THE REDHEAD ☾ jj maybank

33 | retrieving the cross

"Psst!" JJ hisses, grabbing the girls attention. "How many people?"

"Three." Delilah whispers.

Receiving a small nod in response, the pair fall into another silence to avoid being spotted by the several individuals passing by. They continue to stay in their spaces behind the doorway, backs pressed up against the cold metal. Breathing is kept steady to avoid fear bubbling up inside of their stomachs and intervening with the whole plan. Multiple people (including the Cameron's) just continue walking through the thin passageway as they advance towards the hull. Each time someone walks past, the two will count.

"Okay, I think that's everyone." Delilah informs.

"Except Ward." JJ states. "We need to keep Ward locked inside with them."

"We can't wait." Delilah argues.

The boy purses his lips, almost contemplating about whether she's correct with that statement or not (she is). Then, together, the couple sprint forwards along the metal structure and slam the door to hull shut so that everyone inside is trapped within. But all of the employers are quick to notice this action and push their own bodies against it to fight back. Shouts fill the air as people begin to panic and throw demands around to one another.

Delilah's body is pressed up against the door, feeling the cold metal practically sizzle at her hot skin. She's trying to use as much strength as possible, while also using the whole of her weight. JJ's arms just enclose around the redheads body in an attempt to help keep the door shut, chest firmly pressing against her back. Hot breath fans against the skin on Delilah's neck as small guests leave both of their mouths, struggling with closing the door.

The girl swiftly reaches out for the lock and manages to grab ahold of it in preparation to twist it shut. The pair continue to work together to slam the door shut, fighting against the adults on the other side. It keeps swinging back and forth as a large force is applied to the door. Then, finally, the teens manage to succeed with their task as the lock is twisted into place and does its job of holding the metal door shut.

"Check the other door!" A voice instructs.

"Shit." JJ curses.

Footsteps bounce off of the metal walls as everyone runs across the structure. Delilah and JJ manage to get there faster due to the stamina that the both of them hold from the amount of times they've found themselves running from the police. The other door is slammed shut, the clanging noise echoing loudly around the room. The lock is twisted shut so that it can hold the door in place and keep the employers contained — this time, it was a lot easier.

After this happens, the teenagers turn to look over at one another where they high-five with pride, Delilah just letting out a sigh of relief. They then move from their places and make their way down the hallways, noticing how it's restricted of space. A large storage room is eventually found with a wooden box resting directly in the middle, a blanket draped over the top of it. Boxes are spread out across the room that each contain different necessities for the people that are currently onboard of the ship.

Delilah gently grabs ahold of the blue blanket that is easily recognisable to her, remembering how she had to hide underneath the thin material in a desperate (but failed) attempt to escape Rafe. The golden cross is revealed to peacefully resting inside of the wooden box. A variety of many jewels are embedded within the solid golden material, glimmering when a ray of light shines upon it. At the mere sight of Denmark's cross, JJ turns around to face Delilah with a grin.

"Surf trip." JJ whispers.

Before the redhead even has a chance to reply to the boy, a clanging of metal gears being unlocked echoes loudly throughout the air. The extremely large door is slid open and allows the bright yellow sun to beam into the dimly lit room. Pope can be see stood on top of the mechanical door as the wind whips against his loosely fitted clothes. Fists are curled by Pope's sides as his stern gaze falls onto his two best friends, only to soften at the sight of them. He listens to the loud cheers that each leave their mouths — excitement and pride fills the air.

"The time where people do shit to us and we just sit back and take it is over." Pope announces.

"Hell yeah!" Delilah agrees.

"That's my boy!" JJ exclaims.

With that short but meaningful speech, Pope throws a rope down to the pair, receiving a brief thumbs up from JJ in response. The boy then turns back around and walks away from the open gap, leaving them to complete their part of the plan. Pope makes his way over to the small crane that resides on the large ship they're currently onboard of, climbing up the ladder. Taking a seat upon the chair in behind the controls, a shaky breath leaves his mouth as he realises that he needs to figure out how to use it (and quickly).

Meanwhile, as Pope does this, Delilah and JJ use the rope that was dropped down to them. The two sling the thick rope around the cross at the same time as the hook of the crane is lowered down to where they are standing. It sways around in the air, only causing Delilah to swiftly grab ahold of the hook to prevent it from possibly hitting either one of them in the head. The teenagers attach the golden cross onto the hook while making sure that everything is secured in its place, not wanting it to fall as its airborne.

"Take her up, Pope." JJ instructs.

Using the crane, the cross is then pulled up into the air as it leaves the comfort of its blanket and wooden box. It starts to aggressively sway as it rises higher in the air, which is because the only piece of support it has is from a single thick rope. Multiple instructions are directed towards Pope, ringing loudly as Delilah and JJ's yells bounce off of the metal walls — its an attempt to help their friend, and it manages to work.

However, the hook of the crane snaps to the side as a control is wrongly pushed due to Pope having a lack of knowledge with them. This only causes the cross to swing through the air as Delilah and JJ shout for the boy to stop what he's doing, trying to prevent the possibility of breaking the precious artefact. As well as that, JJ grabs ahold of a bit of rope that is hanging down in order to try and keep it more steady. But it doesn't work and the cross slams against the nearby containers and knocks them down with a single hit, the impact being forceful due to how heavy the cross is. This causes JJ to tumble to the ground and slid as he's suddenly pulled forwards.

"Pope!" Delilah shouts as she throws her arms up on frustration. "What the hell was that?"

"Sorry! My bad!" Pope apologises.

The crane whirs loudly as the direction of movement is changed, meaning that the hook is able to be more centred. The cross is continued to be pulled up from within the open gap and rises higher in the tense air. Delilah and JJ just watch carefully from down below as they make sure that the same thing can't happen again — more instructions are provided to avoid this. Eventually, Pope realises that he's managed to figure out how to use the controls on the panels, which lets him complete the rest of the task more successfully.