Utterly Oblivious ~ JJ Maybank

8

Sam could feel the air being squeezed out of her lungs as she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening.

"John B I told you," JJ started, "Why does it always have to be-"

     "JJ! Hey, where's the gun?" John B whisper-yelled while cementing his hands to JJ's shoulders.

     "The gun? I, I uh," JJ sputtered, obviously to scared to remember where it was. Sam felt like the walls were closing in on her as she watched two burley men exit the truck. She wiped her sweaty palms on her tight tank top, hoping to calm herself down. Pope took notice of her increasing anxiety and took her hand in his while the conversation between the two teens continued.

     "It's on the porch." JJ finally said and practically sprinted out of the room. Pope grabbed Sam by the waist and she went to chase after him.

     "P, let me go. JJ can't go alone!" She quietly yelled.

     "He's got it Sam, you know JJ he's fast-" Pope was interupted by one of the men kicking in the screen door and yelling.

     "John Routledge!" The deep voice couldn't have come from a man under the age of twenty. Sam, attempting to get Pope off her, immediately stopped as she heard JJ's boots squeak against the smooth wood flooring of the kitchen. The blonde boy flew into the room, without the gun, followed by John B quickly shutting the door.

    "Guys we have to get out of here," Kie whisper yelled, hoping the men wouldn't hear them. JJ had quickly found his way to Sam before pulling her away from the door.

    "Shit uh, um the windows! Through the windows go!" JJ said while dragging Sam over to where Kiara was. However, the three struggled to even get the windows to budge.

"They're painted shut," Kie said to Sam with worry.

"Routledge!" The 2 men yelled, echoing though the house causing the teens to panic more while searching for a way out. Sam had begun to feel the world spin around her as Kie held her hands with hers, beginning to think they were about to be used for target practice. Kie slowly looked around, finding and grabbing a letter opener, and quickly using it to break the seals off the windows.

     "John B get away from the door!" Sam yelled as she heard things being thrown around the house.

     "Come on Kie keep going," JJ said to the brunette girl as she shoved the knife between the cracks of the window with shaking hands. Sam continued trying to push the window up with Pope while John B paced around the room. The door began to rattle as someone on the other side attempted to enter, causing 5 heads to whip in the direction of the door.

     "You better not be there!" A loud voice boomed, forcing John B and Pope to run to the other side of the room. The door suddenly began being kicked down as scraps of wood went flying.

     "I don't wanna die Pope are they gonna kill us?" Sam whispered as they watched the window remain shut.

     "I don't wanna die either Sam," He said not so reassuringly. The two girls held eachother close as the boys finished getting the seal off the windows, until a loud boom came from the door.

     "They shot the handle off go!" Kie whispered as the group finally popped the window up and jumped out. Pope followed JJ out with John B scoping for somewhere to hide.

     "Chicken coop, go to the chicken coop!" John B said after retrieving Kiara from the window. Sam climbed out and basically threw herself onto the blond boy who set her on the ground and quickly grabbed her hand before they sprinted to meet the group by the rooster.

     The sound of the teen's breathing filled the air as the listened to the men go in and out of the house with buckets full of maps, books, and pages of notes via Big Johns years of work on the Royal Merchant. Kiara held Sam's hand as tears rolled down both their faces while they hid in the small wooden hut. Sam stared straight at the wall while John B looked through the opening to watch the men. JJ occasionally nudged Sam's foot with his and watched her as she was stuck inside her own head. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go home and lay in her bed where no one will break in and hunt her with a gun. She wanted to be big and strong like John B and not cry but she couldn't. The tears kept coming as her mind spun wondering if they were even gonna live to tell anyone what happened. She was snapped out of her thoughts as the rooster began to crow.

     "Do something Pope shut him up," JJ whisper yelled.

      "What do you want me to do?" He retaliated, everyone knowing well there was no way to shut up the goddamn rooster.

"Hold it or talk to it i dont know!" Kie pleaded as the sound of the truck door closing was heard.

"It's okay Big Ben just be quiet," Sam said softly while petting the chicken. The squaking continued, causing the group to become more frantic and nervous by the second. The sound of a truck door being slammed froze them in place. Suddenly, JJ grabbed the rooster by neck and snapped it.

     "Oh my god." Sam and Kiara whispered as they continued to silently cry. JJ stared at his tan hands, bright red blood covering them. He looked to Sam who was staring at the dead animal in front of her while tears poured down her face.

     "Ratter, the hell are you doing? Let's go!" The other man yelled. Sam felt everything stop in that moment. What were they doing? From seeing a dead Scooter Grubs to being shot at in the marsh and having John B's house ransacked. Why can't they just do what they always do like surfing, eating, and sleeping? She thought about what her brother would say. What her parents would say. "Samantha Thorton! You are so much better than this! You have a future that doesn't involve the pogues! It is you going to college, getting married, and having kids! Stop wasting your time in the cut with the lowlifes and start being Thorton." Her mother would probably pass out if she saw where she was right now.

     "Sam!" Pope said in her face, "They're gone, let's go," He said softly, guiding her out of the coop to where the others were. She saw Kiara's puffy eyes and wet face and she calmed down, as well as John B consoling her. She looked to JJ who couldn't take his eyes off his hands. He slowly looked towards the teary eyed blond who look almost nauseous.

     "Sammy I'm so sorry I promise I didn't mean to, fuck I'm sorry," He pleaded as she stood there.

     "It's okay," She replied, not moving from her spot by Pope. "I uh, I just need a minute." She choked out as she retreated into the house. She found herself toggling to the bathroom as her heart rate quickened and palms began to sweat. "It's okay, don't throw up, you're fine." She repeated to herself silently. She found herself sitting on the closed toilet, letting the sounds of the seagulls outside relax her.

     "Sammy?" JJ said from the other side of the door followed by a knock. She slowly opened to door and saw that his hands had been cleaned, and his eyes were red. The two didn't say anything, they just stood there, staring at the ground, unsure of what was next.

     "It's not your fault." Was all the small girl spoke. JJ's eyes snapped up to hers. She pulled his hand into hers and pulled him back outside to where the remaining teens were.

     "Are they gonna come back?" Pope asked in worrying tone. "Because I think I've had enough almost death experiences for the month." John B just continued to stare at the ground as Kie walked over to Sam and wrapped her arms around her.

     "We'll have a funeral for him." Sam said after Kiara released her. They all gave her a confused look until they followed her gaze to the lifeless clump of feathers on the ground.

     "Yeah that will be good." Kiara spoke softly as she looped her fingers with Sam's.