"Crazy is everywhere, even when you least expect it."

HOME WAS THE ONLY PLACE I WISHED TO BE. After the event that happened today, all I wanted to do was to throw myself on the bed. Sleep the rest of the day.

Well, unfortunately that was the least I did. John B, made us all sit down together to talk about what happened at Mrs. Lana's home. Pope and Kie, weren't able to go with us so we needed to explain what happened.

I stood beside John B, receiving a short glance from him. He didn't seemed annoyed by my presence so I continued to stand beside him. JJ, in the other hand began to rant about everything. He was out of breath still, smoking each time a sentence came out of him.

JJ: "And then we were right outside like this. And all we hear is just, "Bam! Bam! Bam!" -he exclaimed, receiving weirded out expressions by us.

JJ: "Knocking paint of the wall, G! From the inside. Alright? And I'm just looking at him, like..."

JJ: "Wait, first off, look at this shit." -he said.

He began to approach, Kie and Pope. The both already trying to step away from the boy, as they weren't expecting what JJ, was about to do.

JJ: "Look at it."

Pope: "The house." -the boy said, almost unamused by the other's doing.

JJ, had began to ruffle his hair around, letting small particles of paint fall out of his dirty blonde hair.

Kie: That's dandruff, disgusting." -the curly haired complained, a disgusted expression appearing on her face.

Pope: "Okay, thank you."

June: "Ew! Why are you like that?" -I asked, not receiving any responses from the boy.

JJ: "Look at all of that. Alright? That's paint!" -he mentioned, receiving nods from the rest of us.

He then continued to rant and explained everything detail by detail. I stopped paying attention at him and began to look over to, John B. I hadn't forgotten about the way he's acting, like I said he's been acting too similar to Dad, it frightens me a lot.

I can't help but feel more scared over everything that's happening, if he continues going down this path his not only putting his life at risk, he's also bringing down his friends with him. They seem to follow everything he says, which is too dumb of them to be honest.

JJ: "These boys, these...killers! They're square groupers."

I looked over to the blonde one, once again this time looking at his hair. It was all messed up, he literally looked more insane. I was holding in my laughter really bad, in moments like this I shouldn't be laughing but it just happens. Thankfully, I was able to hold myself from letting out a chuckle.

Pope: "They're square groupers, like narco square grouper?"

Pope: "Like Pablo Escobar, square grouper?" -he asked, his whole expression screaming that he was tired of the conversation.

JJ: "Yeah, man."

Kie: "You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie."

June: "I agree 100%, I told from the beginning when y'all found the compass to call the damm police." -I said, crossing my arms while looking towards, John B.

JJ, only scoffed smoking once again from his cigarette while shaking his head side to side.

Pope: "What does this square grouper look like, specifically?" -he asked, looking over to JJ, with grinned eyes.

JJ: "You weren't there bro!"

Pope: "You don't know what to look for."

They began to shout at each other, they are also some of the reasons why I don't like making friends. I hate arguing, that always seems to happen with friend groups.

I glanced over at John B, who had the compass on his hand. He kept looking at it, almost trying to figure something out on his head.

June: "What's wrong?" -I asked, starting to follow him since he began to approach the entrance of the house.

Kie: "Okay, why would they want the compass?"

Pope: "That thing's a piece of shit, you could pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to."

I heard the boy mentioning, making me look over at him acting as if I felt offended. He quickly noticed it, his eyes widened almost instantly.

Pope: "No offense. John B and June, I know it's in your family-"

John B: "The office." -he said, having us all glance at him confused.

Pope: "What?"

June: "Dad's office?" -I asked, receiving a nod of agreement from, John B.

He started to head over inside, followed by the rest of us who had confusion running through our brains.

John B: "He always kept the office locked because he was worried about his competitors stealing his Royal Merchant, research." -he explained.

June: "Yeah, he once said to me you laughed at him all the time like he was gonna find it." -I replied, a small smile appearing on my face.

