─☼☼☼─

𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝘿𝘼𝙔 𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙀𝙍 Charlotte was doing her best to move on. 

She had cleaned her entire room. And then cleaned the entire kitchen...and the living room...and then re-arranged her entire closet. Then she had run some errands for John B...and then she had sat in her bed bored out of her mind. 

By the time Kiara returned home from John B's hostage situation, Charlotte was wholly relieved. 

Because, one, that mean she had someone to talk to, and two, it meant they were gearing up to go retrieve the gold from the Crain house. And that was exactly the distraction she needed. 

According to John B, that wasn't going to happen until Kie and Sarah agreed to working together. But by the look on Kiara's face when she entered, Charlotte assumed her night with Sarah hadn't been as horrible as could have been expected. 

Charlotte pretended that was entirely fine, like she hadn't basically broken up with Rafe for the second time, while she listened to Kiara recount her night stranded on a boat with only Sarah and minimal food. 

Part of Charlotte was actually happy to hear that her sister and Sarah were going to tolerate each other. 

"What have you been up to?" Kiara wondered after recounting her night. "You look exhausted."

Rubbing at her eyes for a moment, Charlotte shrugged. "Just been cleaning and stuff...getting ready for our heist─you know, the usual."

Kiara grinned, turning toward Charlotte's closet as Charlotte leaned further into her bed. "I hope you're ready for tonight." Kie declared, beginning to rifle through her older sister's clothes. "The boys and Sarah are on their way. We have to get ready."

"I'm ready." Charlotte assured, grateful for the distraction. "I got all of the supplies John B asked me to."

A black sweatshirt was thrown in Charlotte's direction. "God, Charlotte. Is that your only piece of black clothing?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes as she sat up and pointed toward her dresser. "Check the bottom drawer. I reorganized today."

An amused look covered Kiara's face as she moved toward the dresser, bending down and pulling out two pairs of black leggings. "Perfect."

"Oh, yes." Charlotte drawled as she grabbed the sweater from the end of her bed. "You can wear my clothes, Kiara. No problem."

Kie gave Charlotte a content smile as she threw one pair of leggings toward her sister. "That's what sisters are for. Now hurry up. They're going to be here soon."

And she was right. Charlotte had just finished getting dressed when she heard the familiar sound of the Twinkie's horn. 

She shared an excited smile with Kiara before bending down to scoop up the bag of supplies she had procured over the last day. 

"Let's do this."

─☼☼☼─

"Alright, we got rope?" 

Charlotte nodded at John B who was looking back at her from the driver's seat. "Check."

"Grappling hook?"

"No, John B. I did not get a grappling hook." She declared, scrunching up her face. 

"Yeah." Pope agreed. "We're not Batman."

"Fair enough..." John B muttered. "Pulley?"

"Got it."

"Dark clothes?"

Kie looked around at the others in the vehicle. "Looks like it." 

"Flashlights."

JJ flickered one of the lights as an answer. "Check-a-mondo."

"Alright good." John B praised as he pulled the Twinkie to a stop in front of their destination. "We're all set."

"Let's go get rich guys." JJ declared, a giddy tone to his voice. 

Charlotte grinned as she looked over at him, the lights flickering on in the car as the doors were thrown open "Hell yeah."

"Wait. Wait." John B ordered, stopping them from getting out of the vehicle. 

Charlotte looked to him with worry. "Did I forget something."

A warm smile came to John B's face. "No, Charley. You didn't forget anything. I─uh, I just want to say thanks, you guys. Seriously. It means a lot to me that you're here tonight."

Kie's face broke into a smile. "Always."

"Of course, man." Pope assured, the smile on John B's face growing at their words. 

"Yeah." Charlotte agreed. "Besides, this is way more fun than any other trouble we could have gotten up to tonight."

John B laughed, jokingly rolling his eyes at the eldest Carrera before his eyes shifted to a certain Cameron girl who was watching him with admiration. 

"Alright, we done with this circle jerk?" JJ wondered impatiently. "Can we go do this?"

Sarah nodded, an excited smile spreading across her face. "Yeah."

Pope clapped his hands together as he jumped out of the van. "Let's go get this wheat in the water."

"Weed?" JJ questioned. "I'm up for weed."

Charlotte rolled her eyes as she stepped onto the grass. "Pretty sure he said wheat, J."

