LIII. all we have is each other

Dylan carefully wrapped John B's bandana around his bleeding wound. They sat on top of the Twinkie, all out of breath and dirty. JJ and Kiara still weren't back and her frustration combined with Pope's was enough to make them both explode at any second. "We'll have to get you to a doctor really soon."

"We don't have time for that, DJ." John B replied with a wince.

She glared at him slightly. "Yeah, you'll think that when you get an infection and lose a limb."

"Lucky it didn't cut into muscle too much." Sarah observed.

"Lucky I got bit by an alligator and my car is underwater." He continued to say through gasps of pain.

"We have the shittiest luck in the world."

They heard the sound of a car and looked to see Kiara and JJ arrive in Mike's truck. "Oh, and speak of the freakin devil. Look who it is, the tortoise and the tortoise. Just a couple hours late. Where the hell were you guys?" Pope exasperated.

The pair got out of the truck and slammed the doors. "Parental complications." Kiara sighed.

"What, did your dad catch you stealing the keys or what?" Asked Dylan, equally as annoyed.

"No, uh. . .Luke was at the Chateau." JJ told them, avoid their eyes.

Her annoyance changed into a frown. Pope threw his hands up. "Oh, great! While you were having family time with your pops, John B got bit by a gator!" He stressed again.

"He almost died!" Dylan hollered as well.

"Wait, for real?"

"Does it look like we're joking?" Sarah raised her voice.

Kiara looked at the situation with wide eyes. "What the hell happened?"

"I/He got bit by a gator!" Exclaimed both John B and Pope.

"I dunno why I'm being yelled at cause I put my ass on the line!"

"You've been gone for ages!" Shouted Dylan as they all started yelling at one time.

"You said 20 minutes!"

"We got here as fast as we could!"

JJ began to feel overwhelmed. "SHUT UP!" He hollered over their yelling, which caused all of them to stop. "Seriously, guys, I can't take it anymore, all right? Everyone cut it out for a second."

Dylan inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it just as deeply.

"Look, I just helped my dad leave this island for good. Like, he's not ever coming back. He's straight up like the Spanish. Just, Bon voyage."

Any amount of sympathy she felt for him slipped away. Dylan closed her eyes and slapped her forehead.

"That's French." Pope whispered.

"That's not the right language." Said Sarah.

"All we got. . ." JJ continued. "And I know for a fact that all I got is you guys, okay? You're it."

The sympathy came back. Dylan frowned. "Oh, J. . ."

"And I've come too close to losing you, all of you!" He turned to Kiara. "I mean, shut, like you almost drowned. Pope, you were kidnapped. Sarah, you've been shot. Dylan, you were fucking assaulted. And John B, you were almost dinner for a freaking gator, bro. So, this blaming each other is some Kook-ass bullshit, all right? We don't do that. Okay? We're Pogues."

His words settled heavily in Dylan's heart. She glanced at her friends, seeing them in deep thought, and she was reminded of all the terrible shit they'd been through, and how they only had each other to protect.

"Sorry, that was a lot right now. I didn't mean to. . ."

"That was pretty good, J." Dylan told him with a smile and they clapped.

"Well done." Pope agreed.

"I gotta admit, that was the best freaking speech you've ever given." John B praised him.

"Even better than the speech you gave me when I tried out for the soccer team." Dylan laughed.

"Yeah, when your ass kicked the ball into the wrong goal." Pope chuckled and she hit his arm, making him laugh harder.

"Also, you should think about, like, a Rosetta Stone because your Spanish and French are flip-flopped."

"I told you to take French with me."

JJ flipped them off.

"We should Bon voyage out of here." Sarah declared and Dylan laughed loudly, reaching over John B to high five her.

"All right, let's get this damn Twinkie out of here." Said JJ.

"Let's Bon voyage, amigos." Dylan proclaimed.

They laughed again. "Now that's how you duolingo." John B pointed out.

"Nice one, babe." Pope said with a grin.

JJ flipped her off again. "Whoever said you were funny DJ, is a liar."

They started climbing down from the Twinkie. "Well, then you're all god damn liars."

John B leaned on Dylan as they walked to the church. "Thanks for doing this, D." He told her and winced slightly.

"Of course. Remember when I broke my leg in gym and you carried me to all my classes?" She brought up.