John B: "Exactly, now that's he's gone. I've just kinda...I just left it as he kept it."

We all arrived in front of the wooden door, surprisingly this being my first time probably entering this room. I was never allowed to enter, Dad, used to mention how curious I was about everything. He was scared that I will  touch anything and break it, which I did once and that's the reason why I was never allowed inside again.

Kie: "Yeah, for when he gets back." -she reassured, receiving confused glances from the two boys.

I only gave them death stares, they looked like they remembered I was there still. JJ, jumped up slightly startled by my presence. Pope, on the other hand only looked at me with apologetic eyes.

We entered the room, more memories and sort of flashbacks came back to me. The many times I peeked through the door, seeing Dad, and his frustrated expressions practically shining on his face.

The three friends, pushed past me to look around the room. They looked like little rats trying to find food, out of all the curiosity filling them.

June: "Be careful, some stuff here are delicate." -I mentioned, receiving nods from the three friends.

I looked over to John B, who was looking around for something. He was quick to find what he was in search for, it was some board with pictures of our distant family members.

John B: "Here, look. This is the original owner, right here." -we all approached the table, looking at the family tree.

Kiara: "Okay. Robert Q. Routledge, 1880 to 1920. There's the lucky compass, right there."

She smiled over at John B, all of us looking at the pictures. I heard many stories about this family members, most of them died or went missing.

John B: "Actually, um...he was shot after he bought it."

John B: "Then the compass was shipped back to Henry, he was killed in a crop-dusting accident when he had the compass."

JJ, was about to speak but I stopped him from doing so by raising my eyebrows. I knew he was going to say something that will had made John B, mad.

John B: "After he died, the compass was given to Stephen." -he explained, looking at everyone.

June: "Stephen had the compass with him when he died in Vietnam."

JJ: "Let me guess, he died in action, right?"

John B: "Sort of."

June: "Uh, a-actually, he was killed by a banana truck. In...in country." -I explained, stuttering mid sentence noticing JJ's eyes widening.

John B: "Anyways, after that, Stephen passed the compass down to him, our Dad."

I smiled while looking towards the picture in the family tree, first time getting to see John B, when little. Dad, was looking the same as I remembered him from when I visited, he always wore bucket hats all the time.

JJ: "Hm. Sounds like there's a reoccurring theme here." -he said, breaking the silence filling the room.

Pope: "Yeah, you have a death compass."

June: "I told you guys."

John B: "I do not." -he replied, making me frown my eyebrows over how annoyed he started to act.

June: "John B, you have a death compass literally. Follow the damm patterns, people died when they had it."

JJ: "She's right dude, get rid of it. It's cursed, and made it's way back to you."

We all nodded seeing how John B, sat down while looking at the compass.

John B: "Look, Dad, used to talk about this compartment in here."

June: "Soldiers used to hide secret notes, right?"

John B: "Yeah, exactly." -he responded, opening the small compartment from the object.

He began to shake the compass, trying to get the left over piece out. We all approached the brunette one, trying to get a good look at the object.

Kiara: "What's that?"

John B: "That wasn't there before."

Some weird letters were written inside of the compass, I knew instantly who the hand writing belong to after reading it. Same as John B, who's expression was almost stunned.

John B: "This is Dad's hand writing." -he said, looking over at me with a big smile plastered on his face.

I was slightly surprised by the sudden action, that was his first genuine smile towards me, since I got here.

Pope: "How can you know that?"

June: "He's right, that's literally his hand writing trust me."

John B: "He does these weird R's with the...See it?"

JJ: "Can I see it?" -he asked, proceeding to take a look and try to read what was spelled in the object.

JJ: "Red...Rout...No, I think that's an A."

Kiara: "It says Redfield." -she stated.

JJ: "Right."

June: "It's Redfield something important?" -I asked, trying to help John B, to resolve whatever he was trying to decipher.

