THE POGUES SPENT THE WHOLE DAY PREPPING.

they picked up ainsley and levi, levi because he was the only one who had actually made it over the wall when they were little, and ainsley because she had spent a lot of time around the area at her grandparents house and was most familiar with the roads and even blind spots in the house.

"you guys got rope?" john b questioned.

"yep." emery replied.

"grappling hook?"

"no grappling hook, we're not batman." pope said, unamused.

"pulley?" john b asked from the front.

"check." levi replied.

"dark clothing?" he confirmed.

"i'd hope you're already wearing it." emery deadpanned.

"flashlights?"

"present and accounted for." mara replied, passing them around the van.

"alight, good." john b muttered. "we're ready."

"let's go." kie mumbled.

"let's go get rich, guys." jj added, opening the back door of the van and the passenger door for emery, she and john b climbing out of the van and grabbing their supplies out of the back.

"yeah. hell yeah." kie muttered, passing the pulley supplied to emery.

"wait, wait, wait." john b said when he got to the other side of the van, everyone stopping to look up at him from their spots in the back of the van, emery from where she was leaned against the door. "i wanna say thank you, guys. seriously. it means a lot to me that you're here tonight."

kiara smiled at him, rolling her eyes at the sappiness of his comment. "always."

emery grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly and smiling up at him, john b returning the look, his face lit up by the interior light in the twinkie.

"of course, man." pope said, he and john b doing the pogue handshake.

"my man." john b replied, mara eyeing emery.

"watch out, ems. he's gonna steal your boyfriend." she joked, making the two outside the van chuckle.

"alright, we done with this circle jerk? can we go do this?" jj asked, the large bundle of rope thrown over his shoulder. levi passed emery and john b flashlights as they cleared the doorway of the van to let the rest of the pogues out.

"let's go get that wheat in the water." pope voiced.

"weed? i'm up for weed." jj replied.

"honestly, me too." levi added.

"wheat. i said wheat." pope corrected, sounding quite annoyed with the boys as he did. the group made it to the wall, and once they had all made it over, followed john b into a clearing, near the side of the house with the basement door. suddenly, a floodlight came on, shining down on the group, making them all gasp and scramble away from the house.

"shit shit!" emery exclaimed, john b grabbing her and pulling her behind a bush with the others.

"go, go, go!" pope urged.

"flashlights!" kiara instructed.

"it's on strobe!" jj stressed, mara grabbing the flashlight impatiently and turning it off.

"are you incompetent?" she spat.

"okay, so she has motion sensor lights." pope breathed.

"we couldn't tell." levi sassed.

"we could like... move really slowly." jj suggest.

"you're stupid." emery deadpanned.

"yeah, that's not how it works." pope replied.

"oh, shit! let's throw a rock at it!" john b suggested, emery and mara looking at him as though he had sprouted a third head.

"what?" pope asked, his voice high in confusion.

"that is possibly the worst idea you've ever had." mara added.

"that's a great idea actually, let the axe murderer know we're here." kiara said sarcastically.

"throw a rock at it?" pope repeated, john b rolling his eyes.

"okay, yo got a better idea?"

"anything but that." emery suggested, shrugging.

"there's a breaker box on the porch." levi mentioned. "i came here with rafe and sarah when we were kids and played hide and seek, we always dared sarah to go up on the front porch, i've seen it before."

"lee, you're not going into an axe murderers house by yourself- also why were you playing hide and seek without me?" emery said flatly, finishing on an offended note.

"stop me." levi sassed.

"crain chops people into pieces." jj reminded, mara glaring at him.

"what did i say about telling us scary shit all the time? i said stop." she deadpanned.

"if you believe that." levi replied. "how old is she now, eighty five?"

"somewhere in there." emery replied.

"she's probably bedbound, living on tapioca pudding and oatmeal." levi added, kiara and ainsley looking at each other and then to levi.

"we'll go with him." ainsley spoke, emery raising her eyebrows.

"this is going to turn into a makeout session on crain's living room couch." she muttered, looking between ainsley and levi.

"okay, we'll wait for the lights to go off, i guess." mara said, the trio getting up, levi giving emery a reassuring smile before jogging after ainsley and kie towards the house, as emery looked at mara like she was insane.

"you're not worried about them at all?"

"i have no dogs in the fight. not my brother, future sister-in-law, and my... actually neither of us like kie." she shrugged.

"that's valid." emery muttered.

after about five minutes of jj and pope acting questionably zesty, the lights on the porch flipped off, emery grinning at the group.

"they did it." she muttered, she and mara grabbing levi's discarded supplies and following the boys to the basement door, jj and pope being quick to start setting up the pulley as mara and emery helped get john b ready to go down the well.

"holy crap, y'know what this is?" jj was asking from behind them. "it just hit me. pope, look. this is c.h.u.d. full c.h.u.d."

"what is he talking about." john b asked pope, his eyes wide in confusion.

"cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers?" jj asked, emery rolling her eyes. "have you guys not seen that film?"

"not this again, please." she pleaded, starting to unroll the rope draped over her arm.

