SEASON ONE,
CHAPTER 7:
BIG JOHN'S COMPASS
"This was my fathers."
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THE FRIENDS ALL collectively help John B peel the scuba diving gear off of his body, just so that he can feel more comfortable and it can be dried off before it's returned back to the Cameron boat. Salt water proceeds to drip all over the flooring of the HMS Pogue and only makes it even more slippery for them to walk on.
"Wait, guys. Bogey, two o'clock." Kie informs.
The boys and Delilah all turn to look in the direction that Kiara is looking in, finding themselves watching as another boat drives closer and closer to them. It's clear that it isn't another police boat as the sirens aren't on and the two strangers standing in the boat are wearing dark clothing, not uniforms. Their stern gaze is locked ahead of them and most likely on the five teenagers that continue to float in the marsh.
"Do any of you recognise that boat?" Delilah asks as she turns turn to face her friends. "Because I sure as hell don't."
Pope shakes his head. "No."
"No, I've never seen it either." Kie replies, eyes glued onto the boat behind them. "What are they even doing here? The marsh is closed."
"I don't know, but let's not stick around and find out." JJ tells them.
"Should we wait on them?" Pope asks.
"Are you joking?" Kie fires back, blankly staring at the boy in disbelief.
"No, we're not gonna do that." John B states. "JJ, get the bowline."
JJ nods in response before heading over to the bow of the HMS Pogue, beginning to pull the anchor back up into the boat so that they're able to start moving again. Pope quickly scurries over to the controls in order to turn the engine on and get the boat moving in an instant. This is because the five have mutually planned to leave to avoid communicating with the strangers making their way towards them all.
"I don't like this. Not a single bit." Kie mutters.
"Are they coming for us?" John B questions.
"Maybe they're fishing." Pope suggests.
The roaring sound of a boat engine echoes loudly in the air, followed by more splashing of water. Delilah turns to look towards the boat to see that they have now rapidly picked up in speed and are travelling closer to her and her friends. Though the reasoning is unknown to the teenagers, it's clear that they are the target of the two men.
"I think they're fishing for five teenagers to kidnap and kill." Delilah blurts out.
"Go, go, go!" JJ instructs.
"Pope, let me drive." John B demands.
The boy doesn't waste a single second to remove himself from the drivers seat of the boat they're all in, allowing John B to take his place instead. The controls are all pushed and the HMS Pogue begins to pick up on speed and move much faster than Pope was when he directed it. However, the two grown men just follows closely behind the teenagers and only causes more panic rise in their bodies.
"Oh, this can't be good." Pope mutters.
"Dude, you gotta go faster!" JJ instructs.
"That's what she said." Delilah says, the blond boy snickering at her.
"Lila, now isn't the time to say stuff like that!" Kie exclaims in frustration.
"I'm sorry, I use humour for everything and I'm dirty minded!" Delilah replies.
Twisting and turning through the narrow paths of the marsh, John B continues driving the boat as fast as possible in a desperate attempt to get back to the island where they know that they'll be safe. The boat just trails behind them while picking up on even more speed to ensure that they'll be able to catch up. But what the hell could they possibly want with five teenagers?
All of a sudden, a gunshot ripples through the tense air and rings as a high-pitched noise in their ears. More bullets are continued to be fired towards the group of teenagers as it soars through the air with the intention to cause harm. This only causes loud gunshots to continue echoing around them all, not seeming to care if it pulls attention from anyone that happens to be nearby.
Only four out of the five friends actually drop down to the floor to avoid getting hit by the bullets soaring in the direction that they are in, stomachs pressing flat against the boat. John B is the only person to remain seated at the drivers seat of the HMS Pogue, eager to get him and his friends out of there. JJ then shuffles closer to where Delilah lays. His arm wraps around her waist in a protective manner, pressing his chest firmly against her back to help shield her body from the bullets.
"Oh my god, we're gonna die." Pope mumbles.
"No, we're not." Delilah reassures.
"Unless we get out of here and to safety or think of anything to help us, we're gonna die." Pope insists.
The redhead begins to rack her brains with many possibilities of how to fight back like Pope suggested. She doesn't want herself or her friends to die just because they decided to go out in the marsh when it was in fact closed. As well as that, JJ didn't bring the gun along with them so that's not an option for them to turn to. To be honest, the girl thinks it's smart she didn't since they ran into the cops, but also stupid since they're in this current situation.
Fortunately, with luck being on their side today, an idea springs to mind. Delilah shifts from within JJ's arms in order to face Kiara as she lays nearby to the both of them. JJ only tenses at her sudden actions, unsure of whether to let go and risk her getting hurt, or to keep her held close to his own body.
"Kie, grab the net near you and throw it in the water." Delilah instructs.
"Lila, I'm not looking to fish while we're being shot at." Kie fires back.
