CHAPTER ELEVEN
( go for the gold )

FOR BIRD.

It was perhaps more baffling than any other part of this wild expedition thus far, for John B to be holding a giant white FedEx package addressed to him in his own two hands that had just come from a dusty tomb. For Bird, it read.

"That's not gold." Pope voiced, dragging out the first vowel.

No, it wasn't gold. It was something more.

Kiara grunted as she wriggled her way back outside, taking a marvelous gulp of the fresh air instead of the stale kind that had been inside the eerie vault.

"Holy shit." John B uttered, his slightly enlarged eyes gradually moving up to exchange looks of wonder with his friends. "This is from my dad."

The corners of Kiara's lips slowly turned upwards, a happy astonishment gracing her features as Aurora gave a breathy chuckle; her awe-filled eyes still glued to the object in his hands. JJ clicked his silver zippo lighter open and close repeatedly, a small trail of smoke from his blunt billowing up as he stood a few feet away from them; the severely a.d.d. boy having gotten distracted and now only halfway tuning in to their conversation. It was lucky for them that he had, however. Because he was paying attention to the wide, open cemetery, he noticed the pair of beaming headlights making its way towards the group from afar.

"Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!" he alerted, spinning swiftly on his heel.

"What?!" Aurora whisper-screamed, eyes bulging.

"Go, go!" Kiara pushed them urgently forwards, all of them scrambling to the other side of the giant tomb; crouching hurriedly down.

"It's the guys who robbed your house!"

"Light!"

"Light." Pope repeated Kiara's instruction, all of them speedily switching off their flashlights, headlamps and lanterns; JJ frantically rubbing his joint on the side of the stone until it sizzled out, ditching it immediately afterwards.

"Turn your light off, man!" Pope hissed, switching off JJ's headlamp for him.

"Your light, John B your light!" Kiara exclaimed, the boy struggling to get it off quick enough.

Eventually, they all went dark, and as soon as they went dark, they went dead silent; the only sound in ear-range were their heavy pants and the wheels of the golf cart squeaking to a halt.

"I see something!" they heard in the distance, both Pope and JJ peeking cautiously out to view the two silhouettes.

"Do you think it's them?" Kiara whispered.

"Homie's got a gun." JJ responded quietly.

The girl shook her head. "Screw this."

With that, she sprang to her feet and flipped the beam in her flashlight back on; taking off as fast as her legs would carry her. The others were quick to follow her posthaste, men shouting after them in the distance as they all sprinted towards the giant gate the Twinkie sat just on the other side of. Kiara was the first to scale it, grunting loudly when she landed roughly on the other side and raced towards the van; all the others hastily following her.

"Hurry up!" JJ yelled, out of breath; the headlights that were chasing them growing closer along with the roar of its wheels.

"Go!" the Carrera girl added urgently on.

"Ow! Shit!" Aurora groaned, enduring a harsh fall to the other side; speedily recuperating and hopping back up to her feet.

"Guys! Guys!"

She whipped back around sooner than everyone else did, alarmed by the panic she had heard in Pope's voice. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she saw his shorts had gotten majorly hung at the top of the black, metal gate; he was stuck.

"Guys, I'm stuck! I'm stuck, I'm stuck guys!!" he contended shakily.

"Pope, come on man!" JJ shouted aggravatedly, all of them racing hurriedly back over to him.

"I got you!" Kiara exclaimed.

Aurora speedily scanned him over to assess the fire situation, soon stepping up to right beside Pope and looking up to him; their eyes locking amidst the chaos.

"Rory, Rory I'm stuck!" he whimpered, the girl not missing the fear in his eyes as the golf cart closed in on them.

"I know, I know, it's okay! It's okay! We'll get you!" she shook her head with a reaffirming smile, forcing her voice to stay calm and convincing him only halfway as she silently prayed they could get him down.

Kiara dove into action, grabbing the back of Pope's shirt and beginning to jerk him potently backwards; JJ backing up and aiming his gun at the trapped boy.

"No! Pope, don't move, okay!?" he warned seriously, cocking the gun before John B shoved him away; stopping him from doing something irreversibly stupid.