"no." john b deadpanned, clearly not wanting to think about the possibility of cannibals being down the well he was about to go into.

"can't say i have." pope replied.

"he made me watch it once." mara replied, shuddering as she did.

"it's actually a good film, it's about cannibals that live in the sewers under new york city and it's like-"

"jj!" emery scolded, nodding towards john b who was looking into the well uneasily.

"how deep do you think this is, pope?" the brunette asked, his voice still steady despite the questioning look on his face.

"i don't know." pope breathed, the uneasy look on john b's face only deepening. however, once the rope had been threaded through the pulley and john b stepped onto the loop made for him by emery, he seemed eager to go down the well.

"guys, i have one request." john b asked.

"what's up?" emery asked.

"don't drop me." the boy breathed, jj letting go of the rope just enough john b fell a couple inches, the blonde boy exclaiming loudly as he did. "okay! you're gonna die first, for sure."

"got ya." the boy replied.

"alright, just keep paying it out, nice and slow like that." pope said, jj groaning as he struggled to keep ahold of the rope.

"keep going!" john b yelled from down the well, emery and mara attempting to help jj keep a hold on the rope, despite the considerable difference in upper body strength between them and jj.

"wait, hold on one second, i'm gonna get situated." jj said, attempting to move to a place where it would be easier to hold the rope, but he ended up falling and letting go of the rope in the process. the fire-like sensation on emery and mara's hands from the rope sliding through them made the girls yelp and pull their hands away, leading to pope being the only person still holding onto the rope, and john b yelling in terror from down the well.

finally, pope got a hold on the rope and jj was able to grab it from the ground, emery and mara scrambling to help hold the rope.

"john b?" emery called down the well.

"i told you not to drop me!" he shouted back angrily.

"you good man?" pope called.

"what the hell was that?" john b called back, his voice concerned and his breathing heavy.

"technical difficulties." pope replied, everyone still holding the rope.

"keep going, slow!" john b called back, voice shaking slightly.

"keep going." emery told jj and mara, who began helping her feed the rope slowly to pope and down the well.

"okay, alright, keep it coming!" john b shouted back up the well, emery looking back at the short amount of rope behind them.

"john, there's about fifteen feet of rope left. are you almost to the bottom?" she asked.

"i can't tell." he called back. "just keep going."

after letting a few more feet of rope down the well, john b called up to them. "hold on, stop! i'm hanging over some sewage water looking shit."

"you want back up?" pope called.

"keep going i guess?" john b replied, unsure and in disgust as they continued to let rope down the well. emery could hear his labored breaths, which she assumed was a reaction to- what she imagined to be- very cold water.

"hey! hey, i'm at the bottom!" john b yelled, jj tying the rope to a nearby beam as he, emery, and mara rushed over to the well.

"how is it down there?" pope called.

"it's worse than i thought." john b replied after a minute.

"you found your riches yet?" mara called.

"nothing yet- wait. i feel something." there was silence before the sound of, much to emery's disgust, sounded like someone going completely under the water and resurfacing.

"do not tell me you just-"

but the girl didn't have time to finish her statement, because john b began tugging on the rope frantically, begging to be pulled out of the well.

"jj! hey! pull me up! come on, man! go!" he shouted desperately.

"pull him up, come on!" emery yelled, she and pope already pulling the rope and trying to get john b out of the well as he panicked below them.

"go! man, come on! pull me up!" john b continued, pure terror in his voice as the group hurried to pull their friend out of the well. emery could hear things falling into the water below her, sounding like rocks, indicating in his frantic state, john b had been attempting to climb up the wall.

"wait, wait, wait!" he yelled suddenly, all panic suddenly gone from his voice. he actually sounded calm, much to emery's dismay, the girl rolling her eyes as she tied the rope off again.

"bipolar ass bitch." she muttered, moving to sit next to the edge of the well and hear from john b again.

"hey, i think i found something." he said, still, freakishly calm for someone who had just sounded like he was shitting his pants in fear about twenty seconds ago.

"what'd you say?" pope asked, just as confused as emery about the calm tone of john b's voice.

"just give me a minute, hold on." the boy called back, emery tossing her hands up in surrender for a second before letting them fall back to the ground.

"mar, come play tic-tac-toe with me." she pleaded, drawing the board in the dirt of the basement floor, jj shining his flashlight at them so they could see what they were doing and her and pope could watch.

three games later- two wins for emery, one for mara- ainsley, levi, and kie ran into the basement frantically.

"guys! guys!" kie and ainsley were yelling, levi looking panicked as his eyes flicked back and forth to the basement stairs.

"whoa, what's going on?" jj asked as he and pope looked up, emery and mara glancing up from their fourth game for a second before going back for a split second, just to finish.

"mrs. crain, she's up there!" kie explained, making emery and mara look up.

"wait, what?" emery asked.

"she hit me with a fire poker." levi breathed.

"she tried to kill us." ainsley gasped, kiara shaking her head.

"guys, we gotta get the fuck out of here." she said quickly, emery and mara standing up, mara hurrying to help jj untie the rope.

