The Pogue Life || JJ Maybank

Shit went down

We watch in horror, barely 200 metres from the fence line as the Twinkie chases the Cameron's blue and white plane down the runway, catching up to it slowly. I don't realise I'm holding my breath and I don't realise that JJ and I are clasping hands as tight as humanly possible. John B must have his foot literally planted, since the Twinkie is not only keeping up with but actually gaining on the plane. I have no idea what the plan is, but when he starts to get in front of it my eyes go wide and I debate closing my eyes. As much as I want to I physically cannot peel my eyes away as John B wheels the van in front of the plane, slamming on the brakes. He's screwed, this is it. John B is about to die.

I nearly sob when the blue nose of the plan finally stops, the tires squealing as Ward must slam on the brakes. I would love to know how far the nose is from the van, because it genuinely looks like it's inches away. The only way I know it didn't touch it is that I didn't see the van move. And John B soon swings open the door and jumps out. That idiot is so lucky he's not dead.

How many near death experiences does he have to have before he starts making smart decision? Honestly.

We all watch as Sarah and Ward get out of the plane, Sarah immediately going to John B and ending up wrapped in his arms, facing her father. JJ gives a firm tug on my hand, which is still in a death grip with his and I throw my free arm around him, whispering thank-yous and prayers to a god I don't worship. His chest heaves beneath mine, letting out a huge sigh of relief until we hear sirens singing in the distance, obviously on their way to the airstrip.

"Guys, I can't get arrested," Pope says, pulling out of a hug with Kie that I hadn't realised they were in.

"I'm on probation," JJ adds.

"Look, we're no good if we're all in jail," Kie agrees.

I nod, leaning down and picking up the gun that JJ had dropped and his red cap, which he took off and threw at the ground in frustration when he couldn't catch John B in the Twinkie. I hand him the gun and slap the dust of the cap against my leg before securing it on his head. He gives me a grim smile, clearly amused by my antics but still stressed about his brother. I give him a little nod and grab his hand again, gently pulling him with me as we haul ass back out the hole John B left in the fence.

We run until we reach town, stopping only a few times to catch our breath quickly before we continue on, not speaking to one another at all. We end up in a shed out the back of Heywards, which is full of all sorts of crap. We figure it would be the easiest place for John B to find us if/when he escapes, and it was the closest place we could get to and since we were on foot, that seemed great. Obviously, we hadn't pre-planned slitting up or losing the van so we're improvising here. As per usual.

We catch our breaths for a minute, not speaking as we try and comprehend what just happened, and pray that John B is okay. We watch as a plane flies overhead, coming from the direction we just did. Great, just great.

"There goes the gold," JJ says, "shit!"

JJ kicks a nearby chair, breaking the fragile pieces of wood apart. I shake my head and let out a loud groan. Unexpectedly though, Pope goes into an absolute fit of rage, swearing and throwing things. The other three of us stand, watching in horror as our usually calm and collected Pope punches, kicks and throws everything in the vicinity. I have to duck as a piece of broken metal comes flying at my head, coming off something that Pope has just thrown at the wall across from us.

The three of us flinch as Pope picks up a bat (convenient of this shed to have one lying around) and starts going ape-shit on literally anything he can. An entire shelf of stuff falls down, making loud crashing and breaking noises. Honestly, I thought if anyone would break into a fit of rage like this it would be JJ, but he just stands beside me, shooting me a look of concern before going back to watching Pope fall apart. JJ's red cap is on the floor, yet again thrown down in frustration. That poor cap cops some serious abuse when he's annoyed.