"You mind if I just relax on this one? It's been a long day." JJ sighed that night as John B drove the van down the empty road, a soft tune in the background. Layla looked out the window, twisting the cross necklace her father gave her between her fingers.

"A lot of weird stuff has gone down. I'm just gonna lay low. Oh, did you want a hit of this?" JJ asked as he looked toward Pope who blinked at him.

"I keep the signal clear." Pope answers him, looking at JJ who was in the seat behind him

"JJ, let me." Layla said as he gave her a quick inhale before pulling it back, "Greedy ass."

Pope began to go on.

"Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative?" JJ asked his friend as Layla coughed slightly when she inhaled deeply, Kie rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Look, I-I know I was wrong about the lighthouse, all right? And wrong about everything else going on. But I-I was right about one thing. Okay? My dad is trying to tell me something." John B said from the drivers seat as he looked at Kie and then at the three in the back before turning the wheel.

"Come on." John B rushed them out of the van quickly just a few minutes later.

"This place is scary." Kie said as she looked around at the location John B drove them to.

"I'll protect you." Layla said as she stood before Kie who slapped her arm, "Ow!"

"John B, what are we doing?" the girl now spoke as she looked at her friend with a odd look, annoyed with it already.

"You know how you're trying to remember a song and you can't remember who sings it?" John B asked as he looked to Kie. Layla looked behind her, stoping as she waited for JJ and Pope to catch up with her.

"Yeah." Kie answered with a shrug.

"So, Redfield. This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place. It's a person." John B said as he held the hand lamp up infront of a metal statue that stood taller then all of them, the name at the top.

"Voi-effing-lá." JJ spoke up with a chuckle, staring at the name.

"Fuck yeah." Layla agreed with a salute.

"See, my great great grandmother, Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name." John B spoke toward them as Layla pulled one of the tall plants as they passed.

"Smart boy, giving Pope a run for his money." Layla giggled at her own words while Pope gave her a annoyed expression.

"Help me with the door." John B said as he passed Layla the lamp while him and Pope went over, counting down as they tried to get the door open.

"Are you pushing?" John B grunted as he pulled.

"I've got it." JJ said as he walked over to help.

"This doors like seven hundred pounds." Pope groaned as Layla rolled her shiny eyes.

"Come on, be strong like pussy." Layla said as Kie gave her a odd look, "What? Pussies birth watermelons. Saying it grow balls, which are insanely sensitive, doesn't make any sense."

"Fair enough." the girl agreed.

"We didn't come this far to get this far, all right?" JJ said toward Pope as they pushed harder.

"Snake, snake!" Pope announced as a large snake crawled from the crack in the door, all of them jumping back. Layla screamed as she jumped up and down to try and get her feet off the floor.

"Not again! Not again!" the girl repeated over and over.

"That's a moccasin, all right? Ye olde Dr.Cottonmouth." JJ spoke as the large snake slithered off making Layla throw herself back onto the wall dramatically.

"Not cool man! He's on his way to call his whole dang of serpents now, all right?" Layla said in a panic as she spun around for any sight of them, shining her flashlight around. JJ began to bark loudly into the dark distance.

"JJ shut up!" Kie yelled at him annoyed.

"You're gonna wake the dead, man." Pope said, slapping his shoulder.

"They're afraid of dogs." JJ shrugged as Layla opened her mouth to bark as well but saw Pope give her a knowing look.

"Wait hold on, hold on." JJ stopped John B from going to the door again.

"If there's one, there's probably dozens." the blonde boy pointed out as Layla hummed with a nod.

"Serpent gang." she said with a point as Pope slapped his forehead.

"Stop! You guys are scaring me!" Kie said to the pair as John B sighed.

JJ began to bark again as Layla jumped in along side him.

"Stop barking at the snakes." John B said to his friends with a insane look, pulling them back toward them.

"I'm just making sure it's clear." JJ argued back.

"Shut up, shut up. John, look. Where not gonna get in there, all right? It's not budging. We should probably just go." Pope spoke, trying to be the peacekeeper between them.

"I can get through." Kie said as she shined her light onto the hole.