"she's locked in the parlor." levi assured, emery leaning over the well.

"jb! get back on the rope!" she yelled, walking to help the other pull the rope, knowing they could get him up faster if it was all of them.

"three, two, one- pull!" pope instructed, but the lack of weight on the rope made all of them fall backwards.

"where the hell is he?" kie asked.

"john b!" jj yelled attempting to untangle himself from the rope.

"where is he?" emery asked, scrambling back up and running over to the well. "john b, get on!"

"guys, shut up!" mara demanded.

his voice was quiet, but emery heard it.

"i found the gold!"

unfortunately, kie did not.

"what's he saying?" the girl asked.

"ems! mara! jj!" john b yelled.

"yo, he's drowning!" kiara exclaimed, emery wrinkling her eyebrows at her.

"that's not what he said but whatever." she replied, yelling down the well one last time. "john b, get your fat ass back on the rope!"

the whole group was making progress, getting john b pulled back to the top of the well in a timely manner, keeping in mind that mrs. crain could come downstairs any second.

that was exactly what she did.

the first gunshot went to the other side of the room, everyone almost letting go of the rope in shock.

"tie it off!" emery yelled to jj, who did as he was told and tied the rope to the beam again, he and emery still pulling on the rope as the others scattered around the room.

"she can't aim for shit." kie mentioned, emery looking up at mrs. crain for the first time. her eyes were glazed over, white and blue.

"she's blind." emery mumbled, before tugging the rope as hard as she could in a last ditch attempt to get john b to the top of the well. another gunshot sent pellets flying by her and jj.

"i don't care if she's blind, emery, that's buckshot." jj breathed, the boy scrambling away as emery attempted to keep ahold of the rope. levi and pope had vanished to a corner, ainsley was with kiara, mara was behind a dresser next to where emery was holding the rope with jj, and john b was still at least ten feet down the well.

"mar, mar." emery muttered. you guys have to go, get out of here."

"we can't, you guys are sitting ducks." the girl breathed, but emery shook her head.

"jj and i will stay, we'll pull john b up. he's
not that far down. if you guys go, we can get him up without being shot at." emery explained, another gunshot lighting the room up as she did.

"what's the plan, ems?" jj asked through gritted teeth in front of her.

"go!" emery hissed, mara looking at jj, then to emery, and nodding, quickly standing up and running across the basement to the door, ushering for the others to follow her. mrs. crain turned her back to jj and emery to face them, giving the two just enough time to pull john b the rest of the way up the well. he pulled himself onto the concrete, emery grabbing his muddy hand and pulling him across the basement, the two following jj as they ran right past mrs. crain, who was facing the entirely wrong direction and shut the basement door on their way out, sprinting across the front yard.

"where are they?" emery could hear kiara asking, the blonde girl practically throwing herself over the wall and sprinting to the twinkie where jj had gotten into the drivers seat, she and john b diving into the backseat as mara got into the front, another gunshot echoing behind them.

"why are we always getting shot at?" pope asked, emery hitting the back of jj's seat repeatedly.

"we're all in, go!" she yelled, jj not waiting for the back door to be shut before he hit the gas, driving as fast as he could away from the house.

"is anyone shot?" mara yelled from the front, looking around the back seat.

"lee, you good?" emery asked her brother, who had taken his shirt off to press it to a particularly heavy bleeding wound on his side, the boy nodding.

"it's where she got me with the fire poker." he explained.

"i think i'd know if i was shot, right?" kiara asked, feeling her body with her hands.

"you look disgusting." pope breathed to john b.

"you smell like ass!" kiara exclaimed.

"next time, don't go diving in sewage." emery muttered, pulling her shirt up over her nose and opening the window closest to her head.

"what the hell did we just do?" ainsley asked, breathing heavily.

"all-time pogue hall of fame, baby." jj said from the front, doing the pogue handshake with mara.

"hell yeah." kiara agreed from the backseat. "that bitch is possessed." she added.

"that bitch can't aim, jj and i were right next to her for like thirty seconds." emery replied, breathing heavily as she looked down at john b.

"how does she move that fast?" pope asked as john b reached into his pocket.

"she's possessed!" kiara replied as he took something out.

"she's like master yoda." pope added as john b wiped the mud off it.

it was gold.

"john, holy shit." emery exclaimed.

"is that-" kiara trailed off, mara turning completely around in her seat, her eyes going wide.

"you did it!" she cheered, jj turning around as well, making mara reach across the front seat and grab the steering wheel, keeping the van on the road.

"i did it!" john b yelled, pope, ainsley, and levi's eyes all wide at what they were seeing.

the whole van erupted into screams of joy and celebration, emery hugging ainsley and hitting the back of jj's seat repeatedly as the boy whooped from the front seat while mara screamed happily.

"wait, wait guys, we're gonna be rich." kiara reminded them.

"full kook, full kook, full kook, full kook!" the group changed, followed by more cheers of happiness.

they had finally won.

kens speaks 🪐

two three thousand word chapters in a row?

mara <33 influenced me to change the whole plot of this story as far as levi and ainsley go, giving them both who they TRULY deserve