ch 16. homecoming.

"They're a bunch of fancy people." max informs her friends on her limbrey-knowledge, "they've had like three governors in the family. they've run charleston for, like, three hundred years. these kooks make our kooks look like pogues."

jj shoots the younger girl a questionable look. "and how do you know all this?"

"research." max easily deflects, pretending as though she didn't grow up on these very streets herself.

"convincing enough." jj shrugs, glancing out the truck window as they come to a stop. "you sure this is the place, pope?"

"pretty sure."

"alright." the boys each open their respective doors and the group hops out.

pope holds his letter up to the house, confirming the address. "twenty seven king street."

"talk about home security." maxine remains awfully quiet as jj points to the black iron fence surrounding the property, topped with violently sharp spikes. "are those spikes to keep people out?"

kiara shakes her head solemnly. "no."

"the slave quarters are over there." pope gestures with a sigh. "these spikes were to keep people in."

"okay, well, i'm gettin' the creeps." max chimes in, "so can we hurry this up?"

the group enters the yard and approaches the looming house. pope uses the doors knocker three times. he takes a step back. "you think that was too much?"

"it shook the entire house, that's for sure." jj quips. "so they definitely heard it."

"maybe nobody's home." max suggests wishfully.

pope knocks again just as the heavy door is opened, revealing limbreys half-brother renfield. maxine immediately steps behind kie and jj, willing herself invisible.

the man at the door points, "you must be pope."

"um..." pope swallows. "are you mr limbrey?"

"ms. limbrey was expecting you yesterday." renfield corrects.

"oh. i'm sorry. my car broke down on the way up here—" pope hurries to explain.

jj steps in. "carburetor blew up in the middle of nowheresville. sorry about that."

renfield leans against the doorframe. "yeah, she was real upset when you didn't show up. she also expected you to come alone."

pope steps slightly to the side. max further moves behind kie, standing a step below. "i mean, these are my friends. they helped find the royal merchant too so i—"

"yeah but the instructions were explicit." renfield interrupts. "your friends can stay outside."

"well we're kinda a packaged deal, man."

pope turns to the blonde. "jj, it's okay. i got this. i'll be good." he turns to kiara and whispers, "keep the car running" before following renfield inside.

maxine breathes a quiet breath of relief when she goes unrecognized. she follows kiara and jj back to the truck.

"look, if limbrey is legit, then ward gets arrested." kiara says, "and maybe sarah gets the gold."

"hey, guys?" max juts her head out the window where pope is being led into limbreys back garden. "does that look voluntary?"

renfield harshly grabs popes shoulder. "keep walking."

"that would be a negative." jj answers. "they're going into the alley. we'll go around back, meet em on the other side." the blonde starts the truck, driving around the back of the house.

"where did they go?" kiara watches through the window.

"what if they went underground?" jj stupidly suggests, "because in C.H.U.D, when they took people down into the sewers it would turn the human into humanoids 'cause of the radiation, and then all of a sudden they would turn against them—"

"jj, jj," max interrupts, "that does not make any sense."

"right. sorry. did you see him?"

kiara shakes her head, still fixated on the view outside the window. "no."

"wait!" max shouts, spotting a figure between the deep bushes blocking off limbreys garden from the public, "there!"

jj slams on the breaks and the three teens jump out of the truck, sprinting towards the cement wall that guards the garden. he helps maxine up and over before joining her and kiara on the other side, spotting renfield pinning pope to the ground just as the latter is able to flip the table, coming out on top. jj notices an object fall from renfield grasp and races over, kicking the taser away from his reach.

maxine rushes over, pocketing the weapon. "come on!"

"pope, come on!" "come on!" jj and kiara repeat max's warnings. pope scrambles to his feet and the teens hop over the gardens cement wall, sprinting back to the truck.

"who are those people?" kiara exclaims as she hops in next to max.

"i don't know but they're crazy as shit!" pope gasps, "let's get out of here now." maxine can't help but feel a bit guilty for not warning her friends, as she was very familiar with carla limbrey and all she is capable of. however, she knew she could not have; she had to keep up her story, or she would be caught.

and liars cannot be caught.

the trucks tires squeal as jj peels around a corner, "here we go now!"

max looks out the back window as another car trails behind, "i think he's following us!"

"this is a one way!" pope warns, "this is a one way!"

jj continues going forward, "oh, i know."

"this is a one way!" pope, kie, and max all shout frantically.

"they're following us!" kie warns.

pope points at a car approaching the truck from in front, "hey! there's another car! turn now, turn right!"

jj peels to the right just in time, nearly hitting two pedestrians in the process. "get out of the damn road!" he shouts through the window.

