LII.   If I ain't got you

      Dylan sat on the ground next to John B, who couldn't keep his eyes off of Sarah longer than a minute. It was her instinct to tease him about and to also push him to try and get her back, but they had bigger things to worry about. She'd do it another day. "I-I just don't get it. I mean, you guys saw the map. He hides his gold so no one finds it for 170 years." Pope sputtered. "And then he sends a message to his son Robert to come here to his mother's grave but the message never gets to him. And Denmark wanted him to find the cross. I know we're in the right spot. It's just feels like—"

"Like we missed something?" All eyes turned to JJ. He was looking up at the tree and he walked around the Twinkie. "Guys, come here."

Dylan and John B quickly stood to their feet. They followed him to the van and watched as he and Kiara climbed to the top. JJ stood in front of a hole in the tree and pointed to it. "That looks like—"

"The painting in the island room." Kiara realized.

It clicked in Dylan's brain. "How is it that you're making all the discoveries today?" She voiced.

"The world's spinning off its axis." John B muttered.

"It's worth a shot, right?" JJ questioned, everyone agreeing. He looked at Kiara and motioned to the tree. "Go for it."

She immediately denied. "Not a chance."

"You do it!" Said Sarah.

"Sorry. I. . .I went in the storm drain, so. . ."

Dylan nodded and hummed. "That's right. She did."

"She did go in the storm drain." Pope pointed out.

"Don't be a wimp, J."

"I am not a wimp, DJ!" JJ said through his teeth. He cleared his throat. "Yeah. No, I'm gonna do it. It's just. . ." He hesitated.

"He's scared." Kiara looked at them and whispered.

Dylan snorted. "Wimp."

"I'm not scared, dude. And I'm not a wimp!" He argued with them. Finally, he put his hand into the hole of the tree. They watched closely. "There's something in here." He told him. "Wait—"

JJ suddenly screamed and Dylan's heart dropped. "JJ!" She yelled in fear.

Kiara tried grabbing him while the remainder tried yanking him from his shoes. "JJ!" She panicked again until his screams turned into laughter.

John B fell against the Twinkie. Dylan slapped her forehead with a deep sigh. "Oh, you asshole!" Pope scolded.

"Oh, I got you all on that on." JJ continued to laugh.

Dylan glared at him in disbelief. "I take back my earlier statement."

"Yeah, real original."

"Funny."

"Wait, but seriously, there's something in here." He said more serious that time."

"I hope it eats your hand."

"Cool, then I can get a hook for a hand." JJ dismissed what she said and reached back into the hole. He pulled out a metal capsule.

Pope reached up. "Let me see it." JJ tossed it to him and wiped the dust away with his finger. H.M.S Royal Merchant was engraved on it. "HMS Royal Merchant."

JJ quickly jumped down from the Twinkie. "Give it to the captain!" He urged and took it from him. "Here we go. It's a spyglass." He opened it and peered through the lenses.

"There's something on the ends." Said Kiara, now sitting on top of the roof.

Dylan stood between Pope and John B and eyed the cursive inscription. "You've come this far," she began to read.

"Do not falter—" said Pope.

"The cross is on the Freedman's alter." They finished together. Dylan gasped and looked at him. "The church!"

"The cross is at the church!" He smiled widely.

"Ahh, smart couple discovery!" Sarah beamed with excitement.

"What are we doing here, guys?" JJ called out.

"Come on! We got it!"

"Woogity-woogity!"

Dylan and Sarah thrilled together, holding each other's hands from the excitement. Then, she grabbed Kiara's hand and helped her from the Twinkie. "We got it, KiKi!"

"Come on!" Kiara cheered and they climbed into the van.

The excitement died down when they saw high hide the tide was on the road. "Ah, crap! The tide!" John B exclaimed.

Dylan groaned. "Of course. Why is it always us?"

"Well, this doesn't look good."

"How deep is that?" Kiara asked from the back of the van.

"I dunno. The road's gone." John B answered. He stomped on the brake.

"Tide rose a little father than I thought it would," said JJ.

"Just a little bit."

"Uh, John B, how high are the spark plugs?"

"They're good. We're fine." John B answered.

Dylan gave him a look. "That means we're not good. How high are they?"

