SMOKE SIGNALS     /     OUTERBANKS
ੈ✩‧₊˚ written by catie . . . © vqnillascented
chapter thirty eight  ━━
' the wrong side of the tracks '

FLAGS FLUTTERED AGAINST THEIR POLES, strangers chattered and laughed all around, and the waves lapped at the base of a ferry. All of this combined was nice background noise for planning and plotting.

"Honestly, the hardest part is gonna be security, all right?" JJ was saying, perched atop the back of a chair, refusing to sit properly. "Most of the guys are gonna be at the rail yard."

The group of teens, all of them except John B, who was still MIA, had caught a ferry boat out to Wilmington, with the idea that they would intercept the train and the cross before it got to Rafe.

"Right so," Pope nodded. "We're gonna need some place and gaurd it, maybe a little farther down the line, like a whistle-stop or something."

Cleo clicked her tongue. "You guys are getting ahead of yourselves. Per usual. We don't even have a way to transport the cross. What you think? On JJ's motorcycle?"

"Alright, other options." Pope said. "How about we ━"

With a stifled gasp, Sarah was leaning toward, hiding her face with her hands. "Oh my God."

"What?" Alex asked, quickly snapping her head in the direction that Sarah had been staring in.

There, at the bar, chatting up some older gentleman, was Topper.

Alex couldn't swallow her groan. "Jesus Christ. Does he spawn wherever we are or something?"

"Why...is he everywhere?" Kiara screwed up her nose with disgust.

Pope didn't share the others contempt. "Perfect." He said. "I bet you Topper has a way to transport the cross."

Alex's brow furrowed. "When has Topper been helpful? Remind me, please."

"Actually, Pope's right." JJ said. "He does have a rig."

"No." Sarah shook her head.

"Yes, he does."

"Absolutely not." Sarah repeated. "We're not dragging him into this, okay?"

"You already got him whipped anyway." JJ shrugged. "So why don't you just take one for the team?"

Sarah threw her hands in the air. "What would John B say?"

"I think John B will completely understand." Pope said, poking fun at her.

"It's about the treasure. Nothing personal." Cleo agreed.

While the urge to tease Sarah was always very strong, Alex remained quiet, still feeling a bit guilty that Sarah didn't know about Rafe. She wasn't sure if it mattered at this point, but it couldn't go over that well that she had kept such a big secret from her best friend for so long. This was just...not the right time to bring it up.

"We can handle John B after." Kiara piped up. "Just talk to Topper."

Sarah threw her head back, watching the clouds roll by overhead before getting to her feet with a defeated sigh.

"You're the best, Sarah." Pope called after her, as she headed for the bar.

She didn't even turn around to respond, flipping him off behind her back.

Topper's entire face lit up at the sight of her approaching. They shared an awkward hug, even though he didn't seem to notice the tension.

"Kinda feel bad for the guy." Kiara murmured.

Alex snorted. "I don't."

With an hand on his bicep, Sarah led Topper away from the bar, the two of them heading to the upper deck to talk.

"Shit. I can't see them." Pope hissed.

"She can just give us the report when she gets back." Cleo elbowed him.

"Let's move. I gotta see this." JJ was already several strides away from the table.

The others hurried after him, settling in a corner where they had a clear shot of them. The wind had picked up, but occasionally they could make out some of their conversation.

"I saw the news. I can't believe you're here. You okay?" Topper swirled his glass.

Sarah nodded, her response drowned out by a flag flapping overhead.

"I can't hear." Alex complained.

"This is so creepy, you guys." Cleo rolled her eyes at the four straining to listen.

"We've done worse." Alex waved her off.

"Broken into many a home, run from many a cop." JJ mused, like the memories were sweet.

Cleo huffed. "Cheese on bread."

Sarah was staring over Topper's shoulder, locking eyes with the group. JJ motioned for her to keep going, not to stall.

She went back to talking, hesitant.

"This better work." Kiara whispered.

"How can I help?" Topper's voice drifted over to them on the wind.

"He's biting, he's biting." JJ hissed, gripping the railing tighter.

Alex fake gagged. "Gross, now I'm imagining Topper as a fish. He's already got the face for it, I guess."

