ONLY ANGEL | JJ MAYBANK

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

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Time seemed to dwindle down like sand in an hourglass as three o'clock drew nearer, and the Pogues still had yet to retrieve the vessel for John B's escape from the Outer Banks. With every second that passed like individual grains, Collins felt her heart skip a beat to the rhythm and she couldn't stop her knees from bouncing as all her nervous energy channeled itself into physical movements.

Getting out of the car helped her manage that problem because at least she wasn't just sitting there helplessly. It was so painful to be trapped under a seatbelt when she felt like she could be doing more.

Collins just had to remind herself that she was doing something. She was helping to get John B the key to his freedom and that was the most important part of this plan.

As JJ pushed open the storage door where he was sure his dad's boat was being held, Collins couldn't even begin to describe the relief she felt actually seeing it in front of her. Granted, it wasn't the shiniest or the latest model of watercraft's by any means, but it was indeed a boat and it looked like it could withstand a lot which was exactly what they needed. Sometimes, older is better, because back then, things were made to last. A couple bumps and scrapes didn't mean anything, they were just like scars; they showed perseverance. They were definitely going to put that to the test when John B took it all the way down to Mexico.

"There she be. Hey, girl." JJ cooed, walking up to the boat to pull the tarp away from over it. "A 1983 Formula 402 SR1. The Phantom. The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours, guys. 40 years old! And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen."

Shrugging her shoulders, Kie just shook her head. "It's kind of a junker."

Casting her a blank look, JJ pressed his lips together. "Really? She's right there, Kie. She can hear you."

"She doesn't have ears, JJ." Collins reminded him, raising her brows. "But I'm sure if she had lips you'd be kissing them based on the way you're talking about her."

JJ scowled at her and Collins just returned the expression, but she quickly broke out into a smile. Turning back to the boat, JJ said, "Let's just put it this way, you would not be smoking weed right now, if she never existed. The buds that Charlie and my cousin Ricky nursed into maturation were carried on this boat."

"I just hope it runs." Kie mumbled.

"Oh, no, she'll run all right. She's faster than any of the cutters the boys in blue got." JJ began getting the trailer under the boat hooked up to attach to Kie's car while Collins attempted to help next to him.

The sound of tires screeching signaled to them that Pope had finally gotten the gas cans he'd left earlier to retrieve, a task that had taken way longer than it should've.

"Pope, finally." Kie breathed, moving to make her way over to him when she skidded to a stop as none other than Rafe Cameron cut her off.

"Hey, there. What's going on?" He asked casually, leaning over to look past Kie and peer over at Collins and JJ who froze at first glance at him. "Good to see the lovely couple."

While Rafe jumped up on the trailer to inspect the boat up close, a sharp whistle sounded from behind them, and they were all whipping around to see Barry unexpectedly stroll on in.

"Well, well," Barry said as he came closer, not even waiting for them to even try making a move before he was cocking a gun and pointing it at them. Collins jumped back and instinctively held her hands up, while JJ stepped in between her and the barrel of the gun. "See, don't think I forgot about you and me on the side of the road. I'm here because I want my motherfuckin' money!"

It all happened so fast. There was no discussion to be had, just pure brute force. But in the brevity of the moment, all Collins remembered was that Barry had swung- his fist or the gun, she wasn't sure -but he had aimed it to the side of JJ's head and the blond boy was knocked down by the impact.

"JJ!" Collins and Kie leapt forward at the same time in worry for JJ, but Kie was immediately dragged back by Rafe as he scooped her up from behind and carried her away while she thrashed in his hold.

But Collins was still able to get to him, putting both hands forward and slamming them into Barry's chest in order to push him away from JJ. She didn't really think before she did it, which in hindsight, might've been a good idea seeing as Barry still had a gun on him. But luckily, the force of her push had knocked him a couple steps back and he was too busy trying to regain his footing that he couldn't aim at her and pull the trigger.

Meanwhile, in a panic, JJ yelled, "Collins, don't!" His eyes were wide as all he could think about was the gun in Barry's hand, and the fact that it was no longer him separating her and the weapon, but the other way around.

