𝟎𝟒𝟗.             𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐬, 𝐡𝐮𝐡

teen age thugs   ────    sonny & the sunsets

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖢𝖱𝖮𝖲𝖲 𝖨𝖲 𝖨𝖭 𝖥𝖱𝖤𝖤𝖣𝖬𝖠𝖭'𝖲 𝖢𝖧𝖴𝖱𝖢𝖧．

We don't know where exactly. We just know the cross is somewhere in this church, and it shouldn't be too hard to find, right? It's a massive, golden cross. It should stick out to us, but based off first looks at the church, we can't see it.

The floorboards creak. The wood is chipped, dangerous, and on the verge of causing a splinter. The once-colourful windows are dirty and cracked, no longer providing any light to the church. With every step I take, I fear the entire building will collapse under the weight.

"Okay, you're telling me Denmark Tanny decided to hide the cross here?" He hid this cross centuries ago, and if it's not been found in that long, then what are the chances we will find it?

"Mm-hmm."

"Everybody, just spread out."

"Okay, well if I was a cross and wanted to be hidden in an old church, where would I hide?" That's the only question we need to ask ourselves. We just need to become the cross, if that makes any sense at all.

John B wobbles, his foot aching from the gator bite, so I stay close behind him just in case he decides to topple over and hit the floor.

"Are you sure Denmark hid the cross here, Pope? Like are we at the right church?"

"It's gotta be somewhere, guys."

Yes. It's gotta be here somewhere, we know that, but where would somebody hide a freaking giant cross all those centuries ago? I wish I could step into the past and watch Denmark hide this cross, but then there wouldn't be any fun in trying to find it!

"What if we have to push a secret button or..." JJ steps over to the old, out-of-service piano that's rotted from being sat in this church for so long. "...like, okay, like a... a certain chord, and then all of a sudden the ground beneath us reveals the catacombs or something on which we stand?"

"I see Sherlock has retired," I comment, stepping up behind him as he presses down on a chord on the piano, but instead of playing any kind of noise, it squeaks.

JJ looks over at me. "Want me to serenade you, Sunny?"

I roll my eyes, but if he wants to serenade me, he absolutely can even if the piano makes no kind of song. I'll be serenaded to the sounds of squeaks and creaks. How romantic.

"How about we try to find obvious clues?"

"Sorry." He steps back from the piano. "I'm sorry."

"I can't see where they'd hide a giant cross in here." Pope is the only one of us who is frantically pacing the room in order to find some kind of clue to where the cross is. He wants this cross. We all want this cross, but this cross is part of Pope's family, and he deserves it the most.

Pope deserves the win.

"No, no." Pope shakes his head, running on fumes. "There's no way he would set us up on a freaking goose chase that would lead us to a church that has nothing."

"Yes, I get it. I don't know what to tell you, man."

"The clues led us here." He's growing agitated by the minute, close to snapping at us when all we're trying to do is help him. "The cross is in this church."

As John B and Pope bicker back and forth, I look around the space. On first look, this church looks like a regular abandoned church. It looks untidy and old and dirty. On first glance, I can't see where a cross would be hidden, but now I'm looking elsewhere.

I'm now paying closer attention because Pope needs this. He needs luck to be on his side. He needs a win. I want Pope to find this cross. He deserves to find this cross.

Come on, Brooke. Come on. Do this for Pope.

I lift my eyes, dragging my eyes up the wooden beams that keep this church upright. These beams are preventing the church from collapsing on us, but the wood is rotting away, that much I can see. I ignore my friends as they talk and argue about where this cross could be, and I focus on the wooden beams above our heads.

They're in the shape of a cross.

The wood is the same shape as a cross.

Above our heads, the wood is in the shape of a cross.

Could it be the cross?

"Pope, it'll be alright." John B's voice renters my ears. "We've had setbacks in the past and we figured it out. We're gonna find it."

"We've just gotta think about this──"

"Guys," I interrupt, continuing to stare at the wooden beams above our heads. My friends stop talking, each turning to look at me. "Am I totally crazy or does those beams look to be in the shape of a cross?"

Pope lifts himself off the pew having taken a minute to sit down. He, as does everybody else, looks up in the same direction as me, finding the beams to, in fact, be in the shape of crosses. He steps towards me, a smile brightening his face. "You're a freaking genius, Brooke."

His hands grasp my shoulders, squeezing tightly and shaking me excitedly. "I'm Sherlock now!" I laugh, smiling over at Pope as he backs away from me, ready to go and check if my hunch is real.