JJ folded over, stifling his laughter, while Kiara shot daggers at them. "Is this necessary? Can we just listen, please?"

Alex pressed her lips together to hold in her own giggles, while clamping a hand over JJ's mouth to shut him up.

"I feel like if I ask you...you're just such a giver, Topper. You're gonna feel like you have to." Sarah was bringing all the flair.

Kiara hummed. "She's nailing it."

"That's just the way I was raised. To help people." Topper responded, which sent JJ and Alex into another fit of stifled laughter.

"Love." Cleo chuffed, shaking her head. "Makes you all loopy."

"She's taking too long." Pope sighed, waving his arm with attempted subtlety for Sarah to pick up the pace.

Her next words came much faster. "I need your truck."

"My dad would literally kill me. He's like super anal about it."

"So are we!" Sarah nodded quickly, worried that she was losing him. "We're super anal."

Alex gasped for breath amidst her third fit of laughter, her and JJ clinging to each other in the corner, trying not to draw attention to themselves.

"We'll take..." Sarah stuttered, as if the strangeness of her words was just hitting her. "We'll take such good care of it."

"You've put me in a tough spot here." Topper laughed nervously.

"I get it. You have all the reasons not to help us." Sarah reached out, dragging a feather-light touch down his arm. His eyes followed her fingers.

"She's good." Cleo nodded, slowly.

Topper sighed. "Why do I feel like I'm gonna regret this?"

Sarah squealed, a big grin on her face as she flung her arms around Topper's neck.

"Yes. We're in." Pope smiled at the others, the humor dropping from his face when he got to JJ and Alex, who were still practically seizing with laughter.

"We should've left them behind." He said with a sigh, before making his way back to their original table. Kiara and Cleo followed, abandoning the couple to pull themselves together.

Her stomach cramping from her giggling, Alex hurried after them, dragging an out of breath JJ behind her, their hands intertwined. "You can't get rid of us now! It's way too late for that."

Settling into his chair for the rest of the trip, Pope glared at them. "Lucky us."

Night had settled by the time they reached Wilmington, the hot, sticky air that had bathed them on the ferry ride shifting into a cooler breeze.

The six of them stood atop one of the parked trains in the lot, scoping out their surroundings and coming up with a plan.

Sarah ran her hand through her hair, frustrated. "Whoa. There's like a thousand trains here."

"Well, we know it's car 750X on the track to Raleigh." Pope shrugged.

Staring out at the sea of train cars, that information didn't seem to be of much help at all.

"Yeah, so now we just gotta find it." JJ said.

"News flash," Kiara sighed. "We're not getting out of here unnoticed with a giant cross."

"We don't have to." Pope suggested. "We can nab in somewhere further in the country. Just gotta figure out how to stop the train."

"Leave that to me." JJ said, readjusting his hat, a small smile dancing on his face.

Alex shot him a sidelong glance. "How about no?"

He showed his palms, motioning for everyone to hear him out. "I got an uncle up in New Bern, right? And when he got tipsy, he'd just throw an old chain across the tracks, just for shits and giggles. And that old chain would stop all the train traffic in coastal Carolina."

"A chain?" Kiara raised a brow.

"He's actually right." Pope said. "There's a low-voltage current that runs across all rail tracks. Throw a chain on it, you close that circuit. It would read as another train. Crossing lights come down. Science is actually pretty sound."

Alex hissed when JJ bumped his elbow into her shoulder. "See, I know my science, baby."

She rubbed her sore arm, narrowing her eyes at him. "Sure you do."

"Well, we don't have a chain." Cleo pointed out.

"No, but I bet Topper's dad has jumper cables in the truck." Sarah suggested. "Would that work?"

Pope's eyes widened. "Yeah."

"Come on!" Topper's voice suddenly cut through the peaceful air. "Are we doing this or not?"

Alex shivered. "God, I hate that guy."

"Alright, you all wait here." Cleo said. "Me and Pope will go look for the cross and send a signal once we find it."

"Do we actually have a plan right now?" Sarah bit back a smile, dimples poking through.

JJ grinned back at her. "I think we do."