"What? No, no, no. You think you're gonna fit through the hole? That hole?" Pope asked her in disbelief.

"Look, this is about your dad. And honestly, I really don't believe in it, but you deserve to know the truth." Kie said as she looked to John B, her eyes soft as his were as well.

"I'll do it." Kie said as she walked forward.

"I hate you and your small rib cage." Layla said as she side hugged Kie who grinned. As she backed away to stand with John B, Kie, JJ, and Pope bickered slightly as to how to get her up there.

"Wanna hear a joke?" Layla asked with a half grin up at John B.

"Not r-" he began before she cut him off.

"Guess Kie is truly digging for gold, isn't she?" Layla laughed at her own joke as John B slapped his forehead.

"I'm gonna boost you, seen it in movies several times." JJ said as he bent down slightly.

"Remind me what we're looking for." Kie said as she looked to John B, the light illuminating her face just enough to see slight worry in her eyes.

"You'll know when you see it." John B said as Kie heisted, looking to Layla as she gave her her flashlight before stepping into JJs hand, ignoring him trying to talk her through it.

"Okay, flashlight!" Kie called out as she got up there. Layla passed it to Pope as he passed it up toward the girl quickly.

"You alive? You got like a heartbeat and everything?" John B called out as Kie was silent for a moment.

"So far." Kie answered honestly, Layla twisted the cross necklace around her fingers.

"That's good, that's good." John B nodded even though she couldn't see him.

"Uh, I need some more light." Kie spoke up, her voice echoing off the walls slightly.

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I gotchu." he spoke again, passing the lantern up to her.

"Kie, how's your pulse?" Layla called out.

"Find something? Is there gold?" JJ added in with her.

"Oh my god." Kie said as she passed her light back through, holding a white envelope.

"That's not gold." Pope said with a sigh as him and JJ helped the girl down. Layla brushed the small bit of dirt off her shoulders.

"Holy shit." John B said as he stared down at the envelope with a blink, his lips pursed as his chest heaved slowly.

"This is from my dad." John B said as he looked back at them, hope dancing in his eyes, much like it did when they found the compass.

"Daddy B really doesn't make anything easy, does he?" Layla asked with a sigh, running a hand through her sandy locks.

"Code red! Cope red! Square groupers! Square groupers!" JJ said quickly as he backed up, stumbling in the process.

"Serpent gang!" Layla said in a panic.

"The guys that robbed your house." JJ added in, talking to John B as Kie and Layla took off, pulling Kie and Pope with her, John B and JJ not far behind. They all squatted down quickly next to a few rocks, knowing they wouldn't make it back in time.

"Lights, lights!" Kie repeated as they all messed with their flashlights, turning them off quickly as it fell silent. Layla held her breath, biting down on her lip until she taste the faint metallic on her taste buds.

"Do you think it's them?" Kie questioned as they heard faint chatter.

"Homies got a gun." JJ stated, his voice echoing on the rocks slightly.

"Screw this." Kie said as the five all stood and ran, going straight for the van.

"Run Pope, Run!" Layla encouraged the boy who was falling behind, Kie jumped the fence first, waiting on the other side as Layla jumped over the same time John B did. JJ was next, landing next to the three as Pope crawled over, getting stuck at one of the point at the top.

"Guys, guys, i'm stuck!" Pope said in a panic, the light from the golf cart getting closer then they would have liked.

"Pope, don't move okay?" JJ asked as they all rushed over toward the gate again for their friend.

"You're gonna ripe it, you're gonna ripe it!" Pope said over and over as they all yanked at him, his shorts being ripped off and left on the gate as he was left in tighty whiteys. Layla busted out laughed as she felt John B drag her along as Pope shielded himself, JJ mocking him while they all ran back toward the van.

"Men are so easy!" Layla laughed and she threw herself into the van.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago. " Pope said later that night as he watched JJ spread peanut butter onto the bread.

"Yeah, i'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism." JJ said as he dropped the butter knife and brought the sandwich to his mouth, gagging as he did so making Layla gag as well.

"JJ, lets slumber party tonight." Layla said, making sure to over feed the boy as much as she could for the night. He nodded in agreement.

