"You seriously didn't grab nothing, not even a gun?" JJ complains to them.
I lean my head back. "There was four of you, and you come back empty handed."
"We tr.. we tried, okay? I got attacked." John b sighs.
"This is why Darl and I should've gone with." JJ says.
"Let me get this straight, you five, with no weapons, decided you were gonna hijack this tramp steamer on your own?" Cleo butts in.
"You have any idea who these people are?" She laughs. "Eberhimi, if he catch you, he kill you. Dead. Cut off your fingers."
"Okay. What about waiting until we get to the port?" I suggest. "At least then if something goes wrong, we have a place to run."
"No, No we can't do that." Pope shakes hishead.
"Why?g gfgg g gl g"Because, I've run this scenario over 1,000 times in my head, and our best chances are on this ship. There's 15 crew members and five of us." He explains.
"Exactly." I interrupt.
"Three-to-one odds." He says. "Best it'll get. We wait till we get there, they'll trap us."
"We have no chance." I say.
"No, Darl, there's something else. Wards alive." He says quickly.
I gasp.
"He's alive, and he's on the boat." He says.
"What?" I yell.
"Are you kidding?" JJ say's.
"What the fuck?" Kie shouts.
"You're serious?" Pope asks.
"It was all a setup, blowing up the boat, the confession to Shoupe. Think about it. That was to clear Rafe's name. And he does what? Goes to the Druthers. And what's on the Druthers?"
"Scuba." I scoff.
"Bingo." John b nods.
"So, Wards alive, huh?" JJ asks. "And he has the gold, and the cross. And Sarah."
JJ lowers himself down.
"Thanks for rubbing that in." Kie nods.
"So, he's just gonna get away with everything again, huh?" he asks. "Not happening. We're not watching the movie again, right, Pope?"
"You said we'd win." He says. "And with her, we're gonna take the bridge. We're gonna take it right now."
He looks around at everyone. "You with me?"
"Let's do it." John b nods.
"I'm with you, and I wanna be the one to take that bridge." Pope declares.
Cleo starts to chuckle. "He's gonna take the bridge?"
"Yeah." JJ says.
"He couldn't even take me." She scoffs.
"First of all, I was going easy on you." Pope says.
"I went easy on you." She argues.
JJ shushes them both.
"Relax, all of you." John b says.
"If you're really with us, if we use that knife, we can go up to the bridge." JJ says to Cleo. "Hold it up to the captains neck, then we go on the intercom."
Cleo looks up at me.
"Order him to tell every single crew member and passenger to go to a certain place, once they're all in the same place- bam, we lock them in there, and we take back what's ours."He continues.
"It could work." Pope nods.
"Are you with us, then?" Pope asks her.
"No. This is stupid." She says.
"All right! Open these things up!" We hear someone call from outside.
"They're checking the containers." Kie says.
"Uh-oh."
Cleo hurries to the vent and rips off the lid of it.
"Cleo, what are you.."
"Stop, Cleo!"
She shushes us, handing me the lid of the vent. "Dunno what you see in the blonde guy, Darla." She whispers before climbing out.
"What'd she say?" they all look up at me.
I clear my throat. "She said.. she'd be back in a- uh.. back in a minute."
They arch their eyebrows.
I close the vent.
"She's gonna tell them, shit!" Pope whispers.
"Hold up!" We hear her say from outside. "This one's clear, sir. Went through it inch by inch. Nothing but tubing and plastics in there."
I sigh a heartbeat of relief.
"Okay, she's on our side. That's good." Pope nods.
"How could you doubt my girl Cleo?" I laugh, opening the vent up.
Cleo whistles from outside.
Pope pulls himself out of the small square, struggling but climbing out soon enough, running off with Cleo.
_______________________________
"Attention, all passengers, all crew, resort to the tween forward hull."
We haven't been waiting too long, they must've done that really quick.
"They did it, they took the bridge." John b laughs.
Kie opens the vent, hopping out quickly.
John b hops out after her , landing and waiting for JJ to get out.
JJ hops out and lands, they gesture for me to get out.
I climb under the frame, shuffling out and hopping down.
"All right, split up. Once they're all in the hull, Darl and I will lock them up." JJ nods.
"John b and I will go help Sarah." Kie says after him. "We will get the lifeboat."
"We'll meet you, load the cross and get outta here." I nod. "All right, good luck, and don't die."
