𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 // 𝑱𝑱 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒌 \\

Chapter Twenty Two

"Go!" Kiara shouted. Sarah kept running straight while Kiara and Valerie turned the corner. Kiara pulled open a door, running inside the room. Mrs. Crain screamed in the other room. "Shit!" Valerie whisper-shouted seeing the next door was boarded up. Kiara tried picking the lock while Valerie pulled on the slabs of wood, but nothing would work. "Where are you, Leon?" Mrs. Crain shouted, not far from Kiara and Valerie. Kiara turned around to see Mrs. Crain inching into the room. Kiara gasped, still pulling at the lock. Mrs. Crain swung the fire poker in the air towards the girls. "Fuck!" Valerie shouted as she held onto her left arm. Mrs. Crain had manged to rip a small hole in Valerie's hoodie where blood seeped out.

"Val!" Kiara pulled the girl down as Mrs. Crain swung again. Mrs. Crain screeched and started swinging the fire poker in every direction. On one of Mrs. Crain's swings, Sarah ran into the room, catching it. She threw the fire poker, along with Mrs. Crain, onto the ground. Sarah grabbed Kiara's arm pulling her up. Kiara grabbed Valerie's uninjured arm. "Come on, come on, this way! Sarah led the two through the house. Mrs. Crain groaned on the floor. "Close the door!" Sarah called to Kiara and Valerie. The two girls nodded, swinging the door closed and blocking it so Mrs. Crain had a hard time getting out. Valerie and Kiara leaned against the door trying to listen to Mrs. Crain. The next thing they knew, Mrs. Crain was swinging the fire poker at the door. "Shit! Come on!" Sarah shouted. The three girls ran out of the room.

"This way! It goes underneath the house!'" Sarah shouted leading the way. Valerie followed after her with Kiara in the back. The three girls panted, racing down the stairs. "Go, go!" Kiara shouted from the back. "Guys, guys!" Valerie shouted, running to where the boys were. "Whoa, what's going on?" Pope asked calmly. "Mrs. Crain, she's up there." Valerie panted, her hand instinctively covered the gash that still had blood pouring out slowly. "She tried to kill us with a fire poker. She slashed Valerie's arm." Kiara pointed to the girl. Sarah had her hands on her knee trying to steady her breathing.

"Yeah, we gotta get the fuck outta here!" Valerie nodded. "We locked her in the parlor, but we gotta go!" Sarah shouted. "Okay, that's code red. John B! Hey!" JJ shouted into the well. "Get back up man!" JJ continued. Valerie, Kiara and Sarah grabbed onto the rope, trying to help pull John B up. When they all pulled, they all tumbled to the ground. "Shit!" Kiara shouted. "Where the hell is he?" Pope looked into the well.

"John B?" Kiara shouted into the well. "Sh, guys." Valerie whispered, hearing mumbles. The five at the top stop talking to hear muffled shouting from how far John B was in the well. "What's he saying?" JJ asked, seeing if anyone else had heard what John B said. "JJ, Pope, Val, Kie!" They heard John B shout. "Yo, he's drowning." Sarah shouted as she ran back to the rope. "Hey, John B, get back on the rope! We're gonna pull you back up. Okay, buddy?" Pope asked, not expecting an answer. "Come on!" Valerie shouted. She stood next to Sarah, holding the back of the rope. "Okay, I'm on!" They heard from the well, this time a clearer sentence. "Okay, let's go!" Pope shouted as he began to pull on the rope. Pope and JJ groaned as they continued to pull the rope as hard and as fast as they could. With all the noises the pogues were making, they didn't notice Mrs. Crain had walked downstairs with a gun.

Mrs. Crain gave herself away when she shot into the air. Valerie screamed, falling onto the floor. "Valerie! Are you okay?" JJ shouted over the commotion. JJ tied up the rope which allowed John B to climb up without falling back down. "Pope, hide man!" JJ whispered to him. Kiara, Pope, and JJ were under the same table, on the ground. Sarah and Valerie were together, huddled close. "She can't aim for shit." Sarah whispered. "She can't see." Valerie noted. "She's blind." Valerie added when another gunshot rang out in the air. "Shit! Go, go!" Kiara yelled, getting up from her hiding spot and running out of the basement. "Valerie, come on!" Sarah pulled the girl's hand that wasn't covered in blood.

The girls could hear another gunshot from the basement followed by Pope and JJ's screams to get out. The two boys joined the girls in the backyard seconds later. "Whoo!" They heard John B shout from inside. "Okay, he got out, let's go!" Valerie followed Kiara through the tall grass to the stone wall. Kiara, Sarah, and Valerie were the first over the wall. They ran into the back of the twinkie. JJ was next, running around the twinkie to the driver's side. Pope jumped into the back with the girls. "Go, go, go!" Pope shouted. "John B?" Sarah shouted after seeing him get over the wall. "Why are we always getting shot at?" Pope huffed. Valerie sat behind JJ's chair with Kiara behind the passenger side. JJ slowly started to drive away. "Wait, wait, wait!" John B shouted, throwing himself into the back while Pope closed the door. "Holy shit!" Kiara gasped once she saw John B who was either covered in mud or a bunch of shit. Kiara moved next to Sarah, getting away from John B.

"JJ, drive." Valerie said to him. "Oh my god!" JJ laughed once he saw John B. "Are you okay, are you shot?" JJ asked John B who just shook his head. "I think I'd know if I was shot." Kiara held her hand over her heart. Pope and Sarah breathed loudly trying to catch their breath. "Hey, does anyone have anything I can cover this up with?" Valerie gestured to her arm as she pulled up her sleeve. "Yeah, here." JJ pulled off the bandanna that was around his neck and handed it to her. "Thank you." She panted, taking it. She handed it to Kiara who tied it securely around her arm. "You look disgusting." Pope said to John B.

"Yeah, you smell like ass." Valerie waved her hand in front of her face. "What the hell just happened?" Sarah laughed, throwing her head back. "All-Time Pogue Hall of Fame, baby." JJ said. "Hell yeah." Kiara patted his shoulder. "That bitch is possessed." Valerie laughed, turning to Sarah. "That bitch can't aim." Sarah said. "How does she move that fast?" Pope asked the group. "I don't know, she's blind." Sarah replied.

"What is that?" Valerie asked John B with a look of shock. "No, you didn't!" Kiara laughed also seeing what John B had. Pope's eyes grew wide. "We did it, baby!" John B shouted. "No, you didn't!" Sarah shouted again. "I did it!"

"Oh my god!" JJ shouted from the front, slightly turning around to see the gold John B held in his hand. The pogues all screamed, laughed, and cheered. "Holy shit! Holy shit!" Kiara and Valerie shouted together. Pope had the biggest smile on his face as he pointed at John B. JJ hit the roof of the car repeatedly as he cheered. "Wait, we're gonna be rich!" Kiara shouted. "Like kook rich!" The rest of the pogues shouted. The rest of the way back, the pogues cheered, laughed, and screamed about how they actually found the gold. A group of teens had found the gold and were going to be filthy rich.