010
chasing ghosts

Unlike the others, Bianca didn't sleep.

While her friends slept on haystacks, she daydreamed of how it felt to lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above her head. To listen to silence. To have no yesterday and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace. She dreamt of how flowers would grow from her rotting body, and she was in them. And that was eternity.

That faraway fantasy was ripped away from her, however, when Portis' phone pinged in JJ's pocket. He shifted, lifting the hat off his head while Cleo walked over, stopping her pacing.

"Is that..." Bianca trailed off, tearing her gaze from the horse stables.

"The phone," JJ pulled the device from his shorts. "Yeah. Some dude named Fenton."

Bianca's eyebrows drew together, "What?"

"Dunno," JJ pushed himself to his feet at a slightly alarming pace. "Hey, guys- wake up-" He shook John B and Pope who were snoozing on either side of him, his voice steadily raising to a shout. "Wake up! Guys! I got something."

"I'm up..." John B mumbled under his breath.

"Meet me at the pin at 6:15. P4L," The blond boy announced to the group who were all up and alert by then.

John B took the phone from him and couldn't deny the text was suspicious. Whoever this Fenton dude was, shared his location with them via a single red pin in the middle of the map.

"And we're supposed to believe that's Kiara?" Sarah scoffed groggily.

"I don't know. This all could be a trap," Pope pursed his lips. "It's exactly how he set us up last time."

Bianca's frown deepened, "No, Singh tracked our location last time. He could be trying to lure us out."

JJ agreed, "He knows we got the phone, and he knows he can't track it. So-"

"We go out there, and bam," John B shrugged. "He's got us."

"Sometimes you guys can be so stupid," Cleo suddenly piped up, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry?" Pope arched an eyebrow.

"You get beat up so bad you flinch even someone's trying to help," The girl began pacing in front of them before taking the phone out of JJ's hands. "P4L. It's Kiara, man!"

"He could be using her as bait," Bianca protested softly.

"No way she sent that as bait," Cleo laughed. "They'd have to kill her."

Bianca contemplated this. P4L was kind of like their secret code and the only way Singh could make her type a message like that would be over her dead body. She wouldn't willingly allow the Pogues to walk into a trap without giving them some kind of warning. It seemed the others were quickly realizing this too.

"We gotta help her," Cleo's gaze landed on each one of them. "Come on, man. You're all just sitting there, and just-" She threw the phone back at JJ. "Flinching. Let's go," Without another word, she turned on her heel and began jogging out of the stables, leaving the group to converse amongst themselves.

"I don't know, man," Pope hummed. "It could still be a trap."

"Well, it's the only option we got," JJ concluded, heading out after Cleo.

"We gotta check, right?" Sarah pushed herself to her feet, outstretching her hand to Bianca who took it a little reluctantly.

"Um, I don't really feel like getting kidnapped a second time so maybe we could think this one through?" Bianca's pleas fell on deaf ears as her best friend ran out the door. "Just this once...right? Hey, Sarah? Did you hear me?"

"Let's go," John B stood up, patting her back in sympathy before following the others.

"Come on," Pope encouraged with a small smile, falling in stride with her.

The group made their way toward the pinned location, which upon further examination happened to be a nearby port docked with boats belonging to fishermen and other locals. They kept their eyes peeled for potential threats or guards lurking in the shadows but other than the occasional odd look or double-take, no one seemed to pay the Pogues any mind as they jogged down the jetty.

Bianca's eyes narrowed at the fishing boats and shrimp trawlers with merchants loading boxes of their catches onto the dock. It seemed like an odd place to stage an ambush, considering the number of people bustling through.

Still, Bianca remained vigilant, following JJ who led the group, glancing down at Portis' phone every now and then to ensure they were heading in the right direction. Finally, when they were near enough, the boy stopped.

"Get down!" JJ whispered harshly, ducking behind large, plastic barrels filled with fishing gear. The others copied his actions, craning their necks to see into the distance.

"You got the boats?" John B questioned from his side.

"Yeah, you got windows?" He nodded.

"Yeah."

"Guys," Pope piped up, shaking his head. "Singh's men could be posted up literally anywhere."

"No shit," JJ deadpanned, his eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on a figure on the opposite side of the port. "Guys- is that her?"

Pope's gaze followed in the direction he pointed, "I don't think so."

