After Sarah announced that she knew where the Island Room was (apparently at our house) we all jumped in the Twinkie and headed straight there. One the way Pope was looking through the diary.
'Guys, listen to this. The diary says the cross holds the most holy relic in all of Christendom, the Garment of the Savior' he tells us
'So wait, he saying there's a holy garment inside the cross?' Kiara asks
'Yeah. It says the garment is capable of healing the sick from any malady' Pope reads although none of us knew what that meant.
'Mmm, yeah. "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."' JJ translates and we all give him a shocked look, I was even shocked that he knew what that meant.
'What? I went to Sunday school' he says
'Sure' Kie replies
'Well, that explains why Limbrey would want the cross so bad. She thinks it can heal her' I say
'What else does it say?' Kie asks Pope
'"Many feel that we have sinned to steal such a sacred thing, and God will strike His vengeance on us."' Pope reads
'Thing is, God did have His vengeance. He sent a hurricane to sink the ship' I say
'Only Denmark survived' Pope concludes.
We arrive back at Sarah and I's place and I unlock the door so we can get in.
'This place still freaks me out' John b says
'Yeah, same' JJ agrees as Sarah pushes open the door into our dinning room
'Pope, look' Sarah says and we all gasp as we head in. Behind the fancy wallpaper, a whole artwork was on display.
'Whoa! You've got to be kidding me' Pope says
'Yeah. I know, right? It's the island room'
'Incredible' JJ says
'It's been here this whole time' I gasp
'No freaking way' John b gasps
'This definitely means something' JJ decides
'Wow' Kie whispers while JJ and John b keep making shocked remarks at everything they see.
'Yo, this is a map of the whole island' John b suddenly realises
'Yeah, John B, I think you're right because this is Rixon's right here. And then, there's the lighthouse' JJ points out
'Guys, look, Parcel 9 and the well' Kie adds pointing at another spot on the well.
'So, if that's Parcel 9, and then if that's Rixon's, then that's gotta be the surf break at Mase' I pull it all together, pointing at another spot on the wall
'Right. And look. Pope, come here. This is Denmark's handwriting for sure' JJ adds as he comes up to look at the wall I was pointing at.
'The drawings, they match up' Pope says
'Holy shit' I gasp
'Denmark, you genius! These are all his drawings' Pope says
'He... he painted this entire room' John b gasps
'Yeah, question is why. What's he trying to tell us?' Kie asks
'It's gotta have something to do with the key, right?' JJ says
'Yeah, but what?' I ask JJ.
'How did you know to uncover this?' John b asks Sarah
'I didn't. It was like this when I got home' Sarah says
'What?' JJ asks
'Okay, then who did it?' Kie asks
'I don't know' Sarah answers
'The freaks'
We all turn around to see Wheezie standing in the doorway.
'Wheeze!' Sarah gasps happily
'What freaks are we talking about, Wheezie?' I ask my younger sister
'Uh... that sick lady and her attack dog. They... they showed up last night, and they wanted to talk to Rafe'
'Okay' I say
'Wait. Pale blonde lady?' JJ asks
'She have crutches?' Kie adds
'Uh-huh' Wheezie agrees
'It's gotta be Limbrey' JJ groans running a hand through his hair.
'Wh... what happened?' I ask her.
'First, they searched the whole house looking for something, and then Rafe told me to go upstairs. But I didn't wanna miss out so I listened through the grate. And they were talking about getting across the sand flamingo?' Wheezie tells us.
'That's code for something' JJ concludes and I roll my eyes.
'Do you mean, the Cross of Santo Domingo?' I ask my sister
'Yeah, that's it. Oh, and they were talking about angels. A lot of angel talk. I don't know'
'Angels?' John b asks then Pope gasps
'Guys, Denmark's famous last words. He buried the real treasure at the foot of the angel. They're looking for an angel. We have to find the angel in the room'
'Start looking' JJ says
'Spread out' I say
'There's a church over here' Kie says
'Yeah, check the church' John b says and we all spread out across the room looking for an angel. As my eyes scan the room out of the corner of my eye I see a ginormous tree. I head over to that spot on the wall and run my hands over the art as I try to remember where I had seen this tree before. Then I remember. JJ and I had a picnic date at this tree a few days after John b and Sarah had went missing. Suddenly I feel a presence behind me and I turn to see JJ.
'Is that the-'
'Yeah' I finish his sentence
'And it's called-'
'Angel Oak' we say together and I give him a slight smile which he gladly returns
'Hey, yo! Hey, guys, I think we found something. Come here. This humongous tree is still on Goat Island' JJ calls everyone over and we all crowd around it.
'You know what it's called?' I ask them
'Angel Oak' Pope realises
'Look there. There's the keyhole' JJ leans over me and points at the spot.
'That means the cross is buried at the foot of the angel' I say
'Wow, that must be where he put it' Pope says
'That must be where they are right now! We have to go!' Sarah says
'I think I'm Sherlock Holmes, all right? You're welcome by the way' JJ gloats and I turn around to face him.
