XXIV.   out of the woods

      Bridger felt like he was drowning. A darkness danced inside his brain. He was on the bottom of a swimming pool, sunken and crossed-legged, sitting on the bottom of the tiles. The water was burning his skin like acid, the dermis bubbling and scaring. His eyes burned when he opened them and he started to freak out. He thrashed around the water but felt as if he was glued to the bottom of the pool. That's how he felt for half of his life, before and after the death of his mother.

Death was happening all around him and he didn't know how to not think about it. The secrets unraveled in the treasure hunt were revealing themselves and it was ruining all of their lives. The bubblewrap he surrounded himself with was now popped and he allowed the tragedies of the Pogues lives to collide with his.

The saying don't judge a book by this cover stuck with him.

Hours had passed since John B told them about Sheriff Peterkin. They couldn't manage to speak. The words they tried to form were caught in their throats. Bridger's head was laid against the cool glass of Kiara's car window. He sat up front with her while she drove, the other boys sitting in the back. He was growing tired of the smell of weed from both Pope and JJ's blunts, even though he was craving it himself.

Kiara pulled into the police station parking. Bridger lifted his head, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "What the hell?"

"John B, what are we doing at the police station?" JJ questioned from the very back of the car.

"Somebody's gotta tell 'em what happened."

Pope let out a loud cough from the smoke. Bridger looked over his shoulder. JJ patted the boy on the back. "Okay. Easy there, chief."

"Damn." Pope uttered through his coughs. He took another drag of the blunt.

"Jesus. You're like a weed virgin." Bridger muttered.

JJ looked away from the coughing boy and leaned forward, looking at John B. "All right, I'm just gonna be real with you right now." He patted his shoulder. "You might end up in the lion's den, but you don't go there on purpose. It's fundamental. Just like my old man always told me, you should never ever trust cops, no matter what the circumstance is."

"Your old man's an abusive liar." Kiara spat.

Bridger sent her a nasty glare.

"No, I agree with JJ," Pope interposed and glared at nothing. "Fuck the police."

"You goin' to the dark side now?" She said with a small scoff.

Bridger grinned and held up his hand. "Proud of you bro." He praised and Pope leaned forward, sapping his hand against his.

"When's the last time the police helped us?"

"Peterkin looked out for me, all right?" John B stated. "Tried to, at least. They need to know."

Bridger did not know John B like the others did. They grew up with him. Spent every single day together. They knew everything about him, including his home life, which Bridger knew was really bad. Peterkin was a kind woman and she looked after the boy when he had no one. She deserved justice and that's exactly what John B was determined to do. He exited the car and headed toward the police station entrance.

The group was left in silence. Bridger pressed his hands to his forehead to try and relieve the stress headache. His dark thoughts threatened to take over. They lived inside him like a parasite. They wanted to destroy him.

From the back, JJ watched as his partner. "Bridge, are you okay?" He asked quietly, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm never okay," he admitted with a breathy laugh. "Every single time I think I'm going to be okay, something happens. Now this. . . God, I just wish everything would stop."

"It's going to be okay, Bridger," Kiara said with a frown.

"No, Kie, it's not," he disregarded while shaking his head. "A boy that I thought I knew just murdered somebody in cold blood. My best friend's life is falling apart because of her family. I didn't think my life could get any fucking worse, but apparently, God hates me. Yay me. I mean, what if–Who's to say he won't try to kill one of us next? I wish my head would explode already so I can stop thinking about all this shit."

"Hey, stop." Said JJ.

"And what makes it worse is that I'm sitting in the parking lot of a damn police station and there's so much I want to tell them but I can't because I'm afraid," he added, looking over and eyeing the station.  There was so many times that Bridger would pass by the police station, practically begging himself to go inside and confess everything his father had done to him. He wanted his father to rot in a jail cell but he knew that was never going to happen for a number of reasons.

Kiara frowned again. "You're talking about your dad?"

He looked at her and nodded silently. 

"Why haven't you?"

"Because, Kie, rich white men don't go to jail," he stated bitterly. He looked at her again. "Who the hell would believe a stupid teenager about. . ." he tried to say the word but he couldn't. It tasted horrible on his tongue, like acid trying to burn a hole through it. "Especially a guy."

"If you want justice, we can get you justice," Pope spoke up, listening to him. "One way or another."

