Lost

fourteen | They're Back

I immediately rushed over to the window. When I looked out I saw two men walking towards the front door to the Chateau. My heart dropped when I realized who they were.
"Guy, guys, is that them?" Kiara asked as everyone piled around me.
"no..." JJ said in disbelief.
"is that them?" Kiara repeated, her voice slowly rising with fear.
"This is suboptimal..." Pope muttered.
JJ turned around and started walking around the room. "John B, I told you. Why does it always-"
John B ran over to him, grabbed him and turned him around-pushing him into the wall behind them. "Hey-Hey, look at me!! Where's the gun?"
"Gun?" JJ closed his eyes to think where he last had it.
My heart rate picked up every second.
"I, uh, I can't-" JJ stuttered.
"Now you don't have the gun?! The one time we need the gun!" Kiara said, her voice rising and rising in pitch.
I froze. I couldn't move. I wouldn't move. I focused on my breathing. In and out. In and out.

"Don't close your eyes, Haley. Please-god...don't close your eyes." JJ told me over and over again.
"It hurts..." I mumbled.
I couldn't see JJ. My eye sight was blurry with some dark substance. I was praying it wasn't my own blood but that was the only thing that made sense.
"I know, I know it probably does but you can't close your eyes, okay? Just focus on your breathing. In and out, okay?"

"It was in..." JJ muttered, trying to think of where he left the gun.
"-Your backpack!" John B grasped.
"And then I..."
"-On the porch." John B finished for him.
"it's on the porch" JJ stated, freezing for a second.
"Go, go, go" John B encouraged.
JJ got off the wall and ran out the room.

no
no
no

"John Routledge!" A man yelled from outside.
"Guys..." Kiara whined.
JJ came running back into the room. He immediately shut the door slowly and quietly behind him.
"Come on out now!" The same man yelled.
JJ locked the door. "they're on the front porch guys," he whispered.

My breathing was starting to get shaky and I didn't know what to do.
"Guys," was what I could barely get out.
"Get out here!" Another man yelled.
"Guys, I can't breathe" I spat out shakily. "Like-I really," I took in a sharp breath, "I really can't breathe," Another sharp breath.
Everybody looked over at me and froze for a minute. JJ was the only one that moved.

He walked over to me and gently set his hands down on the sides of my head.
"Everything is going to be okay, alright? I won't let them hurt you again."
"Routledge! Where you at boy?!"
I shook my head repetitively.
"Breathe with me okay? In," JJ took a deep breath in and I mimicked him, "and out." He exhaled deeply and I mimicked the action.
We did that a few times before Kiara eventually interrupted.
"We gotta leave, guys!" She spoke quickly.

All you could hear were crashing and yelling from outside of the room.
JJ looked at her then back at me. "Are you okay?"
I nodded my head and set my hand on top of his, rubbed it for a second, then took it off my head.
"Window, window!" Kiara told Pope.
I looked over to see her pointing to the other window in the room. Pope immediately took off after it. JJ followed.

They both tried opening it but it wasn't budging.
"Hurry" Kiara rushed after a minute or two of them trying to get the window opened.
More crashing.
I looked over to see John B up against the door with his eyes closed and his head laid back.
I looked back over at Pope, JJ, and Kiara to see them all panicking to get the stupid window opened.

"What-What's happening?" Kie asked, "Why is it taking so long?"
"It's painted shut, okay?" JJ told her, impatiently.
"i'll check the kitchen" A man said.
More crashing.
"Routledge!"

My eyes flew over to a desk not so far away from me. I saw a pocket knife lying on it.
I took two steps, grabbed it and rushed over to the boys.
"Okay, guys-guys, here. Try this."
Kiara turned towards me and nodded her head as she grabbed the pocket knife.
"Where the hell is that compass, boy?!"

I watched as she slowly sliced through the paint. Pope and JJ rushed her the whole time. Saying shit like, come on, and, hurry up, like that was actually gonna help.
Pope eventually moved away from the window and over to the door next to John B.
I was too focused on what Kie was doing to really notice.

Then I heard shushing and looked over.
John B and Pope both held their fingers in front of their lips as they shushed-mainly JJ-to silence.
JJ quickly whispered, "Keep going," to Kie but then we stayed in a silence as we listened to foot steps get closer and closer to the door.

The door knob moved again and again until eventually a man was banging on the door and yelling, "You better not be in there!"
Suddenly a kick at the door caused pieces of wood to fall off of it and both Pope and John B to sprint away.
Slowly, the door was falling apart.

I ran over to the window just as Pope and John B arrived at it.
Kiara no longer had the knife, JJ did. He made one last final slice before quickly shifting his body and using all of his strength to budge the window opened.
And it did.
It opened.

JJ nodded at the door, "Okay, John, you go first."
He nodded his head as he maneuvered through the window and onto the ground.
"Hales, you go next." JJ stated.
I moved over to the window and used my good arm to help myself through it, John B caught me as I landed on the ground.

As Kiara was making her way out the window we all heard a gun shot. A very loud gun shot.
I froze.
My insides were panicking.
It felt like my body was going into fight or flight mode.
Everything slowed down and sped up at the same time.

I didn't know when but at some point both Kiara, JJ, and Pope, made it out of the window. Pope closed it behind him and JJ grabbed onto my arm.
We were running.
Not for long.
We eventually came to a stop and I remember climbing into the chicken coup.

I didn't know how long we were in there before I watched as the two men walked out of the Chateau with crates of stuff from my dad's office.
The stupid roosters wouldn't stop being loud and moving around. They were crowing and pushing and shoving. They were going to give us away.
I slowly sat back down against the wall and closed my eyes.

this will all be over soon.
this will all be over soon.
In 10 minutes they won't even be here anymore and i'll be going about my day.
10 minutes
maybe 5?
5 minutes...

"Do something Pope. Shut him up" I listened as JJ yelled at Pope for no reason.
"What do you want me to do?!" Pope protested.
"Pet it or talk to it, do something-I don't know!" Kiara spoke. Her voice was getting higher and higher.
I opened my eyes to see that John B moved from his spot and was now backed up against one of the walls.
I closed my eyes again.

"you do something" Pope told JJ.
Breathe in
I felt JJ move from his spot next to me and grab the rooster.
Breathe out
Then I heard it's neck crack.
Screw that. I need to throw up.
I opened my eyes and put my hand over top of my mouth. "oh my god..." I muttered.
"oh.." Kiara choked out.
yup, she's crying.

Silence took over.
Silence, silence, and more silence.
The only thing that you could hear were the men's footsteps getting closer.
One step.
After another.
"Ratter! What the hell are you doing? Let's go!" A man suddenly yelled.
The footsteps stopped.
Then they started again but away from us.
You could hear different doors to the truck closing before they eventually drove away.