"What do you think you're doing, lil' girl?" Barry accused, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Don't you fucking touch him." Collins snapped, winding her arm back and swinging with all of her strength to throw her fist across Barry's face.

Her knuckles made contact with his cheek and sent him stumbling sideways at the impact. It was so quick, he seemed just as surprised as JJ was by the action based on the way his jaw was dropped, but that may have also just been because of the injury she'd caused. Barry's jaw felt like it'd been locked for a split second before he'd readjusted it to its normal function. A sharp pain shot up her own hand from the hit and Collins's fingers fell out of the tightly made fist they were previously in so she could shake off the hurt. She knew that throwing punches hurt the sender just as much as the receiver, but she never knew just how much. She could've easily shattered every bone in her hand.

While Barry was trying to recover from Collins's swing, Kie was fighting Rafe off on her own. He had her cornered and while she was beating his hands away from grabbing onto her, she exclaimed, "I know what you did. You murdered Peterkin!"

Her words had echoed in the unit, and it was clear that she had angered Rafe by saying the words out loud, because he clenched his jaw tightly and his nostrils flared. There was pure darkness in his eyes as he stared down at Kie and his hand shot forward to wrap itself around her neck while digging his fingers into her throat. "Don't you ever say those words again." He growled.

Collins had been too busy watching the whole scene play out that she hadn't realized her back had been turned on Barry. He used what was going on with Rafe and Kie as a distraction, and just as he was about to strike while Collins was caught off guard, JJ jumped at him and tackled Barry to the ground before he could make a move.

Almost at the same time, Collins lunged forwards in the direction of Kie and yelled, "Let her go, you psycho!" She threw her arm around Rafe's neck and squeezed as hard as she could while pulling him back so he would release his grip on Kie.

For a moment, his hands did loosen their hold on Kie, and it was enough for her to wiggle out of it and gasp for air, but it still felt like he was blocking her airways. Rafe's nails dug into Collins's skin as he clawed at her arm to get her to let him go, but she tried her best to lock her arm around him and turn a blind eye to the pain. His face was beet red due to all the blood that was rushing to it as his body begged for oxygen. It wasn't until he fell back into the side of the boat, sandwiching her in-between, did he finally get her to slacken while she stumbled onto the ground.

From her peripheral, Collins could see JJ getting the pulp beaten out of him by Barry. He'd managed to get a couple hits in himself, but Barry was relentless. Rafe was also lunging towards Kie and grabbing her by the shoulders, yelling at her to get her to tell him where John B was, no matter how many times she refused to tell him.

Collins felt split in half; whose aid should she come to? JJ looked like he was fighting a losing battle and weakening by the second, and Kie was barely able to defend herself against Rafe's antagonism. They both needed her help but she was only one person...

As if her prayers had finally been answered, Pope came in like a knight in shining armor, swinging a pipe at Rafe and striking him on the back, causing Rafe to drop Kie and slump over his knees in pain. He'd been waiting for his moment to get his revenge on Rafe for ambushing them at the movies, along with at the golf course where Rafe had swung at him with a golf club similar to the way Pope was swinging at him now. As Pope came back to raise the pipe again, Collins dove over to JJ and made an attempt to rescue him from another one of Barry's kicks to his side.

She countered the kick with her own, pushing her foot into Barry's hip so he was knocked over to the side. He fell over with a cry in pain and JJ quickly scrambled to his feet, debilitated from all the injuries he'd endured but still trying to push through it. As Barry dropped, the gun must've been tucked in his waistband, because after Collins kicked him, it flew out and clattered to the ground, out in the open and just a few feet away from her.

"Kick it!" JJ told her, and without another moment's hesitation, Collins did as told, sliding the gun under the boat where no one could get it.

A sharp yelp escaped her as Collins felt her body being pushed into the side of the boat again, but this time with a hand holding her head by her hair to slam her face into the hull forcibly until she was seeing spots. It felt like Barry was using all of his weight to hold her there, and Collins's wasn't enough to overpower him. "Stay down, bitch." He snarled.

