Outer Banks
Chapter 1
Welcome to the Outer Banks, Paradise on Earth. Where we separate from the Kooks and as my brother calls themselves, the Pogues. I was the youngest between my brother and myself. My brother, John Booker Routledge, John B., as we call him. Our dad, John, disappeared 9 months ago. Leaving John B. and I to ourselves. Our uncle T was suppose to be our guardian but he's in Mississippi somewhere. After dad disappeared, everyone thought he was dead and tried telling us that. But we didn't believe them, and weren't going too. I dropped out of school after he went missing. John B. and I both already worked but that wasn't gonna be enough to keep the lights and our phones on and food on the table. So I started working at The Wreck, cleaning houses and boats, and working with Heyward. I looked over at the clock and sighed. I got out of bed, got ready for the day, and walked out of my room.
"John B.! Time to get up! Kie! JJ! Pope you too!" I called out through the house. John B's friends always stayed here at the Chateau as him and dad use to call it. I didn't mind, it kept John B. company when I wasn't here. I sat out cereal for everyone.
"Morning' sis." John B. said walking in. He yawned.
"Hey. I have to go clean some boats then a double tonight at the Wreck, so I'll be late getting home. Before I clean I gotta meet with our social worker. Remember you and JJ need to change the oil in Twinkie. There's pizza leftover in the fridge." I said putting out bowls.
"Okay, thanks. Do I need to pick you up from work?" He said grabbing a bowl.
"No. I'll have my bike. I'll stop at Heyward's in between shifts and pick up some milk and a few things." I said giving him a spoon.
"I can do it." He said.
"You didn't put the milk in the fridge last time. So, it's okay. I got it." I told him.
"Sorry." He said. Kie, Pope and JJ walked in and grabbed a seat.
"Mornin' guys. Alright, I'm headed out to clean, I'll see you all later." I said grabbing my bag. I grabbed a granola bar from the cabinet.
"Bye V. Bye Ronnie." I heard from the table. I walked out and went to my bicycle. I rode to the social workers office and went inside.
"Ms. Routledge. It's come to our attention that you and your brother have became unemancipated minors, living on your own." She said sitting down.
"Nope. We're not." I said crossing my arms.
"Ms. Routledge, we need complete honesty here. That's what we want, right?" She asked me.
"Yes. And I'm being honest. We're not by ourselves, our uncle is with us." I said. Okay, so I was lying.
"Okay, when was the last time you spoke with your uncle?" She asked tapping her pen. I looked at the clock on the wall.
"This morning. Not sure what time." I said shrugging.
"And the last time you or John B. saw him?" She asked.
"Last night. He goes to work before I do." I said biting my lip. She sighed and placed down her pen.
"Okay, Veronica. We're gonna come out there tomorrow to talk to your uncle. If he's not there, we're gonna move forward with foster care for you and your brother. I want to assure you, we're gonna find you and your brother safe and loving homes." She said. I rolled my eyes and leaned forward.
"My house is safe and loving. My brother and I are just fine." I snapped. I got up and stormed out. I rode out to my first job and got started. I called John B. and updated him on our social worker. I was just starting at the Wreck when the news came on about hurricane Agatha. We closed up and headed home. John B., Pope and JJ were the only ones there.
"Pope and I are going surfing." John B. said coming through the kitchen.
"John B., I don't think that's a good." I started.
"I know, okay? But it's the surge." He scoffed. I threw my hands up in defeat.
"Be careful." I said leaning against the counter. He was always rebellious but this was beyond dangerous, even for them. While they surfed, I boarded up everything. About an hour later they came back in. We all slept through it. I got up and walked outside. I sighed and looked around.
"Agatha really messed up huh?" JJ asked walking out.
"She sure did." I said shaking my head. I sat down on the steps and ran my fingers through my hair. John B. stepped out and groaned.
"Man. This isn't good." He said looking around. He went over to his boat and started pulling tree limbs out.
"Whatcha thinkin?" JJ asked him.
"I'm thinkin' that storm surge pushed all the crabs out on the marsh maze. All the drum are going to chase the crab." John said cleaning the boat out.
"What about DCS? Wasn't that today?" He asked.
"No one is getting on that ferry today." I told him. John B threw his hand out at me.
