The Outer Banks, paradise on earth. The sort of place where you either have two jobs, or two houses. Two tribes, one island.
The younger girl survived because of her friends. For them. The first five or six months after her father disappeared were...
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Despite the fact that Pope Heyward was the smartest of the group, sometimes he really failed at reading the room. The blond boy and brunette girl were lip to lip with their eyes shut–each waiting for the other to close the remaining gap–when the door leading out the back of Heyward's shop opened.
"JJ, bro, some lady just tipped me twenty bucks–oh, hey Liv!"
The brunette sent him a smile and wave, her cheeks flushed so red her freckles were barely noticeable. Luckily for her, the dark haired boy seemed oblivious. Next to her, the blond stood casually against the wall taking puffs from his vape, failing to notice–or maybe just ignoring–her gaze.
John B had picked the three of them up not long after, pausing outside The Wreck to pick up Kie. It seemed to take a bit of coaxing from the boy, but eventually she had joined them, mumbling about going on wild goose-chases.
"You mind if I just relax on this one?" Said JJ, in the back of the van next to Pope and Liv. "It's been a long day, and a lot of weird stuff's gone down. I'm just gonna lay low." He shoved his joint towards Liv. "Oh, did you want a hit of this?" She shot him a look. Smoking–it didn't matter what it was–had never been her thing. Shrugging, he turned away, and offered it to Pope.
"I keep the signal clear." Said the boy, wrinkling his nose at his friend. "Dude, okay. Do you understand that your problem is that you don't get creative? If you got creative, then..." JJ was cut of by John B, who sat in the drivers seat next to Kie.
"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." He met his sisters gaze through the rearview mirror, and she felt her heart settle a bit. With everything that had gone on that day, her near kiss with the blond, and Kiara and Pope's doubts, she knew she'd always have him.
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"John B," said Liv as they pulled into the parking lot of a cemetery, "Why are we here?" She knew exactly where they were, but couldn't imagine why in the world he would have decided to drag them there in the dark of the night.
"Just come on." He said, leading them around the stones. His friends followed behind, aiming flashlights on the ground so they could watch where they stepped. "This place is scary," said Kie, "John B, what are we doing?" Finally deciding to share his answers, he halted in front of a large stone door.
"So, Redfield." He said, eyes on his friends. "This whole time, I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place. It's a person." "Voi-effing-là." Said JJ, and Liv wanted to hit herself for not realizing sooner.
"See, our great-great-grandmother, Olivia Redfield. That was her maiden name." Four sets of eyes landed on Liv, and she smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, my bad guys. I probably should have thought about that, her being my namesake and all." "Help me with the door." Said John B, and though they were still sceptical about finding anything, JJ and Pope joined him in pushing.
Liv stood next to Kie, the two of them shining flashlights for the boys as they let them do the dirty work. "This door is like 700 pounds." Said Pope after a minute or so of pushing. "It's not gonna budge." Next to him, the blond refused to give up. "We didn't come this far to get this far, all right? We got this." Right as Pope moved to position himself against the door, there was a hissing noise. Through a hole in the door covered with vines a snake emerged, its eyes glinting in the moonlight.
Pope jumped back in fright, nearly falling onto his ass. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" The blond next to him wasn't so phased. "That's a moccasin, all right. Ye olde Dr. Cottonmouth. Death in tall grass." He proceeded to bark like a dog, his friends looking at him unbelieving.
Kiara moved so she was shoulder to shoulder with the only other girl in the group. "Shut up, shut up!" "You're gonna wake the dead, man." Said Pope, looking at his friend like he was crazy.
"They're afraid of dogs. Everyone knows that, man." John B moved towards the door again, ignoring the scene his friends were making. A hand to the chest stopped him. "Wait, hold on." JJ looked at him with concern. "If there's one, there's probably dozens." "What?" Said Pope, and the boy nodded. "Stop," Said Kie, "You're scaring me." Liv nodded, shifting closer to the girl. "Me too."
The boy, thinking he was being heroic, began barking again.
"Stop barking at the snakes." Said John B, tired of his friends foolishness.
"Look, John..." Said Pope.
"Just making sure it's clear." Interrupted JJ.
"Shut up." Pope gave him a pointed look. "John, look."
"It's a snake." Said JJ, and Liv kicked dirt his way, hoping he would be quiet.
"We're not gonna get in there, all right? It's not budging. We should probably just go." The look of disappointment on John B's face was clear, none of the friends thrilled about leaving him upset.
"I can get through." Said Kiara, after a moment of thought. Liv's brows shot to her hairline. "No, no, no, no, no." "You think you're gonna fit through the hole?" Asked John B. "That hole?"
His friend sighed. "Look, this is about your guys' dad. And honestly, I really don't believe in it, but you deserve to know the truth. I'll do it."
Discussion over, Liv watched as her best friend was boosted through the hole. There was a thump as she landed, and the girl held her breath. Her voice calling out for a flashlight had everyone sighing in relief, JJ passing it through to her. "You alive?" Called John B. "You got, like, a... a heartbeat and everything?" There was a waver in Kie's voice as she responded, but she tried to hide it. "So far."
"That's good. That's good." Said the boy. "Yep," she murmured, "Uh... I need some more light."
A lantern was passed through the hole and Liv caught a glimpse of her friends face. She admired her bravery–climbing into where a dead person lay was not something she would have been able to do.
"Did you find something?" Asked JJ, and the girl shoved through the boys to see her friend. "Is there gold?"
Though the light was only dim, Kiara looked as though she had seen a ghost.