His hand that wasn't tangled in her hair dug itself into her back, pushing her deeper into the boat. Collins cried out in pain at the action, her only relief being when JJ tried pulling Barry off of her and Barry took his hand off to throw his elbow back at JJ's face, narrowly missing the boy by mere inches. He jerked his arm back a couple more times, until he clipped the side of JJ's jaw and JJ felt his teeth involuntarily sink into the corner of his lip and draw blood.

Collins tried to muster all of her power to counteract Barry's hold, but it felt like every time she seized the opportunity while he was busy fighting off JJ, he was still managing to hold her in place. She felt so helpless, and it briefly occurred to her that this was what helplessness was. It wasn't sitting in the car, twiddling your thumbs and feeling like you aren't doing enough, it was having all of your strength render practically useless because it wasn't enough to save you when you were in dire need of it. It was fruitless attempts to free yourself and having all of your dignity stripped away from you while you're trapped beneath someone's hand like an ant under someone's shoe.

It all came so suddenly, but all Collins knew was that the pressure held against her was suddenly lifted, and she could finally peel her body away from the side of the boat and take a second to breathe. Her knees buckled from under her while she tried gathering herself and she filled her lungs as fast as she could with deep inhalations. Once she'd been able to focus on something other than the sound of her pulse in her ears, her eyes had finally lifted up from off the ground and Collins had to blink for a moment to make sure she was seeing things correctly.

Charlie was pummeling Barry into the cement floor, throwing punch after punch at him with ruthless force. It was one after the other across the scumbag's face and Barry was trying his best to fight Charlie off or at least block some of his punches, but he had no way of finding his window of opportunity because Charlie wasn't giving him a chance to.

"Collins." JJ rushed to her side, wrapping his arm around her to try and help her to stand. She leaned on him for support until she was able to hold her own weight. He kept inspecting her for injuries, even though his lip was bleeding like hell, but Collins was too busy trying to make out the situation unfolding before her.

Where did Charlie come from? How did he know that she'd be here?

Before she could begin to try and rationalize the potential reasons to what led her brother there, the sounds of Kie screams at Pope broke Collins out of her trance and she was tapping JJ's arm to prompt him to go help. Pope was out of control again, just like how he'd been in that little junk pile by the airstrip they'd hid out at when they realized the gold was gone. He was now using rubber tubing as a strangulation device on Rafe, who'd already been beaten to a bloody pulp. Kie was yelling at him to stop, but he clearly couldn't hear her and she was helpless to stop him.

While JJ quickly ran over to try and snap his friend out of whatever hypnotic state he was in to make him so unreachable to talk some sense to, Collins had a responsibility to stop her brother, who was behaving the same way as Pope and not taking a break between beatings on Barry.

"Charlie, stop!" Collins exclaimed, grabbing him by the shoulders and trying to pull him off of Barry. She was not going to let him put someone in a coma for her. "That's enough."

As Barry spit out a mouthful of blood onto the ground next to him, Collins was able to drag Charlie away since she was fairly certain they didn't have to consider Barry a threat anymore when he and Rafe were severely outnumbered. Charlie had his eyes trained on Barry to make sure he was truly down for the count, and Collins held her focus on her brother as she led him away and turned him to face her.

Charlie's green eyes finally pierced hers, his blood still pumping with the adrenaline of his protective instinct over his sister. Looking up at him, Collins felt a surge of relief to see him standing in front of her, and so she attacked him with a bone crushing hug while burying her face into his shirt.

"I've never been so happy to see you." She confessed, and Charlie felt his muscles finally start to relax before he accepted himself into her embrace.

Unfortunately, he hadn't had quite the same reaction as her upon first arriving there. He'd more so been set into a fiery rage when he saw how Barry had her pushed into the boat, reveling in the power he held over her. All it did was make Charlie want to beat that pride out of him until he was as feeble as he tried to make Collins feel. His hands were bloody, but it didn't bother him. No one hurt his sister.