"Yeah. See? Come on man. It's God tellin' us to fish." John B. said throwing a limb. They got in the boat and left. I changed then went into town to help around cleaning.
John B. POV
JJ and I rode the boat out to fish for crab. We picked up Pope and Kie on the way out to the marsh. JJ was at the end of the boat trying his beer trick, getting beer everywhere, when we hit something. I went forward on the boat and JJ flew off.
"JJ, you okay?" I asked groaning.
"Ugh. I think my heels touched the back of my head." JJ answered.
"Kie, you okay?" I asked her.
"I'm all right." She answered. I grunted as I stood up.
"Pope, what did you do?" JJ asked groaning.
"Sandbar. The channel changed." Pope said looking around the banks.
"No shit." JJ said swimming up.
"Ugh, this is probably going to mess this whole place up." I said sitting on the edge of my boat. Pope moved to the front of the boat.
"Hey, I saved the beer, though." JJ said laughing.
"Congrats, JJ." I mumbled.
"Guys… I think there's a boat down there." Pope said looking at the water.
"Shut up. What?" I said squinting in the sun.
'No way." Kie said shaking her head. We got closer to him and looked over behind JJ.
"Holy shit, he's right. Let's go." Kie said stepping back. We jumped in and swam down to the boat. We came back up and got in the boat.
"That is a Grady White. A brand new one of those, 500 G's." JJ said panting.
"Yeah, that's the boat I saw when we surfed the surge." I told them.
"Wait? You surfed the surge?" Kie asked shocked.
"Yeah. Don't look at me like that, okay? I already got that look from Ronnie." I said sighing.
"That's my boy. Pogue style. Except the tiny, potential upset sister." JJ said laughing. I shrugged.
"Do we know who's boat that is?" Pope asked us.
"No, but we're about to find out." I said digging out the anchor.
"Dude it's to deep." JJ argued while laughing.
"Only for the weak and feeble, JJ." I said grunting as I stood up.
"Well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear up front." He said looking over at the boat.
"Yeah and we'll be weak and feeble when Ronnie comes after us for letting her brother die." Pope scoffed. I sighed and looked at him.
"You scared of my sister?" I asked.
"Yes! She's 5'4 with a sweet smile but has a small anger and a hitting problem when it comes to family!" He said huffing.
"Hot bod too." JJ added. I looked at him.
"Dude. Sister? Bro code?" I scoffed. Kie shoved him as he shrugged.
"I'm just saying your sister can get very protective." Pope said sighing. I shrugged.
"John B." Kie said.
"What?" I asked. She just looked at me.
"Diver down, fool." Pope said.
"Diver down." I said saluting him.
"Yeah he is." JJ said. Then he shoved me off the boat and into the water I went. I sunk quick. I swam over to the boat and looked around. I grabbed a motel key and swam up. I started coughing when I surfaced.
"Did you find anything? Dead body?" Pope asked.
"Looting potential?" JJ asked.
"No and no. But I did find this motel key." I said holding it up.
"A key? A key?" Pope scoffed.
"Yes a key, Pope." I said.
"Great! We salvaged a motel key." JJ grumbled. I crawled back in the boat.
"Guys, we should report the wreck to the coast guard. Maybe we'll get a finders fee." Kie said excitedly. Pope decided to drive away.
"Yeah, and not work all summer. Thanks, Agatha, ya batch." JJ said sarcastically. We docked the boat and went over to the Coast Guard station. JJ and I went inside and tried to get his attention but he was dealing with a lady about her dog and a man about his boat. We walked back out to Pope and Kie.
"Well that went well." I said.
"So what's the plan?" Pope asked.
"I think I know how we're gonna find the guy who owns that boat." I said nodding.
"Woah, we don't know whose room that is. It could be anyone's." Pope argued.
"I'm in." JJ said taking the key from me. He tossed it to Kie.
"Come on. I'll be lookout." She said grinning. We started walking off.
"Finders fee. Just sayin. And hey, at least you'll be only an accomplice. Come on, bubba." I told Pope. He groaned and followed us. We were walking down the pier when we saw Veronica.
"Hey guys." She said squinting.
"Hey V. Hey Ronnie." We all chorused.
"What's going on? Y'all done fishing?" She asked sitting down a box.
"We actually." Kie started but I elbowed her.
