Down

Chapter 6

Kie said" I'm sorry, you're staying where?"
John B said" Tannyhill."
" So you're living with Sarah Cameron."
" The only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right? And it's way better than foster care, which, by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn't-"
Pope said" Hey, so like do you have a membership to the clubs now?"
" I don't know, Pope." Kie handed me a cup of water, I took a sip and held it with both hands. 
JJ said" What about those little golf carts they drive around? You get one of them?"
" Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one on your own?"
Kie said" Look, you promised. You said you weren't with her."
JJ said" Bro, just own it. She got you."
" Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine. But I'm letting you know right now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah."
John B said" Do you guys see her here? No, right. Okay. A little focus would be fantastic. We've got the map, right?"
JJ said" It's all out of whack 'cause the guy was ganja'd when he drew it."
Kie said" It's 'cause the coast has changed."
Pope said" So we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed."
John B said" What about the old forts?"
Kie said" Battery Jasper."

We were at Battery Jasper, I was running around Twinkie, JJ didn't want me near the drop! I got bored of running around and crawled under it.
JJ said" Where is she?" John B whistled, I stuck my head out from under the van,
John B said" Found her." Kie crouched down and lifted me up, I giggled and smiled at them.
" We're movin, you comin' with us?"
I said" You won't leave me."
" Nope, not a chance. Throw her in." I laughed and reached for him, he took me into his arms, and let me fall a little. I smiled at him," Hi, Skye." I put my hands on his face,
" Hi, Bubba."

Pope said" Okay, so the road should split up here."
John B said" Okay."
" Alright. You're gonna take a left." We took a left,
JJ said" That looks like a stone wall to me."
" This is it."
John B said" Not the Crain house." We got out,
Kie said" Are you kidding me?"
JJ said" Worst-case scenario."
Pope said" Why'd it have to be here... of all places?"
" I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband's head on the property." I started getting scared...

Kie said" Look, you guys know who's house this is, right?"
JJ said" Oh, yeah. No, I do."
John B said" Honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place." We were walking through the yard,
" What stories did you hear?"
Kie said" The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since. On certain nights, when the moon is full... you can see her in the windows." She made woogity fingers, smiling at me, I giggled," Waah!"
" No, Kie, it's not funny, 'cause it's all true. I swear to god, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis. Jeez!" He turned to a statue, I jumped and clung to his shorts, Pope sighed and lifted me up.
John B said" Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?"
" Yeah, dude."
Pope said" Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?"
" She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it. Told me the truth... about her mother and what happened in this house. So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and... she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night."
John B said" What night?"
" It all came back to her. When Hollis was 6 years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink... full of blood. Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head, looking straight back at her." I got scared, holding onto Pope tighter,
" God, you are so full of shit."
" Dude, I swear to god, man."
Pope said" Did she call the police?"
" She didn't have time." John B walked away, JJ followed," Wait, hold on, dude!"
John B said" What?"
" You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer, man. You got a cast on."
" I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay? I got nothin' to lose, right? You comin' or what?" He walked ahead,
Kie said" Come on." We followed him, Pope put me down and held my hand as they crouched down.
" Come here. So here's the plan. We need to look for wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter."
Pope said" Okay, like, what kind of water? Like, pond water?"
JJ said" Bong water?"
John B said" No. It-It just said look for water, okay?"
Kie said" That's the shittiest secret message ever." She walked away,
" You wanna complain a little more, Kie? Nobody said it was gonna be easy." Pope looked at JJ,
Pope said" I'll search the northeast quadrant, you search the northwest quadrant." He walked away,
JJ said" The decapitation quadrant." I whimpered, he looked at me," Come on, Munch, let's start lookin'."
I said" 'M scared, bubba." He lifted me up onto his hip,
" You're scared, Skye?" I nodded my head slowly," Hm? Well, why're you scared? Your big bro's holding you, and you know I would never ever ever let anyone or anything hurt you."
" Even an axe murderber?" He smiled,
" Even an axe murderber, yeah."