𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 {𝚓𝚓 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔}

𝚜.𝟷 𝚎𝚙.𝟼 -𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗-

"went looking for a creation myth / ended up with a pair of cracked lips."

~

They hadn't meant to split up, but it happened anyway. Sarah got cut off first, running to one side and becoming separated from the others by Mrs. Crane. Then Kiara, disappearing through a doorway- and Tate turned and ran the way they'd come, hoping to find the boys. She could hear Mrs. Crane and the other girls crashing around in other rooms but had no way of knowing what was happening. Sarah let out a scream and Tate stopped short, hesitating. She hated Sarah. She was mad at John B. But somewhere in her angry mind, she knew she couldn't leave a Pogue (or a Pogue's girlfriend) behind. "Sarah!" she called out, and hurried back towards the sound of the scream.

She found Kiara and Sarah in a room with Crane, who was wielding a fire poker and a murderous stare. Sarah let out a shriek as the poker came down inches from her head. "Tate!" she cried out as Tate dodged Crane by centimeters and dashed across the room.

"Come on!" Tate grabbed one of Sarah's hands. Sarah took Kiara in her other hand and they all ran, following Tate, out of the room. Once they were on the other side of the wall, Sarah turned and slammed the door shut, closing Crane off in the other section of the basement. For a few blissful seconds, Tate was convinced they were safe. Then, with a crash, the wood of the door splintered and a sharp object poked through.

Sarah screamed again. "This way!" she yelped, leading Kiara and Tate to the other side of the nw room. "It goes underneath the house!" Crane let out a hair-raising scream as she continued breaking the door down.

They made it to a set of stairs and went down so fast, Tate was worried she might slip and fall. "Guys!" Kiara screamed. "Guys!"

When they got to the room where JJ and Pope were lowering John B into a deep well with a length of rope. Pope and JJ looked up in alarm at the frantic girls. "Whoa, what's going on here?" Pope asked.

JJ caught Tate's eye and gave her a questioning look. She couldn't get her hands to stop shaking. "Mrs. Crain!" Kiara cried, her voice quivering. "She's up there! She tried to kill us with a fire poker."

"Guys, we gotta get the fuck outta here," Tate said, struggling to catch her breath.

"We locked her in the parlor," said Sarah, "but we gotta go!"

"Okay," JJ said, nodding, "-code red." He and Pope started pulling John B up with desperate speed.

Sarah, Kiara, and Tate all grabbed hold of the rope to help pull him. "Count of three," said Pope, "One-two-three!" They all pulled and immediately fell backwards onto the hard floor.

"Shit!" said JJ, rubbing the back of his head and turning to help Tate up.

John B had untethered himself. "Where the hell is he?" said Pope.

"Wait- sh- sh-" Kiara quieted them as John B yelled something from below. The shout came again, but they couldn't make out what he was saying.

"JJ, Pope..!"

"He's drowning," Kiara said, immediately jumping to the worst conclusion. "Pull him up! Pull him up!"

Pope nodded and stood up. "Hey, John B! Get back on the rope. We're gonna pull you back up, okay, buddy?" A few seconds later, there was a tug at the rope as John B re-tethered himself. Tate hurried to help the others grab it and pull him up. Nobody spoke as they struggled to get him up.

They were almost there... "Pull!" Kiara yelled, and then there was a loud bang.

"Shit!" Tate shrieked, letting go of the rope and ducking. When she turned around, Mrs. Crain was walking towards them, teeth bared and a withered old shotgun in their hands. "Shit! John B!"

"Come on!" JJ grabbed her arm and pull her down behind a pile of junk. "John B'll climb."

Tate crouched next to him. "She's blind," she whispered, "Can't aim for shit. Just don't make noise." There was another gunshot and Tate saw Sarah and Kiara dash out from their hiding spot and disappear.

Tate watched as one of John B's muddy hands appeared over the edge of the well and she let out a sigh of relief. There was another gunshot and she felt JJ jump a mile beside her. "I don't care if she's blind or not, that's a buckshot- let's go, baby," he grabbed her hand and together they raced across the basement and out the way they'd come.

When the warm summer air hit Tate's lungs, she almost cried out in relief. She kept JJ's hand grasped tightly in her own as they ran blindly across the yard and towards the wall. "You first," JJ said, and Tate climbed up the ivy and hurtled herself over, jumping towards the van as fast as she could. Sarah and Kiara were just ahead of them.

When Sarah opened the van door, they jumped in one after another, JJ heading for the drivers' seat. "Where is he?" Kiara asked, looking through the window at the still night.

JJ started up the engine and started pulling out just as John B vaulted over the wall, gunshots right behind him. "Why are we always getting shot at?" Pope yelled, running his hands over his head.

John B jumped into the van, covered head to toe in mud, and JJ hit the gas. "Jesus Christ, JB!" Tate said, falling backwards to get away from the scent emanating off of John B. There was a cacophony of mingled words and shouts from the others, but none registered with Tate as she leaned against the wall of the van and caught her breath.

"I think I'd know if I was shot right?" said Kiara, sounding half-sarcastic and half-genuine.

"You look disgusting," said Pope, staring at John B in horror.

"What the hell just happened?" Tate asked, her breathing shaky.

Kiara let out a frantic laugh. "That bitch is possessed."

"That bitch can't aim," said Sarah. Tate tilted her head back laughing and leaned against Sarah's side for support. Sarah look surprised, but was distracted by something John B was holding. "What is that?" she asked, but she seemed to already know.

John B rubbed away the dirt on the little block, a smile slowly spreading onto his face. "We did it, baby!"

"No, you didn't!" said Pope, incredulous.

"I did it!" The van was filled with triumphant shouts and hysterical laughter and Tate felt like she was floating. They had the gold. She was surrounded by her friends. They were filthy rich.