"You came back for me," I said to JJ.

"Yeah, no shit," he mumbled, but I secretly smiled to myself. He'd come back for me, Mercedes Shoupe.

"No time for chit–chat!" John B said, sweat dripping down his face as he put the car into drive and started down the road at a neck–breaking speed.

"What the fuck John B!" I held onto the seats beside me.

"Sarah's been abducted by Ward—"

"Abducted?!"

"Well, she was drugged and shoved into a car, so yeah, abducted," JJ said snipedly.

"Then why the fuck did you come for me?! You should've gone right after Ward and followed the car!" I scolded.

"Because JJ," John B darkly shot a look at his best friend. "Insisted."

Ouch. I mean, I got that John B was still in love with Sarah, but geez. But then I was thinking that JJ had insisted on coming back for me? Ohmigod, JJ had insisted on coming back! He'd rescued me, picked me over Sarah. He'd been so insistent to John B that he'd forced them to come for me!

"Where's the others?" I quickly asked.

"No idea. We all broke off to do our own thing after Shoupe took you." JJ shrugged.

"Right now, our priority's Sarah!" John B buckled down and we screeched down the road.

We eventually caught up to Sarah and the car she'd been abducted in. How we got there in time was because of John B's crazy driving. We followed the other car to the harbor, where a boat lay out. We saw Sarah was pulled from the car and put onto the massive shipping boat.

"C'mon!" John B dashed out of the Twinkie, and we were forced to follow him. We all dived behind an old shipping container, taking a moment to catch our breath.

"Boo!" Someone hissed behind us, and JJ gave a little girly scream.

"Shut up, it's just us!" Kie rolled her eyes at JJ, and she and Pope joined us hiding behind the shipping container.

"Why'd you scream like that," I laughed at him.

"Shut up, you were gonna too!" He argued.

"You sounded all high pitched," I wheezed as I laughed.

"Both of you, shut the fuck up!" John B almost roared. "Sarah's there, trapped inside with the Cameron's. They're about to ship her off to god knows where, and we have to get her back ASAP!"

"The cross is there too," Pope said.

"Well isn't the just amazing," I said bitterly.

We quickly formed a plan to get onto the boat: We would sneak onto the shipping container we were hiding behind, and then find Sarah and the cross, and hop onto a boat and speed back to the OBX. It wasn't a stable one, but it was the best we had.

Pope quickly sent out a massive fire flare distraction, and then we were climbing through the small vent of the shipping container and hiding in it. It was dark, and the only light source was from the small vent. The container was rectangular shaped, maybe a couple meters long, but big enough to fit several crates and supplies inside.

"And now ... we wait," Pope said.

For a second, there was silent, but then the creaking started. We all immediately sat down on our butts as the container was lifted into the air (by a crane?) and a lot more creaking sounded. There was a big BOOM as it was put down on the ship, and we all jumped a bit when that happened.

We had successfully made it onto the boat.

"Now what? We're on the boat, yay, and everything, but we're pretty much sitting ducks. How're we gonna get out without getting shot at?" JJ smartly pointed out.

A new plan was formed: Kie and Pope would go to get weapons that were hidden somewhere on the ship, while John B would try to scout the rooms to see where Sarah was. They would meet back here and we would then round up the Captain and crew members, trap them in a room, then find the cross, and get out of here.

"Wait a minute," I stopped everyone. "Why do JJ and I have to stay here the whole time?"

"Yeah, it's stinkin' hot here!" JJ wiped at a giant dollop of sweat that'd beaded up on his forehead.

"Because. Someone has to watch JJ," Pope said.

"Great. I'm the babysitter," I crossed my arms.

"I'm not some kid!" JJ said hotly.

We ignored him, of course.

The other's quietly left, slipping back through the vent. So JJ and I were forced to wait in the heat, hoping they would come back alive with weapons and news about Sarah. Then would we actually act, finding the cross and leaving.

"Thank you," I said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"For what?" JJ looked at me weirdly.

"For uh, you know, coming back for me." I fidgeted a bit.

"Nah," JJ shrugged. "No Pogue left behind, right?"

"Yeah," I smiled a bit. "No Pogue left behind."

"Why is it so hot," JJ lifted his T-shirt and pulled it off. I couldn't help but stare; he had abs. Like what sixteen year old kid had real abs?!

"Yeah. So hot," I echoed.

Eventually, the others came back, but only with solemn faces and no Sarah or weapon in sight.

"Where's the weapons? Did you find Sarah?" They all just shook their heads, apparently this small mission had been a flop.

A new plan was formed: Pope, Cleo, and Kie would go to find the cross. First though, JJ and I would head to trap the crew and Captain into a room. While John B would go to find Sarah this time. We would meet on deck by one of the life safety boats, or find some other way to transport ourselves, and then cross away.

As JJ and I made a move to jump out of the stinking hot shipping container through the vent, I spun around on him. "Put on your shirt!"