'Yeah. Hurry up, Sherlock' I say sarcastically and for the first time since our break up JJ smiles at me the way he used to, before we ever got together, like the best friends we used to be.
'There it is, Angel Oak' Kie tells us as we drive along the mud road towards it. We drive closer to the area but stop when we reach the water.
'Oh, shit! Tide's coming in' John b says
'Um...' JJ contemplates
'Hey, wait a second. Look. They already came through here. Those have to be Limbrey's tire tracks. Guys, we gotta go' Pope pushes and I chuckle, I like this new Pope.
'Mmm, what do you think, chief?' JJ asks John b
'I'm thinking it's looking a little dicey' Johnny replies
'Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with that statement'
'Okay, clearly, they made it. No?' Kie asks
'In a two-wheel drive? I don't know about that'
'Why are y'all acting like you're not gonna do it anyways?' Sarah asks and I smile
'Like when have y'all ever done the safe thing?' I add leaning in between the two front seats. I put my hands on the boys shoulders.
'You wouldn't be the two boys I met if you didn't' I continue.
'She's got a point' John b agrees smiling at me and we both turn to JJ. He looks between the both of us and smirks
'Speed is your friend here, okay? So, put her down in second and hammer down, brother' JJ instructs John b and I smile before sitting back in my spot behind JJ's chair.
'Stick to the ground in the middle' Pope suggests
'All right, ready? Here we go' John b says
I grab onto the back of JJ's chair while Kie and Sarah grab the Jesus grips. John b pushes on the accelerator. The Twinkie drives forward into the water.
'Come on. Punch it. Speed is your friend. You're not going fast enough' JJ says
'I'm in second' John b replies
'It's gonna slide' Sarah yells and just like that we start to swerve
'You're fishtailing already' I call out
'I know' John b yells back as Pope leans in between the seats
'Not to put any more pressure on you, but if you don't make it through, we'll be stuck here forever'
'Put your head back, Pope' I grab the back of his shirt and yank him back. John b pushes harder, sending us even further foreword and finally the Twinkie starts to feel solid again. We all cheer and I hug John b's neck.
'I told you we'd make it' he cheers
'That's my girl' JJ says patting the side of the Twinkie.
'All right, right here. That's good' JJ tells John b as he parks the van.
'Angel Oak is right through here. All right, so word to the wise, definitely know that gators nest back here, so keep your eyes peeled, okay? You don't wanna step on a mama gator. That's the last thing you want' JJ warns us
'They have nests?' Kie asks
'Seems like a good place to park' Sarah says sarcastically.
'All right. You don't wanna be a Pat Womack. She had her calf chewed off by a gator, right? You know that, right?' JJ says
'This sounds very similar to the story of how Mrs Crain killed her husband' I annoy JJ and he turns to look at me.
'And I was right about that wasn't I Skylar' he raises his eyebrows at me
'That's actually not true. Pat Womack was injured in a car accident, but I hear you' Pope says tapping JJ on the shoulder.
'Okay, just live in ignorance. But like, she had her calf chewed off by a mama gator. I know that for a fact. They like the brackish water' JJ replies before grabbing a stick and proceeding to walk with it
'Wait. Hold on. I see something'
JJ starts waving the stick at a bush
'What are you doing?' Kie asks
'Right. Wake them up. That's smart' I say
'I was just making sure it wasn't a gator. That's all, all right?' JJ raises his hands up in surrender before I push him to walk forward. JJ and I duck under a branch in complete silence until I grab JJ's shoulder causing him to turn around and face me.
'Thank you' I tell him
'For what?'
'For stopping Zach, after I dumped you I didn't think you would ever do something like that for me again' I tell JJ. He looks at me for a moment almost as if he's thinking over what he should/shouldn't say.
JJ's POV
'For stopping Zach, after I dumped you I didn't think you would ever do something like that for me again'
Honestly I never thought that she would thank me for helping her from Zach because, well we are not together anymore but throughout today I have gotten over what she told me, and she wasn't wrong. And even though she doesn't love me anymore I still love her. I would do anything for her.
'It's okay Sky, I'll always be there for you if you need me, whether we're together or not' I tell her
Skylar's POV
I stare at JJ for a moment and I'm about to open my mouth when Pope interrupts me.
'Hey guys' J and I turn around to see Pope and Kie hiding behind a bush. We walk up and stand behind the bush with them to find Rafe, Limbrey and Renfield with a bunch of workers digging around next the tree.
'I don't see shit' my brother complains
'You sure this is the right spot?'
'It's there. The garment will be in the cross, and the cross will be at the foot of the tree' Limbrey recalls to Rafe
'Well, whatever we find, I get my cut' Renfield declares
'The actual garment. You understand the significance'
'I do, Carla. Completely'
'One touch of it, and I'll be healed, and this long nightmare will be over'
The way Limbrey talked about the cross reminded me of my father. Completely obsessed with a treasure.
'Your lips to God's ears'
'I know you don't believe it, but countless stories over millennia prove that......miracles happen' Limbrey finishes
Suddenly there was a thud and we watched everyone look into the ditch and Limbrey motioned to the workers. They all started to work together and we all them pull up a......casket.
