𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣'𝙨 𝙋𝙊𝙑

The bright lights shut off, letting us know that the girls have succeeded and I grin happily in pride, turning to the boys who all smile at me.

"They did it. Go time" John B declares.

"So, let's do it" Pope replies.

"Three, two-" John B starts to count down but JJ stands up and the brunette glares at him "Just- Just go"

The boys and I grab all the supplies, trudging towards the door to the basement that they found the last time they were here.

John B is the first to enter without hesitation, Pope and JJ sharing a look before following the Routledge boy and I glance at Makoa who takes a hold of my hand, walking behind the pair into the scarily dark basement.

"Holy crap, you know what this is?" JJ asks out of nowhere and we all look at him "It just hit me. Pope, look. This is C.H.U.D. Full C.H.U.D."

"What is he talking about?" John B asks Pope.

"Cannabalistic humanoid underground dwellers?" JJ elaborates in disbelief and I perk up "Have you guys not seen that film?"

"No" John B answers.

"Can't say I have, no" Pope adds.

"I've seen it" I tell the blonde cheerily and he flashes me a room brightening grin.

"I fall more in love with you every single time you open your mouth" JJ announces, wiping a fake tear from under his eye and I giggle as Makoa rolls his eyes.

"The only reason she watched it is 'cause I made her" Makoa grumbles and Pope pats his back.

"It's actually a good film" JJ informs Pope and John B, throwing his arm around my shoulders "It's about, like, cannibals that live in the sewers under New York City, and it's like-"

"Shut up! Shut up!" John B snaps in annoyance and I lean my head on JJ in hopes of making him feel listened to "All right. How deep do you think this is, Pope?"

"I don't know" Pope sighs and I feel JJ press a kiss to my head the way that Thomas often does, making me smile.

Pope, Makoa and JJ set up the rig while I make sure that the rope is secure enough that John B won't fall from a massive height for the second time. The brunette then lowers himself into the well and looks at us as we all hold onto the rope to keep him up.

"Hey, guys. I have one request" He speaks up.

"Yeah?" JJ, Pope, Makoa and I all chirp in unison.

"Don't drop me" John B replies.

"Whoa!" JJ laughs, letting the rope drop a little to scare his best friend.

"Okay!" John B yells in fright, causing the boys and I to chuckle in amusement.

"You're gonna die first, for sure" The Routledge boy threatens the blonde boy next to me.

"Got ya" JJ grins.

"All right, just keep payin' it out nice and slow like that" Pope warns us as we start to lower John B down.

"There we go. Keep goin'" John B encourages us "Keep goin'"

"Wait, hold on one second. I'm gonna get situated" JJ grunts, wrapping the rope around his back.

"You good?" Pope asks in concern.

"JJ, what are you doing?" I question in confusion.

"Oh my-" JJ gasps as the rope slips out his hands.

I'm yanked forwards towards the hole with a scream, not being able to hold John B's weight by myself and quickly pulled back by Makoa before I can trip over the edge.

"Oh, shit! John, shit!" Pope snaps.

"Whoa! What-" John B yells as he falls.

JJ and Pope dive forward, grabbing the rope before our friend falls too far and I look down at my rope burnt palms with a grimace as Makoa helps the boys pull John B up a little.

"Jesus" JJ breathes out as they get a good hold on the rope again "John B!"

"I told you not to drop me!" He scolds us.

"You good, man?" Pope asks.

"What the hell was that?" John B hisses.

"Little technical difficulties" Pope says vaguely.

"Sorry!" I call out, deciding not take a hold of the rope again and just let the boys do the heavy lifting.

"Keep going, slow!" John B orders.

"Okay, we're gonna start paying you out again, all right?" Pope explains.

They start lowering our friend down again and I sit down on an old lawn chair, waiting for Kiara and Sarah to appear.

"Okay. All right, Keep goin'" John B shouts up after a minute or so "Keep it comin'"

"Okay" JJ grunts.

"Hey. Hey, we got fifteen feet left" Pope points out "Are you getting close to the bottom?"

"I can't tell" John B answers "Just keep goin'"

"Give me more" Pope demands, looking at JJ and Makoa.

They give him more of the rope and they continue to lower John B down while my anxiousness causes me to start pulling at the loose threads on my shorts.

"Whoa! Stop!" John B abruptly hollers and I perk up curiously "I'm hanging over some sewage water lookin' shit"

"Oh, yuck" I cringe, standing up and walking over to the boys.

"You want back up?" Pope questions.

"Keep goin', I guess..." John B drawls of uncertainly.

"Nice and slow" JJ hums as they pay the brunette more rope.

"Okay! Okay! I'm at the bottom!" John B shouts.

"How is it down there?" Pope asks curiously as we all gather around the edge to look down at our friend, Makoa and JJ grabbing onto the back of my hoodie.

"It's worse than I thought" John B answers in disgust.

"You find any gold?" JJ then asks.

"Uh, nothin' yet" John B responds.

There's silence before I hear the Routledge boy coughing and spluttering, causing me to frown in concern.

"Are you okay, John?" I question worriedly.

"JJ! Hey, pull me up!" John B starts screaming in distress "Pull me up! Come on, dude!"

"Pull him up! Come on, pull him up!" Pope rushes out.

"Go! Come on, man! Pull me up!" John B barks "Come on! Pull me up!"

"We're pulling you up, JB!" Makoa assures the boy, yanking hard on the rope.

"Shit!" The brunette curses and I hear rocks falling "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"

The boys stop pulling him and the four of us share a confused look.

"Hey, I think I found something" John B tells us, sounding a lot calmer now.

"Hey, John B. What did you say?" Pope asks in confusion.

"Just give me a minute. Hold on" John B replies.

"Do you think he's found something?" I ask the boys next to me and their eyes widen as they nod.

The silence that suffocates the basement goes on too long for my anxious self to handle and I share a worried look with Makoa.

"John B, you okay?" JJ shouts down.

"Any dead bodies?" Pope adds.

"Did you say dead bodies?" I repeat in fear, grabbing onto Makoa and he pats my head.

"Guys!" I hear Kiara and Sarah scream as they run towards us.

"Whoa, whoa. What's going on?" Pope asks in concern.

"Mrs Crain! She's up there! She tried to kill us with a fire poker!" Kiara screams, throwing herself at me in fright and I check the girl over for any injuries before hugging her back in relief.

"You're okay, Kie" I assure her.

"We gotta go" Sarah pants.

"We locked her in the parlour, but we gotta go" Kiara agrees, pulling away from me to look at the boys.

"Okay, that's code red! That's code red!" JJ panics.