Now or Never ⇀ John B Routledge [1]

xxv. little wonders

The small shopping strip on The Cut was vacant of children, teens, and young adults, making Ashtyn silently question what day it was. Her blue eyes roamed the surrounding area for any form of life, but all she could find was dirt and fallen tree limbs.

From what she'd seen in passing, the shopping center was always bustling, so the eerie silence made her sick to her stomach. Something had to be wrong, there was no other logical explanation...

Sarah walked beside the mainland girl at a much slower pace, lost in dark thoughts about the group's earlier interaction. She stood out on this side of the island, sporting her pink pinstripe romper and a pair of name brand sandals.

The outfit reminded Ashtyn of days where she would strut around downtown Greenville in her Louis Vuitton wedges and unreleased designer sundresses, but now she would settle for borrowed jean shorts and John B's baggy t-shirts.

"Ashtyn, what the hell is going on with you and John B?" Sarah questioned, her eyes never leaving the cracked sidewalk below their feet. "The last time I saw you two, it seemed like things were finally coming together, but today... You couldn't even look the guy in the eye."

The younger girl shrugged, "It's everything going on. We're too bogged down with this treasure hunt and it's wearing us down. I've said some stupid things, he's muttered some stupid responses... We just can't seem to get it right."

"I'm not going to tell you how to deal with your relationship, cause god knows I need to work on my own," Sarah reluctantly said, "But you need to talk to JB before something bad happens. You've said it yourself Ashtyn, you'd be crushed if something happened to the guy... Do you really want to lose him while still on bad terms?"

Ashtyn fell speechless. She couldn't ignore the advice being sent her way. John was willing to die to find this gold and with the luck they've had, there was a big chance that someone in their group wouldn't make it out alive.

That someone would more than likely be him.

John B was selfless, even though it didn't seem like it half the time. He'd jump in front of a bullet to save his friends, that's why this treasure hunt had everyone out of whack. "If I lose him Sarah-"

"Don't think of it that way." Sarah cut her friend off, shooting her a look that screamed 'stop'. "We already know that he's not going to drop this, but we also know that it's going to take a lot to get rid of the guy. I mean, Ash... he fell from the Hawks Nest and survived."

"What if he's not so lucky next time S?" Even with Sarah's positive attitude, Ashtyn couldn't help but feel pessimistic about what was to come. Something in her gut was telling her that things were about to get much worse for the Pogues, she just didn't know why. "What if none of us are?"

Sarah brushed off the chill that ran down the base of her spine. She too had a bad feeling about what was to come for their group, but in order to help Ashtyn, she needed to mask her fear. "I think all of us have enough good karma at this point to prevent anything catastrophic from happening. You need to remember that people don't wait around forever though, he's probably just as frustrated with himself as you are with him."