Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
WAITING WAS ALWAYS difficult.
It was dark by the time Shoupe and a dozen other cops had escorted Nova Van Kirk and her friends to a large and open tent where they were forced to wait for their parents to arrive and take them home. At least they didn't get into too much trouble for aiding and abetting a known fugitive. However, that wasn't enough to erase the crippling anxiety Nova felt as she sat down next to JJ, her hand holding tightly onto his, nothing being heard other than the pouring rain, the rumbling thunder and the dozen of frantic voices as they walked in and out of the tent, not giving Nova and her friends they desperately needed.
The group of friends had recently discovered that Sarah Cameron had somehow found her way into the boat with John B and had taken off into the violent storm together. Despite the obvious risks involved, it was a risk they were both willing to take if it meant avoiding John B's fate if he landed into the hands of the cops. But the last time they had seen Shoupe, he had informed them they were going out to search for their friends and the boat now that the worse of the storm had passed. Nova and her friends had been waiting for a while now. If you were to ask the girl, she would tell you it felt like forever whilst she continued to wait for the verdict regarding her friend's fate.
"Hey..." JJ spoke up, and Nova glanced over at the boy to see the optimistic look burning bright in his enchanting, blue eyes. JJ then gave the girl's hand a tight and reassuring squeeze. "It's John B and Sarah. They've been chased down by a psycho old lady, almost been shot multiple times and still managed to get off an island filled with cops. They can survive a storm." He reassured his girlfriend, earning a small smile from Nova in response.
But it didn't last long since Nova couldn't stop thinking about all the possibilities. The storm that swarmed the island on this dark and cold night was one of the worse ones they had seen yet, and driving an old boat into uncharted waters, violent waves and blistering winds was dangerous. So dangerous that people would lose their lives and drown, never to be seen again and be considered, well. . . lost at sea. The very thought of the worse happening to John B and Sarah only seemed to make Nova worry a little more, fearing the worse might actually come true.
But then she thought back to what JJ had just said, replaying his reassuring words on a constant loop in her mind, and that gave the girl a sprinkle of hope that everything would be okay. They just had to wait a little longer, and when the cops come back in, it was going to be good news. At least that was what Nova Van Kirk kept telling herself.
All of a sudden, Nova was snapped back to reality when she saw Shoupe and a few other cops dressed in reflective coats enter the tent, their sudden appearance inside the tent being enough to make Nova and her friends stand up from where they were previously sat. Nova then let go of JJ's hand and stared at Shoupe, watching as he removed the hood to his coat from his head, before he stared back at the group of teenagers with a look filled with defeat plastered across his face. It didn't take a genius to realise whatever news he had for them was bad, and it left a feeling in Nova's stomach that made it churn with disquiet.
