The HMS Pogue was the only boat in the marsh that day, providing both convenient privacy and urgent haste. The news that the murky water, in which we spent most of our time, was closed off due to the Scooter Grubbs search had spread like wildfire through town, and the six of us knew that if we wanted to search the wreck before anyone else then we would have to make it quick, and hope we got out before Shoupe and his goons caught wind of us.

It hadn't taken long for John B to swipe the scuba gear from the Cameron's big boat and rejoin the five of us on the water, soon after recalling the events of how Sarah Cameron had practically just let him walk off with the tanks. I assumed that the kook princess would soon connect the dots and figure out that we had poached their air, but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind for now. The scuba gear was our only ticket to getting inside of the wreck.

As JJ and Pope began anchoring the boat above the wreck site of the Grady White, Eli handed the stolen tanks off to me and Kiara to be checked over. My brows furrowed as I looked over the air levels of the two capsules in front of me.

"This is empty." Kiara huffed as she pushed the tank off of her lap.

I took one of the empty water bottles from the floor of the boat and threw it at the boy, a dull thud sounding upon impact. "You took empty tanks you dumb whore!"

John B tossed the bottle back my way and threw his hands up in defense. He began to mutter an excuse but stopped himself short, instead turning to the side in silence, his hand running nervously through the knotted, hazel-colored locks of hair falling over his eyes. He really had no excuse this time.

"'No Stevie, I don't trust you to sneak it out with me. I'm going'," I mocked, throwing the boy's earlier words against him. "Well, look who went and came back with empty tanks. As the saying goes, if you want something done, don't let a man do it."

"That's not the sa-"

"Okay, this one's a quarter full." Kie sighed, looking at JJ who shook his head. "It's enough for one of us."

"Love it when a plan comes together," Pope muttered from his seat, sarcasm heavy in his tone.

Kiara wiped her hands against her legs in annoyance. "Does anybody know how to dive?"

"Uh..." Pope trailed off as the group exchanged despondent glances. The silence was heavy as our gazes shifted back and forth, even though we were one hundred percent sure that no one on that boat had ever dived a day in their lives.

"Anybody?" Kie repeated, her attention shifting to JJ, who leaned next to Pope with one hand wearily grasping the metal bar.

The blonde shrugged, pointing to John B who had motioned to him a moment earlier. "It's kind of a Kook sport."

"I... read about it." Pope cringed as the words hit the tense air around us. We all knew that Pope was smart, the smartest one out of all of us in fact, but we also knew that diving wasn't a subject that he was interested in, meaning only one thing. He had read about it in a coroner report, which scared us shitless more than it helped.

"Great! Pope read about it, so someone's gonna die." Kie snapped as John B threw his head back in defeat, sighing heavily from the seat beside the fiery girl.

"Might as well just kill us now," Eli mumbled, the words quiet enough so that only I heard. I stifled a laugh while the boy ran a hand through his untamed curls.

JJ put a hand to his mouth, attempting to imitate a diver breathing through a mask. "Look, y-you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard could it be?"

"Do you have experience with putting things in your mouth?" Eli smirked. It was definitely the wrong time to make a joke, but I couldn't help but let out a laugh of surprise as JJ flipped him off.

"Eli, please shut your trap." Pope sighed, brushing the boy off as he squinted at JJ. "If you come up too fast, nitrogen gets in your blood, and you get the bends."

The blonde's eyes lit up and he smirked as he pushed his rear out, arching his back in true JJ fashion. He winked at me as I let out a small giggle. "Bends like, bend over and-"

Obviously, Pope was not as amused as I was.

"The bends kill you."

JJ stilled, his ass still in the air as a slight look of terror overcame his features. "Right." He muttered, standing back in his normal position.

As the sun began to set, an array of orange and pink hues lit up the sky around us, the light bouncing off of the water giving a warning that we only had a few hours of the day left. The six of us grew steadily more anxious as the plan seemed to fall apart at the seams. We were so close. The wreck was right beneath us, the tanks were here, and yet somehow we were still losing. It was like whatever higher power that was watching over us said 'Oooh, so close but not this time.'

I silently looked at the defeated teens that were spread around the boat, each wearing the same expression of disappointment that donned my features. I thought a moment before hesitantly speaking up. "I can dive."

Every single one of their heads turned towards me so fast that I was almost sure they got whiplash, and simultaneously they began protesting against my offer.

"Absolutely not," JJ stated firmly, his eyes boring into mine as he shook his head, his posture now rigid in alert. 

"Since when the hell do you know how to dive?" John B questioned incredulously.

"Well, I've never actually done it, but Big John took me along one time when he went diving, so I think I remember all of the basics." Sure, that was the truth, but what I didn't tell them was that this little trip happened when I was six, and I definitely did not remember enough to properly and safely make the dive to the wreck. But none of the rest of them knew anything, making me the most experienced here, and I sure as hell would risk getting the bends for something that could possibly change our futures.

"Ok, that- you're not diving Stevie, end of story." John B dismissed, his gaze sweeping over the others to see if they had even this slightest bit of experience diving.

"You're not my mom, Johnathan," I retorted.

"And you're not Big John, Stevie." He spat back.

"What I know is a hell of a lot more than the rest of you know, which makes me the most sensible option."

"You've never even actually dived!"

"Nobody here has-"

"Vie, it's really not a good idea," Kiara interjected, stepping into her protective mother mode.

"The bends are really dangerous," Pope added.

"Plus, you just hit your head yesterday, that pressure could cause a concussion," Eli spoke.

