SMOKE SIGNALS     /     OUTERBANKS
ੈ✩‧₊˚ written by catie . . . © vqnillascented
chapter twenty  ━━ ' flushed out '

THE LATE AUGUST AIR STICKY against her skin, the slight breeze rippling through her hair, all Alex could think about was running.

Running away from here, towards the ocean, away from anyone. Running through the crowd, pushing past all these people pretending to have cared about her father. There was an older woman crying over the blown-up photo of George, even though Alex knew they had never even met. Her skin crawled, molten anger heating up her chest.

How dare she? How dare that woman pretend that this affected her in any way? Alex was the one who had to live without him, who knew what had happened to him but wasn't believed, who had seen him....Alex bit down, grinding her teeth, her frustration rising up her neck in what felt like itchy, uncomfortable scales. How dare that woman cry?

She wanted to run.

Maybe if she found an opening in the hoard of people, maybe if she timed it right, she could━

"Alex? Is that you?"

All at once the hot hum of fury in her bones was replaced by a cold ache. She turned towards Jenna's voice, her knees nearly crumpling out from under her at the sight of her little sister.

"J-Jenna." The name tripped over her tongue, and all of a sudden, she wanted to cry.

Alex wrapped Jenna up in a hug, holding her tight. Her entire life, she never imagined that she would feel this way towards her sister. Protective & sympathetic, like she wanted to scoop her up and hide her from the world. And she felt this for Jenna - her little sister who always ate her leftovers, who looked through her phone and read all her texts, who stole her clothes without asking.

But, she supposed this summer's events could change a person's perspective.

"You've been gone for weeks!" Jenna shoved Alex away, getting angry now, gotten enough from the embrace. "What the hell?"

Alex raised her hands, trying to calm the much smaller yet terrifying girl. "Since when do you swear like that?"

"Since you left me." Jenna went to push Alex again, but the attempt died as her shoulders sagged and voice broke. Her eyes shone in the sunlight, brimming with tears. "You left me all alone, and I had no idea what was going on. Dad wasn't staying at home all of a sudden, and Mom wasn't answering my questions, and you weren't there, and then..." Her chin began to wobble.

Alex's chest ached. She hadn't even thought about what Jenna might be going through, how all of this might be affecting her. Alex may have witnessed a lot of shit and got wrapped up in all of it firsthand, but Jenna was still a part of the family, she would still be scared and confused when her parents weren't talking, when her sisters was gone for weeks at a time without a message. Still devastated when her father....Alex realized what the strange, overly-protective yet nervous feeling was twisting in her gut.

Guilt.

"I'm really sorry." She said, and she meant it. Probably more than her sister would ever know. "I've been processing a lot, with Sarah and everything. But I should've been there. Or at least called, or answered your texts in a less vague way."

Jenna crossed her arms. "Thank you."

There was a pause, and Alex felt some of her stress and tension easing. It was nice to know they were talking and working things through. She couldn't have another complicated relationship to keep track of, not with her sister.

But Jenna's next words knocked the air and any sense of relief from her lungs.

"Alex," Her big brown eyes were expecting. "What happened to Dad?"

Alex couldn't speak. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't━

"Mom says that it was an accident at work." She went on. "But I don't believe anything she says anymore. I need you to tell me what really happened."

Alex opened her mouth, only to close it again, no words feeling right. She didn't want to lie to her sister, didn't want her to stay confused and in the dark, but she couldn't tell her the truth. She couldn't let Jenna get wrapped up in all this, she couldn't put her life in danger. She wouldn't.

So, Alex parted her lips and lied, a quickly forming habit.

"Mom is not trustworthy, she has a lot of secrets." She swallowed thickly. "But she's not lying. He fell off some equipment at a sight and he...he broke his neck." Tears were pricking at the corners of her eyes, and Alex hoped that Jenna thought they were from grief, not from having to lie right to her face. "It was a freak accident, nobody saw it coming."

A tear rolled down Jenna's cheek. She nodded, earnestly, believing her sister's word, which only made Alex feel worse. "Mom's not trustworthy?" She sniffled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Dad found evidence of her having an affair," The lies just poured out so easily, it was starting to scare her. "She denied it, they fought, he stayed in a hotel for a few nights to think, and before he could..." She couldn't finish that sentence.

Jenna deflated more and more with every word. She shook her head, cheeks damp with tears. "I don't want to stay with her, Alex. Can I stay with you?"

Her heart cracking, Alex laid out one last lie. "Mom's a liar, and probably a cheat, but she's not dangerous. You have to stay with her for now, it's what's best. She'll feed you, take you to school, put a roof over your head. You'll be taken care of. Please believe me."

