The Twinkie parked outside of the lighthouse, and all four of them climbed out to take a closer look. John B stood, preparing himself mentally for what he was about to say. He knew JJ might argue with him, but he had already made a decision on their way there. He didn't want to put JJ in danger again; she had already been through so much that day.
He turned toward JJ, hoping she wouldn't argue with him. "Right. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?"
He hoped assigning her as lookout would be a good enough excuse to keep her safe in the Twinkie. Deep down, he knew she might see through it, but he needed her to stay out of harm's way.
"Wait... why me?" JJ asked, her confusion evident, not wanting to be separated from John B. They've always stuck together as a team.
John B hesitated, grappling for an answer, but Pope stepped in to explain. "Because you're not coming."
"Why?" JJ pressed, feeling a pang of hurt.
"There are independent and dependent variables," Pope began, trying to articulate his reasoning. "You're independent—"
"Shut up," JJ snapped angrily, not understanding a word Pope was saying. It all sounded like nonsense to her.
"We don't know what you'll do," Pope clarified, choosing simpler words.
Those words stung. Did they really not trust her? Was she such a burden? Her father's harsh words echoed in her mind: Worthless. Stupid. Unwanted.
"Shut up! Listen to me for a second," John B interjected firmly, cutting through their squabbling. "Pope, you stand lookout with JJ. Okay?" It was already part of his plan, but JJ had started to argue before he could finish. "If we split up, we meet back at JJ's house." Despite his reluctance to go near that place, it was the closest.
Before JJ could protest further, John B turned on his heel and strode toward the lighthouse, determined to press forward with their mission.
"Fine," Kie muttered under her breath, perplexed by John AB's decision, but she followed after him.
JJ stood there, glaring at the backs of John B and Kie, feeling hurt and conflicted. What could she do? If her presence was seen as such a liability, she didn't want to impede their mission. Worthless. Stupid. Unwanted. She wasn't good enough for her mother, her father, this whole island. Now possibly even her friends were tired of her uselessness. These thoughts resounded painfully in her mind.
"Well, I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum," Pope said, breaking JJ away from her spiraling thoughts.
"Alright, will you just shut up already," JJ snapped, not in the mood for banter. Pope fell silent, and neither of them returned to the Twinkie. Instead, JJ tried to turn off her thoughts and pulled out a hacky sack she'd found in the Twinkie on the way there, using it to distract herself as they kept watch and waited for their friends to return.
John B and Kie entered the lighthouse, their footsteps echoing faintly in the expansive space. They gazed up at the towering structure that seemed to stretch endlessly above them.
"Remind me what we're looking for again," Kie said, her voice filled with awe and curiosity.
"We'll know it when we see it," John B replied, his voice echoing eerily in the dimmed lighting of the lighthouse.
"Okay," Kie whispered nervously as she followed John B up the winding staircase that led further into the lighthouse. The atmosphere inside was a bit spooky, sending shivers down her spine.
The sound of creaking metal and the occasional flapping of wings filled the empty space as they climbed higher. Finally, they reached a closed door. John B knocked three times, but there was no response.
"Nobody's home," he muttered to Kie with disappointment, but just as he turned to leave, the door creaked open. An older, burly man with glasses stood in the doorway, giving them a skeptical once-over.
"Uh, we're here about the lighthouse," John B ventured when the man remained silent.
"The lighthouse is closed," the man stated flatly, already starting to close the door.
"Um..." Kie interjected awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed.
"Actually, we... we're not here about the lighthouse," John B said, raising his voice slightly, hoping to catch the man's attention. "We're here about the, uh... The Royal Merchant."
The door cracked open again. "Then you've come to the right place," the man responded quietly.
Silence hung in the air before the man turned around, gesturing for them to follow him outside onto the balcony that encircled the lighthouse's top.
"I know more... Watch your step," he cautioned, stepping over the threshold. "About the Royal Merchant than anyone else in Kildare County."
"Holy shit," John B muttered, briefly admiring the breathtaking view. JJ would have loved this, he thought guiltily.
"Come on," the man motioned for them to follow as he led them a few feet to the left of where they had exited.
"Now, the Merchant disappeared in the graveyard of the Atlantic in 1829," the man stated.
"With four hundred million," John B added, showing he was following along.
"Correct," the man nodded, locking eyes with him. "You're a bit of a Merchanteer yourself, huh?"
"Uh... something like that," John B replied cautiously, uncertain how much to divulge to a stranger.