"those were people! jesus christ!" maxine exclaims.

"that was evasive driving technique right there, y'all." jj informs. "hang on, gonna lose 'em!" he careens around another sharp turn.

"jesus!" max shouts as she's thrown practically on top of kiara with the momentum. "oh, hey there."

suddenly there's another hissing sound coming from the truck and smoke reappears. "you said he fixed the carburetor!" jj shouts at pope, regarding the sketchy mechanic they had stopped by the previous day. "you said he fixed it!"

"he did!" pope argues.

"no, no, no! shit!" kie curses as the truck comes to a stop. she throws open the passenger side door, "damnit!"

maxine climbs out after her, "what now, mario?"

"number one rule," jj starts as he exits from the drivers side, "never trust mechanics!" they hear the sounds of a car fast approaching, "we gotta go around!"

"go!" maxine urges, taking off. the group sprints off after the girl.

kiara glances back over her shoulder. "guys, i think he has a gun!"

"shit. get down, guys!" jj calls back. "get to the alleyway, go!"

"i think i'm cramping!" pope groans.

"we might have to split up!" max pants, running at the front of the group slightly ahead of jj. "i don't know where to go, okay? we gotta lose them!" she looks over her shoulder briefly, causing her to bulldoze through a mailman, taking him down along with his packages in the process. "shit, sorry!"

"sorry about that!" pope and kie apologize for her as they race by.

"right here!" max sharply turns a corner, jj following right behind and gesturing for kie and pope to follow.

"he's right there!" the blonde warns, "go, go, go!"

"he's gaining, let's go!"

"i am going, pope!" max rolls her eyes, "you guys gotta keep up!" she reaches the end of the alleyway and stops dead in her tracks. jj, pope, and kiara slide to a halt, too, nearly running into maxine.

there, directly in front of the four teens, were their two 'dead' friends sitting very alive on a borrowed bike. the group of teens pause for a moment, staring in absolute shock until reminded of their situations.

"get in, get in!" john b urges from the front seat, pedaling. "come on!" sarah moves over to make more room in the back seat, "get in!" kiara and max gladly jump up beside her while jj and pope rush to the rear of the bike to help push it along.

although she'd be the last to admit it, maxine had become fond of the kook-turned-pogue sarah cameron, and missed her fiercely (maybe even as much as she had missed john b, but don't tell her that.) something about sarah's background had resonated with the younger teen, as maxine had also once been a kook before becoming a (proud) pogue.

of course, no one knew of maxine's previous status before appearing on the island, but her family had had money. max had never quite understood what her parents did as jobs, but whatever it was had gotten them wrapped up with some incredibly dangerous people from all over. and although she didn't look like it, carla limbrey was one of those people. maybe not on her own, but with the power she held through her guard dogs.

much like the guard dog that was currently launching himself at the teenagers on their getaway bike. renfield grasps onto maxine's wrist, shouting "hey!" as though he recognized her.

"ew!" she exclaims, trying to wriggle away. "your hands are sticky, man!"

"get off of her!" sarah and kiara shout, harshly shoving him away from their friend. renfield collapses hard onto the pavement and the teens cheer.

"see ya later, alligator!" jj calls out.

pope straightens himself on the side of the bike, "see you later, asshole!"

max holds up both her middle fingers, "too-da-loo bitches!"

john b pedals to the cameron family boat he and sarah had driven from the bahamas; as the reunited friends spend the night swapping stories from the time they were apart, maxine can't help but feel like an imposter.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

"We're gonna find some food." max joins kie and sarah early the next morning, the boat having pulled up to a random dock. they sneak into someone's backyard garden, rummaging for anything somewhat edible.

maxine stands over by sarah, picking through the various berry bushes when kiara suddenly calls out, "jackpot!" holding a large watermelon above her head.

they crack open the fruit and eat with their hands, kiara on a bench in the garden while sarah and max sit in the grass, leaning up against it.

kie notices maxine pick small pieces from sarah's half of the watermelon. "there's a bunch more if you want one for yourself, max."

the younger girl shakes her head. "oh, no. i'm not that hungry; would just be a waste."

"mhm. right." sarah eyes max, "so...what's up with you?"

"what do you mean?"

"you've been acting off since we left charleston."

max plays dumb, "uh, no i haven't."

"yes, you have." kiara argues. "you knew your way around charleston pretty well. is that where you lived before moving to obx?" she pops
a piece of watermelon into her mouth.

maxine figures there isn't much harm in telling this truth. "yeah. grew up there." she notices kie about to say something and quickly changes the subject. "so, you really got married?" she asks sarah.