He moves over to the wall, seeing that he can pull himself up, but it's not exactly sturdy, and one wrong move could bring him and the wall down in one fell swoop. "Pope," Sarah calls out, concern in her voice, but Pope ignores her as he pulls himself up.

There are small grooves and dents in the wall that Pope can hold onto, but he absolutely isn't trained in rock climbing, so it's dangerous for him to be doing this. He has his eyes set on that cross though, so when Pope sets his mind to something, we just know he isn't going to give up.

"Hey, no!"

"Now Pope's climbing the wall," John B deadpans, but I can't shake my head at his actions. Pope is allowed to do whatever he wants, and I support his choice to be a little reckless.

"Wait. Pope, wait. This is crazy."

"Pope, this church is old." We know. "Like really old. This isn't safe."

The wood is loud. The wood is creaking. The wood is threatening to give out and break under Pope's weight. This church may collapse on top of us, but that's the sacrifice we may have to take. Pope doesn't care though. He keeps forcing himself up, needing to get to the cross.

I really hope the cross is up there.

"It's too dangerous!"

I don't say anything. I don't object to what he's doing. I just watch him, slightly concerned and panicked, but if I was Pope, I'd do the same thing. I'd fight tooth and nail to get what I want even if it means potentially being brought down with this entire freaking church.

Besides, Pope isn't going to listen to us so what's the point in uttering a word.

"Yo, let me just be real." I glance over at JJ. "You're not the most coordinated person on planet Earth." Yes, tell that to the guy who is trying to keep himself balanced and stable on these wooden beams.

Pope ignores us, pulling himself all the way up and dragging himself along to the first cross-shaped beam. He bangs one hand against the wood. "Alright, this one's solid wood," he yells down to us. "I'm gonna try the other beam."

"Pope, that's rotten as shit right there, okay?"

He moves, stepping from piece of wood to piece of wood, until he reaches the other beam that hopefully answers my theory. He bangs on the wood several times, wishing for it to just fall away and reveal a cross, but we aren't that lucky.

"Pope, I hate to break it to you, but that's wood."

Oh, please let my theory be right.

"No, no." He shakes his head vigorously, still banging at the wood in the hopes of revealing something. "It has to be in here."

I agree. It has to be in here── in there.

"Bro, just look out for that giant wasp nest right above your head." I hadn't even noticed there was a wasp nest near him. I was only paying attention to him, but now I see it. There's a nest just inches above his head, and if he isn't careful, that nest could fall on him and he could be swarmed by a lot of wasps.

"Move slow, Pope. Nice and easy," I say, watching as he swivels around to get to the final cross-shaped beam above our heads.

Once he reaches the other beam, he kicks his foot out, knocking a piece of rotting wood off the beam, revealing that this beam is hollow. This piece of wood drops, nearly hitting is from below. "Whoa, hey!"

"Look! It's hollow," Pope exclaims, looking down at us. "Go get me a crowbar!" Sarah rushes outside, heading straight for the van as Pope continues to hold himself up and next to the hollow beam.

"I don't want this entire church to collapse on top of us. That's all I'm saying."

I don't think any of us want that to happen.

Death by being crushed from a falling church is not one my top five ways of dying... not that I have a list or anything.

Sarah rushes back into the church with a crowbar, throwing it up to Pope with ease. That was quite impressive. Once he has the crowbar in his hand, he hits the wood several times. I look from him to the wasp nest hovering above his head, afraid that the wasps will attack any second.

"Just move slow, Pope." I can hear the wasps, I swear to God. They're going to attack if he isn't careful.

Pope continues to hit the wood with the crowbar. It's becoming more and more obvious that the beam is hollow as the rotting wood is breaking apart easily. The more Pope hit, the more the wood broke away, and the more visible something becomes to us from down below.

With the wood no longer in the way, a large, solid gold cross engraved with jewels and patterns is revealed to us. This may sound ridiculous, but this cross is like our light at the end of the tunnel. Quite literally, it is a light with how bright it shines. This cross is our win. This cross is our way to a victory. This cross is our luck changing.

I feel like crying with how truly magnificent this cross looks.

"You did it, buddy." We cheer, laugh and applaud Pope. I find myself being pulled into a hug by Sarah and Kiara as we jump and squeal like schoolgirls in a playground.

"Oh, my God!"

"Yeah!" Pope cheers, pulling at the last few pieces of wood with the crowbar.

"Holy shit!"

"I thought you were crazy!"

