. "That's definitely a possibility."

  "Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere." Pope chimed in, his own bet of where Big John could've disappeared even more unlikely the JJ's.

  "Didn't the Soviet Union collapse over three decades ago?" Sierra asked, furrowing her brows before Pope gave her a look. "But, that could still be a reason, you never know."

  "Absolutely." The Maybank boy took the opportunity to place another bet, and if Sierra had a crown for the most outlandish possibility it would sit perfectly on his head. "Or, uh...Atlantis!"

  "JJ." Kiara warned, pulling her gaze back to John B. "Look, what do you think the message is?"

  "Redfield." The Routledge boy stated simply, the silence giving him the push to further explain. "Redfield lighthouse, my dads favorite place."

They sped right past the sign that read 'CLOSED DUE TO HURRICANE', an obvious warning that they should stay out. But, they were Pogues, a sign like that was more of an invitation.

  They pulled in on some grassy land just a few feet away from a white picket fence, over that fence was an old lighthouse. It stood tall in comparison with the trees surrounding it, the white paint stained from age.

The five jumped out the van swiftly, lining up in a row except for John B. He took it upon himself to to walk further ahead, observing the light house with faint hesitance in his gut.

Pushing that feeling aside, he turned to look at the four. "Okay, here's what's gonna happen: You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, alright?"

JJ furrowed his brows as he noted that John B only seemed to direct his eyes on him specifically. "Wait, why me?"

"Not just you." The brunette stated, "Sierra you're also gonna stay back, make sure he remains...non-JJ."

"Uh, hello? Why am I not coming?" JJ asked once more, pointing to himself defensively.

"Because you're not coming!" Pope snapped back only making the blonde more confused. "Look, JJ, there are independent and dependent variables, you're independent and we don't know what you'll do—"

"Shut up! Just, shut up!"

"Okay, listen to me for a second! Just listen!" John B quickly cut in, sternly looking between the two. "Pope, you stand look out with these two, okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house."

"Great." Kiara nodded, walking towards the fence with no hesitation. It was clear that she had enough and was ready to getting it all over with.

"Well, I'm gonna work in my merit scholarship essay." Pope spoke, going ignored by the two Pogues in his company: "I'm trying to keep felonies down to a minimum"

"All right, would you just shut up already?" Grumbled JJ who was far too focused on juggling an acorn between his two feet.

"I'm bored." Sierra exclaimed, throwing her hands up childishly as she leaned against a tree.

"It's literally been a minute since John B left." Pope stated obviously, walking towards the van to separate himself from the duo. "Find something to do that doesn't distract me from this essay. In case you weren't aware, it is one of the most important—"

"We get it." Sierra interrupted with a roll of her eyes, pushing her body off the tree. "Stop talking about potentially loosing it before it manifest into the truth."

Pope only shook his head, sliding open the door and climbing in. That left JJ and Sierra to find something to do, off in the distance John B and Kiara were just barley making it to the door. That meant that they'd be here for longer then wanted.

"You still bored?" JJ asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He'd gone back to juggling the acorn, determined to beat his own high score.

"Mhmm."

"Wanna make out?"

Sierra sighed, "Do you ever have any other ideas to solve boredom?"

"Uh, yeah, obviously."

"What?"

"Making out on a bed."

"JJ!" Sierra groaned, covering her face in annoyance. "I'm not making out with you, no matter how many times you ask."

"Why not? You did once before." The blonde kicked away the acorn, growing more interested in the conversation then continuing to mess with it.

"It was once, and I was drunk." The Ray girl defended, walking up to him so she didn't have to raise the volume of her voice. The last thing she wanted was to get Pope in on her business, he couldn't hold secret for the life of him.

JJ scoffed, a smirk raising the corner of his lips. "Yeah, well, ever heard that drunk words are sober thoughts? You had a lot of drunk words to say that night, or more so, noises."

The girl made a noise by kissing her teeth, scrunching her brows together in aggravation. "Don't be gross."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Si." JJ shrugged, "I liked it."

