JJ Maybank lowered the phone from his ear, his eyes wide as he looked at the dropped call. He pressed the button on the phone redialing June's number, the phone going straight to voicemail, indicating that her phone was now off. He couldn't help but feel the panic course through his veins as he stared down at the phone, knowing that June said that if anything went wrong , she would call. He ran a hand through his hair, turning to John B and grabbing his shoulder.

"June called." The blonde said, John Bs face contorting into one of confusion as he did so.

"Well what'd she say?" John B asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he waited for and answer. JJ gulped, feeling dread in his bones as he felt the pit in his stomach settle, something bad had happened. He just knew.

"Nothing. The phone cut off. We uh...I think we need to get back. She said she would call if something happened. Well, she called."  JJ said, John B noticing how tense he was now. He nodded, turning back to the rest of the group and reigning Pope in, the boy having been jumping around the yard for the past 5 minutes.

They all filed into the truck only moments later, JJ biting his lip and bouncing his leg in anticipation as he honestly hoped for the best.

"Pope you're driving really fast."

"Pope, last to judge, but I think you should slow down just a little."  JJ said, his hands gripping the back of the drivers seat as Pope drove. It was then that he realized that maybe it wasn't the best choice to let Pope drive, considering he had just been given a shot of whatever it was that brought him back.

"That would definitely delay our arrival to the cross. We gotta get there." Pope said, pointing to the road in front of him.

"Why did we let him drive again?" Kie asked, looking back at the other three with wide eyes.

"I said I'd rip your ears off."

"Because he said he'd rip our ears off." Sarah said, shaking her head nonchalantly at what Pope had threatened them with.

"You did." Kie said, nodding as she remembered.

"I was joking about that by the way." Pope said, looking over at Kie.

"Ah that's a really funny joke."

"Hey hey, how ya feeling buddy? How ya doing?" John B asked, Pope staring ahead at the road as he asked. The Routledge boy was a bit on edge as well, knowing that June wouldn't fake them out an call if there wasn't an emergency. What he didn't need to do was tell Pope that she had called, resulting in all their untimely deaths at the hand of him speeding more and killing them.

"Uh, fantastic. I don't know what JJs cousin gave me but I am moving!" Pope answered, the boy gesturing to the road ahead of him.

"Okay well um...you're going really fast right now!" John B shouted, making Pope turn around and look at him.

"Yeah really fast!" The truck swerved, all of them shouting for Pope to look back at the road. He did, JJ feeling a different type of panic fill him as he momentarily forgot about the phone call from June. The blonde struggled to get his seatbelt out, the fear of wrecking becoming greater every second.

"I don't know if you noticed but theres these giant  oak tree all along the road. They're like six inches off the road!" Pope swerved around a car, another car coming towards them from the other side of the road as they all started to shout.

"You don't need to pass! You don't need to pass! You don't need to pass!" Kie screamed as they swerved away from the car, all of them starting to freak out now.

"What an asshole right?" Pope said, gesturing to the car behind them.

"He's going to speed limit!"

"We're not gonna get to the cross if we're dead Pope!"

"We're not gonna die. It's our divine right to get that cross." Pope said, looking back at John B.

"Pope look at the road!" John B shouted. They swerved, the tail end of the car hitting a tree and sending them into another set of trees. The airbags came out, the windows shattering as they all groaned.

"Is everyone okay?" John B asked, his eyes wide as he looked at them all.

"I think so."

"Never better." JJ pushed his door open,  stepping out with a grimace as he felt his bones ache.

"That is the last time you drive Pope."

"My dads truck. No!" Kie said, running onto the road to assess the damages.

"Kie, one word. Totaled." JJ said, shining his flashlight on the shattered windshield.

"My parents are gonna kill me. For real this time."

"Yeah well, weren't they already gonna do that anyway."  JJ said, looking up at the girl with another grimace.

"Okay. Helpful. Thank you."

"We're gonna have to walk the rest of the way." Pope said, looking at the truck with wide eyes.

"Dude."

"I'm going to get my cross." Pope said, starting to walk. John B stopped him, the boy speaking immediately.

"Hey just relax for a second."

"Get off of me." Pope said, trying to push past him.

"No. I'm trying to help."

"I'm getting my cross man." Pope said, pushing past John B.

"We just crashed the car."

"I'm trying to watch out for you. Hey man! No!" John B tried to stop Pope still, the boy limping after him frantically. "There's a truck coming!"

"Get off of me!"

"You're gonna get hit by a car!" Pope looked past John B at the truck that was passing, the realization hitting him almost immediately as he saw who was in the truck.  Renfield gave him a salute, the rest of the group now realizing just who was in that truck.

JJs eyes widened as he saw Rafe, suddenly remembering the call from June and the fact that she was supposed to stay and watch the cross. The panic returned, the dread meeting it and settling in his chest as he quickly turned back to Pope.

"We gotta get back to  the church!" Pope said, already taking off.

"June." JJ whispered, the shock registering in him as he immediately thought the worst. She was dead.

"June! Fuck! We left her at the church!" JJ shouted louder this time, all of them suddenly coming to the same realization as him, their mouths opening as they realized what that meant.

"Shit!" Someone yelled, all of them taking off. JJ ran faster than he ever had before, his body screaming at him to stop  and take a break but he couldn't, June was in trouble.  It took awhile to get to the church, JJ feeling like he was going to die as they got to the door. He pushed it open, Pope close behind him as they walked inside, unsure of what they would find.

