Paradise on earth

3. The Forbidden Zone

You found something, you had actually found something. You pulled out the FedEx envelope passing it to John B.

"That's not gold," Pope said from the other side. No, it wasn't gold but it came close to it, the words for P and bird were written on it. It was from your dad, he would call you P (short for princess) and he would call John B bird. JJ extended his hand to help you out, catching you by your waist when you almost fell.

"Code red, code red," JJ repeated the warning. "Square groupers, square groupers!"

"Go, go, go" you rushed. All four of you hid on the side of the wall of your ancestor's grave.

"It's the guys who robbed your house," JJ assumed, peering over the side of the stone.

"Guys, the lights." You were all rushing to turn off the flashlights, "Do you think it's them?"

"Homie's got a gun," JJ spotted. You peered up from behind JJ's shoulder to get a better look, he held you back with an arm. The pounding in your chest reminded you of the encounter at the chateau, this time you would try not to stay frozen.

"Screw this," You decided to abandon your post to not get caught by whoever was out there. Tired, of hiding and deciding to make a run for it. You lead the group, hopping over the stone wall and metal gate.

Almost home free when you saw Pope dangling on the gate, "Guys, I'm stuck." He held himself up so as not to rip his shorts.

"Pope, come on!" JJ yells, Kie and John B run back to help Pope as JJ whips out his gun. "Pope, don't move okay?"

"JJ, no!" You shove JJ's arms down from aim, "Are you crazy?"

"I'm just trying to help!"

"No, you're just dying to use that thing and you're gonna end up shooting someone."

Pope's shorts rip off by Kie pulling him down, he covers his privates with his hands awkwardly. "Nice man, it's a little tootsie roll," JJ comments.

You burst out laughing at the situation as one by one you hop into the van, successfully escaping the graveyard.

"JJ, what're doing?" You eye the bread with big spots of mold, he spreads jelly over it. "That bread had mold in it three days ago."

"I'll just pull off the bad parts," He reasons "plus, mold is good for you. It's a natural organism."

You scrunch up your nose, "I hope you enjoy whatever organism that's gonna come out of your body after you eat that."

You all circle John B in your dad's office, candles lit all over. As you said earlier, the electric company still hadn't come to fix the wires over on the cut, leaving lanterns, flashlights, and candles as your only way to see in the dark.

John B opens the envelope with his set of keys, out of the corner of your eye you see JJ gag and spit out the piece of the mold sandwich he made. You smile to yourself, knowing that you warned him and now he had to face the consequences since he didn't listen. John B slips out a paper folded a million ways, opening it up to reveal a map with coordinates.

"Holy shit," You admire.

"X marks the spot," Pope points out. One of the several lines on the map holds an X, "Longitude, latitude." John B analyzes the map.

"Wait, there's somethin' else in there," You notice the envelope still had a lump. You dig in to find a tape recorder. You pressed the play button, Dear bird and P. The sound of your dad's voice came out and it brought an overwhelming sense of sorrow.