"Oh, shit, they found the truck." Kie panicked as the six drove back the way they came. After heading to the church, they found the cross gone with two people in mind of who had it.

"Just relax. Relax." John B spoke quickly back at her.

"Yeah, relax." Rio agreed, reaching forward to hold Popes shoulder and JJ's hand.

"Well, lookee here." Shoupe spoke as he walked over. Kie ducked down and hid slightly.

"Good evening officer." John B commented.

"Sheriff." Shoupe corrected.

"Sheriff. That's right." John B nodded.

Rio noticed Shoupes stare. "I know i'm pretty, but you don't have to stare."

"I've got two parents on a line looking for a girl that fits your description." he commented with a raised eyebrow. "Anthony?"

"Never heard of him." she pursed her lips. "I'm a bit offended you think I look like a boy though."

"I pulled the tags and I know who's truck that is." Shoupe said sternly as he looked around the van, shining his light in the back to find Kie on the floor board, "Hey! Kie, you drop your weed pen back there?"

"Found it." Kie nodded as she got up.

"Sheriff, I just wanted to say that this is all my fault." Pope spoke up, trying to take the blame, "She had nothing to do with this. I take 100% responsibility."

"Nothing to do with it?" Shoupe questioning in a tone of disbelief, "You wanna try that again? Your parents reported the truck missing four hours ago, and the keys were missing from the house. I'm taking you home. And you-"

He shined his light in Rios face. "You're coming with me. Talk to your worried parents on the phone before you make them sick."

Pope looked back at her. "I'll be okay, Rio. We'll come pick you up as soon as you call."

She nodded hesitatingly, leaning her forehead forward some as he kissed it. JJ squeezed her hand as Rio got out with Kie.

"I can take this one while you get her home." a woman office walked forward, Rio recognized her from Wards death scene.

"Thanks, Plum." Shoupe nodded. Kie hugged Rio tightly in the headlights. "Let's go girls."

"I'll find a way to break you out." Rio promised as they pulled away. "Don't let your parents walk all over you."

Kie let her go, going for Shoupes car. Rio looked over as Plum held the door open for her, letting her get into the back of the car. "Thanks."

"Sure." Plum shut the door, walking to get into the drivers seat. She didn't say anything else, nor did Rio, watching as she drove off the deserted road. Rio hadn't been from OBX, but she knew they only had one police station. So, when they passed it after a five minute drive, everything started to run together.

"Ma'am?" Rio spoke up. "Did we pass the police station?"

"No, we didn't." she said back, but Rio was 100% certain they had. She tried to play it casual, holding the bottom of her knees and sneakingly unbuckling her seat belt. She made sure it was as silent as possible, covering it with a small cough. Plum didn't notice, or so Rio though before wasp spray was suddenly being sprayed in her face, into her eyes, and down her throat.

Rio use to have bad vision as a child. As she got older, it improved tremendously due to her training her eyes to not need glasses. Yet, when she opened them this time, everything was completely blurry. She figured with a few rubs and harsh blinks, it'd improve. She could see something waving right infront of her vision. "Didn't go blind, did you?"

The voice was familiar but not enough to know immediately. A faint souther accent, not necessarily deep but far from high pitch. What threw his away was the obnoxious sniffling that belonged to a coke user. "Rafe?"

"Glad we're on a first name basis." he stood up as she continued to blink. "I'll ask again...how's your eyes?"

"I can't see anything." she admitted, yelping as he grabbed her. "Let-get off of me!"

"Chill out!" his hands gripped her arms tighter, yanking her toward the sink and shoving her head into the water. Rio could have sworn he was trying to drown her, holding her under before yanking her up and shoving a towel in her face. Rio rubbed her eyes quickly, the water helping flush what she could out.

"Why am I here? Where's JJ and Pope?" she asked now that her vision was slowly coming back. Rafe was headed for the door, she threw the towel at the back of his head. "I'm talking to you!"

Rafe huffed loudly. "You're here because your friends think they're smart."

"And what's that have to do with me?" she glared, the room was growing hotter, making her realize she was likely under the deck.

Rafe rose his eyebrows. "Because they're not."

Then, he was gone. Rio inhaled, shaking her head. "Gonna kill him."

She didn't know much about breaking out of places, her time with the Pogues the only life threatening situations she'd ever gotten herself into. Rio resulted on trying to get the lock open first, using her bobby pin and any sharp object she could find. That hadn't gone to plan, only resulting in her sweating terribly and deprived of any source of water. Now, after a second of catching her breath, Rio held her head against the wall.