"Oh, um. . ." He paused. He looked outside his window. "Uh, just above the taillight."

They stared at him. "Okay, so that's, what, three feet?" Pope guessed.

"That's three feet, yeah." JJ murmured.

"That water can't be three feet deep." Said Kiara.

"So then what's the problem?"

"The problem is—" the boys instantly cut her off. "Not a problem! We're good!" Pope exclaimed.

"We're good. She'll make it." JJ said after him.

Dylan glared at the two of them, them avoiding her eye.

"Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seat belts. Hold onto something. We're going into hyderdrive." John B announced hesitantly.

Pope reached for her hand but Dylan immediately pulled it back. "Nope. Uh huh." She denied and went to sit by Kiara.

"But—"

"No." She glared and her and Kiara held onto each other.

"I'll say a quick prayer." JJ muttered and closed his eyes. "Father, son, and the holy—"

John B pressed hard on the gas and the tires spun on the mud. "Go, John B!" Dylan shouted at him.

"You got this! You got this!" JJ cheered and the Twinkie pushed off the mud. "Faster! Faster!"

As he drove through the water, Dylan could feel the van tip side to side and her heart rate increased. "Uhh, guys!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" John B said while trying to steady the wheel.

"Speed is your friend. Speed is your friend, John B!"

"We're gonna tip over!"

"We're not gonna tip over!"

Then, John B lost control of the wheel again and the Twinkie jerked to the right. Everyone yelled in a panic as the van bounced and crashed into the water. Dylan's head hit the top of the van and she groaned. John B panicked again.

"I think we miscalculated." Pope pointed out.

His girlfriend glared at him while Sarah gave him a sarcastic look, pinching her fingers together. "This is why we listen to DJ." Kiara huffed.

"Yeah, why do we keep forgetting that?" John B wondered with a heavy breath.

"I knew I should've driven." Said JJ.

"I can drive better than you guys and I don't even have my license." Dylan grumbled in frustration and moved to push the back of the van out so they could exit.

"Sorry, honey." Pope cringed.

They stood knee deep in the water, having no clue what to do next. "Okay, maybe we can walk from here."

"What? And leave the Twinkie? The. . .The tide's coming in." John B opposed.

"So then what are we supposed to do?" Asked Sarah.

"Not stay here." Said JJ.

Dylan closed her eyes pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, uhh. . ." She started to think. "M-Maybe I can call my mom or dad? Have them come get us?"

"DJ, your dad drives a Cadillac." John B stated, giving her a raised eyebrow look.

Right. "Yeah, okay. Not a good idea." She agreed under her breath.

"I can take my dad's truck." Kiara voiced.

They all looked at her. "Kie, are you sure?" He asked, knowing she was already in deep shit with her parents.

"How much worse can it get, you know?"

Dylan gave her a soft look. "Kie, you don't have to do that."

"It's okay, Dyl. Really." Kiara dismissed.

"We're gonna need something to pull her out with." JJ spoke. "There's a winch at the Chateau. That's, like, two miles?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

"You're gonna walk all the way?" Dylan asked, looking between them.

"It's our best option, D." JJ told her.

"Okay, if you're gonna do it, let's go, okay?" John B insisted. "Tide's coming in. Twinkie's going underwater."

"And we might possibly drown and get eaten by gators."

"Dylan." Sarah scolded.

"Sorry." She mumbled and the pair helped each other climb to the top of the van.

A two mile walk wasn't long at all. So Dylan didn't understand why JJ and Kiara were taking so long. Her head was rested on Sarah's shoulder and she continuously checked the time on her phone.

"How long does it take to go two miles and back in a car? I feel like they're taking a minute." Pope voiced.

"If JJ's driving, they're probably in a ditch right now." Dylan responded and sighed heavily.

John B pointed at her. "Don't say that."

"Should I go look for them? Should I go find them and bring them back?"

"I don't. . .I don't. . . I don't know. Just give me a sec."

Pope continued to wade through the water. "Damn it. Every time! Why do we gotta send JJ and Kiara, the slowest people on Earth?"

Dylan lifted her head and sighed again. "Okay, I need to make sure he doesn't try to drown himself." She uttered. She looked at Sarah and then her eyes flicked to John B, whose eyes were on her as he chewed on his bandana. She rolled her eyes and carefully climbed off the van.

