MY PURPOSE - JOHN B ROUTLEDGE

CHAPTER TEN - REDFIELD LIGHTHOUSE

"I mean, it's obvious, right?" John B asked as the five teenagers sat in the Twinkie trying to calm down after the commotion that went down in the chateau.

"A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?"

Kiara nodded, hesitantly "Yeah, it's possible"

"It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels" Pope stated.

"Don't think that's helping Pope" Eleanor mumbled, not taking her eyes off her phone as she read the texts that Leon had sent her.

"Bro, you know how I process my sad feels" JJ cut in "Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it"

"I'm not concocting, okay?" John B said a bit too loud as he looked at Pope through the rear view mirror "My dad's trying to give me a message"

"If it helps you believe, John B" Kiara sighed, sending him a small smile.

"Look, I-I don't need a therapy session, okay?" He snapped "Look, I'm not tripping out"

"It's okay to trip, bro, but-"

"Look, my. . .my dad is missing, okay? Missing. You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened" He sighed as he looked out the window "Just wake up every morning wondering"

Eleanor looked up from her phone and to the boy beside her as she saw the tears in his eyes, threatening to spill "It's been almost a year" Kiara reasoned.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's defiantly a possibility" JJ tried changing the conversation.

"Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere" Pope chimed in.

"Absolutely. Uh. . .or Atlantis"

"JJ" Kiara said in the tone of voice that said shut up "Look, what do you think the message is?"

"Redfield. Redfield lighthouse" John B informed them as they turned down the road that led to the complex "That's my dad's favourite place"

Even though the lighthouse was closed, John B still pulled up right outside as he got out the Twinkie "Right, you're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?"

JJ quickly turned his head to look at John B "Wait. . why me?"

"Because you're not coming" Pope had bit the bullet again and spoke without a filter.

"That's not how I would've put it" John B mumbled as he scratched his neck awkwardly while Pope and JJ began to argue.

"Why?"

"There are independent and dependent variables. You're an independent variable. We don't know what you'll do-"

"Shut up, Pope!"

"Why don't both of you girls just shut up" Eleanor sighed, her arms crossed as she leaned against the Twinkie.

"Okay, listen to me for a second" John B said as he gazed over at Eleanor "Pope, you stand look out with JJ. Got that? And if we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house"

"I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum" Pope told JJ while Kiara had already started to make her way over to the lighthouse.

"All right, would you just shut up already?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes, leaning herself off the Twinkie and walking over to John B "You want me to come with?"

John B nodded, a small smile on his face "Yeah, if you don't mind"

"You're in luck then, Mr Routledge because I don't mind at all" The girl smiled back at him as the two teens caught back up with Kiara.

"Remind me what we're looking for again" Kie spoke as they entered the building.

"We'll know when we see it" John B responded and Kie nodded before they started the very long trek up the lighthouse staircase. When they had finally made it to the keepers room, John B shared a look with the two girls before knocking on the door a few times.

"Nobody home" But the boy had spoke too soon when the door opened up to reveal a slightly aged man, that had wonky glasses on his face and was in very much need of a shave.

"Um. . .we're here for the lighthouse" John B stuttered.

"The lighthouse is closed" The man went to shut the door on them before John B called.

"Wait! Actually, we. . .we aren't here about the lighthouse. We're actually here about the, uh, the Royal Merchant"

That seemed to make the guy rethink his decision as he opened the door fully "Then you came to the right place" He said, motioning them inside as he took them through his office then up a set of stairs "I know more. . .watch your step" He told Eleanor who could've fallen to her death if she went through the very big hole in the metal floor ". . .about the Royal Merchant than anyone else in Kildare County"

Kie and Eleanor shared a look as they cautiously walked behind John B and the older man "Now, the Merchant disappeared in the graveyard of the Atlantic in 1829"

"With four hundred million" John B added, looking back at the girls to make sure they were okay.

"Correct. You're a bit of a Merchanteer yourself, huh?"

"Uh. . .something like that, yeah" John B responded, sharing another awkward glance with the two girls behind him.

"Well, follow me. I wanna show you something" The man chuckled and continued to walk on the unsafe platform, the teens followed but made sure to watch their every step "I've been working thirty years up here. The views never changed till two days ago. The Point's almost gone" He pointed to the landmark "One more storm like that, it'll take the lighthouse. I'll go with her"

"Now," The man got back onto the point of why they were here "The trick to knowing where the Merchant is. . .is knowing whether she was on the North end or the South end of the eye of the storm. Now, most experts believe that she was on the South end. Now, she's on the South end, the bands from the hurricane would have pushed her back out to sea. But I don't believe that. I think she was on the North end of the sea. Which means the bands would have pushed her-"

"Closer to shore" John B finished for him.

"That's right. Now, by my calculations, the Royal Merchant is about ten miles that way" He pointed to the ocean, aiming southeast before leading them into the control room where an old map of Outerbanks was "Right here is where the Point used to be. My calculations say the Merchant's right about there, down about 1,000 feet"

"That's what my dad used to say" John B let out, looking from the map to the guy stood next to it.

"Yup"

"Yeah, I-I know this is weird, all right?" John B said and pulled out his dad's compass from his shorts pocket "Do you know anything about this? Look, it. . .it says Redfield in the back, in my dad's handwriting. Yeah, I don't know why I'm here, but I feel like I'm supposed to be here. Do. . .do you have anything to give to me, or to-"

John B didn't get to finish his sentence when the man had climbed what looked to be an unstable ladder before pushing open a hatch and lifting himself into the lantern room.

"Where are you going?" John B asked, the three following after the man "Wait a minute. Look, man, I know this is weird. I just thought, hoped, maybe you would know something about this, all right?"

Eleanor then decided to speak up as she stepped towards the almost scared looking man "All due respect sir but my friend here, has been through the most unimaginable things in only twenty fours hours, like being shot at, threatened, home invaded so if you have anything-"

"Home invaded?" The man cut Eleanor off as he frowned.

"My rooster was killed" John B added in, running a hand through his hair "Look, man, my dad wanted me to talk to you, okay? If there's anything you could think of that would help us, please, just tell us, okay?" He asked, grabbing onto the man's arms as he shook him lightly "If you know anything, just. . .just"

"John B" Eleanor motioned to the radio that the man had reached for, knowing they were now in deep shit but it was already too late when the keeper spoke into it.

"Wanda, I got three kids on drugs up here at the lighthouse. Call the police"

"No!" John B practically screamed and tried to pry the radio from the man's hands but because the man didn't let go, John B had shoved the man's hand into the glass as he groaned in pain.

"What are you doing?" Kie asked the boy who had stepped away in shock.

"It was an accident" John B muttered "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to"

"Oh shit. Wanda, I'm bleeding. I've been assaulted" The man groaned into the radio.

"Police en route" Wanda spoke through the radio and that got the girls attention.

"John B, we have to go!" Kie said and so, the boy followed the two girls down the stairs.

"Nice going JB, nice going" Eleanor said sarcastically as they were nearly at the bottom of the lighthouse.

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Yeah, okay, just hurry up estúpido" Finally reaching the ground, they ran outside only to see JJ and Pope fleeing the scene as the sirens were getting louder.

"Seriously?" All three of them cursed, watching the Twinkie drive away until Eleanor spoke up.

"Cmon you two, this way!" She pointed to the fence which they jumped over before making a quick run for it. I guess she wasn't calling Leon just yet.