─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"get the hell off of me!" marella shouted, trying to free herself from ward's grip.

"get in!"

"no, we don't wanna go!" sarah cried, thrashing about. her dad shoved her into the plane, forcing her into the seat and placing her seatbelt on.

"you listen to me!" the man exclaimed wit anger. next, he pushed the slightly younger girl into the seat in the middle, repeating the same actions he did with his daughter. "ward, please." marella pleaded. "ward, you can't do this!"

"shut up!" he shouted, making her flinch back. the man reached over, starting the engine on the aeroplane and pulling some levers.

as they began to steadily move, sarah glanced outside of the open window to see the twinkie van catching up with the plane. a smile formed on her face at the sight of her boyfriend, but ward was far from happy. "get off the runway!" he shouted. "get off!" the man reached for the lever, ready to make the plane fly.

sarah reached over and grasped his hand, but the man pushed her head back and she slammed into the metal wall of the plane. marella gasped at the loud impact before she began to strike ward's arms. "you're fucking crazy!" she shouted. "stop the plane!"

john b swerved around, the twinkie now had positioned a few feet in front of the plane. if ward was to keep going, they would make a blunt impact with the minivan. "stop! stop, you're gonna kill him!" sarah screamed.

surprisingly, ward hit the brakes and the plane suddenly stopped. the two girls flew forward, the back of their seats being hit by the crates of gold. the plane began to wind down as the three panted in exhaustion.

"sarah! marella!"

ward was first out, ready to confront the teenage boy. marella was next and once she was on solid ground, she turned back to help the blonde girl out.

"you trying to kill them?" ward challenged, "trying to get us all killed?!"

"i need the gold, ward!"

"no! no! no!" sarah rushed over, cupping her hands on the boy's face. "john b." she sobbed. "john b, you're okay."

"get away from him." ward seethed.

"no! don't touch me!" sarah smacked his arm back. john b quickly drew marella behind him before securing his arms around sarah. "and don't tell me what to do."

suddenly, a police car drove over, the sirens blaring and the lights flashing as it approached. "you think this changes anything? it doesn't." ward told him.

"you gotta get outta here." sarah started. "you gotta..."

"oh, thank God you're here. susan, i told you he lost his damn mind." ward told the town's sheriff, susan peterkin.

"put your hands on your head." the sheriff ordered.

"i'd do what she said kid." ward laughed with satisfaction, clearly misunderstanding what was occurring.

john b had his eyes fixated on the officer behind him, who had pulled out her pistol. "she's talkin' to you, ward." he informed him.

"you're under arrest for the murder of big john routledge." sheriff peterkin announced. marella gasped at the sheriff's claim and she gently placed her hand on john b's shoulder, as an act of comfort. but also for her as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"are you kidding me?"

"put your hands on your head." peterkin requested.

"are you kidding me, sue?" ward continued in disbelief.

"put your hands on your head!" she demanded and ward did exactly as he was told. "turn around. drop to your knees! i don't like bein' used. i waited a long time for this." as he was being handcuffed, ward attempted to fight, but peterkin forced him onto the ground and drew her weapon. marella stepped back, wanting to distance herself from the gun and the scene.

but then it happened.

it was all so quick. it happened so fast. a gunshot. sarah gasped. marella jumped back. sheriff peterkin dropped to her knees. rafe cameron emerged from behind the aircraft, his weapon in his hand and still pointed at the already-shot officer.

"rafe, no." john b whispered.

"rafe. what did you do?" ward asked, his eyes on the bleeding woman.

but rafe just laughed as she fell to the floor. "i saved you, dad. i saved you." he raised the gun, now directing it at the three sixteen-year-olds.

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

marella had completely lost it. she was perched on the ground sobbing her eyes out as sarah cuddled up against her, she too in tears. marella knew sheriff peterkin due to her parents, but they were never personally close. that didn't matter, because the woman was bleeding out in front of marella's eyes and no one was doing anything to help her.

