Always and Forever (sequel to The Heart of a Pouge)

Chapter 8: The Cross

After Sarah announced that she knew where the Island Room was (apparently at our house) we all jumped in the Twinkie and headed straight there. One the way Pope was looking through the diary.

'Guys, listen to this. The diary says the cross holds the most holy relic in all of Christendom, the Garment of the Savior' he tells us
'So wait, he saying there's a holy garment inside the cross?' Kiara asks
'Yeah. It says the garment is capable of healing the sick from any malady' Pope reads although none of us knew what that meant.
'Mmm, yeah. "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."' JJ translates and we all give him a shocked look, I was even shocked that he knew what that meant.

'What? I went to Sunday school' he says
'Sure' Kie replies
'Well, that explains why Limbrey would want the cross so bad. She thinks it can heal her' I say
'What else does it say?' Kie asks Pope
'"Many feel that we have sinned to steal such a sacred thing, and God will strike His vengeance on us."' Pope reads
'Thing is, God did have His vengeance. He sent a hurricane to sink the ship' I say
'Only Denmark survived' Pope concludes.

We arrive back at Sarah and I's place and I unlock the door so we can get in.
'This place still freaks me out' John b says
'Yeah, same' JJ agrees as Sarah pushes open the door into our dinning room
'Pope, look' Sarah says and we all gasp as we head in. Behind the fancy wallpaper, a whole artwork was on display.
'Whoa! You've got to be kidding me' Pope says
'Yeah. I know, right? It's the island room'
'Incredible' JJ says
'It's been here this whole time' I gasp
'No freaking way' John b gasps
'This definitely means something' JJ decides
'Wow' Kie whispers while JJ and John b keep making shocked remarks at everything they see.
'Yo, this is a map of the whole island' John b suddenly realises
'Yeah, John B, I think you're right because this is Rixon's right here. And then, there's the lighthouse' JJ points out
'Guys, look, Parcel 9 and the well' Kie adds pointing at another spot on the well.
'So, if that's Parcel 9, and then if that's Rixon's, then that's gotta be the surf break at Mase' I pull it all together, pointing at another spot on the wall
'Right. And look. Pope, come here. This is Denmark's handwriting for sure' JJ adds as he comes up to look at the wall I was pointing at.
'The drawings, they match up' Pope says
'Holy shit' I gasp
'Denmark, you genius! These are all his drawings' Pope says
'He... he painted this entire room' John b gasps
'Yeah, question is why. What's he trying to tell us?' Kie asks
'It's gotta have something to do with the key, right?' JJ says
'Yeah, but what?' I ask JJ.
'How did you know to uncover this?' John b asks Sarah
'I didn't. It was like this when I got home' Sarah says
'What?' JJ asks
'Okay, then who did it?' Kie asks
'I don't know' Sarah answers
'The freaks'

We all turn around to see Wheezie standing in the doorway.

'Wheeze!' Sarah gasps happily
'What freaks are we talking about, Wheezie?' I ask my younger sister
'Uh... that sick lady and her attack dog. They... they showed up last night, and they wanted to talk to Rafe'
'Okay' I say
'Wait. Pale blonde lady?' JJ asks
'She have crutches?' Kie adds
'Uh-huh' Wheezie agrees
'It's gotta be Limbrey' JJ groans running a hand through his hair.
'Wh... what happened?' I ask her.

'First, they searched the whole house looking for something, and then Rafe told me to go upstairs. But I didn't wanna miss out so I listened through the grate. And they were talking about getting across the sand flamingo?' Wheezie tells us.
'That's code for something' JJ concludes and I roll my eyes.
'Do you mean, the Cross of Santo Domingo?' I ask my sister
'Yeah, that's it. Oh, and they were talking about angels. A lot of angel talk. I don't know'
'Angels?' John b asks then Pope gasps
'Guys, Denmark's famous last words. He buried the real treasure at the foot of the angel. They're looking for an angel. We have to find the angel in the room'
'Start looking' JJ says
'Spread out' I say
'There's a church over here' Kie says
'Yeah, check the church' John b says and we all spread out across the room looking for an angel. As my eyes scan the room out of the corner of my eye I see a ginormous tree. I head over to that spot on the wall and run my hands over the art as I try to remember where I had seen this tree before. Then I remember. JJ and I had a picnic date at this tree a few days after John b and Sarah had went missing. Suddenly I feel a presence behind me and I turn to see JJ.