"THERE SHE BE," JJ ANNOUNCED AS HE SLID THE STORAGE UNIT DOOR OPEN. The girls stared at the boat that was currently on top of a trailer with a suspicious glance. He walked over to it and pulled the tarp off of it. "Hey, girl. A 1983 Formula 402 SR1. The Phantom. The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours, guys. Forty years old! Forty. And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen."

"It's kind of a junker," the Carrera girl admitted as she examined the vehicle from a bit further back.

JJ looked at her like she had just offended him greatly. "Really? She's right there, Kie. She can hear you. Let's just put it this way. You would not be smokin' weed right now if she never existed, okay?"

"I just hope she runs," Bree told him, raising her eyebrows like it was a question.

"Oh, no, she'll run all right," the Maybank boy assured them as he began hitching the trailer that the boat was on to the back of the car. "She's faster than any cutters the boys in blue got."

They heard tires screeching, and hopped over the hitch to greet the person. "Pope. Finally." She ran down the side of the boat, but they beat her to it, rounding the corner and causing their eyes to widen.

Rafe.

"Hey, there. What's going on? JJ? How you guys doing?" the Cameron boy asked before jumping up onto the boat. JJ pushed the Callaway girl behind him, but it was no use because the drug dealer that pulled a gun on them a couple days ago came in through the other side.

"Well, well..." he muttered before whipping out his gun and pointing it directly at JJ's chest. "See, don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road. I'm here because I want my motherfucking money." Then, he attacked and began hitting the blonde boy.

"JJ! JJ!" Bree exclaimed as her and Kie raced over to the blonde boy. Rafe grabbed Kie from behind and pulled her away. Bree rushed to her male friend's assistance.

Barry kept yelling at him as JJ groaned on the ground. "That's what I'm here for! Stay down, boy."

"Get off of him!" the Callaway girl screamed, and she pulled a really idiotic move. She jumped onto Barry's back and tried to pull him away from JJ. The blonde boy got up, and since the girl was holding him in place, he was able to throw a punch.

The drug dealer groaned and stumbled back a bit, causing Bree to loosen her grip. He took that opportunity to sling her off, and she fell roughly to the ground. Everyone in the room froze as he pointed the gun at her.

JJ just looked between her and Barry, scared that any sudden movements would set him off. The brunette girl looked over to Rafe to see that he had Kie in a chokehold, but both of them weren't struggling or anything. They were just staring at the man with the gun.

"Hey, Barry," the Cameron boy mumbled nervously, holding the hand that wasn't around Kie's throat up. "Barry, we had a deal. I told you everything else was fine, but she doesn't get hurt."

Bree stared at him with furrowed eyebrows as he looked from his friend to her with an unreadable expression. Her eyes widened, however, when she saw Pope appear behind Rafe, and the Heyward boy hit him in the head with a crowbar.

Barry got distracted for a moment, and JJ saw this as he chanced to dive for his friend. They rolled out of the way just as the drug dealer realized what was happening a fired, barely missing them.

They climbed up to see Pope still swinging at Rafe with both the crowbar and his fists. Barry lunged at JJ and Bree, but luckily, the blonde boy was able to get a punch in. The two kept fighting, and the girl wasn't sure what she could do to help. That was when she spotted the gun on the ground. She grabbed it, not sure what the hell she was doing, but she was pretty sure it might now end well.

"JJ! Heads up!" she called, and then she tossed the gun over to him, praying that he knew what she wanted him to do.

He caught it and did exactly what she was hoping he would do. He grabbed it by the barrel and hit Barry across the head with the handle, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Pope. Okay, Pope," they heard Kie yell nervously, and they whipped their heads around to see that the Heyward boy was hitting Rafe really violently, and there was blood all over the Cameron's face. "Pope! Pope, that's good! Stop!"

"He's had enough dude. Snap out of it, man," JJ ordered, but Pope didn't listen. Rafe fell against a barrel, and the Heyward grabbed a cable from nearby and wrapped it around his neck, pulling him up.

