Cassie's POV

"Get decent, sweetie. We need to talk" I hear a familiar voice say before footsteps exit the room.

I pry open my eyes as John B hops out of bed.

"Who was that?" I huff, dragging myself out the bed.

"It's Peterkin" John B replies, heading into the bathroom.

I open the drawer, finding a light grey bikini and a pair of blue jean shorts I assume are Kiara's before grabbing a pale blue button up shirt. I change into the bikini and pull on the shorts before slipping on the shirt and tying it at the front, making a makeshift crop top.

 I make my way into the living room at the same time as John B.

"Sorry to break in like this, but DCS called. They wanted me to check on you. See how you're doin'" Peterkin tells the boy.

DCS? Jesus Christ

"So, how are you, besides the-" She points to her eye, talking about John B's black eye he got from Topper.

"Oh, no, I'm- I'm great. Yeah, fantastic. Uh. Thanks for comin' by" He tells her as I walk into the kitchen, pulling a beer from the fridge.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that, John B, but I heard a few things that worried me. Let me see if I can remember" The woman says, pretending to think for a second "Oh, yeah. One of the things I heard was that your Uncle Teddy, your guardian, hasn't been in the state for three months"

"Yeah, that's false" John B replies and I roll my eyes, sitting down at the table.

"You don't have to say anything. I know it's true. I called the school. They said you used to be a good student, but now you're failin' all your classes" Peterkin states, picking up the end of a joint and sniffing it.

"No. No, I'm only failing one, and it's history. The dude's a dick. He's out for me-" John B gets cut off.

"And I heard there was a fight on the beach yesterday, and a gun was involved" She declares.

"Okay. Gun? No. Did I get in a dustup? Yes, but was there a gun? No. No way" John B lies through his teeth as he throws some empty beer bottles in the bin.

"That's okay. I know who it was. I'll get to him" The woman shrugs and I start to worry about JJ.

"All I'm worried about right now is makin' sure you're in a safe home" She adds.

"Yeah, super safe. Super sound, sturdy" John B drawls off, knocking on the wooden cabinet next to him "You know? And Uncle T's coming, so..."

"That what he told you?" She asks.

"Yeah" John B continues to lie.

"If he really is coming home, I think you should be allowed to stay" Peterkin states.

"Thank you" John B replies.

"But if I stick my neck out for you, you have to help me. Tit for tat" She tells him.

"What- what does tat mean?" John B asks and I physically face palm myself.

"Let me see, how can you help me? Oh, I know. So, a body was found in the marsh yesterday. We're you in the marsh yesterday?" Sheriff asks the Routledge boy.

"Yeah, we were fishin' for some drum" John B nods.

"You catch anything?" She asks curiously.

"Nah, we were skunked" John B shrugs.

"Strange. Fishing's usually good after a storm. All sorts of things get stirred up" The sheriff states "You come across a wreck yesterday?"

"No" John B lies and Peterkin sighs, lightly shaking her head.

"You're skimmin' just above the surface, John B. Now, down here is foster care, juvie. Pretty big drop for a smart kid like you. Up here is you and your little friends going whatever you want" The woman explains using hand motions "Outer Banks...or foster care on the mainland"

"You're one inch above the surface, John B. If I was you, i'd start flappin' my wings. Now, you sure you didn't come across a wreck yesterday?" She finishes her rant and John B glances at me for a split second.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure" He nods.

"It's better if you didn't, you understand?" She says, putting her hand on his shoulder "I'm gonna look the other way, as long as you stay out of the marsh"

The woman walks away and stops at the door, turning to face us.

"I got dogs livin' better than this, John B. You might wanna think about cleanin' up" She declares "And isn't it a bit early to start day drinking, Cassie?"

I lift my beer bottle in her direction and she rolls her eyes, exiting the chateau. John B angrily throws a can at the wall and I sigh, pulling myself to my feet. I pad over to him and sit down next to him, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"Hey, I got an idea" I state with a small smile.

