AURORA RESTED on Sarah's lap in the front seats of the Twinkie, using her thighs as a pillow for her head. The feeling of Sarah's soft touch kept her calm, as she stroked the side of Rory's face in patterns.
Rory hadn't spoken since the early hours of the morning, and she hadn't slept either; she found herself staring at the small details in the Twinkie, her mind blank and numb. Sarah didn't force her to speak because she knew that Rory couldn't, Sarah didn't want to push her too hard, so would occasionally ask questions and Rory would just nod or shake her head as a reply.
John B walked towards the Twinkie, "They're gonna be okay. They just need a little while to decompress." Sarah looked down at Rory, giving a small smile to her.
"While we wait, I say we go back to Genrette's and demand cash for this amulet." Pope exclaimed, "I don't know about you guys, but after all we've been through, I think we're owed a lot more than 50K."
Sarah turned to look at him, frowning slightly, "Where'd that come from?"
"Cheese on bread." Cleo took a breath.
"Yeah," John B agreed, "You've been hanging out with the twins too much." The boy glanced over at Rory, who had sat up from Sarah's lap, and gave her a small smile.
"Hey," Rory smiled gently, her voice quieter than usual, as she furrowed her eyebrows, "I'm great company."
"I'm just saying, whatever that dude is hiding from us is worth a lot more than 50K." Pope reasoned, "We need to go see him now." The four started slowly clapping at Pope's idea.
***
The five travelled by boat to Goat Island once again, reminding Rory of the first time they came here was when JJ and Kiara had no idea what could possibly happen. Aurora sat on the side of the boat, sipping her feet into the water as it rippled; the cold water freezing her skin distracted her from everything, forcing her to focus on only one thing at a time.
"If these people are willing to kill for this amulet, I wonder how much it's worth." Pope said.
John B added, "Let's just how him the piece and then, what, throw out a price?"
"A million dollars," Sarah blurted out, "Go big. My dad taught me that."
"I like it." Cleo nodded.
"Wait, wait," Pope said in concern, "Is that Shoupe?" He lowered his voice, as they travelled closer to the deck.
"Turn around," John B said, "Pope, you don't voluntarily go towards cops." Rory nodded in agreement, watching as Sarah hid the amulet in the hoodie she was wearing, which once belonged to Rory.
"No," The boy reasoned, "If we run now, we trigger the chase mechanism. Just stay the course."
"Here they are!" Shoupe called to them, "Bring it in, toss the line." He chuckled, "Lucky me. I was just coming to see ya."
"Oh yeah? Why, uh, why would you come to see us, Shoupe?" John B questioned curiously.
"You know, uh, the old guy who lives here?" Shoupe asked, "Who you talked to yesterday?"
"Yeah," Pope said dryly.
"So, you did talk to him. Glad you confirmed that." Shoupe retorted, "Well, that old guy is up there... dead. And except for his son-in-law, you were the last ones to see him. So, y'all ain't going anywhere."
