lost at sea - act one 

season one; episode two (part two)

Julianna's mind was spinning and her heart was still racing as she stood in the doorway of the Chateau, examining the trashed state of her childhood home. "What the fuck did those men do to you, huh?" She asked the home as she kicked the cans that littered the entryway by the front door that were probably left over from the group and not from the men who were after her father's research and the self deemed 'death compass'.

JJ and Pope were worried about the Routledge girl going back to Chateau on her own but she told them it is what she needed to do, she needed to be there for when John B got back. She lets out a sigh as she places her book down on the lone table that was still standing by the front door before slipping her feet out of her converse haphazardly before pushing them to the side, letting her colorful sock covered feet make contact with the ground, avoiding all the small pieces of broken material.

Taking the small hair tie from her wrist she took all of her hair that was extra curly because of the humidity in the summer air and pulled it into a messy bun on the top of her head so that she didn't have to fight with it as she was cleaning. Once that was taken care of she got straight to work, focusing on one room at a time like her house was a jigsaw puzzle, making sure all the pieces were put back together.

As she picked up pieces of furniture that were knocked over in the living room thoughts of her father laid heavy on her heart; knowing how upset he would be if he was still here to see what happened to his house that he took so much pride in. The three didn't have a lot after their mother left but Big John was damn sure that he would do anything to provide a safe home for his children; to Julianna that is what the Chateau was, a safe place her father had provided.

"I am so sorry dad... I know Johnny and I are failing you, but it's just so hard without you..." She says as she picks up one of the pillows that belongs on the couch before tossing it over onto the couch that was aggressively pushed away from the front window, "And with him on this tangent, convinced that you're alive, it's making it hard to just let you go."

The girl had found herself now sitting on the edge of the couch, staring into the distance, talking to the empty house as if her dad was magically sitting next to her, a tear rolling down her cheek as she spoke. "I can't keep letting John live in delusion that you're coming back but damn... having him think that may be the last sliver of hope either of us have and that is the most heart breaking part." She sounded so tired; emotionally and physically.

She sat in silence and self pity for a couple minutes letting the silent tears roll down her cheeks before getting up with a sigh and rubbing her hands together, "This house isn't going to clean itself..."

She knew that even if her brother didn't believe them, their friends were right. The twins needed to let go of the situation and move on, hoping that it could bring closer to a situation that filled their souls with sorrow for the last nine months. Julianna knew that the two of them need to pull themselves together and get all the pieces of their broken lives back together; which starts with a cleaned up house.

As she moved on to the kitchen the sound of the front door opening brought her back out to the living room, on edge as she slowly made her way back into the freshly put together room. "Julie! Are you home?" Her twin brother's voice filled the room and she instantly felt a wave of relief flow over her as she let out the breath she had been holding, "Johnny?" She asked coming face to face with her brother that looked as if he had been put through the ringer.

"You look like shit..." She says offering a small smile and her brother nodded, "I feel like it... Have you been cleaning?" He asked looking around the reset living room, as if it hadn't been touched at all this morning when the men had come in. "Yeah." She says shoving her hands into the small front pocket of her jean shorts, "Didn't feel right with it all a mess, but don't worry I saved some mess for you."

A nervous laughed escaped the brown eyed boy's lips as he rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding making eye contact with the girl, "Thanks..." He says and Julianna nodded making her way back towards the kitchen with John B following behind her. "What happened after we left?" Julianna asked looking at her brother as she passed him stacks of empty pizza boxes that had riddled the counter space and John B shrugged, "Kie and I ran when the cops got there but ended up getting picked up at the beach."

The brunette's eyes grew wide, "Wait... You and Kie both got arrested?"

"Yeah and then Mr. C came and bailed us out and he was absolutely livid..." He explained and the girl nodded, "Righfully so, seeing that you and his daughter... his ONLY daughter got arrested."

John B shrugged, "Tiny details... Anyway then after we got bailed out I got chased by the guys who shot at us and got electrocuted by a down power line." He said that statement so nonchalantly that Julianna had to ask him to repeat himself so that she could make sure that she heard him right. "Wait, you got electricuted?" She asked and he nodded, "Yep... So after that Peterkin saw me and told me to get into her truck and the two of us went on a drive so that she could talk me through our options and then after that I walked home."

Julianna chuckled, "Holy shit... That's why you look like shit..."

"Yep, exactly why." John B said as the two make their way through the war zone they call a home and out into the yard, dropping all the cardboard into a fire pit. "I'm sorry we left..." She says as they make their way back inside and the boy shrugged, "You did what we agreed on, there is no need to apologize."