"No." JJ's voice rang low and serious, cutting off the other's protests.

My eyes met his blue ones, and the two of us just stared, neither one willing to back down. I knew that he wouldn't let me dive, hell he wouldn't even let me get near the water if it put me in danger, but if I didn't go then that meant one of the others had to. I opened my mouth to spit out an argument, but the words died in my throat as something twitched on the blonde's face. If it were anyone else they wouldn't have seen it, but I had spent so long studying the boy's features that I wouldn't miss it if I was blind. A hint of repressed fear crinkled in the corner of his eye as he gave me a pleading look and a moment of silent understanding passed between the two of us. He would never let me go, no matter what argument I made up, and I would never let him go, no matter how much of the hero attitude he put on. I gave a slight, almost non-existent nod as I slumped down in my seat quietly, the others letting out relieved sighs at the action.

John B grabbed my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze before looking at the others. "I can- I can dive."

I raised my eyebrows and turned to him, shaking my head as slight panic eased its way through my chest. "JB-"

"It's between me and Eli, and you're crazy if you want him to go down there," John B dismissed my plea almost instantly as Eli let out a sound of annoyance. "I'll dive."

And that was final. You see, as much as we hated it sometimes, there was a definite ranking system among the group, and John B proudly took the spot at the top. The Pogue king, if you care to think about it that way. There wasn't a certain reason, maybe it was age, maybe it was his ever-present nag for an adventure, or maybe it was the simple fact that the things we used and the place we stayed, in fact, belonged to him and his dad. One thing was for sure though, John B was our leader. And being the leader meant that it was his responsibility to take on the tasks that the rest of us dreaded.

"Yeah, you can dive. I'm cool with that." JJ nodded his head, letting his shoulders relax. I gave him a 'this is not a good idea' glance, but he just shrugged and placed his hands on his hips.

Kiara faced John B with an exasperated look. "Since when can you dive?" She asked, her attitude shining through her words, knowing for a fact that the Routledge boy had no idea what he was doing.

"I'll do it. It's fine." He repeated with a firm tone.

As Kiara rolled her eyes, Pope sat up from the driver's seat and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from his backpack. "Let me do some calculations real quick." Thank god at least one of us paid attention in math class.

"You serious?" Kie asked John B, rolling her eyes once again before rising to help the three other boys that huddled around the paper. I shook my head at him before joining Kie. If he wouldn't let me dive, the least I could do was help Pope make sure he lived to get another ass-chewing.

"That boats about thirty feet down, right?" Pope said while the sound of scribbling filled the air. "So it'll take twenty-five minutes, at most, at that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about...ten feet. All right? For two minutes."

I nodded, and as John B repeated Pope's calculations back to himself, I stepped to the side and shimmied out of the ripped jean shorts that I had put on this morning. Goosebumps dotted my skin as I quickly took off the oversized Cranberries t-shirt I was wearing, leaving me with nothing but a black bikini bottom and a thin, light-gray tank top. I instantly felt the others' eyes on me as the previous conversation came to an abrupt stop, and suddenly a slight feeling of self-consciousness crept into my mind. It was rare that anyone other than Aunt Cass and John B saw me in anything other than a t-shirt, and I was suddenly glad that I had slipped on a tank top this morning to shield my back. With my shirt in hand, I walked the few steps to the end of the boat and jumped, sinking steadily into the murky water of the marsh.

After taking a few seconds to let myself ease into the cool water, I opened my eyes and swam towards the anchor chain, my now wet t-shirt clutched tightly in hand. Diving down, I mentally counted each foot until I hit approximately where the ten-foot marker would be and tied the cloth tightly around it. After giving the marker a few tugs to make sure it was secure, I began to swim my way upward to the blurry surface.

My head broke the water with a small splash and I quickly pushed the wet hair out of my eyes, my lungs contracting and expanding with every deep breath that I took. The familiar chitter of bickering came from the HMS Pogue as I neared its bow. A sound of protest left John B, but I was too far away to hear what was said as he punched JJ rather harshly on the arm. I rolled my eyes at their childish behavior and shook my head.

"Hey!" I shouted, causing the others to turn towards me. "I tied my t-shirt to the anchor chain about ten feet down." I pointedly looked at John B who was half ignoring me as he buckled the scuba gear that was slung over his shoulders. "It's where you need to do your safety stop."

"Cool." John B responded, his attention soon returning to the tangled gear.

I rolled my eyes and swam to the rest of the distance to the boat where JJ was leaning against the side staring at me.

"Well well well, is that a mermaid I see approaching my boat?" The blonde smirked down at me. "Have you come to seduce me? The great Captain JJ, the handsomest pirate in all of Kildare island."

I playfully rolled my eyes, a small smile on my face as I raised my arms up towards the boy. "If I were to seduce anyone on this boat, it would not be you, 'oh great Captain JJ'."

"Wow, I'm hurt!" The boy placed a hand on his chest, feigning a look of sadness. "But I am curious, who would you seduce?"

I pretended to think a moment before smiling. "Definitely Kiara, she has Spotify premium. No ads for the rest of my life."

The boy shook his head with a laugh at my words. He grabbed my arms and gently hauled me onto the boat, holding onto my shoulders as I gained my balance.

I smiled a thanks and the boy cleared his throat, quickly removing his hands upon realizing that he was still holding onto me. I held back a frown at the loss of warmth and busied myself with pulling the wet strands of hair that clung to my chest behind my shoulders.