"You aren't suppose to like it, Jay!" She already had an excuse ready to say if he pointed out the warm blush that tinted her cheeks. "No pogue on pogue mackin', that's a key rule."

"The no pogue on pogue macking rule can suck my dick." His words punctuated a much deeper meaning, he was trying to admit something to her without having to say up front. Sierra was a smart girl, and she knew it, she caught onto his tone, his expression.

  Mindless flirting or genuine feelings, it was war that was beginning to end, the winning side showing it's power. Sierra nervously bite her lip, looking back at Pope to assure that he didn't have some sort of super hearing. The Heyward boy remained looking down, scribbling words onto a document.

  What Sierra was going to say next in response sat in the back of her throat, desperate to be spat out but was swallowed down in denial. "We hooked up once, we never talked about it, and maybe we should. But not here."

  She settled on a more responsible statement, even if it wasn't what either of them wanted. It was silence after, sneaky glances at each others lips, heavy breaths that could be felt on her face, a needy urge to place his hand on her cheek. Had it not been for distant sirens and Pope's hurried chants to get in the van, maybe JJ would've done it.

—

THE POGUES HAD MANAGED TO FIND themselves split up. God knows what happened to Kiara and John B, without phones it was radio silence for hours. Pope was forced to head back to Heywards to finish up the hurricane cleaning her ran away from the day they found the Grady white. It left JJ and Sierra to sit in the van outside her home, both of them drifting back to the intimate conversation they'd had.

It was inevitable thing, a hook up between two best friends was bound to end up awkward and confusing. What the two of them needed to do to settle the one thing they'd tried to ignore for months was talk about it. JJ was never good with starting up those one on ones, so it was up Sierra.

She'd opened and closed her mouth multiple times trying to find the right words to begin. "Do you wanna go inside?"

"Yeah." JJ mumbled, pushing open the door as he fiddled with the jingly keys. Sierra followed quickly, unlocking her door and revealing her dark home. Any source of light other then the sun had yet to reach the Cut. By what Sierra has seen and heard, Figure 8 already had their generators up and running by now.

The only thing that illuminated her room as they stepped inside was a scented candle on her dresser. It was strange how quick the air between the two shifted, sitting on Sierra's bed now felt like something JJ needed to ask permission for. But, he knew better, he knew that she didn't want it to be that way, so he casually rested on his side.

"So, we got drunk." Sierra began slowly, "I asked you to do something and one thing led to another.."

"You can say that again." JJ chuckled, tugging at the black ring that wrapped around his middle finger.

"JJ." The Ray girl gently scolded, but it nearly sounded like a plead. She wanted to him to be honest and serious.

"Okay, fine, I was drunk, you were drunk. We hooked up because you begging for me make you feel good and I did just that." He clasped his hands together, "And I don't regret it, but you do, so if you want an apology then I'm sorry."

"JJ, come on, I never said that." Sierra sighed.

"What? The part where you begged me to fuck you or the part where you regret it?"

"T-The—" Sierra huffed, "The second one. Like I said, I asked you something of you—"

"Begged."

"And we ended up in bed together. Clearly, this has created a shift in our friendship because we were both drinking and horny."

"You keep avoiding the one thing you claim you didn't say." JJ murmured, tearing his gaze from his hands to look up at Sierra. "Do you regret it?"

A long pause overtook her room, his eyes that stared directly into hers beginning to make her shell crack. She knew the answer and it crawled from the back of her throat to the tip of her tongue. It was something she could no longer swallow down like it was some sort of pill.

"No, I don't."

It was an answer that shocked JJ, his eyes ever so slightly widening. He licked his lips, his body freezing like he awaited for something else to strike his aching heart. Truthfully, it was pitiful how much he desperately wanted to kiss Sierra Ray. Every second of the day he had to tug his gaze away so he didn't smash his lips onto hers. He knew he wasn't good with feelings, but the no matter how drunk he was that night he could not deny the feelings he had.

The reason why he'd been so defensive and quiet the whole conversation was because he didn't want to hear the eventual heart break he predicted would come. But this, this was something he could only imagined. He would've pinched himself to check if it was reality but knew that Sierra's beauty was something his own eyes could see.

