𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

one hundred twenty.

─☼☼☼─

THE SUN HAD begun to rise over the Outer Banks, bringing to light the destruction that was left from the night before.

It looked a lot worse in the daylight, Charlotte thought to herself, as they roamed the main street, still looking for any sign of JJ.

It had been close to six hours since he'd taken off from Zeasy's office. Six hours since Pope had been arrested and thrown into a jail cell for the night. And six hours that the remaining four of them had been desperately searching for their best friend.

Cleo had taken off to see what she could do for Pope, and Charlotte had sent Rafe home just after midnight. She knew there was nothing he could do, and he was only making everyone else uneasy, which is the last thing they needed. She knew it was only a matter of time before the arguing started between him and Kiara or him and John B, and she didn't have it in her to mediate.

"Oof, this place is trashed," John B commented the obvious, his eyes surveying the main street. "But it looks like JJ is long gone...we should get out of here."

Charlotte winced as the blister that had formed over the past few hours rubbed against her shoe again. "And go where?" She wondered through gritted teeth.

"Charley's right," Kiara agreed. "They've probably already started bulldozing Poguelandia."

John B nodded with an exhale, "Which means JJ's probably slashing tires."

"That's actually pretty likely," Kiara muttered.

Sarah, who had been unusually quiet for the past little bit fell behind the group, a conflicted look covering her features. "Hey," John B said softly, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded, a tight smile coming to her lips. "I just have to--" She motioned toward the store closest to them, a pharmacy, "--you know." Her eyes swivelled to Charlotte. "Char, wanna come with me?"

Although slightly confused, Charlotte nodded. "Sure," she agreed, wincing over her blister again. "I could use a bandaid anyway."

"We'll wait here," John B called after them, his eyes already zoning in on the immediate damage around them.

"God," Charlotte commented as the two girls stepped through the broken window of the pharmacy, there being no use for the door, "This looks like right out of an episode of The Walking Dead."

Sarah shot her a raised brow expression as their sneakers crunched on the broken glass. Although the outside of the pharmacy was worse for wear, the inside remained rather intact.

"I'm going to go find a bandaid and some Polysporin," Charlotte declared, already scanning the shelves. "Bathroom's that way." She pointed toward the back of the store where the sign hung.

"Right," Sarah nodded, her voice uneasy. It looked like she wanted to say something else, but nothing else left her mouth before she quickly turned on her heal and disappeared into one of the aisles.

Furrowing her brows, Charlotte couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Sarah. She'd been off since the previous morning, and Charlotte wasn't sure if it was because of her conversation with her brother, or if there was something else happening.