"Yeah. We're gonna ride around some and check out the island. See all the damage." I told her. She cocked her head to the side. One thing about my sister, she always knew when I lied to her. I was the oldest between us by a year. But it was always like a twin thing between us. She nodded.
"Yeah. Okay. Nice being honest with you John B." She said picking up her box. Then she turned around and walked off. I sighed.
"Great. You pissed off your sister. Good luck fixing that." Kie said getting on the boat. We got on and rode out the motel. The place looked like hell.
"And I thought the Chateau looked bad." JJ commented.
"This place is a shitshow." I said.
"Motel or meth lab?" Kie scoffed.
"You be the judge." Pope said. I looked around as I got closer.
"Doesn't look like a pace someone with a Grady-White would stay." I said pulling up to the bank.
"No. Looks like a place someone with a Grady-White would get killed." Pope scoffed. JJ hopped off and pulled us in.
"We good?" I asked turning the boat off.
"Yeah." He said nodding. I jumped off.
"Hey. Here. Be careful." KIe said handing me the key to the room. I nodded and we walked off.
Veronica's POV
I was cleaning up down at the pier when the local cops came down with the coroner and EMTs. They went over to Guppys boat. They hopped on and placed a body on the backboard. Ms. Lana came running down in a frenzy.
"Scooter! Oh my." She said crying. They found Scooters body. I went over as they pulled her away and hugged her.
"Come on, Ms. Lana. I'll drive you." I told her. She nodded. I looked around and saw my brother and his friends sitting across the pier with Amy. After dropping her and her truck off, I rode home on my bike with three pizzas, while I had a break. I walked in and saw the house a mess. I sighed and placed the pizzas down on the table.
"John B and his friends! Pizzas on!" I called out. I sat my bag down and started cleaning up the mess. John and his friends came out of his room and sat down.
"Thanks, Ronnie." They said together.
"Yeah." I said sighing.
"Hey. We're throwing a kegger later. You in?" Kie said coming up beside me.
"No. I have an early shift tomorrow and I don't need to be hungover for it." I said picking up the trash. She walked back over to the table. I got the house straightened out, then went back to work. Hours later, after I walked in, JJ and John B stumbled in.
"What the hell?" I asked grabbing John Bs face. He moved my hands away.
"It's nothing. Don't worry." He said walking to his room. I looked at JJ and he held his hands up.
"Mind if I take over the couch?" He asked hopping on it. I rolled my eyes and walked to my room. The next morning, I was getting ready to leave when officer Peterkin showed up.
"Morning officer. What can I do for you?" I asked her.
"DCS called. Asked me to check in on you and your brother. Where is he?" She said walking in.
"Asleep, I'm guessing. Feel free to wake him up if he's in his room. Oh, and you can tell the DCS lady to shove it where the sun don't shine." I told her.
"You use to be a bright kid, Ronnie. Until your dad disappeared. Straight A's in school, you had a potential way out of the OBX. But you threw that all away. And now you work whatever job you can, to keep you and John B. afloat." She said looking around.
"Someone had too." I said crossing my arms. She looked at me and placed her hands on her hips.
"You're 16, Ronnie. You don't have to take care of your brother." She said.
"John B. takes care of himself. I'm just making sure we still have working lights, phones, food and water. Now if you're done with me, I'm late for work. Tell John B I'll be working late again." I said walking out the door.
John B's POV
I was woken up by a door slamming shut. I looked up as officer Peterkin walked into my room.
"Get decent, sweetie. We need to talk." She told me. I got up and walked out of the room.
"Your sister let me in before she left for work." She said as I walked out.
"Great. She tell you to make sure I was breathing?" I said walking to the kitchen.
"Only to tell you she'll be working late again. Listen John B, DCS called, told me to check in and see how you two were doin. So, how are you? Besides the uh." She said motioning around her eye.
"Great. We're great. Thanks for coming by and letting me know about my sister." I told her.
"I'm glad to hear you say that John B, but I heard a few things that worried me. Let me see if I can remember. Oh, yeah. One being, your uncle Teddy hasn't been in the state for the last 3 months." She said looking at me.
"That's false. Veronica and I see him." I started.
"You don't have to say anything. I already know, I called the school. They also said you use to be a good student. Now you're failing all your classes." She said walking around.