"You don't?"

"No." Sierra shook her head, affirming his breathy words. "You want something, and I know it from the way you've looked at me each time I bring this up."

"I just want to relive it." JJ slowly slid his onto her thigh, his voice so soft and unlike him. Yes, he could be a gentle man but with his clear intentions on what he wanted he wasn't smug or sly. He was almost pathetic. "One more time, Sierra, please."

The Ray girl smiled, so comfortingly as her hand cupped the side of his face. "Okay."

—

JOHN B HAD AN EPIPHANY, A NEW LEAD on this treasure hunt. But, he needed his van in order to get to his destination. After it sped off from the light house he had no idea where it could be. Based off process of elimination he made a beeline towards Sierra's house, the closest and most likely to have, or at least know, of the vehicles whereabouts.

The utter relief that coursed through his body as he caught sight of the familiar Volkswagen symbol was enough to make him smile. Now, he needed the keys. Without question, he push at your front door only to found it locked. So, he resorted on loudly knocking for—what he believed to be—a weirdly long time. His efforts came to an end when a disheveled Sierra came to the door, lazily swinging it open.

"Dude, I've been knocking for like three minutes straight." John B complained, furrowing his brows at the sight of his best friend.

"Nobody asked you to do all that, I heard you after the first one."

"Then what took you so long?" The Routledge boy chuckled, crossing his arms. "Your shirt's inside out, were you sleeping?"

"Yes, you know I don't like it when the tag thing pokes me." Sierra swiftly lied, rubbing her eyes to clear up her blurry vision. "What do you wants, anyways?"

"Keys to the Twinkie, we got a treasure to find." John B smirked proudly, "You have 'em, right?"

"No, JJ does."

"JJ's here?" The brunette pushed past Sierra, ignoring her calls to 'ask before entering' as he walked into her room. "He's slumped as hell too." Sierra followed, nervously making sure that John B didn't notice the fact that his best friend was completely naked under her covers. Her eyes widened as the boy silently picked up his cargo shorts, her mouth opening to utter the infamous words of 'It's not what it looks like.' But, John B only chuckled, pulling out the keys and dropping the shorts back down. "Swear, this guy doesn't know any manners, just takes his clothes off and naps anywhere."

Sierra forced out a laugh, kicking the cotton boxers under her bed. "Right? Didn't even leave me any room, half my body was hanging off the bed."

The Routledge boy shook his head, patting her arm. "Wake him up and tell 'em we're leaving, still gotta pick up Pope and Kie."

"Will do." Sierra smiled, watching as he walked out the house. She sighed in relief, looking towards JJ and gently shaking him awake. He let out strings of groans, not wanting to move. "John B's here."

"John B's here?" JJ sat up swiftly, glancing around all panicky.

"No, I mean, John B is outside and waiting for us." Sierra chuckled, bending down to pinch his boxers between her fingers and tossed it onto his lap. "Get dressed, the treasure awaits us."

"You have my shirt."

Sierra looked down, letting out a swift apology as she pulled it off and put her own top back on. JJ was still let out disgruntled murmurs, sliding on his chunky shoes and fixing his hair.

"Why so whiny?" Sierra questioned with a laugh, watching from her front door as JJ sluggishly walked towards her.

"Was having the best dream where we had mind blowing sex." JJ replied, dropping his arm onto her shoulders as both a flirty move and a extra form of support. "Oh, shit, wait, it wasn't a dream."

Sierra slid the van door open, pushing him in with a held back grin. "I liked it better when you were asleep."

—

JOHN B SLOWLY PULLED IN TO THE back of Heyward's shop, finding Pope atop of a crate, hunched over in concentration as he continued to work on his essay.

The sound of a beep caught Pope's attention, making him look up. "Let's ride!" JJ shouted, his head peaking out from between the passenger and drivers seat.

The Heyward boy glanced around, anxiously searching for his strict father before standing up. "This better be good."

"Trust me, it is." John B affirmed, watching as Pope climbed into the passenger seat. The boy threw him a unconvinced look before slamming the door shut.