"Alright, keep an eye on this," Pope spoke up as the others joined him to crowd around John B. "You need to make sure you have enough air to decompress."

"Okay, how much do I need?"

Pope hesitated for a second, looking into the distance unsurely. "Unclear. Breathe as little as possible."

The Routledge boy grimaced, and I nervously picked at a strand of hair upon hearing the horrible advice, knowing that there was a large chance that this all could go sideways. "Yeah, I'm not liking the way this plan is turning out."

JJ pulled my hand away from my hair and threw his arm reassuringly around my shoulders. He began imitating a diver taking deep breaths through a mask. "Zen. Think Zen, you know?"

I shook my head at the boy's words and patted his arm. "Wow JJ, such words of wisdom in a time of need."

John B rolled his eyes at the two of us, presumably not gaining any confidence from knowing that we were the ones to save him if he started drowning. "Yeah, got it."

"Hey, if we get caught out here in the marsh, we're basically screwed, so... better get a move on." Pope reminded, practically voicing everyone's anxiety. Of course, we would be in trouble for being in the marsh after it was closed off, but we would be in even more shit if they found out that little Orphan Anne Routledge here had accompanied us. That, plus the stolen gear and the fact that our very own JJ Maybank was shooting a gun on the beach last night, did not give us a good standing. We needed to get in and out as fast as we could.

"Copy that."

I heard Kiara stand up from the seat behind me and all of a sudden she was walking towards John B, her gait more of a fast-paced stride rather than her normal walk. The curly-haired girl leaned forward and quickly placed a kiss on the Routledge boy's cheek before taking a step back out of shyness. My eyes widened as the invisible dots connected in my brain. John B was the one that Kie was talking about at the kegger?!

I turned to JJ with a bewildered expression and he turned to me, his mouth wide open at the sight of the two. The blonde boy grimaced and faked a gag, and I had to suppress a giggle as I did the same. I turned to Eli to get him to join in on the childish banter, but the raven-haired boy seemed to be completely ignoring us, instead staring into the distance of the marsh with a clenched jaw. I turned to Pope and he too shared a blank expression.

What on earth is going on with these two?

John B stared at Kiara in shock for a few moments, obviously trying to process that the girl in front of him had actually kissed him. He looked her up and down before speaking, a slight glimmer in his eye that I couldn't help but take notice of. "Diver down?"

Kie nodded and stepped back with a smile. "Diver down."

"Alright, let's get this show on the road," Eli spoke up from his seat. His jaw was still clenched, but this time he looked between Kiara and John B. "We don't have all day and I can't afford to be picked up by Peterkin right now."

John B began pulling the scuba mask down over his face, but before he could fully put the gear on I shrugged JJ's arm off of me and stepped forward. He gave me a questioning look as I held my pinkie out to him.

"Until the end, Bird?"

The phrase 'until the end' was the equivalent of our good luck. If you had ever had the chance to read the book Six of Crows, then you could say it had the same concept as "no mourners, no funerals". It meant that we were together until the end. We always had each other and nothing could change that until the day that we lay in our deathbeds.

He smiled and raised his hand, interlocking his pinkie with mine. "Until the end, Vie."

And with that the five of us watched as John B jumped off of the boat into the murky water, landing just a few feet from where I had jumped moments before. With his head still above water, the boy saluted us. "Diver down." And then we watched as he disappeared under the rippling water.

"See ya, dude." JJ waved.

I moved by JJ's side as we watched the water where John B had been a few moments before, hoping to keep an eye on him, but the dirty waves prevented us from doing that.

I began to wring my hair out as we waited, now feeling the uncomfortable chill that the slight breeze was bringing in. We had a few moments of peace and quiet before a loud siren pierced the summer air. I froze and glanced over my shoulder hesitantly, and my eyes met the very dreaded sight of a Kildare Police boat headed straight for us.

Are you fucking shitting my dick right now? Can we not catch a single break?

"Shit, JJ!" Pope warned, catching the other three teen's attention.

"Guys, that's the police." JJ cautioned, his voice tense at the sight of our unwanted visitors.

"Oh, you have to be shitting me right now." Eli groaned, quickly pushing the extra air tanks into the open cargo hold.

Kie laid back as if she were tanning and began to push her wet hair behind her shoulders. "Just act frickin' normal."

A wave of self-consciousness washed over me as the boat got closer. Although I had a tank top on, I had the feeling that it was somewhat see-through from the water, which put me in a temporary state of panic.

"JJ," I whispered, grabbing onto the boy's arm. "I don't want them to see my back."

The boy took in my look of worry and immediately sprung into action. He grabbed his backpack from under the driver's seat and rummaged around for a second before pulling out a wrinkled Kildare Island t-shirt. "Here, put this on." He whispered, handing me the shirt.

I slipped it on quickly, nodding a thanks just as the police vessel pulled up beside the HMS. Eli quickly took a seat beside Kie as Pope cautiously stood up from the driver's seat. 

"Evening officers." Pope nervously spoke, holding a hand out to grab their tie line.

"Evening." A male voice called from behind the steering wheel.

For fucks sake, why does it have to be Shoupe?

"JJ, tie it off," Pope ordered.

JJ began tying the boats together as the female officer who accompanied Shoupe eyed the five of us. I recognized her as the officer that JJ, John B, and I had seen at the motel. They were both dirty cops and that somehow made me feel even more anxious about their little visit.

"How you kids doing?" Shoupe asked, but before anyone could answer he began speaking again. "You know the marsh is closed?"

