𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 - kiara carrera¹

𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒊𝒗. 𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆

"THE CRAIN HOUSE? ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME?"

Tatum shrugged at her twin brother, the small gesture telling him he had no other choice. The twins had been on the down-low ever since John B went to hospital, careful to avoid the people that knew them, which included their friends, because Leroy was still trashing the island in search for his little brother. Nobody knew where they were living - not even the pouges. However, they had a burner phone they used to contact the others, so they knew when they were starting up the treasure hunt again (and so Tatum knew John B was okay). But other than the regular, short morning texts, nobody had seen or heard from the Quinn twins in days.

This morning, though, they received a message from Pope, telling them John B had the map of old Tannyhill, given to him by Sarah Cameron, who he was apparently living with now.

The moment Tatum seen her friends again, she broke into the largest grin she had worn in a long time. She was so sick of being on her highest guard at every moment, waiting patiently for her sociopathic brother to show up and murder her twin. She knew she was more than welcome to return home whenever she liked - nobody was after her - but she would never betray Thomas like that.

"That's what I said," Pope expressed in frustration, pointing towards Thomas when his sister finally released him from the hug.

Tatum rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on," she huffed. "Dad used to trap us in the basement off this house whenever we tried having an extra chocolate bar before bedtime."

Everyone turned to look at her, blinking like what she said was completely mental. Growing up in OBX, the best horror story to scare your kids to sleep was always the one about this famous house - though no parent, other than Nathan Quinn, actually went through with their threats and warnings. Tatum. shrugged at their expressions. "How old were you?" asked John B.

"Six to eleven," Thomas said casually.

JJ grinned, touching their shoulders, earning a punch from the male twin. "Did you see anyone?" he asked excitedly. "'Cause I heard that Mrs Crain burried her husband's head on the property."

The small group all stared back at the daunting, derelict building. A pinch of fear spread through each of their bodies, one by one, and taking its time to feed on their insides. This mansion was the haunted house of the island - talked about, but nobody ever dared to set a foot inside. Other than the Quinns, of course, who were arguably more insane than the Crains.

Tatum's eyes dragged themselves towards Kiara's. She was already looking at her. Comfort and calmness spread through their bones at the mere sight of each other, better than any drug ever could. Their smiles were only light, but to each other, they were the most priceless artifacts a museum could buy.

"Everyone ready?" asked John B, already climbing over the brick wall.

Everybody nodded and followed him without another word - each person trying to distract their minds from the sacred yard they were about to step on. Thomas stayed back for a moment. "Place gives me PTSD," he muttered, shaking his head, and, yet again, finding himself questioning his decision on following his sister and her airheaded friends on a fucking murderous treasure hunt. He should've just let Leroy kill him. But, still, he jumped over the wall with the others.

With a sweetening smile, Tatum held out her hand to help Kie over, while leaving her brother topple to the ground with a thud. The garden was the exact same as the twins remembered it all those years ago. Fresh, green grass and weeds were decades overgrown, almost towering the dirty grey statutes that stood up mighty over all the destruction. The two siblings shared a dark look as the sickening memories hit them.