Kiara: "Exactly, what's Redfield?"

Pope: "Besides the most common name in the county." -he replied, almost sounding annoyed.

John B: "Oh. Maybe...maybe it's a clue."

I frowned my eyebrows after his suggestion, trying to understand what he was trying to mean.

John B: "Maybe it's a clue to where he's hiding." -he said, making me sigh trying to not look done with everything.

JJ: "Okay..."

Pope: "A clue? Come on. That's..." -he asked, suddenly noticing Kiara, trying to stop him from talking.

He cleared his throat, nervously trying to look for something else to say. Making me hit him slightly on his elbow so he could hurry up and think of something.

Pope: "But if it is a clue, maybe it's an anagram?" -he mentioned, looking over to me for a nod of approval.

John B: "Yes. Perfect. Anagram. You need paper."

John B, quickly started grabbing papers and pencils to hand them over to Pope, who was clearly stressed out after almost getting into trouble with Kiara and John B, specifically.

Kiara: "Okay."

John B: "Here you go."

June: "What exactly are we gonna do with this anagram though?" -I asked, making everyone look over to me.

June: "Yeah it could be a clue of something, but what if it's too late already. Maybe he doesn't need you to find it anymore, right?"

John B: "Maybe it is, but Dad, will still like me to find whatever this means."

Pope, grabbed the paper and pencil to begin to look for the meaning of the "clue" which to be frankly honest, I don't know if i believe this to be one of Dad's clues or anything. But I'm doing this for John B's sake, things are slowly getting better with us I think.

I don't want to ruin anything at this point, all I want is at least to make a good bonding relationship with him.

June: "JJ, what are you doing? Stop doing that." -I snapped, taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

JJ: "Okay, why would you do that?"

June: "Because you're making the room stink. Also, you don't smoke inside someone else's house." -I smiled sarcastically, receiving the same smile from him.

I looked over to the rest paying attention to what Pope, started to do. He was still seeming annoyed, but this time with something else.

June: "What's wrong?" -I asked, making him glance at me.

Pope: "How can you concentrate with that thing crowing at you?"

John B: "JJ, loves the rooster." -he replied, making Pope, role his eyes.

Kiara: "I love the rooster."

I smiled over Kiara's response, trying to hold in my laugh after seeing Pope's annoyed expression.

Pope: "Okay, let me think umm."

Kiara: "Seriously, think." -she responded, glancing at the piece of paper on the table.

Pope: "Dedfiel. Colors...that's stupid."

June: "Yeah it is, maybe try thinking about places or objects, right?" -I responded, also writing on another paper I had grabbed.

JJ: "What about like, Ritalin?"

June: "Are you being deadass?" -I asked, making JJ, lift his hands up in surrender.

Kiara: "Yeah, now that one's stupid."

We all kept trying to figure out the clue, constantly saying different words we thought might be the answer but none sounded like the right ones.

John B: "Guys! Somebody's here." -the brunette one, shouted catching our attention.

The rest of us approached the window, we all noticed the two men who had assaulted, Mrs. Grubbs.

June: "John B, what to we do?"

Kiara: "Guys, guys, is that them?" -the curly head asked, her eyes starting to get teary over how terrified she was feeling.

JJ: "No."

Kiara: "Is that them?!" -she repeated, placing her hand on my shoulder trying to get an answer from me.

JJ, started to walk towards the door. He was pacing around the room, stressing over the situation by the way he had began to fidget with his fingers.

JJ: "John B. I told you! Why does it always-"

We all jumped up, startled by John B, suddenly pushing the blonde one, towards the wall.

June: "John B, calm down!" -I murmured.

I tried my best to be as quiet as possible as John B, held the boy against the wooden wall.

John B: "JJ! Hey, look at me." -he demanded, making JJ, sigh.