JJ was silent. He hated hearing about the boy talk about his father. Only because he every time he did,  the blonde had to hold back the urge to kill them man himself. JJ spent his entire life loathing his own father that he never really considered that Bridger might have it worse. He looked away, trying to conceal his anger quietly.

"Sorry," Bridger muttered, feeling insecure by the silence. "Didn't meant to spring that on you guys."

Kiara responded by putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a soft grin.

Suddenly, the door of the police station swung open and they saw John B sprinting towards the car. "Kie! Start the car!" He shouted as he slammed and swung open the back door before climbing in. "Start the car, Kie!"

"What did you do?" She yelled and struggled to turn on the car.

"The cops!"

The police officers ran outside after the boy and they all yelled at Kiara to drive the car. "What the fuck, John B!" Bridger shouted over their frantic yelling.  The officers banged on the car door and tried to pry it open. "Shit, Kiara, drive the car!"

"Sorry. I'm sorry!" The girl shouted and finally got the car to start. She zoomed off, the police officers running after them. 

"Stop the car!" Officer Plumb shouted and tried to pry the door open. "Right now!"

Bridger twisted in his seat and looked at John B with a glare. "John B, you idiot, what the hell did you do?" He asked loudly, his eyes widening in panic.

Though he didn't get a response as John B held onto the handle of the door to dry and keep it closed. An idea lit up in Pope's head. "Open it!" He demanded.

Reluctantly, John B listened and opened the car door,  causing the officer that he was tugging on it fall back and collide with the hard group. Bridger's head peered out the window and watched the officer struggle to get up. He fell back into the seat with a loud huff. He closed his eyes. When would this be over?

Bridger never thought he would find himself sleeping in a cramped car while hiding from the police, but there he was, curled in the backseat of Kie's car playing with JJ's hand. He didn't sleep a wink. How could he? The tension and anxiety that filled the car made it difficult to breath properly. He had way too much on his mind to sleep. The scorching heat from outside caused his clothes to stick to his body and he desperately needed a shower. 

The car was silent as they listened to the news on the radio. Bridger caressed JJ's hand while he spaced out in thought, his eyes glued to the roof of the car. The silence was uncomfortable.

"Good news for residents of Outer Banks. Dominion Power says their underwater transmission line, which will restore power to ninety percent of the area, should be functional within twenty-four hours. . ."

He flinched when he heard another police car drive down the road with the siren blaring. They had been going off all night long. The friends raised their heads and watched the cop car drive by. Bridger heard John B sigh in relief from the seat behind them.

"And still, no arrest in the shooting death of Sheriff Susan Peterkin. The state police have issued a statement regarding a local person of interest, a juvenile from–"

Kiara shut off the radio, cutting off the news reporter.

"Thank you." Bridger breathed out as he was beginning to grow annoyed.

There was another line of silence before JJ spoke up.  "Okay, let's game this out," he began. "Maybe you guys can help, being the smart ones and all, but . . . who are the cops going to believe? Ward Cameron or us?" He shifted his head backwards slightly, referring to John B. "So the accuser is a bigshot developer, kind of lord of the island,got the governor on speed dial kind of person, and the accused . . . is John B, who is. . . pretty much a homeless sixteen-year-old boy at the moment."

"Thanks." John B muttered sarcastically.

Bridger nodded. "That was really helpful, J." He said,  equally as sarcastic.

"Shit," Pope muttered and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, man–" JJ began, raising himself up slightly to talk to John B. "Yucatan, all right? I'm saying that's the only option. Lacanau is too fuckin' far, and we're broke as shit. So, it's our best bet. Besides, what other option do you have?"

A sigh of annoyance left John B's lips. "Enough with the Mexico bullshit," he muttered. "Sarah will bail me out."

Kiara looked over her shoulder and faintly nodded. "She did witness the whole thing."

"Thank you."

Pope scoffed. "And she's gonna' snitch on her brother?"

"She'll do the right thing." Bridger defended the girl, staring at the back of his head.

JJ inhaled from his blunt again and shook his head.
"Not happening, bro. Okay? We've got to get you off the island."

"The ferry. It's the only way."

"Look, there's still another way," John B claimed. "Sarah will vouch for me."

"I still say we get you out of this hellhole," Jesse added and passed the blunt to his partner, watching as he took a heavy drag. "Exit stage left while you still can. Before the island is on lockdown."