"We did it! We did it!" Pope yells, excitement in his voice as he holds his arm up. "Okay." He pulls his arm back, wincing which catches my attention. "They're stinging now. Ow!"

Pope throws the crowbar to the ground as the wasps start to pinch at his skin, hurting him. He tries to waft them away, shaking his hands and yelling to us. Pope slips, one foot giving way before the other falls, causing him to fall. My eyes widen as his legs dangle, but he holds onto the beam tightly with his hands as the wasps continue to eat at his skin.

"Hold on, Pope!" I yell, rushing towards the pews to grab the cushions so he can fall without hurting himself.

Following me, my friends move to grab the remaining cushions on the pews, throwing them down onto the ground under where Pope will fall once he has to let go.

"Pope, hold on."

"I'm slipping guys!" He's holding onto the beam with one hand now, and his other hand will likely slip very soon so we rush to throw the cushions down, needing to save him before he plummets to the ground. "Guys!"

"Hold on!" We stack the cushions on top of one another, wanting him to be safe once he falls.

"I can't hold on!"

He falls shortly after saying that, but thankfully his fall is cushioned. His hands and arms have been stung by the killer wasps up above, but he seems to be okay. He's breathing, quite heavily, but at least he's breathing.

I rush to his side, crouching down to check in on him. "Pope, are you okay?" I place a hand on his arm. "You good?"

"Anything broken?" Hopefully not. That would complicate matters if any bones were broken.

"You did not tuck and roll, for sure."

Pope doesn't answer us. He just keeps staring up in a complete daze. We watch him as he stares at the cross. His eyes then widen, capturing our attention as we all look upwards to see the cross, but it's not in its place.

No. The cross is barreling down towards Pope.

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𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖢𝖱𝖮𝖲𝖲 𝖣𝖮𝖤𝖲𝖭'𝖳 𝖫𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖮𝖭 𝖯𝖮𝖯𝖤．Oh, can you imagine if it did? I mean, that would be a funny── not funny "ha, ha", but funny unbelievable. Anyway, I shouldn't say that. It would've been tragic if the giant, heavy cross crash landed on Pope, our boy genius.

We pull him away quickly as the cross comes crashing down, hitting the cushions he once was laid upon.

"Pope, you okay?" I ask, placing a hand on his shoulder as he breathes heavily. He's still lying on the floor, his eyes closed as he tries to manage his breathing. He doesn't look... good.

"Yeah, I'm good." He sighs. "Just give me, like, one second to, like, catch my breath."

"You did it, Pope," John B says, patting a hand on his shoulder.

JJ and John B look to the cross, placing their hands upon it to feel gold at their fingertips once again. They're touching the weight of more than four-hundred million. "Pope, she's..." JJ stares at the cross, looking like he's on the verge of tears. I'm kidding, but he's truly exasperated by this cross. "She's beautiful."

Is it bad that he's never looked at me in the way he's currently staring at this cross?

I probably shouldn't think too much into that.

"I've never seen anything like it."

"The detail is insane." It's true. The jewels and grains and patterns are beautiful, extravagant, and like nothing any of us have seen before. I've never laid my eyes on something so magnificent in my entire life. This moment almost doesn't feel real to me, but it definitely, definitely is. Gold is literally under my fingertips.

"Well, here's why Limbrey wanted that key so bad." John B places his finger over the small keyhole in the centre of the cross which holds this thing that can heal the sick.

"How much do you think she's worth?" JJ asks, looking at each of us. "Like, if we melted her old bones down, dude, I'm talking like high billions."

"This belongs in a── No! This belongs in a museum." Pope does have a point. Something this spectacular belongs in a museum with all the other beautiful objects and artefacts.

"What? So no one sees her?"

"In a museum where everyone sees it."

"Are you kidding?"

"Hey! It's my ancestors' cross!"

"Right, okay. Alright, alright. Well..."

"This is bigger than money, and the world's gotta know the truth," Pope says, his voice still a little breathy.

"Well..." I lift myself up. "If we don't get this shit out of here before Limbrey gets here, nobody's gonna know."

John B stands up beside me. "B's right. Saddle her up."

Saddling her up is easier said than done because this beaut is not going to be easy to carry. No, I imagine this thing weighs more than we can even fathom. With the combined strength of the six of us, I still don't think we'll be able to carry it.

I look away from John B, staring forward at Pope who is still struggling to catch his breath, but it should've been... caught by now. "You okay, Pope?"

"Y-Yeah, just── I'm okay."

