Ain't Shady Baby, I'm Hot

66

The three of us broke from our trance as the girls barreled in through the door.

"Whoa! Whoa! What's going on." Pope asked as we stared.

"It's Crain. She's up there." Sarah cried out, my eye darting behind them to the door.

"She tried to kill us with a fire poker." Kie gasped out. "We gotta get the fuck out of here."

"We locked her in the parlor, but we gotta go."

"Okay, that's code red!" JJ shouted panicked as he gripped the rope.

"Let's go. John B! Get back on, man!" The air in the basement was tense and panic passed from each person as I tried to ease myself.

"Calm down! Guys, calm down!" I roared, a bustling silence following as I took a deep breath. "You panicking isn't going to help. Girls, grab my backpack then jump on the rope. John B!" I shouted, "get back on the rope!"

"Hold on, T! I'm coming!" I nearly sighed in relief but I knew we weren't finished.

"Three, two, one, pull!" I had Sarah and Kie hold the rope while I slipped my backpack on. The four goons yanking the rope only to fall.

"Guys! He's not there, lower it back down." I voiced helping Kie and Sarah stand up. My hands back on the rope.

"John B!" They all started calling his name.

"Ifund goal!" My eyes widened. The other four looked confused as I translated the jumble of syllables.

"He what." I whispered, moving to grab ahold of the rope. The other four waiting by the well.

"What did he say?"

"Ifoun the old!" He yelled, this time more clearly as he got closer to us. My eyes widening as I pieced together what he actually said. I found the gold.

"I still can't hear him." JJ whispered.

I felt giddy as I heard John B call out our names. I guess I was the only one with good hearing.

"JJ! Pope! Kie!" They stood frozen, "Xena!"

"Yo, he's drowning! We gotta pull him up!" I rolled my eyes. I'm not ruining the surprise.

"John B! Get back on the rope buddy! We're gonna pull you up!" Pope coached as the girls grabbed either behind me. JJ in the back and Pope in the front.

"I'm on!" John B cried out as his weight pulled at the rope.

"Let's go." I ordered, Pope taking the lead as he began to pull. The rest of us following.

The pulley squealed as we yanked the rope through. Our grunts filling the air. But then I heard a heavy thud, a wooden creak following.

That wasn't us.

I pulled harder. The others trying to match me as I spared a glance towards where I thought the sound was coming from. My eyes widening as I saw something long and slender lift towards us.

"Duck!" I called out as a round fired out of the shotgun and sprayed all over the wall behind a screaming Kiara and Sarah.

"Shit! Hang on!" I roared out as the girls spiraled into chaos, my heart thundering as Pope and I once again held the weight of John B. JJ fumbling as he got around the girls.

"JJ, Pope, Xena, what the hell?" John B called out.

"Just, hang on!" I shouted down as I watched JJ grab the end of the rope, tugging it towards him as he latched it up.

"Pope, Xena, get down. Hide." JJ cried out as he laid down. I let go of the rope to push the two girls out of the way.

"Get out of here!" I hissed to the two as Pope and I dropped to the ground around JJ.

I was at the front, JJ's hands gripping my hips tight as I sank into his body the three of us curled together as we tried to make ourselves as small as possible.

It would have been a funny sight to see if we weren't worried about the axe murderer with a shotgun.

The three of us stared up at the older woman. A flashlight shone directly in her eyes and I saw only grey.

"She's blind." I whispered. Sarah came to the same conclusion only louder as the older woman shot at the girls again.

The two finally taking my words to heart and got the hell out of the basement. Leaving the four of us with the old woman.

"You have the-" I nodded when JJ whispered quietly in my ear.

"You want me to shoot a blind grandma?" I barely made a noise as I asked, eyes trained on the gun. But I moved my hand to my hip anyways. The smallest noise of me moving alerted the woman and we had buckshot flying our way.

I cried out, my right hand yanking my pistol free as my left went to my waist.

"Go! Go!" Pope cried out as he stood pulling JJ. The blond quick to follow as he tried to help me up. The pain causing another cry to slip from me.

"I don't care if she is, that's buckshot!" JJ shouted as the boys began to push me out of the basement.

I staggered and bit my lip as another shot was fired behind us. I moved to let the boys past me as I rose the pistol, aiming at the old woman.

"Please forgive me." I whispered as her shotgun turned to face me. The click of her reload had me pull the trigger. My hand had been shaking so I missed her body, but she had turned at the sound of another noise pulling the shotgun into the perfect position for my bullet to hit.

I watched the bead rip the gun from her hands. The momentum yanked her sideways as she stumbled into a wall. A sigh of relief left my lips as I sagged sideways, my left hand still tight to my waist as I heard a yip come from the basement.

I watched wide eyed as a mud-clad John B came running around the corner.

"We did it!" He shouted, a big ass grin on his face. He ran towards me with his arms out but I threw my right hand and pistol up making sure it wasn't pointed at him.

"Hug later." I beamed, even though I was trying not to cry, "let's get out of here. She's moving." He nodded, the two of us turning and running.

Well, he was sprinting, I was working a jog. Every step was painful. Almost as bad as having my rib broken.

"JJ! Pope! Kie!" He yelled out as we broke free of the basement. The two of us making our way back to the Twinkie.