'They got the cross? What do we do? What do we do?' JJ asks frustrated, wanting to do something about this.
'What can we do?' John b replies
'Nothing, for once, we can do nothing' I mutter feeling defeated, there goes Pope's family legacy.
'Don't touch anything inside! Don't touch anything inside!' we hear Limbrey scream at the boys as they open the casket. But when they do no one says anything
'It's just a corpse' we hear Renfield reveal and I'm both shocked and relieved, we followed the clues and yet there was no cross. What did we miss?
'We must have missed something' Limbrey says frantically
'Of course. Of course, yeah. Of course it's just a dead body. Jesus!' Rafe curses before grabbing his shovel and throwing it to the ground in anger.
'We just got the wrong place. We'll go back to the island room' Limbrey tells the others but they all just give her sad looks
'We're going back! We're going back! It's not over!' Limbrey orders and reluctantly they all start to pack up their gear and we watch them drive off, back to our family home.
The moment their gone Pope sprints to the tree
'Pope. Pope, wait. Wait! Shit' JJ curses and we all run after him. We all run to the casket and Pope has tears in his eyes.
'Cecilia Tanny, Denmark's wife. He wasn't talking about the cross. He buried her at the foot of the angel' Pope tells us
'The true treasure' Kie says
'His wife' Pope sniffs and we all sit down next to the grave
'Denmark was hung for burying his wife, and now they defiled her grave' Pope cries as he picks out small tokens out of the grave that were still in tack. I see something small in the grave right below the skeleton head, I reach in and grab it. It was heavy but when I brought it out I dusted off the dirt to see a beautiful necklace. It had a what looked to be a gold chain and at the end was a watch, I flip it over and see an inscription on the back. I smile as I read it
'Guys, this must have been from Denmark. It says 'With you hours feel like seconds, Without you days feel like years' I finish and I can't help but look up at JJ out of the corner of my eye but he looks away. That's how I felt when I was with JJ.
'Here's her wedding ring' Sarah adds and I see her and John b look at each other, clearly having a similar feeling that I was having about JJ.
'We can't leave her like this' Pope declares
'We won't' John b agrees and we place the things back in the casket before JJ and John b grab the lid and place it on the top. I grab a spare shovel left behind and we get to work
Post burial
JJ and I lean against the Twinkie as we all wonder our next move while Pope paced
'I just don't get it. I mean, you guys saw the map. He hides his gold so no one finds it for years. And then he sends a message to his son Robert to come here to his mother's grave, but the message never gets to him. Denmark wanted him to find the cross. I know we're in the right spot. It just feels like--'
'Like we missed something?' JJ interrupts our friend
'Guys. Come here' J motions to everyone else and I look up to see he was looking at a hole. As it clicks he climbs up on top of the Twinkie and I follow him up.
'There they go' Johnny groans
'Whoa. That looks like--' Pope starts
'The painting in the island room' Kie finishes
'It's worth a shot, right?' I ask
'Yeah' Sarah agrees
'Let's do it' John b encourages us and I look at JJ and smile
'Well go for it then' I tell him and he scoffs
'No chance. You do it!'
'Sorry. I went in the storm drain and almost drowned so...'
'She did go in the storm drain' Pope sides with me causing JJ to groan
'Yeah. No, I'm gonna do it. It's just...'
'He's scared' Pope mutters
'I'm not scared, dude' JJ defends himself as he reaches into the hole.
'You seem scared JJ' I add
'There's something in here. Wait' JJ begins to move his hand deeper
'AHHHHH' JJ suddenly starts to scream
'Holy shit JJ get out of there'
'Come here!'
'OH MY GOD' we all shout at JJ as he screams and I grab his arm and start to yank him out of the hole. My heart is going a million miles a minute, was JJ going to loose his hand?
Suddenly though JJ just stops screaming and instead bursts into laughter, then I realise he was faking it the whole time.
'Oh, you asshole' I curse, letting go of his arm and hitting his shoulder.
'Oh, man! I got all of you on that one' JJ laughs almost to the point of tears
'Oh, yeah, real original' Pope rolls his eyes
'Wait, but seriously, there's something in here' JJ says pulling out what looked to be some sort of cylinder
'Let me see it' Pope holds his hands out, JJ and I jump down and we all crowd around Pope.
'HMS Royal Merchant' I read excitedly
'Give it to the captain. Here we go. It's a spyglass' JJ snatch's it from Pope and looks through it
'There's something on the ends' Kie points out
'An inscription right there. Look at that shit' John b says
'Oh, what does it say?' Sarah asks
'"You've come this far." "Do not falter. The cross is on the Freedman's altar." "Freedman's altar." The cross is at the church!' Pope cheers
'What are we doing here, guys? Come on!' JJ yells jumping in the passengers seat
'We got it!' John b gasps
'Woogity-woogity' me and Pope do the woogity handshake as everyone jumps in the Twinkie. It wasn't over yet.
I couldn't wait to get to the church but while we were celebrating Johnny suddenly stopped the van.
