COMFORT CROWD [3] , jj maybank

16. next stop

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  DARKNESS SETTLES OVER CAMP Kitty Hawk. We've tried to call Bailey at least 20 times each but she hasn't answered. So, we can only assume she's still on her rescue mission.

The two of us are hidden by the trees in the back of the camp.

"Where the hell are they?" JJ asks for the millionth time. We're both anxiously rocking our knees back and forth, fiddling with our jewelry and fingers. "We should just go in there!" I say. As I get up to move though, I hiss at the pain from the, what I think is, mild stab wound. "Sunshine—"

"I've moved with worse. Remember when I got grazed with a bullet?" I say, pulling up my sleeve to reveal the lump of a scar on the top of my arm. The stitches are long gone and now I'm just left with another reminder of Piper. Kinda wished the stitches stayed forever. It's the last thing she gave me. I just wish I could've looked past what she did and maybe let her in on the gold. I wonder if she would've lived or maybe she just would've died another way because of me.

"I do remember. I remember you yelling at me when I tried to help you too. Do you remember?" JJ rolls his eyes, "But maybe we should just go in there. Alright, there's trees over there. We can probably move through those...."

I choose to ignore JJ's sassy remark. He's worse than me sometimes.

Wait....there's two figures running towards us at full speed. I pull JJ closer between the trees. "What?" He quickly questions. "There's two girls running," I peer around the tree and the two girls are much closer now, "It's gotta be Bailey and Kie."

As they get even closer, I hear Bailey's giggle. It is them. "Yup, that's the girls," JJ comments. "How do we get their attention?" I ask, ideas boggling my mind.

"Hold on," JJ steps out from behind the trees and whistles. It's like a song turned into a whistle, something I've never heard him do and I'm really confused as to how either girl would know it's us. "What's that?" I ask but JJ just whistles again.

"JJ?" Bailey calls out cautiously. Do they share a whistle connection? I'm so confused. "Wait, JJ? Sam?" Kie asks as well now. The two of us step into their line of sight. "Oh my God!" Kie and Bailey exclaim, joining us in the trees with a hug. "How'd you get over here?" Kie asks as she giggles in my arms.

"Uh, long story," I say.

"Yeah. You were supposed to help me—"

"Kinda got kidnapped, Perez," JJ hastily explains, "She's kinda stabbed but uh, we gotta go!"

"Stabbed?" Kie and Bailey yell in unison. "Where? How bad?" Bailey tries to look for the wound but I swat her hands away. "It's fine. We gotta go. Like seriously. We missed Ward's plane," I tell them. The girlfriends share a confused look. "Then how are we getting to South America?" Kie asks.