THE REDHEAD ☾ jj maybank

24 | island room

"We're just friends." Sarah states.

"Just a friend." John B repeats with a scoff. "You have a lot of friends, Sarah Cameron."

"Yeah, and it seems like you've got some of your own too." Sarah fires back. "Bet it was hard for you to let her go after she and Delilah got in a fight."

"What are you doing here?" John B asks, ignoring what she just said.

"I'm here for Pope." Sarah replies.

"Me?" Pope questions as he brows furrow together in confusion. "Why me?"

"I think I found the Island Room." Sarah informs.

This sentence on its own is enough to grab each of the five's attention at once. Everyone falls silent as gazes snap over to where Sarah stands, trying to read her body language to see whether or not a lie is being told to them — it all points to truth. The blonde girl's filled with uncertainty on if the friends will choose to follow the lead that she's provided, let alone even let her continue this treasure hunt journey with them.

Each one of the teenagers eventually agree to see the Island Room, piling themselves into the campervan so that they can drive over to Figure Eight's side and enter Tannyhill. Delilah sits down on the cold floor of the vehicle with her back pressed against JJ's legs as he just sits on one of the seats. Fingers fiddle with the small charm on the necklace that's been clasped around her neck, growing nervous to see the Island Room. Quirkily, the redhead listens to them all talk.

"Guys, listen to this." Pope begins, eyes trained down to the diary. "It says that the cross holds the most holy relic in all of Christendom, the Garment of the Saviour."

"Wait, he is saying that there's a holy garment inside of the cross?" Kie asks.

"Yeah. It says the garment is capable of healing the sick from any malady." Pope tells them.

"If only I may touch his garment, I shall be made well." JJ comments, receiving odd looks. "What? I went to Sunday School."

"That explains why Limbrey would want the cross so bad." Delilah states.

"What else does it say?" Kie asks, curiously.

"Many feel that we have sinned to steal such a sacred thing, and God will strike his vengeance on us." Pope reads from the diary.

"Thing is, God did have his vengeance." Kie informs.

Pope nods, agreeing. "He sent a hurricane to sink the ship. Only Denmark survived."

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After awhile of driving along the narrow roads, the campervan eventually comes to a slow stop in front of their destination. Everyone clambers out of the vehicle and make their way inside of the house while following closely behind Sarah. The blonde haired girl ensures that none of them will see Rose or Rafe, otherwise the Pogues' presence will be questioned.

Entering one of the many rooms, all sets of eyes start to scan their surroundings with curiosity. A golden chandelier is hanging above the table in the middle of the room, sunlight bouncing off of the jewels and creating a beautiful shimmer. All of the lamps have been knocked over from their places upon the desks, which has only causes a few lightbulbs to completely shatter. The walls have been completely stripped of its wallpaper and reveals picture images beneath.

"Holy shit." Pope curses, amazed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"It's the Island Room." Sarah states. "It's been here this whole time."

"No freaking way." John B mumbles. "This is a map of the whole island."

"I think you're right." JJ agrees as he looks at the images. "Because this is Rixon's right here. And then, there's the lighthouse."

"Look, it's Parcel 9 and the well." Kie adds.

"If that's Parcel 9, and if that's Rixon's, then that's got to be the surf break at Mase." John B tells them
as he walks closer to another imagine. "Look."

"The drawings and the handwriting from the diary matches up with this." Delilah informs.

"Denmark, you genius!" Pope exclaims with a wide smile. "These are all his drawings. He painted this entire room."

"Yeah, but the question is why. What's he trying to tell us?" Kie asks.

"It's got to have something to do with the key, right?" JJ questions.

"How did you know to uncover this?" John B asks the blonde girl.

"I didn't." Sarah replies. "It was like this when I got home."

"Do you know who did it?" Delilah asks.

"The freaks." A voice speaks up.

The Pogues all jump at the sudden response coming from another person. They all sharply spin around on their heel to find Wheezie standing there, brows slightly furrowed to see the people that her sister has become friends with. None of the five were expecting another Cameron child to still be inside of the house because they had assumed it was empty.

"Wait, what freaks are we talking about?" Delilah pushes.

"That sick lady and her attack dog." Wheezie replies, sounding annoyed. "They showed up last night, and they wanted to talk to Rafe."

"Pale blonde lady? Crutches?" Delilah questions.

Wheezie nods. "Yeah, that's her."

"It's gotta be Limbrey." Pope states.

"What happened?" John B asks the young girl.

"At first, they searched the whole house looking for something, and then Rafe told me to go upstairs. But I didn't want to miss out, so I listened through the grate." Wheezie explains. "And they were talking about getting across the... sand flamingo?"

"The Cross of Santo Domingo." Pope corrects.

"Yeah, that's it." Wheezie replies. "Oh, wait! They were talking about angels too. A lot of angel talk. I don't know why though."

"Angels?" JJ repeats.

"Denmark's famous last words! He buried the real treasure at the foot of the angel." Pope reminds. "We have to find the angel in the room."

Every single one of the teenagers begin to spread out across the entirety of the Island Room, actions only starting to speed up so that they can leave. Eyes scan the images on the wall thoroughly as they all try to keep an eye out for anything to do with an angel. But this just leaves Wheezie standing there in complete confusion, simply watching as they race around the room and shout random locations to each other.

"Yo, guys!" JJ calls. "I think I found something. This humongous tree is still on Goat Island, and it's called Angel Oak."

"Look, there's a keyhole." Pope states, pointing to the image. "That means the cross is buried at the foot of the angel. That must be where he put it."

"We have to go!" John B exclaims.

"I think I'm Sherlock Holmes." JJ comments. "By the way, you're all welcome."

Delilah smiles over at the blond boy, noticing how a grin of pride had spread across his face. She leans over and pecks a soft kiss to JJ's lips before pulling away and intertwining their hands. The grin on his face is even wider than it was before (if that's even possible), allowing himself to be pulled out of the house as they follow behind their friends.