Elena looked and looked at her reflection, there was something that didn't convince her, maybe it was the half up - half down hairstyle she did, or maybe that her golden eyeshadow looked a bit uneven on the ends. It wasn't any of those, what was happening to her came from the inside. Elena had decided to go visit her mom, she needed to see her, she knew it would pain her seeing her in a hospital bed, but it isn't something she hadn't seen before, her father was on a hospital bed once, also fighting for his life, or at least to not be paralyzed.

"You ready kiddo?" Ernesto appeared on the reflection of the bathroom mirror behind his daughter, Elena nodded and walked outside, the arm surrounding her and pulling her into a hug. "Everything's going to be great, I know it mi tesoro." Ernesto started walking by her side, both of them heading to the car.

Melissa stayed the night with Wheezie and Elena was excited for her comeback and ready to tell her about the dangers she had lived yesterday and also tell her that she was glad she sent her little sister home. Elena looked over at the Maybank's house, Luke Maybank was outside working on something that he didn't notice or listened to Ernesto call him.

"Dad, why do you keep trying on talking to him? He has never waved back to you or be nice." Elena asked her father from the copilot seat looking behind him to take one last look at the Maybank's.

"Well, I guess that is nice to make friends, the only adult person that I ever talk to is either Dr. Cameron or Carrera when I go and get us food from The Wreck, but no one else, I gotta stay at home and take care of my two troublemakers." Ernesto jokingly said, making his drive towards the Figure Eight side and to the hospital.

"Are you ready kiddo?" Ernesto asked Elena, they both were sitting in the car, waiting for Elena to be ready, but Ernesto also felt that the longer they stayed, the bigger chance Elena would abort the mission.

"I guess I am." Elena sighed looking down at her hands for a moment, seeing her father's hand on top of hers, and with a gentle squeeze, Elena knew she had all the support from him.

The hospital wasn't filled by people like Elena imagined it would be after a hurricane, but that wasn't her main focus for the day, all she had to do was set her mind ready and face her mom in a hospital bed.

"Here we are, you ready?" Ernesto asked, his hand on her shoulder giving her a gentle squeeze, Elena smiled and nodded her head.

Knocking on the door a few time Ernesto opened the door, the beeping sound of machines was the first thing Elena heard, she saw how her mother rested in the bed, needles and tubes connected into her skin, giving her the nutrients she needed whenever the cancer in her blood started eating her. Making her weak.

"Elena." Veronica muttered, stretching her arm out for her, Elena walked over and smiled taking her, her daughter started breaking into tears, falling on her knees and pressing her mother's hand against her forehead. "Mi princesa, are you okay?"

"I'm great mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I never came to visit you, I am so sorry."  Elena looked up to her mother who's face and delicate features seemed to even soften more.

"Is okay my baby, I imagined why, but don't you worry, you're here now, come sit by my side and start telling me about your adventures. Melissa seems to tell me that you are having fun this summer."

Elena smiled and crossed the room to the other side of the bed, being careful on not moving anything, laying beside Veronica, she started telling her everything that her and the Pogues were up to, but keeping the wreck out of it, she didn't want her mother to worry.

✶⊶⊷⊶⊷❍⊶⊷⊶⊷✶

"Hey dad? Can you drop me off at John B's house? I want to hang out with them, I know that John B would be happy to listen that I visited mom," Elena looked at her father and placed her both hands together "please?"

"John B? Are you two?" Elena chuckled, shaking her head "Well, I know you and John B are close, are you two like best friends then?"

"Yeah, we can say that."

"But he isn't like JJ, our neighbor, I mean, you two spend way more time together than anyone else, so is JJ?" Ernesto asked, his eyes set on the rose but his tone filled with curiosity.

"JJ? he's just my friend, I think JJ might be taking John B's spot for best friend or something." Elena chuckled softly, seeing the road his father was taking towards the Chateau, it kept running though her mind, JJ, she knew she and John B were close but she never noticed that JJ was always closer to her. She started thinking about it and it's true, John B never stayed a night at her place.

"Here we are," Ernesto parked in front of John B's place "Thank you honey, for what you did today, I know it wasn't easy but I'm proud of you, I know your mom is proud of this visit, you made her day better." Elena hugged her father tightly before letting go and nodding her head.

