"Be careful," Pope instructed as Sarah examined John B's leg. "I'm pretty sure that'll get infected,"
We were now all seated on the roof of the Twinkie, not daring to set foot in the water again.
"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "You're lucky it didn't cut into muscle too much,"
"Lucky...I got bit...by a- an alligator," John B panted, his leg propped up. "And my car...is underwater,"
"Do you have something to wrap it with to stop the bleeding?" My sister asked.
He hesitantly pulled his bandanna out of his jacket pocket and held it out to her. Giving him a sad glance, she took it and began tying it around the gash on his calf.
"Speaking of infections, how's your leg, A?" Sarah asked as John B groaned in pain. "Sorry," She apologized.
"We're about to find out," I sighed, beginning to unwrap the wet, muddy bandages.
I pulled them off and set them aside, glancing down at my stitched-up wound. The muddy water was washed over the entire area.
"It feels okay," I told them. "It's not any worse than it's been,"
Sarah looked down at it as well. "It looks alright too, if an infection was setting in we'd be able to tell. You just need to clean it,"
"I put the First-Aid kit in the Twinkie after Aspyn got shot at the Crain house," John B told us.
"Well, we can't get into the Twinkie," I sighed, looking down at the submerged vehicle. "We'll just have to wait till Kie and JJ get back,"
The windows and doors were now completely underwater so we couldn't open them without the interior getting flooded.
"Where are they?!" Pope huffed. "If AJ's leg doesn't get cleaned she'll probably get an infection, the Twinkie is underwater, and the cross could already be gone!"
"Okay, well, where the hell could they have gone?!" I asked.
The moment I said that Kie and JJ pulled up in Mike's truck.
"Oh, speak of the fricking devil!" Pope said. "Look who it is,"
"The tortoise and the tortoise. Just a couple hours late," He huffed as they hopped out. "Where the hell were you guys?!"
"Paternal complications," Kie sighed.
JJ stepped around from the other side of the truck. "Luke was at the Chateau,"
"Oh, great!" Pope remarked. "While you were having family time with your pops, John B got bit by a gator!"
JJ's eyes widened. "Like, for real?!"
"Does it look like we're joking?!" Sarah yelled, gesturing to the bloody roof of the Twinkie and John B's mauled-up leg.
"Okay, what the hell happened?" Kie asked, looking around in shock.
"What happened?!" John B scoffed. "I got bit by a gator!"
"He got bit by a gator!" Pope and I yelled at the same time as John B.
"I don't know why I'm being yelled at because I put my ass on the line!" Kiara defended.
"You're being yelled at because it was twenty minutes away!" John B countered.
"We've been waiting here for over an hour!" I chimed in. "The vans practically a submarine, John B's leg's all chewed up, I could get an infection, and those assholes probably got to the cross!"
"We got here as fast as we could!" Kie yelled.
"That's bullshit and you know it!" I shot back.
Sarah put her head in her hands. "It shouldn't have taken you that long at all!"
Pope ran his hands over his face. "You could've dealt with this shit any other time-"
"SHUT UP!" JJ screamed, cutting off Pope and the rest of our indecipherable arguing.
We all went quiet, turning our attention to him.
"Seriously, guys, I can't take it anymore, alright?" He said. "Everyone just cut it out for a second,"
He sighed, leaning his back against a tree. "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',"
I furrowed my brows. "Spanish?"
"That's not the right language," Sarah mumbled.
"I know for a fact all I've got is you guys, okay? You're it," JJ continued. "And I've come too close to losing you! All of you!"
"I mean, shit, like you almost drowned!" He said, pointing to Kie.
"Pope, you were kidnapped!"
"Sarah, you've been shot!"
"Aspyn, you got hit with a fucking arrow!"
"And John B, you were almost dinner for a freaking gator, bro,"
"So, this blaming each other is some Kook-ass bullshit, alright?" He told us. "We don't do that. We're Pogues,"
He took a breath. "Sorry...that was a lot right now,"
We all shared a glance before beginning to clap, smiling at him.