Pope lifts himself up, wobbling slightly as he goes to grasp the cross. We step to him, picking different sides of the cross to lift. John B and I hold one end. JJ holds the middle with Sarah while Pope and Kiara hold the end opposite John B and I. The moment I lift the weight of this cross even with everybody else's help, my muscles constrict and tense. I've never had to lift something so heavy before.

"Wait. Hold on." JJ inhales sharply, trying to get a better grip on the cross. "John B, Brooke. You're gonna pull, alright. Pull down," JJ instructs, but he hasn't got a clue what he's talking about.

"I'm gonna pull down. You guys pull up. Ready?" We nod, unsure if his plan will work as we hold on tightly, doing our best to keep a steady grip on the largest, heaviest thing any of us have ever had to hold. "One, two, three."

We then move on the count of three, dragging our feet across the floor as we carry this cross. We make it only a few steps before we find the cross to be falling at one side. "Who's not lifting right now?" JJ looks forward at Sarah who is supposedly helping him lift the middle. "Sarah, are you seriously──"

"I'm lifting!" she yells, defending herself.

"It doesn't feel like it!"

"I am!"

"Okay, guys. I can't. I can't," Pope groans, hands slipping from under the cross.

"No! No, no, no!"

"No, no, Pope!" He can't hold on, I can see it in his face. "Hang in there!" The cross topples to one side, beginning to fall. "No, no! No!"

The cross falls back down as Pope falls too, this time his body slumping against the pews. There's something wrong with him, so now that I've let go of the cross, I rush over to him, concerned as he's, once again, breathing deeply. He looks like he's ill, but I know that he's obviously not.

Sarah and JJ are bickering behind me. John B and Kiara are disagreeing over something, I don't know what. I have fallen to Pope's side, a hand on his knee as I stare at him, seeing that there is something wrong with him.

"Guys!" I yell, cutting off my friends as Pope is far more important than this cross. "Pope isn't okay!" I sit up, sliding a hand up his arm and placing it upon his shoulder. "He isn't okay!"

His eyes are swelling up to twice their size. The wasp bites and marks on his hands and arms are swelling and blistering. From the looks of it, he's having some kind of allergic reaction, but I can't be too sure. He's trying to scratch at the stings on his arms and hands, but I do my best to stop him as the pain will only get worse.

"Your eye, it looks all puffy."

"You good? You don't look too good, bro."

"I can't──" Pope gasps, trying to suck in a sharp breath which alarms me.

He can't breathe. Pope can't breathe.

"He's having an allergic reaction."

"How many times did you get stung?" A fucking lot, I'm guessing.

Pope leans into me, his body becoming limp as he struggles to breathe. "Pope!" I lift my arm, placing it over Pope's shoulder, letting him fall into me as I lift us up. Kiara steps forward, placing her arm around Pope too.

"JJ, try and cover the cross!" we yell as Kiara and I pull him forward, heading for the exit so we can get him some help.

He is far more important than the cross.

"Come on, Pope."

Pope was wheezing and coughing, doing his best to inhale air while Kiara and I pull him towards the truck. I hope JJ finds a way to cover the massive, golden cross in the middle of the church, but God knows if he can. I'm basically praying for a miracle── for Limbrey and Rafe not to figure out where this cross is until we find our way back.

"We'll come back!"

Sarah pulls open the door for us to guide Pope into the back of the truck. "I can't breathe," he repeats, still trying to inhale air. I sit him upright, paranoid that he'll stop breathing all of a sudden.

"We gotta get Pope some help."

"Pope, what do you need, buddy?"

He lifts his hand, jabbing it into his other arm to indicate something. Kiara catches on quickly, realising what he needs right now. "He needs a shot!" she yells to JJ who is getting into the driver's seat with John B beside him.

I sit alongside Pope, pressing my fingers against his pulse because, yes, I'm that paranoid. I don't want to lose him, not when we just had a breakthrough. He finally got to see his family's cross. He needs to be okay.

"A shot?" JJ starts the truck. "Okay. I know where to go!"

Pope is leaning into my shoulder. I have my fingers against his neck, checking for his pulse which is still beating. Kiara is holding Pope's wrist, pressing her fingers against the pulse there. It's beating, slowly and steadily, but it's beating.

"Okay, we're going, Pope." I close my eyes, begging for a miracle. I need him to be okay. "It's going to be okay."

He needs to be okay.

I won't lose Pope because of this cross.

I won't lose Pope. Period.

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❀ soph speaks

thankyou for reading :)