'Ah, crap! The tide!' He curses and I look out the window the see water and the road about 15 meters ahead of us.
'Oh, this doesn't look good' Pope says
"How deep is that?' Sarah asks
'I dunno. The road's gone' I reply
'Tide rose faster than I thought it would' JJ says
'Just a little bit' john b says
'Uh, John B, how high are the spark plugs?' I ask my best friend
'They're good. We're fine' john b says not answering the question.
'How high are they?' JJ asks again
'Oh, um...Uh, just above the taillight'
'Okay, so that's, what, three feet?' JJ asks
'That's three feet. Yeah' Pope says
'It can't be three feet deep' Kiara says
'Then what's the problem?' John b asks
'Not a problem. No, we're good. We're good. She'll make it' JJ says determined
'Yeah. Fasten your seat belts. Hold on to something. We're going into hyperdrive' John b announces and I grab onto the back of JJ's chair again.
'I'll say a quick prayer' JJ jokes
'Three, two, one'
John b punches the accelerator and the Twinkie lurches foreword sending us straight into the water
'You got this! You got this! Faster! Faster! Speed is your friend. Speed is your friend, John B' JJ yells encouraging words at John b while the rest of us cheer them on as we get closer and closer to the road.
'You got it! You got it!'
'Oh my God! Oh my God!' Sarah screams as we suddenly start to swerve
'Ah! Shit!' JJ curses
'Geez geez no' I freak out as we head off the side a bit off the right of the road
'No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no' John b says as we come to a hard stop throwing us forward.
'I think we miscalculated' John b continues and I look at my sister who rolls her eyes.
'A little' she mutters sarcastically. I swing open the door and jump into the water immediately regretting my choice to wear shorts. Everyone jumps out behind me and we head around the back to the boot.
'I knew I should have driven' JJ announces
'Not the time JJ' I say
'Okay, maybe we can walk from here' Pope suggests
'What? And leave the Twinkie? The... the tide's coming in.' John b looked like we had just asked him to part with his child.
'So then what are we supposed to do?' Sarah asks
'Not stay here' JJ says and I think over
'I can take my dad's old truck' I suggest and everyone turns to looks at me
'Sky, are you sure? That's where Limbrey and Rafe are right now' Sarah says
'How much worse can it get with Rafe, it's not like he will see me, Dad left that truck at the back of the house because it was never used for anything except transporting big bits of furniture when we moved with mom'
'We need something to pull her out with. There's the winch at the Chateau. That's, like, two miles' JJ suddenly pipes up and we share a look.
'Yeah, that's a good idea' John b suddenly add
'If you two are gonna do it, go, okay?' Kie says before giving me a smile and I sigh knowing she wanted JJ and I to become friend again.
'All right' I agree and motion for JJ to follow me.
'Tide's coming in. Twinkie's going underwater' Johnny reminds us
'Double time, Sky. We gotta move'
After a lengthly walk JJ and I arrived at the Cameron house and true enough I found all of Limbrey's crew out the front. I motion to JJ and we both head behind the house and sure enough there was the truck but it was locked.
'Shit, the keys must be in the house' I whisper
'Do you even know where they would be?' JJ asks and I think it over for a moment. Then I remember all the lawyers giving Rafe the keys to the cars and boats dad owned.
'Yeah'
'Ok, avoid the front room though' JJ reminds me and I nod before motioning to the first roof.
'Can you give me a boost?'
JJ nods before holding out his hands and leaning against the side of the house. I put my foot in his hand and I look down to give him the signal when I see him looking straight at my chest.
Once I grab on I look down to find JJ a deep shade of red with his eye's glued to my shirt.
'Ready Romeo?, stop looking at my shirt' I tell him and he snaps out of his trance, looking up at me.
'Come on we don't have time for this JJ' Pope says.
I clear my throat at the memory
'Are you ready?' I ask
JJ immediately looks embarrassed and nods
'Ye-ah, one two three'
He hoists me up and I grab onto the edge of the roof and pull myself up. Once I'm up I look down to see JJ getting ready to jump onto the roof himself via a run up. I hold my hand up and point to the truck. I wasn't going to let him do this, I could handle myself.
'Hide behind there, I'll be fine, you don't need to help me'
For a second JJ looks frustrated but then it's as if he remembers our breakup and he just nods before heading behind the truck to wait. I head up to the window and pull it up, (not being surprised it was open) I head inside, ending up in Sarah's room. I quietly open the door and start to make my way across the hall to Rafe's room.
'Wait. Out... out of town? Lawyers? What are you talking about?' I hear Rafe's voice and I hide against the wall praying he didn't see me downstairs. After a few moment of nervous heartbeats I walk the rest of the way and slowly open the door into Rafe's room. I hadn't been in here in ages and as much as I wanted explore it, I knew I had a job to do. I begin to open some draws as quietly as possible and look through them to see where Rafe could've possibly put the keys. After coming up empty I look over to bed and I see the bedside table had its draw open already. I head over and look inside to see a bunch of keys. Bingo!