"Then why aren't you staying at home?"

"Because we got in a big fight," An omission of the full truth, but not a lie. "And I think we need our space right now. But she's not angry with you, things should be okay at home. I know that you're scared and you're confused. Everything is gonna be fine, we just have to figure things out, and I just need my own time right now. Do you understand?"

"I don't." Jenna shook her head. "But I'm gonna try. My friends at school told me that life is complicated, that things aren't simple or black and white. So I will try."

"Thank you," Alex could fall over with relief. "Don't fight with Mom, just keep the peace and be nice, everything will blow over soon. We'll be a family again." Another lie. For many reasons.

But it comforted Jenna, and Alex would lie a million times over if it meant that Jenna felt better and slept at night.

Jenna wiped away fresh tears. "But Dad's gone, Alex, he's gone, and he's not coming back. He-"

"Jenna Marie!"

Both girls went as still as statues.

Katherine stomped over to them, her long, dark hair swept into an updo, wearing a short, black dress that clung to her. Even at her husband's funeral, she couldn't keep from wanting all the attention.

Alex hoped Jenna didn't see the scowl that took over her face at the sight of her mother.

"Jenna, what did I tell you?" Katherine firmly yanked her youngest daughter's arm. "You're not supposed to talk to her. She's brainwashed by those criminals, those Pogues." She spat out the words like they were dirt on her tongue.

Alex's blood boiled, but she managed to bite her tongue.

"Go wait in the car, I'll be right there." Katherine pushed Jenna towards the packed parking lot, and with a lingering, scared look back at Alex, Jenna left for the car.

Alex couldn't swallow down her anger for another moment. "You don't want her talking to me? Why? Because I'll tell her the truth?"

"What did you say to her?" Katherine spat.

Through gritted teeth, Alex answered. "I told her that dad got in an accident and that's what happened. I don't want her involved in this shit. In your shit."

Katherine waved off that last comment. "At least we can agree on that."

"I also told her that you were having an affair, and that's why you and Dad fought."

Clenching her fists, Katherine took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Jesus Christ, Alex..."

"I won't tell Jenna the truth." Alex said, unabashedly enjoying her mother's frustration. "Not for you, but for her. For her safety and well being. But just so we're clear, you do know what actually happened to Dad, right?"

Katherine didn't speak, staring, unblinking back at her.

"Ward killed him."

"What are you talking about?" Katherine scoffed in disbelief.

"Ward shot Dad in the fucking chest." Alex snarled, anger easier to channel then devastation. "I was there. I watched it happen."

"No, he didn't." Katherine said, simply, as if just like that she could make reality disappear.

"Oh my God," A laugh ripped out of Alex, a humorless sound. "Why are you defending him so hard? Are you actually fucking him or something?"

"Alex, keep your voice down." Katherine hissed, glancing around to see if anyone's attention was on them. "George is dead, why does it matter what happened?"

Alex lost it then. "Because he was your husband!" She screamed, not caring that a ton of eyes were on her in an instant. "And you should fucking care about what happened! But you don't, because you-"

A calloused hand wrapped around her arm, yanking her back, cutting her off. She was dragged away from her mother, and as soon as she could pull herself free, she spun around to see who had grabbed her.

JJ stood there, slowly lowering his arm, looking slightly afraid of her reaction. Kiara and Pope were standing behind him, waiting for her to speak.

All she could think of was to throw her hands up and say, exasperated, "What the fuck, you guys?"

"You were getting in a fight with your mom in front of a ton of people." Pope said.

She glared at him. "Yeah, I know what I was doing."

"We just don't think that's the best idea right now." Kiara rocked back and forth on her feet, acting nonchalant to ease the tension. "With everything going on."

"She deserves to be yelled at!" Alex protested. "After everything, God, somebody needs to put her in her place."

"We will." Pope said, and it was his confidence that intrigued her.

"What are you talking about?" Alex glanced between all three of them. "The papers were the only thing that proved my mother was involved with the Big John case. And, hey, if you forgot, those were destroyed. They're a pile of mush in a half-built house."

"Without the papers, we can't prove anything against Katherine," Pope explained. "But we can prove that Rafe was the one who shot Peterkin, and that Ward was an accessory to that crime."

"And eventually, that he killed Big John. And then that ropes your mom into the equation." Kiara added.

"How?" Alex sighed, not wanting to get her hopes up.

"The gun." JJ said, the first time he's spoken since pulling her away. His hair was slightly tousled and he had dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept a wink. "Unless Ward has come back for it already, it's still at the construction site."

Alex felt the heavy anger lifting from her chest. "What the hell are we still doing here?"