She waded through the water, careful not to fall. Pope's mutters of frustration became more clear. "If I had a dollar for everyone we got frustrated with JJ, we'd be on a first class seat plane ride to Mexico."

She thought he'd laugh but instead, he sighed loudly. "More like a plane to Singapore." Pope ran his hands through his hair. "Gosh, why does this always happen to us?"

She moved closer to him in the water. "We're Pogues, sweetheart. That's just how it goes."

He dropped his hands and looked her way, his frustration clear as day. "I hate this. I fucking hate this."

"Hey, hey, hey. I know." Dylan stood in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. "Believe me, I know. But you gotta calm down. They're slow but JJ and Kiara always pull through for us. Don't lose your head now."

Pope's aggravation slowly dimmed. "Yeah. I know." He mumbled and sighed again, quietly that time. "I just really need to find this cross."

Her eyes turned soft and her lands lifted from his shoulders to his cheeks. "I know. We're gonna find it, P. I promise." She spoke gently.

He titled his head, his eyes never leaving hers. Softly, he raised his hand and held it against her cheek, causing her to smile. Her smile was enough to wash the frustration away. "Can you believe we're standing in a gator infested swamp right now with a possible chance of getting eaten?"

Dylan giggled. Her hands slid from his cheeks to the back of his neck. "There's no one I'd rather get eaten by gators with."

That got him to smile. "So sweet of you." Pope leaned down and kissed her, feeling her smile more against his lips. He pulled away slightly. "We gotta figure this out though."

She nodded. "I know. Come on."

Hand and hand, the pair waded through the water back to where John B and Sarah were. "Okay, so, here's something I think we can do." Pope announced with a heavy breath. "We can maybe find something to leverage the Twinkie, and you can drive it out." He directed to John B.

"Let's do driftwood."

"Yeah, driftwood will work."

They did their handshake. Dylan looked up at Sarah, her shaking her head and rolling her eyes. They went opposite directions while she stayed with Sarah. "Alright, I gotta say something. It's been on my mind." She stated and looked up at her. "You two are quite literally the dumbest people ever."

Sarah pinched her brows together. "What?"

"I've never seen two people more in love than you and John B."

She scoffed. "That's a lie."

Dylan titled her head to the side, her eyes flickering to the sky. "Okay, besides my parents, but, that's a given. C'mon, Sare."

Sarah sighed. "You don't get it, DJ."

"Maybe I don't." She agreed and grabbed her shoulder, lightly shaking it. "But what I do get is that your feelings are valid, but so are his." She watched Sarah's eyes go soft. "I would never try to tell you how to feel about anything, especially about everything you've been through. All I'm asking is for you to try and understand how John feels, too."

Nothing else was said after that. Dylan turned her body to the side and rested her head on the van. She closed her eyes and wondered to herself what her family was doing, and how she'd explain this to them when she got home.

There was a splash. "John B?" She heard Sarah say. Dylan opened her eyes and lifted her head. She didn't see John B around until he started splashing in the water, yelling for help. "John B!" Dylan shouted fearfully.

"HELP!"

"Pope!"

"Gator!" Sarah yelled and jumped down from the Twinkie.

"Get the knife!" Dylan shouted and waded through the water as fast as she could. "Pope, help!" She called out again.

"What's happening?" Pope yelled back.

"It's a gator! It's got John B!"

"Hurry!" Yelled Sarah and she pushed forward to John B.

Dylan looked around but didn't see John B or the gator. Adrenaline shot through her like a bullet. "W-Where is he?" She stumbled.

Sarah whimpered while she clutched the knife tightly in her hand. "John B." She slipped out just as John B rose to the surface again wrestling with the gator. She and Dylan screamed. "John B!"

"Stab it, Sarah!"

Listening, Sarah stabbed the gator multiple times, the reptile hissing. Dylan watched the situation with wide eyes, feeling too shocked to know what to do.

"Dylan, move!" Sarah yelled at her and John B was freed of the gator.

Quickly, she moved in the water and Pope finally made his way over to them. "You okay man? Holy shit!"

"John, are you okay?" She asked shakily and went to check on him. He was too hurt and out of breath to answer. She looked over and saw blood in the water. "God, where the hell are JJ and Kiara?"