The blonde one trembled, his eyes closed over how uncomfortable the wall felt behind him. I placed my hand on top of my chest trying to maintain calm. Kiara, on the other hand, intertwined her arm with mine also trembling over how scared she was.

John B: "Where's the gun?"

June: "A gun? Are you serious?" -I asked, making John B, lift his hand up to shut me up.

JJ: "Gun? I, uh. I can't-"

Kiara: "Now you don't have the gun, the one time we need the gun?" -she said, her voice starting to tremble.

JJ: "It was in my backpack."

John B: "Backpack."

JJ: "And then I."

John: "On the porch." -he remarked, making JJ, open his eyes.

JJ: "It's on the porch."

He hurried over to the door, opening it slowly to try and not alert the two men outside.

June: "Be...careful."

JJ: "I'll be fine." -he reassured, proceeding to walk over to the living room.

We all peeked through the door, looking at JJ's moves. I walked over to the window to try and see where the man were currently at, there was no sign on them anymore unfortunately.

Man 1: "John Routledge!"

I jumped up, the loud shout of the man making everyone look at each other. Our eyes widened, after realizing JJ, entering the room quickly.

Kiara: "Guys!" -she whispered, crying out loud.

I quickly covered her mouth to try and avoid getting heard.

John B: "Where's the gun?"

JJ: "They're on the front porch, guys."

I quickly ran back towards the other window, it was beginning to feel impossible. The window wasn't moving even if I kept pulling onto it as hard as I could.

Man 2: "Get out here!"

Man 1: "Routledge!"

June: "Guys! Help me with this shit." -I whispered.

Kiara: "We gotta leave! Guys, window. Window." -she repeated, making JJ and Pope, head over towards me to help out.

They quickly tried to pull with me too. And when I thought there was hope...there wasn't.

Pope: "What the hell is wrong with this?"

June: "I don't know, I don't know."

The sound of glass breaking and more stuff falling throughout the house, had my anxiety raising pretty much all the way up. I was trembling a lot and couldn't find a way to breathe, I looked over towards John B, who held the door shut while covering his ears.

June: "I can't do this." -I mentioned, almost feeling like I was about to pass out.

Pope: "Shit, she's having a panic attack."

I was beginning to hyperventilate, as I held onto the wall to try and catch my breath. The two boys kept pulling at the window, Pope, still kept an eye on me to make sure I wouldn't pass out.

Kiara: "What...what's happening? Why is it taking so long?"

JJ: "It's painted shut, okay?" -he whispered, his tone coming out slightly harsh by his desperation.

June: "There's a knife...at the table, get it." -I stuttered, making Kiara, run over towards the wooden table to try and find the object.

I stood up, heading over to Kiara, trying to help her find the blade. The shouting still making the both of us jump, by how loud they were starting to get.

Kiara: "Okay, guys. Guys. Here, I got it."

We walked back to the window trying to get it to open, Pope helping John B, hold the door close so nobody could enter.

JJ: "Come on."

June: "Guys, I seriously can't breathe."

Kiara: "I'm going as fast as I can." -she replied, scrapping the paint under the window with the small blade.

The three of us looked back after hearing John B and Pope, trying to shut us up. The sound of footsteps approaching the room, making us all start to move faster.

The door handle started to jiggle, only making me panic more than before. I grabbed the knife from Kiara, and began to scrape faster with the knife.

Man 2: "You better not be in there!" -he shouted, as the door began to get kicked.

Pope and John B, ran over towards us. They all began to push the window up to see if it could already open, fortunately this time working and letting us run outside.

I stayed behind to close the window, quickly getting grabbed by JJ, from the wrist. We all ran towards the right side of the house to hide inside of the chicken coop.

The loud sound of a gun shot made me gasp, all of us sat inside the small space. Kiara, had began to hyperventilate too after hearing the shot. JJ, still held tightly to my wrist, it was already stinging. I gave him a slight slap so he could let my arm go, making him do so quickly.