"Gimmie the phone," Cleo grabbed it from JJ who handed it over. "I'll take care of this," She zoomed in on the map before glancing up again. "That boat. That's the pin. The white one right there."

Bianca's eye's narrowed at the white Catamaran ahead, "And we're supposed to believe Kiara's in there?"

Maybe it was a trap for Singh to isolate them in the middle of the ocean. Before she could even think it through, the cocking of a gun behind her, made her freeze. The blood in her veins turned to ice and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

"What are you doing?" Sarah's jaw fell open.

JJ pulled out the stolen gun, and reloaded it before tucking it in his waistband at the small of his back, "There's only one way to find out."

"JJ, JJ!" Sarah protested immediately.

"Dude!" Pope whisper-yelled while John B tried to grab the back of his shirt but missed. "JJ! Hey!"

Bianca's eyes widened, shooting up to stop him, "JJ, wait-"

"Stay there, B," JJ warned in a low tone that caused a shiver to snake down her spine. His eyes narrowed as if daring her to go against him before striding toward the boat. He knew she would want to come after him but he wasn't going to let her risk her life again, especially after the incident earlier.

Cleo pulled Bianca back by the arm, forcing her to duck behind the barrels again, "Better to stay hidden in case he needs help."

Bianca's frown deepened but didn't go against JJ's wishes. If she did, it would only infuriate the boy further and she was already on thin ice with him.

Instead, she was forced to watch him venture out by himself. Bianca's pulled her lower lip between her teeth, the skin welted and marred from how much she'd bitten through it.

JJ adjusted the sunhat on his head and shifted the gun in his waistband. His eyes scoured the distance as he neared the boat and turned in a slow circle until a hopeful voice piped up from behind him, "JJ?"

The boy pulled the hat off his head when he realized it was Kiara. Stood right there in front of him. Alive. He couldn't believe it. And neither could the others as they jumped up to join the two.

"JJ," Kiara exhaled breathlessly, running up to him. "J-"

JJ embraced her, their arms wound tightly around each other in relief, "I'm so glad you're safe," He whispered.

The Pogues burst into disbelieving gasps and excited laughter, sprinting toward Kiara. Bianca felt the panic in her chest melt away, filled instead with solace. Kiara was here. She was alive. She was safe.

"Guys!" Kiara cried, her heart swelling at the sight of her friends.

"Kie, oh my god-" Bianca felt her breath escape her as JJ pulled away.

"We thought you were dead," Pope shook his head. It wasn't long till the rest of the group reached them, each greeting her with a hug.

Kiara reared her head back, "Wow, I didn't think I'd see you guys ever again."

"Yeah, but we're here now, okay?" JJ assured as the group instantly engulfed her in a group hug and she choked back tears. "It's alright, it's alright."

Bianca felt JJ's arm wind around her shoulders and then John B's over it, the Pogues all piled on top of one another. In their embrace, Bianca felt the world still on its axis. There was no time, no wind, no rain. Her mind was at peace.

The love she had for her friends and that her friends had for her was pure. Unselfish. Undemanding. Free. She felt her body press in, soft and warm. She let her shoulders sag, her muscles become loose. This was the kind of love she'd waited for, prayed for.

In that embrace, Bianca felt her worries lose their keen sting and her heart lift itself from the dirt. Perhaps, this warmth had been there all along but without her friends, it had been trapped, like crystals in a stone.

Bianca felt JJ's thumb brush against her skin, the sort of gentleness that reminded her even though he was angry, she didn't need to be afraid of losing him. Of losing them.

When they finally pulled away, JJ was the first to speak, "Are you kidding me?" He turned back to the Catamaran hovering behind. "Kie..."

"Is this you?" Pope's eyes widened.

"What- what is..." Sarah gestured to the boat, she could barely comprehend it.

"How did you get this?" Bianca scoffed, eyes flickering between it and her best friend.

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you," Kiara shook her head. "Come on."

"Holy shit..." John B trailed off without tearing his gaze away from the boat.

Before he could follow after his friends, however, a mysterious tolling from the old church bell forced him to halt in place. He glanced over his shoulder at the sound, which had been haunting him the entire time in Barbados. A sinking feeling formed in his gut, one that told him he couldn't leave before checking it out.

"John B, let's go!" Sarah called back to him while Kiara led the others, the group joking and laughing the entire time.

