CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
DAY OF THE DEAD
(episode three + four: the forbidden zone + spy games | trigger warning: mentions of sexual harassment)

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THE DAY OF DEAD calm came quicker than the pogues thought it would. The sky was a pale shade of blue when five of the six friends set off on their mission. The water was slack as the bow of Heywards' boat tore through the waves. JJ was the one driving, Haven and Kie on lookout while John B and Pope directed them towards where the Royal Merchant was rumoured to be. At long last, their near brushes with death would be worth it.

"Alright, JJ, pin it here," John B eventually called out.

"Roger that," the blonde boy nodded, driving with one hand while using the other to adjust the pair of sunglasses he'd stolen from Haven despite them not sitting right on his face. That morning before they set off to the Chateau, he'd rummaged through her room for something to wear, stealing one of her woven bracelets and the sunglasses as a token for his 'favourite' cousin. Then, he spent the entire walk over plus some of the boat ride talking about how cool he looked, like a villain out of an action movie. "X marks the spot."

All at once, the world went quiet. The engine of the boat shuddered to a stop. There were no other vehicles in sight. It was just them and the ocean, the wind slowly picking up enough speed to roar in their ears in a sound that reminded Haven of waves on a beach.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," John B grinned excitedly. He had the ROV tether in one hand and the camera itself in another as he approached the side of the boat, staring down at the water in anticipation. "To going full kook."

"Or to getting the fuck off this island," Haven said. At their confused looks, she shrugged. "What? I'm honouring Arden's memory."

Kie snickered. "She's not dead, Haven, she's just with her mum."

"That sounds like a death sentence to me."

"Anyways," John B cleared his throat pointedly. "To whatever it is we want to do with our lives."

And with an almighty splash, the ROV was disappearing into the dark blue water below. John B and Pope watched it disappear before making their way over to where Pope had set up the screen and other equipment. This left Kie and Haven to tackle the job of feeding the tether further and further into the water, Kie watching the yellow rope in question while Haven used a piece of chalk she found at the Chateau to mark every hundred metre on the edge of the boat.

For a while, it was quiet, the boys learning to navigate much deeper waters. Then John B was saying, "Alright, JJ, we're right over it. Ten seconds Northwest."

"Got it," he acknowledged as he carefully began to steer the boat in the direction he'd been given. "Ten seconds Northwest."

Haven looked around warily as the wind slowly began to pick up speed, rocking the boat back and forth with waves lapping at the edges. No one had noticed yet, but the sky was now grey instead of blue, white tips appearing on breaks in the water. It had been storming on and off for the past few days, so Haven could only hope that if a storm was to hit, they'd be out of there and on their way home before it could cause any damage.

"One hundred feet," Kie suddenly declared, nudging Haven's side to get her attention. "You gonna mark it down?"

"Right. I'm on it."

One line. Once Kie had seen it, she continued to feed the tether over the edge, glancing back at Pope and John B as the former huffed in slight frustration. His emotions quickly shifted, though, as he gasped and flinched back.

"What, what, what, what?" John B exclaimed, rushing over to him in case he'd missed something.

"It's nothing," he muttered, to which they groaned in disappointment. "Sorry, I thought—"

"Don't do that to me, man."

A few more minutes went by, a few more hundred feet of the tether disappearing into the unknown. The sky had gotten darker, a storm clearly on the horizon. Kie looked up as thunder rumbled, her face falling as she exchanged a wary glance with Haven.

"The tide's turning."

"Hey, JJ?"

"Yup."

"Ten seconds easy. South-south-east, alright?"

"Copy that."

The current had gotten stronger, pushing the boat further away from their target.

"JJ, twenty seconds mid-speed, alright? South."

Another turn of the steering wheel. JJ was beginning to struggle to keep them in place. No matter how many times they moved the boat back, the current had other plans.

"Keep the tether out of the prop," he exclaimed as the yellow rope began to slide towards the end of the boat.

"I'm trying," Kie shouted back before looking over at Haven. "Help me?"

Haven abandoned the chalk to help tug on the tether. She was surprised at just how strong the tide actually was. The ROV seemed to have a mind of its own now, lost too far below for them to regain control.

"Are we sure we want to keep at this?" she asked as lightning glinted from the corner of her eye.

"It's too late now," Kie muttered. "We're at seven hundred feet."

And so they kept going. The boat was gliding up and down as the waves increased in size, Haven's feet stumbling over the deck and her stomach churning. She noticed that JJ had discarded her glasses when it got too dark for him to see properly. He was frowning as his arms frantically moved to keep the steering wheel steady.

"JJ, we're going to turtle in this storm," Pope shouted as the tether hit nine hundred feet. Only one hundred more to go, and yet it felt like a lifetime had passed since the seven hundred mark.

"Guys, this is too dangerous," Haven exclaimed but John B wasn't giving in.

"We're almost there, alright?"

