┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
❝ bro, you almost killed us all ❞
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

"Uh, Pope, you're driving pretty fast" Sarah speaks up as Pope speeds down the road at a concerning speed and the boy lets out a loud wolf like howl.

"I would just like to voice that I'm very concerned right now" I announce and JJ rubs my back from my place on his lap.

"Pope, last to judge, but I think you should slow down a little" JJ adds on.

"That would definitely delay our arrival to the cross. We gotta get there" Pope argues.

"We won't get there at all if you kill us, Pope" I retort but he ignores me.

"Why did we let him drive again?" Kiara questions worriedly.

"I said I'd rip your ears off" Pope answers.

"Because he said he'd rip our ears off" Sarah nods.

"You did" Kiara also nods.

"I was joking about that, by the way" Pope assures us.

"That's a really funny joke" Kiara snarks.

"Hey, how ya feeling, buddy? How ya doing?" John B questions.

"Uh, fantastic. I don't know what JJ's cousin gave me, but I am moving!" Pope answers enthusiastically.

"We couldn't tell" Kiara sarcastically quips.

"I thought you were still dead to be honest" I add with just as much sarcasm.

"Okay, well, um, you're going really fast right now" John B points out.

"Yeah, really fast!" Pope swivels around to look at us and we all scream at him to keep his eyes on the road.

"I don't know if you noticed, but there's these giant oak trees all along the road. They're like six inches off the road" John B informs him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You don't need to pass" Kiara rushes out as Pope tries to swerve around the car in front of us "You don't need to pass. You don't need to pass!"

I cling onto JJ tightly as we almost end up in a head on collision with an oncoming car but Pope manages to quickly move back into the right lane and my heart is thumping against my chest in fear.

"What an asshole, right?" Pope scoffs.

"Pope, he's going the speed limit!" Kiara snaps at him.

"We're all gonna die" I whimper, hiding my face in JJ's neck.

"We're not gonna get to the cross if we're dead, Pope!" John B warns the boy.

"We're not gonna die. It's our divine right to get that cross" Pope states matter of factly.

"Pope! Look at the road!" John B shouts.

The Heyward boy swerves, hitting an oak tree with the back of the truck and we start spinning out of control, all of us screaming and grabbing onto the nearest thing. Screeching tires is all I hear as the car crashes straight into another tree and we're all thrown forward, broken glass raining down on us. My head slams against the window and I yelp in pain, JJ still hold my body incredibly tight to his.

"Is everyone okay?" John B groans out.

"I think so" Sarah answers weakly.

"Never better" JJ huffs out, checking me over for injuries "That is the last time you drive, Pope"

We all drag ourselves out of the wrecked vehicle and Kiara runs around it, staring at the damage in shock.

"My dad's truck! No!" She cries out.

"Kie, one word. Totaled" JJ quips.

"I feel kinda dizzy" I mumble out, my head thumping in agony.

"Whoa!" John B gasps, catching me as I stumble into him "Are you okay?"

"She probably has a concussion" Sarah inspects the back of my head where I hit it and I wince in pain, my grip on John B tightening.

"My parents are gonna kill me for real this time" Kiara breathes hopelessly.

"Yeah, well, weren't they already gonna do that anyway?" JJ retorts.

"Helpful. Thank you" Kiara sasses him.

"Ow!" I wail in pain when Sarah puts pressure on the sorest part of my head.

"You good, Vie?" Kiara asks me, her and JJ staring at me worriedly.

"Yeah, I'll live" I wave them off, slapping Sarah's hands away from my head.

"We're gonna have to walk the rest of the way" Pope declares.

"Dude" Sarah says in disbelief.

"I'm going to get my cross" Pope retorts simply.

"Bro, you almost killed us all" I snap at him but he ignores us, walking away.

"Hey, just relax for a second" John B stops him.

"Get off of me" Pope demands.

"No. I'm trying to help" John B argues.

"Move. I'm getting my cross" Pope repeats in determination.

"We just crashed the car" John B stresses in concern "I'm trying to watch out for you. Hey! No!"

"Pope! Pope!" Kiara calls out.

"There's a truck coming" John B manages to hold Pope back.

"Get off of me!" Pope yells.

"Pope, calm down!" I holler.

"You're gonna get hit by a car!" John B shouts "What are you doing? Pope, no! Stop!"

My eyes are drawn to the truck that is passing us and my heart drops to my stomach when I see my brother in the driver seat, Renfield by his side.

"We gotta get back to the church!" Pope declares "No, no!"

"No, no, no, no" Kiara groans.

"We have to go now!" I agree with Pope, chasing after the boy.

The six of us sprint all the way to the church and Pope pulls the doors open defeatedly. We follow him inside and find the place where the cross sat is now empty.

"It's gone" Kiara states the obvious.

"Damn it!" JJ curses, kicking pillows in anger "I knew I didn't hide it well enough! Damn it!"

"JJ, it's not your fault" I assure him, taking a hold of his shoulder.

"Okay. What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?" He mumbles, mostly to himself "Okay, think, think, think, think. We need a plan. We need a plan. What's the plan?"

"All right, here's what we do" The blonde boy speaks up "We'll grab some kerosene tanks from the Chat, then we... we go to my dad's shop and grab some dynamite. And then we drive down to Charleston and tell this lady who she's messing with! Because this is some bullshit, y'all!"

"That's not gonna help" Sarah disagrees, shaking her head.

"Well, what is, Sarah?" JJ retorts angrily.

"I'm thinking, okay?" John B states "We can't just go blow shit up, JJ"

"They're right. Violence isn't going to solve this" I agree with my sister and John B.

"Pope, I'm sorry" JJ says to the silent boy in front of us.

"Denmark would've stood right here...preaching to everyone he set free" Pope explains "A slave, the sole survivor of the Royal Merchant, he got the gold and the cross, and he brought them both to shore and used it to free every person who walked through those doors."

"He made a church, a family, a congregation...a home" Pope continues, his face twisting with rage "And the Limbreys took everything from him. They sicced dogs on his wife and his kids, and when he tried to get her remains, they hung him"

"Well, I'm done. I'm tired of that shit. That is not how this is gonna end" He declares confidently "We need a freaking win, guys. I'm going to get my family's cross"

Pope strides towards the doors and turns to us, asking "You guys coming?"

"Well, if you put it that way..." John B drawls off jokingly.

"Maybe we should think about it, you know?" JJ teases.

"Pros and cons?" John B suggests.

"Pros and cons list" JJ agrees before laughing "Hell yeah, we're coming, Pope!"

"Let's get the cross back" I state and Pope smiles at me, nodding.