It was dark when John B parked the Twinkie outside a cemetery. They all climbed out, puzzled by John B's choice of destination, but followed him nonetheless. Kie lagged behind, visibly nervous.
"Come on," John B called back to her, urging her to keep up.
"I'm coming. This place is scary. John B, what are we doing?" Kie called back nervously.
'Not such a badass now,' JJ giggled to herself, recalling Kie's heroics when facing gunfire on the marsh. 'But the thought of ghosts is apparently where Kie meets her match.'
JJ had to admit, the cemetery was pretty spooky at night. Not that she'd say that out loud.
"Shut up," John B quieted them, wanting to explain. "You know how sometimes you're trying to remember a song and you can't recall who sings it?"
"Yeah," Kie agreed for all three of them.
"So, Redfield. This whole time I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place." He held his flashlight up to a name on a mausoleum he'd led them to. "It's a person."
'Oh shit,' JJ thought in awe. Maybe John B was onto something.
"Voi-effing-la. See, my great great grandmother, Olivia Redfield," John B smiled, proudly. "That was her maiden name."
They all fell silent as they soaked in that revelation.
"Help me with the door. On three," John B said eagerly.
"Alright," Pope agreed, moving to assist John B with the door.
"One, two, three…" They pushed together.
"Come on," Kie complained when the door wasn't budging.
"Are you pushing?" Pope asked John B skeptically.
"Yeah, I'm pushing," John B grunted as he exerted himself against the door.
"Come on," Pope groaned in frustration. JJ decided to lend a hand.
"Hold on. I got it," she added her strength to theirs, but the door still wouldn't budge.
"This door is like 700 pounds. It's not gonna move," Pope declared.
"We didn't come this far to get this far, alright," JJ insisted, refusing to give up. "We got this."
They kept pushing. Then, suddenly, a snake hissed and slithered out of a hole right in front of JJ's face. She screamed, and they all jumped back away from the door.
"Woah," Pope exclaimed nervously.
"A snake!" JJ squeaked, grabbing John B's arm and hiding behind him.
Instinctively, John B reached back to rest a protective hand on JJ's hip as he backed them away from the snake, which was now slithering on the ground.
JJ dared to peek at the snake and recognized it as poisonous. "That's a moccasin alright."
Now that her initial fear was subsiding, she bravely stepped out from behind John B. "Old Dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass."
She decided to scare it away and started barking like a dog. It sounded rather pathetic with her feminine tone, more like a yapping chihuahua, but the snake slithered away into the vegetation nonetheless.
John B suppressed a laugh at JJ's antics. Now wasn't the time; he'd tease her later. Right now, they needed to stay quiet before security heard them.
Kie beat him to it. "JJ, shut up! Shut up!"
"You're gonna wake the freaking dead," Pope whispered sharply at her. It seemed Kie wasn't the only one afraid of ghosts.
"They're afraid of dogs," JJ defended herself. "Everyone knows that, man."
John B moved to go back to pushing on the door, but JJ stopped him. "Wait, hold on."
"What?" John B and Kie said simultaneously.
"If there's one, there's probably dozens," JJ said nervously, referring to the snake.
"What?" Pope asked, fear creeping into his voice.
"All around," JJ added, heightening the tension.
"Stop, you're scaring me," Kie complained to JJ. JJ began yapping at the snakes again, just in case.
"Stop barking at the snakes," John B commanded, shaking his head in exasperation.
"Look, John—" Pope started.
"Just making sure it's clear," JJ said, oblivious to how ridiculous she sounded. John B had to bite back another laugh. Later.
"Look, John, look," Pope demanded John B's attention.
"It's a snake," JJ mumbled under her breath. She was just trying to help.
"We're not gonna get in there, alright? It's not budging. We should probably just go," Pope finished.
Kie, shining her flashlight at the mausoleum, spotted a potential way in. "I can get through," she said determinedly.
"What?" John B asked, confused. Then he followed her line of sight and saw what she was looking at. "No, no, no. You think you're gonna fit through that hole? That hole?"
"Look, this is about your dad. Honestly, I don't really believe in it, but you deserve to know the truth. I'll do it," Kie said resolutely.
And Kie is officially a badass again, JJ thought proudly as she stared at her friend in awe. John B looked much the same, admiration evident on his face.
"Come on," Kie muttered as she moved toward the mausoleum wall below the hole.
"I'll get those," JJ offered, starting to move some vegetation out of the way.
"Can you help me with that?" Kie asked, and the boys joined in, helping to clear away the vegetation as well.