"Why? It's hot out!"

"Because! There's people out there," I insisted.

"So? It's not like they'll care."

"Just put your damn shirt on," I threw it at him.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes, but put it on anyway.

Long story short, we snuck around, managed to snag all the crew and Captain into a room, successfully trapping them, and then we turned to run back on deck, to Join Pope and Kiara for the quest of getting the golden cross.

"Where the fuck are they?!" I yelled as we ran through passageways, trying to avoid loose crew-members who we hadn't trapped. We were in a time crunch, and at any moment could the crew break loose and kill us all.

"Dunno—let's head onto the deck," JJ sprinted ahead and did a sharp turn, and I followed him up a set of crusty narrow stairs.

We both climbed up the stairs to the deck of the boat, and I shielded my eyes for a second, unused to the bright light.

"Great, now what." We were on the side of the boat, no Pogue near sight.

"Duck!" Someone shouted.

Some life instinct in me made my legs crouch, and I ducked, saving my life for once.

A knife swung above my head, inches away from chopping my neck off. I felt the blade brush a couple of hairs.

I immediately sprang up, kicking the idiot who tried to decapitate me, but of course that person was already wrestling with JJ. He was big, stocky built, maybe in his forties or early fifties. So this was the captain, escaping from the doors below. That meant the rest of the crew was out and about too, which meant we were about to become their next dinner.

"Gerroff him!" I yelled, kicking Stocky Built in the face.

JJ scrambled to his feet, and Stocky Built quickly followed. Before I could stop him, he was waving his machete knife thing and hit JJ on the side of his head with the blunt end. I could only give a startled shout before JJ was knocked overboard, and splashed into the water.

"JJ!" I ran to the side of the boat, leaning over. His body bobbed in the water, and he didn't move. There wasn't any time to think, and I climbed over the side of the ship and jumped.

I plunged into icy cold ocean water, and surfaced, sputtering. I quickly spotted him slowly sinking a couple meters away, and full on front crawled–sprinted towards him. I would not be letting this idiot die on my watch, no way.

It was difficult getting him in a position where his head was above water, while I treded, but I found a way to heave my arms underneath his armpits, and shift my body so his head rested on my shoulders. My legs treded in the water furiously, as I tried to keep up both above water.

"JJ? JJ?" I kept yelling at him, but no response. Thankfully, I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, but he was still knocked out cold. For all I knew, he could be bleeding out the side of his head currently.

It was cold in the water, and I started shouting for John B. "John B! John B! Someone, help!" I couldn't stay in the water forever, holding up a seventy pound sixteen year old boy. Already, I was plainly exhausted.

I started to slowly swim around the shit, inching forward several bits by bits, hoping to see someone run by the side of the ship. "Some one help!" I kept shouting, but it was no use.

Instead, I was left, treading in icy water, desperately trying to keep JJ and my own head above water. He was injured too, and there wasn't any way I could do this for much longer.

Hands shaking from the cold, I tried to adjust JJ so his face was facing me. His lips were turning blue, but I could see the steady inhale and release of his breath, if weak yet apparent. I tried to look over his head for any injuries, but I struggled with holding us both above water.

Instead, I gave up, and continued calling for help.

Suddenly, a roar of an engine sounded, and waves started lapping at JJ and I. It wasn't the ocean's usual waves, or waves powered from the huge ship. It was waves from a small speed boat, or the kind back at the OBX.

"Help! Somebody help!" I started screaming, splashing around towards the sound of the boat.

The Pogues rounded the corner, all safe and sound upon a safety boat.

"Over here!" I tried waving one arm, while holding JJ above water.

The boat zoomed over, and stopped beside us. John B and Kiara first took JJ from my arms, pulling him onto the boat, while Pope and Sarah leaned over to yank me inside. The moment we both collapsed in the boat, John B was already speeding us away from the ship, as gunshots sounded after us.

We had escaped.

But there were other matters to attend to first.

"JJ?! JJ?!" I leaned over JJ's lifeless body. "JJ!" My hand shook as I slapped him across the face.

He jolted to life, blinking, a little dazed. "Hey," he gave me a total Flynn Rider mixed with F boy look.

"Oh my god," I swore, then pulled him close to me, crushing him into a hug. "Don't you ever fucking do something like that again!"

"Mercedes?" He blinked a little slowly.

"He probably has a bit of a concussion," Pope inspected the side of JJ's head that was slowly oozing a bit of blood.

"Sarah?!" Apparently now that JJ was fine and breathing, Sarah was my priority. I nearly yelped, crushing her with a hug, almost tipping the whole boat.

"Easy!" John B said, but I could tell that he was happy too.

"Now what?" Kie asked.

"Now, we head for the island," John B pointed to an island that was growing larger by the minute, which we unknowingly were looking at our future home for the next thirty days.

"Whoo—fucking—hoo!" JJ whooped, and we all joined in cheering.

We were alive, and together.

And that was all that mattered.