"We gotta go guys." Collins pulled away from her brother's arms and nodded in response to Kie, realizing that they had more pressing matters to attend to and this had just been a big distraction from it. How much time did they have now?

Looking back at Charlie, Collins wasn't sure what he knew. He had to know enough, otherwise how else had he found her? The matter behind how he'd found out didn't have so much importance, what did was what he planned on doing in that moment. Had he planned on stopping her, or helping her?

Nudging her along, Charlie pressed his lips into a thin line. "Go. I'll make sure they don't follow you." He glanced back at Rafe who was practically blue in the face and still trying to catch his breath, then over at Barry who was grimacing through the pain while still laid out on the floor. They didn't look like they were up for a chase, but he would make damn sure that they didn't try.

"Thank you." Collins told him, sincerity in her eyes while she headed over to Kie's car where everyone else was waiting for her. She hoped that this was the start of a reconciliation between them. She knew that just because he'd saved her didn't mean that Charlie wasn't still mad at her, but a tiny part of her hoped that that was what it meant. She could show forgiveness for that; Charlie wasn't wrong in knowing he was right in protecting her, he'd clearly proven that he was always acting as her guardian angel in times of need. Collins couldn't deny anymore that Charlie didn't know what he was doing, she could just argue that some aspects of it could be up for debate.

As Charlie's figure disappeared out of view from the car window, Collins wasn't sure how to feel in the car ride to the Point where they were meant to dock the boat. She was still in that state of paranoia that they were going to be too late for John B. Their only connection in knowing whether or not he'd been caught yet was through whatever was broadcast on the radio. So far, still nothing, so that should've been reassuring enough. Unfortunately, all Collins could think about was timing and how unlucky it could be sometimes. They could be going through all this work only for their plan to fail at the very last second. Nothing was safe until John B was off the island.

It wasn't until they were actually at the Point did Collins realize she wasn't alone in her fears that John B wouldn't make it to them before the cops caught him. Kie was expressing doubts of her own as she paced the dock back and forth. They'd gotten the boat in the water and everything, all of the supplies they'd stocked up for John B packed away and ready to go. All they were waiting on was the boy himself.

"Dude, where is he?" Kie huffed, searching the road leading towards them for any sign of John B, but there were no indications that he was arriving. All there was was the incessant noise of police sirens that seemed to have followed them around everywhere they went. As if they weren't already on edge, the sirens just felt like one wave of impending doom after another.

"Give him a second, he'll be here." Pope reassured her.

Nodding in agreement, JJ piped up from inside the boat, "He's coming, it'll be fine."

Then almost as though the universe was punishing them for being so naive to think they could actually get away with this, the police siren that they'd disregarded as just another car in passing drew nearer until it had become a police car materializing from the trees, rolling down the dirt road towards them.

"JJ?" Collins called out worriedly, taking an apprehensive step back upon seeing the government vehicle, the onset of fear pooling in.

"Get back on the boat." JJ ordered them, making a grab for the boat's steering wheel to get the engine started for them.

"Wait." Pope stopped them as the car door opened, and a messy head of brown hair appeared above the door frame, quite uncharacteristic of the usual professional tidiness of the Kildare Country Sheriff's Department.

And so it was with jaw dropping awe- no, literally, Collins's jaw dropped -did she suddenly realize that it was indeed John B exiting the vehicle of one of Kildare's finest and she honestly didn't even want to know how he'd done it. She just decided to be grateful that he did because it had brought him to them.

"No eff-ing way."

"You've got to be kidding me." JJ smiled incredulously, no prouder than he was of his best friend than he was in that moment. Not even he, JJ Maybank 'one hand always in the cookie jar' extraordinaire, had ever stolen a cop car. This was a new all time Pogue record.

"Schoupe let me take it for a spin." John B said smugly.

"Okay, that's believable. I'll buy that. For now." Kie scoffed.