He laughed. "Oh yeah, and we got in trouble when I tried carrying you up the stairs."

"Cause you almost fell backwards and crushed her." JJ laughed when he looked back at them.

Sarah's eyes widened. "You almost killed Dylan?"

John B's jaw dropped. "No!"

"Yes," Pope contradicted. "She weighed like, what, 90 lbs?"

"I don't know, Pope. I've never asked her how much she weighs." He shot back.

"Neither have I!" The boyfriend quickly said with raise in his voice.

Dylan rolled her eyes at them. When they got to the church, JJ and Pope swung open the old and chip painted doors. "Okay, you're telling me Denmark Tammy decided to hide the cross here?"

"Well, I mean, it's a church and a cross. Goes hand in hand, don't ya think?" Dylan responded logically.

Sarah's eyes widened slightly. "That's actually really smart."

She smiled proudly.

"Everybody, just spread out." Kiara said to them.

Dylan began looking around. Pope went to her side and nudged her with his arm. "Alright, brainiac, where do you think it is?" He asked her.

She raised one of her brows. "First of all, you're the brainiac. Two, like I said before, it's a cross and this is church. It's gotta be relate somehow." She explained.

"Okay, well, if I was a cross and wanted to be hidden in an old church, where would I hide?" John B voiced out loud.

She walked between the pews. "It's a cross. It's a cross." She said to herself, trying to create some kind of image in her head. "It can't be hidden the walls, can it?"

"Do we really want to find out?" Kiara questioned with a slight scoff.

"What if we have to push a secret button, or like, play, like, a. . ." JJ began to say and he walked up to the old piano. ". . .a certain chord, and then, all of a sudden, the ground beneath us reveals the catacombs or something on which we stand?"

They stared at him like he was stupid. "JJ, this isn't the Goonies." Dylan slowly said.

"Isn't it, though?" Said Sarah as she looked up to the ceiling.

"How about we try to find obvious clues?" Said John B.

"It's not an escape room." Kiara denied.

"It's gotta be in here!" Pope stressed again.

"Maybe we need to think literally, y'know? It's a cross. This is a church." Dylan repeated what she had said earlier.

"I-I can't see where they would hide a giant cross here." John B contradicted her statement.

"This is the smartest place to hide it, though."

"No, no. There's no way he would set us up on a freaking goose chase that would lead us to a church that has nothing!" Pope argued as John B spoke. "Dylan's right on this one."

"I don't know what to tell you man!"

"The clues led us here. The cross is in this church."

They watched him plop down on the bench. "Okay, chill out, P." Said Dylan and she went up to him, placing her hand on top of his head. She looked at the others. "C'mon, guys, it's gotta be the freaking simplest thing ever."

"Okay, like DJ said, we gotta think logically and literally. Where else would you hide a seven-foot-tall cross made of gold?"

"It's a cross. This is a church. Where are crosses in a church?" Dylan said to herself again and faced the wall. She visualized the giant gold cross hanging like the one in the church she went to. "They're hanging. Crosses are always hanging."

"Holy fucking shit." Pope cursed.

She spun around with her eyes wide. "What?" She saw the Pogues looking at Pope, who was now standing and he looked to the ceiling of the church.

"Dylan, I think you got it. Look at that." Kiara breathed out when she realized.

Pope started trying to climb the wall. "Pope, what are you doing?" Dylan said and stepped forward.

JJ quickly stood up. "Hey, no!"

"Now Pope's climbing the wall." John B broadcasted.

"Pope, this church is old as hell. You're going to fall!" The girlfriend said sternly.

"I'm just gonna—"

"Like really old. This isn't safe."

He ignored their warnings. Pope climbed to the wooden beam and grasped onto it.

"Pope, stop!" Dylan raised her voiced, clearly afraid.

"They're right, Pope. This is dangerous." John B agreed.

"Yo, let me be real. You're not the most coordinated person on planet Earth." JJ said to him.

Dylan held her breath as well as the roots of her hair. Pope continued to ignore them and he managed to straddle the wooden beam. He knocked one of the crosses. "All right, this one's solid wood. I'm gonna try the other beam." He told them.

"No, you're not!" Dylan argued.

"Pope, that's rotten as shit right there, okay?" Said JJ.

"You're gonna fall and kill yourself!"