The two siblings stop at the entry way of the kitchen when they both lay eyes on a frame that laid face up on the floor. "Hold on..." Julianna says as she bends down to pick it up, observing the photo with a small smile on her face, "I didn't even know this picture existed..."

The frame in her hands held a picture of the twins and Big John when they were about three- probably right after their mother left- at the river on one of their many family fishing trips they took with their uncle T who took the photo. John B couldn't help but smile as he laid his head on the top of his sisters, "Look at how little we were."

It was as if a new core memory was unlocked within the two of them as they stared at the photo, mostly at the man besides them, missing the simple times when he wasn't consumed by the greed of treasure hunting as much as he was nowadays. "God I miss him..." John B said and this gave Julianna a perfect chance to say what had been weighing on her heart since she had gotten back to the house.

"Johnny..." She started and her twin looked at her with a furrowed brow, "Yeah?"

She let out a shaky sigh, "I want to believe like you do... I want to believe that the sea didn't take our father and that he is somewhere out there alive and well trying to find his way back to us but it's hard. It's hard because I already wrote him off the day Peterkin came and knocked on our door telling us he was gone, I have spent nine months living in a world where he was gone but now that you are so adamant about him still being somewhere on this earth I want to believe. So please help me, help me think the way you do."

John B turned towards his sister and without saying a word wrapped the girl tightly into his arms, not wanting her to feel alone in this state that she was in- some would say grief but the Routledge twins would call it a sense of false yearning. "I think I can do that for you, julie..." He says squeezing his sister and Julianna nodded, "Thank you..."

After their moment with one another was over John B looked at his sister then motioned to their father's office. "I think we need to figure some stuff out first though..." He says and the girl nods, "Yeah, I think so too." The two made their way into their father's office and started grabbing at things that they needed to let go of for their sake and for their father's; they needed to bury the dead.

"Should we take this?" Julianna asked as she grabbed the cork board that held the "Routledge Family Tree" that the two had help him put togethers years ago and John B nodded, "We have to set them free..." He says and Julianna grabbed the cork board and followed John B who had grabbed a Bankers box that was filled with pointless paper work of their fathers outside to the fire pit where they tossed the stuff and stared at the pile.

"You want to do the honors?" John B asked holding the box of matches and the lighter fluid that they used often when the group had bonfires. The girl let a sigh escape her lips as she looked at the cork board then back at her brother, "Sure... Why the hell not."

She takes the box and strikes a match before tossing it into the fire pit, almost everything caught on fire instantly as she then took the bottle of fluid and squirted it on the already present flames- producing a fire that was going to be a hard one to conceal. "Onward and upward..." She says as both she and John B take steps back, feeling the heat on their skin.

As the two watched the flames make their way higher and higher, there was a feeling in Julianna's chest that they made a terrible choice, like something that was in the fire shouldn't have been. So she let her eyes scan the fire pit and they instantly landed on the cork board. She examined it for a moment, trying to find what her heart was telling her to find, and that's when she saw it; her great great grandmother's name Olivia R. Routledge.

"Redfield..." She said in a loud enough whisper that John B could hear her and quickly turned to look at her. "What?" He asked and Julianna's eyes grew wide, "Fuck! Johnny, get that out of the fire!! It makes sense now!" She motioned towards the cork board and instantly her brother was grabbing the fire poker and pulling the charred board onto the ground and out of the fire, saving it from complete distruction; stomping out the stray flames as Julianna watched.

"What makes sense now?" He asked in a flustered tone and the brunette pointed to the black and white photo of the woman, "I know what dad was trying to tell us..."

𖤓𖤓𖤓

After explaining her wild idea to her brother the two piled into the Twinkie and made their way to JJ's house to meet back up with JJ and Pope. "Are you sure about this?" John B asked as they started pulling into the Maybank's yard from the stretch of road and Julianna nodded, "It feels right..."

He lets a smile appear on his face as he lays on the van's horn three times while the van is coming to a rolling stop so that the duo knew that they had arrived. Julianna leaned over from the passenger seat and infiltrated her brother's space as she waved at the two boys who had locked eyes with her, "Come on losers, were going on an adventure!"

JJ blew a cloud of smoke into the air as a smile appears on his face, "This better be good."

Julianna chuckled, "It is, you two just need to get in the car so we can go!"