There was another police siren and Kiara quickly slumped in her seat. "Guys, just get down."

The teens lowered themselves in their seats. When the police car zoomed by, the group stayed still, trying to calm down. Bridger took another inhale of the weed, growing more annoyed by the second by how they were bashing Sarah.

"Sarah's not a Pogue, John B." Pope spoke again

"Yeah. You can't stay here, man." JJ agreed with him, not even thinking about how his words would affect the boy sitting beside him.

Bridger lifted his head and turned it to the blonde, his gaze darkening. "What does that make me, then?"

JJ quickly realized his mistake. "That's different, Bridge."

"No, it's really not," the boy argued. He looked at Pope in the front seat. "Sarah and I are in the same situation. You can't favor one over the other."

"That's not what we meant, Bridger." Pope voiced,  feeling slightly guilty.

JJ motioned to the brainiac with his hand. "Yeah. You were with us before Sarah came along," he agreed and looked at him. "It's different."

Bridger stared at him silently. His eyes narrowed, not taking in the words. "You're being a hypocrite."

Jesse's face fell.

"Both of you," he continued, referring to Pope as well,  and he looked between them with a stern glare. "You know don't know Sarah like I do. She's loyal," he emphasized and took a short pause. "I was worse than Sarah and somehow you guys still have faith in me being a good person,"

"You are—"

"No, don't," he cut off the blonde, pointing a finger at him. "What you guys are to each other, that's what Sarah is to me. She's my best friend. You can either learn to accept that she apart of this or you can forget about me, too."

There was a complete silence. Kiara shifted awkwardly in her seat, not knowing what to say. John B grinned to himself from the backseat, liking the way that he stood up for himself, especially to JJ. The blonde looked at him with guilt. "I'm sorry." He muttered under his breath.

"Sorry, bro." Pope said under his breath, also shifting awkwardly.

Bridger let his head fall back against the headrest and he sighed, closing his eyes and he tried to calm his nerves. He felt JJ's hand slide over to his, the blonde clearly hesitating. He didn't say anything or moved his hand, he just let it rest there.

Bridger managed to calm himself down when they began to drive again. Kiara and Pope switched seats,  the boy now behind the wheel. He glanced at the JJ occasionally, practically feeling the insecurity radiate from him. One thing about Jesse was that he was an over thinker. Whether it was a simple remark of disagreement or a full blown argument, he always thought the worse afterwards. He was more than likely a trauma response from his father. Always assumed that every little thing he did was wrong and that people got mad at him for it.

Bridger knew what he was like and that's why he started to feel bad. JJ was looking out the window and he sighed under his breath and reached over, flicking the boy on the cheek. JJ jumped slightly and looked at him, seeing the brunette smirking. A small grin showed up on his lips and he reached over, flicking him back.

Playfully banter was their love language. They would be okay.

After what seemed like forever, they finally arrived at the marina where the ferry was. It was busy as hell,  which caused John B to lay flat in the backseat again to hide himself. Parking the car, Pope hopped out and ran around the vehicle to check what the time the next ferry was going to leave. Bridger watched his movements with a bizarre expression. "Jesus, JJ, how much weed did you give him?"

"Enough to make him think he's in space, probably."  JJ uttered, feeling slightly proud of himself.

After a while, Pope came sprinting back to the car with a flyer in his hand. "Okay." He let out frantically. "All right, no."

"Pope, can you act normal?" Kiara hissed as his loud voice and movements were causing attention.

He moved around the car again and leaned inside the open window. "So, um . . . okay, so, bad news," he started. "The ferry's closed, and there is this—" he handed out the flyer to Kiara and she took it. He quickly climbed back into the car and slammed the door closed.

Bridger leaned up slightly in his seat and looked over Kiara's shoulder to read the flyer. His eyes went wide when he saw it was a wanted poster and John B's name and face was plastered on the front along with a finding reward. "Holy shit." They exhaled at the same time.

The girl reached back and handed the paper to JJ, Bridger leaning over and he continued to read it. "What is that? What is this?" John B questioned frantically.

"Well, John B," JJ began to say, clearing his throat, "Uh. . . this is a good framer of you."He reached back and gave the boy in the backseat the flyer.

"Really brings out your cheekbones." Bridger agreed, knowing he wasn't making the situation better.

They heard him sigh.

"Okay, so, the whole island's lookin' for John B right now." Pope explained in a panic.