"No, dumbass! It'll get stuck in their motor and will either slow them down or actually the boat stop overall." Delilah simply explains.
"Oh, okay. Got it." Kie replies, understanding what she has to do now.
"Damn, gorgeous, you're smart." JJ comments.
"Learn from the best." Delilah replies, flicking her hair in a jokey manner. "Am I right, Pope?"
The boy just looks at the redhead in disbelief that she's still acting perfectly fine when bullets are currently still being fired their way. But, like Delilah said, she just uses humour sometimes to hide her emotions in order to give her friends hope.
Kiara lifts herself up from the floor slightly so that she's able to crawl forwards, reaching out to grab the fishing net like Delilah had instructed. Then, just as John B makes a sharp turn around a corner, she shakily rises to her feet and launches it forwards into the water. The net clogs itself into the motor and causes the two adults to come to an abrupt stop in the marsh — the girl is then proven as correct.
The four friends instantly stand up from their places on the floor with a mixture of emotions crossed over their faces; shock, excitement, pride, and confusion. Pope appears to still be shaken up by the incident, whereas both JJ and Delilah are just cheering at the fact they all managed to survive being shot at. The blond walks over to where the girl stands, swooping her up into a big hug where he spins her around as a way to show his pride about the idea she had. Ly just giggles childishly at his actions, wrapping her arms around his neck to avoid falling.
"That was insane!" Kie exclaims, laughing as she high-fives JB.
After many minutes of the teenagers nonstop talking about the adrenaline pumping situation they were in, the boat exits the marsh through an opening and parks beside the docks. JJ grabs the loose rope and ties it off as usual, allowing them to hop off and walk along the docks. John B dumps the black duffel bag down on top of the wooden planks as they all crowd around in a circle around it. Every single one of the five are intrigued to what could possibly be inside.
"What do you guys think it is?" Kie asks.
"Gotta be money or something, right?" John B suggests.
"That or a couple of keys with street value." JJ adds.
Delilah shrugs. "Or maybe more weapons."
As she says this, a glance is made towards JJ. He's the only other person that has taken a deep interest in the gun, especially when he's the one that has claimed it has his own.
"I hope not." Kie replies. "I will not be able to deal with both you and JJ running around with weapons in your possession."
"Can we please just open the bag already?" Pope blurts out, too eager to wait and find out.
"Wow, Pope. That's a rare outburst of emotion from you." John B comments, a smile tugging at his lips as he glances over at his friends.
"You guys are literally killing me with anticipation. Just open the bag." Pope pleas.
"He's still going. Damn, guns being fired at you really changed you as a person." Delilah comments, receiving a playful shove on the shoulder from him.
"But come on, we almost died over this, can you blame me?" Pope tells them.
"Not really." JJ replies.
John B crouches down to the black duffel bag still sitting in front of them all, itching to be unzipped by the five teenagers staring down at it. He eagerly tugs it open to them reach inside and pull out a smaller black bag. With furrowed brows, the boy peels that one open too and finds himself now holding an item similar to a tea flask. He proceeds to unscrew the lid of it off, flipping it upside down to empty it of the contents that could be emptied. A metal compass drops down into the palm of his hand.
The other four just stare down at the compass with smiles fading from their faces. The excitement that they had previously felt for the 'treasure' that was retrieved disappears in almost an instant and is replaced with disappointment instead. Firstly, they had ran into the cops, then John B almost drowned, and then they found themselves getting shot at several times by strangers. All for a compass? The least it could've been is a map that leads them to actual treasure, or even money itself.
"Oh, wow. Yeah. That's about right. Good job, everybody. We found a compass." Pope comments, an immense amount of sarcasm laced in his voice.
Delilah opens her mouth to join her friend in making a sarcastic comment of her own, but stops herself at the sight of John B. The boy is still holding the object tightly in his hands while staring down at it like he's lost in a thought. A faint smile has made its way onto JB's face as he inspects every single detail of the compass. Del only furrows her brows in confusion.
"Why the hell are you smiling at a compass?" Delilah asks, not meaning to come across as rude and just genuinely wanting to know.
"Dude, it's not worth anything." JJ adds.
"This was my fathers." John B informs, voice quiet and barely audible.
John B's smile only widens as he mentions his father to his friends, tears prickling in his eyes that only threaten to spill. Hope fills the brunets body at the possibility that his father can be found and they'll be reunited once again. This is something that had once belonged to his father and it's coincidentally come back into his possession. Maybe it's a sign that Big John is still out there, or maybe it's a sign that he's really gone and the body is lost at sea.
On the other hand, the friends try to avoid making eye contact with each other so that nothing can be said/done to ruin JB's moment. JJ pulls the baseball cap off the top of his head before ruffling his blond hair, obviously feeling awkward and not knowing what to say. He casts a glance over at Delilah for a moment or so, watching as she purses her lips with a mixture of emotions crossing over her face.