"Yes ma'am!" Pope said saluting the Routledge girl and JJ shoved the Heyward boy playfully as they make their way to the car, saying something under his breath to the teen as they opened the sliding door and piled in before making their way to the next stop.

It was about a ten minute ride from JJ's house to The Wreck and the entire ride Julianna had both Pope and JJ asking questions about what was going on and she kept telling them that they couldn't say anything until they had Kiara. Once John B put the van in park JJ began urging the brunette to get out and go into the restaurant to grab their friend, impatient about the adventure that was on the horizon.

"You know if you keep acting this way I'm not going to tell you at all and you can just wait to see when we get there... Do you want that?" She asked and the blonde shook his head, "no ma'am..."

Julianna nodded, "That's what I thought... Now, I'll be right back."

She unbuckled her seat belt and opened the passenger door, hopping out of the van, closing it behind her before running up towards the back entrance of the restaurant she calls home five out of the seven days of the week. The bell from the alarm system chimed as she made her way inside the quiet restaurant, "Hello, Hello..." She calls out as she makes her way through the empty kitchen that is usually bustling with people who feed into her energy.

"Mr. C?" She calls out as she pushes through the double doors separating the back of house from the front of house to find that the dining room was empty and only the Carrera family filled it, all working on their own little projects to restore the restaurant to its full capacity after the storm. Mike turned at the sound of his name and a small smiled filled his face, "Annie, what are you doing here?"

Annie isn't a name that Julianna likes to go by but she finds joy in it when the Carrera's use it. She scans the restaurant and her eyes land on the girl with black curls who was up on a step ladder off to the side. "I was actually hoping to steal your daughter for a little bit..." She says innocently, pretending not to know anything about what happened between the Carrera girl and her brother hours earlier, and Mike lets out a sigh.

"She really shouldn't be going out... But you can talk to her if you'd like..." He suggests and the girl nods, "Okay, thank you..."

He gives her a nod as he watches the girl make her way over to his daughter. "Hey KiKi..." She says sweetly, hoping to be on the girl's good side, and Kiara turned to look at her with a smile, "Hey Juju..."

The two stood in silence for a moment, just looking at one another, not knowing what to say. "Come with me please..." Julianna asks and Kiara shook her head, "I can't."

Her answer was so quick that it shocked Julianna, "Wait why?" She asked and Kiara just shook her head as a smirk painted her face. "It's a long story..."

Julianna shrugged, "Well lucky for you I have time..."

"Julianna..." She says in a serious tone and the Routledge girl matched her energy, "Kiara..."

The Carrera girl pressed her lips together and shook her head, "I'm not coming..."

Julianna knew from the change of tone in her voice that she was serious about not coming with the group. "Okay... If that's what you think is best." Julianna said with an empathetic smile and Kiara nodded, "It is..."

"Sleepover tonight?" Julianna asked as she began to walk back the way she came and Kiara smiled at her, "That sounds nice..."

Julianna flashed her a thumbs up and went back the way she came; going through the double doors bidding farewell to the Carrera's as she did so, walking through the empty kitchen that felt foreign to her, and making it back outside without the person she went in there for in the first place. JJ popped his head out of the passenger side window and looked at the girl with a furrowed brow, "Where is she?"

"She said she's not coming!" She explained and that comment surprised everyone in the van, especially the blonde, "Why not? What did you do to her John B?" He asked and Pope just settled into his seat with a slight smirk on his face. "This is going to be good." His tone was doused in sarcasm as he crossed his arms over his chest and Julianna made her way down the small set of stairs that led you to the door.

"Shit." John B said as Julianna made her way over to his rolled down window, "Yeah shit... What did you do?" She asked right as her brother unbuckled his seatbelt and shook his head, reaching for the door handle. "Hang on. I'll deal with it." He says opening the door while Julianna took a couple steps back so that she wouldn't get hit by the door, "You better..."

—

The sun had set and the group was back together again, driving down a singular stretch of road with no one around them, Julianna had moved from her spot in the passenger seat giving it to Kiara so that she could settle in the back with JJ and Pope. The moods between everyone were better than they were when they went to pick the Carrera girl up and they were ready for whatever the twins had prepared for them.

"You mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low." JJ explained as he leaned up against the brunette girl as he took a hit of the half smoked blunt he held between his fingers, "Oh, did you want a hit of this?" He asks as he holds the blunt out toward the Heyward boy causing Julianna to chuckle and shake her head in disbelief as a small smile filled her face and Pope just shook his head.