"I gotta be honest. That was the best freaking speech you have ever given," John B said. "Also, you should think about, like, a Rosetta Stone because your Spanish and French are flip-flopped,"
"We should bon voyage out of here," Sarah suggested.
"Just like the Spanish," I added.
JJ chuckled, flipping us off. "Alright, let's get this damn Twinkie out of here,"
-
"Keep it coming! Keep her coming!" JJ called to my sister. "She's almost out!"
Sarah navigated the van while Kie drove her dads truck to pull it out.
"Keep it going! Easy! Easy!" He continued. "Okay, to the right and straighten out!"
"I am!" She called.
With a few more instructions from JJ, we successfully got the Twinkie out.
"Whoo! The Twinkie lives!" JJ yelled. "Let's go, boy!"
I chuckled. "This van has been through way too much shit,"
After everything was situated we began our drive to the church.
I cleaned my leg off with an alcohol wipe on the way there, making sure I got all of the dirt off before putting a large bandaid over my stitches and wrapping it with more bandages.
The pain felt sort of felt like a really intense sore muscle, but it wasn't any worse than it had been.
Arriving at the church, we pulled open the old, wooden doors and filed inside.
"Okay, you're telling me Denmark Tanny decided to hide the cross here?" JJ asked, looking around.
Pope nodded. "Mm-hm,"
"Okay, well, everybody spread out," Kie instructed.
With that, the search began.
I tried to find anything that seemed different or misplaced, but there was nothing. If the cross was actually there, Denmark did one hell of a job hiding it.
John B sighed. "Okay, well, if I was a cross and wanted to be hidden in an old church, where would I hide?"
"Are you sure that Denmark hid the cross here, Pope?" JJ asked. "Like, are we at the right church?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Freedman's church,"
"It's gotta be here somewhere," Pope said.
"What if we have to push a secret button or something?" JJ said as he walked over to an old piano. "Or like, play a certain chord and then, all of a sudden, the ground beneath us reveals the catacombs or something on which we stand?"
I raised my eyebrows. "And you think that could actually happen?"
"It might! You never know!"
"It's not an escape room, Maybank,"
"How about, we try to find obvious clues," John B suggested, clapping him on the back.
"It's gotta be in here!" Pope huffed, looking around.
I didn't want to bring up the possibility of Limbrey and the others already finding it, even though it was very plausible considering how long we had been stuck.
"Look, I can't see where they'd hide a giant cross in here," John B told Pope.
He shook his head. "No! No! There's no way he set us up on a freaking goose chase that would lead us to a church that has nothing!"
"Yes, I get it! I don't know what to tell you, man," John B sighed.
"The clues led us here! The cross is in this church!"
"Hey, just take a breath, love," I said softly, hugging him. "It'll be alright. We're gonna find it,"
"Yeah, okay..." He breathed, calming himself.
"We just have to think logically," I told him. "Where else would you hide a seven-foot-tall cross made of gold?"
His eyes widened as he looked up at something.
"What?" I asked, following his gaze.
The support beams of the church were in the shape of crosses.
"Oh my God," I whispered, rushing over to the wall, Pope following behind.
We both began climbing the wall, using the large gashes to pull ourselves up.
"Pope! A!" Sarah called.
"Hey! No!" JJ protested.
Damn, you know it's a bad idea when JJ tells you not to do it. Regardless, we continued.
"Now Pope and Aspyn are climbing the wall," John B sighed.
Kie shook her head. "Guys, this church is old!"
"You have a hurt leg, A!" Sarah called.
"This isn't safe!" Kiara continued.
I could feel the weak wood dipping underneath my weight.
"Yo! This church has got to be at least two hundred years old!" JJ yelled.
John B ran his hands through his hair. "He's right! It's too dangerous!"
"Okay, Pope, let me just be real. You're not the most coordinated person on planet earth!" JJ continued. "And Cameron, you have a fucking hole in your leg!"
"Are y'all hearing me?!" He asked.
"You should've figured out that we're not listening by now!" I called, pushing myself up to the top.