They exchanged a high five, and Alex ducked her head to hide her own smile.

"Let's not jinx it." Pope said, bursting their celebratory bubble.

Cleo and Pope separated from the group, while the four others squatted atop another train car, keeping as good an eye on them as they could, as the two wove in and out around the trailers.

Down below, Topper was pacing beside his truck, muttering anxiously to himself.

Alex threw him a look over her shoulder. "You good, bro?"

He stopped, surprised at her words. "I'm fine, thank you Alex."

Blinking, she realized that her sarcasm had gone totally unnoticed. She forced a smile in return, before having to turn back around to hide her eye-roll.

"There he is..." Sarah whispered, pointing out at one of the train cars.

Alex squinted in that direction, then stifled a gasp when she saw Pope scaling the side of a car with his bare hands.

"Never get between that boy and his cross." She muttered, as he reached the top, signaling with his flashlight that the right car had been found.

"Okay, we're green." Kiara started to rise, only to be interrupted by a sharp metallic hiss.

"What is that?" Sarah breathed, everyone frozen as they listened.

The sound came again, louder, just before the train that Pope was hanging from lurched into motion.

"Shit." Alex gasped, feeling JJ's hand press against her back, urging her forward.

"Train's moving, train's moving." He said, as they all hurried down the train car, over to the ladder to solid ground.

Sarah fast-walked over to Topper. "Do you have jumper cables back there?"

He gave her a wild-eyed look. "Here I am involved in illegal activities."

Kiara scoffed from her place next to Alex, several yards away. "Drama queen."

Alex covered her mouth to stifle her laugh.

"Not that illegal." Sarah rolled her eyes, stepping in front of Topper to open up the car door herself.

"I'm not even close to being okay with this." Topper said, but Sarah ignored him, digging around in the backseat before returning with two cables in hand. "What are we even doing?"

"Topper, if you don't want to go, that's fine. We'll take the truck." Sarah said, turning and waving the others to come over.

"Oh, you guys will take the truck?" Topper could only watch as the Pogues started getting into his truck and setting up.

As Alex walked past, he grabbed her arm. "Hey, Alex, just wanna make sure; you are okay with ending up in jail, right?"

She yanked her arm away from him, her lip  curling. "Already been. Three stars."

JJ stepped up, pushing between them. "Nobody's going to jail. Again. But if it came to that, we'd do that for Pope, right guys?"

Nobody even hesitated to agree.

Topper sighed heavily, holding his head in his hands.

Alex and JJ made their way over to his dirt bike, which they had brought over on the ferry with them, while Kiara and Sarah took the truck, with a reluctant Topper driving.

Swinging one leg over the seat, Alex shifted, getting comfortable behind JJ. He glanced back at her over his shoulder, his eyes twinkling with excitement. "Ready?"

She wrapped her arms around his stomach, holding tight. Pressing her chest flush with his back, she knew there was no place she'd rather be. "Ready."

And they were off, leading the way out of the train yard, the truck right behind them as they sped down the road.

After driving a few miles, JJ pulled off the road, while the truck kept going, to park a few more yards away, by the crossing point, awaiting the train.

JJ and Alex wasted no time climbing off the bike, and hurrying over to the tracks with the jumper cables. They knelt down in front of the tracks, JJ scrambling to get the cords untangled.

"Oh my God, you can hear the freaking train coming!" He whooped.

Alex reached out towards the metal, feeling the tracks vibrating as her fingers brushed over them. "That's kind of insane."

"And exhilarating!" JJ paused to grin up at her.

She laughed, loud and carefree. "You're crazy."

"You love me."

She rolled her eyes despite the warm flush in her cheeks. "Don't wear it out."

JJ got to his feet, grabbing both of the clip-ends of the jumper cables. "All we gotta do now, is change the current."

"If you get shocked, I'm gonna laugh." Alex brushed up beside him, watching as he attached the claws to the tracks, a slight electric buzzing sound coming from each contact.

"How sweet, thank you." He said, voice oozing with sarcasm. He pointed up at the crossing signal above. "Let's see if it worked."

The two of them stared up at the flashing green light for a minute, then another, but still, the light stayed the same.