"I keep the signal clear." He says pushing it away and JJ chuckled, "Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative? If you got creative, then..." He was cut off once the brunette sitting next to him began to speak out of nowhere. "Look, we all know John B was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? But after we both got home I started to see where he was coming from, yes he was also wrong about everything else going on for us. But he... he was right about one thing. Okay? Our dad is trying to tell us something. And this time I actually heard it too... So thank you guys for coming with us and trusting our wild ass idea."

JJ looked up at her with his signature smirk filling his face, "We would never let you guys go at this alone... We're a family, remember?" He asked and Julianna nodded, wrapping an arm loosely around his shoulders as he laid into her. "We're a family..."

𖤓𖤓𖤓

The bright beams coming off the flashlights they were carrying lit the way for the group as they made their way through the heavily wooded area of the cemetery the twins had drug them to. "Come on, hey. Hey, come on." John B urged as he led the group and Kiara sighed, "I'm coming. This place is scary."

"What are we doing here, you guys?" Pope asked and John B waved him off, "Just listen..."

He looked towards his sister and urged her to start explaining what the plan was. "You know how you're trying to remember a song and can't remember who sings it?" She asked and Kiara nodded, "Yeah..."

She lets out a sigh, "So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place. It's a person." Julianna explained as the group stopped in front of an elaborate tomb with the name Redfield printed at the top of it, etched in stone. "Voi-effing-là." JJ says with a nod as he draped one of his arms over Julianna's shoulders, "You guys did it..." He says in a tone filled with pride and Julianna nodded before continuing the explanation for the group despite the butterflies that were erupting within her because of how proud JJ was.

"See, our great-great-grandmother Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name." Julianna explained as she and her brother make their way to the tomb door, struggling to get it open on their own. "Help us with the door. Come on." Julianna says in a hopeful tone and Pope nodded, "All right."

The three of them got their footing right and started the countdown, "One, two, three..."

They started pushing with all of the strength the three of the could muster up but there was no movement, just grunts escaping their mouths, Julianna who stood in between both boys took a moment to look at both boys and assess what they were doing. "Are either of you pushing?" She asked in a strained voice and both boys were quick to answer in unison, "Yeah, we're pushing."

As Julianna pushed on the slab closing the tomb she could feel her muscles straining to the point that they could snap if she exerted herself for much longer, a mop of blonde hair appeared in her peripheral as JJ shoves his way between her and Pope. "Jules, I got this... Go back with Kie." The brunette looked to the blonde with furrowed brows, "What?"

"I don't need you getting hurt... Go back with Kie, please..." He says as he begins to press his entire body weight against the door along with John B and Pope. Julianna nodded as she separated herself from the taxing situation, making her way back towards her best friend who is in charge of holding the flashlight.

The Carrera girl couldn't help but smile at the brunette but Julianna just shook her head, "Don't even go there right now." she says under her breath as she crosses her arms over her chest and the two watch the boys try and break into such a sacred place.

"This door is like 700 pounds. It's not gonna budge." Pope fussed and JJ shook his head, shutting down his negative attitude almost instantly, "We didn't come this far to get this far, all right? We got this."

As some of the rocks began to crumble the sound of hissing filled the air leaving goosebumps covering the skin of Julianna Routledge. "What is that?" She asked in a low tone as she moved in closer to the Carrera girl as if she were going to protect her from any upcoming danger and Kiara just shrugged, "I don't know but I'm scared..."

Right as the girls huddled tightly together is when the boys began to react to whatever made the hissing sound, all three quickly backing away from the tomb as if they had seen a ghost- which was rather fitting seeing as they were in a cemetery. "Whoa!" Pope shouted and JJ pointed his headlamp at it, "Shit, it's a snake!"

Julianna gasped at the mention of a snake coming out of the tomb, from a very young age the girl had hated snakes, she always insisted they were going to eat her after watching some nature documentary where a snake ate a cow whole. "Did you just say snake?" She asked and JJ turned to look at the girls shining his headlamp in their direction, "Uh huh..."

"That's just great..." Julianna says in a sarcastic tone as she shakes her head and feels her body grow rigid. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pope exclaims again, backing up from the tomb entrance, not wanting anything to do with the slimy creature as it made its way from the stone to the dirt. "That's a moccasin, all right. Ye olde Dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass." JJ explains before he began barking at it aggressively which put everyone in the group on edge.

Julianna rushed towards the blonde and grabbed ahold of his shoulders, pulling him back towards her small statured body compared to his, "JJ, shut up. Shut up!"