"rafe, put the gun down."

john b had rushed over to the police officer, trying to stop the bleeding. behind him, ward was trying to calm his erratic son down and convince him to lower his weapon "run." peterkin wheezed out to the routledge boy for the final time.

"i'm sorry." john b frowned, getting up to his feet and stepping back. "where are you going?" rafe forced his way out of his father's grip to move closer to john b. "huh?"

"run. take her with you!" sarah demanded. "sarah no!" marella shook her head in protest.

"it's okay." sarah reassured her. "it's okay. go!" john b immediately caught her arm and pulled her up with him. the girl flailed around, trying to weaken his hold, but the grip was too strong.

"mouse!" rafe bellowed, "don't you dare."

"no!" the girl cried. "i can't leave sarah! not with them!" the boy wasn't listening, the two began to run through the long grass, the wind blowing into their faces. rafe fired two more gunshots, hollering at the top of his lungs at the two running away.

"rafe, you could hit her, stop!" she heard ward's voice bellow in the distance. "dad, we can't let her get away!" rafe shouted. "she knows, she fucking knows!"

marella was crying, hard. she hadn't had any time to process what was happening, she and john b were just blindly sprinting through the forest. she was gaping for air any chance she could, her vision blurry from the tears. the duo had found themselves in the middle of the road, both being unexpectedly knocked down by a moving car.

their hands unlinked as they tumbled onto the ground. marella's ankle twisted in a way she knew it shouldn't have, and her face fell straight into the patch of dirt, now covered with it. marie didn't want to get up. she wanted to lay there forever, she didn't want to face whatever came next.

she zoned out the mumbling from the man that'd hit them, feeling herself being lifted off of the ground by john b. he stabilised her onto her feet and began to run again. but marella could barely even walk. her ankle was killing her. john b took notice of her new limp and placed his arm around her waist, relieving her of any pressure she was feeling as they slowed down a bit.

the two hadn't had any time to even utter a word to one another. they sprinted in silence, eventually finding themselves at a junkyard and marella wasn't sure of their exact location, stood behind the rest of their friends.

jj was the first to notice them. "dude! guys, you good?" he questioned as they all rushed over to them.

"oh, my God! john b! marie, are you okay?" kie questioned, about to instinctively pull her into a hug. but the girl moved away, worming her way out of john b's hold and taking a seat in the corner. kie was slightly upset but she knew her withdrawal was justified.

jj had been watching the side, before noticing the crimson stain on john b's hands. "is this yours?"

"whose blood is that?"

"hey, you okay man?"

"john b, are you okay?"

a police car drove by and the four immediately dropped to the ground beside marella.

"shit!"

the second the car was out of sight, marella got up to her feet. "i need to go." she quickly spoke. her steps were shaky and her vision was blurry. jj recognised the look on her face and feared she'd have another panic attack. he quickly moved over to her and tried to get her to lay low again, but she pushed him back. "i'm leaving." she finalised.

"where are you going?" pope asked her.

"and how? your foot is all messed up." john b reminded her.

"i can't— i can't be here." she shook her head. "not with you guys, not right now. i'm going home."

"just stay with us, just until things settle down." kie offered.

"no."

"you heard how he was screaming your name." john b spoke to her. "what if rafe catches you?"

"then i'll just let him take me." she shrugged. the girl was exhausted, she just wanted to give up. they watched as she turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction.

pope stepped forward, wanting to call her back to them but kie dragged him back. "just—just let her go."

so the girl made her way home, she wasn't one hundred per cent how she even got to her bed. but marella assumed she had hitchhiked a ride all the way to the hotel. the girl was not mentally present, not since the moment rafe shot the gun.

athena had already received a phone call from ward cameron, telling her the sick and twisted version of events that he had told deputy shoupe. now believing her daughter's friends were dangerous, marella was under no circumstances allowed to leave the hotel.

⎯ ❃ jania speaks!

the only thing going through my head during marella and john b's running scene was 'runaway' by kanye west. if it was actually a scene in the show trust me it would be playing.