"John B, there's too much current," Kie cried in frustration as the tether almost pulled her over the edge. "We're going to lose it."

"South-south-west, JJ, hard."

Haven huffed before tightening her grip on the tether. Behind them, the screen of the ROV was beeping. Haven was just able to make out the little red dot of the supposed wreck right beneath where the boat now was. John B noticed it too, for he looked towards Pope with foolish hope in his eyes.

"What you got, Pope?" The boy in question was quiet for a moment, frowning impassively. "Come on, man. What do you see?"

"Nothing, a whole lot of nothing."

"Come on. You should be right above it, brother."

Another second passed as the last of the tether disappeared.

Then, "I'm at the bottom! I'm at the bottom!"

Finally.

"Okay, steady here, JJ," John B called out before turning back to the screen. Kie and Haven made sure the tether was tied off properly before rushing over to check it out. For a moment, the screen was dark, showcasing nothing but the sandy bottom of the ocean. "You should be seeing something, man, you should be..."

"I know—"

Silence. Both of them went quiet as the infamous Royal Merchant came into view. Finally, it seemed like the real deal. As if everything they'd faced had a purpose. John B had the biggest smile on his face. Out of everyone there, this meant the most to him. He'd fulfilled what his dad had always wanted. However, the look was quick to fade the longer they searched with no money or gold in sight. The ship was empty. No skeletons, no riches, nothing. Just a figment of history left to rot.

"It's not there," he sighed in defeat. "Look, just — just pull the drone up."

Pope didn't even bother correcting him. Reminding him it was an ROV and not a drone would've been like kicking an abandoned puppy. Instead, he exchanged an uncertain glance with Haven and Kie, wishing there was something there, anything, that would bring hope back. "Look, we can do another pass. Recharge the battery. We can go back down."

"Guys, we've been through it three times," JJ groaned in annoyance. "There's nothing there—"

"Shut up," Kie snapped as John B turned his back to them. Having JJ be his usual pessimistic self wasn't helping.

"What? It's true!"

"The gold could be buried. We don't know."

John B just scoffed. He knew JJ was right. "If it was there, it would've been found on the metal detector, okay? Somebody beat us to it."

Or it was never there to begin with.

Of course it was too good to be true.

And so they went home empty-handed.

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THE NEXT DAY, HAVEN had a shift at Heywards. Fortunately, Pope had been wrangled in by his father to help too, meaning she had company as she cleaned tables and cut up fish. The first hour wasn't as painful as she thought it would be, but as per her luck, that changed with the presence of a familiar car parked ominously outside.

"Uh, Pope," she stammered as he joined her in clearing off a table. "Can you see Topper's car too or am I going crazy?"

Almost like he heard her mention his name, Topper rolled down the driver's side window to glare at them. Pope's face went pale as he met eyes with the blonde boy, and in an instant he was grabbing Haven's wrist and dragging her inside.

It all happened so fast she didn't see the boy following after them until he cornered her at the counter.

"Haven," Kelce smirked as he stopped right in front of her. Too close. "Fancy seeing you here."

Haven frantically looked around for any sign of Pope. He'd disappeared to ask his dad if they could have the afternoon off, neither of them expecting Topper let alone Rafe or Kelce to confront them so soon.

"You look nervous," he chuckled when she stayed silent, frozen. "Something bothering you?"

"What do you want?" she asked. She sounded a lot braver than she felt. The walls were closing in, trapping her and Kelce in this tight space with not enough air between them. She wanted out.

"Just to chat." The innocent look he wore didn't suit his face. She remembered it all too well. "I've missed you around the Academy, you know. It's a shame what happened to your old man."

The edge of the counter was digging into her back as he stepped impossibly closer. Haven could smell his god-awful cologne. Suddenly, they weren't in Heyward's anymore, but Sarah Cameron's living room with the stench of alcohol clinging to their clothes. Haven's heart was beating so fast she was sure she'd pass out at any second.

"Shut up," she muttered, though all her strength was gone now. "Y-You don't get to mention him."

Kelce just laughed. She didn't understand him. Did he feel no remorse for how he treated her that night? Couldn't he see how wrong it was, how disgusting it made her feel? What had she done to deserve that?

"Tell your boyfriend to watch his back," he hissed, grabbing her wrist before she was able to even blink. "Speaking of your little boy toy, does he know about us? How easy you are?"

"What's going on here?"

Haven could've cried from relief. Pope was there. It would be okay now. She wasn't alone. She tore her hand from Kelce's grip seeing as he was distracted, shoving him away with strength she wished she had earlier. She hated how small he made her feel.

"Nothing, man," Kelce chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender as he watched Haven rush to Pope's side. "Just talking."

"It didn't look like 'just talking,'" Pope muttered, then glanced between them with furrowed brows. How much had he heard? "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she whispered. She refused to let Kelce see her vulnerable, not again.

"Well, whatever else you need to tell Haven, you can tell me too."