Pope crawled over, banging on one of the beams. "Alright, this one's solid wood,"
"We gotta try the other ones," I said, climbing over.
"A, that's rotten as shit right there, okay?" JJ told me as I crawled over a part of the beam
"I'm aware, Maybank," I replied. "I have eyes,"
I made my way over to the third beam while Pope checked the second, banging on the side of it just like he had done for the first.
"Pope, I hate to break it to you, but that's wood," JJ said.
Pope shook his head. "It has to be here! I know it!"
He then crawled next to me as I banged on the third beam.
"Just watch out for that giant wasp nest right above your heads," JJ told us.
I looked up to see a giant wasp nest literal inches away. "Oh, God," I sighed.
"Just move slow, alright?" John B told Pope, who was still making his way over to me. "Nice and easy,"
I banged on the beam yet again, but this time my hand went right through the wood.
"Woah, hey!" JJ exclaimed.
I pulled back my now scratched up hand.
"It's hallow!" Pope gasped. "Go get me a crowbar!"
Sarah instantly ran out of the building.
"What are you gonna do?" JJ asked. "I don't want this entire church to collapse on top of us. That's all I'm saying,"
My sister quickly came back with a crowbar in hand. "Hey, Pope, here,"
"Throw it," He instructed.
"Oh, for real? Okay..."
"Watch your heads," John B told the others.
Sarah tossed the tool up just in front of the beams.
I latched one hand onto the wood and leaned forward, using my other to catch it. "Got it!"
"Hey, guys, there's the wasp nest right up there," John B said, pointing. "Just move slow, alright?"
Pope nodded. "Got it,"
I handed the crowbar over to him and he began to smash at the wood.
"Watch out," I told the others below as the stray pieces of wood fell to the ground.
A metallic shimmer appeared through the holes Pope had created.
"What is that?" Sarah asked.
John B squinted. "Do you guys see that?"
I began ripping off the wood as Pope continued to smash at it, revealing the gigantic gold cross.
A whirlwind of excitement and adrenaline came over me. "Holy shit..."
"It's here," My sister whispered. "Oh my God,"
"We did it, Pope," I smiled.
He grinned, tears of joy welling in his eyes. "We did it!"
"Hell yeah, we did!" I announced proudly. "We fucking found it!"
Everyone began cheering with pure excitement and amazement as Pope and I revealed the rest of the cross. It was fucking huge.
"I thought you were crazy!" Kie yelled, clasping her hands over her mouth.
"WE DID IT!" Pope smiled.
"Oh, shit the wasps," I sighed, swatting them away from me. They were swarming both of us.
"Okay, they're stinging now," Pope breathed.
I nodded. "Yep..."
They buzzed past our faces, some landing on us while the others flew around stinging.
Out of instinct, Pope let go of the crowbar, causing it to fall to the ground.
"Ow, fuck!" I hissed, trying to swat the wasps away.
As Pope tried to get them away, he lost his balance and fell sideways.
"BABE!" I screamed, latching onto his arm.
He tumbled off the side of the support beam, one hand gripping the wood and the other holding my arm.
"Shit! Hold on, Pope!" Kie screamed.
I wasn't strong enough to hold Pope up for long, especially considering I only had one arm to do it with. My other had to stay tightly gripped on the wood or else I would fall too.
His weight was causing my body to lurch forward slightly.
"Move the pews!" Sarah yelled. "Get cushions!"
They all did as she said as Pope and I held on as tight as possible. The wasps were still stinging both of us, which didn't help at all.
"I can't hold!" He yelled. "I'm slipping!"
The next thing I knew, the hand that was gripping onto the beam slipped off.
"SHIT!" I panicked, trying to maintain a solid grip on him. I could feel his fingers digging into my arm.
"I've got you, baby," I muttered, frantically. "I've got you,"
I could feel my arm becoming weaker by the second.
"I'm slipping!" Pope yelled.
I looked down at them piling up the cushions. "HURRY!"
The next thing I knew, Pope slipped out of my grasp, sending him plummeting to the floor.
"POPE!" I cried.