"You're gonna wake the dead, man." Pope accused and the blonde just shrugged his shoulders as if what he did wasn't obnoxious and wrong, "They're afraid of dogs. Everyone knows that, man."

Kiara and John B take a few steps towards the tomb to examine it further but JJ was quick to stop them from getting any closer. "Wait, hold on." He says grabbing onto the Routledge boy's shoulder and both Kiara and John B look at him with confused faces not knowing why he had stopped them in their tracks, "What?"

"If there's one, there's probably dozens." JJ says as he scanned the area surrounding them and everyone began to freak out, especially Julianna who was now clinging onto the blonde's upper arm as if it were a life preserver. "J, I know you're trying to be helpful right now but I'm scared..." She says and JJ just begins to bark at the snakes again which earns him a smack on the chest from John B, "Stop barking at the snakes."

Pope lets out a sigh before coming in between the blonde who was paired with Julianna and John B acting as a buffer to get the Routledge boy's attention. "Look, John..." He starts off but JJ decides to cut him off responding to John B's order to stop the barking, "Just making sure it's clear."

Julianna decides to take JJ into her own hands so she just gently pulls him away from The Heyward boy and the Routledge boy. Pope turned to look at JJ and held a hand up as to quiet him down, "Shut up. John, look. We're not gonna get in there, all right? It's not budging... We should probably just go."

"I can get through." Kiara says out of nowhere and everyone turned to look at her with shocked expressions painting their faces. "Wait what?" Julianna asked looking at her best friend and John B shook his head erratically, "No, no, no, no. You think you're gonna fit through the hole? That hole?" He asked and the girl just looked to the twins with an empathetic smile lacing her face, knowing this is what needed to be done.

"Look, this is about your guys dad. And honestly, I really don't believe in it, but you two deserve to know the truth... So, I'll do it." She says sweetly and Julianna noticed that her eyes were becoming glossy and her chest grew tight, "You would do that for us?" She asks her best friend and Kiara nodded. "I would do anything for you guys, even if it's terrifying like this."

Julianna quickly breaks the small amount of distance between her and Kiara and wraps the Carrera girl up in her arms. "Thank you..." She says as her face is buried in the girl's curls and Kiara nodded, "Of course." As the two part, Kiara grabs ahold of Julianna's hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze as if to tell her to not worry before letting it go and turning back towards the tomb.

"Come on." She says, urging the boys to help her with getting through the tiny hole at the top while Julianna stands back and watches. The three boys scurry around making sure the dead vines were out of the way of the entrace so that Kiara wouldn't get hurt making her way inside and JJ leaned up against the tomb door in some sort of wall sit position to act as a ladder for the girl. "I'm gonna boost you, all right. I've seen it in the movies several times. Ready?" He asked and the girl nodded but before she began her climb she looked from John B to Julianna, "Remind me what we're looking for."

Both siblings sigh in unison, "You'll know when you see it."

Kiara didn't know what that meant but she knew that neither of the Routledge twins would lead her astray so she just went for it. "Juju can you hold my flashlight?" She asked and Julianna quickly took it without any questions before the Carrera girl made her way over to JJ. "All right, so put your hands right there." He says and Kiara nodded, "Yep. Foot..."

She places her foot in his hands and he instructs her further, "All right, on three."

Kiara didn't need the countdown though, she was up in an instant and already starting her climb into the stone tomb. "Okay, never mind. Just forget about three." He says with a chuckle lacing his lips and Kiara matched his energy, "I got it... Okay, flashlight?"

"Yeah, here." Julianna says passing it through the hole as she continued to talk to the girl, "You alive? You got, like, a... a heartbeat and everything?" She asked and she could hear a chuckle escape the Carrera girl's lips as the flashlight beam could be seen cascading over the walls through the tiny hole. "So far." She answers and Julianna nodded, "That's good. That's good."

Kiara hummed as she scanned the room but stops with the beam on one wall. "You okay?" Julianna asked and the Carrera girl was quick to respond to her best friend, "Uh... I need some more light."

Julianna turned to look at her brother who was holding the lantern and motioned for him to help the girl which he did. "Yeah, yeah, here. Yeah, I gotcha." He says with a grunt as he extended his arm over his head to hold the lantern right at the hole so that Kiara could have more light to aid her search.

"Did you find something? Is there gold?" JJ asked and a gasp from the girl washed over the group, silencing them as she spoke, "Oh, my God." 

a note from the author <3

good morning!! 

this one is a shorter one but I love it so much!!

don't forget to comment and vote!!