0.16

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chapter 16



"you really think it's out there? like, no bullshit?"

the group lays on hammocks as the night passes, all of them tired as the crickets chirp.

jj and india lay in one, their arms around eachother comfortably.

pope lays on a hammock by himself while kie and john b lay on the other one.

john b nods, "my father thought it was".

"but do you?" india asks quietly. one of her hands is behind jj's neck, running a hand through his wet hair while the other rests on his chest.

"after hearing his voice on that tape..." john b pauses "i think i do"

pope shrugs. "only one way to find out" he replies.

kie looks at the team's silouhettes, her hopes high. "look, we're gonna find it, you know?" she assures.

india chuckles, poking at jj's cheek. "even jj believes" she pitches in.

"oh my god jj, do you really believe?" john b asks, his tone mocking.

"totally" jj answers, going on with the joke "wait. are we talking about four mil?" he asks, completely forgetting the amount of money for a moment.

"four hundred mil" india and kie correct at the same time.

jj stays silent before cuddling in close to india and breathing in her scent as he closes his eyes.

"i'm gonna dream about shipwrecks" he mutters to the team. "good night, bird" he calls out to john b, using the nickname his father had given him.

india laughs silently as she turns to look at jj, who is cuddled in her arms.

the whole 'revealing' about india and jj being boyfriend and girlfriend hadn't gone as bad as they had thought. at first the group had been angry, but they had understood why they had done it, and that had been it as they put the matter to rest.

"goodnight bird shit" pope remarks jokingly. the team chuckles at his comment, enjoying the fresh air as they all zoned out in their own worlds.

that night india dreams that she's with jj walking down a street in italy.


___

the group stays quiet, staring at the video that the drone is displaying underwater.

they had been over the shipwreck more than three times and they still hadn't found anything but rusted metal and the occasional fish swimming in the deep waters.

just like that, their attitudes had gone from being positve and hoping to doing a complete one eighty. the feeling on the boat was tense, and it made india feel uncomfotable.

all their dreams of being rich and getting what they wanted had been crushed in a matter of seconds, and they were all feeling that heartbreak.

"look, just-- just pull the drone up" john b orders, his tone emotionless.

thunder rumbles in the distance, and the boat starts to move more and more as the waves become bigger and more agressive.

india was a water girl, but when it came to being on boats, she failed. she grabs her stomach, trying to hold in what she had eaten for lunch earlier in the afternoon as the boat continues to move left and right.

"we can do another pass" pope presses. "recharge the battery" he leads on.

from the steering wheel jj turns to look at them, starting to get tired of searching for the gold. "guys, we've done it three times. there's nothing there" he snaps.

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