𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 || 𝗷𝗷 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸

- compasses and gunshots -

"Shit." Pope mumbles.

"Alright, that's the police." JJ calls out, looking around at the others.

"Shit, guys if that's Peterkins we're fucked! I was asked specifically to stay out of the marsh.." Melia mumbles, rubbing her forehead.

"Just act frickin' normal." Kiara says, pushing her hair back and sitting up straight.

The siren of the police patrol boat blares as it parks up beside them. It's Shoupe and another one of the deputies.

"Evening, officers." Pope says with a fake, warm smile.

"Evening." Shoupe replies, throwing a rope over to the HMS Pogue, so that they could tie it off.

Emilia can already feel herself freaking out, it's been way too long already and John B is gonna need to come up for air soon.

Did she seriously need to have a weird encounter with JJ right before something stressful happens?

Shoupe pulls off his sunglasses, leaning on the siren post on his boat. "How you kids doing? You know the marsh is closed?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows at them.

"No-" JJ says, scratching his head slightly.

"No. Wow." Melia says, acting surprised.

"We didn't know that." Pope says, probably the most believable out of the bunch. "Why- why is it closed?"

"Well, we're conducting a search out here. A boat went down." Shoupe says, glancing around the water all around them.

Melia is starting to feel really sick.

"Oh." JJ says.

"You four seen anything?" He asks, glancing suspiciously between them.

"No. No boats, no." JJ states, sighing slightly.

Emilia glances in the water to see if she can see John B's figure anywhere. Nothing.

"Where's your friend you always hang with? Your brother right?" He says, pointing over at Melia. "He here?"

She gulps quietly. "Uhm, no, he's working sir." She says, looking down at her hands.

She was getting really worried now. This was taking too long.

Shoupe nods, humming slightly. He claps his hands before hoisting himself onto the HMS.

"I'm gonna check your little boat out." He says.

"Yeah, hop aboard." JJ says, making room for him to look around. "Uh, check her out."

The 25 minutes had got to almost have been up now.

JJ and Shoupe were talking about some kind of safety thing he needed to check, yet Melia couldn't focus on what they were saying. Her eyes were glued to the water, she felt herself going to pick her skin, but she stopped the second she felt the bandaids.

They remind her of her talk with JJ, before things got weird earlier that day. She couldn't break a promise that fast.

They show him something from the hold as Melia goes to stand beside Kie.