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When Claire woke up the next morning, she heard multiple voices coming from out in the kitchen. She forced herself out of bed and as soon as she opened her door, she stopped abruptly at the sight of a multitude of random people in her house.

That explains the multiple voices that rudely woke me up, she thought bitterly.

The strangers had the audacity to stare at her as she walked through her house and into the kitchen, where her mother and the real estate lady were talking by the back door.

"Morning, Claire." Jackie said.

"Yeah. Nice of you to tell me that there'd be random's in our house today." Claire snapped.

"I know I should've given you a heads up but it was a very last minute thing."

"Well it doesn't matter now cause they're already invading our home."

"How are you anyways?" Jackie asked with an exasperated sigh, changing the subject.

"Peachy."

Claire grabbed a glass and filled it up, taking a long sip of water before emptying the rest and rinsing the glass out.

"Are those hickey's on your neck?" Jackie asked suddenly. Claire's eyes widened as some of the people looked at them.

"Say that louder Mum, I don't think the whole island heard you." She muttered sarcastically.

Jackie ignored her daughter. "Well, are they?"

No.

Claire groaned. "What does it matter if they are?"

"It just does. Did that boy JJ give them to you?"

"Oh my god, no!" Claire exclaimed and started walking away.

She wasn't going to have this conversation in front of a house full of people.

"Whatever. I don't have the time or patience to fight with you anymore." Jackie called after her.

"That makes two of us." Claire replied. Then she turned back around and added, "and if anyone steps a foot in my room or touches anything while I'm at work today, I will make sure this house doesn't sell at all."

Then she pushed past a young couple standing in the hallway and slammed the door shut, locking it for safety. She frustratedly got her stuff ready for work and changed into a denim skirt and threw on a shirt which she tied in a loose knot using a spare hair tie. She slipped on her Converse, quickly ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair, then ran back into her room to put on a small amount of makeup and enough to cover the bruises on her neck. She wished they were hickeys. It would be much easier to handle.

Once ready, she grabbed her bag and tied her hair into a ponytail, before clambering out her window so she didn't have to interact with anyone. She shut the window, quickly made her way over to her truck and drove off straight to The Wreck.

➸

"I'm sorry, you're staying where?" Kie asked John B.

The guys had come to hang with Claire and Kie while they worked and since it was a pretty quiet day so far, all the girls really had to do was take orders from the few customers that came in and clean the place up a bit.

"Tannyhill."

"So you're living with Sarah Cameron."

"Okay look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right? And it's way better than foster care, which by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn't–"

"Hey, so do you have a membership to the clubs now?" Pope interjected.

"I don't know, Pope." John B responded, making his way over to the table.

"What about those golf carts they drive around? You get one of those?" JJ asked.

"Or if not, could you at least get us one of those?" Claire added with a smirk.

"Does it come with a sweater vest, or do you have to buy one on your own?" Pope teased.

"Look, you promised." Kie said, interrupting the others. "You said you weren't with her."

Claire had moved past being annoyed at John B for lying to them about Sarah because she didn't really care, but Kie was still upset and she could understand why.

"Bro, she got you. Just own it." JJ said.

"Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine. But I'm letting you know right now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah."

"Do you guys see her here?" John B asked. "No, right, okay. A little focus would be fantastic. We've got the map, right?"

"It was all out of whack cause the guy was ganja'd when he drew it." JJ said.

"It's cause the coast has changed." Kie murmured.

"So we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed." Pope suggested.

"Well it's gotta be on the island then, right?" Claire questioned.

"What about the old forts?" John B said.

Kie pointed to a spot on the map, "Battery Jasper."

The girls finished up their shift and the five made their way to Battery Jasper to investigate.

"We're in Battery right here," Pope said, examining the map intensely. "So if this is parcel nine, then it's somewhere northeast of here."

"Somewhere over there." Kie noted.

"Right."

Claire knew they were there for investigation purposes, but the breezy air and the smell of the water was oddly relaxing. She felt as if she shouldn't be relaxed or even calm for that matter, but something about the atmosphere of the lookout just made her feel that way.

"Over there? Guys that's not Tannyhill, that's a subdivision." JJ informed them.

"Tannyhill plantation was the entire island. It got sold into smaller pieces over time." John B said.

"So we're just looking for an old stone wall."

They left Battery Jasper and despite how much Claire wanted to stay there, she knew she needed to focus and stay in the loop. JJ had noticed Claire's silence and was curious, but didn't ask.

"Okay, so the road should split up here,"

"Okay,"

"Alright, you're gonna take a left," Pope instructed.

John B swerved round the corner and Claire saw the wall immediately.