Pope knocked the wood again and it was indeed solid. Again, Dylan held her breath as he moved to the next one. "Just watch out for that faint wasp nest right above your head." JJ mentioned.

She felt so nervous it was sickening. "Oh god, I'm gonna pass out." She mumbled and latched her arm around Sarah's.

"J-Just move slow, all right? Nice and easy, all right?" John B slowly said.

Slowly and carefully while eyeing the wasp nest, Pope wrapped around the wooden cross to the next one. His food accidentally kicked a piece of wood, revealing that it was hallow. "Go get me a crowbar!" He demanded.

Sarah let go of Dylan to retrieve it from the Twinkie. "What are you gonna do, Pope? I don't want this entire church to collapse on top of us. That's all I'm saying." Said JJ.

"And I would really love for you to not fall and break your neck, so, please be careful." She begged him while locking her hands together.

"Think of it this way, D. If this is the cross, you're officially the smartest person on the planet." Pope told her while still holding on tightly to the beam.

Her heart warmed at that but she was also too nervous to full take it in.

"I thought that was already established with the Twinkie thing." Kiara mentioned, making her laugh a little.

Sarah came running back inside with the crowbar. She tossed it to Pope and he caught it with ease. "Nice throw, Sare." Dylan said with a grin.

She smiled big.

"Hey, Pope. Pope, there's the wasp nest right up there, okay? Just move slow, all right." John B pointed.

"Got it." Pope answered. He started hitting the cross with the crowbar.

Wood and dust fell on them. Dylan raised her arms to keep it from going into her eyes. "Okay, watch your eyes." She told the rest of them.

He continued pulling the wood off until a glimpse of gold was caught in the light. Dylan felt her heart rise to her throat and her jaw dropped. "Is that—?"

"Holy shit." Kiara gasped as Sarah smiled.

"It's the cross."

"Dylan, Pope, you guys did it." Said JJ with amazement.

Dylan's smile took up her whole face. "It's the cross!"

"Holy shit! Holy. . ."

"Oh my god!" Sarah gasped again and the girls all grasped onto each other, jumping up and down. "Oh my god!"

With one last knock of the wood, the golden cross was revealed. Dylan almost fell to her knees but she kept her composure. Her hands covered her mouth.

"Yeah!"

"Holy shit!"

"We did it! We did it!"

"Pope, you did it!" Dylan cheered and jumped up and down again.

"You did it baby!" He hollered back joyfully. He suddenly felt a sting on his hand and jumped. "Okay, they're stinging now. Ow!"

He dropped the crowbar on accident and they quickly moved. "Take it easy!" Shouted JJ as Pope released another ow.

Pope swiped the wasps away from his neck and as a result, he lost his footing and slipped. Dylan gasped and dropped her hands. "POPE!"

He swung from the wooden beam. "Cushions!" John B demanded.

"Move the pews! Move them!" Kiara urged and they quickly went to separate the pews.

Dylan took the cushions as they did it and piled them in the middle. "I can't hold on!" She heard Pope yell. "Hang on, baby! Hang on!" She shouted at him, visibly and internal afraid.

"I'm slipping guys!"

"Hang on!"

They collectively screamed when Pope fell and he landed on the piles of cushions. That time, Dylan's legs gave out and she fell to her knees, placing her hand over her heart. "Oh, my god."

"Pope, are you okay?" Said Kiara and they quickly crowded around him.

"Are you good?"

"Are you okay?"

"P, are you okay?" Dylan asked him while scanning his face. She brushed the dust out of his hair.

"You did not tuck and roll, that's for sure."

Pope's eyes went wide and he jerked out of their hold. He rolled over before the cross impaled him and it crashed to the floor.

Dylan's back pressed against one of the pews. She felt her heart beat rapidly. "Holy shit." She eyed the cross.

"Pope, are you okay?" Kiara asked.

JJ and John B quickly went to his side. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Just give me, like, one second to, like, catching my breath." Pope responded with heavy breaths.

Dylan nodded. "Yeah, I second that."

"You did it, Pope." Said John B and they stood to look at the cross.

"Pope, she's. . .she's beautiful." JJ observed.

Dylan stood to her feet, her eyes still on the cross, and she began to smile. "It's just as beautiful as the drawings."

"He never seen anything like it." Sarah spoke in a daze.