I look through them until I find one labelled. Moving truck. I grab it out and I'm about the walk out of the room when I catch something on the top of the table. I look to see a card that reads the words: HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD.
I raise an eyebrow a little confused at why Rafe had an old birthday card on his bedside table. I pick it up and open the card. As a do something falls out of it. I pick it up and I see it's a photo of Rafe and I at what looked to be one of the first Midsummers.
I was wearing a cute dress and Rafe a suit. I flip it over and see a message written with neat but very obviously child written from the miss spelling of words.
My favorighte photo of the to of uss
I then look back at the card and see much fancier handwriting, clearly written by dad.
Dear Rafeki
Happy birthday to my favourite brother in the whole wide world. I hope you have an amazing day and enjoy all of your presents, (I picked your present out myself). Thank you for everything you have done for me since mom died, protecting me, spending time with me and making life fun again. I pinky promise that no matter what happens to us I will always believe and stand up for you.
May the Force be with you today brother
Skywalker
I stare at the card for a few more moment before it begins to sink in. I had no idea that Rafe still had this let alone had clearly looked at it recently. It made me wonder what was going on in Rafe's head, did he miss us? Did he miss me? Was he upset that I didn't keep my promise? Then I hear a thud from downstairs and I remember that J was outside waiting for me. I put the card and photo back on the desk and I tiptoe back down the hall, climb out the window onto the roof and I jump down to the ground. I head round to the back of the truck where JJ was waiting for me.
'Lets go' I tell him before unlocking he car and getting behind the wheel. JJ hops in the passengers seat and I hesitate for a moment before turning the car on as I think about Rafe
'Hey you ok?' JJ asks
'Ye-ah sorry I'm just thinking' I say before turning on the car and driving towards the road away from the house.
'Are you sure? You look like you've seen a ghost?' JJ asks once we are on the road.
'Yeah I'm ok I just saw something strange in Rafe's room' I say and JJ chuckles
'Like what? Torture devices?'
'No no nothing like that....funny enough it was a picture, a picture of the two of us at Midsummers years ago' I tell him
'Oh damn, why do you think he sill has it?'
I shrug. 'No idea'
We drive the rest of the way to the Chateau in silence and once we arrive it was JJ's turn to go and get the rest of what we needed to save the Twinkie.
'This'll only take a sec. I think it's in the surf shack. Yeah. It's in the surf shack. I'll be right back. Got it. Be right out' JJ tells me, jumping out the side and sprinting towards the shack, falling over on the way.
'You ok JJ' I call out to him
'I'm okay!' he replies before he keeps running. So I start waiting. One minute passes. Then two. Now three.
'What is he doing?' I mutter before beeping the horn
'JJ!' I yell out the window but I get no response.
'J!' I yell a second time and then I finally see him emerge from the shack but he's pushing someone with him. Oh you've got to be kidding me.
'What the frick? No. Absolutely not' I tell JJ, jumping out of the car as Luke walks up to me with his head down.
'What is this?' I ask
'Just get in the truck' JJ tells his dad pushing him in the backseat
'I'm sorry. The Twinkie's drowning right now, JJ. We don't have time for this, what's your plan?' I protest but JJ just grabs my shoulders and pushes me against the car.
'Listen to me. Listen to me, okay? I need to get into the marina at the Island Club. There's a boat there he can take. You got the sticker on your truck. Twenty minutes, that's all I need' JJ tells me
'The Twinkie's gonna be a submarine in 20 minutes'
'I know, Skylar'
'Leave him, and we can come back!' I yell
'The cops are after him! If I do this now, maybe I will never have to do it again' JJ yells before softening his voice. I want to protest even further but I look into his eyes and I see how desperate he looked. He wasn't wrong, if Luke got on this boat and left, then JJ would never have to experience his abuse ever again. He would be free.
'Fine but if he so much says one insult to you, he's gone' I say before heading back to the door.
'Don't look at me' I say rudely to Luke as I catch him looking at me from the window.
'Hey, pull up to Home Food here. I'm gonna need provisions. Crackers and baked beans and tuna, all right? And some salt and pepper' Luke orders JJ as I park the car at Home Food.
'Yeah' JJ replies
'Five days' worth'
'I know' JJ yells back to the car before heading into the shop, now it was just me and Luke. After a moment Luke started to drum on the chairs. I roll my eyes at his childish antics, maybe now that it was just to the two of us I could finally give him the lecture he's had coming since JJ's mother left them.
'You're a terrible father, you know that?' I tell him
'Yeah, preach it to me Skylar Cameron. Set me straight' he replies leaning back in the chair.
'Do you have any idea how special your son is? To our friends? Like, even a clue? He isn't the trash son you treat him as'
'He's a thief is what he is' Luke says
'What are you? You're just a wasted alcoholic who failed at life and tried bringing his son down because he hated his own miserable life' I say and I look in the mirror to see Luke smiling.
'You know, you sound just like your mama. She was just like that in high school. Always thought she was better than everybody else. Kook princess. Your exactly like her, slumming it with my son when you know deep down your going to move on with someone better in the future and he knows it to' he says and I think about Zach and look out the window trying to ignore it. I hear luke chuckle.