"You're gonna rip me. No, wait, no! Wait you're gonna rip me, you're gonna rip me, you're gonna rip me, you're gonna rip me!" the Heyward boy frantically exclaimed, Kiara doing just that.

With a loud tearing noise, the beige shorts ripped in two, leaving the flushed and embarrassed Pope in nothing but his underwear as he safely managed back to the ground. Without thinking, Aurora slung her hand over her eyes and blindly charged for the van; not outwardly laughing and teasing like the rest of her friends.

"Nice! Come on, dude!"

"It's a little tootsie roll!"

"Come on!"

"Get in!"

"Stupid!"

"Motherfucker!" she inhaled sharply when she slammed her shin against bottom of the Twinkie while trying to step up inside of it, knowing that would be leaving a nasty bruise and still refusing to move her hand away from her eyes; her face bright red.

"Rory, you dumbass! Come here!" Kiara cackled, grabbing the girl's arm and hoisting her the rest of the way into the car; yanking the heavy door shut behind them as Pope tried to shelter himself with his hands.

They soon took off into the night, leaving nothing more but a pair of shredded shorts behind and gaining an unlikely envelope that had exceeded their wildest dreams.

༻✧༺

AURORA GRIMACED AT THE BREAD JJ WAS FRENETICALLY SPREADING OLD PEANUT BUTTER ACROSS with a butter knife, knowing good and well that bread was less than optimal for consumption.

They had made it safely back to the Chateau from their wild encounter at the cemetery, and Pope had acquired a pair of shorts again. The dim house was glowing with a variety of lanterns and candles as the power remained blown; wax trickling slowly down the sides of the taper and collecting in candle plate beneath it. John B sat at a small, round table the others were gathering at, all of his focus invested in learning the contents of the envelope they had discovered.

The power outage was indeed— in JJ's words— a nasty bitch for more reasons than one, but Aurora favored the warm, cozy luminance it created in their current climate. It was quiet and intimate, and it made her ponder on how happy she was to be here with her friends in this moment they shared; just the five of them, away from the restless demands of the outside world. Part of her knew that at the end of the day, the chaotic world would prevail, but this was nice for now.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago." Pope informed, the blond briefly looking his way before returning his attention to his moldy sandwich; strands of his beach-bleached hair flopping over his azure eyes as he kept his head tilted downwards.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mold is good for you. it's just a natural... organism." he shrugged, Aurora biting her bottom lip to suppress a giggle; exchanging looks with Pope, who was trying to do the same thing.

"JJ." Kiara voiced impatiently, all of them now around the table but him.

He seizes his meal and scurried over at her statement. "Yup, yup, yup! Hot damn! Let's do it."

John B's furrowed features were glued onto the envelope that he tore the top off of, not able to spare a thought for anything else in the moment.

Almost immediately when JJ took a bite of his pb & j and began to chew, he gagged; spiting it back into his hand and shuffling over to discard it in the trash can. Aurora swallowed in disgust, the sounds of it all happening just next to her ear.

She quirked a brow at him when he returned beside her. "How's that natural organism treatin' ya?" He shot her a glare, and Pope laughed; their attention soon turning back to the treasure.

They all watched in anticipation as John B unfolded an old map, spreading it across the table and running the rough palms of his hands over its surface a few times to smoothen it out. There were only a few little scribbles in black sharpie on it, but they were an important few scribbles.

"Holy shit." the boy gaped at it, analyzing his father's jottings.

"Oh! X marks the spot." Pope pointed to the hand-written symbol, the weathered paper crinkling at his touch.

"Longitude, latitude. Wait, there's something else in there." John B muttered, reaching his hand back into the envelope and pulling out a tape recorder; everyone inching closer to see.

"What's that?" JJ asked.

Kiara glancing over to him in disbelief. "It's a tape recorder, dumbass."

"Kie." Aurora shot her a warning look, the girl rolling her eyes.

He pressed play, and instantly, the energy shifted. Aurora recognized the voice immediately, her wide eyes snapping to John B, who sat back in his chair; his lips parted and his face washed over in shock.

"Dear Bird."