The five of us quickly spit out an assortment of "no's" as the officers skeptically looked between us.

"I didn't know that." JJ shook his head.

"Why- why is it closed?" Pope questioned. He seemed to be attempting to keep the nerves out of his quivering words, but he was doing a terrible job at it.

"We're conducting a search out here. Boat went down." He answered. "You seen anything?"

Another string of "no's" rang through the air as the five of us shuffled back and forth, hoping that by playing dumb the officers would give us a warning and leave.

"Where's your friend you always hang with? He here?" The Deputy asked. He looked past JJ to me and narrowed his eyes. "It's rare to see one of you without the other. You seen him, Collins?"

My heart dropped at the deputy's unwavering stare. Why the fuck do you have to target me, you asshat?

"No sir, haven't seen him since this morning. He's working." If this dickwad thought that I was going to break under his intimidation then he had another thing coming.

"Hm," He narrowed his eyes at me and, for a second, the two of us had a stare-down. "I'm gonna check your little boat out."

Eli and I shared a nervous look as the HMS rocked underneath us, the added weight of Shoupe putting us slightly off balance.

"Yeah, hop aboard." Pope smiled cheekily, hopping out of the driver's seat. "You wanna check- uh check her out."

"Thank you."

I glanced wearily at the water where John B had disappeared. He was surely running low on air by now, and I hoped that somehow he saw the police boat and hid himself. If he didn't, then this whole thing would blow up.

Shoupe's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as he held up an old life vest. "You got another one of these?"

"Of course," JJ responded, a nonchalant look on his face. "It's uh- it's in the hold."

The deputy looked at the blonde boy suspiciously and Kie sighed, standing up from her supposed tanning seat. "Show him." She rolled her eyes.

After another awkward exchange of Shoupe checking the boat, the Deputy stepped back onto his vessel, which prompted a sigh of relief from the five of us. I took a seat next to Eli and relaxed a bit, but that relaxation was wiped away when the officer quizzically looked at the water where John B had dove down. He stepped back onto the HMS and hastily made his way to the bow.

Shit.

"Uh, be careful right there," Pope blurted nervously. "You don't want to slip."

I held my breath as the man silently looked over the water, the few seconds he stood there felt like hours to me. I stood from my seat and nervously grabbed JJ's wrist. He looked down at me and nodded, thinking the same thing I was. John B was surely out of air by now. If he didn't pop up soon he could drown, but if he surfaced now then Shoupe would haul him away.

After about six more seconds of Shoupe searching the wavy waters, he turned and stepped off of the bow. "Alright." He sighed.

"Alright." I breathed out, relieved that he would be taking his leave.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Shoupe commented, stepping onto the police boat.

Please shut the fuck up and just leave already.

"It is." JJ agreed, a hint of relief hidden in his words.

The deputy started up the boat and turned towards the female officer. "You let us know if you see anything on your way out."

"Will do."

"We'll be gone soon, sir," JJ reassured.

"Yes, you will."

And then they were off, speeding across the marsh to presumably resume their search. The moment that Shoupe was out of sight, the five of us raced to the opposite side of the boat, anxiously watching for John B to pop up.

"He's definitely out of air." Pope fretted.

I held my breath, watching the calm waves for any slight sign of disturbance. There was none, and I was starting to think that the boy had drowned down there.

"Guys, should we-" I started, but my words were cut off at the sight of a messy head of brown curls pushing up from the water.

"There he is!" JJ exclaimed.

"Oh, God! Jesus Christ!" Pope shouted, a wide smile on his face despite his shaky tone. "Don't scare us like that!"

"Holy fuck," Eli joined in. "He's actually alive!"

JJ and I rushed to the stern to help John B with his gear. I grabbed the large mask from him and JJ held the small ladder steady. "How'd it go down there?" He asked giddily. "Did you find anything?"

John B laughed shakily. "Did I find anything?" The boy hauled a big black bag out of the water and threw it to JJ.

"Yeah!" JJ shouted, that familiar gleam of mischief lighting up his eyes as a wide grin spread across his lips. "There we go! That's my boy!"

The group of teens all grinned and began laughing, a slight adrenaline high coming from the realization that yet again, another one of our shitty, falling-apart plans had come together. We had gotten the treasure from the sunken ship!

As JJ carried the wet bag to the stern, I held a hand out to John B, who was still tiredly floating in the chilly water. "You okay?" I asked in both amusement and worry.

"Yeah," The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "I ran out of air."

"Damn," I jokingly shrugged, helping the boy into the boat. "At least it was you and not me."

He shook his hair, flinging the water at me in response as Kie appeared beside us.

"You scared the shit out of me."

"Yeah, the cops were up here, but, uh...took care of them." Pope boasted to John B. I could have said something about how Pope didn't really take care of them, but I decided to let him have his moment. He didn't have many cop stories, unlike the rest of us, so it was better to let him have this one.

"My bad."

"You're all good."

"Yeah, you kind of missed the show, brother." JJ nodded, smiling cheekily at the boy.

Eli nodded hastily. "Yeah, Stevie got interrogated by Shoupe like a fucking criminal-"

As the two boys began to ramble on, surely blowing things out of proportion, I turned away from the group. I had a creeping sensation that we weren't alone, and I was soon proven right when in the distance, a boat foreign to me began approaching rapidly. My eyes scanned the vessel and quickly I concluded that it was not a police boat. I squinted and counted two rough-looking men on board, one with something clutched in his hand, and the other with an unsettling look on his face. My anxiety instantly rose, and somehow my gut automatically knew that these men were not supposed to be here and that we definitely were their target.