Alex's heart jumped, and JJ yanked off his hat to tug at his hair. "I don't get it, that's literally what he would do. It's supposed to change red. Oh God."

Alex sunk down to the ground, inspecting the jumper cables, making sure they were attached all that way. She nearly gasped when she got an idea. She took one of the clips off, moving it over to the other side. "I think a train would touch both sides."

JJ stopped his pacing, glancing up at the signal just as it flickered to red. "That's what I'm talking about! That's my girl!"

He scooped her up in a hug before she could even blink, and she squeaked as he spun her around, the dark trees whirling past her vision in a blur.

Alex was still reeling when he set her back down. "Science, baby, science."

"God, I love you." He was grinning wickedly, eyes twinkling in the moonlight.

"Love you too." She felt a warm peace spreading through her bones. "What now?"

"Now, we wait."

The train's low hum continued to get closer, louder, still vibrating through the earth even now that the two were several feet from the tracks, watching and waiting behind some trees.

"This better work." Alex took a deep breath, squeezing a handful of grass beneath her palm.

"It's gonna work." JJ whispered.

Two giant beams of light cut through the darkness as the train rounded the corner, finally on their stretch of tracks. Moments later, the shrill sound of brakes squealing filled the air.

"She's slowing down." JJ said, almost in awe.

"Hell yeah." Alex fist-pumped against her side.

Suddenly, tires crunched against the ground as a truck approached. Alex strained, only to see that it wasn't Topper's, it was a railroad operator vehicle.

"Their coming to fix the freaking signal." Alex inhaled sharply, sinking further behind the tree to hide herself.

"That's not a part of the plan." JJ cursed under his breath.

Two men got out of the truck, raising flashlights into the dark night before heading down the track ━ right towards Pope and Cleo.

"Oh God." Alex squeezed her eyes shut, trying to subconsciously send a message to them to get out of there. Of course, it didn't work.

More officials climbed out of the truck, going over to inspect the signal. It didn't take long at all for then to spot the cables.

"What is this bullshit?" One of them groaned, undoing both clips.

A few moments later, the signal flashed green once again.

Alex and JJ both stifled their gasps.

"Do you think that was enough time for them to get the cross?" Alex whispered, watching as the officials took the cables back to their truck.

JJ didn't say anything, which was answer enough.

"Shit." Alex huffed.

The train blared its horn twice before jerking to a start.

"We gotta go help them." JJ said, sighing frustratedly, taking Alex's hand to drag her away from the scene.

They rushed over to the discarded motorbike, pausing halfway on when Topper's truck sped past, overtaking the train, a wailing police car trailing right behind.

"Jesus Christ." Alex swung her leg over the seat. "We gotta go now."

JJ revved the engine twice before speeding down the tracks after them. There was a large wooden crate hanging half out of the trunk.

"They've got the cross!" Alex yelled, her voice almost getting lost in the wind and ruckus.

JJ whooped, driving faster. "Let's go!"

They passed the police car, Alex having to slap JJ's hand down when he attempted to flip them off. They caught up to the truck as it took a squealing turn and sped across the bridge.

JJ pressed faster, and Alex winced against the strong wind resistance. They probably shouldn't be going this fast, but it wasn't like they had another choice.

The police car was gaining, its sirens wailing louder and louder as it chased them.

"J, they're gaining on us!" Alex hissed, straining her neck to look back.

"I know, I know!" He yelled back, and Alex felt his breath hitch before he turned the steering, cutting over into the other lane.

She held onto him tighter as they came up right beside the truck, only a perilous foot between the vehicles.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Kiara hung out of the back window.

"Do you trust me?" He threw Alex a quick glance over her shoulder.

Her brow furrowed. "With the universe. But what ━ "

"Get ready to jump." He cut her off, continuing to go faster and faster, lining up with the bed of the truck.

Pope was back there already, but he let go of his grip on the cross to move to the edge, holding his arms out to Alex. "I'll got you."

Alex knew that nothing bad would happen to her, not with JJ and Pope to watch her, but that didn't stop the nauseating spike of fear that rocketing through her stomach as she stood up on the bike.