"Who's Bird?" JJ queried, Aurora surprised he didn't recognize the voice.

"That's what my dad called me." the Routledge boy respired, gaze not straying from the tape recorder as everyone exchanged looks.

"I hate to say I told you so, but, I told you so." the audio carried on. "And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either."

"Holy shit." Aurora murmured, her quiet words barely audible as her heart skipped a beat. John B looked up at his friends, all of their eyes traveling to one another in utter shock.

"You were probably right to call me out, wasn't exactly father of the decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listening to this in our brand new sugar shack down in Costa Rica living off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid."

Aurora swallowed the tiny lump that was cumulating in her throat, her hands gripping onto the edge of the wooden table as she leaned over it. Her eyes fell to John B in woe, the boy doing his best to blink back the tears that swam inevitably through his brown eyes and mask the slight quivering of his lip; his face paralyzed in a look of anguish.

"I love you, Bird. Even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side."

The recording ended, just like that; a string of crackling static following the last they'd likely ever hear of Big John Routledge. It was over, but it had left it's mark.

John B rose promptly to his feet, turning from them at once and walking away. Instinctively, Aurora was on his heels. He didn't make it far before crashing into the corner of the wall that led to his kitchen, his knuckles turning white as he gripped onto it for stability; shoulders shaking in harmony with his quiet sobs. She didn't waste a second to wrap her arms around him from behind, her brows furrowed sadly as she pressed her head into his shoulder. Her embrace grew tighter with each second, her heart aching at his suffering and the way his body trembled against hers.

JJ made some sort of amazed remark about the Royal Merchant, Kiara soon telling him to shut up in the kindest manor. Aurora only halfway listened, most of her attention on trying to console her friend. The Carrera girl soon joined hugging onto the both of them in attempts to offer some sort of peace and support.

༻✧༺

GENTLE THUNDER RUMBLED IN THE DISTANCE, CICADAS CHIRPING INCESSANTLY AROUND THEM as melodious chords rose from the ukulele Kiara was softly strumming; loons occasionally calling out from afar.

The five best friends were all perched in various spots along the railing that surrounded the rickety dock out back at the Chateau. The summer night was hot and still, no breeze to subside or soothe the continually gathering sweat on their bodies. Their humidity-laden hair stuck to their foreheads and the back of their necks. Aurora's long, raven locks clung to her chest; the section her low tank top did not shield.

Once John B had finally settled down, the gravity of their recent discovery hit the group of misfits like a bolt of lightening. Big John had actually found the famous shipwreck of the Royal Merchant. He had found the gold and all, and now, after hearing that tape, a small voice in Aurora's head was willing her to side with John B. Maybe he was right. Maybe Big John had simply vanished just as he had stated he would. Maybe he was still alive. The girl chuckled under her breath and shook her head at herself as she gazed out upon the dark marsh, in disbelief that she was even considering such an impossible thing.

What a hell of a day it had been.

"How much was it again?" JJ broke the silence, all of their eyes falling to him tossing chips of wood he had peeled from the railing off into the babbling waters.

"Five hundred mil." Pope answered, still trying to wrap his head around it.

They were Pogues. The lowest of the low, brokest of the broke. None of them, not even Kiara— who technically came from wealth— had ever pondered such a vast sum of money in such a serious way. That amount of cash was beyond them. They weren't the kind of people who ever even uttered the word 'mil' before this. Yet here they were— five hundred million dollars worth of gold having fallen right into their laps.

A small sigh left the blond boy's lips before he maneuvered one of his legs back over the railing to face them entirely; having had it dangling above the water beforehand. "Alright, let's talk the split. Now, before we say evenly, may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us. Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

"You haven't trained. You've done zero training." Pope interjected with an eye roll, overlapping JJ's words.

Aurora's eyes scanned over John B every once in a while, the boy having slightly distanced himself from the others as he took slow sips from the cold can of beer enclosed in his fingers. He wasn't okay, not even close; but she believed was going to be.

"Youtube, bro. That's at least a five percent bump right there."

"You haven't—"

"Any objections?" he interrupted. Kiara raised her hand, her lips pursed as she glared at JJ; who refused to look her way. "Didn't think so."