"Shit, guys?" I interrupted JJ and Eli's rant, causing everyone to look at me questioningly. "Guys, bogey, two o'clock."

"What?" JJ asked, turning his attention to the marsh. The others did the same, and the air became heavy as the six of us tensed up, the previous happy aura leaving the atmosphere.

The mystery boat crept steadily closer, and Pope turned to me and JJ with wide eyes. "Do you recognize that boat?"

JJ and I were somewhat boat enthusiasts, and we had spent many summers as kids washing the boats at the docks for money, so it was safe to say that we knew every regular on Kildare Island. This was not one of them. "I've never seen it." I cautioned, a feeling of dread sweeping over me,

"What are they doing here?" Kiara asked. "The marsh is closed."

"They're probably here for the same thing we are, the wreck," Eli answered. We needed to get the fuck out of there, and fast.

JJ was following the same train of thought. "I don't know, but let's not stick around and find out."

John B warily kept an eye on the boat while moving to the driver's seat. "JJ, get the bowline." The blonde immediately followed his orders, stepping to the bow to pull the rope out of the water.

"Should we wait on 'em?" Pope asked hesitantly. For fucks sake, I thought he was the smart one?

"Hell no!" Eli dismissed, moving to secure the loose objects that were strewn about the floor.

John B nodded along. "No, we're not gonna wait on 'em!"

"Are you joking?" Kie exclaimed.

"Go get the stern." The brunette boy ordered Pope. "Go!"

I turned to JJ, who was reeling in the rope at a pace faster than I had ever seen. "JJ, hurry up." I urged, growing more and more anxious as the boat neared.

A moment ticked by as we waited for JJ to finish reeling in the line, a silent understanding passing among the six of us that these guys were bad news. They were coming straight for us, which confirmed the suspicion that they knew about the wreck. Our presence just alerted them that we had beaten them to the prize. They were coming to claim their treasure, and a handful of cut kids would not stand in their way.

"Guys, don't wait for me. Go!" JJ urged the group as the last of the rope neared the surface. John B quickly started the motor and the boat roared to life.

"Let's go!" Kiara yelled.

"Pull out the stern," Pope said from his spot behind me.

I kneeled to help JJ pull the anchor in as JB finally decided to step on the gas. The hunk of metal thunked onto the boat, and JJ let out a sigh of relief as we hurried to put it in the storage compartment.

"I don't like the look of this." John B said, a sharp edge to his tone.

"Are they coming for us?" JJ asked, his hand grabbing onto my wrist.

"Maybe they're fishing for drum too," Pope suggested, trying but failing to stay optimistic.

"At the exact same spot that the boat wrecked? I don't think so." I disagreed. They were definitely after whatever was in that black bag.

The opposing boat picked up speed, roaring over the murky marsh water as it sped forward. The men were finally close enough to see clearly, and their eyes were narrowed onto us, a sinister look on their faces. I leaned into JJ, gripping his shirt sleeve as a sickening feeling crept its way up my spine.

"Go, go, go, go!" JJ shouted to John B who urgently stepped on the gas.

"Go into the marsh!" Eli shouted. John B jerked the wheel to the side, throwing us onto the path that led into the more open expanse of water.

"Act natural, act natural." Pope reminded us, but it was a bit hard to act naturally when you had two terrifying asshats chasing after you.

As John B steered the HMS Pogue through the twisting paths of the marsh, the creeper boat followed close behind, gaining even more speed as we tried to scramble for cover. By following us, they had made it clear that they knew we had the wreck's prize. And they made it even more clear that they intended to get their hands on it under any circumstances.

The boat got closer, practically tailing us. "Hey, guys, they're following us," Kie said, facing backward to keep an eye on the approaching vessel.

"Shit, this can't be good," I mumbled. JJ nodded at my words. He held onto the pole by the steering wheel hard with one hand, and let go of my wrist with the other, instead snaking his left arm around my waist to ensure that I didn't fall off of the boat.

JJ turned to John B, who was beginning to panic. "Dude, you gotta go faster!"

"I'm going!"

"Gun it!"

I turned my head and watched as the boat got closer and closer, the motor holding more power than the Pogue's old one. What did they plan on doing? Crashing into us would only damage both boats, and put both parties in danger, and they couldn't close us off because they were behind us. We were regulars and knew these passageways a lot better than these two out-of-towners, so how on earth did they plan on stopping us?

All of my questions were answered when the passenger pulled out a scoped rifle. My entire body went rigid at the sight of the weapon, and I froze, eyes wide with terror. The man cocked the gun and fixed his stance, aiming right at us.

"Get down!" I rigidly screamed just as the first shot whizzed past JJ's head. He dropped to the floor, dragging me down with him as the others all hit the ground at the sound of the gunshot.

Oh fuck. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. This is it. We're all going to die right here in the middle of the marsh just like Scooter Grubbs.

"What the-?!" Pope yelled, pushing himself flush against the floor.

"Holy shit!" Kiara cried out, hidden from my view by Eli's body which was hovering over her protectively.

"John B, get down!" JJ yelled, attempting to pull the boy at the steering wheel to safety.

"JB, get your ass on the floor!" I demanded, looking at him with frightened, pleading eyes. The boy gave me one look before lowering in the seat as far as he could while still driving.

The second shot whizzed past and JJ pushed me flush against the floor, moving so that his body completely shielded mine from our pursuers. I wrapped my hand around his forearm, pulling him closer, to keep him out of danger and to keep myself from going insane.

