CHAPTER SEVEN:
THE NEW GHOSTBUSTERS
(episode two: the lucky compass)

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OUT OF ALL THE places they could've hidden, Haven did not expect to end up in John B's stuffy chicken coop. After seeing the two men (were they hitmen? ex-members of the mafia? who knew at this point?) enter John B's home to absolutely trash the place in search of them and the compass, they'd bolted out the office window to the first place they could find that would cover them. As it so happened, that place was the pen that John B's father had built for their beloved rooster. The animal looked outraged as they crawled inside, squawking so loud that Haven was surprised the men hadn't immediately found them.

"Keep it down, keep it down," John B hissed as he cautiously peered through cracks in the wooden walls.

"Tell that to your chicken, dumbass," Haven grumbled. She ignored JJ as the blonde sat up to glare at her, just scoffing as he defensively said, "He's not a chicken, Haven, have some respect."

"We have more important things to worry about right now," she exclaimed. "Like if the chicken, rooster, whatever it is, doesn't stop making so much noise, we're going to get caught."

JJ sighed but before he could say anything, his eyes went wide and he pushed his way outside. The others called after him in protest, Haven almost following him if it wasn't for Pope worryingly grabbing her wrist and the sight of Arden Kim being gently shoved inside by JJ. She wasn't sure why the girl was there, but JJ's frantic reaction now made sense. His hands lingered over the outline of her stomach with a sad but relieved glint in his eyes before everyone's attention went back to the terrified rooster. It was only just getting used to them, now another random person had crawled into its home.

"Oh my god," Haven whimpered. "We are so dead. It was nice knowing you guys."

"Fuck! Do something, Pope, shut him up."

"What do you want me to do?" Pope retorted incredulously. "I'm not the chicken whisperer, JJ."

"Just pet it or something, or talk to it," Kie said, barely holding it together as tears began to stream down her face.

Haven wanted to reach out, hold her hand or hug her tight, but she couldn't move. Don't get her wrong, she felt the same way, but she refused to cry. Nothing made sense outside of the erratic beat of her heart. It was like her brain hadn't truly processed just how much danger they were in. She could see the two men making their way outside with boxes of Big John's research in their arms, but their close proximity wasn't registering through the chaos unravelling inside the coop. The rooster was getting louder, so loud that the men outside were beginning to get suspicious. They had to do something.

Just as that thought crossed Haven's mind, JJ released Arden and launched across the pen. Haven found herself unable to look away as he squeezed the rooster's neck tight, the animal squealing before bone crunched and the coop went quiet. One second passed. Then two, three. Kie burst into silent sobs while everyone else sat in shock, JJ stumbling back with a look of disbelief on his face.

JJ loves the rooster, John B had said inside his dad's office.

If he was hurting from the death now on his hands, he didn't show it in emotion. But Haven caught the way his arms shook as he lowered the dead animal to the ground, how he crawled back to an out-of-it Arden like she was the only thing keeping him from screaming. Outside the pen, they heard the two men shouting at each other before car doors slammed and an engine roared to life. They were long gone before any of them moved.

"They're gone, guys, it's safe," John B murmured, but Haven wasn't so sure anymore.

They might've left for now, satisfied by Big John's research, but they'd come there for John B and his compass and they wouldn't give up that easily. They'd be back, and who knew if they'd get lucky the next time. When (not if) they returned, there might not be a chicken coop to hide them from the barrel of a gun.

"Haven?" Pope softly touched her shoulder with one hand, the other moving up to push her hair back from her face as she stared at her feet in silence. They were out of the pen now, but they still felt trapped. "Hey, talk to me."

"Can you take me home?" she whispered before wincing at the sudden sound of retching from nearby. Glancing over Pope's shoulder, she spotted Arden bent over JJ's shoes throwing up whatever she had for breakfast, the blonde boy trying not to throw up on her in return. "Please, Pope. I can't be here."

"Of course," he nodded, squeezing her shoulder as she leant into his touch. "I'll borrow John B's van so we don't have to walk, okay?"

But before he could even move from her side, Arden pushed him out of the way and shoved Haven's phone into her palm. Haven clutched at the rainbow case with a frown. She hadn't even realised it was missing but it seemed like Arden had been keeping it safe. Before she could mutter a 'thank you' Arden sprinted off towards her bike, looking ready to vomit again if she didn't get out soon. Haven wanted to follow her, but she found herself rooted to the spot as Pope loosely swung an arm around her shoulder.

"Come back, Ard, we need to talk," John B called out as he ran after her. But she didn't stop. She couldn't. Haven didn't blame her, she hadn't been there for anything that had happened in the past few days. She'd just come by to see her friends, not get caught up in a life-threatening mystery. It wasn't wrong of her to need time, or nothing to do with them at all. "Now what are we going to do?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to be here either," Haven spoke up.

"Have, come on," Kie sighed. "We can't split up now."

"I'll drop her home," Pope declared. "If she wants space, we can't stop her."