Bree's eyes widened. "Pope, stop!" Despite all of the yelling and the Maybank boy grabbing him, Pope didn't stop.

"Look at me!" Kie shouted, and that was when he released Rafe, allowing him to fall to the ground. They all stared between the coughing boy on the ground and the one that almost strangled him. "Okay, we gotta go! We gotta go!"

Bree gave the Cameron boy one final glance before sprinting toward the car and leaving him behind.

《✵》

"DUDE, WHERE IS HE?" KIE QUESTIONED AS THEY WAITED FOR JOHN B. They were at the dock, and they had the boat, provisions, and gas. Now, all they needed was the actual fugitive.

"Give him a second," Pope spoke up. "He'll be here."

Their conversation and worried were interrupted by the sound of sirens wailing. A police car was pulling up to them, causing them all to panic. JJ called to them, "Get back on the boat. Get back on the boat. Untie it."

"Shit," Bree muttered, getting ready to do what she was told when the opened to reveal the last person they thought they'd see in the driver's seat of a sheriff's vehicle. 

John B.

The blonde began climbing out of the boat as he laughed out, "You have got to be kidding me."

"Shoupe let me take it for a spin," the Routledge boy explained as he walked over to them, but all of them knew that he was lying. Bree wasn't sure she wanted to know the truth though.

"Okay. That's believable," Kie chuckled sarcastically as she reached her arms out to give the boy that they hadn't seen in a day (even though it felt like forever) a hug. "I'll buy that for now."

JJ hopped onto the dock as he informed his best friend. "It wasn't easy, bro, but I got the Phantom for you, and she runs like she was made yesterday. You ready to go?"

"Where's Sarah?" he quizzed, glancing around at them after catching the keys the blonde boy threw to him.

Bree furrowed her eyebrows at him in confusion. "She's not with you?"

"No, we got separated in the swamp," he told them, causing all of them to mentally groan. "She said she was gonna meet me here. I'm not doing this without her."

"John B, look at me. I know you feel bad for leaving, but there's no time, man. You've got plenty of gas, plenty of food. Once you get around that point, it's a straight shot across the sound to Dismal Swamp, okay? Once you get there, lay low, all right? Hang out for a couple of weeks and then go overland, cross the border at Brownsville, you got that? Brownsville. Hey! you got that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Brownsville," the brunette boy confirmed with a bod after JJ slapped him lightly so that he would listen to him.

JJ then helped him get him and all of his stuff in the boat. "All right. Saddle her up, saltwater cowboy. Let's do this. Yeah."

"Hey, hey," John B stopped them as they were about to let him go. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes because he didn't want to say goodbye. "I'm sorry for basically...throwing us off a cliff with this whole treasure hunt thing."

"Hey, John B, yo... we were bound to run off a cliff at some point, right? At least we did it together, though. Pogue style," JJ responded, looking to his friends with a shrug, and they all laughed shakily. He then put an arm around Bree and Pope, and the Callaway girl did the same with him and Kie.

The brunette boy nodded. "Pogue style."

"Get out of here! Please!" Kie ordered with a smile and a playful eye roll at how sappy they were being.

"Now," Pope added, gesturing for his friend to get going. "We'll see you in two months, down in Mexico."

As John B began to climb down to the driver's spot, JJ yelled to him, "Love you!"

"Hey, wait a second," the Routledge boy paused as thunder rumbled above them, looking over to them with a pleading and sad look. He sniffled, "Tell Sarah I said goodbye, okay?"

Bree nodded slowly, telling him silently that she would make sure that his girlfriend got the message. After a moment of looking at each other, JJ reminded him, "Don't forget. Cross the border at Brownsville, okay?"

"Got it," the Routledge boy replied, and they all helped him pull the boat out of the small space between the dock and the trees. They all shared one final look with him as he drove away.

And then he was gone.