THE FIVE WERE ALL sitting around, doing their own things just hanging out like they always did. Kie was playing the bongos, Pope was reading, JJ was throwing whatever around, and Laura was sitting on a chair, her knees pulled up to her chest while she picked at her nails. She always did that when she was anxious.
"Look, I'm callin' it off. All right?" John B said, causing everybody to look up at him, except his twin sister. "Peterkin said if we stay out of the marsh she'll help us with DCS."
"And you believed her?" JJ asked, confused.
"Yes, I believed her, JJ. So did LB." He replied, with a tone of obviousness in his voice.
"An actual cop, John B. You believed a cop." JJ replied, throwing something right after.
"All we gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple of days, and she'll help me out." John B starts, then throws the stick he was holding. "It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun."
"You know what I should've done? Let Topper drown your ass." JJ said, which caused Laura to snap her head up, and give him a disgusted look.
"Topper was gonna drown me?" He said, as if what he was saying was bullshit.
"Sure looked like it." JJ continued. "Have you looked in a mirror? They always win, don't they, man?" JJ continued while walking over to John B. "Kooks vs. Pogue's. They always, always win!" He finished hitting the post of the shed.
"Look! It's okay!" Kie butted in, trying to get the heated argument to stop.
"No, it's not okay! It is not! They don't want us to go down into the marsh. That means there's something valuable down there, and you know it, man. I know you do." He turned his attention towards Pope. "And I understand why you don't wanna go."
"You're the golden boy. And you got way too much to risk. And you--" JJ turned his attention towards Kiara. "I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyways. Why would you bother?"
"But you, me, and LB man. We got nothing to lose! We really don't, alright?" Laura lowered her head back down towards her hands. "And I know it didn't used to be that way for you."
"I don't wanna talk about it. I don't wanna talk about it." John B said, cutting into JJ's statement, standing up and walking past him. "Just get out of my way, bro!"
Laura watched her brother walking away, wanting to go with him, but she also wanted to stay with her friends. "John B, listen to me. I have a plan." JJ started.
"You got the key to Cameron's big boat, right?" He started, walking over to John B. "There's scuba gear inside of it. We just borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man."
"You don't see rich kids getting put into foster care, do you?"
They should've learned a long time ago to not listen to JJ, but because of how close the three friends were, obviously they were going to. He's full of bad ideas, like stealing from John B's rich boss. Laura thought this was a terrible idea, but they needed what they could get. But JJ was right, they had nothing to lose.
Their dad said that the island was America on steroids. Laura had no idea what he meant. The haves and have-nots like anyplace, but magnified and multiplied. The way she sees it, the game is rigged. Maybe it always has been, she thought. No parents, no money, and no one looking out for them, they had no chance.
Unless they make it on their own.
"These tanks are empty, John B. Oh- Except this one- Wait. It's a quarter full. And this one. That's enough for two of us." Laura said, sighing.
"Love it when a plan comes together." Pope says to the other four, resting his feet under the wheel of the boat.
"Does anybody know how to dive?" Kiara asked. She got no responses. "Anybody?"
"It's kind of a Kook sport." JJ stated.
"I read about it."
"Great, Pope read about it. So someone's gonna die." Kiara said, throwing her hands up in the air as if they had no hope for what they were about to do.
"I mean, I've never dived but I'm down to do it. You're literally breathing into a mask, right?" Laura said, butting in but got no responses since nobody wanted the girl to do it.
"Look, y-you put the thing in your mouth and breath. How hard could it be?" JJ said, ignoring Laura, and looking around at everybody else.
"If you come up too fast, nitrogen gets in your blood, and you get the bends." Pope said. JJ started arching back, and holding onto the metal bar, causing Laura to laugh quietly.
"Bends like, bend over and..."
"The bends kill you." Pope said, killing the playful mood JJ and Laura were just in. JJ's face dropped, and he stood back up.
"Right."
Then John B said he would do it, and JJ agreed with the statement. Kiara was questioning him, but Laura didn't say anything, as she sat with her feet hanging over the side of the boat. JJ sat down next to her, and she took advantage of the moment to take the hat off his head.
"Let me do some calculations real quick." Pope said. Laura turned her body, resting her knee up on the boat so she could face them.
"Are you serious?" She asked. Pope took out a notebook and pen, as they all gathered around him while he explained.
"That boat's about 30 feet down." Laura nodded her head, following along with what he was saying. "So it'll take 25 minutes at that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about... ten feet. All right? For two minutes."
Laura immediately took off her jean shorts and t-shirt, leaving her in her bathing suit, and she immediately jumped into the water with her t-shirt in hand. She swam under to about ten feet and tied her shirt to the anchor's chain, then swam back up to the surface.
"Yo, John B, I tied my shirt about ten feet down on the anchor chain. It's where you need to do your safety stop. You're welcome." Laura said, swimming back over to the side of the boat. JJ grabbed her hand, helping her back into the boat.