"It wasn't easy, bro, but I got the Phantom for you and she runs like she was made yesterday. Ready to go?" JJ jangled the keys at John B for further emphasis.

Looking past JJ on the boat, John B frowned. "Where's Sarah?" He asked.

Furrowing their brows in confusion at him, Collins shrugged. "She's not with you?" Obviously not, because she would've been standing there if she was. But that then led them to their next question of where exactly she was?

Shaking his head, John B said, "No, we got separated at the swamp. She said she'd meet me here."

"We haven't seen her, man." Pope told him.

"Well, I'm not leaving without her."

Turning his focus towards him, JJ grabbed his friend by the shoulders and looked down at him with a grave expression. "John B, look at me. I know you feel bad for leaving, but there's no time. You've got plenty of gas, plenty of food. Once you get around that point, it's a straight shot across the sound to Dismal swamp, okay? Once you get there, lay low, alright? Hang out for a couple weeks, then go overland. Cross the border at Brownsville, you got that?" There was a distant look on John B's face as he waited for the moment when Sarah would come sprinting over to them, out of breath from running over, but on time before he could leave without her. But that moment never came.

"John B," Collins said loudly, trying to snap him out of his trance. "You gotta go. Those police cars have GPS on them, they could be here any minute."

Nodding, John B slowly pushed himself up from the dock and onto the boat, trading places with JJ who came over to stand next to Collins. As they all stood by, ready to watch him depart, John B turned to face them with a bittersweet smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry, you guys. I'm sorry for basically throwing us off a cliff with this whole treasure hunt thing."

"Hey, John B... we were bound to run off the cliff at some point." They all chuckled in agreement with JJ. Throwing his arms around Collins and Pope on both sides of him, JJ shrugged. "At least we did it together, though. Pogue style."

The saddest look still remained on John B's face, wishing he didn't have to go this journey alone, but knowing he couldn't drag his friends into his mess anymore. "Pogue style." He repeated in a whisper. His eyes flickered back and forth between Collins and JJ before uttering a small laugh. "Leave it to you two to start macking on each other when all hell breaks loose."

Collins's lips parted in surprise by John B's statement, and as she glanced over at JJ, she realized both of their cheeks were burning red at being called out. "All thanks to you, JB." She said before casting him a wide grin. Because it sort of was him that brought her and JJ together. If it wasn't for that crazy treasure hunt he'd put them on, Collins would've never had a reason to tag along with him and his friends and discover the best days of her life. She never would've been able to spend the most of her summer with JJ Maybank, and realize that they were practically made for each other. None of that would've been possible without John B as their friend.

"Now will you please get out of here?" Kie begged, waving John B away, not only because the longer she looked at him, the more she felt saddened to watch him go, but also because her anxiety was skyrocketing, knowing that the police could arrive at any moment and drag him away.

"We'll see you in two months, down in Mexico." Pope assured him, then they all began to wave goodbye to him.

"Tell Sarah I said goodbye, okay?" John B told them, his eyes glazed over. They all nodded, agreeing to hold their promise to him in his absence.

"Don't forget to cross the border at Brownsville." JJ reminded him, and John B cast him a thumbs up in confirmation.

Once the motor started up and came to life, Pope untied the rope attaching the boat to the dock and the watercraft began to drift out into the water. All four friends leaned over and gave their friend a final push from the dock in farewell.

There was a certain kind of pain in Collins's chest as she watched the boat grow further and further away, her view of John B's face becoming smaller until it was a speck in the distance, and she could no longer try to spend what little time she had trying to remember his face so she wouldn't forget it. She had to remind herself that this wasn't permanent. They would see him again when the truth came out, and until then, they would do everything they could to make sure that it did so he could come home. She shouldn't feel so sad about something that was temporary.

As they finally began to make their way to step away from the scene of their friend's departure, Collins and JJ walked hand in hand over to Kie's car, not even realizing that Kie herself and Pope weren't following them. They appeared to be in the midst of conversation that was due to happen given the uneasy nature between them that had stemmed from the night before. It was clear that they needed some privacy to deal with this matter.