"I definitely did say wheat." Pope confirmed much to JJ's dismay. 

"After you." Kie grinned, allowing Sarah to climb over the wall first. 

"Ladies first." Sarah teased, everyone's excited demeanour showing through. 

"Charley," Kie declared, shining the light on the wall. "You next."

Charlotte gave her sister a small smile before handing off the supplies that were in her hand. 

Quickly and quietly, she pulled herself up and over the stone wall, dropping to her feet next to Sarah who was grinning at her. 

"You ready, Sar?" She questioned, watching as Kiara popped up at the top of the wall. 

The young Kook girl smiled giddily. "I was born ready, Char."

"That's what we like to hear." Charlotte whispered, giving Sarah's shoulders an excited shake as the rest of the group dismounted from the wall. 

John B looked around at the group with a twinge of a smile. "We ready?"

Sarah and Charlotte shared a look. "Oh, we're ready."

The excitement coursed through the group as they made their way through the jungle that was the Crain property.

That excitement was quickly squashed when the porch light flicked on, causing all six of them to scramble . 

"Oh shit!"

"Flashlights!" Charlotte hissed, hurrying to turn off her own. "Flashlights off!"

John B held a finger to his lip. "Shh." He ordered the group of them, finger shaking slightly. 

"Okay." Pope breathed, pulling down his hood. "So she has motion sensor lights."

JJ rested his hands on his knees. "We could move really slowly maybe?"

Sarah scrunched up her face. "What?"

"Yeah, that's not how it works." Pope declared. 

"Oh, shit." John B whispered. "Let's throw a rock at it!"

Kiara rolled her eyes. "That's a really good idea. Let the axe murderer know that we're here."

"You know, in that case," Charlotte began, voice dripping with sarcasm. "We could just walk right up to the front door and knock."

John B glared at the sisters. "Okay. You guys have a better idea?"

"Literally anything but that."

"What about the breaker?" Sarah proposed. "In the circuit box on the porch. Remember, Char? When we played hide-and-seek here as kids? If we were brave enough we used to try and get all the way up to the porch. I've seen it."

Charlotte wracked her brain for a moment before nodding. She had remembered playing here─ as a child and as a teenager with Rafe. But she had failed to remember the circuit box until now. "Yeah. I remember. Right by the front steps."

"No. No." John B shot down. "You're not going in that house alone."

"I can go with her." Charlotte offered, not entirely thrilled with the idea but deciding they had no other choice. 

"Crain chops people into pieces." JJ argued.

Sarah shook her head slightly. "If you believe that, but she's like what, 85?"

"Yeah, somethin' like that."

"She's probably barely still kicking."

"I'll go with Sarah." Kiara proposed. "Charlotte, you stay here and keep an eye on these idiots."

JJ scoffed as Charlotte shot him a quick wink. 

"We'll wait for your signal." Pope affirmed. 

The two girls nodded, rising from their crouching positions as they prepared to make their way toward the house.

"Hey." John B whispered softly. "Be safe."

Kiara shot him a small smile. "We will."

The second they were out of earshot, JJ was grabbing Pope's face with a mock look of concern "Be safe."

Pope grabbed onto the front of JJ's shirt. "I'll be so safe. I'll be safe for you."

Charlotte couldn't resist the laughter that fell from her lips as John B watched on with an unamused expression. "Can you guys stop." he begged. "Stop! I'm going to kill you."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Charlotte smirked at him. "Now, John B. If you did that, who would help you get the gold?"

"Right." Pope nodded. "And how would that keep us safe?"

─☼☼☼─

The two girls were taking longer than expected, and that was making Charlotte nervous. 

"What if something went wrong?" She questioned, nervously picking at her finger nails. "Maybe I should go and see if they're okay."

"No." John B argued, a waver of worry on his face as well despite his efforts to hide it. "They'll be okay. They've got this."

JJ leaned forward slightly to look up at the house. "You know, they say that when Hollis disappeared that─"

Pope interjected quickly. "That you should shut the eff up?"

Charlotte regarded JJ with scoff. "Seriously, JJ. Now is not the time for your stupid true crime stories."

A low whistle came from JJ's lips. "Geez. Tough crowd."

John B was mid-eye roll when the porch light when dim, causing a surge of relief to flood through Charlotte's chest. 

"They did it." She whispered, her voice a mixture of giddiness and anxiety. 