She could hear the water, it was beyond obvious that whatever part of the boat she was in, it was the part underwater.

Rio began tearing the room apart, looking for whatever she could that could help her out of this scenario. She resulted in pulling a bar off the little tables leg, smacking it on the ground a few times. She braced herself, checking the door one more time. Now, standing infront of the wall again, she tried to hype herself up. "If you die....at least you'll look like a hot corpse."

She began to hit the floor multiple times, all in the same place. A dent was forming, the echo of the pole ringing through the entire room. It took her fifteen minutes of pure hitting, over and over, before a tiny hole formed. Water began to push through, similar to a fountain. Rio quickly dropping the pole and hurried to pull parts of the floor off, now with the help of the indention. The more she pulled, the more water started to pour into the room.

It was up to her ankle when she could reach just her hand through. It was water, it was all water. Rio smiled, glad she'd remembered her Dad telling her that some boats had a softer base rather then the hard metal on the sides. She braced herself, pulling more and more floor until the room began to flood. The tables and chairs started to float.

Rio held her breath, going under the water and pulling at more and more until she could make it through. She swam up to gasp for a breath, the water half way filled up the room by now, meaning this rash idea was all that would save her at this point. When there was a loud banging on the door, she knew the water started to seep through and get the attention of someone. Rio looked down at the hole through the water, sucking in a deep breath before going under.

Rio pulled half her body through the hole she made, sucking in as much as she could to get out. Her body was stuck though, she hadn't had enough time to pull more parts of the floor off. She winced, the wood digging into her hip as she was trapped between under the boat and in the room she was trapped in. She had to act fast, and the only way she'd get through this was by hurting herself tremendously.

She pushed against the bottom of the boat, forcing her skin to slice against the board. Bubbles formed infront of her as she yelled out, the water turning a red shade as she broke through, her hip throbbing of pain and gushing of a scarlett shade. Rio struggled to see in the water as was, staring close to the top of the boat to feel her way through. It was getting hard to breath, not being able to see causing panic to set it.

Until suddenly, she no longer felt the top of the boat.

At first, she feared she sunk down too much. But, as she swam up to try and catch a feel of it, she met the surface. Rio splashed and gasped for air, choking on water that merged its self into her throat and lungs. The waves went over her head every few seconds, pushing more water into her face.

"Rio!" it was Kie's voice, struggling. "Rio, hey!"

She splashed around before seeing, about fifteen feet away from her, Kie was struggling to keep an unconscious JJ afloat. Rio coughed as she swam. "Kiara."

She tried to yell, but her voice was too weak.

"Rio." Kie whimpered as she swam, taking JJ off her hands so Kie could gasp for air. Rio kicked her legs as she grasped JJ, shaking him slightly.

"JJ!" she tried, coughing as water got into her mouth. "JJ, wake up! JJ!"

Kie helped her take one of his halfs, the two holding him up together as the sound of a lifeboat was getting closer. "What is that?"

"JJ!" it was Pope. "Kie! Rio!"

"Pope!" Rio yelled out. "John B!"

"Rio!" Pope yelled for her again, the lifeboat coming around the large boat.

"Kie!" John B yelled.

"John B!" she tried to wave him over.

"Oh my god, JJ." Pope panicked as they rode over, reaching down. "Rio, oh my gid. We were so worried."

"I broke the floor." she coughed, helping Kie pushed JJ up toward Pope and John B as Cleo and Sarah pulled them into the boat. Sarah hugged her and patted on her back to get all the water out.

"JJ." Pope shook him as he laid against the lifeboat, John B hurrying to drive away. "JJ,  wake up."

Rio leaned over, tilted his head to the side and patting his back. Pope helped her. Rio shook her head. "I'm sorry, JJ."

Pope winced as Rio shoved her fingers into JJ's mouth, reaching the back of his throat as she started to wiggle them. Pope hunched him over more as he started to gag, Rio yanked her hand back when she felt a warm liquid start to come from his throat. Pope shifted JJ's body so he coughed the sea water up over the side of the boat, Rio sighing in relief. John B laughed. "There he is!"

"Life guard training 101." Rio inhaled, still out of breath. JJ leaned back, staring at her and shifting his gaze toward Pope. "How'd you like those finger down your throat?"

It made the boat laugh, Kie hugged JJ as Pope wrapping his arm around Rio. When Kie pulled away, JJ leaned into Rio and Pope as the trio hugged like their loved depended on it.

The lifeboat stopped.

"We gotta go!" Kie yelled as John B tried to pull it again and again.

"I'm trying!" John B called back. "Rio?"

