The Wicked Ones (OUTER BANKS//JJ MAYBANK)

The Five Pogues

The Outer Banks, Paradise on Earth. It's the sort of place where you have two jobs or two houses.

Two tribes, one island.

All right. This is Figure Eight, the rich side of the island. Home of the Kooks. So, guess where we don't live.

And this is the south side, or The Cut. Home of the working class who make a living busing tables, washing yachts, running charters. The natural habitat of...drumroll, please...

The Pogues, that's us.

Pogues, pogies, the throwaway fish. Lowest member of the food chain.

Okay. So, the downside of Pogue life is we're ignored and neglected. But the upside of Pogue life? We're ignored and neglected, which means we do whatever we want, whenever we want.

That's JJ, my best friend since the third grade. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Best surfer I know. Just don't tell him I said that. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.

And that's Kiara, or Kie, as we call her. When she's not saving turtles, or listening to Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us. I'm not really sure why, though. So, she's a rich kid, actually. Foot in both worlds. Her family owns The Wreck, this Outer Banks institution. Total cash cow with the tourists. You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us. Guess we all sort of have a thing for her.

And that's Pope, the brains of the operation, finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. And the smartest person I know. A little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get it for you. Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a Pogue, just like the rest of us.

And there's Dallas, mine and JJ's best friend since the fourth grade. She is normally spotted with us whenever she is not entertaining the tourists, or getting tattoos with Kie, or when she's not in Jiu Jitsu lessons. She's been a Pogue-Kook hybrid ever since her mom left her and her dad for some rich businessman in Figure Eight. Her dad, on the other hand, is this intimidating badass, Trent Hyland. Fixes cars by day, and frontman of his band Angel's Outlaws by night. Very talented for Outer Banks, and quite the character. Her and JJ have a thing for each other, but they'll deny it and she would cut my dick off if I were to say anything.

So, that's my crew. And then there's me, John Booker Routledge.