Carson Keller used to think her biggest problem was their rivalry against the Kooks, but that was until buried secrets rose to the surface. Now her biggest problems included a dangerous treasure hunt and a hot-headed teenage boy.
✰ season 1-3 ✰
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AS MUCH AS THE TREK was beautiful, it was also exhausting. Carson loved the outdoors, but she was definitely more of a beach girl than a forest girl. At least back at the OBX she could jump into the ocean to beat the heat, but the sweat dripping down her forehead and the green trees surrounding them were just a reminder of how far away they were from home.
"So, Kie, is this trip confirming that wilderness camp isn't for you? 'Cause it sure the hell is confirming it for me," Carson said. Kiara laughed and nodded her head in agreement.
"I couldn't agree more," she said.
"How did you get her out anyway?" Carson then asked. She wasn't asking out of jealousy or suspicion -- they were past that situation -- but was purely curious what absurd plan JJ used this time to manage to help Kiara escape.
"Her cat died," JJ said vaguely.
"I honestly was expecting worse," she said with a laugh. "They really bought that?"
"For a behavioral camp you'd think they would be more suspicious," Kiara said. "I'm just waiting til they call my parents and let them know I'm gone."
"Well, Penelope would be more than happy to take you in. I think she's starting to enjoy collecting her share of delinquents," Carson stated.
"But never forget, I'm her #1," JJ said.
"Yeah, yeah, unfortunately that's true," she said, making JJ give her a proud smirk. "First, we just need to make it back in one piece. Think we can really manage that?"
✰
That statement was unfortunately going to be tested real soon when the group could hear a loud, angry voice in the near distance. Carson could feel her body go rigid when they got close enough to realize who it was. They knew they were going to run into trouble and maybe she should have expected it to come to this as it had plenty of times before, but her first guess was that they were going to face Singh and his men. It was the sight of Ward aiming a gun at Sarah, John B, and Big John that made her blood go cold.
"Alright, so, what are we gonna do?" Pope asked.
"Is this ride or die?" JJ said.
"P4L," Cleo said as she pulled out her machete. The rest of them did the same before they all sprinted forward with their weapons tightly gripped in their hands, ready to surround Ward.
"Ward, put it down right now!" Pope screamed.
"Stay back, stay back!" Ward warned them, wildly swinging around with the gun pointed at each of them.
"Come on! You're outnumbered, Ward," JJ said.
"What are you gonna do, shoot us all?" Pope said.
"If you gotta shoot somebody, Ward, shoot me," Big John said. Carson looked over at him to see that he was slightly slumped down with his hands holding his stomach that was covered in bright red blood. She obviously didn't know how it had happened as the groups had been separated, but there was no time to think about that now. Their main problem was standing right in front of them, just like he had always been. She knew not to believe him when he said they didn't have to worry about him. All Carson ever knew of Ward was that he was a liar. He hadn't proven her any different all this time, and she wasn't sure he could do anything that would change that.
Ward pointed the gun over towards Big John, but when he did, John B stepped forward.
"Or me," he said. Ward had a deranged look in his eyes that seemed to indicate his lack of control, but it was when Sarah stepped in front of John B that it shifted to a look of conflict.
"Stop. Enough," Sarah said.
"Don't!" Ward screamed.
"You're not gonna kill all of us. I know you won't," she said. "I know you. You forget that I know you." As Sarah put her hand over Ward's that was holding the gun pressed against her chest, Carson found herself slowly walking forward. She didn't even really know what she was doing until she realized she was standing next to Sarah in front of Ward. His gaze moved from Sarah to her, and it was like he just gave up as he allowed the two of them to lower the gun away from Sarah's chest.
"It's over, Ward," Carson said. He shook his head in defeat as he cried.
"I couldn't. I couldn't do it," he said. He reached forward and rested his hand against Sarah's cheek. He went to do the same to Carson with his other hand, but she flinched and he stopped. "I'm-"
"Well, I can," a voice cut him off from whatever it was that he was going to say to her. They all got into defense mode when they realized it was one of Singh's men, and he was coming at them fast with a gun directed at them. "Toss it," he demanded to John B with his gun pointed at Big John's head.
"Take it easy, bud," Big John said. "Your boss is dead. You got no reason to do this."
"I can think of a few reasons," he said. "Toss it!" John B dropped the gun, clearly too fearful for his dad's life to not obey. They didn't have any leverage on Singh's guy so they wouldn't be able to talk him down like they had just done with Ward. "Thought you'd end up with the gold, eh? Alright, nobody move. My mate back there is dead. Because of you." He raised his gun and pointed it at where Sarah and Carson stood so close together they were practically overlapping. It was like Carson's brain didn't even register her own safety when it came to people that she loved being in danger because she took a step over until she was standing in front of Sarah. "You want to go first? Alright."
"No," Ward whispered. Carson looked over at him to see him staring back at her. He gave her a small smile, one that she couldn't quite decipher, but before anyone else could even make a move, Ward let out a loud scream and took a fast step forward. Gunshots fired off, directly into Ward's chest as he acted as a shield for her. He wrapped his arms around the man and pushed them both forward over the ledge of the cliff, falling hard and fast to the ground below. Sarah and Carson rushed forward to see Ward's body at the bottom of the cliff. Sarah let out quiet sobs while Carson stood just staring in shock, not seeming to be able to look away from his unmoving body. It wasn't until she felt JJ grab her hand that she broke out of the shock and felt her eyes fill with tears.
It wasn't that she was necessarily crying for Ward because it's not like he had ever been a father to her. Despite the fact that he hadn't been much of a father to Sarah recently either, she at least had her fair share of happy memories with him while Carson had nothing. But when she looked back down at his body, she realized that in this moment -- the moment of his death -- he was a father to her. He sacrificed himself to save her. He would never be able to tell Carson how much guilt he truly harbored for abandoning her, and the years of greed and pride were too overpowering for him to realize this himself. But, at that moment as he imagined the death of the daughter that he left behind, something inside of him broke. It was that moment that he realized Carson would always be his downfall.