"Same goes to you two." They say before we split off into two groups.
We run into the forward hull, the red lights flashing as we hear other people walking in.
We go toward a wall with a small opening, flattening against it and ready to lock them all up.
"Psst. How many?" JJ whispers.
I hold up three fingers.
We count the voices and footsteps we hear, trying not to get caught.
I peek a little, but suddenly see Rafe, and immediately backing up.
I look at JJ. "That's all of the crew."
He looks at me. "Ward, we need Ward."
"We can't wait." I shake my head as my voice becomes raspy from whispers.
He hesitates, before jerking his head.
I take his unspoken order, running for the main door, hopefully quick enough for no one to notice.
JJ slips through the opening. We both push the heavy steel door, it creaks loud enough for the crew members to hear and start bashing on the door.. pushing it the opposite direction to us.
I flatten sideways against the door, holding the handle and using all my strength to try flatten it shut.
JJ hunches over me, he puts his right hand over my head, and his left directly beside my waist, pushing firmly.
We both grunt as we attempt to shut it.
"Close it. Close it!" JJ yells, his arm tensing up against my waist as he pushes into me with force in attempt to shut it.
The door slams, I turn to him. "Lock it!" While stile holding it shut.
JJ grabs the lock and puts it on, clamping the lock down shut.
"There's another door, there's another door!" JJ grabs my arm and pulls to me to the other door and we try to beat the other men to it.
He lets go and pull this small door shut, we both push against it.
JJ groans as the men on the other side fight to be let through.
I keep pushing as JJ locks the latch.
We both sigh in relief.
"That's my girl." He hugs me.
I pat his back, huffing as we go for the ladder. "That's my boy."
We climb down the ladder.
"Let's loot this shit." JJ laughs.
"Yup." I giggle.
He walks over to a large crate, uncovering it's goods that were hidden by a blanket.
There the cross shines up at us.
"There she is." JJ laughs.
I look down and smile at it. It's huge, and golden. And just smells like rich.
"Surf trip." JJ looks at me.
I smile brightly as we do the pogue handshake.
Suddenly the roof detaches as we see apple standing firmly above us.
We cheer out as he looks proudly down at the glistening cross.
"That's what I'm talking bout, let's go!" JJ cheers out.
I laugh, smiling because he really stood up for himself this time.
"The time where people do shit to us and we just sit back and take it is over." Pope holds his fist up in the air.
"Whoo! That's my boy!" JJ yells.
I laugh, not really knowing what's going on. But I'm just happy for him.
"Let's get this done, baby!" JJ nods.
"Hell yeah!" I scream.
I throw JJ a rope. "Here, let's tie it up."
He grabs it and ties the end.
I smile with happiness, I'm looking down at millions of dollar beside my favourite person ever.
JJ looks up at warmly grins at me.
I look down with the smile still stuck to my face as I feel my cheeks lighten.
Pope lowers the latch that will lift the cross up and load it onto the life boat.
"Take her up, Pope!" JJ lifts up his hand.
"Okay." I hear Pope shout out.
I back away as the huge metal latch clicks onto the rope, dragging it up into the air.
"Slow, slowly!" I yell as the cross swings around.
JJ holds the remaining of the rope, trying to even the cross out. "Bring her into the middle!"
"That's good- wait- NO! No!" I yell as JJ gets yanked around with the heavy cross.
"Too far! It's too far! Pope!" I yell.
"Sorry! My bad!" I hear him call out.
I roll my eyes as I help JJ up. "Your good."
The cross continues lifting.
I watch it ascend upwards, before nodding. "All right, should we peel?"
"Yeah, let's go help John b load it up on the lifeboat." JJ nods, running up the ladder again.
_______________________________
We run along the sides of the ship, looking around for a life boat and a swinging ladder to get down onto it.
I perk around an upcoming corner.
"Clear." JJ whispers, letting me run ahead.
I get stopped in my tracks when I see a man appear, no one I know. It must be the captain. He's staring at me with evil intent in his eyes.
"I don't see him." JJ says, distracted and looking out to sea.
"J." I shakily say.
JJ immediately turns with the tone of my voice. "Darl, get back."
I take a gulp before following his instructions.
"Of course, there's more of you." He pulls out what looks like a smaller machete.
I stare at it, worried for JJ. "J, let's run."
"No, not that easy." The man laughs. "Get down on your knees."
"Yeah, not gonna happen." JJ gets to say before the man comes charging at him.