"it wasn't exactly legal, but.." sarah blushes. "yeah."

"girl."

maxine quickly grows restless, rising to be feet and dusting dirt from her overalls. "we should probably head back before the boys resort to cannibalism." she heads back into the garden to retrieve a watermelon for their other friends.

the older girls share a look of concern as the teen walks away. sarah gestures to max, whispering, "did something happen? she's acting off."

kie only shrugs. "not that i know of. but she is, isn't she?"

maxine interrupts their meeting by shouting, "a little help over here! can't exactly carry three watermelons by myself!"

the older girls roll their eyes, joining max deeper in the garden and helping her to retrieve more fruit. the trio lugs a couple of watermelons back down to the dock where the boys are having their own tea session inside the boat.

"hi." sarah greets, "what y'all talking about?"

john b swallows, not making eye contact. "uh...fishing."

"dropping lures." jj squints in the early morning sunlight. "that's that, you know?"

"yeah, mhm." maxine hums, unconvinced.

jj gestures to the watermelon cradled in the small redheads arms, "need help?"

"no, but you can take it anyways." max smiles, dropping the fruit into the blondes arms. it actually was quite heavy, but she wasn't going to admit that.

jj groans under its weight. "goodness gracious."

"what's that now?" pope asks as the girls climb back into the boat.

kiara proudly holds up her watermelon, "i got breakfast."

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

"There she is." the pogues finally arrive at the château, causing relief to course through a beaming john b.

"bet its good to see her old bones." jj rises to tie the boat off, "welcome home, guys."

"you know, i gotta be honest." kie admits as they climb up to the dock, "not exactly looking forward to a check in at home."

"see, that's the beauty of basically being an orphan." maxine grins.

kiara sighs. "my parents probably already arranged my funeral."

"i also predict unpleasantries at the heyward household after i left the truck in charleston." pope relates.

"no one knows we're here, right?" suddenly, maxine gets an idea. "and you two aren't gonna get into any more trouble for showin' up twelve hours later." she says to pope and kie. "am i right, or am i right?"

"you're not wrong." pope shrugs.

"the kids right," jj gently tugs on one of maxine's insanely messy braids, "we have twelve hours to do whatever we want. huh? a little pogue fellowship. how's that sound?"

"let shit hit the fan tomorrow, come on." john b notices sarah's hesitation.

"the cops could be looking for us." the blonde girl reminds, "it could be really stupid."

jj approaches the girl perched on the wooden railing, "sarah cameron, you've heard of my philosophy right?"

she shakes her head. "no."

"stupid things have good outcomes all the time." jj claps, continuing down the dock. "who's with me? let's get some beer!"

"amen!" maxine hoots, jogging after him.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

"Uh, what the hell was that?" max questions with alertness after hearing the sound of a car door slamming shut. she and jj, sarah, and john b were the only four of their friends remaining at the fire as pope and kiara had gone off on the hms pogue to do god only knows what.

"uh, john b's chicken?" jj answers plainly.

max shakes her head. "no, i heard a car door."

jj starts to cluck like a chicken. listening, john b slaps a hand over his friends mouth. hearing footsteps approach, the group curses.

"quick! the fire!" maxine hisses. jj stamps the flames out as sarah grabs the younger girls hand, pulling her away to a tree at the edge of the yard.

just as john b and jj join the girls up in the tree, none other than rafe cameron steps into view underneath them. they still, remaining as quiet and motionless as possible.

suddenly, barry comes storming out of the house, smashing glass and slamming things around.

"yo! anything?" rafe asks him.

"no, ain't shit in there bro."

"they were obviously just here based off the smoke, man." rafe points to the sizzling fire pit.

"yeah, great observation boy scout." barry retorts. maxine almost wants to laugh at the insult; if it wasn't for the revolver in the drug dealers hand. "smokey the bear! look at you, bro!"

rafe paces across the yard. "they gotta be around here somewhere." he spots the dedication to john b carved in the tree trunk. "well shit." he laughs.

"so your sisters a pogue for life, huh rafe? who would've thought."

rafe pauses briefly before violently shouting, "shit!"

sarah and maxine flinch, turning further into the tree encasing them in its leaves.

rafe fires seven shots into the air, one bullet just narrowly missing maxine's face. she flinches, looking down at a distraught sarah. as she does so, max's mouth drops open at the bullethole in the tree trunk she has her arms wrapped around.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

"Hey! guys, don't tie up!" jj races down the dock the next morning as pope and kiara arrive, catching the attention of the brunette who looks up in confusion, "what?"

maxine jogs down the ramp onto the lower dock, "we're dippin'."