"I guess we found the stone wall." She said as the van came to a stop.

She got out and took in the house. It was a very tall house, with lots of tall trees in the front yard and an old exterior that looked hundreds of years old. She had never been to this part of the island and had a small, unnerved feeling building in the pit of her stomach.

There was something about the house that just gave her the heebie jeebies.

"This is it."

"Not the Crain house." John B muttered dismally.

"Are you kidding me?" Kie asked.

"Worst case scenario..."

"Why'd it have to be here...of all places."

"Do I want to know what's so bad about this place?" Claire asked.

"Probably safer if you didn't." JJ responded, then proceeded to add, "I heard that Mrs Crain buried her husband's head on the property."

"Brilliant..." Claire muttered.

"Look, you guys know who's house this is, right?" Kiara asked nervously as they traipsed through the very bushy front yard.

"Oh, yeah, no, I do." JJ replied.

"Honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place." John B said. Pope shushed him.

"What stories did you hear?" JJ asked Kie.

"The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since. On certain nights, when the moon is full..." Kie paused, then turned to JJ and started wiggling her fingers in his face and whispered, "you can see her face."

"No, it's not funny, cause it's all true. I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis. Jeez."

JJ flinched at the sight of a statue beside them, which caused the rest of them to flinch and Claire bumped into his back.

They stopped walking as Pope asked, "Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?"

"Yeah, dude."

"Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?"

"Who is Hollis Crain?" Claire questioned.

"She was my babysitter. She told me all about it. Told me the truth...about her mother and what happened in this house." JJ explained. The five friends looked up at the house and Claire swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.

"So as a kid," JJ continued, "she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and...she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night."

"What night?" John B asked.

"It all came back to her." JJ turned to look at the statue, then back at his friends, "when Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink...full of blood."

Claire felt a shiver roll down her spine and she rubbed her arms anxiously. She and Kiara shared a look as JJ continued his story.

"Her mother says that she just cut her finger. The next morning she says that her and her father split up. But then Hollis noticed something; her mother going into the parlour constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head looking straight back at her."

"God, you are so full of shit." John B said. Claire released a breath she didn't realise she was holding.

"Dude, I swear to God, man."

"Did she call the police?" Pope asked.

"She didn't have time."

John B began walking off but JJ stopped him. "Wait! Dude!"

"What?"

"You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer. You got a cast on."

"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay?"

"You probably should." Claire interjected. He glared at her and she raised her hands in defence. "Just saying..."

"I got nothin' to lose, right? You coming or what?" Then he walked off, Kie and Pope following.

Claire was reluctant, but she would've rather followed her friends than stay put amongst all the trees which were somehow freakier than the story JJ told them. JJ sighed and walked behind Claire as she followed the others. The five carefully made their way through the long vines and plants.

"Hey, come here." John B whispered. "So here's the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter."

"Okay, like, what kind of water?" Pope asked. "Like, pond water?"

JJ chuckled, "Bong water?"

Pope, Kie and Claire furrowed their eyebrows at the blonde boy while John B simply ignored him. "No, it–it just said look for water, okay?"

"That's the shittiest secret message ever." Kie said flatly, then continued walking.

"You wanna complain a little more, Kie? Nobody said it was gonna be easy." John B retorted, following her.

"I'll search the northeast quadrant, you two search the northwest." Pope instructed, then walked off.

"The decapitation quadrant." JJ corrected.

"Why the bloody hell are we splitting up in an axe murderer's front yard?" Claire questioned irritatedly as she and JJ started searching through the multitude of trees.

Birds chirped and cawed above them, wind rustled the leaves and all the while, Claire's heartbeat hammered against her chest so hard she could feel it thumping through her eardrums. JJ must've sensed her nervous energy because he stopped walking and turned to face her.

"You good?" He asked.

"Fine." She gulped. "Just...a little tense is all. Trying to focus on searching for water and not the fact that we might potentially get our heads chopped off by a crazy old lady with an axe."

JJ placed his hands on her shoulders. "We'll be fine." He said. "Probably."

"Very reassuring, thank you." Claire muttered sarcastically. JJ chuckled. Then his eyes travelled to her neck.

"Your bruises are looking better..." He said.

"They are." She replied. "You know, my mum thought they were hickey's..."

JJ raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, a small smirk playing at his lips. "Oh?"

Claire scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "And she, uh, she thought that, uh...you were the one who gave me them."

"I guess that's fair enough. I do have a bit of a reputation for that kinda stuff."

"I told her they weren't hickey's but she didn't believe me. And I didn't want to talk to her with a house full of strangers wandering around." Claire explained. JJ furrowed his eyebrows. "She had a last minute open house this morning."

