Kind Of Infinite (Outer Banks)

Chapter 12

"Don't worry about Kie, she did the same thing to me, but now, we're friends. She's just really protective.", Sarah tried to cheer up Ava, who just smiled at her thankfully. Hearing rumble in the sky, Ava looked up to see heavy clouds covering the night sky.

"Hey, can I maybe stay over at yours tonight? I usually stay at John Bs, but well, I don't wanna spend the night with grumpy Kiara and get in another argument."

"Sure. What she said about your family wasn't fair. Nothing of that was your fault, you must have gone through a lot.", Ava replied and turned her head to the left to look at Sarah as they walked. Sarah nodded with a sad smile, before she turned her head away again.

"Thank you. Shit, that reminds me, I'm supposed to meet my little sister at the harbour at midnight.", Sarah mumbled and pulled out her phone to check the time.

"At the harbour? That's like a two hour walk from here and I think it will start to rain soon.", Ava said and looked back up to the sky. Sarah mumbled something under her breath, before she stopped walking and scrolled through her phone. Ava stopped next to her and suddenly felt the first rain drop fall onto her skin.

"Let's take shelter over there. I'll call a friend of mine, he can pick us up." Ava nodded and followed Sarah across the road. A few moments, after they had reached the small hut of the bus station, heavy rain started to fall from the sky. The wind got stronger and Ava crossed her arms over her chest to keep herself warm, while she watched how the lightnings drew through the clouds. She could have watched the storm for hours, but about fifteen minutes later, a car pulled up next to them. Sarah opened the back door for Ava and closed it behind her, before she jumped onto the front passenger seat. Once she closed the door, it was suddenly silent.

"You good? It's getting pretty bad out there.", a blonde boy said and looked at Sarah. Sarah nodded and put on her seatbelt, before she turned around to Ava.

"Yeah, we're fine. Topper, that's Ava, she's a pogue. Ava, that's Topper. One of my friends.", Sarah introduced the both strangers and they both gave each other a small smile. While Topper and Sarah discussed on whether they should really go to the harbour or not, Ava sent a short text to her dad, that she was safe and that he didn't need to worry because of the storm. Just when she watched how the two little hooks behind her text appeared, the road around them suddenly turned dark. Looking out of the window, Ava suddenly stared into darkness.

"See, even the power is out now. I should take you home, it's not safe.", Topper argued, but Sarah shook her head.

"Topper, please. I need to see her. She's probably already waiting for me, so let's go, before something will happen to her." Ava heard the boy sigh and soon enough, he started to drive. It took them about 20 minutes to the harbour, before Topper parked the car. Sarah jumped out of the car and told them, that she'll just go get her sister to bring her to the car, before she disappeared into the heavy rain. Topper and Ava waited in silence and Ava kept checking the time on the phone.

"What's taking so long? She just wanted to get her and bring her here, right? How big is the harbour?", Ava asked, after more than ten minutes had passed. Slowly, a bad feeling grew inside her stomach and she noticed how Toppers fingers nervously tapped onto the steering wheel.

"Their meeting point is like 100 feet from here. Maybe she didn't come.", Topper answered quietly, as he stared out the window.

"But Sarah shouldn't wait there alone in the storm. She can wait inside the car. I'll go and get her.", Ava decided and put her phone back into her pocket. Topper nodded and got out of the car just after Ava did. They both walked down the small path to the dock and found it all empty. The paths were slippery already and the sea was rough.

"We should look for her! I'll go this way, you can go there, but watch out and don't fall into the ocean!", Topper called over the loud noises of the heavy rain and the boats crashing to the dock. Ava nodded and pulled out her phone. No service. Sighing, she turned on the flashlight of her phone and slowly walked into the direction Topper had told her.

"Fuck this shit.", Ava mumbled, when she noticed, that in the heavy rain, the small flashlight of her phone didn't really help. Stuffing her phone back into her soaked pants, she held her hands in front of her face and started to call for Sarah. When the sky lit up in blue, Ava suddenly saw a person about 60 feet away from her. The girl stopped in her tracks and squeezed her eyes a little as she waited for another lightning. The sky suddenly turned bright again and Ava flinched in fear. It looked like a man was fighting someone. Someone way smaller and weaker. Not knowing what to do, Ava ducked and moved back slowly. When her feet touched something, she looked down to see a metal bar next to her. Taking a deep breath, Ava picked up the bar and carefully moved closer to the person. Once she got close enough to see what was really going on, she ran up to the man and hit the metal bar over his head. The man fell to the ground and Ava immediately bent over the container to see Sarah floating in the water. Ava grabbed for her arms and quickly pulled her out of the water. Sarahs body collapsed to the floor and pulled Ava down with her.

"I just wanted to talk to her." Ava turned around and looked up to see a person standing above her. He looked way younger than she had expected him to and even kind of lost. Blood ran down his right temple, where Ava had hit him with the metal bar and his face looked, like he had been crying. Ava didn't know how to deal with something like that, but she knew, that she wouldn't try to talk to a psychopath who just tried to drown someone. Looking around, Ava saw the metal bar a few feet away from her. She quickly moved closer to it and reached for it, when suddenly, someone stepped on it. Ava looked up to see the guy standing right above her.

"Let me alone with my sister, I just want to talk to her.", he repeated coldly and Ava swallowed.

"Fuck off.", she spat and tried to gain all of her strength to pull out the metal bar from underneath his feet. Ava heard the guy sigh, before he bent down and forcefully grabbed Avas arm. He pulled her up to her feet and pushed her against the container. Ava squeezed her eyes shut in pain, when her back hit the metal and her breath got stuck in her throat. Trying to break away from him, Ava started to kick with her feet, but the guy just stepped back a little. He let his right hand fall from her shoulder and wiped his nose with it, as he desperately shook his head.

"Why does nobody understand, that I did all of that for my family? I am not the bad guy here.", he cried out and looked at Ava, before he placed his hand around her throat. Ava tried to fight him, she kicked around, scratched and pinched his arm that was around her neck, tried to shove it away, but the more she fought, the harder he pressed down to her throat. Just when Ava thought, that she was about to faint, the guy stumbled backwards and let go off her. Ava fell to her knees and took in a deep breath. As she coughed, she looked up to see Topper fight the guy. Ava crawled back to Sarah and shook her a little. Placing her hands onto her chest, Ava started to press down on it in a steady rhythm. She kept looking over her shoulder to see Topper and the guy and felt relief wash over her, when Topper picked up the metal bar and hit the guys head with it. The guy fell to the ground in unconsciousness and Topper immediately ran over to Sarah and Ava.

"What the fuck happened?!", he shouted and Ava shook her head.

"He tried to drown her.", Ava explained and quickly let go of Sarah, when the girl suddenly took in a deep breath. Ava helped Sarah to sit up a little as she coughed and spat out water.

"We need to leave. Right now.", Topper demanded and picked Sarah up. Ava quickly got up and followed Topper back to his car, where he put Sarah in the back and helped Ava to get in the passenger seat.

"My family has a small house at the other end of the harbour, we will stay there tonight, alright? Don't worry, it will be ok.", Topper tried to comfort Ava, as he started the car. Even though Ava could see fear and worry in his eyes, he gave her a genuine and assuring look and Ava just nodded, trying to do whatever she had told Kiara to do earlier. Trust a stranger.