Outer Banks (JJ Maybank x Female Reader) Book 3

The Glyphs

I'm laying in the hammock at the Château when Pope, Cleo, and Kie run up to me. "Y/n!" Pope calls. I sit up, glancing toward the docks where JJ is still fishing before turning to them. "Yeah?" I grin, excited to see them after a day of craziness. "Do you still have that picture you took at Singh's?" Pope asks urgently. "The one of the painting?" He asks. "Yeah, obviously," I nod, confused as I take my phone from my back pocket.

"Thank you!" Pope says, snatching it from me before running over to the folding chairs and sitting down. "That was rude," I say, raising my eyebrows before following him. "What are you even looking for?" I call. JJ hears the commotion and starts to head up the dock. "It was something Cleo found actually," Pope says as he scrolls through my camera roll. "Okay," I say as Cleo grins, sitting down next to him.

"Here it is. It's a letter Denmark Tanny wrote to his daughter," Pope says, handing me a crumpled piece of paper. "We found it last night. Family heirlooms and thingums," Cleo says excitedly. "They think they found a connection to the idol," Kie explains as I smile, picking up on the enthusiasm. "Look, check this out. See the king sun glyph here?" Pope asks, tapping a picture on a matching sheet of paper, almost identical to the letter. 

"Yeah," I nod as JJ reaches us, eyebrows pulled down in confusion. "It matches the one in the painting at Singh's house," He grins, zooming in on the idol in the painting. "Couldn't that just mean it's pretty common?" I ask skeptically as JJ leans over my shoulder, squinting at the photo. "Actually, no," Pope says. "These glyphs are Kalinago, which has never been deciphered," Pope says, a proud smirk on his face. "Never?" JJ asks. "Never ever," Cleo grins. "Never ever," Pope nods.

"Some people believe that the captain of the San Jose actually found somebody who knew how to translate these glyphs because he found El Dorado," Pope says. My mouth open in shock, my mouth widening slightly. "The priest that talked to Denmark Tanny, that was on the Royal Merchant," I gasp. "Exactly," Pope grins. "Every glyph that is in this letter, is in the artifact," Pope says, holding up the picture of the idol on my phone and the letter filled with glyphs and their meanings.

"This isn't just some random Rosetta stone for Kalinago," Pope explains. I smile slightly as I understand. "This... this is a direct translation key for the idol," Pope says. "And we can use this to save Big John!" Cleo grins. "And get the gold?" JJ asks, wiggling his eyebrows. "Where is John B anyway? We thought he'd be here. He needs to see this right away," Kie says. "Slight problem, there," JJ interrupts. "John B got arrested," He sighs.

"Arrested? Are you serious?" Pope spits. "Topper's pressing chargers," I sigh in explanation. "Are you serious? How are we gonna save Big John, then?" Kie asks. "We don't know! Okay? But we're gonna figure it out. We have to fix this," JJ says, determined. "Guys...," Kie says. "I just got a text from Sarah... she wants us to meet her at the Château in an hour, she says it's really important... that she might be able to get John B out?" Kie says, looking up at us.

"What could she possibly want?" JJ spits sarcastically. "Sarah?" I whisper. "But...," I start. "I know, I know... but we might as well see if she can do it," Kie suggests. We all exchange glances and I bite my lip. I sigh. "This better be worth it," I say.

~~~~~~

It's dark when Sarah finally shows up. Pope, Cleo, Kie, and I stand in the yard still, talking and trying to come up with ideas. JJ leans against the hammock, unmoving. "Hey, thanks for waiting," Sarah calls. We all fall silent, turning to face her. "Um... Look who decided to come home," She grins, turning to the house. John B grins, walking down the porch steps. "Hey!" Kie grins. "Welcome back," Cleo smiles. "Whoa," Pope chuckles. "Are you serious?" I shake my head, smiling widely. "Good to see you, man," Pope says. 

JJ finally stands up, shaking his head with a smile. "You gotta be kidding me," He laughs. We all fall silent, watching Sarah. "I have something I want to share with you guys," She says finally. "I can get us down to the Orinoco," She says. My mouth falls open. "The Ori- wait," JJ splutters. "Are you serious?" Pope asks. "Yeah," She nods. "Okay. And how's that gonna happen?" Cleo asks. "My dad's gonna let us use the plane," She says. 

"Ward?" JJ asks. "Your dad?" Pope asks skeptically. "Yep," Sarah nods, biting her lip. "Ah," JJ nods. "We lay low tonight then wheels up first thing in the morning," She smiles. "Okay, that's a lot to process. Your dad actually helping us," Pope shakes his head. "I talked to him. He'll do it," Sarah nods confidently. For a moment, I understand. Ward knows he's a monster, and he'd do anything to get Sarah to love him again. "So we trusting Ward now?" Cleo asks. "Trust Sarah," Kie nods. JJ raises an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with me.

"Well, great!" Cleo grins. "Alright, that's all I needed to hear," Pope chuckles. "Okay," I sigh. "But wait... I also just have one more thing to say, um...," She interrupts. "Since we've gotten back from the island, I've done some things that I regret. A lot," She says, glancing at John B. John B glares at the ground. Kie clears her throat. "Yeah, uh...," John B starts, also clearing his throat. "I feel... I feel like we've all done a thing or two that we regret," He nods, watching me and JJ. 

"And I don't.... Poguelandia, guys. It's all I've been able to think about. We were all together on that island and it was a good thing, and I don't wanna ruin a good thing," Sarah says softly. "And I... I just wanna know, are we still all in?" She asks. "Are we still all together?" She whispers. "Because I am," She says. Kie is the first one to speak. "Yeah," She whispers, nodding fast as she hugs Sarah. "We pon road!" Cleo laughs. I smile, hugging Kie and Sarah too as Cleo joins us. We all laugh. "I love you," Sarah smiles. "I still can't believe you got that plane!" Pope shakes his head. "I know!" Sarah laughs, hugging Pope too. "That's actually insane!" He shakes his head.

We all lace our arms around each other, smiling. "Let's go get Big John, alright?" JJ nods, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and joining our line with a grin. "What do you say there, shit bird?" JJ nods to John B, the only Pogue left. "I think this deserves a woogity," Pope says. "How long you gonna pretend like you're not coming over here?" I grin. John B smiles, almost trying to hide it. "You in?" JJ asks. "Come over here funny man!" Cleo laughs as he finally walks towards us, still grinning. 

"We don't bite," Kie smiles as he makes our line a circle, throwing his arms around JJ and Sarah and pulling us all into a group hug. "Now we woogity!" Pope grins. "Oh, we're really doing this, aren't we?" John B smiles. "We're doing it, man!" Pope laughs. "Mmm-hmm," Sarah grins.