John B held the vegetation out of the way for Kie to go through, his hands full. "Give her a boost," he nodded to JJ. Pope was helping John B.
JJ nodded and clasped her hands together in front of her for Kie to use as a step. "I'm gonna give you a boost, alright? I've seen it in the movies several times." She stabilized her legs to hold Kie's weight. "Ready?"
"Remind me what we're looking for?" Kie asked John B.
"You'll know it when you see it," he answered.
"Hold my flashlight," she said, handing it to Pope before approaching JJ.
"Alright, so put your hands right here," JJ indicated her shoulders. Kie complied, placing one foot into JJ's clasped hands. "Yup, your foot."
"Okay," Kie mumbled nervously.
"Alright, on three," JJ told her, hoping she didn't drop her.
"Alright," Kie said, but was already boosting herself up.
"Okay, nevermind. Just forget about three," JJ said sarcastically.
"I got it," Kie gasped as she maneuvered her body into the hole. "Okay, flashlight?"
"Yeah, here," Pope passed her the flashlight.
She shined it in front of her, illuminating the dark interior of the mausoleum.
"You alive? You got like a heartbeat and everything?" John B's voice echoed into the hole.
"So far," Kie called back.
"That's good. That's good," John B answered.
"Yep," Kie agreed as she crawled into the mausoleum. The light from the flashlight wasn't enough. "Uh, I need some more light."
"Yeah, yeah, here. I gotcha," John B said, passing her his lantern. She grabbed it and continued looking around. Finally, she spotted something.
"Did you find something?" JJ asked impatiently, her ADHD kicking in. "Is there gold?"
"Oh my god," Kie said as she found a package labeled 'For Bird.' She pulled it out, briefly looked at it in shock, then passed it through the hole to John B.
"That's not gold," Pope said when he saw it.
Kie climbed out of the hole with JJ's help, while John B just stared at the package, stunned that he'd found real, undeniable evidence that he wasn't just concocting. "Holy shit. This is from my dad."
He looked around at his friends' faces to make sure he wasn't dreaming. This was real.
The sound of a vehicle could be heard then.
JJ noticed it first. "Code red. Code red. Square Groupers! Square groupers!"
"Go!" Kie ushered them as they started running to find a hiding spot, hoping they weren't seen.
"It's the guys who robbed your house," JJ told them as they hunkered down behind a wall.
"Lights!" Kie motioned for them to turn them off. They hurried to try to turn the lights off, but John B struggled with his.
"Light," Pope whispered urgently.
"Turn it off!" JJ hissed, peering around the corner to glimpse the approaching vehicle.
"John B!" Kie's voice trembled with panic as he fumbled with the switch.
"I see something!" One of the men near the golf cart shouted, brandishing a gun.
"Your light!" Kie stressed again, her voice desperate. Finally, finally, John B extinguished the beam.
"Do you think it's them?" Kie asked, moving to stand by JJ.
"Homie's got a gun," JJ replied, her voice tinged with nervousness.
"Screw this," Kie declared bravely, bolting towards the Twinkie. The others had no choice but to follow the daring girl, their legs pumping as fast as they could manage.
"There they are!" a man's voice shouted.
The Pogues reached the cemetery gate and prepared to leap over it.
JJ vaulted over first. "Hurry up!"
John B and Kie followed suit, clearing the gate swiftly.
"Go!" Kie urged as they continued toward the Twinkie.
Pope managed to get over, but his clothes snagged on the fence. "Guys, I'm stuck!"
"Pope, come on!" JJ shouted, then noticed the problem. "Shit."
"Alright, guys," John B muttered as they dashed back to assist Pope.
"I got you," Kie assured him, attempting to free Pope from the fence. The footsteps of the approaching men grew louder.
JJ retrieved the gun she had hidden in her waistband, prepared to confront the men. "No, Pope, don't move okay," she cautioned.
She began to aim the gun, but John B swiftly pushed it back down, struggling to wrestle it from her grasp with one hand, the other clutching the package.
"You're gonna rip me," Pope complained to Kie amidst the chaos. "Wait, you're gonna rip me."
"You're fine. Come on!" Kie urged, as Pope's clothes, including his shirt, were torn off his body, leaving him in just his underpants.
JJ and Kie both giggled as they sprinted towards the Twinkie. JJ couldn't resist teasing him a bit, "Nice, dude! It's a little Tootsie Roll!"
"Come on!" Kie laughed.
They all piled into the Twinkie and sped away just before the golf cart reached the gate.