Nodding, John B pulled his bandanna up over the bottom half of his face. "That's our cue. Let's do this."

The other three followed suit, yanking the fabrics up to cover their faces. 

"On the count of three; one, two─" John B cut himself off as JJ stood up and turned toward the house, not one for the countdown drama. "Okay." The leader of the group muttered. "Just go."

Despite the fact that her mouth was hidden, Charlotte shot him a small grin as she rose into a crouched stance, following after JJ and Pope. 

Charlotte Carrera was an abnormally calm person most of the time, but tonight her nerves were running more rampant than ever. 

As the four of them ducked into the crawl space, she felt like most of the air had been squeezed from her lungs. 

They were either going to become four hundred million dollars richer tonight, or they were going to end up in prison. Maybe she should have thought this through a bit more. 

"Holy crap you know what I just realized this is?" JJ wondered as they crowded around the well. "It just hit me."

"A disaster waiting to happen?" Charlotte muttered, pulling supplied out of her backpack. 

JJ shook his head. "This is C.H.U.D. Full C.H.U.D."

John B looked to Charlotte with a slightly concerned look. "What the hell is he talking about?"

JJ looked at them like it was obvious. "Cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers? Have you guys not seen that film?"

Charlotte tied a knot at the end of the ropes before looking up. "Can't say I have." John B nodded in agreement. 

"It's actually a good film. It's about cannibals that live in the sewers and under New York City, and it's like─"

"Shut up!" John B pleaded as he looked into the sewer like structure he was about to enter. "Shut up. Please."

When he then looked to Charlotte and Pope, he was shaking slightly. "Alright. How deep do you two think this is?"

Charlotte shook her head as Pope sighed. "I don't know."

Tightening the loop around his waist, John B pursed his lips. "Thanks for the reassurance."

"You'll be fine." Charlotte assured as she checked the pulley system one last time. "How's that?"

John B gave her a small smile. "Better than nothing. Thanks, Charley."

With a final shaky breath, he stepped off the ledge, causing everyone to hold their breath for a moment as they waited to see if their pulley system was going to hold up. 

When John B didn't fall to his death, but instead hovered in the air, collective sighs of relief were let out. 

"Hey boys─and girl─ I just have one request."

"What's that?" Pope wondered.

"Don't drop me."

Being the ever-so-funny comedian that he was, JJ gave a bit of slack to the rope. "Woah!"

"Okay." John B warned. "You're gonna die first."

Charlotte turned slightly to look over her shoulder at JJ. "Enough with the funny business. This is serious stuff."

He lifted a single hand to give a salute. "Yes, ma'am."

"Alright." Pope coached John B who was slowly being lowered into the well. "Just keep payin' it out nice and slow like that."

"Wait hold on one sec." JJ instructed from his spot at the helm. "I'm just going to get situated."

"You good?" Pope wondered. 

No response came in the form of words, but rather the sudden action of the tension letting go. 

Charlotte felt her heart lurch as the rope slid through her hands, burning her palms as she attempted to catch her grip again. 

"Oh shit!" JJ cursed as a thump sounded from where he had been standing. 

"Woah!" John B screamed, his voice echoing off of the walls. 

"Pope!" Charlotte whispered, finally catching a grip and using all of her force to keep the rope from moving any further. 

Up in front of her, Pope regained his grip and pulled back, causing part of the load to be released from Charlotte's responsibility. 

"JJ, what the fuck happened?" She questioned, turning to look at him just as he was regaining his footing. 

"Shit. I fell." He panted, wrapping the rope around the back of him to create more stability. "I'm sorry. John B!?"

When John B spoke up to them once again, his voice was panicked. "I told you not to drop me!"

Digging her feet into the ground, Charlotte let out a small grunt as she tightened her grip on the rope. "John B, you good?"

"What the hell was that?" he demanded.

Pope leaned over the edge slightly, letting out a gasp of exhaustion. "Little technical difficulties."

"Keep going, slow!" John B ordered. 

"Okay, we're gonna start paying you out again, alright?" Pope declared, slowly letting more rope go. 

Throwing a glance over he shoulder, Charlotte watched as JJ's arms flexed in exertion as he slowly let off more rope, his face stretched as he attempted to calm his breathing. 

"Keep going!" John B called. 

