Sunflower || JJ Maybank/Cassandra Routledge

12. Message From Beyond

The Forbidden Zone 3.01

"If he's gone, that's it. There's no coming back from that, but if he's lost? That means he can be found."

John B and Casey can barely breath as the seconds tick past. As if someone has a hold on their lungs, the longer they wait, the more painful it seems to breathe. Kiara actually found something. Something is inside the crypt and from the surprise in her voice, it has to be from their father. JJ and Pope can feel the suspense building as well, but when they look over at the siblings, it really starts to hit them how insane this is. The compass was an actual clue and John B and Casey were not clinging to hope. They knew, deep down, Redfeild was real and their father was truly sending them a message. To the boys, the siblings never lost hope, but Casey did. For those few hours, she truly thought they were going crazy and praying for something that wasn't true but those thoughts are long gone. They are no longer in her mind anymore, even though she still has no idea what Kiara has found.

After a few seconds of waiting for hopefully the best news of the night, Kiara's hand comes out of the small hole, holding a Fedex envelope. Casey quickly grabs it and steps away from the group, uncharacteristically leaving Kiara to get out of the crypt by herself. "That's not gold." Pope mumbles but the two ignore him. John B immediately follows his sister, letting the vines swing over the whole, leaving Kiara as well. Right now, neither sibling could care about their friends. They only care about the mysterious package left in the crypt. Thankfully, JJ and Pope are there to pick up the slack and grab the girl's hands out of the hole and manage to guide her through.

Although John B and Casey are only a few steps away from their friends, it feels as if they are alone in the cemetery, their only focus is on the weathered envelope. Just like Casey told Kiara, this should not be there. This does not belong in a hundred year old tomb. As the girl flips the package in her hand, her eyes go wide. Exactly like the compass, handwriting on the back catches her attention, not because it's small or unknown to her, but the complete opposite. It's large and written in a handwriting she knows. A handwriting she knows very well. For Bird and Calla. Besides the handwriting, no one on the entire planet knows what this means except three people and two of them are standing next to each other. She quickly looks up at John B and sees the same expression on his face. He knows the handwriting as well.

Before Casey can say a single word to her brother, he grabs the envelope out of her hand and examines it closely, checking for anything that could possibly tell him that this is fake. "Holy shit." He whispers after a few moments realizing this is real. This is what Redfeild was pointing at. Once the rest of the Pogues join them, Kiara covered in dust, dirt, and leaves, John B speaks louder so they all can hear him. "This is from our dad." As soon as the words leave his mouth, JJ's eyes are on Casey. He knows she can not be handling this information right now and when she finally looks over at him, he knows he was right. Tears are starting to pool in her eyes. Not knowing what to do to help her deal with the emotions, JJ grabs the half smoked joint out of his pocket. He places it in his mouth and lights it, getting it ready for Casey just in case she needs it.

Kiara notices the emotions immediately change from suspense to excitement and a smile appears on her face. John B and Casey really were right. Redfield was a clue. But, the longer it sets in, the easier it is for her to doubt everything. Whatever is in the envelope could be good but the fact that they found something from a man that has been missing for nine months can't be good. Big John is not the type of person to leave good news at the end of a dangerous treasure hunt. Whatever is in the package has to be important.

As her eyes drift from John B to Casey, a flash of light from the other end of the graveyard catches her attention. A split second later, JJ looks up from the smoke dancing off of the joint in his mouth and sees it as well. He quickly grabs Casey's arm and pulls her toward him. The last few days, the way Casey has acted has traumatized him and he refuses to let her do anything other than follow. "Code red! Code red!" The boy yells as smoke escapes his mouth, getting the attention of the entire group, all except John B. His eyes are glued to the envelope, still in disbelief that they actually figured the riddle out. "Square groupers! Square groupers!"