They were quick to make it to The Wreck, where Kiara had picked up an extra shift after John B informed them of their arrest. Sierra wasn't sure if Kiara had actually went in on her day off or was forced to by her protective father. Either way, they needed to pull her without her Mr. Carrerea noticing.

"Pope, go get Kie." John B instructed, getting a heavy sigh as Pope pushed the passenger door open.

"Fine, I'll go. Thank you so much for asking." The boy grumbled, stomping up the stairs and into the restaurant. A few minutes later he was back outside, but no Kiara. "She said she's not comin'."

"Why not?" Sierra and JJ asked simultaneously, both equally confused as they glanced at each other.

"Shit." John B hissed, resting his forehead on the steering wheel for a moment before opening the door. "Hang on, I'll deal with it."

As silence over took the van, JJ leaned back against the seats, smirking over Sierra. "Ain't that kinda freaky, y'know, how we said that at the same time."

"Yup."

"I mean, we connected, if you know what I mean, just a few hours ago and now we're suddenly talking at same time." The more JJ spoke the larger the furrow between Sierra's brows grew.

"I think it was something called a coincidence, Jay."

"Right, could be that too."

"Y'all making bets on what JB did to make Kiara freak?" Pope asked, sliding the back door open. "I bet he confessed."

"Oh, for sure." JJ nod in agreement, throwing Sierra a smirk as he nodded towards her tits. "Wanna bet on it."

Sierra pulled a five dollar bill from her bra, handing to the blonde as Pope's face shifted into disgust. "How did you know it was in there?"

JJ shrugged, shoving the bill into his pocket. "'Cause I put it in there."

"Don't lie, Jay, it makes me sound like a stripper." Sierra complained shoving him away. "It's just where I put all my money for the day, I don't like carrying around a wallet."

"Isn't that a little gross?"

"Isn't it a little smart?"

"Isn't it a little hot?" JJ pipped in, making Pope groan annoyance.

"Seriously, I hate being alone with you two. I mean, I could throw up right now after hearing that." Pope covered his eyes with a hand, shaking his head like a disapproving father.

"If you throw up you gotta do it out there, otherwise you're not allowed back in." Sierra instructed, pointing at the door.

The back door of The Wreck swung open, John B walking out with Kiara following just a few steps behind him. Finally, all was well, the mission was back on.

—

"YOU MIND IF I JUST RELAX ON THIS one? It's been a long day, did some exercise earlier, and a lot of weird stuff has gone down. So, I'm just gonna lay low—oh, did you want a hit of this?" JJ suddenly asked, noticing that Pope was staring at him.

Pope shook his head, raising a single hand as a decline to the offer. "I keep the signal clear."

"Dude, okay, do you understand what your problem is?" JJ used his half smoked blunt to point Pope, emphasizing his point. Though it came from the weed in his system, it was a still a point. "It's that you don't get creative. If you get creative, then—"

"Look," John B began with a sigh, not caring for the conversation behind him, "I—I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? And, pretty much wrong about everything else going on, but I—I was right about one thing."

  "Congratu-fuckin'-lations." Sierra lazily hummed from her spot next to JJ, her words slightly muffled from the blunt she'd stolen. "At least something good came out of that death compass."

  "Not a death compass." The Routledge boy corrected swiftly, "My dad is trying to tell me something."

  Silence followed the few minutes that it took to arrive at the cemetery, the night overtaking the sky. Being in a place full of dead people while surrounded by utter darkness was not ideal. Luckily, John B had stopped to by shitty, cheap flashlights at a nearby drugstore. But, Sierra was sure that one, hers specifically, rolled under the seat.

  "Gimme a sec', I can't find the damn flashlight." She grumbled, her feet planted on the gravel while her upper body was bent over and blindly reaching under the seats. "Jay, help me look!"

  "We'll meet you guys later." John B informed quietly, his feet trudging away along with Pope and Kiara's.

  By then, JJ wasn't much help as he pressed himself against Sierra's bent over figure, hands casually laying on her hips. "What are we lookin' for again?"

