Good Days •Rafe Cameron•

Well, Well, Well

"Can we please go back to the topic of John B staying with Sarah Cameron?" Kiara snaps. The Pogues and I look between the two friends as they argue about their differences once again.
"Okay, look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right?" John B sighs, massages his temple. "And it's way better than foster care, which, by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn't-." Pope cuts John B off.
"Hey, so do have a membership to the clubs now?" He joked. I stifle a laugh as I continue to eat my fries. "I don't know, Pope." John B answers. "What about those golf carts they drive around? You get one of them?" JJ asked. "Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one on your own?" Pope says.
"Oh, please tell me you're not going to be one of those Vineyard Vine wearing mother fuckers." I laugh, rolling my eyes. JJ and Pope burst into a fit of laughter. "I knew I like you." JJ smiles, patting me on the back.
"Look, you promised." Kiara suddenly says. Her facial expression serious. "You said you weren't with her." She shrugs. "Bro, just own it. She got you." JJ demands. "Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine. But I'm letting you know now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah." Kiara states. She leans against the chair, glaring at John B.
"Do you guys see her here? No, right. Okay. A little focus would be fantastic." John B says. "We've got the map, right." He pulls the map out from his book bag.
"Yeah, it's out of whack 'cause the guy was ganga'd when he drew it." JJ implies. I pull my lips into a thin line. "Oh, honey." I say, rubbing his back. "You need to pay attention in geography." I say. "It's cause the coast has change." Kiara says, stating the obvious.
"So we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed." Pope explains, guiding his finger along the map. "What about the old forts?" John B asked. "Battery Jasper." Kiara points on the map.
"Welp, let's go." I quickly hop out of my seat. "You seem very energetic for someone who says you don't believe me?" John B smiles, following me to the door. The Pogues follow us out front.
"That's because I'm one step closer to telling you I told you so." I smile sheepishly at the teen. The five of us get into the Twinkie.
"Don't doubt me, Be. You'll be amazed." John B says, before pulling off to Battery Jasper.
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We all stand at the top of the hill looking at the landscapes. "We're in Battery right here." Pope points to the map. "So if this is parcel nine, then it's somewhere northeast of here." He explains.
"Over there?" Kiara asked, pointing to a neighborhood. "Right." Pope confirms. "Guys, that's not Tannyhill that's a subdivision." JJ says. "Tannyhill Plantation was the entire island." John B states. "It got sold into smaller pieces over time."
"So we're just looking for an old stone wall." Pope says. "Let's go." He rolls up the map before getting back into the van. The rest of us quickly follow.
We drive down the hill taking a right down the street before pulling into a quiet neighborhood. "Okay, so the road should split up here." Pope points ahead. "Okay." John B nods. "All right, You're gonna take a left." Pope says.
John B immediately turns the wheel almost tipping us over in the back. We pull up to an old stone wall that's covered in vines and weeds.
"That looks like a stone wall to me." JJ announces. "This is it." Pope assures. I look out the window. An old Victorian house covered in vines and trees and over grown bushes peaks through the wall.
It looked like something out of a Laika Film. Kind of like the Pink Palace.
"If I find a cat lurking around here; I'm officially calling this place the Coraline House." I state, jumping out of the van. "Ugh, not the Crain House." John B sighs. The rest of the Pogue hop out of the van.
The five of us look up at the architecture. The haunting stillness that crept upon the house sent goosebumps down my spine.
"Are you kidding me?" Kiara asked. "Worst-case scenario." JJ says. "Why'd it have to be here." Pope asked.
"Why do guys seem so scared?" I asked confused. "It's just an old house." I state. "Yo, Phoebe." JJ shots. "This is the Crain House. She buried her husband's head on the property." He smiles, mischievously.
I roll my eyes. "Very funny, JJ" I say. "You guys are just scared." I mount my feet on the wall before pulling myself up and over. My feet hit the ground. "Come on over." I called.
A few moments pass by before the rest of them climb over as well. "Look, honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place." John B says.
"Which stories did you hear?" JJ asked Kiara. His voice was barely above a whisper. "The one where she killer her husband with an axe." Kiara answered. "And that she's been holed up ever since. On certain nights, when the moon is full, you can see her in the window!" Mwahaha." She jokes, waving her fingers in my face.
"No, Kie. It's not funny. 'Cause it's all true. I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis." JJ says. "Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?" Pope asked. "Yeah, dude." JJ nods. "How do you know Hollis Crain? The five of us stop walking as we listen to JJ's story.
"She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it." He says. Told me the truth. About her mother. And what happened in this house. So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and she was an murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night." JJ starts.
"What night?" John B asked. "It all came back to her. When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink full of blood...."
I scrunch my nose up in disgust as I visualize the story. "Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then Hollis notice something. Her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her fathers head looking straight back at her." JJ exclaims.
John B rolls his head back groaning. "God! You are so full of shit!" John B claims. "JJ, that was the corniest shit I've ever heard." I laughed. "Guys, I swear to God." JJ says, trying to convince us of the absurd story.
"Let's just go." John B steps pass JJ guiding us towards the back of the house. "Wait! Dude!" JJ runs after John B. "You sure you want to do this? She's an axe murderer. You got a cast on." He points out.
"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay? I got nothing to lose, right? You comin' or what?" John B said. He continues to walk behind the house. Kiara takes my hand, following John B. "Come on." She hums, ducking under tree branches.
"Hey, come here." John B whispers. The five of us crouch down near some bushes. "So hears the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter." John B explains.
"Okay, like, what kind of water? Like, pond water? Pope asked. I shake my head. "No, like some kind of stream or spring like Tuck Everlasting." I say.
"No, it just said look for water, okay?" John B says. "That's the shittiest secret message ever." Kiara sighs. She pushes past the rest of us stepping over rocks and branches. "You wanna complain a little more, Kie?" John B snaps. "Nobody said it was going to be easy." He states.
"Just look for some moss or something. Those always grow near water." I sigh following Kie. The both of us slowly walk around looking for any signs of water.
I continue to step on branches and bushes causing my legs to by eaten up by mosquitoes. "Hey, psst." John B calls out. The rest of us meet John B at the edge of the house. "This is the only place we haven't look." He titles his head towards a small door under the house.
"Okay, this is becoming more like Coraline." I warn. "Here we go." John B says. He pushes the wooden door open. The five of us crouch down underneath the house and through the door.
The smell of mold and bacteria fills my nose as I watch my step, careful not to step on anything unknown.
Light shines through the wooden planks that secure the house on stilts. The sound of buzzing from tons of mosquitoes ring in my ear.
"Down came Mrs. Crain, And cut off all our heads, Up came the sun, And dried up all the blood." JJ sings.
"Can you stop?" Pope warns. "JJ, I'm going to need you to shut the fuck up." I snap, hitting him on the shoulder.
"Do you guys see any water?" Kiara sighs. The light from our phones flash around the dark under parts of the house.
I decide to walk against the wall, rubbing my fingers on the wood just in case I feel any warps or dry rotting wood that would indicate water. My fingers guide me toward the back until I notice a tiny creature sitting still.
"Oh, my God!" I exclaim. "What!" John B asked. He quickly skips over to me. "Did you find water?" I shake my head. I immediately scoop up the animal. "No." I say. "I found a cat. This really is the Coraline House." I cooed as I held the cat against my chest.
    Her fur was gray and her eyes a bright yellow. She was slightly matted but nothing a brush couldn't fix.  
      "I'm taking her home with me." I giggle. John B gives me a blank stare. "That thing is going to scratch you." He states. "No it won't ." I say, rocking it in my arms. The cat's breathing begins to pace. Loud panting and purring vibrates from the cats mouth. "It's a girl." I smile. "She's in heat." I push the cat towards John B. "Wanna hold her." I asked.
"No." John B says, turning on his heel back towards the front to look for water. "Oooh, let me." JJ skips over. He pulls the cat in his arms, petting her gently on the head.
"Another dead end." Kiara starts. "There's not even water on the pipes." Pope sighs. "Not a dropamino." JJ states. "Maybe it's in a different part of the house." I shrug my shoulders, completely out of ideas.
"Know why we didn't find it?" Kiara says. Bad karma." She walks up to JohnB. "Oh, God." He sighs. "Here we go." He says, shaking his head. "You know, we had a good thing going. And then you decide to rope in Barbie, and now the trail's gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not." Kiara shrugs.
"This is exactly why I didn't tell you about Sarah." John B rebutted, waving his hands. "What the hell's the deal with you two?" John B asked. "Nothing!" Kiara yells. "Nothing? Is it be I kissed you? Is that the problem?"