"Yeah." Pope nodded, Aurora chuckling as she watched JJ feign a clueless act; tickled by the annoyance growing on Pope's features.

"I don't hear any, so..."

Kiara promptly changed the subject, a subject that was a blast to merely dream about; much less talk about realistically. "What are you gonna do with your hundred mil, Pope?"

Aurora's eyes shifted to the Heyward boy sitting beside her, her head resting on her own shoulder as she swung her bare feet above the wooden bench built into the floor; blissfully unaware of the small smile that had taken shape on her face as she watched Pope deep in thought. He always looked so cute when he scoured that brilliant brain of his so hard, wanting to make sure his answer was right.

"Pay for college in advance." he decided with a small nod, resorting to the practical, wise option as he always did. "And also textbooks. Those are expensive."

"What about you, Kie?" JJ quirked a brow at the wavy-haired girl.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope queried in friendly sarcasm, both girls chuckling at his words.

"I just wanna make a double album." she smiled warmly at the sweet thought of her dream, shrugging her shoulders all the way up to her ears as her cheeks took on a rosey tint; her joyful eyes twinkling in the moonlight. "About OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."

Pope furrowed his brows, finding himself speaking the same exact words as Kiara in sync. "Peter Tosh is dead—"

"Peter Tosh is dead, I know that. But the spirit of Peter Tosh, will never die." she gave a shake of her head with a light smirk, holding up her beer.

"Actually I know what I'm gonna do." JJ began, everyone's attention falling to him. "I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook."

"You're gonna go full Kook?" Pope raised his brows, a doubtful smile making its way onto his features.

"Oh my God, please don't ever do that." Aurora chortled, titling her head back with a joking groan.

"Yup. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish—"

"I'm never visiting." Kiara interrupted with a giggle.

"Me neither." Aurora laughed with a shake of her head.

"Ror, what about you?" Pope nodded to her.

In all truthfulness, Aurora didn't have a clue what she would do with that kind of money. She wasn't one to think about the future, or make plans. In fact, she actively disliked pondering her future, because—plainly put— she didn't see one for herself. She had resigned to the inventible fact that she would reside right here in the Outer Banks for the rest of her days, no matter how badly she wanted to leave. She was no fool, she knew it would never happen. So, to save herself the hurt, she simply didn't think about it. When it came to Kiara, JJ, John B and Pope though, she had big dreams for them; things she prayed they would all go on to experience and accomplish. Big dreams for her friends, but not for herself. Never for herself.

She stared at the boy, unsure of how to answer him. She'd never put one moment of thought into what she'd want to do if her life had turned out different than it was.

"I uh... I-I'll just-" she stammered uncomfortably, all of their their smiles fading gradually from their faces.

"I'll go full Kook." she lied believably. Their grins returned in satisfaction, but Pope's eyes lingered uncertainly on her a little longer before giving in. No one but him seemed to question the fact that she had been repulsed by the idea of JJ relocating to Figure Eight a mere few moments ago.

"Hell yeah, next door neighbors." JJ grinned, leaning sideways to nudge Aurora with his beer can.

She chuckled before turning to John B. "JB?"

He glanced over his shoulder at them, face returning to vision once exposed to the light built into the dock; silence lapsing over them before he raised his drink and a smirk pulled at his lips.

"To going full Kook." he declared quietly.

The group's features lit up with smiles as they stood to cheers one another. "To going full Kook!"

༻✧༺

AURORA SCRAMBLED TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE HMS POGUE AS POPE THREATENED TO push her off the small boat and into the cool, briny waters they smoothly sailed through the docks. The girl held out a warning finger, but he just couldn't take her seriously with her rosey cheeks and the way her bottom lip was turning white from how hard she was biting down on it to keep her cheeky smile at bay.

The three other friends were not in cahoots with their silly game, but rather all sat in various spots around the boat with sunglasses covering their unamused eyes. Sure, Pope and Aurora were cute, but the circles they constantly chased around each other got annoying.

"Pope Heyward, I swear to God if you try to push me off this boat I will end you!" she cautioned him through her helpless laughter, her bare feet ready to move at a moments notice.