'No. Only one and it's history. The guy is a dick. I swear the guy." I started.
"And I heard there was fight on the beach last night and a gun was involved. That I didn't mention to your sister cause I know she'd wring your neck." She said crossing her arms.
"A gun? No. Did I get in a little dustup? Yeah. Was there a gun? No way. And telling my sister about that would've been a mistake." I said. I was trying to find something to do or clean. Damn my sister for cleaning last night.
"That's okay. I know who it was. I'll get to him. John B, all I'm worried about is making sure you and your sister are in a safe home." She said.
"We are. Safe, sturdy, sound. Plus, uncle T's coming back so." I said knocking on the table.
'Is that what he told you? If he is, then I think you two should be allowed to stay." She said nodding.
"Thank you." I said sighing.
"But if I stick my neck out for you, you have to help me. Tit for tat." She said walking over.
"What does tat mean?" I asked confused.
"Let me see. How can you help me? Oh. So a body washed up in the marsh yesterday. Were you in the marsh yesterday?" She said eyeing me.
"Yeah. We went fishing for some drum." I answered.
"You catch anything?" She asked.
"Nah, we were skunked." I said.
"Strange. Fishings usually good after a storm. All sorts of things get stirred up. You come across a wreck yesterday?" She said.
"No." I answered. She sighed and stepped closer.
"You're skimming just above the surface, John B. Now, down here is foster care, juvie. Pretty big drop for a smart kid like you. Then your sister, alone, with no one and visiting you when she's not busting her butt working. Now up here, is you and your little friends doing whatever you want. Outerbanks or foster care on the mainland. You one inch above the surface, John B. if I was you, I'd start flapping my wings. Now, I'm going to ask again. You sure you didn't come across a wreck yesterday?" She said. I sat down. The thought of my sister being alone with no one had hit me.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure." I said nodding.
"It's better if you didn't, you understand? I'm going to look the other way, as long as you stay out of the marsh." She said nodding. She looked around.
"You're lucky, you know. Having a little sister like Veronica. I wouldn't know of anyone's sister cleaning up after their brother and his friends." She said walking out. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. An hour or two later, I had let JJ convince to borrow the scuba gear from my rich boss' boat. But JJ did have a point he and I had nothing to lose. My dad said the island was like America on steroids. The haves and the have-nots like anyplace but magnified and multiplied. The way I see it, the games rigged, maybe it always has been. But with no parents, no money, and no one looking out for me, I had no chance unless I made it on my own. I grabbed the scuba gear and headed to my boat.
"Oh! Hey. Are you stalking us? Planning your revenge?" Sarah Cameron asked as I walked out.
"Yeah. Why don't you just tell your daddy I blew the bilge on the Druthers? Everything's good to go. Just topping off these tanks." I said heading down the steps. I sighed as I placed the tanks on my boat.
"Hey. Are you okay? Cause that eye of yours looks really gnarly." She said following me.
"Yeah, you know what? You can tell Topper he won the first round. I'll get him next time." I said sliding into my boat.
"So there's just going to be a reign of terror on this island now?" She asked.
"Wars have been started for less, Sarah Cameron." I said.
"Okay. Can we drop the whole Pogue's versus Kooks thing? It is really stupid." She said.
"Oh. You know, it's easy to say when you're a Kook." I said sighing. I knocked on the ship and moved to start my boat. I pulled away and went to pick up the others.
Veronica's POV
I came home late again from a shift at the Wreck. John B and his friends were out at the firepit when I walked inside. I dropped my bag off on the floor, grabbed a beer and sat down at the table. I looked through our mail, opened up the bills and rubbed my face as I did the math. I heard footsteps on the porch. I quickly put away the bills and grabbed my beer.
"Hey sis." John B said walking in.
"Hey." I said nodding.
"Wanna join us outside?' He asked motioning to the firepit. He grabbed a few beers.
"Nah, I got an early morning anyways. So, I need to get a little sleep." I said sighing. He nodded and walked out of the house. I finished my beer and got ready for bed. I laid there staring at the ceiling. I knew dad wasn't gone. I could feel it. John B and I both knew he wasn't gone. I just wish I knew where to start looking for him to bring him home.
"Where are you, dad?" I whispered.