"wait, why?"

"what? what are you talking about?" pope and kiara question.

john b helps a still limping sarah down the ramp, "where'd you guys go, what happened last night?"

"slept on the break," pope explains, "what's up?"

jj scoffs. "slept, right. yeah, we were up all night."

"i was almost shot!" maxine remarks rather subtly.

"we gotta get the hell outta here." john b climbs into the boat.

"rafe knows we're here," sarah explains, "so we have to leave, like, now."

kiara accepts without question, leaning down to untie the boat from its hold. "okay."

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

"Look, if rafe and barry know then it's only a matter of time before everyone knows." kiara warns after the pogues take refuge off the side of the marsh.

jj throws his arms up, "i told you! we should've just gone south, man. why does no one ever listen to me?"

"uh, maybe 'cause you're an idiot?" max causally suggests.

"i have an idea." sarah pipes up, "with me back, my dads going to have to choose between me and rafe. he's gonna choose me."

"the guy keeps lyin' to you. what makes you think he's gonna stop now?" max offers.

kie adds softly, "sarah, he's not gonna agree after everything thats happened."

"look, i know it sounds crazy—"

"yeah, it does." max quips.

"i know!" sarah silences the protests, her voice breaking as she explains, "but he's my dad. and i know him, and i know he loves me. i'm just asking for two hours." she looks up at john b before silently getting up and walking to the boat.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Sarah returns a few hours later. max and the others rush to the shoreline to greet her, "sarah!"

"you made it!"

"so how'd it go?" john b asks.

sarah solemnly shakes her head. "you guys were right. it didn't work. i'm sorry."

"then that settles it, guys." jj steps forward, "now, y'all need to load up the paddy wagon and get the heck out of dodge right now."

"right." pope agrees, hands on his hips. "you're gonna need supplies and you gonna have to split as soon as possible."

maxine notices wailing sirens and warns with a wavering voice. "guys i think it's too late."

"they followed you here." john b realizes. the group stares at the flock of police boats fast approaching. "must've been your father. we're gonna have to find another way out of here."

one of the officers raises a megaphone, "stay on the beach with your hands in the air!"

"yeah, no thanks." maxine mutters, "guys, come on! run!"

the six teens take off sprinting across the small island, wading into a small swamp. "go, go!"

john b helps sarah through a wooded area, her arm slung over his shoulders as he urges his friends to keep running while reassuring a limping sarah, "you're okay, you're okay."

as they push through some tall grass, max calls out, "sarah, you good?"

"yeah." the blonde pants. they come across another swamp and jj hops in first, holding out a hand to help the three girls down and into the water.

as they swim urgently across the swamp to another stretch of land, an officer shouts, "freeze! stay where you are!"

maxine reaches land first, kiara close behind. the rest of the group follows as they rush to hide behind a large tree, gasping for air and coughing up water.

"fuck." max curses, "we're surrounded. what do we do?"

"there's no getting out of this. we gotta make a stand." jj rings out his bandana and uses it to dry off his gun, pulling it from his back pocket.

john b glances back, noticing the weapon. he takes in the terrified looks on kiara, sarah, and maxine's faces and watches jj pull back on the guns safety, lunging out to stop him just in time. he shakes his head, grabbing the weapon and dropping it to the ground. "it's gonna be all right. here we go."

jj kicks dirt over the gun, burying it completely. john b steps out from behind the trees cover and raises his hands.

officer shoupe arrives at the scene and draws his weapon. "john b! step out into the clearing! get down. do not move!"

"i'm surrendering!" the teen informs the officers.

"the rest of y'all, stay right where you are. keep your hands where we can see them." shoupe then calls out to the terrified teens by the tree.

"hey listen, shoupe, i wanna testify!" john b puts his hands behind his head and slowly drops to his knees.

"it's about time. get down, do not move a muscle."

suddenly officer thomas holsters his weapon and lunges toward john b, grabbing him around the neck and yanking him to his feet. thomas attacks the teenager, slamming him into the ground and stomping on his side. the boys friends immediately start screaming. "no, stop!" "let him go!"

shoupe grabs his partners arm, "thomas!"

but the officer only shakes shoupe off, "get off!" he grabs john b by the collar and hoists him back up onto his feet one final time. "this is for peterkin." he hauls off and swiftly punches john b across the face, knocking the boy out and into the dirt.