𝐹𝑜𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝐵𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝒲𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹'𝓈 || OUTERBANKS

-27-

•The Bell Tower•
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".....dy... Cody?" I heard the familiar voice snap me out of my thoughts, Kie was sat in front of me in the car, all the seats down as we hid out in a small gap between the bushes, off the side of the road.

Only then did I realise that JJ had been talking for the past five minutes, and I had zoned out long before.

"You okay?" Pope asked as I just nodded my head keeping my eyes trained forward before running my hands through my hair, the long thin sleeve covering my hand brushing over my eyes blocking my view slightly.

"Down again," Kie told us as a siren approached and a police car drove past us, I was lay down on the middle seat now, between JJ and John B.

"Sarah's not a Pogue, John B" Pope spoke up from the front seat, I looked down at my wrists messing with the needed bracelet Kie made for me when we were 12, a mix of browns and whites with a little palm tree dangling from it.

"Yeah. You can't stay here, man" JJ told him leaning on his elbow, his face a little close to mine, making me move my head away slightly, the bruises on my cheeks and jaw aching as I turned my head, I couldn't really move my torso neither, that was covered with two big bruises where my fathers' arms held my stomach.

**********

"Where did Pope go?" I asked as I yawned and tried to sit up again, JJ helping me in the process, with an arm gently around my back and one on my arm, "Thanks"

"To check the ferry times," Kie told me with a hand splayed across her forehead and looking to where Pope was stood in front of a big pinboard, "He's coming back..."

"Okay. Okay, all right no."

"Pope, can you act normal?" Kie scolded, panicking, as he walked back over with a couple of piece's of paper in hand, I bought my nails to my teeth, a bad habit that only came out when I was nervous.

"So, um.... okay, so, bad news," He told us still outside the car, the windows all the way down to let in some air due to the heat, "The ferry's closed, and there's these"

With that he handed over two pieces of paper to Kie, my head perking up to try to catch a glimpse at what has Pope so wound up.

"What? What is this?" John B asked doing the exact same thing, my stomach dropping as I looked over JJ's shoulder at the wanted poster for John B, then the poster under it was a missing person photo of me.

"Well, you two, uh.... they're good framers of you," JJ told us holding them up, the one of me had this morning as the time that I 'went missing'.

"But I wasn't-" My whole stomach flipped over as I realised that my father put those out before I even knew. He planned it, he was gonna-

"Okay, so the whole island's lookin' for John B right now, and now Cody too, to take her to her psycho father, brilliant, two fugitives" Pope rambled clearly anxious.

"That's a lot of money"

"Congratulations guys, you're famous."

"Guys, we got to get to the HMS. We need small, no running lights—-" Kie explained before John B cut her off, clearly giving up with everything.

"It's at the chateaux Kie."

"And I wonder if the cops got the entire place staked out" JJ added as I pushed my hair back from my face, pulling my knees to my chest, "Oh wait, 'lemme think. No, yeah, they definitely have that place locked down."

"Yeah, copy that"

"Let me think, Let me think. Just give me a second" Pope shushed us all as I looked down at the wanted photo, again, ignoring the one of me completely, "....JJ"

"What?"

"Does your dad still have that boat? The cigarette boat, the Phantom?" Pope asked turning around in his seat to look at the blonde boy beside me,
"The one he used to race."

"Maybe."

"You could get right up the coast, no problem."

"Okay, look"

"It's not gonna be easy, Pope, I don't know where the keys are..."

"He's not listening" I whispered patting his back with a thin-lipped smile, as JJ's voice trailed off.

"Why is nobody moving forward?!"

"Can you relax?" Kie shouted as Pope stressed nearly hitting the steering wheel. My eyes scanned over the poster again as my eyes landed on the fact that Kie's car is on here, the one we are currently sat in. My eyes widened as I shoved it into John B's chest and looked around.

"Move" I shouted climbing over JJ and opening the car door, "Pope get in the back. Now!" I tried to keep my voice down as to not raise alarm, as Pope began to argue with me. "Just do it!"

"Cody, what the hell?" Kie asked as she watched Pope climb through the front two seats and into the space I was sat in.

"We got a snitch. Cody turn the car on" JJ told me as I buckled myself in, and looked around confused, as the keys had gone, a commotion going on outside as the guys all tried to hurry me up.

"Pope, keys now!" I told him, as I accidentally nudged the horn drawing more attention to us, "Shit."

Pope finally handed me the keys after fumbling around for god knows how long, a group gathering around the car, the sound of a police radio filling my ears.

"Cody go go go!" JJ shouted as I flooded it slamming into the car infront of us, in order to push it forward so I could get out of this space Pope had wedged us in.

I floored it once we were out, ignoring the protests of people outside the car, and off-roading to try to get us out of the situation. My head was spinning as we made it into the clear and Pope was laughing and cheering in the back.

"What the fuck?! My mom's gonna kill me"

"I'm sorry Kie okay, there was no way I was getting John B out of there without a scratch" With that I hit the breaks as hard as I could, pulling an emergency stop, only when the car had fully stopped did I speak up again, "John B get out."

"She's right, we'll draw the cops, you run" JJ told him as Pope carried on looking dazed at the scene, clear belt high, "I'll get the rig, and I'll meet you in the dump tomorrow, okay? Three O'clock, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Three tomorrow at the dump" JJ shouted as the brunette climbed out, and began to run into the woods.

"Come on, go go go!" JJ shouted as I once again floored it making everyone's heads hit the seat, going up through the gears faster than I ever have, the tired squealing against the gravel.