'Oh, I thought there was tension between the two of you and now it makes sense, your not together anymore. What did my son do? Screw up like usual'
'Don't talk about your son in that way, he is not a screw up!' I yell at Luke and he smiles wickedly
'Then why are you not together, Miss Figure Eight, despite whatever you say we know how this will end, you will get with a rich Kook and have heaps of children while my son is stuck getting girls pregnant on the Cut after a one night stand, just like your dead father always wanted for you'
That was it for me. I elbow Luke in the nose sending him straight back into his seat groaning in pain.
'I am a lot of things Luke but a Kook is not one of them' I reply simply just as JJ starts to come down the stairs to car.
'Hey' JJ says as he arrives but he then notices Luke clutching his nose. He looks at me but I just turn to the wheel and start the engine.
'Let's get this over with, yeah?' I ask
'Yeah....' JJ replies getting in the passenger seat.
We stop at the Yacht Club and JJ jumps out to get the stuff
'Hey, why don't you tell your step mom Rose hi for me? Heard she was recently single' Luke whispers to me but JJ grabs his arm before he can finish
'Shut up' JJ says dragging his out of the car.
'Make it quick' I call out to J before calling out to Luke.
'Hey, Luke'
Luke turns around to look at me and I just flip him off. That angered him and took a step towards me but JJ pushes him back towards the dock.
'Did you have to do that?' JJ asks his dad as they arrive at the boat
'Did you have to go after her like that?'
'I told her the truth. She didn't like it' Luke says plainly.
I watch the two of them from the car for a bit until I see JJ get off the boat. Then I head over to the dock to comfort him as Luke drives off. After he turns around JJ turns back to look at me.
'He's gone?' I ask
'Yeah, for good this time' JJ says and I sigh before opening one of my arms. JJ wraps his other arm around me and we walk back to the car together. Once back in the car we head back to our friends and hopefully a still visible Twinkie.
'What did you do to my dad?' JJ suddenly asks u
'I just gave him what he had coming for 16 years' I reply simply
'A good lecture and punch in the nose'
JJ chuckles before I hear him get noticeably quiet for a moment.
'Why did you defend me?, we're not together anymore' he says quietly and I sigh.
'JJ, I'll always be your friend, no matter what happens between us as a couple or not, I'll always stand by you, you were friend first and you will always be my friend first' I reply seriously
'Well, do you want to be friends again, I mean, not be hating on each other every 5 seconds like we were doing before' JJ asks and I couldn't help the smile that came to my face, despite the fact that I still loved JJ, he didn't love me, he just wanted friendship and I was going to take it, I finally got my best friend back.
'Yeah, I really do want to be friends again J' I say and I feel his hand come in contact with my shoulder and he gives it a small squeeze.
'That's good because so did I' he says and at that we just both burst out laughing, it felt good to laugh with JJ again. We haven't in a long time.
Time Skip
I beep my horn as we reverse back. The second we get out though we are met with some of our very angry friends.
'Where the hell were you guys?' Kiara asks
'Paternal complications' I say pointing in JJ's direction
'Luke was at the Chateau' JJ replies
'Oh, great! While you were having family time with your pops, John B got bit by a gator' Pope yells
'Like, for real?' JJ asks
'Does it look like we're joking?' Sarah asks
'Okay, what the hell happened?' I ask
'What happened? I got bit by a gator!'
'He got bit by a gator!' Pope and John b yell
'I dunno why I'm being yelled at. I put myself on the line. We could've been seen by Limbrey' I yell
'You're being yelled at because it was minutes--' Kie yells
'We got here as fast as we could' I protest and we all start yelling at each other.
'Shut up!' JJ suddenly yells making us all go quiet
'Seriously, guys, I can't take it anymore, all right? Everyone just cut it out for a second. Look, I just helped my dad leave this island for good. Like, he's not ever coming back. He's straight up like the Spanish. Just, "Bon voyage."
'That's not the right language' Pope mutters
'All we got...And I know for a fact all I got is you guys, okay? You're it. And I've come too close to losing you...all of you, I mean, shit, like Kie almost drowned. Pope, you were kidnapped. Sarah, you've been shot. We almost you to another Kook Sky and I...we, only just got back your friendship, John B, you were almost dinner for a freaking gator, bro. So, this blaming each other is some Kook-ass bullshit, all right? We don't do that. Okay? We're Pogues. Sorry, that was a lot right now. I didn't mean to...' JJ rants and I start to clap in response.
'Well-done' Pope applauds
'I gotta be honest. That was the best freaking speech you have ever given' John b says
'Also, you should think about, like, a Rosetta Stone because your Spanish and French are flip-flopped' Kie adds
'We should bon voyage out of here' Sarah adds and JJ rolls his eyes before flipping everyone off.
'All right, let's get this damn Twinkie out of here' I say getting the stuff out of the back of the truck so we could work on getting the Twinkie out.
