'dude, where is he?' kie yelled.
'give him a second. he'll be here.' pope said.
'he's coming. he'll be fine.' jj added.
the sirens in the distance soon got closer and closer, until finally, a kildare county sheriff's truck was only 50 feet away from them.
'jj!' ivy yelled.
'hey, yea, get back on the boat! get back on the boat. untie it!' jj yelled.
the door of the truck was opened, causing ivy and kie to look over, watching as john b slowly got out.
'oh my god!' ivy yelled. she immediately ran towards him, jumping up and wrapping her arms around him.
'no effing way.' pope said.
'hey, yea, how's it going v?' john b smiled.
'you've gotta be kidding me.' jj laughed.
'it's going good, i'm just glad you're here.' ivy smiled, letting go of john b and allowing them both to walk towards the dock.
'well, i just had to see my baby sister before i left, didnt i?' john b smiled.
'and we have your getaway boat.' ivy added.
'true, and look, shoupe let me take it for a spin.' john b said.
'ok, that's believable. i'll buy that for now.' kie laughed.
'it wasn't easy bro, but i got the phantom for you, and she runs like she was made yesterday.' jj said, throwing the keys at john b, 'you ready to go?'
'where's sarah?' john b asked.
'she's not with you?' kie asked.
'no, no, we got separated in the swamp. she said she was gonna meet me here.' john b replied.
'john b we haven't seen her.' ivy said.
'ok, well i'm not leaving without her.' john b said.
'john b, look at me man. i know you feel bad for leaving, but there's no time man. you've got plenty of gas, you've got plenty of food. once you get around that point, it's a straight shot across the sound to dismal swamp, ok? once you get there, lay low, all right? hang out for a couple of weeks and then go overland, cross the border at brownsville, you got that? brownsville. hey! you got that?' jj asked.
'yea, yea. brownsville.' john b repeated.
jj hopped off the boat and onto the dock, 'all right, saddle her up, saltwater cowboy. let's do this, yea.'
before he climbed onto the boat, john b stood in front of ivy, 'v, look at me, please.'
ivy quickly wiped her eyes on her tshirt, looking up at john b.
'listen to me, all right? do not let them take you. fight, fight for me, fight for dad. they're not gonna take you away from your home. and i'm sorry. i'm sorry if i ever acted like i hated you, i'm sorry for whenever we fought growing up. and i'm sorry for when i took my anger out on you after dad left. i didn't know what to do. i just wanted to be a good older brother, you know? i love you so, so much ivy. you have no idea. i couldn't ask for a better little sister.' john b smiled, despite the tears rolling down his cheeks.
ivy forced a smile on her face, 'you are, hands down, the best older brother i could ever ask for. i mean, it's not like all siblings just find an ancient treasure every day, or go on adventures that seem like a fairy tale. and i'm sorry if i ever gave you a hard time this past year. and i love you even more.'