"She made my day better too."  Elena smiled and hopped off the car, waving her father goodbye, she made her way towards the door and knocked a few times.

"El? What are you doing here?" John B said appearing behind the other side, he opened the door and pulled Elena into a hug.

"Woah there, why the sudden treatment of love?" Elena chuckled hugging him back

"Well we almost died today, no kidding." JJ's voice said walking behind him. "We went over to your place but Issa told us you went to visit your mother, how come I didn't know that, did you John B?"

"Yeah, El kinda told me about it," he said pulling Elena away and scratching the back of his neck "How did it go? We didn't want to bother your day with her so we didn't call but we're glad you came. Really."

"I went great, I mean, it was hard but I finally saw her." Elena looked at both guys in front of her who smiled and together hugged her again.

"Congrats." JJ said and pulled away just like John B.

"Thanks, now can you both tell me what did you mean when you said you almost died?" Elena crossed her arms, eyebrows up and clenched jaw.

"Well, we are gonna wait for Kie and Pope to arrive and we can explain." John B said opening the entrance door motioning them to walk inside.

Time passed for the trip when they heard Kie's car appear, both of them making their way rapidly to the rest of the group.

"Okay, speak." Kiara said the moment her feet set on the wooden floor.

"Outside." John B walked towards the back porch followed by the group.

"Okay so we went to visit Ms. Lana, talk to her and asked er about the compass, but things happened, they got off our control." John B started explaining his eyes then looked at JJ.

"Yeah, like we started hearing sounds and we needed to hide and then we were right outside like this" JJ leaned against the wall "And, all we hear is just, bam! bam! bam! Knocking paint off the wall, G! From the inside, all right and I'm just looking at him like," JJ pointed at John B catching his attention but walking now towards the trio "wait, first off, look at this shit." shaking his hair, pecks of paint started to fall off.

"That's dandruff, disgusting" Kiara looked away making a face. Elena pulled her legs to her chest, avoiding the dry paint to touch her skin.

"At that point, I was just like, I'm waiting for death." JJ looked at Elena, worry in his eyes. Elena looked away and thought about what they had seen and heard.

"Oh, okay, so you saw the guys that shot at us, right?" Pope asked leaning his body forward, hearing JJ agree with his question "Did you get a good description of them? What did they look like? Anything we can bring to a police report maybe?" Pope kept on asking, in hopes of getting valuable information, both Kiara and Elena agreed.

"Burly" JJ said after taking another smoke of his cigarette, Elena looked Kiara furrowed eyebrows and pouty mouth, confused of what she just heard.

"Burly?"

"Yeah"

"That's not very helpful"

"Okay, well, no like the type of guy at my dad's garage" JJ explained looking at his other friends "I mean, you guys know he made cargo hides for drug dealers." For Elena that was newer information but it made more sense, Kiara knew and she told JJ, making it clear for the blonde to not repeat the story. "I can tell you with full confidence, these boys, these killers," JJ took out his juul, inhaling a deep breathe and exhaling the smoke "they're square groupers"

"Square groupers, like narco square groupers? Like Pablo Escobar square grouper."

"More like "El chapo" square grouper?" Elena muttered, hearing a chuckle coming from Johh B behind her.

"You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie." Kiara said unsurprised

"Oh Kie, you would be surprised to know okay." Elena nudged her arm and scoffed jokingly.

Pope and JJ kept on their bickering even of the physical appearance and how JJ couldn't look at them clearly.

"I wasn't taking little mental polaroids all the time man, I was under duress, okay?" JJ said all fast and taking a step back.

"Did he said underdress?" Elena whispered at Kiara who shook her head.

"I'm pretty sure he meant under stress." Kiara said and chuckled, she nudged against Elena.

"But I can tell you," JJ took a breathe before saying his next words "I can tell you by the way that Ms. Lana was screaming, that these guys are serious, serious hombres, okay." The expression of each face were scared and worried, whatever trouble they had gotten into, it was too late to turn back. "It's a heavy vibe right now, I don't like it."

"Okay, but why would they want the compass?" Kiara asked sitting forward and looking around.

"That thing is a piece of shit, you couldn't pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to." Pope looked at both girls sitting in front of him, Elena looking at John B and then at Pope trying to give him a message "No, offense John B, I know it's like in your family."

