haven murphy had nothing to lose. everything was different after sarah cameron's birthday party, the night her father died. haven just didn't feel right in her own skin. then, on a whim, she befriended pope heyward and got sucked into a wild goose h...
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: DAY OF THE DEAD (episode three + four: the forbidden zone + spy games | trigger warning: mentions of sexual harassment)
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THE DAY OF DEAD calm came quicker than the pogues thought it would. The sky was a pale shade of blue when five of the six friends set off on their mission. The water was slack as the bow of Heywards' boat tore through the waves. JJ was the one driving, Haven and Kie on lookout while John B and Pope directed them towards where the Royal Merchant was rumoured to be. At long last, their near brushes with death would be worth it.
"Alright, JJ, pin it here," John B eventually called out.
"Roger that," the blonde boy nodded, driving with one hand while using the other to adjust the pair of sunglasses he'd stolen from Haven despite them not sitting right on his face. That morning before they set off to the Chateau, he'd rummaged through her room for something to wear, stealing one of her woven bracelets and the sunglasses as a token for his 'favourite' cousin. Then, he spent the entire walk over plus some of the boat ride talking about how cool he looked, like a villain out of an action movie. "X marks the spot."
All at once, the world went quiet. The engine of the boat shuddered to a stop. There were no other vehicles in sight. It was just them and the ocean, the wind slowly picking up enough speed to roar in their ears in a sound that reminded Haven of waves on a beach.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," John B grinned excitedly. He had the ROV tether in one hand and the camera itself in another as he approached the side of the boat, staring down at the water in anticipation. "To going full kook."
"Orto getting the fuck off this island," Haven said. At their confused looks, she shrugged. "What? I'm honouring Arden's memory."
Kie snickered. "She's not dead, Haven, she's just with her mum."
"That sounds like a death sentence to me."
"Anyways," John B cleared his throat pointedly. "To whatever it is we want to do with our lives."
And with an almighty splash, the ROV was disappearing into the dark blue water below. John B and Pope watched it disappear before making their way over to where Pope had set up the screen and other equipment. This left Kie and Haven to tackle the job of feeding the tether further and further into the water, Kie watching the yellow rope in question while Haven used a piece of chalk she found at the Chateau to mark every hundred metre on the edge of the boat.
For a while, it was quiet, the boys learning to navigate much deeper waters. Then John B was saying, "Alright, JJ, we're right over it. Ten seconds Northwest."
"Got it," he acknowledged as he carefully began to steer the boat in the direction he'd been given. "Ten seconds Northwest."
Haven looked around warily as the wind slowly began to pick up speed, rocking the boat back and forth with waves lapping at the edges. No one had noticed yet, but the sky was now grey instead of blue, white tips appearing on breaks in the water. It had been storming on and off for the past few days, so Haven could only hope that if a storm was to hit, they'd be out of there and on their way home before it could cause any damage.