The third shot rang out, and JJ grunted, lowering his head next to mine. I placed my free hand firmly over my ear as fear completely overtook me. I began shaking as past images flashed before me. The sound of distant gunshots echoed through my skull and I pressed my hand harder against my ear hoping to drown out the noise. The only thing keeping me grounded was JJ's body pressed firmly against mine.

The ringing in my ears began to get louder and louder as I took in shallow breaths. I felt JJ's arms wrap around my midsection and his voice sounded softly in my ear.

"Hey, hey, Evie Bee?" The boy's breath tickled my neck, his lips brushing over my ear as he spoke gently. "Hey, it's okay. I've got you. You're going to be okay. Nothing is going to happen to you or anyone on this boat. I just need you to keep your head, okay? Can you do that?"

I nodded as he pulled me closer into his arms, repeating comforting words over and over into my ears. The ringing in my head started to die down as I slowly came back to reality. I looked around the boat at the others. They were all hunched over on the floor covering their heads, except for John B, who was trying his best to duck down and drive at the same time.

I watched as Eli looked back at the nearing boat, and Kie took her chance to get out of his hold. "Shit, Pope move!" The curly-haired girl shouted as she stood up and raced to the bow.

My heart stopped as the fourth shot sounded, the bullet narrowly missing Kiara's exposed figure. "Kiara, no!" I cried out

The girl grabbed an old fishing net from the floor before turning and moving to the stern. Another bullet whizzed past John B, and Kiara let out a slight scream of fear.

"Get down, Kie!" John B yelled, quite literally dodging bullets as he steered us down the marsh.

Another gunshot sounded, causing me to flinch as Eli grabbed for Kie. With a grunt, the girl threw the green net into the water behind us. She ducked down, and everyone, minus John B, watched as the net was sucked up into the other boat's engine. The vessel came to an abrupt stop, throwing the men forward just as the gun was cocked for the seventh shot. The sound of whirring gears screeched through the air as the two men began incoherently yelling.

The six of us slowly began to sit up, watching in relief as the boat behind us refused to start up again. A round of sighs were heard as we took our chance to get as far away from those psychopaths as we could.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Pope urged, his eyes anxiously darting from the men on the boat to the path that stretched in front of us. John B floored the gas pedal, and the HMS Pogue sped hastily through familiar waters, the crazy boat guys shrinking steadily behind us. The seventh shot echoed in the distance, but we were too far away to be affected by it.

"Holy shit." I breathed out, fully sitting up as JJ released his hold on me. I looked at the others as smiles started to grow on our faces. "Holy shit, we made it."

The others began to laugh, their bodies still shaking, but ecstatic at the fact that we lived.

JJ turned to me, his eyes raking over my figure. "You okay, Evie Bee?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay." I smiled, running my hand through my hair as the two of us took a second to breathe. "Are you okay?"

"Better than ever." He grinned, his pointy teeth showing as he turned to John B. "Oh my god! Whoo! Pouge life, man!"

The others began cheering as we all shared a moment of appreciation. JJ stood and pulled me up beside him, throwing an arm over my shoulder as he gave John B a pat on the back. Eli looked Kie up and down before joining in on the cheers.

"Did you see that shit? She saved our fucking asses!" Eli grinned, high-fiving Kie who was also grinning like a maniac.

"That was scary as shit." She admitted, bending over to take a breath.

"Yeah, that was crazy." I agreed. "There better be, like, a million dollars in that bag, man."

                       —-------------------------------

It only took about ten minutes before we docked the HMS at the Chateau, but the sun had already set, leaving the sky a dark blue color. The boys were still rambling on, recalling the heart-racing chase that had taken place. It was a regular occurrence for these storytellings to drag out, seeing as the event was always less terrifying after it happened. The six of us tiredly climbed out of the boat and made our way to the roofed area of the dock. John B hurriedly kneeled down and set the black bag on the floor, his hands fumbling in excitement as he began to open it. The rest of us crowded closely around him, excited to see what we had almost died to get.

"What do you guys think it is?" Kie asked.

"I don't know. Gotta be money or something, right?" John B answered as he searched the many outside pockets that the bag contained.

"Please, God, let it be money." Eli laughed, holding his hands to the sky.

"I hope it's a fucking cigarette because I need one right about now." I groaned, starting to feel the combination of the previous sleepless night and today's events catching up to me. My body was sore and exhausted, a headache was starting to pound behind my temples, and every bone in my body ached like I had just been hit by a train. I wanted nothing more than to smoke something and take a month-long nap.

JJ grinned from next to me, today's adrenaline rush still coursing through his body. "That, or a couple of keys with street value to the low-to mid-mils!" John B began 'oohing' at the idea.

"Can we please just open the bag?!" Pope blurted out, his voice thick with impatience. We all looked up at him in surprise, not used to the otherwise calm boy having outbursts like this.

"Wow, Pope," John B teased, "That's a rare outburst of emotion from you."

"Yeah, man." Eli joined in. "You kinda sounded like my mom there for a second."

The rest of us all began to comment on the boy's words, our shocked praises overlapping each other. "Okay, you guys are literally killing me with anticipation!" The boy cut us off, not appreciating our laughs. "Open the bag!"

"Okay! Jeez!" JJ chuckled.

"We almost died over this!"

We began to quiet down as John B continued opening the bag. We waited with bated breath as he pulled out a metal, cylinder-like container. The five of us leaned in at the sight, curiosity taking over. With each of us watching excitedly, John B twisted the top off and dumped the 'treasure' into his hand.