"Can't believe he's actually gone." JJ said in disbelief, his eyes trained to the ground. That was his best friend since they were kids learning multiplication in desks that they couldn't even squeeze into anymore. John B and him had done everything together, been through each others biggest life changes. And now who knows when they'd get that part of them back.

Grabbing him by the hand, Collins truly felt for him. Even though this wasn't forever, they could still feel John B's absence just as strongly as if they knew they were never going to see him again. It didn't help that they had no way of contacting him either, so they were just going to be in complete darkness on his well-being until he could finally emerge from hiding, but there was no telling when that might be. Collins couldn't even begin to imagine how JJ was going to be able to cope with this loss.

"We did everything we could for him." She tried to convince him. "We got John B out, that was what he needed the most. The rest is on him."

JJ nodded his head, knowing she was right. Still, a part of him couldn't help but feel a little envious of John B for fleeing down South. John B was closer to Yucatán than he was, closer to his pipe dream of escaping across the border and having nothing to do except ride the toughest swell he'd ever seen. But JJ knew it'd never be all sunshine and rainbows playing fugitive and JJ would've probably found a way to get them in trouble and land them in jail anyways. John B didn't need that.

"You're right. This is for the best." JJ said. As long as he could say it, it would remain true. He also would be lying if he said he could easily leave Collins behind if it came down to it. He knew that she had big plans, plans that didn't involve dropping everything to go on the run from the law, and so he could never ask her to do that if it was him in John B's place. JJ was exactly where he needed to be, right next to Collins is the only place he ever wanted to be standing.

Oblivious to the thoughts running through his mind, Collins looked over at JJ and frowned upon examining the cut on his lip that split it at one corner. "What is it with you always injuring your lip?" She tsked at him before scratching away a drop of dried blood on his chin.

"I don't know," JJ shrugged, "maybe this is just my way of asking you to kiss it better."

Wrinkling her nose at him, Collins shook her head and declined the show of affection that the boy was asking for. Even though she was doing an awful job of hiding it, she really did enjoy this sort of banter between them. "Kind of a faulty system you got there, assuming that I would want to kiss your gross bloody lip."

As JJ let out a loud sigh in defeat, he glanced over at Kie and Pope who were only a rock's throw away from them, and he couldn't withhold the surprise that showed on his face upon seeing them macking on each other in a huge turn of events. Taking notice in the change in his expression, Collins turned to see what he saw and her own face morphed into one of shock as well. Kie and Pope? When did that happen?

"Well, you know how the saying goes, if you can't beat them..."

Slapping him playfully on the chest, Collins gaped incredulously at him and dodged his lips as he tried to meet them with hers. "Get in the car, we need to get out of here."

Just as she was about to reluctantly interrupt Kie and Pope's tender moment, the sound of police sirens were heard in the near distance once again, only Collins didn't think they could try and rationalize it as someone they knew stealing a police car for the second time in one day.

As Kie and Pope started hustling back to them, JJ threw open the car door and started ushering Collins inside in hopes of beating the cops before they got to them. But before Collins could even step in, red and blue flashing lights were rushing towards them, and they were suddenly blocked into the docking area by Sheriff's deputies and SBI officials on both sides of them.

Collins stayed close behind JJ, her heart jumping out of her chest as men with guns pointed at them stormed closer. "Put your hands up!" They yelled, and she immediately obliged.

While she held both hands level to her ears, Collins tapped JJ on the shoulder and prompted him to do the same, wanting nothing less than to have him suffer the consequences of not following police orders.

"We're too late, he's gone, Goddamnit! Bratcher, have your men stand down." Schoupe appeared from the mess of law enforcement officers, and advanced towards them. "Let me talk to these kids. Alright, where the hell is he? JJ, I see you're living up to your name. Pope, how 'bout you? This isn't a fucking game! You can do the right thing now! Where'd he go?"

