After the Storm- JJ Maybank (Outer Banks)

37.

Sarah had been filling me in on the last month and a half that I had been away. Things had been crazy, as always, so I wasn't as shocked. I was more worried, worried about what everyone was going to think about me being out. Worried about where my dad could possibly be, wherever that was, I hoped he was okay.  Here's what I had learned about what occurred while I was gone.

1. Everyone had been reeling over Ward's death and with his death came the confession of murdering Big John, Peterkin, and Gavin. He took the blame for Rafe, which is why he got out of jail. It still didn't make any sense to me since he assaulted me, but I'm sure something was left out.

2.  Sarah and John B broke things off, which he had told me before I left.

3. JJ had came up with a plan to hand off a fake key (which Pope had found in his Grandmothers old apartment) to Limbrey and Renfield. This plan worked for a while and they got the tape to Shoupe (which ultimately ended in the attempt to arrest Ward). The plan backfired and Renfield tried to threaten to shoot the pogues with a bow and arrow, so they had no choice but to hand over the real key.

4. The key gave a hint about something called the Island Room, which Sarah had discovered was in her house, painted on the walls of their kitchen. JJ had decided that the clue lead them to a tree, an Angel Oak (another clue saying the treasure was buried at the foot of the angel). I hadn't realized how smart JJ was, I mean of course I knew he was, but he had done a lot after all that happened. I couldn't be more proud of him.

5. Limbrey, Rafe, and Renfield had found a corspe that belonged to Denmark Tanny's wife. It wasn't what they were looking for, and they went back to the house to look at the painting once again. JJ had noticed a hole in the tree and pulled out a telescope that had writing on it. It revealed the cross was at the church that Denmark owned. John B's truck sort of got stuck and Kie and JJ went to go borrow her dad's truck to get it out. During that, JJ's dad escaped from jail and attacked him- telling him to help get him off the island for good. A part of me broke when I heard Sarah tell me this. I wasn't there for him, and I couldn't begin to imagine how he felt. While they got his dad off the island, John B was attacked by a gator in the tide. 

6. Pope finds the cross, but has an allergic reaction to wasps that stung him when he was attempting to get it down. With that obstacle, Rafe and Renfield end up taking the cross.  Sarah ends up sneaking into her house to try and get it back. She finds Renfield dead, shot. Rafe pushes her into the wine cellar and locks her in. Rose drugged her and then she ended up here.

"Wow. I sure did miss a lot."

"Yeah, it all happened so quickly too."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help you guys."

"It's okay, really. We're all okay. You're okay. That's all that matters."

Sarah turns around a corner and I hear her gasp.

"What?"

"Look, there it is. The cross."

She points across the room and I see a huge golden cross. It was practically glowing. 

"We need to get a phone, now. We need to call the police." Sarah frantically runs to the other side of the boat, letting the sun hit her face.

I follow behind her as she finds a phone, dialing the number as quickly as she can. The man looked over to me and back to her. He grabs the phone and throws it overboard, beginning to run after us.

"Shit, run!" I turn around on my feet and begin to hear sirens blaring in my ears.

"Is that the fire alarm?" Sarah says behind me.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?"

I stop dead in my tracks when I feel a hand reach out and grab my throat. I feel my feet dangling from the ground, trying hard to push myself back down. 

"Dad! Stop! Please, don't do this."

"I warned you, I warned you several times. I took you in as my own when your father disappeared and this is what I get? You're an ungrateful, selfish bitch just like your mother." He growled underneath his breath. 

I felt Sarah behind me, pushing into her dad trying to get me free. I felt my body being pushed against the side of the boat, feeling the large waves hitting against it. They were so big, almost getting water to hit my back.

"You're going to wish that Rafe killed you over the summer after I'm done with you and your friends. Never got to say bye to daddy."

"I'm going to kill you, even if it's the last thing I do." I spit down.

Sarah continued to beat on him and he threw me down, banging my head really hard up against the boat. He grabbed Sarah, doing the same to her.

"You were going to call the police on me, your own dad? After everything? I can't let you get back to the Outer Banks. You can't go back alive."

"Dad, please." She struggled to let words fall from her mouth as I felt blood trickling down my neck.

Both of his hands are tight around her neck. I could see the life leaving her eyes, but I was too weak to get up. Suddenly, John B comes around the corner. He throws Ward off of Sarah, causing him to hit his head, blood beginning to fall.

"Kill me. Do it." He spit, looking down. 

He looks over to Sarah, who then looks over to me. She nods, giving him permission to do what he had done to John B's father. He shakes his head and they both look over to me.

"Rachel? Oh my god." John B holds Sarah and walks over to me, lifting me up.

"John B." I whispered as he held me, supporting my body.

"I didn't even know you were out yet. How did you get here?"

"Kidnapped. You know, the usual."

He gave a small chuckle as he pulled out, me finally being able to stand on my own.

"We have a lifeboat, we're all trying to get the hell out of here."

"Is JJ here?"

"I think he was with Kie. We all will meet up with them, we gotta go Rachel. It's now or never."

"I have to go find him, JB. I'll get on the boat I promise, just go."

He was very hesitant by my statement but Sarah nodded her head, giving me a small smile before they turned around and walked off. I begin to run to the other side of the boat. I was determined to find them, we all couldn't be split up. Not again, never again. I hear some yelling, seeing an unfamiliar man, throwing Kie around. She was thrown to the ground as the man lifted up a machete.

"Kie!" I yelled out, running to her. I ducked as the machete came around and I heard a familiar voice beside me. 

"Rachel?"

I looked up, seeing JJ leaned against the side of the boat. He was panting from the fighting, the fight he forgot he was in.

"Watch out!" I yelled out.

The man threw the blunt side of the machete into JJ's head, causing him to fly off the boat into the ocean below.

"JJ? JJ!" There was no thoughts processing through my head, only saving JJ.

"Rachel, wait!"

My fight or flight kicked in, I jumped in after him. His body was floating upside down, he wasn't breathing. I came back up and turned his body around, his face up. There was blood running down his forehead and I couldn't tell if he was alive or not. I felt my chest tighten, struggling to keep us afloat. 

"JJ, please. Hey, it's me. Please wake up, I can't lose you. Not again. JJ? JJ!" I laid my head over his chest, crying into it. 

I pushed my legs back and forth as hard as I could so we could stay afloat. I wasn't going to let him die. If he wasn't going to make it, neither was I.