"At your dad's funeral?" Kiara's brow pinched. "Grieving, hopefully."

"I don't need to grieve." Alex shook her head, starting down the dirt path towards the street. "I need to put those motherfuckers away."

"Fuck, it's not here!" Alex cried out, hands frantically pushing through the grass beneath the half-constructed building.

"Calm down," Pope was on his knees beside her, helping her search.

"Yeah, we'll find it." Kiara nodded, a few yards away, also rummaging around in the grass with JJ, spread out to help cover more ground.

They had been at this for at least twenty minutes ━ on all fours digging through the thick grass like a bunch of idiots, looking for the gun, their last chance at getting justice and clearing John B's name. They had to find it.

"Okay, it's definitely not here." Kiara got to her feet with a sigh.

This just made Alex start digging harder. "No, it has to be!"

JJ got to his feet as well, something in his grasp. Alex caught sight of his hands cupping around something and jumped up, running over to his side. "Did you find it."

"No," he admitted, sheepishly. "This is just a cool rock." In his palms, was in fact, just a rock. It had a spotted pattern and was an interesting tan and black color.

Alex didn't find this amusing in the slightest. She swatted at his hand, frustration bubbling up inside her like hot lava. The rock fell from his grasp, and he scrambled to pick it back up, but it slipped off the sidewalk and tumbled into a storm drain, disappearing into the darkness.

The four just stood there, staring at the open grate. 

"You don't think..." Pope murmured, shaking his head.

They heard the rock plop into whatever water was beneath the streets.

"You think the gun went into the storm drain?" Alex crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Maybe." Kiara shrugged. "Either that or Ward got to it."

The thought of Ward Cameron snatching away their only hope again made Alex's blood boil and stomach hurt all at the same time. "It's worth a shot." She said, hands on her hips.

"It's our only shot." Pope corrected her.

She glared at him. "Thanks, Pope, how insightful."

He shrunk under her stare. Kiara raked her hands through her hair, taking a deep breath. "I'm down, but how are we gonna get into the sewers?"

"There's probably an outfall somewhere in the marshes." Pope said, casually, like it was information that everyone knows. "We can just follow the little grates in the road until we're lead to the big one."

"Thanks, Pope," Alex repeated, only now all sarcasm was gone from her tone. "How insightful."

He grinned this time.

It only took them fifteen minutes to find the right outfall, and they hurried to wade into the murky water, not wanting to waste any time.

"Okay, with all the heavy rain it definitely got flushed out," Pope said, squinting at all the plastic bags and garbage floating around the drain. "It should be somewhere in this trash."

Alex didn't hesitate, going in with her bare hands to push through the plastic.

Kiara huffed and crossed her arms. "People who use plastic should be shot."

"Personally, I love plastic," JJ said, joining Alex in sorting through the mess. "Use it every day."

"Okay, well," Kiara tilted her head to the side, a flicker of annoyance in her eyes. "Hopefully you recycle it and don't let it flush into the ocean."

Alex and JJ exchanged a look, silently sharing the fact that neither of them were big recyclers.

"We can come back later and clean it all up," Pope reassured Kiara. "But for now, we have to find the gun."

With an eye roll, Kiara joined them in the deeper water. They sorted through the garbage, picking apart every discarded grocery bag and every empty water bottle. No sign of the gun.

"It's inside the storm drain." Alex realized with a sigh.

"Of course is is." Kiara wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

"One of us is gonna have to go in there." Pope said, not making a move towards the entrance.

JJ also didn't move. "Yup."

"Are we gonna rock, paper, scissors or something?" Kiara suggested.

"In the sewers," JJ pointed to the rusted grate. "There's this worm that you get when you're down there. It gets into your blood and then it has to come out your pecker. So uh...hard pass for me."

Alex shuddered, giving her answer silently.

"Yeah, that's gonna be a no for me too." Pope stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Oh, no, I get it." Kiara laughed. "You guys are scared. I understand."

"I'm not scared." JJ protested.

"It's the worm thing." Pope threw his hands up.

"You're scared." She repeated, pushing through the water, closer to the outfall. "No, it's fine. It's cute actually. You should've just led with that."

"I, for one, am scared." Alex admitted under her breath, but her words were drowned out by the boys' arguing.

"You don't have to be scared." Kiara patted them both on the back. "I'll do it."

"Okay," Pope said softly. "Just be careful."

"I'll be so careful." Sarcasm oozed from her tone.

Pope sighed. "I deserve that." He and JJ got into position and hoisted the grate open, giving Kiara the room to get inside. The pipe was so small, she had to crawl on her hands and knees, waded through the dirty water.

