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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴

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The Pogues took the Pogue across the water to get to Goat Island. Emery managed to convince them to take her with them since she didn't have a shift at The Wreck that day and she wanted to see what they got up to in these treasure hunts.

Cassie only allowed it because they would just be talking to this Wes Genrette guy to see what his proposition was. However, if things got fishy, they would be out of there. She didn't want to put her cousin in any danger unwillingly.

She wasn't sure why there would be any more danger though. This was just some old guy, coming up to them about Blackbeard's sunken ship. Hopefully the worst they had to do was find it and call it a day. No traveling across the world or fighting to the death. Just staying in the Outer Banks, finding a ship. Like old times.

Hopefully.

"Do you guys know anybody that's been here?" Kiara piped up. "'Cause I don't."

"Nope," JJ replied, running a hand through his hair.

"Hey, Sarah, you must know somebody who's been here, right?" Pope asked, causing Sarah's nose to scrunch. "I mean, like, all Kooks, they-they know each other. They go to the same parties," he assumed.

"So glad I wasn't included in that question," Cassie muttered and Kiara nodded in agreement next to her.

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah responded. "You've heard the rumors, right?"

"Oh yeah, about the daughter. I mean, that she drowned with her baby? That's what I heard," JJ recalled.

"I heard that, too, but I heard that she was possessed first or something," Kiara added with a shrug.

"And then I heard that was all bullshit because...What?" Pope voiced, giving them both a look.

"Sounds like another movie plot," Emery commented.

"We've already experienced being in The Goonies," John B muttered and some of them nodded in agreement.

"And C.H.U.D," JJ added, but this time they didn't nod; they winced at the awful comparison. "What? Oh, come on, it's kinda been like C.H.U.D."

"I think you've watched that movie too much, babe," Cassie said, rubbing his back.

"That movie's not even good," Emery judged.

JJ gave her an offended look. "First of all, do not insult C.H.U.D. like that. And second of all, it was the only movie I had on DVD as a kid, sue me!" He argued.

Cassie arched a brow. "We have Netflix now," she told him.

"Actually..." Pope cut in, making them all look at him, "we might have to cancel our subscription because we have no money."

That caused them to erupt in groans of frustration and give JJ dirty looks to which he responded with putting his hands up in defense.

"Okay, why are we doing this again?" Cleo questioned once they were done complaining.

"You heard Pope," John B said.

"We need the money," Pope and Sarah both answered.

"Because someone lost it all," Cassie drawled, giving her boyfriend a pointed look.

JJ pouted. "You said you weren't mad at me anymore."

"Doesn't mean I can't point out the facts," she shrugged and he groaned, letting his head fall back.

"This place has been around for two hundred years, and they still don't have a single road that doesn't go underwater twice a day," Pope pointed out as the neared the land.

"You check in and you don't check out," Kiara spoke ominously.

An older black man came walking down the ramp to the dock as they steered the boat to the dock. "Afternoon, sir," JJ greeted as Pope handed the man a rope to tie the boat.

The man looked around at all of them with just one of his eyes since the other one seemed to be involuntarily closed. "Welcome to Blackstone," the man welcomed.

Pope looked over his shoulder at the others warily before they urged him to follow. Pope got off the boat followed by the others, trying to catch up with the man. He grabbed a shovel as they walked through the boathouse.

Emery swallowed hard at the action. "Maybe I made a mistake joining you guys," she muttered to herself although her cousin had heard.

"Do you wanna stay in the boat?" Cassie suggested.

Emery shook her head. "Better not to split up. That's worse." Kiara scoffed at the girl's theatrics, shaking her head even though she was already feeling on edge.

"So, uh, what ya been digging?" JJ inquired so there wasn't an awkward silence that hung in the air.

"Ditches," the man responded and Cassie raised her brows at his brief answer that wasn't at all comforting.

"Ditches," JJ repeated, looking back at his friends.

"At least it's not graves," Kiara pointed out.

"All the same to me," the man said. That made it even less comforting.

"What?" Kiara questioned, her voice growing higher.

"Why would he say that?" Pope quickly said.

"Maybe all that stuff y'all said back there was true," Cassie swallowed thickly.

"No. No way," Pope shook his head.

"Uh, so how long have you been working for Mr. Genrette?" John B asked, changing the subject.

"As long as I can remember." They all looked at one another nervously and suspiciously before they followed him up the steps to the entrance of the house. "There." He pointed down the path to the front door of the house that had overgrown plants all over it.

JJ nodded to himself, eyes narrowed. "Okay, thank you," he said before they all slowly made their way closer to the house.

"I feel like the Mystery Gang right now," Cassie whispered to Sarah as the girl whipped her head around, looking back at the man who was just watching them walk away.