"We've got 15 feet left!" Pope informed. "Are you getting close to the bottom?"

"I can't tell. Just keep going!"

"Give me more." Pope instructed, looking back to Charlotte and JJ who were both breaking a sweat by this point. 

JJ nodded, the headlamp on his forehead blinding Charlotte for a moment when she looked back at him. "You good?" She wondered, her voice slightly breathy. 

"Yeah." He assured, through a grunt. "You?"

"Good."

A few more seconds passed before John B's voice carried up the well once again. "Hold up!"

"What's going on?" Pope wondered. 

"I'm hanging over some sewage water looking shit."

Charlotte readjusted her grip. "Want us to pull you back up?"

John B's answer was full of uncertainty "No. No. Just keep going...I guess."

They listened, and slowly the released more rope, sending their friend into the imaginably murky water that could or could not contain a variety of diseases...if not cannibals. 

"Okay! Okay. I'm at bottom."

Both Charlotte and JJ moved from their posts, joining Pope at the entrance of the well. "How is it down there?" JJ called. 

John B was standing waist-deep in water that looked disgusting, even from the upper level where Charlotte stood. 

"It's worse than I thought." He answered, his voice shaking. 

JJ's eyes scanned down below. "You find any gold?"

"Nothing yet." John B paused for a moment.  "Wait...I think I felt something with my foot."

Charlotte felt her heart beat speed up slightly as she shone her light down into the well. Could this be it?

Suddenly, John B was screaming. But it wasn't out of excitement. 

"JJ! PULL ME UP! PULL ME UP!"

JJ turned so quickly he ran into Charlotte, sending them both onto the ground with a thud. 

"Go!" Pope ordered in desperation. 

Latching onto Charlotte, JJ yanked her up from the ground before resuming his post. 

Charlotte felt so dazed as she began pulling on the rope it felt like she wasn't even here. What the hell was going on?

"COME ON!" John B screamed, his voice full of terror. "PULL ME UP!"

But then there was sounds of tumbling rocks, and the terror seamed to subside. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"

They all paused. 

John B's voice was muffled this time, and it was hard to hear what he was actually saying.

Pope leaned over. "What'd you say?"

"Just give me a minute!"

 Blowing out a breath, Charlotte tried to wipe the dirt from her face with her shoulder. She was a mixture of dirt and sweat and she felt disgusting. Not near as disgusting as John B must have felt, but still pretty gross. 

Her, JJ and Pope's breathing filled the dusty crawl space as they all awaited news from John B. 

Moments passed and it was nothing but silence. 

"John B!" JJ finally called. "You okay? Any dead bodies?"

"Really, JJ?" Charlotte scrutinized. "Are we still on the dead bodies?"

He shrugged. "Maybe we can get prize money for solving a cold case."

"Prize money?" She repeated with a dead glare. "What is this, a carnival game?"

Suddenly, the sound of thumping footsteps sounded from the far side of the basement. 

"Guys!" Sarah and Kie screamed, rushing into the basement. "Guys! Go! We need to go!'

JJ, Pope and Charlotte all turned to them with shocked expressions. "Woah, woah. What's going on?" Pope questioned. 

"Crain! She's up there." Sarah exclaimed.

Kie nodded as Sarah bent down to catch her breath.  "She tried to kill us with a fire poker. Guys, we need to get the fuck out of here."

Charlotte's eyes danced toward the staircase where the two girls had just entered, terrified she was about to see the old lady murdered making her way down toward them. 

Sarah stood back up, still panting. "We locked her in the parlour but we gotta go!"

"Okay, that's code red." JJ agreed, a certain urgency in his voice. "Let's go. John B! Get back on, man!"

Kie and Sarah grabbed part of the rope behind JJ, both of them still struggling to catch their breath. 

There was no response from John B, so all they could do was assumed he was still attached down there. 

"One, two, three─pull!"

They did as Pope said, all of them yanking as hard as they could. But instead of being met with resistance, they were met with complete slack. 

The five of them stumbled backward, Charlotte falling into JJ, ankle twisting in the process. 

"Shit." She cursed, hands flying down to the injury. 

Pope turned to look at her, eyes full of concern. "Are you okay?"

Charlotte gritted her teeth as she pushed herself up off the ground, pain surging through her entire leg. "I'm good." She lied, knowing they had way bigger problems right now. 