Kiara kissed John B's cheek, telling him to be careful, and then he jumped into the water. "Diver down." John B went under the water, and then the other four were stuck there waiting.
Nerves were running through Laura's body as she sat down on the edge of the boat, waiting for her brother. JJ sat down next to her, looking down into the water.
"Yo, are those the cops?" Pope said. The other three looked up to see a boat coming towards them. Laura panicked, not knowing what to do since she got a warning to stay away from the marsh.
She immediately started to grab the other tank that was a quarter full and put it on her body, before jumping into the water once situating herself. Laura panicked, swimming down towards John B so the cops didn't see her. She found him, opening up a compartment on a boat, and him pulling out a black duffel bag.
Once John B saw her, he freaked out for a moment before noticing it was just his twin. Laura pointed up towards their boat, signalling another was there. The two swam back up to where her shirt was tied around the chain, and waited. The times were running out on their tanks, and Laura continued to panic.
Her anxiety was through the roof but she managed to stop herself from swimming back up to the top. The outline of a Sheriff was shown over the edge of the boat, making the twins look towards each other.
Then, John B's timer ran out. But soon enough the other boat drove off. The two swam back up towards the boat, and came above the water. "LB, what the hell?" JJ asked. The two swam towards the latter on the back of the boat, Laura climbing in first.
"Did you find anything?" JJ continued on, taking the scuba gear from Laura.
"Did I find anything?" John B asked, a smile plastered on his face. He threw the black duffle bag onto the boat before climbing up into it.
"Yeah, There we go! That's my boy!" JJ said, laughing. "But LB, that was the dumbest thing you could have done." JJ said once he was calmed down.
"Yup. I'm well aware of that. But they know about me, John B, and DCS. They couldn't see me." She stated, sitting down in the middle of the boat, letting her back rest against the wall of it.
"Hey, guys? Bogey, two o'clock." Kiara said, causing everybody to follow her gaze. The boat was driving quickly, right to where the group was.
"Do you recognize that boat?" Pope asked.
"I've never seen it." Kiara responds. "What are they doing back here? The marsh is closed?"
"Let's not stick around and find out." JJ said to Kiara. JJ started getting the anchor, hurrying so they don't find out what the other boat is doing. Then, John B got behind the wheel and started driving the boat.
"I don't like the look of this." John B said, and immediately they started hurrying off.
"Are they coming for us?" JJ asked the group. Laura stood up, watching the boat coming their way. "Go, go, go, go!"
"I'm going. Act natural." John B said. They all stood around the boat, trying not to notice the boat behind them. Just then, it started going faster, causing panic to erupt on the small boat.
"Hey, guys, they're following us." Kiara said.
"Oh, really? What would've made you guess?" Laura said back to the girl. "Floor it, John B!" She continued, panic rushing through her body. Just then, a gunshot ran through the air, causing them to all crouch onto the boat floor. JJ wrapped an arm around Laura, keeping her close so she doesn't get hurt.
"John B, get down!" JJ yelled. John B leaned over while still keeping his head up to steer the boat. Another gunshot sounded, and this time Laura moved her head into JJ's chest, trying to find some sort of comfort.
The other boat continued to follow the Pogue's, shooting the gun trying to get at least one of them. "Shit. Pope, move." Kiara said, standing up and grabbing the net next to Laura. Another gunshot sounded, causing even more panic.
"Get down, Kie!" John B yelled. Kiara walked towards the back of the boat, and threw the net out, causing it to get stuck in the other boat. It started whirring, and then finally stopped. They all stood back up, looking back at them.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Pope yelled, continuously. They shot one more time, before finally giving up. The group smiled in relief.
"Booyah! Pogue god, man!" JJ yelled, a smile on his lips. Laura chuckled at her friend, before sitting down on the front of the boat. The five Pogue's all got off the boat, and ran up the dock, immediately wanting to know what was in the duffel bag.
"What do you guys think it is?" Kiara asked the others.
"Gotta be money, right?" John B replied, already unzipping the bag.
"That or a couple of keys with street value to the low- to mid-mils!" JJ said, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees to get a better look of what is going to be in the bag.
"Can we please just open the bag?" Pope exclaimed. Everyone looked over at him confused, since he never has random outbursts like this. "Okay, you guys are literally killing me with anticipation. Just open the bag."
John B pulled out a velvet bag, then opened it to reveal a metal canister. He finally opened it and tipped it over, revealing what was inside of it. A compass.
"Oh, wow. Yup. That's about right. Good job everybody. We found a compass." Pope said. JJ lifted himself back up, disappointed in what was revealed.
"Dude, what? It's not worth anything." JJ said. Laura looked up at him with a sad expression immediately knowing what that compass meant.
"It was our father's."