The noises inside of The Château, had stopped for only a little bit of time. We kept hiding there, scared that if we headed out we will be caught and killed by those psychopaths rooming through the house.

June: "What happened with calling the police after arriving home?" -I whispered, receiving a death glare from, John B.

The brunette one, peeked through the wood. Trying to get a glimpse of what the two man were doing, they had took a couple of boxes filled with stuff that belonged to Dad, anger ran through my veins after seeing everything happening.

They took stuff as if it belonged to them, the both of them placed the stuff on the back trunk. I looked inside again, noticing Pope, trying to avoid being bitten by the rooster that kept crowing and jumping around the small space.

JJ: "Do something, Pope. Shut him up." -he demanded, a small grunt coming out of him.

June: "We're so fucked." -I mumbled to myself, quickly realizing I was already being death stared once again, this time by, JJ.

Pope: "What do you want me to do?"

Kiara: "Pet it. Or something or talk to it. I don't know." -she snivelled, as tears roomed down her face.

John B, quickly hid back after the trunk closed shut behind us. I peeked slightly once again, realizing one of the man was approaching the chicken coop.

June: "Shut it up, he's coming." -I whispered, my chest continuously rising up and down.

The clucking continued, I was already beginning to loose hope. Many thoughts roomed around my brain, was I going to die? 100%.

Pope: "You do something." -he declared, pointing at JJ.

The blonde one, grabbed the chicken quickly. Holding onto it's neck, I only kept constantly looking over to see how close the man was already at. He had already gotten his gun out, making my heart feel like it dropped as soon as I saw it.

A grunt coming from JJ, made me turn towards him. Soon after realizing he had killed the chicken, the quiet sobs of Kiara, could be heard inside. Everyone was trembling to this point, we were all convinced that we were gonna get shot in any second.

Man 2: "Ratter! What the hell are you doin'? Let's go." -the man shouted, making all of us peek to see if the man was leaving.

JJ, still held onto the chicken, all I wanted to do was run out and get the hell out of the house for a while. Get some serious rest, everything that had happened today was too crazy to handle.

The sound of the truck's engine had finally started, allowing us to began to move and start heading out of the small space. Kiara, still sobbed out loud, still pretty much horrified over everything.

John B: "Alright, they're gone. Everyone okay?" -he asked, quickly getting pushed out of the way by me.

I walked out, catching as much air as I could. My heart beating way faster than usual, this wasn't the first time I had a panic attack. But today's was probably the worst one, I truly felt like I was about to pass out over it.

John B: "June, calm down. It's okay, we're all okay." -he said, slowly approaching me.

June: "No it's not! We almost died! And I- I thought I was going to die, this one killed a freaking chicken for you!" -I shouted, pointing at JJ, who still held the chicken.

They all just stared at me, their chest also rising up rapidly. JJ, threw the chicken down to the ground, looking at John B, who was trying to catch his breath as well.

JJ: "Dude, let's just get some rest for a little bit. Then we'll keep figuring out whatever the code is."

June: "I'm not doing this shit anymore, John B, I get you're doing this for Dad, but he wouldn't have want you to get yourself almost killed."

June: "You need to remember what Sheriff Peterkin, said." -I mentioned, receiving a nod from John B, who stared at the ground.

I walked over to the side walk, grabbing an old bike that rested beside a tree. I heard footsteps approaching, making me turn around seeing the group behind me.

June: "What?"

John B: "Where are you even going?" -he asked, looking at me as if I was insane.

June: "I just need to go and get some air, you guys can do whatever y'all want. I'll be back before nighttime." -I responded, beginning to head out over to the street.

Who would've thought everything will turn out like this.

End of chapter.

3978 words.
Sofia's Notes:
Alrighty!! New chapter which I hope y'all enjoyed, took me a while to finish this one because I was busy with school. If y'all enjoyed this make sure to leave a vote, it helps me out with motivation 💗

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