"Wait, guys. Quiet!" Kie ordered, her and Sarah leaning over the opening. "He's saying something."

JJ, Pope and Charlotte looked at each other for a moment before hurrying to join the two girls. 

"What's he saying?" Charlotte demanded, unable to make out his muffled words. 

"JJ! Pope! Charley!"

They could hear that. 

"Yo, he's drowning!" Sarah screamed. "We've gotta pull him up!"

"John B!"

Pope, always the most level headed of the group, didn't rush back like the rest of them. "Hey, John B! Get back on the rope. We're gonna pull you back up, okay, buddy?"

Charlotte ankle was screaming in protest as she planted her feet, grabbing onto the rope once again. But she couldn't pay it any mind, John B needed help. 

There was a tug on the bottom of the rope, meaning John B was back on. 

"Okay." Pope declared. "Let's go!"

Grunt were flying from every direction as they all began pulling. It was much easier with five of them versus the original three, but it still required all of their strength. 

"Come on." Charlotte grunted, her muscles burning with each pull. "Come on!"

"Pull!" Pope yelled. 

And then it happened. 

A loud bang sounded off just above their heads, causing all of them to jump in total surprise. 

Sarah screamed, JJ cursed and Charlotte almost threw up....Mrs. Crain was shooting at them. 

The rope gave way slightly, sending John B back down a couple of feet as they all turned toward the batty old woman who was creeping toward them. 

"Tie up!" JJ ordered, causing Charlotte to begin tying with shaking hands. They couldn't just drop the rope and let John B go, even if they might get shot in the process. "John B, you gotta climb, man!"

The moment the rope was secure enough, JJ was literally picking Charlotte up and carting her off toward a hiding spot. The two of them ducked behind an old door, the other three also finding a place to hide as Crain moved further into the basement. 

Another shot rang off in the direction of Kie and Sarah, but it was no where close to them...Mrs. Crain couldn't see for shit. 

"She's blind." Charlotte whispered to JJ, their two breaths laboured as they huddled behind the door. 

BANG.

Another shot. This one in their direction. 

"GO!" Pope screamed as he bent down to grab onto Charlotte, JJ throwing his arm around her waist on the other side. 

"I don't care if she is, that's a buckshot!" JJ yelled, the two boys all but carrying Charlotte along with them as they raced for the door.  

"Holy fuck!" Charlotte screamed, another shot being fired toward the door. 

Adrenaline was pumping now as the boys sprinted toward the stone wall, as if they couldn't even feel Charlotte's weight. 

"Come on!" Sarah screamed from where she sat perched on the top of the wall.

"Pull Charley up!" JJ ordered, already hoisting her toward the outstretched hands of Sarah and Kie. 

Using her good foot, Charlotte pushed herself up, allowing the two girls to pull her up and over before they jumped toward the ground. 

The landing sent pain through Charlotte's foot, but she barely felt it from the rush of adrenaline that was rushing through her. 

As JJ and Pope scaled the wall, the three girls were already throwing the door to the van open. 

"WOO!" Came another voice, John B's head popping up over the wall as shots rang off behind him. 

"LET'S GO!" Charlotte screamed, the sound of the Twinkie firing up almost drowning out her voice. 

"JOHN B, RUN!" Kie ordered as JJ began driving at a pace slow enough to allow John B to catch up. 

Pope leaned out of the van, sticking out his hands for their friend to grab. 

Finally, John B stumbled into the vehicle, collapsing onto the ground as Pope slammed the door behind him. 

Charlotte looked down at him, noting that he was covered in head to toe in mud that smelled like it came from the bottom of a toilet. 

All of their voices melded together as everyone tried to piece together what had just happened. 

"I'd know if I was shot, right?" Kie looked for reassurance as she ran her hands over her body to check for bullet holes.

"Why the hell are we always being shot at?" Pope exclaimed, his face covered in a sheen layer of sweat. 

"What the fuck just happened?" Sarah panted. 

"I think I'm going to throw up." Charlotte groaned, thumping her head against the far wall. 

"I told you she was a murderer!" JJ yelled from the front, triumph in his voice. 

"GUY!" John B snapped, his chest rising and falling drastically as he looked around at the group of them. And then, a sly smile spread across his face as he held something up. 

It was dirty, but it was impossible to miss what it was. 

"I found the gold."

"Holy shit."

─☼☼☼─