All of them kept their mouths shut tight, refusing to budge. Did they really think they were going to betray John B after everything they done for him? There was about as slim of a chance of them going full Kook as the likelihood that they would rat out their friend. Schoupe seemed to realize this early on, judging by the stoic expressions they were all holding, but that didn't mean he was giving up.

Collins had never been in the back of a cop car before, but she supposed there were first times for everything. She never knew how tight it actually was until she and Kie were sitting on opposite sides of each other in one car, while JJ and Pope rode in another. They didn't know where they were going, but they could only assume that they weren't going to like it. No matter what though, their lips were sealed.

"Sit down and don't move. We got a lot to talk about." Schoupe ordered them, sitting the four of them down in wet chairs that were dewy from the humidity. Collins wiped her palms down her thighs nervously, looking around the tent the SBI had set up all for John B. This was crazy. All of this for a sixteen year old kid.

Someone was barking orders about closing down all the outlets around the island. They were hoping to cut John B off at all the potential escape routes. Then someone mentioned Ward Cameron's girl, and everything seemed to grow even more daunting than before.

So John B and Sarah had found each other after all, and now they were running from law enforcement together. Looking over at JJ sitting next to her, Collins felt so worried. The police now knew that their friends had escaped on a boat and so they were doing everything in their power to block him out. It didn't even matter that a storm was going to hit them at any given second, they were set on releasing police boats into the water and going out to retrieve John B themselves.

And maybe that would be a good thing. It was get caught by the police or get caught in a storm on a boat not fit for the crushing waves that would turtle it in a second. At least John B and Sarah would be safe if they were captured.

Like a snap of her fingers, rain started to pour over them and with the strength of the wind that was blowing, it was a deadly combination and the tent they were under felt like no match for what Mother Nature had in store. It didn't feel like it had the fortitude of Hurricane Agatha, but it faired close enough. And on water, it doesn't really matter if it's a storm or a hurricane, both have sunk ships before.

It felt like hours had passed of them sitting there. No one actually ever came to talk to them, so they were were left there with no clue as to what was going on or what they were there for. There was a guard stationed with them, so leaving wasn't an option either.

Collins was sat on the outermost seat next to the opening of the tent, and from what she could see in the dark night was hardly any reassurance that John B and Sarah would be okay out there in the open water. The rain would be pelting them every which way, because the Phantom wasn't much for topside protection and the waves would be reckless to ride on as the boat was no match against its power. She shivered from the cold air, and another thought crossed her mind; if she was freezing, imagine how her friends felt out there. Anything that she was feeling, they had to be experience ten fold.

There were goosebumps on her legs, and Collins felt a hand place itself on her knee. She looked over and followed the hand up to JJ's eyes, which shared the same worry as hers. Her gaze softened under his and she leaned into him, sitting shoulder to shoulder with each other as they tried to hold themselves together without breaking.

It seemed that they were finally going to get some of the answers they were looking for as Schoupe ducked back into the tent to escape the rain and two of his other deputies followed in after him. All four of them stood up simultaneously onto their feet and approached the officers anxiously. "Did you find them?"

Schoupe shook his head with a slightly solemn expression on his face. "No." He answered.

Looking carefully over at the three officers, Kie knit her brows. "So they got away."

Pressing his lips together, Schoupe once again, shook his head, this time with more regret in his response. "We lost them. I'm sorry."

Collins stared hard at him, trying to figure out what exactly he was saying. It was so clear yet so cloudy at the same time. He couldn't be telling what she was thinking he was. He couldn't be.

"You lost them?" Pope asked accusatorially. "What do you mean like they're gone? What are you talking about?"

"They took an open boat into a tropical depression." Schoupe replied, as if that explained everything. Did he even realize how little that meant to them?

"So they're dead?" Collins's voice faltered upon uttering the last word. She didn't want to say the word out loud, but Schoupe wasn't saying it and she just wanted him to be straight with them. No more of this beating around the bush bullshit.

"We don't know." He admitted.

They all frowned at his answer. So that's it? That's all they got? Collins could feel her heart being ripped out of her chest and her vision start to go blurry as tears threatened to spill. After everything they'd been through, not just the running from the law part but the treasure hunt, the friendship they'd built, all of it was just gone with nothing to show for it?