"Well, follow me," the man said eagerly. "I want to show you something." He turned and led them around to the other side of the lighthouse. "I've been up here for 30 years. The view never changed until two days ago. The point's almost gone." He gestured towards where the sea met the land. "One more storm like that, and it'll take the lighthouse. I'll go with her."
The man fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Now, the trick to knowing where the Merchant is lies in whether she was on the north end or the south end of the eye of the storm. Most experts think she was on the south end. If she was on the south end, the bands from the hurricane would have pushed her back out to sea." He glanced back at John B. "But I don't buy that. Uh-uh. I believe she was on the north end of the eye."
The man chuckled. "Which means the bands would have pushed her..."
"Closer to shore," John B finished, deep in thought. Perhaps he should have paid more attention to his dad's ramblings.
"That's right," the man smiled. "Now, by my calculations, the Royal Merchant..." He pointed to a section of the ocean near the shore. "is about 10 miles that way."
John B glanced briefly at Kie, silently processing everything they had just heard. The man waved for them to follow him back through the door into the lighthouse. "Come on, come on."
Inside, he led them into an office-like area and walked over to a map of the island. Removing his glasses, he used a pointer to indicate a spot on the map. "Right here is where the point used to be. My calculations say the Merchant is right about there, down about 1,000 feet."
John B stared at the spot on the map, recognizing it as the same area his father had often spoken about. "That's what my dad used to say."
"Yup," the man said knowingly.
John B thought to himself, *He must recognize who I am. How else would he know my father? I never told him my name.* He decided to take a risk as he began to pull out the compass he needed answers about. "Yeah, I— I know this is weird, alright? Do you know anything about this?"
The man remained silent, so John B continued, hoping the man could provide any information at all. "Look, it— it says Redfield on the back, in my dad's handwriting. I don't know why I'm here, but I feel like I'm supposed to be here. Do you have anything you're supposed to give to me or—"
The man turned around, looking nervous, and began to walk away. John B followed urgently. "Where are you going?!" he called after him, trailing the man up a ladder and through a hatch that led to the very top of the lighthouse. "Wait a minute. Look... Look, man, I know this is weird. I just thought, hoped, maybe you would know something about this, alright?"
"Sir, you wouldn't believe what he's been through in the past 24 hours. I mean, threatened, shot at, home invaded..." Kie chimed in, offering her support as she followed behind John B.
"Home invaded?" The man muttered anxiously.
"My rooster was killed," John B added, recalling JJ's heartbroken face. It was those men's fault. His desperation for answers deepened, resonating in his voice. "Look, man, my dad wanted me to talk to you, okay? If there's anything you could think of that would help us, please just tell us!" He grabbed the front of the man's shirt, pushing him back slightly. "Please!"
"John B," Kie intervened, trying to calm him down. He was getting too intense.
"If you know anything, just—"
The man abruptly pulled out a walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button, his eyes locked onto John B's as he spoke into it. "Wanda, I've got two kids up here at the lighthouse. Call the police!"
"Damnit!" John B tried to wrestle the radio away. "No no no no no!"
"Let go!" The man cried out, struggling against John B. Glass shattered as John B accidentally jarred the man's hand into a window. Shit.
"What are you doing?!" Kie cried out, alarmed by how out of control John B was becoming, regretting JJ's absence and wishing she had joined them.
"It was an accident, okay," John B said, frustrated. How had things escalated so quickly? And still no clue about his dad to show for it!
"John B, we've gotta go," Kie pleaded urgently, already descending the ladder to leave the lighthouse before security could arrive.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," John B apologized to the man as he hurriedly followed Kie. "Oh, shit."
They rushed down the stairs as quickly as they could, eager to escape before things got worse.
JJ and Pope were tossing the hacky sack back and forth when they heard sirens in the distance. As the sirens grew nearer, they quickly dashed into the Twinkie, ready to take off as soon as John B and Kie made it down.
The police car pulled into the lot, and Pope made the call. They had to leave. John B and Kie would have to make their escape on foot. What use are they if we all get busted, Pope reasoned to himself, feeling the urgency of the situation.
"What are you doing?! We can't leave them!" JJ yelled angrily at Pope as he kept driving towards JJ's house.
"It was too late for them to make it to the Twinkie, JJ. We would've all been caught," Pope finally said when they were out of immediate danger.
"You don't know that," JJ bit out, her frustration evident. "What happened to 'never leave a Pogue behind'?"
"We don't. They'll escape, I know it," Pope said, trying to reassure himself as much as JJ.
JJ turned away from him angrily, staring out the window with a mix of frustration and worry for John B and Kie, chewing nervously on her lip. The uncertainty of their friends' situation weighed heavily on both of them as they sped towards JJ's house.