20 minutes later
'The Twinkie lives! Let's go, boy!' JJ cheers as the Twinkie gets back on the hard road. JJ and I were in the truck while everyone else piled in the Twinkie and we kept going to the church.
'Okay, you're telling me Denmark Tanny decided to hide the cross here?' John b asks Pope as we walk inside the deserted church.
'Mm-hmm' Pope replies
'Everybody, just spread out' Kie suggests and we all start to wonder around the church trying to fins ny sort of clue as to where everything could be.
'Okay, well, if I was a cross and wanted to be hidden in an old church, where would I hide?' John asks himself aloud.
'Are you sure that Denmark hid the cross here, Pope?' I ask
'Yeah, like, are we at the right church?' JJ adds
'It's gotta be here somewhere, guys'
'What if we have to push a secret button or, like, play, like, a... a certain chord, and then, all of a sudden, the ground beneath us reveals the catacombs or something on which we stand?' JJ says and I roll my eyes, as if that would happen.
'How about we try to find obvious clues?' john b suggests
'It's not an escape room guys' Kie reminds everyone
'It's gotta be in here' Pope says
'Come on Pope, I can't see where they'd hide a giant cross here' John b sighs
'No, no. There's no way he would set us up on a freaking goose chase that would lead us to a church that has nothing'
'Yes, I get it. I don't know what to tell you, man'
'The clues led us here. The cross is in this church'
'Pope, it'll be all right. We've had setbacks in the past, and we figured it out. We're gonna find it' I add trying to support Pope.
'She's right' Kie says
'We've just gotta think about this logically, all right? Where else would you hide a seven-foot-tall cross made of gold?' John b asks and I look back at Pope for answers but instead he's staring up at something.
'What?' JJ asks and I turn around to see what Pope was looking at
'Oh my God! Look at that' Kie says and I follow her finger to see that the wood that was keeping the roof stable was in the shapes of a ginormous cross. Pope suddenly heads over to the wall and starts to climb.
'Hey, no!' JJ calls out to his
'Now Pope's climbing the wall' John b says
'Wait. Pope, wait. This is crazy' I tell him
'Pope, this church is old' Kie reminds him
'Like really old. This isn't safe' Sarah adds as some wood starts to fall to the floor from Pope's weight.
'Yo! This church gots to be at least 200 years old' JJ says
'He's right. It's too dangerous' John b says
'Yo, let me just be real. You're not the most coordinated person on planet Earth' JJ reminds him and I nod
'Pope? Come on is it worth possibly dying?' I ask him
'You hear me? What are you doing?' JJ asks as Pope starts hitting the wood.
'All right, this one's solid wood. I'm gonna try the other beam' Pope yells down to us.
'Pope, that's rotten as shit right there, okay?' JJ protests as Pope heads around the side.
'Hey, easy!' Kie yells and Pope swings around to the other side.
'Pope, I hate to break it to you, but that's wood' I say as Pope hits another block
'No, no. It has to be here. I know it'
'Bro, just look out for that giant wasp nest right above your head' Johnny points out and I look to see the huge wasps nests that was about a meter or two away from Pope.
'Yeah' Sarah says
'Hey, just... just move slow, all right? Nice and easy, all right?' JJ suggests to him as he hits the cross shaped part
'Look! It's hollow. Go get me a crowbar!'
'What are you gonna do, Pope? I don't want this entire church to collapse on top of us. That's all I'm saying' JJ tells Pope concerned as Sarah runs to get a crowbar.
'Sarah!' Pope calls out as she come back a moment later.
'Hey. Pope'
'Throw it'
'Okay'
'Oh, for real?' JJ asks
'Watch your heads' John b says as Sarah throws it.
'Got it!' Pope says and we all chuckle
'Not bad'
'Hey, Pope, Pope, there's the wasp nest right up there, okay? Just move slow, all right?' John b says still worried for Pope.
'Got it' Pope says before starting to hit the wood with the crowbar. Bits of wood start to fall to the ground and after a few hits if I squint I can see something shiny inside it.
'Hey, uh...'
'Do you guys see that?' Sarah asks
'Shit' Kie gasps
'It's here. Oh my God' Sarah gasps
'You did it, buddy' JJ breaths and we all start to cheer.
'Holy shit! Holy...'
'Oh my God! Oh!
'We did it!'
'Yeah!'
'Holy shit!' we all cheer as Pope gets the wood off the rest, revealing the whole cross.
'I thought you were crazy' Kie announces and I grab her and Sarah into a group hug. All of that had finally been worth it.
'We did it! We did it!' JJ cheers before pulling me out of our girl group hug into a hug with him. I hug back and we spin around the room together.
'Okay, they're stinging now. Ow! Ow!' Pope screams as the wasps sting him. Suddenly he drops the crowbar and falls backwards just managing to catch himself on the edge
'Hold on, Pope!'
'Wait!'
'Cushions'
'Move the pews! Move these!'
'Pope, hold on!' we all scream as we move the pews out of the way and make a pile of cushions while Pope screams from the wasps.
'I can't hold!' Pope yells
'Hold on!'
'Pope! Hang on!'