J gives him a punch in the gut, making him lunge over, then kneeing him in the face.
He bashes into the wall next to us.
"Hit him, Darl!" JJ shouts.
I smash a door into his head, making him collapse for a moment.
"Where's John B?" JJ asks.
I run to the edge. "John b!" I try calling his name.
The man stands up again, swinging his knife at JJ.
"Watch out!" I cry.
JJ dodges, getting swung at multiple times.
I want to intervene but I know I'll get slashed in half.
JJ falls back and bashes the back of his head off of the rail.
The captain looks at me.
I feel a wave of fear overcome me as he stares directly at me, now charging at me.
"Darl!" JJ shouts.
The man punches me in the side of the head, making me fall back.
"Darla!" JJ stumbles up.
I look up and see the man about to stab me in half, I scream out of pure fear.
JJ runs and grabs his arm before he does, fighting him off of me, giving me and chance to scurry away.
I crawl away, standing up again, my heart racing quicker than ever.
The man elbows JJ, making him fall back against the railing.
He swings at me, but missed me, instead.. getting JJ, and knocking him out.
I see JJ's helpless body fall over the edge of the railing without any warning.
I gasp, pure shock and rage overfills me.
I kick the man in the chest with full force, causing him to fall to the ground.
I run to the railing, seeing JJs body floating in the water, face down and nod twitching or moving whatsoever.
"JJ!" I shakily cry out, with no hesitations I stand up on top of the railing, hurling myself into the water to save him.
"JJ!" I repeat, swimming over to him in these immensely deep and cold sea waters. I grab his body and twist it around, allowing his face to be above the meniscus of the sea.
"J!" I cry out, holding his body tight as I get no response. "Please!"
I cry out his name, begging for him to wake up. "JJ, please stay with me!"
Tears overflow me. I can't lose him. I can't.
"John B's coming- he's- agh! He's nearly here, okay?" I keep getting cut off by the mild waves.
"JOHN B! HELP!" I cry, my voice rasped from all the screaming I've been doing.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I repeat over and over, still gripping onto his torso, trying to stay afloat.
"Hey!" I hear someone calling out.
"JJ!"
"DARLA!"
I look over. "Help us! Get him up! Please!" I sob, seeing the life boat sledding towards me.
They all help me to lift him up onto the boat as I lift myself up too.
I sit on the boat, dragging him towards me.
"What happened, what happened!" Kie shouts.
"He fell off the side! He- He's unconscious!" I whimper.
The engine suddenly splutters, I cant focus on that with an unconscious JJ in my arms.
I look down at him. His eyes closed.
"J." I press my lips against his forehead. "Please."
The engine starts up again as I'm shaking him.
"Yeah! Go!" Pope yells.
We start riding again, I shake him aggressively, praying for his strength.
"J! Please!" I sob out, my cries loud.
"Come on, man. Come on." John b says.
His eyes suddenly flicker open, he coughs out some shit.
I gasp, my hand laying on his chest.
"There you go. Yeah, yeah. Cough it out. Cough it out, baby." John b nods.
He sits up, still coughing.
Everyone smiles as he looks around..
He glances at my hand holding him, then up at me.
"Hi." I furrow my eyebrows with a smile as I pant from all the panicking I just did.
He smirks. "Sup?"
I hit him in the head laughing.
Everyone laughs along with me.
"Dude!" Pope chuckles.
I lean over and hug his head, I really thought I lost him.
"Just always looking for attention." John b jokes.
"Whatever it takes, right?" JJ laughs along still in my arms.
I back away, getting John b's bandana and holding it up against the wound on the side of JJ's head.
"What the hell happened?" He looks at the blood on his fingertips.
"The blunt end of a machete." I inform him.
"Machete?" He asks, psyched with himself.
"The blunt end." I repeat with a a relieved smile.
"Next time, duck." Cleo suggests.
"I'll try remember that next time. Thanks." He nods.
"If it were the other side.." Kie sighs.
"He'd be.." Sarah imitates a knife slicing across one's neck.
I turn around to her. "Stop, I genuinely thought he was done for." I laugh a little as I say it.
We all look over at the ship, watching the cross get pulled up into the boat. Pope must've attempted to drop it into the water.
"This shit ain't over." He shakes his head.
John b shakes his head. "No, it ain't."
________________________________
We reach an island, one we have no clue what it's name is. Pretty sure it's abandoned.