Kelce just laughed again, amused. "Topper says to watch your back." He looked over at Haven then, staring her up and down in a way that made her skin scrawl. "I say to watch your girl." And then he was gone.

Pope didn't waste time getting them out of there. They went straight to JJ's house, finding the boy in question out in the yard shooting at a teddy bear with the gun. If Haven had the energy, she would've rolled her eyes, but her mind was back at Heyward's pressed into corners by unwanted advances. She didn't have time to scold JJ for openly shooting a weapon for anyone to see.

"JJ," Pope shouted, attempting to be heard through the headphones he had on. "JJ."

Finally, he turned towards them, frowning at the tears in Haven's eyes and the terrified look in Pope's.

"They know."

"Alright," he sighed, unphased. "Just chill bro, okay? They don't know shit."

"Topper knows I sunk his boat."

"How do you know they know?"

"Because Rafe, Topper and Kelce posted outside Heyward's and mad-dogged me," Pope snapped, the fear coming back to him now that he wasn't standing up to Kelce. "And Kelce told me. He cornered Haven."

JJ's eyes darted towards his cousin, the relaxed expression on his face fading into worry. Was that why she was crying? JJ didn't know much about girls and their emotions, but he had a feeling it was a lot more than just a confrontation with an idiotic boy.

"Look, just calm down and get a grip, man," he sighed, averting his attention away from Haven as Pope began to pace around them. "They don't know shit."

"They have cameras. They could've seen me."

"There was no power, Pope, how could they have seen you?"

"It's Figure Eight. They've got generators," he cried. "And did you just not hear me when I said they told Haven?"

"Look—"

"They don't give scholarships to kids who vengefully sink boats. It's not a good look on my transcript."

"Oh, my god," JJ shouted. "Enough with the regret, bro. They caved your face in. They hit us, we hit them. It's the law of the jungle." Pope sighed, still uncertain but quiet now that JJ wasn't stuck on the 'they don't know shit' route. "Now, if any kooks come up to you and ask if you had anything to do with it, you walk up to 'em and look 'em right in the eye, and deny, deny, deny."

"Alright," he mumbled as JJ squeezed his shoulder in reassurance.

"But just for safety, we don't go anywhere without protection."

Haven didn't like the idea of carrying the gun around with them, but she could see JJ wasn't going to budge now. Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she sat down in a nearby chair, running a hand through her hair. Her heart was still beating way too fast to be healthy, and she could feel her stomach flipping like she was going to be sick at any moment. She thought she'd hidden it okay, but her movement had caught the boys' attention and Pope was looking at her with a stare that was both confused and fearful.

"About what Kelce said to you..."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered.

He nodded, slowly moving to kneel in front of her while JJ frowned in confusion. "Look, I won't make you talk about it, but I heard what he said. About... you 'being easy'..."

"He said what?" JJ exclaimed though neither of them acknowledged it.

"If you need someone to confide in, I'm here."

She didn't know where to begin, but she found herself wanting to tell them. She couldn't keep it to herself anymore. Every time she saw Kelce or heard his name, she wanted to cry, to scream. He scared her more than she could put into words, and she was tired of facing that fear alone. Kie knew, of course she did, but Haven found herself needing more than just Kie. She wanted Pope, she wanted her cousin. And the thought of Pope hearing Kelce say those vile words to her and not knowing what they meant...

And so she explained it, the best that she could. How Sarah had invited her to her birthday party where Kelce was. How when Sarah went to the kitchen for just a second, Kelce had taken the opportunity and touched her. She told them how suffocating it felt, bodies pushing in around them with no way out. How he didn't take 'no' for an answer, how when Sarah finally came back and she managed to get away, she called her dad and unknowingly signed his death sentence. She hadn't told anyone that before, not even Kie during the hardest days after the funeral. But with Pope and JJ, she told them how she blamed herself, even now that he was long gone.

Where Pope expressed comfort in a squeeze of her hand, not knowing what to say beyond an 'I'm sorry,' JJ had no control of his anger. He hadn't known Haven for long, but she'd shown him more kindness than his dad ever had. The thought of an asshole like Kelce hurting her...

"Now I definitely need the gun," he grumbled as he stood up to grab the weapon in question. "So I can shoot him."

"JJ, no," she immediately protested, letting Pope go so she could grab onto the other boy's arm. "Just leave it, alright? There's nothing anyone can do now."

"Fine," he muttered. "If you don't let me shoot him, I'll hit him instead."

"No violence," she exclaimed. "I just — I want him to leave me alone."

On instinct, JJ brought her into a hug. It was strange. They'd hugged before but it was always Haven initiating it. It was awkward and a little too tight but she found herself appreciating it more. JJ wasn't good with words, but she felt everything he needed to say, just like with Pope's hand squeeze. They were there. They had her back.

And for just a moment, the weight of Kelce had been lifted from her shoulders with her family there to hold it with her.