Aurora's high-pitched giggles erupted into a raging fit when Pope lunged for her, never of course having the intentions of actually throwing her into the water; he wouldn't do that against her will. But it was fun to get such a rise out of her.

She tripped over the seat in her attempts to get away from him, accidentally falling forwards and smashing her palm down into the 'For Bird' packet next to John B; denting it momentarily before removing her hand and allowing the plastic-coated envelope to pop back out unharmed.

"Watch it!" the Routledge boy snapped, hastily snatching it away and placing it onto his lap.

The girl cleared her throat in discomfiture, her warm and golden giggles coming to an abrupt end as the giddy smile vanished from her features; what was once a blush to try and keep from laughing was now one of mild humiliation. She understood though, he felt protective over it, obviously— he had brought it out with them on a short boat ride.

"Sorry." she apologized, Pope sending John B a glare he didn't see; angered that Aurora had evidently been brought down a few notches when she was having fun.

She stood and promptly relocated to the front, plopping down on the bow next to JJ and brushing off what had just happened; her squinted brown eyes falling to the same scene the reckless blond's were fixated on. He whistled, soon turning back to his friends and gesturing his head towards the approaching black and red watercraft; arms wrapped loosely around his hairy legs.

"You guys see that?" he queried, returning his gaze to the mind-blowingly expensive boat. "That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wake-setter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. 200k, easy."

"We picked the wrong parents." Pope observed.

"That costs more than all of my belongings and every cent I've ever made totaled." Aurora exhaled, leaning back on the palms of her hands as she watched the boat patter in the opposite direction they were headed; fixing to pass by them.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend." Kiara remarked with a specific, bitter tone of voice she usually held when referring to Kooks.

Aurora gritted her teeth at the sight of the backbiting blonde in her preppy one-piece. She had indeed sworn just yesterday that she would kill Sarah Cameron the next time she had the chance; put an end to the misery the privileged, spoiled teenager cast upon other's lives without even the slightest hint of remorse. And she had to admit, with the spiteful glare she had the audacity to send John B— the girl removing her sunglasses just to do so— made the idea of grabbing ahold of JJ's stolen handgun and firing a few shots at her seem highly enticing. But instead, all the Pogues shot daggers at the couple with their eyes; not backing down until their boat was far enough away.

"You don't have to act like you don't see us, bitch." Kiara shook her head, exasperated with Sarah and the Kooks and all their ill-inspired antics.

Silence lapsed over them for a moment, John B soon changing the subject. "Okay. So when we get back to the Chateau, we're gonna leave right away and JJ's gonna get us into the—"

"Remind me again why we're going to the hotel that had the bright idea to hire JJ Maybank?" Kiara raised her chin.

The employee in question placed a hand on his chest, as if offended. "Hey! I'm a great busboy."

"Computers. We need a computer, and they've got dozens. Along with the best generators on the island." Pope answered her.

John B continued on. "Right. And then Rory, you're gonna—"

"I actually, um— I can't come." she cut him off uneasily, everyone seeming to falter; instantaneously puzzled eyes darting over to her as their brows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean you can't come?" John B shook his head, only able to recall a mere few times Aurora had opted out of adventures with them, or even just hanging out with them in general.

"I have to pay back the cops for the window I broke."

The Routledge boy tilted his head back and groaned, all of them hopping up and helping tie off the Pogue when they arrived back to their dock. "That has to be done today?"

"Yeah. There's deadlines for that kinda thing, ya know." They all stared at her— like they couldn't comprehend the idea of doing something without the girl who was unfailingly always there. Something felt off to them, making her nervous that they could tell. "I'll see you all tonight, don't be weird." she scoffed with a forced laugh.

"Yeah, okay." Kiara eventually gave in, though her voice still sounded a little muddled. "Meet back up at the Wreck."

"Cool. Thanks." Aurora nodded, jogging up the wooden ramp and plucking her skateboard from where it rested against the giant oak in John B's backyard. She headed for the pavement, placing her board down and resting a foot upon it before sending them a peace sign. "Deuces." And with that, she took off down the street.

word count   4,395