Us four girls sit on the grass as the boy heave the inflatable boat onto the shore.
"Good job guys." Sarah calls out.
"Good job." Kie follows.
"Well done." I finish.
"Whoa." JJ almost trips.
"JJ you alright there, buddy?" John b asks.
"Yeah. Still a little dizzy." JJ scratches his head.
He looks around. "Okay, anybody know where we're at?"
"Deserted beach, unknown island." Pope replies.
"All right, I'll take that as a no." He sighs.
We all sit down, stressed out and just so confused as to what just happened.
"Plan A, huh, Pope? That went well." JJ says.
"This is the lowest we can go." Pope nods. "We literally have nothing else to lose. The cross, gone."
"The gold, gone." Sarah adds.
"Seriously if we have a nickel for every time we got beat up, we'd have a dollar fifty." JJ randomly blurts.
"That's more than I got on me." I shrug.
"Somehow doesn't make me feel better." Sarah sighs.
"Yeah, you're right, but I mean we've.. we've had some good stuff happen, right?" John b points out.
"Name something." Pope says.
"Uhh.. Uh, the boiler room." He shrugs, looking at Pope and Cleo.
Pope looks down.
"What? If the boiler room didn't explode, I wouldn't have gotten away from Rafe." He says. "I couldn't have gotten the Zodiac and gotten us out of here."
"That wasn't luck." Cleo laughs. "That thing was gonna blow the second I stopped feeding it."
"Stealing my thunder, Cleo. Umm.." John b scoffs.
I smile.
"Sorry." She tilts her head.
"Okay, Pope." John b turns to an angry, disappointed Pope. "You're related to Denmark Tanny."
"And I lost all his inheritance." Pope shits on that one quickly.
I look down.
"You know what?" John b stands up and walks in front of everyone.
"Guys, this is it. This is the Pogue life." He sighs.
I squint, I remember what I was saying about missing the pogue life to JJ. Is the universe listening to me right now?
"We are in the Caribbean. It's our own little slice of paradise." He says. "With my best friends, with my family. I don't know. Wouldn't wanna do it wit anyone else."
He looks at all of us. "Look, and while you guys were complaining bout every little thing.. JJ?" He walks over to JJ, who's carving something out of a tree.
"Hmm?"
He points behind JJ.
JJ looks behind him.
"I was looking at those burly lefts."
They look at each-other.
"There's a few slabs out there." JJ admits.
"Just a few." John b laughs.
He turns around to Kie and I. "Darl, Kie, you see that? I know you wanna get out there."
"No boards." I shake my head.
"We can body surf until we maybe some boards." He says.
"Lame." Kie laughs.
"Pope? Come on, man." He points at Pope.
"They do look pretty tasty." Pope shrugs.
"Oh yes they do!"
"Nobody around, we could squat here for a little bit." Pope admires the swash. "Kind of belongs to us now, huh?"
"You got a point." John b nods.
I look over at Kie, Cleo and Sar, shrugging my shoulders.
They smile back at me.
"Poguelandia." JJ calls out in a fake posh accent. "I claim thee Poguelandia. Like the ring of it."
I smile at him. "Catchy."
"I'm gonna make a flag. It's gonna have a chicken on it. With a coconut bra, smoking a J." He plans out the flag quickly as if he already knew in advance.
I laugh.
"In crocs." He looks down at me, knowing I always used to love wearing white crocs when J and I would run deliveries for Heywards.
"I could use a J." Kie nods.
"Can we vote?" Sarah asks.
"Shall we get to work?" Pope asks.
"Let's get to work." John b nods. "Provisions."
JJ walks over to me, holding out his hand.
I take it as he pulls me up. "Get making that flag."
"With what, huh?" He laughs.
I shrug. "Dunno, but do not forget the crocs."
He laughs and smiles at me.
"It's vital." I wink.
"Course it is." He nods. "Reminds me of my Darla."
No matter what, we're always Pogues for life.
________________________________
🎉END OF SEASON 2!! 🎉
wow, time literally flies too quick- last i remember i was literally writing the first episode of season 1. But thank you so so so much if you're still here, I appreciate you so fucking much it's crazy. I've always been looking forward to writing Poguelandia for so so long now and Season 3 will be filled with dramatics! So be prepared!!
I love my readers to the moon and back, hope you're still enjoying the book and hope you're excited for more!
until soon!
-Venice 💜