"Holy shit." John B said as he looked down at a map with wide eyes.

"X marks the spot." Pope pointed out the obvious as he laid his finger on the small x.

"Longitude, Latitude, wait there's something else in there." John B said as he noticed something in the envelope, reaching inside and pulling out a small tape recorder.

"What's that?" JJ questioned confused as he stared at it.

"It's a tape recorder, dumbass." Kie said to him with a judging look. John B pressed the side, the static sound coming through before a familiar voice was heard.

"Dear Bird." the deep voice said before JJ cut in again.

"Who's Bird?" the blonde boy asked confused as Layla rubbed John B's back gently.

"It's what my dad called me." John B said in shock, staring at the tape recorder, waiting for the next words to come through.

"I hate to say, 'I told you so', but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loating over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either. You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exact Father Of The Decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listening to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, living off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less then optimal reasons, well that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side." the tape came to a end, John B's dads voice no longer echoing in the four walls. Layla kept a stern grip on John B's shoulder, half way through he reach up to hold her hand. When his dads voice fell silent, the freckled boy stood with a loud sigh.

"Holy shit he did it! Big John- he found the merchant!" JJ announced in shock and disbelief. Layla watched John Bs body shake slightly as he looked away from his friends, his quiet sobs loud enough for them to hear.

"Can you- can you please?" Kie asked JJ annoyed to silence him as John B cried louder, making Layla heart burn. Kie walked over first, putting her arms around him in comfort.

"How much was it again?" JJ asked after they all sat on John B's front porch, Kie strumming the ukulele while Layla messed with her necklace, looking up at the stars every now and then. Keeping her eyes on a certain constitution.

"Five hundred mil." Pope answered as it was silent for a moment, the only sound was the crickets.

"All right, lets talk the split. Now, before we say 'evenly' may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us. Protection? Not cheap, okay?" JJ announced as he looked around at each other them.

"Lesbians don't need protection." Layla spoke without thinking as Pope snorted at her words, not bothering the girl as she continued to look up at the sky.

"You haven't trained. You've done zero training." Pope pointed out with a roll of his eyes.

"Youtube, bro." JJ said back as Layla pointed to the sky.

"Do you guys see that constellation? That's Lynx." she spoke out loud, her eyes sparkling slightly under the twinkling stars.

"Is it?" JJ asked, pretending to know what she was talking about.

"What are you gonna do with your hundred mil, Pope?" Kie asked the boy curiously.

"Pay for college in advance. And also textbooks. Those are expensive." Pope said as Layla cracked a grin at his statement.

"Layla? Your money? Kie asked curiously as Layla took her eyes off the stars for the first time.

"Maybe," Layla spoke as she thought for a moment, "Pay for a big fancy art school where they appreciate naked bodies without sexualizing them?"

"Don't look at me." JJ said as he put his hands up in surrender as Layla rolled her eyes but couldn't help but crack a grin.

"What about you, Kie?" JJ asked with a raise of his eyebrow toward the girl.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope asked as Kie gave him a look before she chuckled.

"Just wanna make a double album." Kie said with a shrug, a smile on her face.

"About OBX, the Pogues." Kie adding in as she looked at each of them.

"You know the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it in Marley Studios, Peter Tosh producing." Kie said as Pope gave her a odd look.

"Peter Tosh is dead." he said as Kie nodded her head.

"I know that, Pope. Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die." Kie said as she held her sprite can up as Layla did the same quick after.

"I know what i'll do. I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook." JJ spoke with a nod of his head.

"You're gonna go full Kook?" Pope asked him with a laugh.

"Yup. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then i'm gonna get a koi pond." JJ answered honestly before Layla cut in.

"When you do, invite those cute Kook ladies, help a girl out." Layla said hopefully toward JJ, he winked at her.

"I got you."

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asked as he nodded toward the boy. He was silent for a moment, looking out before at each of his friends again.

"To going full Kook." he said while raising his can.

"To going full Kook!" they all announced while clinging their cans together.

•

kylie speaks

i missed
layla and
sarah this
chapter :/