There was no sign of her anywhere, the cross was gone too, but JJ didn't care about the cross he cared about June.

"They're gone." Kie said, referring to the cross and June.  It was almost as if this flipped a switch in JJ, anger filling the boy as he kicked a cushion.

"Fuck!" He yelled, his eyes scamming frantically as he looked for any sign of her. "June!" He shouted, running down the side and shining his flashlight on every inch of the room.

"Damn it!" JJ seethed, the boy putting his hands on his head as he yelled again. "I knew I shouldn't have let her stay! I- Damn it!" JJ yelled again, feeling as if his heart was being ripped out of his chest. He should have known better, he should have pulled her to the truck anyways.

JJ felt his anger bubbling to the surface, he needed to hit something, he needed to break something. He couldn't hear anymore of what they were saying, his ears were blocked by the sound of his own heartbeat as he realized it was his fault that she was gone.  He put her in harms way. Not only that but they had no idea where she was, whether she was being eaten by gators or if she was halfway home.

"Fuck!" JJ screamed, his fist flying towards the wall as he felt all his anger release into the punch. John B ran over quickly, grabbing JJ by the shoulders and trying to reason with him. The blonde had tears in his eyes, his breaths frantic as he panicked.

"JJ. JJ hey! Hey! We're gonna find her okay?! We're gonna find June." John B was tasked with calming down the already inconsolable boy, JJ rubbing at his chest as that physical pain pricked in his chest. The not knowing was the hardest part.

"I shouldn't have...I shouldn't have let her stay." JJ whispered, pushing John B back as his chest started to ache even more, making him almost bend over in pain. John B tried to get  close to him again, the boy feeling his own insurmountable worry at the thought of the March girl who was missing, or possibly dead.  JJ pushed him back once more, the boy leaning over as he tried to catch his breath. He couldn't, his breaths shallow as he tried to breathe but he just couldn't get a deep breath, he was freaking out.

"We're gonna find her. June's smart! I'm sure she's-"

"I swear to God if Rafe got to her. If he did something to her - Damn it!" JJ screamed again, Sarah running over to help console him as he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands in his hair.

"If-if Rafe got to her then she's fine JJ. He-he wouldn't hurt her I swear. I dont-"

"He wouldn't hurt her?! He literally killed someone!" JJ yelled at Sarah, the girl shaking her head as she thought back to what she knew about Rafe and June.

"He wouldn't. He loves her JJ. He wouldn't do it." JJs mouth dropped open at her words, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Sarah. He stepped forwards, John B pushing his shoulders back as he did so, JJ bringing his finger to his temple as he gestured at her.

"I'm sorry Sarah, is that supposed to make me feel better?! Holy shit. So-so if he didn't do something to her then where is she?! Huh?! Tell me what happened since you don't think Rafe would do anything to her!" JJ said, his anger projecting onto Sarah. Sarah opened her mouth to speak but John B cut her off, the boy pushing the blonde into the wall and not giving him the chance to move so that he could calm down.

"JJ I swear to God we're gonna find her. We're gonna find June okay? Calm down man! You're making it worse calm down!"

"I can't! Shes fucking gone man! I failed again! She's in danger again!  I cant-I can't lose her man! I can't lose her again." JJs voice broke, the boy shaking his head as he bit his lip, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried desperately to not have a breakdown.

"I know buddy. We're gonna- we have to find her okay."  John B said, pulling  back from JJ. "We're gonn-"

"They took her." Kie said, her flashlight shining down at the floor. They all rushed over, eyes wide as they noticed the scuff marks on the floor, someone had been drug out of the church. June.

"Great. They took her. Why would they- why would he take her? What does he gain?" JJ said, shaking his head as Pope broke away from the group and walked towards the front of the church. It was then that JJ remembered the cross, the boy running his hands through his hair as he let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry Pope." JJ said, watching as the Heyward boy turned around at the altar.

"Denmark would've stood right here...preaching to everyone he set free. A slave, the sole survivor of the Royal Merchant, he got the gold and the cross, and he brought them both to shore and used it to free every person who walked through those doors. He made a church,a family, a congregation...a home." Pope rounded the pulpit, his fingers running over the wood as he looked out over the church that his ancestor built, that his family built. "And the Limbreys took everything from him. They sicced dogs on his wife and his kids, and when he tried to get her remains, they hung him. Well I'm done. I'm tired of that shit. That is not how this is gonna end. We need a freaking win guys. I'm going to get my family's cross. And we're not gonna let Rafe take June, not gonna happen. She's ours, not theirs. Ours." Pope walked to the door, his hands resting on the doors as he looked back at them all. "You guys coming?"

"Well if you put it that way—" John B started, JJ cutting him off.

"Maybe we should think about it you know?"

"Pros and cons." John B said, nodding at the others.

"Pros and cons list. Hell yeah we're coming Pope!" JJ said, feeling a bit calmer after Popes speech. His heartbeat was still increasing rapidly, his chest having less pain than it did before. He slung his arm over Popes shoulders, mustering up a smirk as he looked at the Heyward boy.

"Let's go get our girl!" John B said, all of them heading out of the church. JJ could still feel the worry in him, he was sick with it, but it was better knowing that they had priorities and that they would stop at nothing to get her back. The realization struck him that June was a Pogue, and there was nothing that anyone could do to change that. She was part of that family, she was one of them.

"Yeah, let's go get our girl."

________

Let me know what you think. I'm so excited guys you don't EVEN UNDERSTAND