"The office." John B said, the group didn't know what he was talking about but it seemed that all that time John B was quiet, he was thinking about that place. "My dad, my dad's office." he said as he started walking back inside "He always kept the office locked because he was worried about his competitors stealing his Royal Merchant research," Elena stood up and followed behind him, the others went with her too, trying to figure out what he was talking about "We used to laugh at him like he was gonna find it, but now that he's gone, I've just kinda," John B stopped talking briefly when reaching the door "I just left it as he kept it."

"Yeah, for when he gets back." Kiara supporting her friend, she widened her eyes looking at the trio, searching for another one to support him.

"Yeah, Big John wouldn't like to come back and see something off, right?" Elena said nodding her head, Kiara smiled warmly at her.

John B unlocked the door of the office but every movement he did, he thought about it, he hesitated just a little bit, unsure about moving anything, but also, seeing an office again after a very long time, well it pained him. Opening the door, they all saw the brown wooden walls and papers taped to the walls.

"I've slept over here like 600 times and I've never seen this door opened." Pope confessed his eyes looking all around. All of them searching for something but it was John B the only one who seemed to know what he needed to find and found it.

"Here, look," John B spoke pointed out a picture "This is the original owner, right there." The others surrounded him, looking down at the pictures and papers.

"Okay, Robert Q. Routledge," Kiara said looking at the old picture where a man in a captain uniform stood "1880 to 1920, theres the lucky compass, right there." Elena looked at the compass Kie had pointed out and a grin appeared on her lips.

"Actually, um he was shot after he bought it." John B shyly said and the grin Elena had vanished rapidly "Then the compass was shipped back to Henry, Henry was killed in a crop-dusting accident when he had the compass, after he died the compass was given to Stephen, Stephen had the compass with him when he died in Vietnam." John B informed and pointed out every single man and date when they had the compass.

"Let me guess, he died in action, right?" JJ asked nudging Elena who shook her head ignoring the smile on his face.

"Sort of," John B said and looked down at the picture "actually he was killed by a banana truck in, in country." Elena tried her best to hold a laugh by biting her lower lip. "Anyways, after that, Stephen passed the compass down to him, my dad."

"Hmm, it sounds like there's a reoccurring theme there." JJ stated out looking at the group

"Yeah, um you have a death compass." Pope looked at John B who denied such thing.

"Yeah Pope, John B's dad isn't dead, he's missing." Elena looked at Pope hoping she would point out that he wasn't helping the situation.

"Seriously dude, get rid of it, it's cursed and made its way back to you." JJ said to John B who gave his back to his friends for a moment before turning his attention to them.

"Look, my dad used to talk about this compartment in here," he sat down and looked at the compass in his hand "Soldiers used to hide secret notes." Opening the backside of the compass, Elena and Kie stood behind him, eyes centered on the item.

"What's that?" Kiara asked, her fingers tracing over a letter that was marked on the compass, but John B didn't recognize it, he hadn't seen it before.

"Who wrote that?" Elena asked her head tilted to the side reading the word.

"This is my dad's handwriting." John B answered looking back at both girls. Pope looked at him and down at the compass.

"How can you know that?" he asked unsure of the lettering in the item but John B was sure about it telling him about how his father wrote the R's in a weird form and showing it to Pope.

"Can I see if?" JJ asked and leaned over to read the compass, trying to figure out what it was, stumbling with his words and just starting saying things.

"It says Redfield." Kiara said rolling her eyes at JJ who agreed and cleared his throat.

"What does that mean? Redfield?" Elena asked, her eyes looking at John B for a moment before searching her surroundings for anything that could mention such name that Pope cleared out that it was a common name in the country.

"Maybe it's a clue, a clue to where he's hiding." John B hopeful voice said looking up at the group.

"Come on a clue that's," Pope was interrupted by the look Kiara gave him, "but if it's a clue, maybe it's an anagram?" Clearing his throat Pope suggested the option of what the hidden message was.

John B stood up quickly and grabbed a piece of paper behind him setting it on the desk. Elena looked over their shoulders trying to figure out what they were going to do. Pope groaned and complained about the rooster that was in the patio, Elena chuckled remembering the first day living in Outer Banks and hearing the rooster early in the morning and what her sister Melissa had said about such animal.