"You drove them straight through the storm, man!" JJ exclaimed with pain in his voice. Grabbing Schoupe by the collar he shook the man while holding fistfuls of his shirt in his hands. "Are you kidding me?"

"JJ, stop!" One of the deputies pried JJ away and held him back until he could calm down, but none of them were anywhere remotely close to calm.

"He didn't kill anyone and you know it!" Pope pointed at them accusatorially.

"We're still looking for him, all right?" Schoupe tried to assure them.

Collins just shook her head before holding it in her hands as she tried to find a way to come to terms with the fact that two of their friends were gone. She didn't even want to process any of it in that moment, she didn't have the energy in her and she didn't want to accept that that was their fate. It couldn't be. She didn't know how she could believe that they were really gone without any sure answers. All Schoupe had to give them was that they were lost, which in a storm on the open waters was the same as death. But still, Collins couldn't bring herself to acknowledge that fact without feeling like she was going to collapse out of pure sadness.

It seemed that Charlie's timing had been perfect at all the right times, because he was suddenly emerging through the tent entrance, dripping wet from the rain. And he wasn't alone, because not far behind him were Kie and Pope's parents, all rushing in to take cover from the weather.

Not a second was wasted before they were all coming to each other for comfort. Collins immediately crashed into Charlie's arms and finally released the sobs that had been building up in her until the dam inside her burst and she couldn't contain her emotions any longer.

"They're gone. They're both gone." She cried, shaking so badly Charlie almost questioned whether it was because she was crying or if the cold was making her shiver. It could've been a combination of both, but Charlie didn't want to underestimate the power of grief that she had to be experiencing in that moment. He wasn't even sure if she'd been this broken up over their mom's death, but it had to be a close second. Collins had never lost someone like this. Her mom had practically desensitized them to the idea of losing her from the many times she'd almost choked to death that when the time actually came, it was almost to be expected. But this, Collins had never prepared to lose a friend.

"It's gonna be okay, Colls." Charlie whispered to her. He could feel the pain in his own chest at the news. John B was someone he knew well enough to say 'hi' and stop for conversation whenever they passed each other on the street. Charlie would sometimes spot him a beer or a blunt whenever he was feeling generous because he sometimes felt bad that the kid lost his dad and he was always nice to Collins. John B didn't deserve to go out this way, just like his old man, over a crime he didn't commit.

And Sarah, she didn't deserve it either. She'd gone against her own family for a Pogue. She'd helped Charlie find Collins when she had no reason to trust him or do him any favors for that matter. Sarah had a good set of morals, way better than he would've expected from someone who was from the same family tree as Rafe. Charlie mourned the loss of her with John B in the same capacity for someone he didn't know very well, but still, well enough.

It all felt so surreal. For some reason, once she'd realized that she couldn't sort through the whole mess of how two people she'd grown so close to in one summer could be gone in an instant, all Collins could think about were the moments that were going to come to follow. How were they supposed to get through this? How were they supposed to go home and fall asleep, only to wake up the next morning and nothing be different?

Collins supposed that was the thing about grief. It comes and then it stays on your mind for days and weeks on end, haunting you while you go about your day until you fall asleep, reminding you of what you've lost. It'll pester you while you're trying to eat your breakfast, it'll hit you every time you catch a glimpse of a picture frame on the wall and you realize that the only time you'll ever get to see that person's face now is on film and screens. It sticks with you for as long as you'll have it, no telling of when or how you'll ever be able to shake its presence.

Until one day, you'll be so drained and so numb to it, that you wake up in your bed, toss the sheets off of your legs and trod to the bathroom to get ready for your day, and it doesn't even occur to you as you're on your walk to work that the gloomy grey fog that has been following you around for so long isn't there anymore. And only then, you won't even realize it right away, but it's reign of terror over you will have ceased to exist.

But rest assured, all it takes is one reminder, and it's back again like it'd never left.