🪐~Billy Bones~🪐

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A/N: Lucy is the type of kid who reads The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner and listens to 1989 and Reputation. (Calling all Swifties.) Madeleine (my Atlantis OC) is type of girl that reads Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, and listens to Folklore and Evermore.

🪐Lucy's POV🪐

I was reading Catching Fire in my room, just minding my own business til heard the faint sound of something bouncing off the roof. I listened, and heard it again. I put down the book and opened the window to see saw small rocks falling to the ground.

I figured Jim must be on the roof. I climbed out the window and up onto the steeply inclined rooftop. Jim was sitting against a window overlooking the restaurant. He was bouncing pebbles off the metal shingles.

He looked up as I carefully made my way across to sit next to him, then resumed angrily staring out at nothing. "I'm sorry you got into trouble," I said. Thunder rolled overhead. "Why are you sorry?" he asked, his voiced filled with malice.

He looked in the opposite direction, so I couldn't see his face. "You got into trouble for taking me on a ride. If I hadn't wanted to go, this wouldn't have happened," I replied.

He didn't say anything, but he did turn his head back towards me, only he was looking down through the window we were leaning against. At first I thought he might be thinking I was right and possibly blaming me in his mind. Though I had kind of blamed myself, I didn't expect him to actually blame me.

Then I heard voices and turned to look through the window as well. I saw Mr. Delbert and Mrs. Hawkins talking. "I really don't know how you manage it, Sarah. Trying to run a business while raising a felon like-felon... fellow... fellow like Jim," Mr. Delbert stumbled over his words.

"Manage it? I'm at the end of my rope! Ever since his father left, well, he's just never recovered. And you know how smart he and Lucy are! He built his first solar surfer when he was eight! And yet, he's failing at school, constantly in trouble, and when I talk to him, he's like a complete stranger to me! I don't know, Delbert. I've tried everything," Mom vented.

I was about to go back into my room and continue reading until I heard the sound of an engine sputtering and Jim and I turned to see a ship crash at the end of the pier. He immediately slid down the roof and began running towards the ship. I followed after him, though it took me a little longer since I didn't want to jump off the roof and hurt myself.

By the time I got down to the end of the pier, Jim was already helping an old turtle-like alien towards the Inn.
"Is he all right?" I asked, since he didn't look so good. "He's hurt, we gotta get him inside. Help carry that big chest he's holding," Jim ordered me as he helped support the turtle.

I took the chest from him and carried it towards the door. Half way up the pier, it started raining. "Mom's gonna love this," Jim groaned. Just as we arrived at the door, Mr. Delbert opened it, and there was a crash of thunder and lightning flashed.

To Mom, the scene before her must have looked horrifying, because she gasped and shouted, "James Pleiades Hawkins and Lucy Ophelia Hawkins!" "Mom, he's hurt bad," Jim explained.

Mr. Delbert shut the door as we lay the old turtle on the floor. "Me chest, lass," the turtle mumbled, reaching for the object. I pushed it towards him and he pressed some buttons on the front.

"He'll be comin' soon," he said. The chest opened. "Can't let them find this." "Who's coming?" Jim asked. The old man grabbed Jim by the shirt, pulling him down, while I jumped back in surprise. "The cyborg," he whispered. "Beware the cyborg."

He took his last breath and fell back to the floor, entrusting a cloth-wrapped sphere he'd pulled out of the chest to Jim. "Ohh," Mom whispered, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. I took a step towards Jim, the realization of what just happened sinking in.

I tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. Then, we saw a bright light coming from outside. "What's going on?" I asked, a feeling of foreboding washing over me.

We could hear an engine from outside. Jim crept over to the window, which depicted pretty flowers, and opened the false image just enough to see outside. "Quick! We gotta go!" he exclaimed, grabbing Mom and me by the wrists and dragging us up the stairs.

Mr. Delbert started to reach for the door, but a laser beam shot through it, narrowly missing him as he reflexively dodged it. "I believe I'm with Jim on this one!" Mr. Delbert called, stumbling after us.

"Jim, where are we going?" I shouted, not understanding how he thought going upstairs would get us out of the Inn. We could hear shouting and crashes from downstairs. Mr. Delbert ran to the upstairs window and pushed it open.

"Delilah! Stay! Don't move!" he ordered the giant creature that pulled his carriage, which luckily happened to be right below the window. He and Mom stood balancing on the small windowsill, getting ready to jump, though she seemed hesitant to do so.

Jim and I looked back to see flickering shadows coming up the stairs. I started to panic. "Don't worry, Sarah," Mr. Delbert said.
"I'm an expert in the laws of physical science. On the count of three. One-"

"Three!" Jim yelled, shoving them through the opening. I took a step away from the window, not wanting to jump out of it. Though I wouldn't call it a phobia, I was somewhat nervous about heights, especially when I was standing at the edge of someplace high. [SHUT UP JIM! WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!?!]

"Lucy, come on, we have to go! Now!" Jim exclaimed, gesturing towards the window. "I can't," I said, taking another step back. "I-I'm afraid of heights." We heard the shouts and footsteps getting louder. I looked back at the open door fearfully, seeing the silhouettes and shadows growing closer.

I unconsciously backed away from the door, afraid of what was making its way toward us. Jim took this opportunity to grab me by the waist and jump out the window.

I screamed as I felt that horrible feeling of falling in my stomach. I was sure we were going to break our legs or worse. But thankfully, we landed in Mr. Delbert's carriage. The doctor grabbed the reigns and yelled for Delilah to go.

We took off, just barely making it out of harm's way. I could smell smoke in the air, and sure enough, when I turned around, the Inn was on fire. I turned back and rested my head against the side of the carriage. The BenBow Inn was destroyed. [Jim: It really did Catch Fire. Oh my god.]

Mom had also seen that the Inn was completely engulfed in flames. She sunk her face into her hands, clearly devastated. I felt bad for her. That had been our home, and not to mention her only source of income.

Jim pulled away the cloth wrapped around the object the old man had given him, revealing a golden orb.
We looked at each other, both asking the same question with our eyes, before looking down at it curiously.

athena has something to say!

just realized the foreshadowing from lucy's book. i love it

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