John B pointed to the key hole. "Well, here's why Limbrey wanted the key so bad."

"How much do you think she's worth? Like, if we melted her old bones down, dude, I'm talking like high billions." JJ frantically said.

"Melt her down?" Said Dylan like he was crazy.

"This belongs in a museum!" Said John B.

"What? So no one sees her?"

"In a museum where everyone sees it!"

"Hey, it's my ancestors' cross!" Shouted Pope.

"Yes! See?" Dylan exclaimed and whacked JJ on the back of the head.

"Ow! All right, all right. Well. . ."

"This is bigger than money, and the world's gonna know the truth." Pope continued.

"Yes, and if we don't get this shit outta here before Limbrey gets here, nobody's gonna know. So saddle up." John B declared.

"Right on, JB." Dylan nodded firmly.

"Thank you, DJ."

She waved at Pope. "P, come on." She bend down to her knees beside Kiara.

JJ wrapped his arms around the body of the cross. "Wait. Hold on. John B, you're gonna pull, all right? Pull down." He instructed.

John B grabbed the end of the cross. "I'm gonna pull down. You guys pull up."

They counted down to three and instantly, Dylan underestimated how heavy the cross would be. John H pulled down and she grunted as her and Kiara tried lifting the top part.

JJ fixed his grip on the body. "I got it!" He grunted.

John B had both his arms wrapped around the end as he tried steadying the middle of the cross. Dylan helped Kiara by holding the tip of the golden cross. "Who's. . .Who's not lifting right now?" JJ struggled.

"Move forward!" Dylan spat when her arms began to hurt.

"I'm lifting!" Said Sarah.

"It doesn't feel like it!"

"Keep moving forward!"

"Okay, guys. I can't. I can't!" Pope started to give up.

Dylan's eyes widened. "Wait, no! No—"

"No, no, Pope! Hang on there!" JJ yelled at him.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

Pope let go of the cross and collapsed onto the pew. The cross clanked on the ground. JJ kicked it out of frustration. "Damn it, yo! You almost dropped it on my foot!" He shouted at Sarah.

"Because I'm the only one lifting it!" She yelled back.

"I beg to differ!" Dylan panted and leaned her hands on her knees.

"Okay, okay, okay! Listen, we'll make a sling, like a little—"

"Guys! Guys, guys, I'm not okay. I'm not okay." Pope announced.

Dylan lifted her head she saw that his face was starting to swell. "Pope?" She quickly went to sit by him.

"Your eye, it looks all puffy." Sarah broadcasted.

"You don't look too good, bro."

"I think he's having an allergic reaction." Dylan told them and she grabbed his hand, seeing that it was swollen as well. "Baby, can you breathe?"

Pope opened his mouth to speak but all the air got caught in his throat and he wheezed. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body went limp.

"P!" Dylan yelled when he started to slide off the pew. She quickly grabbed him.

"Hey! Hey!" Yelled JJ and they all dove to grab him.

"We gotta take him somewhere!" She shouted at them.

"What about the cross?" Said Sarah.

"J, hide it! Here we go. Come on. Come on."

"We'll come back!"

"Sarah, get the door!" Dylan yelled to her and the pair ran to open the doors. She looked behind her as Pope was still struggling to breathe, the swelling in his face increasing. All she felt was panic. "Let's go!"

"Guys, I don't know how I'm gonna hide this!"

Dylan quickly looked to him. "Who gives a shit about the cross right now? We gotta go now!" She ran with Sarah to start Mike's truck.

They all ran outside. "Pope, what do you need buddy?" JJ asked him in a hurry.

Dylan sprinted to the other side of the truck and opened the back door. She helped Kiara get Pope inside. "H-He needs a shot! An epinephrine injection!" She hollered with a scared stutter. She grabbed Pope's arms and grunted, pulling him further into the truck. "Elevate his legs!"

Kiara repeated what she said to JJ. Everyone gathered in the truck and Dylan shuffled so that Pope was leaned out of the window to get air into his lungs. "Drive, JJ. Drive!" She yelled in his ear.

"Yep!" He panicked and backed the truck out.

Dylan took a hold of his pulse and placed her hand on his chest, trying to comfort him. "It's okay, P. It's alright, baby. We're gone get you help." She said while trying to keep her anxiety in control when she was really freaking the hell out.