"What's that?" He asks.

"Move in with me" I suggest.

"Your parents hate me" He shoots down the idea.

"Then i'll move out. I'm 18 now, I can be your legal guardian" I tell him.

"You shouldn't waste your money on me" He replies.

"Money is the least of my worries, Johnathan. My trust fund could buy me a small island and i'd still have some left over" I scoff and he chuckles.

"I can't let you look after me for the next two years of your life" He says, shaking his head.

"Why not?" I ask with a sigh.

"It's not fair" He answers.

"Life's not fair" I retort.

"I said no, Cassandra" He huffs.

"Fine, but the offer is always there" I tell him and he nods.

"Thank you" He smiles.

"You're welcome" I grin, ruffling his hair.

☁️☁️☁️

"Look, I'm callin' it off. All right?" John B announces as we all sit outside the back of the chateau "Peterkin said, if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS"

"And you believed her?" JJ asks in disbelief.

"Yes, I believe her, JJ" John B retorts.

"An actual cop, John B. You believed a cop" The Maybank boy scoffs, throwing a stone into the water.

"All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple days, and she'll help me out" John B argues "And it doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun"

"You know what I should have done, man? Just let Topper drown your ass" JJ snaps.

"Yeah, because Topper was gonna drown me" John B says sarcastically.

"Sure looked like it" JJ retorts.

"That's funny" John B laughs.

"I mean, have you looked in the mirror recently?" JJ asks the Routledge boy rhetorically.

"Tell me some more. Come on" John B says as JJ walks up to him and I can sense a fight about to erupt.

"Boys, enough" I speak up and they take a step back from each other.

"They always win, don't they, man? Kooks versus Pogues. They always, always win! Goddamn!" JJ growls, punching a buoy and I frown.

"Look, it's okay!" Kiara snaps.

"No, it's not okay! It is not!" JJ yells angrily before turning to John B again "They don't want us to go down into the marsh. That means there's something valuable down there, and you know it, man. I know you do"

"And I understand why you don't wanna go. You're the golden boy. You got way too much to risk" JJ says to Pope before turning to Kiara and I "And you two- I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyway. Why would you bother?"

Kiara looks at JJ with a 'what the fuck, dude?' expression and I roll my eyes. JJ turns back to John B, ignoring the both of us.

"But you and me, man, we got nothin' to lose! We really don't, all right?" JJ exclaims.

"JJ" John B sighs.

"All right? And I know it didn't use to be that way for you" JJ adds.

"I don't want to talk about this. I don't want to talk about it" John B mutters.

"So that's it?" JJ scoffs.

"Just get out of my way, bro!" John B snaps, shoving his way past JJ.

"John B, listen to me. I have a plan" JJ states and the Routledge boy stops, waiting for the Maybank boy to explain himself.

"This can't be good" I mumble and both Kiara and Pope nod in agreement.

"You got the key to Cameron's big boat, right? There's scuba gear inside man. We borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man. You don't see rich kids going to foster care, do you?" JJ rants.

☁️☁️☁️

"This is empty. You took empty tanks?" Kiara asks in disbelief.

"Okay, this one's a quarter full. It's enough for one of us" She adds.

"Love it when a plan comes together" Pope says sarcastically.

"Does anybody know how to dive?" Kiara asks.

"It's kind of a Kook sport" JJ states and they all look at me.

"I've done it a few times with Wheezie" I admit.

"I read about it" Pope adds.

"Great, Pope read about it and Cassie has done it a few times, so someone's gonna die" Kiara declares and I kick her leg.

"Look, y-you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard could it be?" JJ asks rhetorically.

"Well, if you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends" Pope explains.

"The bends like, bend over and-" JJ tries to joke.

"The bends kill you" Pope deadpans.

"Right" JJ nods.

"I can do it" I huff.

"You can do it. I'm cool with that" JJ agrees.

"Are you sure about this?" John B asks me.

"I'll do it. It's fine" I assure him.