  "Ugh, it's useless." The Ray girl groaned, standing up straight to slide the door shut. "That thing is probably gone forever, we'll have to share one."

  "Fine by me" The blonde shrugged, watching as Sierra slipped from between his body and the van.

  "Let's go."

  JJ trailed behind her, his heavy shoes crunching the leaves and sticks beneath him as they entered the gated area. "Spooky." JJ whispered mischievously, clicking the flashlight on so it illuminated his face.

  Sierra couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head at his weirdness. The hottest guy on The Cut, well known playboy, JJ fuckin' Maybank, and this is how he really acts despite all those titles. "What am gonna do with you?"

  "We could turn around and make out in the van?"

  At his suggestion they both paused in their steps. "Tempting, but the others would wonder where we are." Sierra continued her steps.

  "We could just say we were abducted by aliens or something." JJ suggested, following after her quickly.

  "Give me the damn flashlight." Sierra mumbled with a smile, snatching the object from his hand. "We're suppose to share anyway."

  "Yeah, keyword: Share." JJ wrapping his right hand on top of Sierra's left, proudly smirking at the way he smoothly executed it. "So, we share."

  "You're making me rethink my rejection to making out in the van." Sierra confessed lowly, subconsciously moving her body closer to his as she looked up at him.

  "The offer is still on the table, princess." JJ shifted his own walking so he bumped his arm against Sierra's shoulder, enjoying her being so close. "And more, if you wanna."

  "You can't just say shit like." The Ray girl groaned, "You distract me, are we even going the right way?"

  "Oh, yeah, I can hear Pope talking about how this is a horrible idea from here." The blonde pointed, with his free hand, towards a faint crowd of lights that slowly moved farther from them.

  "Perfect, now let's scare the hell out of them." They quickened their steps, avoiding any of the nosier sections of the ground as they approached. "What are you guys doing!?"

  "AHH, fuck!" Pope shouted, his body even jumping in fear as he sighed loudly. "Don't do that shit, man!"

  "We're in a damn graveyard and you decide to scare us? Do you want one of us to have a heart attack?" Kiara reprimanded, placing her hand on her chest. "You should feel how fast my heart is."

  Sierra bent of over as she laughed, slapping Pope's back while he gave a straight and unamused stare. "I love you guys, seriously. Always keepin' me entertained."

  "Yeah, well, I'm glad you find us being scared for our lives entertaining." John B flatly stated, his flashlight glaring over at the pair. "You just ruined my dramatic reveal on why we came here in the first place."

  "Oh, shit, my fault, gang."

  "Right, well," The Routledge boy flashed his light onto a large tomb, revealing a familiar word, "Redfield was never a something, but someone."

  "Voi-effing-la!"

  "See, my great-great-grandmother, Olivia Redfield." John B murmured, turning back to show his small smile, a proud one. "That was her maiden name."

  "It's definitely seen time." Sierra commented, noting the layer of dust and dirt covering the concrete. The nature had slowly expanded itself to wrap around the structure. "When's the last time you left this poor woman flowers?"

  The Routledge boy chuckled, shaking his head. "Shut the hell up. Pope, help me with the door."

  Pope stepped up, hesitantly glancing at the tomb. "All right." Shoving his flashlight into his shorts, the Heyward boy placed two hands onto the thick side wall. On a count to three both John B and Pope pushed with all their might, but to no avail.

Through a grunt, the brunette spoke. "Are you pushing?"

"Yeah, I'm pushing."

"I got it." JJ let go of Sierra's hand, joining in on the attempt to open the wall, or door, or whatever the seven foot slab of thick concrete was.

"This door is like 700 pounds, man, it's not gonna budge." Pope spoke up in a strained groaned, beginning to give up.

"We didn't come this far to get this far, all right?" JJ encouraged, gaining a bemused expression shared between Sierra and Kiara. It was then that a sudden hiss came from directly besides them, an aggressive snake slithering out from a small opening between the vines.

That launched a loud reaction between at three boys, immediately stepping away from the wall with loud exclaims of shock and fear.