"He's pointed at us!" Pope yelled in fear as his eyes fell onto Rafe, pointing a gun their way from the railing of the boat.

Rio leaned over, pushing the motter into the water more. "Try it now!"

John B gave a harsh yank, the boat firing up again.

"Go! Go! Go!" Pope yelled as John B steered them away quickly, Rio flying back as Pope caught her.

JJ looked to Kie as they speed off, "What the hell happened?

"The blunt end of a machete." Kie spoke, her own sighs of relief leaving her mouth.

"A machete?" JJ gapped.

"The blunt end." she nodded on.

"Next time, duck." Cleo looked at the blonde with a shake of her head.

"Stellar advice." Rio agreed with a laugh. "You looked like a hot dead man for a second."

"Even with a bunch of fingers down your float." Pope joked as the trio huddled together on the left side of the boat, the air painfully harsh on their skin.

They all looked out at the cross being heaved up onto the boat again, Pope sighing as the sun shined down on them, "This shit ain't over."

"No, it ain't." John B agreed with Pope.

"This is the lowest we can go." Pope flopped between Rio and JJ, "We literally have nothing else to loose. The cross, gone."

"The gold, gone." Sarah huffed.

"Seriously, if we had a nickel for every time we got beat up, i'd say we're at a dollar fifty." JJ spoke up with a shake of his head, twisting a knife.

"Don't forgot all the solo beatings we've gotten." Rio added in, pointing to the little scar on the side of her head.

"But, I mean, we've had some good stuff happen." John B spoke up with a faint grin.

"Name something." Pope suggested.

"Uh, the boiler room." John B turned his head toward Cleo and Pope, "If the boiler didn't explode I wouldn't have gotten away from Rafe. I couldn't have gotten to Sarah, I could have died."

"The wasn't luck." Cleo shook her head with a minor giggle, "That thing was gonna blow the second I stopped feeding it."

"Stealing my thunder, Cleo." John B shook his head.

"Try again, John B." Rio handed him the little coconut she found. "You've got the nuts."

"Pope, you're related to Denmark Tanny." John B spoke toward the Hayward boy.

"And I lost all his inheritance." Pope pointed out his way.

"JJ and Pope got a girlfriend and also are boyfriends." John B pointed at the trio. "What? Like a couple- a throuple- a trio in one?"

"Sounds about right." JJ nodded, tossing an arm around Pope and placing his hand on Rios face.

"A love triangle without the actual love triangle." Rio confirmed with a nod. "Sounds good?"

"I think that would sound pretty good." Pope nodded from between the two.

"You know what?" John B asked as he stood to his feet, "Guys, this is it. This is the Pogue life. We are in the Caribbean. It's our own little slice of paradise. With my best friends, with my family. I don't know, I wouldn't wanna do it with anyone else."

"Look, while you guys were complaining about every little thing.. JJ." John B spoke up, nodding toward the blonde and pointing toward the ocean, "I was looking at those burly lefts."

"There's some slabs out there." JJ admitted, holding back a grin.

"Just a few." John B shrugged.

"Kie, you see that. I know you wanna get out there." John B said over to the Carrera girl.

"No boards." Kie said with a eyeroll.

"Well, we can bodysurf till we make some boards." John B rose his eyebrows at her. "Rio? Surfing?"

"I think I can take a little more salt to the wounds." she admitted. "If I get an infection, hey, at least i'll still look good."

"Infection and all." JJ agreed with a grin.

"They do look pretty tasty." Pope admitted, "There's nobody around. We could squat here for a bit."

"Poguelandia." JJ announced as he stood.

"Oh boy." John B sighed.

"I claim thee Poguelandia. I like the ring of it." JJ nodded confidently as the wind blew his hair back, "I'm gonna make a flag. It's gonna have a chicken on it. With a coconut bra, smoking a J, in Crocs."

"I'll stand for that anthem." Rio stood up as she held her hands out. "What do you say, boyfriends who are also boyfriends? Are we up for some body surfing?"

"As long as you can handle being second best." JJ stood up and stole a kiss from her. "Pope will come in last."

"Oh, you wish." Pope laughed, standing up with a small shove. "I'll at least come before Rio."

"That we can agree on." they shared a kiss as Rio gasped in disbelief. "Last one out there is a rotten egg!"

JJ ran, leaving the pair. Pope held his hand out. "Don't worry, i'll share my first place prize with you."

"Sounds like a plan." Rio smiled, leaning in to kiss him before they ran to meet JJ in the water, the three falling under the water as they all crashed into each other.

•

kylie speaks

see you in a few months,
babies :)