"Literally. I feel like some guy in a mask is gonna pop out and try to kill us," Sarah replied as she looked back forward, a shiver running down her spine.

"That's why we stick together. Don't split up. It never works in the movies," Emery told them.

"Well, this isn't a movie is it, M&M?" Kiara sassed.

Emery shrugged. "Could be."

Kiara gave her an annoyed look. "It's not."

"Chill, Kie," Sarah chastised and Kiara put her hands up in defense.

The Pogues made it up to the old porch, taking a quick look around before JJ reached out and used the knocker to knock on the door. "Hello? Anyone home?" he called out, knocking with his knuckle this time. He tried the knocker again. "Hello? Anyone home? Maybe?" He looked back at the others. "Oh, just a little quick FYI, they drug you before they chop you up. So...don't eat or drink anything." Cassie smacked his arm lightly. "Hey— What?"

"Not funny," Cleo responded and Cassie pointed at her, making JJ sigh.

"Yeah, guys, I think I've changed my mind about this one," Sarah spoke up nervously.

"Changed your mind? Mine's already been made up," Emery expressed.

"Yeah, I-I really don't wanna be here," Kiara agreed.

"Can we go?" Sarah queried.

"I admit the risk-reward is very off," Pope admitted slowly.

"Hey, someone's coming," JJ quickly said once he heard footsteps behind the door.

They all straightened up as someone began to unlock the door. Someone opened it up and they expected it to be Wes Genrette, but it wasn't him. It was someone younger, around what a parent's age would be. He had a mustache and his hair was slicked back while he wore a Kook-looking outfit.

"Hi," the younger man greeted as he stayed next to the door. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. It's quite a big house, and I'm-I'm afraid the...I'm afraid the servants have all gone. All except, uh, good old Demp." Some looked over their shoulders, seeing the man with the shovel from before. "Just can't seem to get rid of him," the man chuckled. "Uh, you must be the...the Pogues. The Great Seekers."

"Yeah, I-I don't know about that," John B began to say, staying humble.

"Oh, now, don't you-don't you be modest. I've read of your adventures. It's quite thrilling," he told them all, and Pope and Cleo shared a suspicious look. "Uh, come in, come in. I-I'm the son-in-law. Chandler Groff. Wes was really, really hoping you'd show. He's been waiting."

JJ looked back, sharing an apprehensive look with John B. His eyes traveled over to Cassie, who just shrugged at him, telling him she wasn't sure what to do. That would mean JJ had to lead the way. "Yeah. Pleasure. JJ," he introduced himself before he walked inside. Groff patted him on the back as JJ entered, the others waiting outside.

"I'm not letting him stay in there alone," Cassie breathed out before she followed after him. "Cassie," she introduced to Groff as she walked past, and he sent her a smile and a nod.

John B cleared his throat, admiring her bravery before he turned to Pope. "Wanna go, Pope?"

"After you, Great Seeker."

"Right." John B took a few steps forward and Sarah gave him a wide-eyed look.

Kiara looked at the others. "Well, I'm not going last, so..." She stepped up behind John B, following him which prompted the others to also follow.

Emery had been the last one to follow, swallowing hard. "I don't think I remember seeing you in the research I did," Groff slowly pointed out, knitting his brows together.

"Oh, I'm new," the Zhu-Blake girl told him. "Don't know how long I'll last though," she added as she swiftly walked past him, not wanting to be separated from the others.

"Ah," Groff hummed to himself before he shut the door behind her, locking it.

Cassie caught up to JJ, giving him an apprehensive look. He just shrugged and looked over his shoulder as they kept walking further into the house. "Just, uh..." He pointed forward.

"Just right in the next room there," Groff instructed.

"Okay."

Cassie stepped into the larger room, looking around before someone slapped her ass. She stepped forward with a gasp, turning to see JJ snickering. "What the hell? Not the time!"

"Sorry! I couldn't help myself," he told her as he kept laughing like an idiot and she scoffed at him, rolling her eyes at his antics.

"It amazes me that I don't see that conch shell on your door every day," John B said from behind them.

"That's because you and Sarah hog it up," Cassie pointed out and his face reddened. "Exactly. No room to talk."

"Yeah, we're always hearing shit, like, 'Just gimme that John D already,'" JJ pretended to moan in a high voice just as the others walked in, giving him a weird look. Cassie laughed out loud, almost a cackle, now causing them to give her an extra weird look.

John B gave them both a blank stare before he changed the subject and said, "This place smells like dead bodies."

Groff chuckled a bit from behind them, making them turn around. "I'll uh...I'll let Wes know you're here," he told them as he walked past, opening up a set of doors into another room. "Wes, they've come."

"Oh, good, good. Bring them in. Come in. Please, please, warm yourself by the fire," Genrette offered, gesturing to the dusty couches. "Good to see you."