She extended one of her legs out, her foot finding the floor of the truck bed, before leveraging the rest of her body in that direction. Pope clung to her calf, and then her hip, then her shoulders, pulling her down to the truck as fast as he could.

"Holy shit, holy shit." She gasped, her back pressing against the cross box. "You got your cross!"

Pope's eyes were wide, fearful. "That doesn't matter! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" She waved off his concerns, feeling her anxiety get replaced by adrenaline.

She went to turn back to JJ, only to find that he was several feet back, at a standstill in the middle of the road. Her heart plummeted to her toes.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of the truck bed. "What the fuck is he doing?"

"I don't know." Pope yelled over the wind, as the two of them watched him rev the engine, staring down the police car barreling towards him. "I don't think he does either."

Alex's entire body felt hot, flushed despite the cool night air. She watched in horror as JJ started to drive right towards the police car, head on.

"Pull over, pull over! I have to go help him!" She cried, having to force herself to stay put and not jump onto the road herself.

The sound of glass shattering filled the street, as JJ flung a heavy rock through the police's windshield. The vehicle skidded out, running into a ditch.

But still, JJ did not stop. He just kept barreling down the road. The police car squealed out of the ditch, hurrying to chase after him instead.

"He did it!" Topper exclaimed from behind the wheel, gasping with relief. "They're chasing him now!"

"Shut the hell up, Topper!" Alex barked, unable to bite back her annoyance this time. "Stop the truck!"

"I'm not stopping!" He called back. "I'm not going to jail for you guys. No chance!"

Alex slammed her fist against the outside of the truck. "Damn it Topper, that's the least you could do!"

"Don't scratch the paint!" He yelled at her.

She took it upon herself to drag her fingernails along the side, picking up dark blue flakes as she went.

"Jesus, Alex ━ "

"Please, stop the truck!" Sarah pleaded.

Topper hesitated for a moment before groaning loudly. "Fine, fine, I'm stopping." They came to a jerking halt in the middle of the road, and Topper actually listened when they demanded for him to turn at the next road to loop back around.

"Go faster!" Kiara yelled.

"I'm trying!" He yelled back.

"You're driving like a freaking grandma!" Alex snapped. "I want eyes on JJ, right now, Topper, or I swear to God, I will ━ "

"Don't scratch any more of the paint with your damn fingernails!"

Alex blinked. "I was gonna say kill your entire bloodline, but you make it too easy."

Pope stood up, the wind billowing all around as he pointed to the turn up ahead. "Go left, go left!"

He and Alex nearly fell onto the road as Topper yanked the truck in that direction.

"Jesus!" Pope groaned.

Topper scoffed. "Oh, now I'm going too fast?"

"Shut the hell up, man." Cleo scowled at him.

"There he is!" Pope called, and Alex whipped her head in the direction he was pointing, spotting JJ leading the cops up some ramp.

"Turn right, Topper!" Kiara yelled, and Topper obeyed. The tension and adrenaline inside the car was palpable, practically suffocating. But the fresh air didn't help Alex catch her breath much either.

She gripped the side of the truck, her eyes glued to JJ until the very last second when they turned.

"He's up on the overpass!" Sarah said, and all of them glanced up at the bridge they were about to pass under, spotting the flashing blue lights.

Alex can't breathe as they go under the bridge, unable to see or hear what's going on overhead.

She turns around to look behind her as soon as they break out of the overpass, and the sight that greets her knocks the wind from her lungs.

Part of the railing crumbles as JJ's motorcycle falls from the bridge, plummeting to the road. It lands hard on the concrete, shattering upon impact.

catie speaks!

FINALLY AN UPDATE!!!

sorry that this took so long, i've been sick and then just as i was getting better i got my period 😐 but i'm back from the grave now!!!

sorry for the cliffhanger, i just cant help myself!! what do y'all think alex's reaction to jj's little stunt will be??

also why was this scene kinda making me sad to write 😔😢 🪦

any thoughts? theories?

thank you so much for reading! i hope you liked it!! please vote and comment if you enjoyed, and follow to be notified when i update! love you alllll 🫶

virtual hugs,
catie!