"JJ loves the rooster." John B said patting the back of the blonde.

"I love the rooster." Both Kie and Elena said in unison and looked at archer with a smile. The four of them tried to point out factors of what Redfield could mean, throwing word like colors or shapes.

John B walked away back to the other side and started writing something down, but the attention of the group was caught back on John B when he started calling them out and saying that somebody was here. They all looked outside the window taking steps closer seeing a car approaching, Kiara asked who the two guys in black clothing were, but seeing the terrified faces of JJ and John B made her worry.

"Are those the guys you just said?" Elena asked and just like Kiara their breathes started to come quickly, their body started tensing up.

Elena took steps back and paced side to side, she could feel her heartbeat going faster, the pulse on her neck and her trembling hands. If these people were here it meant they were going to end up in trouble.

John B turned JJ around and from his t-shirt collar he pushed him to the wall, his voice was quiet but strong enough.

"Where's the gun?" The gun, of course, having a protection with them could come in handy but it could also mean bigger the trouble.

"Gun? I um." JJ stumbled with his words when he started to remember where he had left the artifact.

"Now you don't have the gun, the one time we need the gun?" Kiara placed both of her hands together in front of her mouth, her tone breaking with the words.

Elena looked around the place for a way out maybe another door but she couldn't find one, the windows where an option, tapping Pope on his shoulder they both looked at a window, hurrying towards it. JJ and John B remembering that the gun was left on the backpack outside in the porch, the blonde made its way outside but the scream of one of the older ones made JJ return, the group had come close again but as seeing they were already inside the house they needed a way out.

"Windows." Elena said and tried to open one, but it was useless, it was shut tight but something. She groaned putting all of her effort on it, Kie stood by her side and looked over her shoulder seeing that Pope and JJ were trying another window.

"Hurry, come on." Kiara's desperation traveled in energy towards Elena, giving up on the window she did the same like her friend, her attention on the duo "What's happening, what's taking you so long?" Kiara asked and leaned towards just a bit to take a glance at the window.

"It's painted shut, okay?" JJ answered aggressively at Kiara, and Elena couldn't blame him for his response.

Kiara walked back and opened a drawer, she pushed back pieces of paper and pulled out a small knife and walked over to the window  desperately started scratching off the paint, Pope had moved next to John B and leaned against the wall, putting their weight against it just in case, and if it was settled the door handle started shaking, one of the men angrily screaming on the other side. Elena hurried over to Kiara and looked at how far she was scratching the paint off. JJ took the knife off her hands and started to scratch the paint more aggressively, there was a sound of gunshot heard, making the situation even more tense.

"Come on." Kiara mouthed lifting the window, JJ took her spot and pushed Kiara outside, Elena was behind her and looked back at the window noticing that JJ was now outside holding the window up for Pope and John B who ran towards them, Pope closed the window behind him and followed his friends who motioned him where to hide.

"Come on, come on." JJ grabbed Elena's hand pulling her towards the roost shelves, the group hide inside, sitting, kneeling or even laying down.

Elena placed her hand over her mouth to stop her heavy and shaky breathing to be heard. The chickens and roosters that were around them didn't keep quiet, with their clucking and crowing, they would bring all the attention to their hiding spot.

"Do something Pope, shut him up." JJ looked at his friend and then down at the rooster who carefree walked and crowed. Pope was confused, what could he do, and when he asked, Kiara was the one to respond that he should just either to pet it or talk to it.

"Guys please lower your voice please." Elena gripped the back of JJ's shirt, he was laying on her feet and that was the only thing Elena could grab from him.

Pope tried to grab one of the chickens who started clucking but it spread its wings and in panic mode they headed over to Pope's face, the noise then started back on the rooster and then the chickens, they really wanted to alert the bad guys where the group where hiding.

"You do something." Pope pointed at JJ, the blonde sat up and resting on his knees he hurried to catch the rooster, his noises were louder but then silent, the only thing that was heard was the neck being snapped.

Elena looked away bring back her hand to her mouth, muffling the tears that threatened to come out, JJ sat next to her pushing his hair back, Elena hid her face in his chest, not daring to look at the animal that was dead in JJ's hand, she could hear the sobs from Kiara just beside her and the heavy breathing from JJ. This was a terrible way but they were safe, the bad guys had left the house, they were safe for now.