Cleo touched one of the cobwebs on the lamp and grimaced. "Ew."

"I-I apologize for dragging you all out here, but I...I don't think I could speak about this in public," Genrette began as they all sat down on the couches.

JJ didn't sit down due to his fidgety nature so he stood behind Cassie instead, playing with the ends of her hair to keep himself grounded. She had been putting it in a braid less and less lately.

"I know I mentioned Blackbeard, but I assure you all, my interest is not for treasure." Genrette looked at a painting on the wall and they followed his gaze, their brows furrowed. "My ancestor, Francis Genrette, was the British officer who caught and killed the notorious pirate."

"Wait. Your-your direct ancestor?" Pope questioned as he analyzed the room.

Genrette hummed. "Yes, unfortunately. After he'd beheaded Blackbeard, he killed the pirate's wife, Elizabeth." They turned their attention to a different portrait, one of a woman with brown hair. "And since then, for three hundred years, generations of Genrettes have been haunted by Elizabeth's ghost and have died violent deaths...including my daughter," he explained, looking at a portrait of a beautiful blonde woman.

Cassie studied the woman's face, tilting her head to the side a bit. Something about her features just looked so familiar, like she had seen her before but she wasn't sure where. Perhaps she had read about her deaths before and forgot. Either way, something about this was weird.

She shared a skeptical look with Kiara, not knowing what the hell he was even talking about, but he continued on. "Larissa, Chandler's wife. My daughter saw Elizabeth...a week before she died. Now...I've had a visitation. So I know I don't have much time."

"Is this what usually happens in your treasure hunts? Ghost sightings?" Emery mumbled to Cassie under her breath.

"No," Cassie replied back.

Emery blinked. "Oh."

John B cleared his throat. "Right, uh...so we're really sorry that that happened to you, but what do you want from us?"

"Of course, you're right. Let's get down to business. Chandler." Genrette pointed at his son-in-law.

"We believe that we've found a way to break the curse on this family," Groff began. "Right before she was murdered, Elizabeth begged Francis to retrieve from her husband's ship a keepsake that he'd given her. Her most prized possession. An amulet." Groff pointed to Elizabeth's photo on the wall of her wearing a large amulet around her neck. "He denied the request and then murdered her."

"But if we find that amulet, fulfilling Elizabeth's last request, I believe it will break the curse that has haunted my family for over three hundred years," Genrette finished.

Cassie looked over her shoulder at JJ behind her, who pursed his lips and nodded as he took the information in. She wasn't sure if JJ actually believed them or if he was pretending to for the sake of money possibly being involved.

"Okay. Um...I'm sorry, where did you say that the necklace thingy is?" Kiara inquired.

"Oh," Groff chuckled, "Blackbeard's last ship, the Adventure."

"Perfect," Kiara deadpanned, looking away from the man.

"According to all records, the amulet was still on it when it was scuttled right off Goat Island," Groff detailed, holding his hand out.

"Right, yeah, but the Coast Guard excavated that site years ago," Pope reminded him.

"The excavation team didn't know what we know. They didn't have this." Genrette pulled out an old journal, handing it to Pope for him to take a look at. "There's a secret lockbox hidden behind the headboard in the captain's chamber. Do you dive?"

"We dive. All-all of us do," JJ answered immediately and Cassie sent him a look from over her shoulder, causing him to rub his bottom lip. "It's just, we only do it if the price is right."

Cassie cleared her throat, looking at the older man. "Yeah, the price has to be...tempting," she added with a forced smile, backing her boyfriend up even though she wanted to strangle him right about now.

They couldn't dive. Sure, John B may have done it once over two years now, but he almost died because Shoupe decided to pay a visit. They didn't suddenly turn into Kooks when they gained money and started diving left and right, that wasn't on their list of priorities.

"Excellent. We are prepared to offer you a premium for your services. Fifty thousand, plus expenses. Five thousand up front," Genrette revealed, causing them all to blink in shock. "And we would very much like your immediate answer."

"Well, you know, I think we kind of—" John B got up from where he sat and placed a hand over JJ's mouth, shutting him up.

"Come on, just—"

"Hey, hey—"

"Uh, we'll just need to think it through," Pope quickly told Genrette as he watched them all scramble up from their seats.

"We'll be right back," John B said as JJ freed himself from John B's grip.

"It'll only take a second," JJ spoke harshly as he sent John B death glare, walking into another room followed by the others. "One sec."

"Okay, guys, um..." Sarah trailed off.

"What was that?" Kiara questioned.

"Some crazy shit, that's what," Cassie responded, shaking her head.

"We have to think about this," Cleo urgently said as John B shut the door.

"This is weird. We could just slip out through the back," Kiara suggested.

"Are we really going to listen to the guy who should be in a white padded room?" John B pointed out once he took a seat. "Visitations? Curses?"