They each tried to guess how she could've possibly managed to score the boat. Bianca joined in too, immersed in this so-called guessing game in which they all seemed so carefree but the moment Kiara decided to tell them the full story, it was as if a bucket of ice-cold water was thrown all over her.

Kiara detailed how when she reached Vaux Hall, not only was she met face-to-face with Singh himself, but Rafe Cameron too. Both of them were held captive and demanded they give up what they knew.

Kiara told them how scared she was when Singh sent his men after the Pogues but it also allowed her and Rafe the opportunity to escape. They hitchhiked onto the back of a random truck to the Cameron boy's Catamaran and just before they were about to leave the dock, Kiara shoved him into the ocean and made her getaway on his boat.

With the promise of explaining everything later, the Pogues went their separate ways to prepare the boat for departure. They couldn't waste any more time. Singh was still after them and as much as they were desperate to know what happened to Kiara, getting out of here was their priority.

Cleo and Pope checked the fuel and loaded up the boat while Sarah and John B headed up to the steering wheel. Kiara and Bianca were watching JJ undo the bowline below.

"Yeah, so, I have just a couple of questions," The blond boy ogled the boat.

Me too, Bianca wanted to say. Her stomach twisted at the thought Rafe might've told Kiara something he shouldn't have. Instead, she kept her lips sealed and leaned forward on the railing.

"Go ahead," Kiara squinted through the sun.

"A Lagoon 620 with Twin 150 Volvos," JJ began reciting as he undid the bowline to which the curly-haired girl giggled at. "You understand we can go anywhere with this thing, right?"

"I know, kind of a piece of shit," She joked sarcastically.

"Way to be discrete by the way," JJ pulled at the rope, his voice dropping an octave. "What did they want anyway? They didn't hurt you did they?"

"No..." Kiara shook her head. "No, I'm good. It's just... I mean you're not gonna guess what Singh wanted from me."

At this, Bianca's frown deepened, "What did he want?"

"Denmark's diary," Kiara turned to her.

"Why?" JJ's eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know," Kiara shrugged. "Said it leads to a treasure that's a lot bigger than the Merchant."

"And you didn't tell him where the diary is?" Bianca piped up.

"I told him I'd seen it," She shrugged. "But I didn't tell him where."

"So, why does Singh want it so much?" JJ wrapped up the rope neatly.

"Singh said that he thinks the diary has a clue..." She trailed off. "To the location of some city of gold, called El Dorado."

"The same one we saw on that book?" Bianca narrowed her eyes. "In Portis' bag?"

"The same one," She nodded. "He said 450 years ago, a Spanish soldier came out of the Orinoco Basin with a few gold beads. And when they asked the Spanish soldier where the beads came from, the Spanish soldier told them that he got them from a peaceful Indigenous tribe who lived in a city of gold. El Dorado. And for the next 450 years, people tried to find that gold. Conquistadors, knights, captains of ships, tribes, entire nations. I think the gold on the Merchant was just a small part of it."

"You're saying there's a bigger treasure?" JJ muttered as he boarded the boat toward the two girls. "Then, sign me up."

Kiara laughed at this, hanging back with Bianca as they watched the boy disappear onto the boat. She waited until he was out of earshot before breaking the silence.

"I know what you're going to say," Kiara gave a small smile.

"I shouldn't have left you," Bianca swallowed thickly, unable to meet her gaze.

"I told you to," She rolled her eyes with amusement. "There was no point in both of us getting taken."

Bianca's heart wrenched, "Still. You went back for Portis because of me."

"Well, it's not like it mattered anyway," Kiara scoffed, leaning against the railing.

"What?" Bianca finally glanced up, eyebrows drawn together.

"Yeah," Kiara stared dead ahead as if recalling a vivid memory. "Singh shot him right in front of us. Wanted to send us some kind of message. Maybe, if I told him where Denmark's diary was, I could've stopped it from happening. But I didn't."

Bianca's heart pounded alarmingly loud in her ears. She was right. Singh had no remorse when it came to getting what he wanted and unlike in the past with Limbrey or Ward, she had no idea what his blindspots were. He didn't care about his family, he wasn't sick or dying and there was no law enforcement trying to oppose him.

"He asked about you, you know..." Kiara trailed off, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. "Rafe. He asked if you were alright."