"Let me do some calculations real quick" Pope chirps as I strip off my shirt and shorts.

"Are you serious?" My sister asks me, worry clear on her features.

"I'll be okay, Kie" I tell her and she rolls her eyes as I avert my attention to Pope.

"So that boat's about 30 feet down, right?" Pope starts and I nod.

"So it'll take 25 minutes at most at that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about...ten feet. All right? For two minutes" Pope tells me.

"Yeah. Ten feet, two minutes. I got it" I reply.

Suddenly I hear a loud splash and turn to see Kiara is gone.

"What the hell was that?" I snap.

"I don't know, but I liked it. A lot" JJ mumbles and I lean over Pope, slapping him upside the head.

"That's my sister, Maybank" I snap and he clears his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, so- yeah. Uh, when you- when you're down there, you look for the cargo hold. You stick this thing inside and twist and pull, okay?" JJ tells me, handing me a key on a string which I put around my neck.

"That's what she said" I smirk to which the boy laughs.

"My dad moved some weight back in the day" He states.

"Who didn't?" Pope replies.

I pull on the scuba gear and turn when I hear my sister's voice.

"Hey! I tied my t-shirt to the anchor chain about ten feet down. It's where you need to do your safety stop" Kiara tells me.

"Cool. Thanks, Kie" I smile to which she shrugs, pulling herself back into the boat.

"Keep an eye on this" Pope tells me, holding up the oxygen meter "You need to make sure you have enough air to decompress"

"Okay, how much do I need?" I ask curiously.

"Unclear. Breathe as little as possible" Pope replies and I give him a tight lipped smile.

"Zen. Think Zen, you know?" JJ says before imitating breathing through a mask.

"Yeah, I get it, JJ" I laugh.

"Hey, if we get caught in the marsh, we're basically screwed, so...better get a move on" Pope states.

"Copy that" I reply.

I pull the mask over my face and give the Pogues a thumbs up.

"Diver down" They all say and I jump into the water.

I breathe short, shallow breaths as I swim my way down to the boat. Using the roof, I pull myself into the boat and start looking for the cargo hold. After a few minutes of searching, I find the cargo hold and use the key JJ gave me to open it. The door comes off and inside I see something large and black. I grab it and pull it out the hold, revealing a large black gym type bag.

bingo!

I pull my back over my shoulder and slowly swim my way out of the boat. Once I reach Kiara's t-shirt, I stop and look up to see not only one but two boat shadows.

fuck

I check my air to see I only have one minute and fifteen seconds left of air. I see another body in the water which I identify as John B, hiding under the HMS Pogue. The timer counts down and worry pools in my stomach as I try to slow my breathes and not panic.

don't breathe, cassie! don't breathe!

I check again to see I now only have forty seconds of air left, making my worry turn into full blown anxiety.

don't panic, be calm

forty seconds quickly turn into ten seconds and I can still see the other boat there, a shadow of a man looking down into the water. I watch the ten seconds disappear and the feel the oxygen stop flowing into the mask. I hold my breath as I see the man disappear back onto his own boat. My throat starts to burn and my head feels like it's gonna explode.

hold on, you're almost there

The other boat leaves and I race to the surface, my need for air making me feel faint. My head breaks the surface as the same times John B's does and I gasp loudly, the cool air feeling amazing on my burning throat.

"There they are!" JJ shouts.

"Oh, God! Jesus Christ!" Pope exhales loudly "Don't scare us like that"

"How'd it go down there?" JJ asks me and I hold up an okay sign with my fingers.

"Did you find anything?" The blind asks me as I take off the mask.

"Did I find anything?" I scoff, throwing the black bag on board.

"Yeah, there we go! That's my girl!" The Maybank boy cheers.

"You okay?" Kiara asks me as Pope helps me onto the boat.

"Yeah, I ran out of air" I answer.

"You scared the shit out of me" She huffs "You both did"

I turn to John B and hold out my fist which he bumps with his own.