A chill ran up my spine almost instantly at the sight of the object sitting in the brunette's palm. I rubbed my eyes, almost sure that I was going crazy, that I was having some sort of mental episode caused by today's chase, but I wasn't. There, sitting right in front of me, was Big John's compass. The compass that was as familiar to me as my own hand. The compass whose pattern I had memorized. The compass that accompanied the Routledge's and me, and sometimes even my mom and brother, on every adventure that was to be had. The compass that never left Big John's side. I dropped to my knees next to the boy as the two of us stared silently at the brassy object, that, despite being lost at sea with Big John, had somehow made its way back to the two of us.

"Oh, wow!" Pope said, his voice heavy with annoyance. "Yup, that's about right. Good job, everybody. We found a compass!"

Completely ignoring the grumblings of our friends behind us, John B and I stared open-mouthed at the compass.

"Dude, what?" JJ asked, taking his hat off in frustration. "It's not worth anything, guys."

I reached out and touched the object, the brass cool against my fingers. A small smile began to grace John B's lips as he spoke, his voice quiet and full of something I hadn't heard from him in a while. Hope. "This was my father's."

                   —-----------------------------------

The sun had been down for about an hour by the time I crossed the tree line that separated the Chateau from the Hut. Aunt Cass's car had pulled into the driveway about half an hour ago, and while I did not want to leave John B alone all night, I knew it was time to go home.

After staring in shock at the long-lost Routledge family heirloom for what seemed like an eternity, the group finally retired for the night. Kie took Eli and Pope home, the three of them exhausted from the crazy day that had passed, and once again it was just me, JJ, and John B left alone with our thoughts. The original Pogue trio.

The sight of the compass had thrown John B and me into a total state of shock. It was so bizarre. Big John never went anywhere without that compass. Our entire childhood revolved around that compass. You know how some parents had that one really cool thing that the kids weren't allowed to touch, but they waited until they were alone and did it anyway? Yeah, that was the compass. Thinking back on every big event, every adventure taken and school play showcased, there was not one time that I didn't see the indentation of the brassy metal in Big John's front left pocket.

But now it was here. Now it was in our hands. It was here and its owner was gone and nothing was right.

And the two of us knew that.

Because if that compass was here with us, then something big was happening. This was no ordinary misplacement. There was a bigger picture, and we were just the curious onlookers, gazing upon the paint strokes in wonder, not able to fully grasp the meaning behind the precarious details. But every artist knew that if you stared at a painting long enough then you began to grow as insanely obsessed as the creator themselves, losing the last bits of sanity that clung to the folds of your mind as easily as Alice lost her head in Wonderland. The creator was unknown in this situation, but it was clear that the Pogues were the peering onlookers.

I don't think any of us expected just how insane we would go over this particular artwork though. None of us could have guessed how easily we lost our heads, and how from that moment on. we had thrown ourselves into a rabbit hole that not even our dirty fingers could claw out of.

The old creaky door clicked shut behind me as I entered my childhood home. The warm glow of lantern light seeped out of the kitchen door where I could hear Aunt Cass softly humming a tune. The familiar sound brought a smile to my face, and I sat my bag down by the front door before moving towards the kitchen.

It had been rare that the two of us had spent more than a few hours together recently, and I was beginning to miss my aunt's presence. She worked full time as a medical receptionist at the small hospital on Figure 8, which meant that when it was a busy day or there was an emergency she had to work extra hours, and often overnight. When she was home, I always had work or was whisked away by the Pogues. The few hours that we did get to spend together were ones that I cherished.

"Frank Sinatra?" I spoke, leaning tiredly against the kitchen door frame.

The woman didn't startle like one would expect, instead she simply sat down that plate in her hand and turned with a warm smile on her face. "It felt like a Sinatra night."

"Please, to you, every night is a Sinatra night." I laughed.

Cass held her arms open and I moved forward and melted into my aunt's embrace. She was quite warm and smelled like lemon, and it took a bit of effort not to fall asleep right then and there.

We pulled away from each other, and instantly the woman's warm expression morphed into one of extreme worry. "Stevie, what the hell happened to your face?" She gasped, pulling me closer to inspect the gash on my forehead that was already beginning the healing process.

I pulled out of her grasp as a fussy child would, holding my hand over the injury. "It's fine Aunt Cass, we just hit a sandbar after the hurricane and I flew out of the boat."

"Vie, you could have a concussion!" She fretted. "What did you hit?"

"I'm fine Cass," I promised. "I just hit a rock, but Eli and Pope checked and they said they're pretty sure I don't have a concussion."

"Mhm," The brunette woman dragged out. "And what about the black eye?"

I stood in silence for a minute, trying to think of an excuse that would actually get past her. "Would you believe me if I said we hit the sandbar again?"

"No, I would not." She sighed. "But I suppose I can't judge without being a hypocrite. Your mother and I got into our fair share of fights when we were your age. As long as you're okay."

"I am."

She nodded and turned back to the counter where two plates of food sat. She picked one up and handed it to me, the delicious scent of shrimp pasta flooding my senses. Somehow she had found time to drop by The Wreck after work, probably taking the leftovers off of Mike Carrera's hands as we did from time to time, and I was beyond thankful. One can only survive on leftovers and John B's pantry for so long.

"Are the others hungry?" Aunt Cass hummed as she laid out another plate. "There's plenty of extra."