"Holler if you need anything." JJ called after her. "We'll, uh, holler back?"

"Very helpful." Kiara's voice echoed back to them.

The three waited outside, only able to tap their feet and hold their breath for a few minutes before losing patience.

"Do you see the gun?" Alex stuck her head into the pipe to yell.

"Nothing yet!" Kiara's voice came a moment later.

Alex leaned back into the fresh air, letting out a breath, anxiety started to tighten around her throat.

"We'll find it." JJ assured her. "We have to."

She just nodded, feeling slightly better, but not really. There was a huge opportunity that Ward had already returned for the gun, covered up his tracks. This whole thing was a shot in the dark. And they didn't have the best record of getting bullseyes with those.

"All right, bro." JJ clasped his hands together, facing Pope. "I see you vibing on Kie, okay?"

Pope pressed his mouth into a firm line.

"I noticed that too." Alex couldn't help but to smile, despite the suffocating anticipation that she was feeling.

"Give me the details," JJ went on. "Are we talking first base, second base, third base?"

Pope didn't answer, and Alex rolled her eyes at JJ's thinly veiled crudeness. "Do you like her?" She tried.

"Yeah," he let out a sigh. "But...I don't know."

"What?" JJ furrowed his brow. "What does that mean? You always know."

Pope leaned against the outfall. "Like....the other night, she was all over me. But she was wasted, so it doesn't really count."

"Mhm, not entirely true." Alex piped up. "It's possible that she got drunk and got a bit bold and didn't really mean anything. But it's also possible that she let down her guard and couldn't hide how she really felt."

"You think?" Hope shined in his eyes.

"I mean, I don't know how Kiara is as a drunk." Alex shrugged. "I just know how girls can be. Sometimes we play games cause it's fun. It's fun to have someone chasing after you, to leave them confused and thinking of you. But get a little alcohol involved, and maybe real feelings start to come out."

"But it's so confusing. It's like...she has different feelings ever day." Pope groaned.

"That is also entirely possible." Alex replied.

JJ gave her a look that said, 'you're not helping.'

She shrugged innocently. "Again, it's a girl thing."

"I tried being edgy-out there Pope, and she didn't like that." He rambled. "So then I tried to be straight-laced Pope, and she didn't like that. I don't know what she wants, I don't know what to do."

JJ grabbed his shoulders to get him to stop talking. "Pope, think. I know you can do that. Light some candles, put on some Otis Redding. Yeah, that would work." He snapped, like his ideas were genius. "You could play the guitar!"

"I don't know how to play the guitar." Pope cried.

Alex sighed and stepped over to them, grabbing one of JJ's waving arms and lowering it down. "Or..." she suggested. "You could just be Pope."

Pope furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, normal-Pope is who she's friends with, right? Who she originally started liking?" Alex explained. "Maybe you trying to be all these different Popes is what's throwing her off, making her feel confused. Making you confused."

Pope stared at her. "Normal Pope?"

"Yeah, like act how you always do."

He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Kiara calling to them, voice bouncing off the walls of the pipe. "Guys, I think I found something."

Alex's heart leaped in her chest.

"You got it?" JJ yelled back.

What drifted out to them next was not what they expected. "Oh my God," Kiara sounded horrified. "There's something dead in here!"

Her breath catching, Alex had to lean on JJ to keep from falling over. There were only so many deaths around here, even though the number was high as of late.

And there were only so many places for Ward to hide a body.

"Like a person?" Pope asked.

A loud scream carried it's way out to them.

"Oh my God," Pope sucked in a breath.

"Is it..." Alex tried to call down the pipe, but she couldn't get her voice louder than a faint breath.

JJ tightened his support on her. "Is it George?" He yelled, wincing.

Alex squeezed her eyes shut, her stomach clenching.

"I don't know, I don't know!" Kiara shrieked. This didn't make Alex feel any better.

"Don't touch it! Or anything!" Pope called.

"Guys?" Kiara screamed. "The water!"

"What?" Pope got down close to the outfall, and JJ and Alex kept quiet until the sound of rushing water came crashing through the silence.

"What the hell?" Alex's voice trembled.

"Kiara, get out of there now!" Pope bellowed down the pipe.

"They're flushing the sewers?" Alex bent down to look down the pipe as well. "Right now?"

"Fuck." JJ tugged at the roots of his hair.

Alex began wading for the shore.

"Where are you going?" JJ caught her trying to leave.

Her pants sopping wet, Alex got up onto the bank. "To get whoever is doing this to stop. Or at least wait."

"Hurry." Pope nodded, agreeing with her plan.

"Don't say anything suspicious!" JJ called after her as she ran for the road. "Just distract them!"