"But—"

John B took one look at Haven's face before sighing. The tears were only just beginning to show, the reality of it hitting too late. She'd almost died, again. If JJ hadn't killed that rooster, those men would've found them and killed them for sure. He didn't want to split up, but it wasn't fair of him to keep her there when she was already going out of her mind. Therefore, when Pope started to pester him into giving over his keys, he didn't protest. Despite Kie's confused questions, he handed them over without a word, just offering Haven a tight smile before heading inside to analyse the damage. Eventually, Kie and JJ followed him.

"Come on," Pope said, placing a hand on her lower back to lead her over to the Twinkie. "Let's get you out of here."

The car ride was silent but not uncomfortable. Haven knew Pope wanted to talk about it, to freak out with someone, but he refrained himself at the thought of Haven's terrified eyes looking up into his own just a few minutes earlier. Neither of them knew how to handle this, but Pope seemed to have processed it far quicker than she had. Instead, he reached a hand across the console in an offering of comfort, smiling slightly when she linked their fingers together and held on tight.

"Do you want me to walk you to the door?" he asked as they parked outside her neighbour's home. The fallen tree hadn't been removed, forcing Haven's mother into sharing their neighbours' cars and Haven to walk most places if she wasn't being picked up. It wasn't ideal, but frankly not surprising.

"Would you mind?" she said so quietly he barely caught it. She was still holding his hand, cheeks red but she couldn't bring herself to care. She'd obsess over it later. "I know it's stupid—"

"Hey, no it's not," he cut her off. "Come on."

They let go to leave the vehicle, but once they were standing together on the side-walk, Pope reached for her hand again and Haven blindly accepted him. He observed her house with interest as they made their way up the drive, and it took Haven a moment to realise why before she remembered he hadn't been there before. It wasn't her pride and joy, definitely not something she'd willingly show anyone, but Pope didn't seem to mind as he climbed the creaky porch steps to stop on the doormat.

"Here we go," he smirked, putting on a posh accent as he bowed, their hands swinging between them. "Home safe and sound, malady."

Haven chuckled before reaching up to hug him. She wasn't sure what prompted her to do it, but she was so thankful for him. If he wasn't there, Haven would've undoubtedly started to sob her heart out. "Thank you, Pope."

The boy spluttered nervously before hugging her back, his arms curling around her waist. Her hair was in his face and both their hearts were beating so loud they were sure the other could hear them, but it was nice, new. He squeezed her gently before regretfully letting go. "You don't have to thank me, Haven. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

Pope reluctantly jogged back to the van, knowing the others would get impatient if he didn't leave sooner rather than later. And with one last wave through the window as Haven watched him go, he reversed out of her cul-de-sac and left her alone.

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WHEN THE POGUES CAME around to hers later that day, Haven almost didn't answer the door. She'd hidden out in her room after Pope left, crawling under the covers and napping the morning away despite the fear that those men had followed them to her house. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her dress covered in grass from the chicken coop. She was too physically and mentally exhausted to move. Fortunately, when she woke up again, the sun was beginning to set and she could see things a whole lot clearer. She barely had time to think about it, though, before Pope was knocking on her door with a sheepish smile ready to ruin Haven's peace and quiet.

"I know you wanted space," he said as she opened the door, now in a grey spaghetti-strap top with black denim overalls over top. "But a lot has happened since this morning."

John B and JJ waved at her as she looked over at the van, both wearing hopeful grins. Haven let out a sigh of defeat, knowing that even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to stay home without wondering just what it was they had found. "Let me grab my shoes."

"You're the best, Have," Pope cheered as she retreated down the hallway for a second.

"Tell me something I don't know, Pope," she smirked as she came back in a pair of sneakers with one of Kie's bandanas now holding back her shoulder-length hair.

It took them longer than expected to pick up Kie along the way. During the drive to The Wreck, the boys had filled her in on their adventure at Redfield Lighthouse and what John B believed they'd find wherever they were going with Kie. However, when they arrived at the Carrera's restaurant, the girl in question refused to join them because of something John B had done. Of course it was John B. Haven was quickly learning that he was a magnet for trouble.

"You reckon they kissed?" she smirked as she watched him push past Pope to try and change Kie's mind.

"Who? John B and Kie?" JJ asked incredulously. "There's no way."

"Oh, come on," she scoffed. "You're telling me you haven't seen the tension between them? She kissed him on the cheek yesterday!"

"Ten bucks that nothing happened?"

"Done deal, Maybank," she smirked, reaching around the front seat to shake his outstretched hand. "Easiest ten bucks I've ever made."

Neither Kie or John B confirmed it when they finally came back out, but something had definitely happened between them when they got separated from JJ and Pope at the lighthouse. Haven still thought they'd kissed, but JJ refused to count their friends' matching blushes as a win for Haven so the bet became void. Now with Kie in the van (and Arden; Haven had found her leaving The Wreck and invited her to stay at her house for the night, sensing that the poor girl needed a break from her overbearing mother) they set off on their way, the sky now dark as the sun went down.

