On Top//Topper Thornton

thirty seven

Topper and Pope help John B up onto the top of the twinkie. John B groans in pain. He's got a nasty bite in his calf.

"Careful. I'm pretty sure that'll get infected," Pope warns.

"Yeah," Sarah says. John B groans as she looks at the bite. "Yeah, you're lucky. It didn't cut into muscle too much."

"Lucky I got bit by an alligator and my car is underwater," John B remarks as he pants through the pain.

"Do you have something to wrap it with, stop the bleeding?" Sarah asks. "It can..."

John B reaches into his pocket and pulls out the bandana. He hands it to Sarah.

"Oh, and speak of the fricking devil," Pope remarks. I hear a horn and see JJ and Kie backing the truck up. "Look who it is, the tortoise and the tortoise. Just a couple hours late."

Kie and JJ get out of the truck.

"Where the hell were you guys?" I ask.

"Paternal complications," Kie tells us.

"Luke was at the Chateau," JJ explains.

"Oh, great! While you were having family time with your pops, John B got bit by a gator," Pope tells them.

"Like, for real?" JJ asks.

"Does it look like we're joking?" Sarah asks.

"Okay, what the hell happened?" Kie asks.

"What happened? I got bit by a gator!" John B shouts.

"He got bit by a gator!" Topper shouts.

"I don't know why I'm being yelled at because I put my ass on the line," Kie tells us.

"You're being yelled at because it was 20 minutes," Pope tells her.

"Okay well we got here as fast as we could," Kie insists.

Pope, John B, Sarah, Topper, and Kie start to argue with each other. JJ looks like he is about to burst.

"Shut up!" JJ shouts. Everyone stops talking. "Seriously, guys, I can't take it anymore, all right? Everyone just cut it out for a second." JJ laughs. "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.""

"That's not the right language," Sarah says.

"All we got... And I know for a fact all I got is you guys, okay? You're it. And I've come too close to losing you, all of you. I mean, shit, like you almost drowned. Pope, you were kidnapped. Sarah, you've been shot. John B, you were almost dinner for a freaking gator, bro. So, this blaming each other is some Kook-ass bullshit, all right? We don't do that. Okay? We're Pogues. Sorry, that was a lot right now. I didn't mean to..." Everyone starts to clap. "Yeah. All right."

"Well-done," Pope tells him.

"I gotta be honest. That was the best freaking speech you have ever given," John B says. "Also, you should think about, like, a Rosetta Stone because your Spanish and French are flip-flopped."

"We should bon voyage out of here," I offer.

"All right, let's get this damn twinkie out of here," JJ says.

JJ gets the winch hooked up to the truck and the twinkie. JJ stands in the bed of the truck directing Sarah who is driving the twinkie.

"Keep it coming. Keep her coming. She's almost out. Keep it going. Easy! Easy! Easy! Sarah, to the right. Straighten out," JJ instructs.