"That's a fuckin' snake!" Sierra stepped back, watching as it slid through the leaf-covered ground, attempting to escape. "I don't fuck with fuckin' snakes!"

"That's a moccasin, all right." JJ began, pushing one arm out to assure that the Ray girl remained behind him. "Ye olde Dr. Cottonmouth, death in tall grass."

The blonde suddenly began to bark, stepping closer and leaning in lower as some sort of intimidation tactic.

"JJ, shut up! shut up!" Sierra warned, anxiously pressing her hand against his mouth to prevent anymore noise.

"You're gonna wake the dead, man." Pope reprimanded, though it came out as of more of a nervous comment.

The blonde attempted to speak, though his words were muffled by Sierra's persistent hand. He groaned, pulling her away and repeating himself. "They're afraid of dogs, everyone knows that, man."

John B rolled his eyes, approaching the wall once more and raising his arms to attempt to push again. But he was stopped by JJ, it made him turn his head back to look at him confusingly. "What?"

   "If there's one, there's probably dozens." JJ pointed at the wall accusingly, like it was an actual defendant in a trial. "All around."

"Stop it, you're scaring me, bro." Kiara hissed, glaring at JJ angrily. She had a face that was preserved for when the boys were acting up, she wasn't actually anger, she was just trying to get the blonde to shut the hell up.

  Although, he turned a blind eye to continue barking at the vines. This only caused Sierra to return her hand on his mouth, silencing his noises.

  "Stop barking at the snakes!" John B whisper-yelled, pushing his point by flashing his lamp in the Maybank boys face.

  "Look, John—."

  "I'm just making sure it's clear—" JJ interrupted, peeling Sierra's hand off as Pope began to speak. The girl did not let up, now using both hands to cover his mouth.

  "Shut up." Pope directed at the blonde, earning a muffled grumble in repsonse as he turned to John B. "John, look, we're not gonna get in there, all right? It's not budging. We should probably just go."

"I can get through." Kiara suddenly spoke up, her small flashlight working as a spot light to show what her eyes were set on.

  "What?" The Routledge boy spoke up, "No, no, no, no. You think you're gonna fit through the hole? That hole?"

  "Look, this is about your dad." Kiara began softly, not cowering away as John B stepped up to her with a look of disapproval. "And honestly, I really don't believe in it, but you deserve to know the truth. I'll do it."

  "That works for me." Sierra shrugged, helping the Carrera girl to remove the crowd of vines and built up nature.

  The boys suddenly choose to step in, making sure that the small opening at the top was cleared. JJ squatted against the wall, cupping his hands together, "I'm gonna boost you, all right? I've seen it in the movies several times. Ready?"

  Kiara hesitatingly looked at JJ's form, glancing over at John B. "Remind me what we're looking for."

  "You'll know when you see it."

  "Hold my flashlight." The girl handed her light over to Sierra who gave back a encouraging smile. The Carrera girl sucked in a deep breath approaching JJ. He instructed her carefully, making sure her form was right, her hand placement was right, and that she got in safely.

  But, much like how he ignored her when asking him to stop the noise, Kiara ignored JJ when he tried to count to three. Her faint grunt and deep sigh as she reached the other side were heard, then her call for the flashlight.

  "You alive? You got, like, a heartbeat and everything?" John B asked nervously as Sierra handed the light through the hole.

  "So far."

  "That's Good, that's good."

  "Yeah, I just need some more light." Kiara informed after a moment of her auditable footsteps moving around. Without hesitation, John B agreed and shined his bright lamp. With the new found visibility, Kiara cautiously stepped through the tomb, round eyes examine every inch for the thing she she was 'suppose to recognize when she sees it.'

  "Spot anything?" JJ asked impatiently after seeing her frozen in her steps, eyes glued to something beyond his view. "Is there any gold?"

  "Oh, my god."

NATTI SPEAKS:
Edited on June 5, 2024

I added a thing or two in here and ended up with a 6000+ word chapter🫣🫣. So sorry if this felt like a dragged on chapter, this should be the longest of all of them!