𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐲𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 ~ 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

My eyes shot open to someone shaking me awake.

"John B?" I mumbled. "What the hell?"

He held out a piece of paper to me. "I woke up and found this. Sarah's gone,"

I took it out of his hand and read what it said.

Only the truth can save us now. Don't move till I get back, Vlad.

Vic, go to a certain restaurant. Three others may need some help.

- Val

"Okay, what is this?" I asked, handing it back to him. "Who's Vlad, Val, and Vic?"

"They're like, code names," He explained. "Sarah and I came up with Vlad and Valerie when we were in Chapel Hill. I'm assuming Vic is you, short for Victoria or something.

"What does she mean by 'a certain restaurant' though?" I questioned. "The Wreck?"

He nodded, "I'm pretty sure. I mean, Kie, JJ, and Pope have to get food for us. That's probably the best place for them to do it,"

"Well, what do I do if they aren't there?"

"Just go to the dock, Sarah and I will meet you,"

"Alright, sounds good," I said. "Stay safe, Booker,"

"You too," He replied.

As stealthily as I could, I made my way out of the house and began my route to The Wreck.

I kept my head down, taking all of the back roads to run into as few people as possible.

The entire island was crawling with police officers, the SBI was even getting involved.

Police cars sped through the streets, sirens blaring.

Helicopters flew around me, viewing the island from above.

Everything in me hoped John B would make it to the dock without being caught.

-

After quite a bit of walking, I finally made it to The Wreck.

Sure enough, JJ's bike was there and so was Kiara's car. Well, her parent's car.

I went around to the back of the building, entering through an 'employees-only' door.

"Kie, JJ, Pope?!" I yelled as I entered the restaurant through the kitchen.

"Aspyn?!" I heard Kie say back.

I ran to the front of the building, finding them all in the dining area.

Kiara immediately jumped up, rushing over and pulling me into a hug. "Thank God, you're okay,"

JJ nodded, giving me a quick hug as well. "Seriously, A,"

"I got to Sarah and we found John B. They're both okay too," I explained.  "I came here to help you guys stock up on food, get the boat, whatever,"

"Alright, cool," JJ said. "We could always use some extra help,"

"Speaking of which, I'm gonna need some help carrying some boxes from the back. Who's coming with?" Kie asked.

"I'll help," JJ shrugged, following her.

"So, Pope..." I began, sitting down next to him. "You've been pretty quiet,"

He was the only one who hadn't gotten up to see me.

"You finally come down from your high?" I laughed.

"Yeah, I did actually. Slept it off," He chuckled. "That's not why I'm so quiet though, I'm just thinking about everything,"

I nodded. "I get that. This is a crazy-ass situation,"