𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡

Sarah and Tate hopped onto their old bikes that were kept in the Cameron's garage, and quietly wheeled out of the estate to help John B.

"Sarah, this is seriously gonna go bad for us. Your dad is gonna do something he'll regret," Tate panted as they biked to the pogue side of the island.

The girls pulled up onto a scene of some sort, sirens flashing, and a suv's car alarm going off. That could only mean one thing.

"Shit," Tate exhaled.

"Hey. Did they catch him?" Sarah asked a girl on the sidewalk by what was going on. "Not yet. Said he's headed to Shem Creek. Come on," The teen told the duo to follow.

The girls paused for a second, taking in all of their options, and turned their bikes around to go find him, somewhere only Sarah knew. But what Sarah didn't know, is that Topper was following behind them the entire time.

"Sarah! Where are you taking us?" Tatum whispered at her best friend. "To John B."

So they biked all the way to a secluded church, one that Tatum had never seen before. Most likely a result of her being a kook.

They climbed up the wooden ladder to what Tatum assumed was the attic, and sure enough, she was right. And John B was hidden away for safe keeping from the cops.

As soon as he saw Sarah's face in the beam of his flashlight, he felt relief wash over him, exhaling all of the fear that was bottled inside of him.

"Hi," Sarah opened the trap door more so Tatum could climb up. "What are you-Hi," John B pulled her into a hug as Tatum closed the trap, watching her best friend and almost brother embrace each other.

"Tate?" John B exhaled, pulling her into a separate hug without Sarah in the mix. "I thought I'd never see you again. The both of you."

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked her boyfriend as John B and Tatum pulled away from each other, the former taking a step back.

"Yeah. Yeah, are you? You okay?" "I am."

All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps climbing the ladder echoed from the church and into the attic. Tatum inhaled sharply, terrified of what could happen next to them.

The cops could show up armed and accidentally shoot one of them. Ward could have found them and killed John B "accidentally" and kidnapped the girls. There was a boatload of possibilities that Tatum feared.

The trap door slowly lifted, revealing none other than Topper Thornton himself.

"What are you doing here, Top?" John B shouted at him. "Hey. Just take it easy, man."

"Just do't fuckin' move!"

"Let me-I just need to talk to Sarah and Tatum. Please. It's not too smart, is it, meeting up with a fugitive like this? Hey. I'm not...I'm not...I'm not gonna do anything, all right?" Topper climbed up and shut the trap door.

"What? Are you gonna try to kill me too, man?"

"He didn't kill anyone," Sarah corrected.

"Are you kidding me? He's literally brainwashed you, Sarah," Topper tapped his head, gesturing." "No."

"Huh? Come on. Snap out of it!"

John B and Sarah whispered to each other in the corner, practically ignoring Topper. But Tatum wasn't. Her twin telepathy let her know that her brother was up to something. Up to something no good.

"Hey, everybody! He's up here!" Topper took a significant motion, swinging the rope that rang the big bell of the church.

"Shut up!" John B yelled at him.