"That's a lot of money," Kiara muttered in shock.

"Congratulations, John B. You're famous."

"Guys, we got to get to the HMS," the girl began to say. "We need small, no running lights–"

John B cut her off. "It's at the Chateau, Kie."

"And I wonder if the cops got the entire place staked out," JJ spat sarcastically. "Let me think. Yeah, no. They definitely have that place on lockdown."

"He'd be put in a police car before he could say Chateau." Bridger concurred, pinching his nose from stress.

Kiara heavy sighed, giving up. "Yeah, copy that."

Pope pinched the bridge of his nose as well. "Let me think. Just give me a second," he muttered with a sigh. A few seconds later, he got an idea. "JJ."

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Does your dad still have that boat? The cigarette boat, the Phantom. The one he used to race?"

"Maybe," JJ mumbled.

"You could get right up the coast, no problem."

"Okay, look," Kiara stepped in. "The surf's running from three to four."

"It won't be easy, Pope," the Maybank muttered. Bridger looked at him with concern as he began fidget in his seat. "I don't know where the keys are."

"Well, find them." Pope spat

"I'm thinking!"

"Hey," Bridger muttered, hitting his shoulder gently. "Do you think your dad has them?"

JJ looked at him briefly. "Possible. . . Most likely."

Pope hit his hands against the steering wheel. "Why is nobody moving forward?" He exclaimed, the weed intake now getting to him.

"Guys," John B spoke, his voice dark from all the loud noise. "Your car's on the poster."

Bridger's eyes widened. "Shit. Pope, hurry up!" He hissed at the boy who was high as a kite.

He slammed his hand on the horn. "Can we move it?" He shouted to absolutely nobody.

"Pope! Don't honk the horn." Kiara snapped only to be ignored. Suddenly, they heard a little boy standing with him mom point out that he could see John B in the car. "Shit."

"We got a snitch—"

"Fuck that kid!" Bridger spat.

JJ hit Pope's shoulder. "Pope, turn the car on."

"Hey!" A man from outside shouted and started banging on the window, pointing at John B. "He's right there!"

"Hey, fuck you!" Bridger shouted, twisting in his seat.

"Bridge, shut up!" John B hissed.

"Hey! We gotta' go!" Kiara shouted as the sudden shouts drew attention from the bystanders and cops. "Pope, turn the frickin' car on!"

"I am trying!" Pope stressed and tried jiggling the keys in the ignition. When the car finally turned on, he pressed down on the gas and accidentally smashed into the car in front of them. The group jerked forward at the impact.

"Pope, Jesus!" Bridger exasperated.

The accident caused gasps and whispers from everybody around them. From all the high stress, Pope continued to drive forward, pushing the car in front of them and he sped away from scene. . . on the sidewalk. Bridger clutched the oh shit handle and his other hand reached out, pressing itself to JJ's chest.

Pope sped down the open road with the windows rolled down. He hollered loudly, his eyes buzzing from the high. "I'm livin' my best life right now!"

"Proud of you, buddy!"Bridger yelled over his own panic, his hand still wrapped around the handle.

"My mom's going to kill me." Kiara whimpered and she stapled herself to the seat.

"I should be the last one to say this, but you are not okay to drive. Stop!"JJ shouted, his voice echoing.

Suddenly, Pope stomped on the breaks and it caused everyone to jerk forward again. The tires skidded on the pavement. Bridger released the handle and sighed in relief. "Thank fuck."

Pope glanced over his shoulder. "John B, get out,"

JJ nodded. "He's right. We'll draw the cops, you run."

Bridger jumped out of the vehicle and helped John B climb out of the backseat. Once he was out, he climbed back in and shut the door. "I'll get the rig, and I'll meet you in the dump tomorrow, okay?" JJ continued in a rush. "Three o'clock, okay?"

John B nodded his head quickly. "Yeah." He gave them a final look and sprinted off.

"Three tomorrow at the dump!"

Bridger hit his hand on the back of Kiara's seat. "Okay, I can't do that again," he announced and pointed at Pope. "You, switch me, now."

Half out of his mind, Pope got out of the car and quickly sprinted around to the backseat. The boy gave him a weird look as he passed by and he climbed into the driver's seat, seeing Kiara sigh with relief. He drove the car fast but not as fast as Pope, but their nerves still didn't calm down.