𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 {𝚓𝚓 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔}

𝚜.𝟷 𝚎𝚙.𝟹 -𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎-

"you take the words right out of me / but it feels alright to let this be"

The Forbidden Zone

~

"Holy shit," John B muttered, staring down at the envelope in his hands. "This is from my dad."

Tate stood on tiptoe to look over his shoulder and read the large, blocky scrawl that could only belong to her Uncle John. "Damn," she whispered.

Just then, there was a flash of light and JJ said- in a puff of smoke, "Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!" As if automatically, the group turned and dashed for the nearest grave, crouching down to hide from the newcomers. "It's the guys who robbed your house," JJ hissed.

"Lights!" Tate gestured frantically for everyone to turn their lights off.

"Light," Pope echoed

"JB!"

When the last of the lights was out, they settled into the darkness, listening to the men grow closer. Next to Tate, JJ's hand crept towards hers. His head turned slightly to see her expression, but before their hands could meet, one of them men boomed, "I see something!" Tate jumped and shrunk further into their hiding spot.

"Do you think it's them?" Kie asked, her voice cracking.

JJ craned his neck to get a better look. "Homie's got a gun," he muttered before Tate grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back down. He turned to her and pointed wildly towards the men.

Kiara stared at the interaction for a moment, and then started to stand up. "Screw this," she said in a low voice, and made a mad dash for the fence. There was a confused moment in which nobody really knew what to do, and then all at once the rest of the group followed her. Tate jumped the fence right after John B, made a perfect landing, and kept running into the dark.

"Guys! Guys!" Pope whisper-shouted after them. Everybody stopped and turned to him.

"Shit," Kie muttered. Pope was caught on the fence by the leg of his shorts, unable to untangle them in time.

John B and Kiara ran back to help Pope while JJ pulled out his gun, aiming it at Pope. "Pope, don't move, okay?" he said over the commotion at the fence.

"Hey, stop it," Tate scolded, pushing the gun to the side. "Waste of ammo."

Just then, there was a sickening rip as John B managed to pull Pope off the fence, losing his pants on the way. "Nice!" JJ said with a laugh. "It's a little Tootsie Roll."

"Oh, come on," Tate grabbed his arm and pulled him after John B, towards the van, followed closely by Kiara and Pope.

Once they were all safely inside and John B had peeled away from the curb, the group dissolved into relieved laughter. Kiara, sitting against the same wall as Tate, leaned into her shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. "That was so close," she breathed through giggles. Tate was taken aback at the sudden act of almost-friendship, but at least they weren't fighting. She hugged her knees to her chest and set her head against Kiara's, laughing and breathing in the warm summer air.

---

"That bread had mold on it three days ago," Pope said, pausing at the kitchen doorway before going to join Kiara and John B in the office. Tate and JJ had once again attempted to scavenge the Routledge refrigerator, and there was once again absolutely nothing there.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts," JJ shot back.

"Dude, the whole thing is bad," Tate said. She was sitting on the counter next to JJ, smoking another cigarette as she watched him make a sandwich.

"Plus," JJ continued as though he hadn't heard, "mold is good for you. It's just a natural... organism." Tate snorted and dropped the depleted cigarette into an ashtray, immediately pulling out and lighting another one. JJ looked up at her with a half-serious expression. "And those'll kill you." He slapped two pieces of bread together to make a sandwich.

"Yeah, says you." Tate slid off the counter and brushed past him to get to the office, where the others were waiting. JJ jogged in after her.

As John B ripped open the envelope, JJ tried to take a bite of his sandwich, gagged, and spit it back into his hand. Tate gave him an I-told-you-so look and turned back to John B. He was spreading a map out on the desk. "Holy shit."

"Oh," Pope pointed at a spot on the map. "X marks the spot."

"Longitude, latitude. Wait, there's something else in there." John B pulled out a small gray box.

"What's that?" JJ asked.

"It's a tape recorder, dumbass," said Kiara.

"Shut up," Tate muttered as John B pressed play. All of a sudden, the sound of John Routledge's voice filled the room.

"Dear Bird. 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-loathing 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 exactly Father of the Decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' 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."

There was a long silence, broken only by a shuddering sigh from John B. He got up, turned away from the group and stumbled to the nearby doorway where he collapsed in tears.

"Holy shit, he did it!" JJ cried, barely noticing anything else going on. "Big John... He found the Merchant..."

Kiara, looking extremely overwhelmed, lifted her hands to her forehead and took a deep breath. "Can you... can you please...?"

JJ only then seemed to notice the gravity of what happened and his face fell. "Sorry."

Kiara turned to comfort John B at the doorway, but Tate wasn't listening to any of it. The voice of her Uncle John had brought back so many memories...

"Don't worry about your dad, Theo. He'll come around. Always does."

"No matter what happens, you'll always have a home here. Even if there's never any real food."

"I'll talk to your mom, Theo. You just relax. You've got nothing to worry about now. She'll do the right thing in the end, I know she will."

As soon as JJ looked over at Tate, he noticed the far-off look in her eyes. They were clear and blue, not filled with tears or bloodshot. He'd never seen Tate cry in his life. To be completely honest, he didn't think Tate had ever shown any sign of weakness in her life. He'd always been impressed by that, but in that moment he realized how horrible it must be. Instead, her face formed this sad sort of expression that made him want to cry. She was staring at the wall and her thoughts were miles away from the Routledge house and the Outer Banks.

JJ got up and took a cautious step forward, wanting to do something for her but not having any clue as to what. Behind him, Pope cleared his throat and JJ turned around. Pope gave a pointed nod towards Tate, raising his eyebrows and losing all pretense of subtly. JJ got the message. He nodded and took another step closer, resting a tentative hand on Tate's shoulder. He could feel her start and snap out of her daze then, taking a deep, shuttering breath, she turned and let JJ pull her into her arms.

She still didn't cry. She wouldn't let the Pogues see her cry. But she wrapped her arms around JJ's middle and rested the side of her face on his chest, listening to his heartbeat speed up. She didn't mention it. She didn't feel like saying anything. As much as she missed her Uncle John, she felt the safest she had in a long time standing in his old office, wrapped tightly in JJ's arms, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest and inhaling the smell of the ocean that always lingered on both of them. With only the sound of John B's sobs breaking the silence, Tate squeezed her eyes shut and hugged JJ just a little tighter.