"So what are you gonna do if the house sells?"

She shrugged. "Honestly...I have no idea. I don't know if I'll be able to get out of this one, she's almost finished packing and will no doubt start packing for me if I don't."

"Surely there's gotta be something you can do..."

"There is." Claire said. "If we find the gold, and once I get my cut, I'll buy the house off her and that way she'll have no choice but to let me stay."

"I think that's a great idea."

Suddenly, John B called out to them all and the two made their way in the direction of his voice.

"Hey, psst! Hey, come on. It's the only place we haven't looked." John beckoned quietly.

They all rushed over to where he was crouched beside a small gate that lead under the house.

"Here we go." He opened the gate and walked inside. Claire flicked on her torch and followed after Pope, JJ not far behind her.

"Down came Mrs. Crain and cut off all our heads," he started singing, "up same the sun and dried up all the blood–"

"I swear to God, JJ, I will cut off your head if you don't shut up right now." Claire threatened, shining her torch in his face and glaring at him.

"Yes ma'am."

"See any water?" Kie asked.

Claire looked around the area and tried her hardest to ignore the smell that had made its way up her nose. She couldn't tell what it was, just that it was a bad one. A mosquito landed on her leg so she's quickly smacked it before it had a chance to suck any blood out.

"Another dead end?" Kie asked.

"There's not even water on the pipes." JJ said.

"There's no water here." Pope added.

"Not a dropamino."

"Know why we didn't find it?" Kie questioned. "Bad karma."

"Oh, God. Here we go." John B muttered.

"You know, we had a good thing going. And then you decide to rope in Barbie, and now the trail's gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not."

"This is exactly why I didn't wanna tell you about Sarah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. What the hell's the deal with you two?"

"Nothing."

While the two of them argued, Claire, JJ and Pope continued to search.

"Nothing? Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?" John B asked cockily. Kiara slapped him hard across the face, which caught the other three's full attention.

"Oh!"

"Oh, shit!"

"Noice!" Claire encouraged. JJ and Pope stared at her in confusion and she only then realised just how Australian she sounded. She smiled at them sheepishly.

"Stop treating me like I'm some girl that's obsessed with you, instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you." Kie advised John B firmly.

You tell him, girl.

"Did you, uh...hit me?" John B asked.

"Skeeter." Kie replied, holding up her palm.

"Skeeter?"

"Yeah, you see it?"

"Yeah." Then John B had the audacity to slap Kiara this time.

"Woah, dude!" Claire exclaimed in shock.

"Okay..." Pope said.

"Alright, no–" JJ started, but Kie cut him off.

"Where's your proof?"

John B held up his palm. "Skeeter."

"Yeah? There was probably one right there."

The two of them started slapping each other playfully and swatting away the mosquitos. The bugs suddenly all came in a swarm out of nowhere and Claire started having flashbacks to being back home where it was like this almost every single day.

"These things are a freakin' swarm!" Pope exclaimed.

"Stupid mozzies. I hate the fuckers." She grumbled, smacking away a few more that had landed on her arms and legs.

"Shh, hey, keep it down." JJ said.

"Why are there so many mosquitos in a basement?" Pope asked.

"Dude, I know, seriously. Tiny vampire bats, just leave me alone." JJ said.

"It feels just like home." Claire muttered bitterly.

"Oh, my gosh, can we leave? Cause I'm already itching to leave." JJ asked, then added, "Ha. Punny."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Hilarious." Then she watched as Pope started walking stomping on the wooden planks and examining them.

"What did you find, Pope?" She asked, crouching beside him.

"I don't know yet..."

Pope picked up a stone and dropped it through a gap in the panels; suddenly water splashed and echoed below. Claire and Pope looked at each other in realisation, before they started moving stuff out of the way in a hurry. The others kept shushing the two of them, but Pope insisted for John B to help move the planks.

"Okay, just...quiet." John B whispered.

"Guys, guys...she's probably right upstairs." Kie said quietly.

"We're being as quiet as we can, Kie." Claire replied.

They lifted the planks and placed them on top of one another carefully. Claire's eyes widened in amazement as she stared down the well.

"Well, well, well." Pope said. Claire snorted.

"That was a good dad joke." John B said.

"They built this part of the house right over it."

"This is where she hid the bodies." JJ said.

"Oh, dude, come on."

"Stop."

"No, I'm dead serious."

"Stop it."

"It was never an outhouse." He continued.

"She probably doesn't even know it's here." Claire said.

"So...we found water."

"We're gonna need a really big rope."

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Hope y'all are staying safe & having a good day/night ily all xx