"He's a madman," Cleo agreed.

"No! Obviously, he's batshit, but he's in there crying about his daughter. Like, he needs help," Sarah reasoned sympathetically.

"He needs therapy, Sarah, not a necklace thing," Kiara replied.

"Necklaces can be therapeutic though," Cassie raised as she held up a finger, making them all give her a weird look. "In my experience..." she added in a defeated mutter, looking over at JJ who smiled a bit.

"Obviously this guy is nutty. We don't even know if anything he's saying is true," Pope argued.

"He doesn't seem to be acting to me," Emery shrugged.

"Oh, and you know good actors so well just because you wanna be one?" Kiara questioned and Emery pursed her lips to the side. "Look, we cannot ignore the fact that there is a ghost and a curse. Y'all aren't getting a weird-ass vibe?"

"Okay. Guys. Let's just say we take this job. Is it even possible?" Cleo brought up.

"Yes," JJ answered, his tone bored as he leaned his head back. He didn't want to hear any of this, not when Genrette just offered them fifty thousand dollars plus five thousand up front.

"I knew what you would say." Cleo gave him a look. "Everybody else?"

"That shipwreck is probably eighty to one hundred feet down," Pope measured. "The currents are probably ripping."

"Guys. Are we really gonna worry about the details right now?" JJ cut in.

"Yes!" Cleo and John B exclaimed quietly.

"That's 100% what we should do!" Pope whisper-shouted in annoyance.

"Guys, in our time of need, are we really gonna turn down free money? No. That's not like us," JJ began.

Cassie sighed. "You're right. It's not like us. But—"

"It's not free!" Kiara finished Cassie's sentence for her, but he ignored the both of them.

"The worst that can happen is we walk out of here with five Gs in our pocket. End of discussion," JJ said, not wanting to hear anymore of this.

"That is not the worst! What if this ghost comes to haunt us?!" Emery argued.

"Okay, no, maybe not that!" Kiara pointed at her. "But there's worse things!"

"We can go to jail, get arrested!"

"Jay, seriously—"

JJ just walked past them, ignoring them all as he opened up the door to go back into the room that Genrette and Groff were waiting for them in.

"Excuse me, sir, we've come to our conclusion, and we'll do it. We'll take the job," JJ told them and Cassie shut her eyes, releasing another sigh. "Now, that initial 5k, is that that right there? Yeah, you can go ahead, fork that over to me."

"Welcome aboard," Groff grinned, going to hand JJ the envelope that held the five thousand dollars in.

"Hey, you know, what? Actually, I think I'll take this for safekeeping," Pope said, taking the envelope away from JJ, making the blonde give him a blank stare. "Huh? You know?"

"All right, sure," JJ muttered before he took the Groff, shaking his hand. "You won't regret this, sir. I promise you. We'll get the job done."

Before JJ could turn to leave, Groff grabbed his arm. "Hey, JJ. I believe in you," Groff told him.

"I believe in you?" He doesn't even know him, the hell is he talking about? Cassie thought, scrunching her nose up as she gave the man a suspicious once over.

JJ narrowed his eyes a bit before he gave the man a nod. "Thank you." He then walked away toward the others, who were regretting this already but they knew they couldn't argue against money.

Cassie followed after him as he found his way out the door. "Jay. Hey, Jay," she said, grabbing his wrist and stopping him. He turned around, looking past her to see the Pogues watching them apprehensively on the porch.

She followed his gaze, seeing them all there. She sighed, looking back at JJ. She wasn't trying to make a scene and she wasn't trying to start a fight with him either if that's what he thought. She just wanted to know that they would be smart about this.

"Did you think this through all the way?" she slowly asked.

JJ sucked in his lip, expecting her to yell at him for his impulsive behavior yet again so when she didn't, he was a bit surprised. But he was also glad. He didn't want the others to see them fighting like they did after the Enduro. Even though they technically weren't watching, they could definitely hear.

"Look, I know you're worried because of all the shit that went down in the past but this time...this time we actually need this. To save the house. Our home," he explained. "I don't want to go back to having nothing. I-I can't," he added, his voice cracking on the end.

She took in his words before she nodded slowly, pursing her lips to the side. She could tell how much this meant to him and it meant just the same to her. "Okay. Okay, yeah. You're right, it's for our home. Just...promise me we all think before doing anything, all right? And you know I mean that when it's coming from me."

He gave her a nod. "Promise."

"Good." She looked back at the Pogues, who looked relieved. "Quit acting like we were about to blow up the place, geez. We're fine."

The Pogues all held up their hands, muttering things as they began to step down from the porch. Cassie turned back to JJ and smiled, reaching out to intertwine their hands as they made their way back to the Pogue.

authors note!
fuck off groff i actually hope u die a
painful death like deadass u need to die