"Guys, do you mind if I just relax on this one?" JJ asked not long into the drive. "It's been a long day and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low — oh, do you want a hit of this?"

Pope scrunched his nose up at the blunt in JJ's hand. "I keep the signal clear."

"What about you, Have?"

"No thanks," she shook her head. "I think you've smoked enough for the both of us."

JJ chuckled as he raised the blunt back to his lips. "Probably." Then, as Pope sighed in frustration, "Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative? If you got creative, then—"

"Okay, seriously, how high are you right now?"

"Look, guys," John B cut them off with an impatient scowl. They didn't have time to question JJ's weed tendencies. "I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, alright? And pretty much wrong about everything else going on, but I was right about one thing. My dad is trying to tell me something."

Haven wasn't so sure she believed that, but if it helped John B cope then who was she to knock him down? Instead, she sat in silence with Arden conked out beside her, the girl clearly exhausted after the events of that morning. When they arrived at their destination, the group decided to leave her sleeping in the Twinkie while they did what they needed to, exiting the vehicle only to find themselves standing in the archway of the local cemetery.

"Okay, when you mentioned your dad, I didn't think you meant this," Haven muttered. "What, are we the Ghostbusters now?"

"Just come on," John B rolled his eyes and ushered them inside.

"This place is scary, John B, what are we going?" Kie sighed, standing close to Haven's side as they followed the only source of light, which just so happened to be John B's torch.

"You know how when you're trying to remember a song and you can't remember who sings it?"

"Yeah..."

"So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right?" he explained as they weaved their way past headstones towards some sort of crypt. "But it's not a place. It's a person." Across the top of the crypt was one word: Redfield. It was a huge reach, but John B was determined to find answers even if it meant disrupting somebody's resting place. "See, my great-great-grandmother, Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name."

"So... you want to break into her crypt?" Haven gaped at him. "John B, I know you want to find answers, but I highly doubt your dad would want you to rob your grandmother's grave."

"Look, I'll never know unless I try," he said pleadingly. "Help me with the door?"

Sharing one last sceptical glance, the group was sighing and voicing their agreement. John B passed his torch over to Kie and stepped forward with Pope and JJ to open the door, but it refused to budge. The ancient stone was glued in place even when Haven joined, putting all her strength and effort into shoving against the door. Whatever answers that John B thought were inside were going to be a whole lot harder to discover if they couldn't get in.

"This door is like seven hundred pounds, man, it's not gonna budge," Pope was the first to give up, gasping for air as he took a defeated step back. Still, John B refused to give up. And for some reason, neither did JJ.

"We didn't come this far to get this far, alright?" he slurred, still riding out the high from his blunt. "We got this—"

However, just as he said that, fate threw them another curveball in the form of a snake. The reptile hissed as it slid out of a crack in the door, curling up on the ground defensively as the five all screamed and jumped back in terror. Haven clung to the back of Pope's shirt for dear life as he stepped in front of her, the urge to run strong even though she knew it was a stupid idea. If there was anything to know about Haven Murphy, it would be her overwhelming fear of snakes and spiders. She despised them, even tiny house spiders and bugs so small they were barely noticeable. Fortunately, the snake retreated at the sight of five humans staring back at it, but Haven couldn't shake the terrifying feeling that there were more inside.

"That's a moccasin alright," JJ laughed as he watched it's tail disappear into the grass. "Ye old Doctor Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass—" He cut himself off with a half-hearted attempt at a dog's bark, the others quickly urging him to shut up.

"You're gonna wake the frigging dead, man," Pope snapped as he shoved JJ's shoulder, one hand still reaching out to Haven from where she'd subconsciously grabbed it earlier.

"Dude, they're afraid of dogs, everyone knows that," JJ just dismissed him with a laugh.

"Well, thanks for scaring it away, JJ," Haven rolled her eyes. "Can we just get on with what we came here for?"

"Haven's right, we're wasting time," John B agreed. He went to step towards the crypt but was quickly stopped by JJ frantically grabbing his arm.

"Wait, hold on," he hissed. "If there's one, there's probably dozens."

Haven gulped as the others shouted at him, squeezing Pope's hand tighter as she inched closer to his side. JJ was clearly delirious, but she didn't want to test her luck. Pope squeezed her hand back and rolled his eyes in JJ's direction, doing his best to calm the girl down without making her panic obvious. If she wanted to hold onto his hand the entire night, he'd let her, as long as it kept her going.

"Guys, it's not going to move," he said as John B and JJ argued. "John, come on, we're not gonna get in there, alright? It's not budging. We should probably just go."

"Wait," Kie said suddenly, shining the torch up to the top of the door. "There's a hole."

The others craned their necks to get a better look, Haven sighing when she realised Kie was right. The hole was small but someone like Kie would definitely fit through if they really wanted to. Haven wasn't sure if she should be relieved it wasn't her or worried for whoever else volunteered.

"Who the fuck is going to go in there after seeing a snake?" Pope scoffed. "It's not gonna be me."

"Well, if none of you chickens will, I'll do it."