SLAP!

"Oh, wow!" I exclaim.
"Oh!" Pope says.
"Oh, shit." JJ gasps.

"Stop treating me like I'm some girl that's obsessed with you; instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you." Kiara sassed.
John B clenches his jaw. He narrows his eyes at Kie. "Did you, uh...hit me?" He asked, stepping closer towards Kie.
Kiara hold up her hand. "Skeeter." She points out. John B flashes the light on her hand to reveal a dead mosquito on her hand. "Skeeter?" He asked. "Yeah, you see it?" She says. "Yeah."

SLAP

John B smacks Kiara; causing her head to turn away. I immediately step forward, ready to fight, but Pope pulls me back, stopping me from starting anything.
"Where's your proof?" Kiara exclaims. "Skeeter." John B lift his hand showing another dead mosquito. "Yeah, well, there's probably one right there." Kiara jokes hitting John B on the arms. The two friends begin to play fight as they pretend to hit mosquitoes off of each other.
"Why are there so many mosquitoes in a basement?" Pope wonders as he looks around the small space. "Phoebe, take the cat." JJ says, as he tries to hit the mosquitoes of of him. I pull the cat back into my arms
"Oh, my gosh! Can we leave? Cause I'm already itchin' to leave." JJ whines. "Hey, guys." Pope says, grabbing our attention. He starts to pull away at some floor boards; moving them out of the way. "Help me move this." He demands.
The four of us begin to help Pope. I move the planks, careful not to drop the cat.
A deep dark hole begins to open up as we shine our phone lights down the hole. I lean over looking straight into the unknown dark. "Yeah, I'm calling it. This is some Other Mother shit." I say.
"Well, Well, Well." Pope says, flashing the light. "That's a good dad joke." John B says. "They built this part of the house right over it?" Kiara asked, confused. "This is where she hid the bodies." JJ starts. "Oh, dude, come on." Pope sighs.
"JJ, don't make me slap you." I warn. "No, I'm dead serious." JJ says. "Stop it." Kiara whines. "It was never an outhouse." He claims. "She probably doesn't even know it's here." Kiara points above, referring to Mrs, Crain.
"So..." John B smiles. "Do you believe me now, Be?"