"Yeah, the cops were up here, but, uh...took care of 'em" Pope explains to me.

"Yeah, you kinda missed the show, Cassie" JJ grins as I take off the scuba gear.

"Hey, guys? Guys, bogey, two o'clock" Kiara announces and I turn to see another boat heading towards us.

"Do you recognise that boat?" Pope asks me.

"I've never seen it" I answer, shaking my head.

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

"I don't know. Let's not stick around and find out" JJ replies.

"JJ, get the bowline" John B demands.

"Yeah" JJ nods, doing as he's told.

"Should we wait on 'em?" Pope asks curiously.

"No, we're not gonna wait on 'em" John B retorts.

"Are you joking?" Kiara scoffs.

"Go get the stern. Go!" John B orders and Pope does just that.

"JJ, hurry up!" I hiss.

"Guys, don't wait for me. Go" The blonde states.

"Let's go!" Kiara snaps.

"I don't like the look of this" John B mutters as he drives us away from the other boat.

"Are they coming for us?" JJ asks.

"Maybe they're fishing" Pope suggests and I look at him in disbelief.

"Go, go, go, go!" JJ snaps.

"Go into the marsh" Pope adds.

"Let's go!" I snap.

"I'm going. Act natural" John B retorts.

I hear the boat behind us rev their engine and I squeak, grabbing Pope's arm.

"Hey, guys, they're following us" Kiara says nervously.

"Oh, this can't be good" Pope replies worriedly.

"Dude, you gotta go faster!" JJ exclaims.

"I'm going!" John B snaps.

"Gun it!" JJ retorts.

The two men chase us through the marsh, never slowing down as we turn corners and speed up. Suddenly a gunshot rings out and Pope drags me down as everyone hits the floor.

"What the-" Pope yells.

"Holy shit!" Kiara shrieks.

"John B, get down!" JJ shouts and I turn my head to see John B is in fact still standing as he steers the boat.

Another gunshot rings out and I scream.

"Oh, my God. We're gonna die!" Pope gasps.

Multiple more gunshots ring out before a pile of netting catches my eye.

"Pope, move" I snap, scrambling to my feet and walking to the front of the boat.

A bullet flies past me and a frightened squeal leaves my lips.

"Get down, Cassie!" John B shouts at me as I grab the netting.

I rush to the back of the boat and throw the netting into the water. Another gunshot booms through the air and this time I feel a sting in my side but I ignore it, watching as the netting gets caught in the guys' propellers and their boat stops. I hear the Pogues cheering and laughing in relief but my vision goes blurry for a second.

"Booyeah! Pogue god, man!" JJ whoops.

"That was insane!" Kiara laughs.

"Whoo!" JJ hollers.

I bring my hand up to my side and suck in a breath when I feel the hot liquid. My eyes travel down and my eyes water at the sight of the gushing wound on my side.

"Cassie? You okay?" I hear John B ask me.

"W-we have a problem" I breathe out, turning to face them.

All their eyes widen in shock and I pull my shaky hand away from my side to see my palm is dripping with the crimson liquid. My legs give up on me and Pope catches me.

"Cassie!" I hear Kiara scream.

Pope lays me down and grabs my shirt from the floor, holding it onto my wound. My eyes droop shut and I hear Kiara crying.

"Hey, stay awake" The Heyward boy tells me, patting my cheek and I open my eyes.

"I'm sorry" I croak, tears slipping down my face.

"Shh, it's okay" Pope assures me.

"Hold on, Cassie. We're gonna get you help" I hear JJ tell me and I nod.

A hand grabs my bloody one and I turn my head to see Kiara, sobbing softly beside me.

"Don't cry, Kie. I'm gonna be fine" I tell her.

She squeezes my hand and suddenly black dots cloud my vision.

"Night, Kie" I whisper, my eyes slipping shut.

"Cassie! Wake up!" I hear the girl shriek but I don't have the energy to do as she says.

The voices around me fade and I'm left unconscious.