Alex sprinted through town, shoes squishing against the pavement, ignoring people's stares as she passed stores and shops. She rounded a corner, skidding to a halt when she saw who it was operating the large handwheels.

"Rafe, what the fuck?"

He whipped around at the sound of her voice, eyes wild. "Alex. Thought you...thought you'd be at George's funeral."

"Left early." She started towards him, walking at a slower pace, as not to spook him. "Had something I needed to get."

"The gun." Rafe said, staying where he was, letting her come to him. "I heard you and your little friends down there."

"So you decided to kill us? Just like that?" She stopped walking.

He didn't say anything. Not an ounce of remorse or regret in his stone-cold expression.

"We didn't find it." Alex tried again. "The gun. Just turn the water off, let us get out of there and then you can look for it, for all I care."

He scoffed at that. "I'm not turning the water off."

"Didn't you hear me?" Desperation clung to her every breath. "The gun isn't down there!"

He froze, blue eyes wide as they took her in, mouth clamped shut as he tried not to speak.

Alex's shoulders relaxed as realization washed over her. "Ward told you to come here. It is down there, isn't it?"

Rafe whipped around without a word, cranking up the water pressure.

Alex sprinted for him, jumping onto his back and pulling his hands away from the wheel herself.

"Get off!" He barked, swatted at her as she clung to him.

"Turn the water off!" She yelled back, pressing her forearm harder against his throat.

"No!" He grabbed her arm, the one closing in on his neck and pulled. No matter how strong Alex's grip was, he was stronger.

He yanked himself free from the headlock, letting her fall to the street once she no longer had any hold on him. The pavement scraped up her knees and shins as she landed, and she cried out from the sharp sting that came from her hip.

"You need to stay out of this." He towered over her, eyes ablaze. "And so did your dad, and look where he ended up." He motioned for the next storm drain down the street, confirming her worst fears.

Fueled by rage, she swung her legs back, colliding with Rafe's knees. This didn't knock him over, not by a long shot, but it earned a loud groan and made him double over, giving her time to get to her feet.

"Fuck you." She spat, limping as she put distance between them. "Fuck your dad. Fuck your whole family."

This seemed to amuse him. "Fuck Sarah?" He offered, trying to trigger her again, but this time it didn't work. Sarah was alive, and she would be back one day to rip him apart.

It was nice to have something to hold over him, to hold over the Camerons. That Sarah was there, on the tarmac, she knows what happened, she knows the horrible things that her father did. She would be back, and she'd be back to take them down.

Regaining some of her composure, Alex turned her back on him. He wasn't going to turn the water off, and there was no way she would beat him in a fight. Her best chance was the return to the others and help Kiara get free.

But she was sure to give him two middle fingers over her shoulders as she left.

Once around the corner, away from Rafe's gaze, she started to sprint again. She didn't even make it all the way back to the outfall, spotting Pope and JJ in the street, pulling a manhole cover off with all their might.

She pushed off the ground, fueled by adrenaline. She reached them in no time, hitting her knees to help, despite the bloody scrapes that were already decorating her skin.

Wrapping her fingers around the grate, the pulled. She saw Kiara's own fingers coming from the other side, pushing from her end, but that was all she could see of her. The water had come all the way up to the grate, the murkiness having swallowing her up.

Between the all of them and the water pressure, they were able to get the cover off after a few more moments of grunts and shaking muscles.

Kiara hauled herself onto the pavement, choking out some water. Alex fell onto her back, her arms trembling from the effort.

"You good?" Pope stared down at her, worry in his eyes.

She was on all fours, coughing and heaving for air. But she offered a thumbs up. "Never better."

Alex slumped with relief. JJ caught sight of her bloody knees and hissed. "What happened to you?"

"Long story." Alex waved off his concern. "But the gun is down there! I know for certain now, I-"

After a few more deep gulps of fresh air, Kiara reached behind her back and pulled out something from her shorts. Metal glinted in the sunlight as she revealed her findings. "Oh, this?"

"Oh my God!" JJ took the gun from her hands, inspecting it for damage. Pope huddled with him, a big smile on his face. Even wet, dirty Kiara was wearing a grin.

Alex threw her head back and laughed, joy and relief mixing into a wonderful, long awaited feeling in her chest.

Bullseye.

catie speaks!

heyyy y'all!!!

sorry that this chapter kinda took a while, i've been busy. but it's here now!!

any thoughts? theories? 👀

anyways, thank you so much for reading! i hope you enjoyed it, please vote and comment if you enjoyed, follow be he notified when i update!

have a great day!!!!

virtual hugs,
catie!