I smiled at the woman, thankful to have such an open and understanding adult in my life. My aunt had always been around when I was a kid, but she didn't actually adopt me until the summer after seventh grade. She was single, working full time, and taking care of me, and yet she still made it a point to take care of each of the Pogues like they were her own.

"I don't think so." I shook my head. "Kie, Eli, and Pope all went home, and I had the wonderful experience of watching JB and JJ absolutely maul the rest of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich supplies."

My aunt laughed, knowing the boys well and having also fallen victim to the same situation countless times.

"You poor girl."

"It was traumatizing." I laughed. "Plus, I don't doubt that if they get hungry they'll find a way to sneak in here and raid the pantry.

We sat in comfortable silence as we ate, the flickering lantern casting our shadows against the wall. After we both finished up, the plates were scraped off and the leftovers put away for the next time someone got hungry.

"Well I'll let you get settled in, I can tell you're tired." Cass smiled, bringing me in for a hug. "Sleep good, if you need anything I'll probably be up for another hour or so."

We exchanged goodnights and went our separate ways, her to do her nightly reading and me to hopefully get a good rest for the first time in days.

My room was one of my favorite places in the world. I had spent my entire life carefully designing every detail that made up the space, from the wall of my most precious paintings to the shelf overflowing with well-worn books, and everything in between. The bed that rested in the corner was the twin-sized mattress that I'd had my entire childhood, and while I usually detested the firmness of the bed, right now it looked like the softest thing in the world.

While it was late, summer nights in the Outer Banks were almost as unbearably muggy as the days, which meant that there were no cute matching PJ sets for me. I changed into a pair of men's boxers and threw on one of JJ's many stolen t-shirts, relishing in the scent of saltwater and weed as I sunk into the soft covers on the bed.

And that's when the thoughts decided to make an unannounced appearance.

My body was absolutely exhausted, but my mind was racing with every bit of information available to me at that moment. And suddenly, I was wide awake and reliving the events on the boat today. Wide awake and wondering what the hell we were getting ourselves into. Wide awake and searching the depths of my mind for what could have happened to Big John.

One hour.

Two hours.

It was three hours later when I crept out of my bedroom window and up the rickety ladder that stretched onto the roof. The roof was my safe place in a sense, and everybody knew it. On nights that I couldn't sleep, I would scurry up the ladder, as I had tonight, and spend hours looking up at the stars, charting the constellations, and looking hard for the planets. It was a tradition my brother and I started when we were young and our parents would fight. The roof was a place of solitude and sanctuary.

The quiet shutting of the Chateau door sounded in the distance, and then a rustle in the tree wall that separated the two houses caught my attention. A familiar head of blonde curls pushed through the branches, and I let out a giggle as the boy almost tripped.

At the sound of my laughter, JJ's head snapped up towards the roof. A smile graced his lips, and it was quite possible that my heart skipped a beat. "Why, Rapunzel," The boy whispered. "What are you doing out of the tower this late at night?"

I shook my head with a laugh. "Oh Flynn, I couldn't sleep a wink."

"Thinking of me?"

"Never."

The boy joined me on the roughly paneled roof and silently took a seat to my right. For a few moments, we sat silently, soaking in each other's presence as we faced the infinite stars.

"Did you know," I began, still facing the sky in wonder. "That, unlike the other planets, Venus doesn't have any moons, and scientists have no clue as to why?"

"I had no idea," I could see the boy smile out of the corner of my eye. "If we ever have a test over planets I'm definitely cheating off of you."

I laughed, and then he laughed, and then comfortable silence eased into the empty space between us.

"Hey," JJ spoke softly, turning his head to face me for the first time since he stepped foot on the roof. "You okay after today?"

"I suppose not," I sighed, looking away from the boy. "It's hard to be okay when I can feel everything beginning to shift. We're getting into something big, and I can't help but feel like it's going to change everything."

The boy sat still for a moment, and then his calloused fingers found their way to my chin, and he gently tilted my head so that I was looking at him. "Hey, you know everythings going to be okay, right? I will die before I let anything happen to you."

My gaze flickered over his face, the moonlight only illuminating his features partway, but he was still as beautiful as an angel. I slightly nodded my head as butterflies exploded in my chest.

The boy's eyes lingered on my face for a moment before he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and brought me in for a side hug. I leaned my head tiredly on his sturdy shoulder, and we sat there, pressed together and gazing at the everpresent space above.

"Evie Bee," The boy started, an edge of nervousness to his words. "I-"

But by the time the words began to leave his mouth I had already fallen into the depths of slumber, my head weightless in the crook of his shoulder. The boy admired my resting features, and what I didn't know, but learned years later, was that he had never wanted to kiss me as badly as he did at that moment.

The boy's hand ran soothingly up and down my back as he looked back up at our beloved stars, the same ones that had watched in anticipation at the clueless lovers that they had gazed upon for years, and whispered into the darkness.

"Sleep tight, beautiful."

And the crickets chirped in awe, the stars and moon sighed in admiration, and a listening aunt who had fortunately cracked her window open that night smiled knowingly.

Authors note:
Holy shit, in sorry that this took so long but ITS LITERALLY 9557 WORDS?! That's actually so crazy to me.
Anyways, what do you guys think? It's officially the end of episode one and I can't believe that it took SEVEN chapters to get to the end.
Also I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that's been showing me love on TikTok, it means a whole lot to me.
Anyways, until next time my cool cats

                    ~ Fun fact of the chapter~
Eli has a chipped tooth that shows when he smiles. JJ accidentally chipped it when they were younger by hitting him in the face with a sand shovel.