Bianca's chest seized, "Did he say anything else?" She let out a shaky breath.

"No," Kiara watched the panic drain from her best friend's eyes. "Nothing."

Bianca was hiding something. She'd been acting so off since they got stranded on that island, when the plane was sinking, even now. Kiara wanted to demand she tell her what was going on— after all, Pogues don't keep secrets from other Pogues. But then Kiara remembered how gravely Rafe spoke about Bianca.

Like there was something so sacred between them, something only the other knew and felt the words die on her tongue. This felt too personal, too private to be intruding on. This ran deeper than silly Pogues rules so for once, Kiara held her tongue.

"Come on, guys!" Cleo passed the two girls, followed by Pope who was muttering quietly to himself. "We gotta go!"

Kiara and Bianca shared a lasting look before heading up the boat where John B and Sarah were supposed to be. Before they could join them, however, the Routledge boy came barrelling past.

"Sorry!" He cried over his shoulder. "I love you, Sarah!"

"John B?" Bianca glared as he jumped off the boat and onto the dock. "Where are you going?"

"Hey! John B," Pope called after the boy who was backing away. "What are you doing!?"

"I'll be right back!"

"Where are you—" Pope scoffed.

"Be right back!" He shouted before disappearing around the corner.

"What!?" Pope's jaw hung agape while the others stared in disbelief. "What the hell?"

Bianca glanced over her shoulder at Sarah who was smiling ear-to-ear. Her eyes narrowed and she made her way up to the steering wheel, "Sarah, where's he going?"

"Where's who going?" Sarah pursed her lips sheepishly.

"Sarah," Bianca warned. They didn't have time for this.

The blonde girl shifted on her feet for a few heartbeats before giving in, "Okay, fine! John B, he kept- he kept going on about his dad and-"

"His dad?" Bianca's eyebrows drew together, trying to piece together what she was saying by how fast she was talking.

"And he kept saying something about how Big John used to do this thing with- with a bell where he'd ring it to call him home," Sarah continued, pacing back and forth now. "And he wanted to go up to the tower to see if it might be him-"

"His dad is dead, Sarah," Bianca could feel the pent-up tension within her snap. "He has been for almost a year. Don't you think if he was alive, he would've already tried to contact his son by now!?"

"I know! I know! That's what I told him!" Sarah's eyes widened in defense. "But, you know how John B is- he wasn't going to let this go so I gave him Portis' phone! I couldn't stop him-"

"Yes! Yes, you could've!" Bianca wasn't sure whether it was something about John B still thinking this father was alive while hers was lying at the bottom of the ocean or the fact he was risking all of their lives for some wild goose chase that rubbed her the wrong way but it did.

Some of their heated conversation drifted down to reach the Pogues' ears, finally understanding where John B had run off to. None of them dared, nor wanted to go up there and stop the argument from unfolding, too scared to be dragged into the middle of it.

"We could be gone by now, S," Bianca's chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. "There are men after us. Dangerous men! Kie told me Singh shot Portis right in front of her!"

"B, please- listen to me,"

"And John B's running around chasing ghosts–"

"Okay!" Sarah finally snapped, forcing the other girl to fall silent. "Okay, I get it, B! I shouldn't have let him go," She took a step forward, her voice dropping to a low whisper. "But don't make this about you, okay?"

"I'm not," Bianca crossed her arms defiantly.

Sarah sighed, shaking her head, "Look, I trust John B and if he has to see this through, then I'm going to let him," Her eyes softened. "I'd do the same for you."

Bianca felt her will falter ever so slightly but still tightened her arms over her chest, "Whatever," She turned away, leaving Sarah beside the steering wheel alone.

Deep down, Bianca knew she was just haunted by the possibility that Big John really was alive and that Michael was still dead. She knew it was illogical but some stupid, childish part of her hoped John B would come back just as disappointed as she was.

It was unfair of her, she knew that but every day it got harder to accept her father wasn't coming back. After all, misery loves company and Bianca had no one to blame for her daddy's death except herself.

author's note. they just started filming obx4 how is there already drama ?? maddy & mariah unfollowing elaine ?? rudy unfollowing mariah ?? my jaw is on the floor. anyways love u guys <3 did u guys see the szn 4 tudum teaser? they all look so clean lmao im so super excited !!!