'Hold on!'
'Hold on!'
'I'm slipping, guys' Pope screams as his fingers slowly give out.
'Hang on! Hang on!' I scream throwing one more pillow on the pile just as Pope falls to the ground with a thud.
'Pope, are you okay?'
'Are you good?'
'Are you okay?' Kie, Sarah and I bend down to check on Pope as he lies on the pillows.
'Anything broken?'
'You did not tuck and roll, for sure' JJ says
Creak
'AHHHH' Pope screams getting our attention and we all look up just in time to get out of the way of the cross before it hits the ground.
'Pope, are you okay?' I ask my friend
'Yeah, I'm good. Just give me, like, one second to, like, catch my breath' Pope gasps in between breaths
'You did it, Pope' John b gasps as him and JJ go inspect the cross
'Pope, she's... she's beautiful' JJ gasps
'I've never seen anything like it' Sarah says
'Detail's insane'
'Well, here's why Limbrey wanted that key so bad' Johnny says pointing at a keyhole in the front of the cross.
'How much do you think she's worth?' JJ asks and you could see in his eyes he wanted the money.
'Like, if we melted her old bones down, dude, I'm talking like high billions'
'This belongs in a--No! This belongs in a museum' John b says
'What? So no one sees her? In a museum where everyone sees it. Are you kidding?' JJ protests
'Hey! It's my ancestors' cross!' Pope intterupts
'Right, okay. All right, all right. Well...
'This is bigger than money, and the world's gotta know the truth' Pope adds
'Yes. If we don't get this shit outta here before Limbrey gets here, nobody's gonna know. So saddle up' John b says grabbing one end of the cross. Kie grabs the other end, Sarah and Pope grab the edges and JJ and I get underneath it.
'Wait. Hold on. John B, you're gonna pull, all right? Pull down' I tell my best friend
'I'm gonna pull down. You guys pull up. Ready? One, two, three'
We all pull and push and the cross come off the floor. As soon as it leaves the floor all six of us looked like we were going to die from the weight. It was so heavy.
'JJ, watch your foot' I say as JJ almost trips
'Oh my God!' Sarah groans as we slowly drag it to the entrance.
'Okay. I got it' I say as I readjust my fingering.
'Who's... who's not lifting right now? Sarah, are you seriously--' John b grunts
'I'm lifting!' Sarah yells back at her ex
'Move forward' Kie yells
'It doesn't feel like it!' I yell at my sister
'I am!'
'Okay, guys. I can't. I can't' Pope groans
'No! No, no, no!'
'No, no, Pope! Hang on there!'
'No, no, no, no, no, no! No!' we all yell as Pope's fingers give out, the cross falls to the floor with a big CLANG
'Damn it, you almost dropped it on my foot!' JJ yells at Sarah
'Cause I'm the only one lifting it!' Sarah yells
'Oh, come on Sarah we-' I start
'Okay, okay, okay, okay! Listen, we'll make like a sling, like a little--
'Yeah, yeah, and then put it on the tail hitch' JJ adds onto John b's idea
'Guys! Guys, guys, I'm not okay. I'm not okay' Pope suddenly yells and we all turn to see his whole hand swollen with rashes and half of his eye swollen.
'Oh my god Pope' I gasp as I look at him
'Your eye, it looks all puffy' Sarah adds
'You good? You don't look too good, bro' J adds
'I can't-- ' Pope barely manages to gasp before taking one big wheezy breath in.
'He's having an allergic reaction' Kie concludes
'How many times did you get stung?' Sarah asks Pope as he struggles to breath. Suddenly his eyes roll into the back of his head and he falls to the ground
'Oh my god!'
'We have got to get him some help' I say lifting Pope's arm over my shoulder with Kie helping me on the other side
'Hey! Hey!'
'What about the cross?' JJ and Sarah say
'JJ, try and hide it' John b says as Kie and I carry Pope out as he gasps for air.
'I got it. I got the cross' JJ calls out
'Here we go. Come on. Come on Pope. Stay with us please' I beg as his legs start to give out
'We'll come back!' Kie tells his as we head out the door. We get him into the Twinkie and lay him down, flat on the ground.
'Pope please, please stay with us' I cry as tears start to form in my eyes. Who knows what could happen to Pope, we had to get him some help...and fast.
A/N
Two chapters in the same week. I'm on a roll and that's mainly cause I'm going away and I want to finish this season hopefully by then so you guys don't have to wait too long for the finale and I can get started on planning season 3.
JJ and Sky are finally back on good terms again which I'm so happy about and it seems like JJ is actually trying to get better, with the whole letting Sky get the keys to the truck. Also what were your thoughts on that whole bit, originally it was Kie and JJ so I knew I had to change it up and I think the whole Sky finding something of Rafe's was good because, later on, especially in s3 I'm going to be looking a bit further into Rafe and Sky's relationship when they were younger cause I'm a big fan of the Rafe redemption arc.
Anyways, lemme know what you thought about it in the comments
<3 Thank you for all the love on this series, hopefully it'll be done by the end of the week.